Chapter 71
The excruciating pain vanished in an instant, and all sound faded away, leaving only silence in its wake. The murmurs in her mind also disappeared without a trace.
What just happened?
Mother Goddess, help me...
Before Xia'er could linger in this space for long, she felt a familiar sensation of detachment once more.
Her consciousness returned to her body, bringing with it the sharp pain and the chaotic whispers in her mind.
Huh?
Xia'er raised her hand to pull off the blindfold, and her eyes widened at the sight before her.
She was not in the room at Ai Wei Na's house; instead, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.
From the size and layout, it resembled a hotel room.
Following the source of the pain, she looked down and realized she was bare from the waist up.
An arrow was embedded in her lower abdomen, its tip tied to a delicately crafted "substitute holy relic." Half of the relic was buried in her flesh, and the blood flowing from her wound did nothing to extinguish the purple flames that danced upon it.
Xia'er's legs were bound to a chair with tight ropes, the knots positioned at the top, easily loosened with a gentle tug.
Clearly, she had tied herself up.
Supporting herself with the arrow lodged in her abdomen, she stood unsteadily and noticed several vials of potions and bandages laid out in front of her, labeled with white paper that read "Pain Relief," "Disinfection," "Topical Use," and "Oral Use."
Further ahead was a short cabinet, on top of which sat a makeshift launching device fashioned from a hand crossbow. The short arrow embedded in her abdomen had been fired from there, and a few candles were burning just behind the modified crossbow.
Seriously... couldn’t you have just let Ai Wei Na stab me with the "substitute holy relic" at a more reasonable time?
Was it really necessary to be this cruel? I’m you, after all!
Xia'er pulled the arrow from her abdomen, gripping the blood-soaked and burning substitute holy relic in her hand. Following the order of the labels, she treated her wound.
Once she had bandaged herself up, the pain in her lower abdomen had nearly subsided.
At least I have a conscience; the medicine is mostly intact.
After putting on the clothes prepared on the bed, Xia'er approached the crossbow and noticed a notebook resting beneath it.
Her mind was filled with questions.
These potions were clearly prepared by Adele, but why didn’t she just help directly? And where had Ai Wei Na gone? Wasn’t she supposed to be