Chapter 108#

The Holy Son of the Fallen Evil God#

“Count Lyle?”

Lin Xiaodong was stunned for a moment, then remembered that this was the “neighbor” Michael had complained about in the confessional, the one whose manor often made strange noises.

Michael was a low-ranking noble, and it was understandable that he would choose to live in the chaotic West District in a place like the capital, where every inch of land was precious. However, Lyle was a count, and he also lived in an area full of “lower-class people,” which made his intentions quite intriguing.

But no matter what, being suspicious was not a reason for his family to be massacred. Lin Xiaodong pondered for a moment, then asked the divine servant in front of him, “Where is Bishop Raphael now?”

Because a very famous Archbishop Raphael had emerged from this church a hundred years ago, subsequent bishops of the church had all adopted this name. The current Bishop Raphael was a shrewd middle-aged man over fifty. Logically, such a major incident happening in the West District under his jurisdiction would require Raphael to investigate.

“The Bishop asked me to invite you over, saying he wanted you to observe the purification ceremony,” the divine servant said. “Count Lyle’s manor has been sealed off, and the Knights are all waiting for your orders.”

Waiting for his orders?

Lin Xiaodong thought to himself that this Raphael was truly a master at shifting blame. How did his dereliction of duty become his responsibility?

But he temporarily suppressed his inner doubts and followed the divine servant to the open space outside the church.

A group of ragged, fearful commoners had already gathered there, all ordinary residents living near Count Lyle’s manor. Ike and several other knights rode on tall horses, expressionlessly gripping their sharp swords and spears, preventing these people from escaping. Standing in front of them, Bishop Raphael held a bottle of holy water, loudly praising the greatness of the God of Light to the sky.

Lin Xiaodong wondered what kind of expressions these people would have if they knew that the God of Light they revered had completely fallen a thousand years ago.

The sun was scorching today. Even Lin Xiaodong, who had been well-fed and well-cared for in the church, couldn’t stand being in the sun for long. He silently walked behind the towering Commander Ike. The black-haired man on horseback looked back at him. Although his expression was still serious, he thoughtfully moved his horse closer to Lin Xiaodong, allowing him to enjoy the shade.

“Thank you.” The golden-haired youth looked up, revealing a faint smile against the dazzling light.

But for some reason, Commander Ike, looking at the Holy Son, who seemed completely normal and as pure and flawless as a snowdrift, instinctively felt that today’s Lin Xiaodong was somehow different from usual.

Just as he was about to ask, a commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd not far away.

Both of them turned their heads simultaneously and saw a frail woman, unable to withstand the scorching sun, faint with her eyes closed.

Lin Xiaodong immediately recognized it as heatstroke. He frowned, just about to go and help her up, when a familiar voice he hadn’t heard in a long time sounded in his ear: “I advise you not to go.”

The youth’s steps paused.

“System, I thought you were slacking off with pay during this time,” he sighed. “Didn’t you say before that you would try to appear less in this world unless it was an emergency?”

“Yes, but like you, I didn’t know the true identity of the evil god at that time,” the System’s flat voice was interpreted by Lin Xiaodong as a hint of helplessness. “I even specifically chose a world with a higher plane level, but I still couldn’t escape his grasp.”

Lin Xiaodong: “…Huh???”

“Nothing,” the System coughed, quickly changing the subject. “Let’s get to the point. Seriously, you’ve exposed too many flaws in this world. If the evil god hadn’t intervened, the Pope would have tricked you badly. For example, right now, do you know that they are holding the church’s purification ceremony?”

“I know,” Lin Xiaodong had at least brushed up on some basic church knowledge, so how could he not know such a fundamental thing? “But…”

But precisely because he knew the essence of this “purification ceremony,” he was even more unwilling to witness the fate of that woman.

Sure enough, while he was talking to the System, Bishop Raphael had excitedly instructed a knight beside him to go into the crowd and drag out the unconscious woman. For a moment, cries filled the air. Her husband knelt on the ground, desperately kowtowing to the knight and the bishop, begging them to spare his wife, saying she had only fainted because she was three months pregnant and too weak.

However, no one on the scene paid any attention to his pleas.

A huge cross was erected in the square. The knights clumsily tied the woman to the cross. Bishop Raphael walked up to her with a profound expression and sprinkled an entire bottle of holy water on her face.

“God of Light above, please cleanse her of her defilement!”

Next, this woman would be placed under the cross, enduring six hours of exposure to the sun. If she could remain conscious until sunset, it would mean “purification successful”; if not…

Then Commander Ike would have to cut off her head and pray to the God of Light for forgiveness of her sins.

Listening to the woman’s low moans and her husband’s suppressed sobs, Ike clenched his fists, his heart turbulent, yet, like countless times before, he slowly and dejectedly relaxed.

What was the use, he thought mockingly, he wasn’t the only knight commander in the church.

If he stepped forward, the outcome would likely not change at all, and perhaps the Pope, in a fit of rage, would also tie him to the cross. For strong men, the church would even cut their skin with daggers to bleed them. Even with Ike’s physique far exceeding ordinary people, he wasn’t entirely confident he could survive such torture.

He numbly averted his gaze, not wanting to see the pregnant woman’s fate.

However, the golden-haired Holy Son, who had been hiding behind him, so frail that he couldn’t even endure prolonged sun exposure, stepped forward without hesitation under Ike’s stunned gaze.

“Bishop Raphael,” he politely took a step forward, interrupting this sacred ceremony that everyone had “默认” (tacitly agreed to), his clear blue eyes calmly meeting the bishop’s. “I think we should let this lady down.”

Bishop Raphael instantly frowned, but out of respect for the Holy Son and the church, he still tried to subtly remind him: “Your Highness, this is a traditional purification ceremony. I am helping this lady remove the corrupting aura from her.”

Leaving aside whether such a corrupting aura even existed, if the black viscous liquid the evil god used on him last night was what Bishop Raphael was talking about, Lin Xiaodong thought expressionlessly, then he would have been thoroughly stained from the inside out long ago.

System: …I really don’t want to be a system that instantly understands.

Wuwuwu, it’s no longer pure.

“But her husband also said that this lady is pregnant,” Lin Xiaodong patiently persuaded. “According to the teachings of the ‘Holy Scripture of Light,’ newborns are the purest holy objects and can ward off all defilement. By extension, unborn children are the same, so among these people, the safest is this pregnant woman. Her fainting should just be due to her weak constitution and inability to stand for long.”

Bishop Raphael stared at him for a long time.

“But there has never been such a precedent, Your Highness. Are you sure you want to do this?” he emphasized, asking again.

Bishop Raphael was a timid and shrewd man. Although not a good person, often abusing his power for personal gain, he was still somewhat better than those hypocrites who committed evil deeds through the church. He was unwilling to openly oppose Holy Son Lynn, because when the Holy Spirit descended, the other party would definitely return to the Church of Light, and then he would be the one to suffer.

But he also didn’t want to bear this responsibility. For the Church of Light, which had existed for thousands of years, let alone reform, even a slight change to its doctrines would cause an uproar.

Lin Xiaodong knew his little calculations, but he still said decisively, “I am sure.”

After speaking, he turned to look at Commander Ike, who had been silently watching him with complex eyes since earlier, and said in a light tone, “Commander, please help me bring this lady down. Oh, and don’t forget to give her some salt water to drink.”

Ike pursed his lips and nodded solemnly at him.

“As you command, Your Highness.”

He squeezed his horse, quickly rode to the cross, and with a precise and swift swing of his sword, rescued the woman tied to it. Her husband, who had been waiting by her side, was overjoyed and hugged her, kneeling on the ground and desperately kowtowing to Lin Xiaodong:

“Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you for your mercy…”

Seeing this, Bishop Raphael snorted coldly and was no longer in the mood to continue presiding over the ceremony. He simply flicked his sleeves and returned to the church.

Lin Xiaodong’s gaze and Ike’s grateful eyes met unintentionally. The golden-haired youth nodded at him and walked towards the ragged commoners.

Looking at the Holy Son’s back against the light, the black-haired man suddenly felt a warmth in his eyes and an urge to pledge allegiance to him.

“Ding, Good Person Card +1.”

Lin Xiaodong said to the System, “The people in this world are truly ignorant, but also truly simple.”

“By your tone, are you really planning to spread the evil god’s teachings and gather followers?” the System asked doubtfully.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Lin Xiaodong sneered. “But I’m very annoyed that they blame him for everything. He’s an evil god, not a scapegoat god. Did he kill and set fires last night? How could I not know?”

Although he had been full of thoughts of slaying gods when he woke up earlier, Lin Xiaodong thought righteously, that was a different matter.

“…………”

The evil god, sitting in the deep darkness, suddenly shivered inexplicably.

Gods, of course, don’t catch colds. If something unusual happens, it must be because the source of faith has a problem.

So the evil god calmly snapped his fingers, wanting to see what his only little believer was doing through the water curtain.

As a result, he saw the golden-haired Holy Son kindly bending down and asking a dirty girl, “May the God of Light bless you. I’m sorry to ask this, but you said you were almost violated by the evil god last night. Could you describe what happened in detail?”

After a pause, he added solemnly, “Please rest assured, I will definitely uphold justice for everyone.”

Evil God: ???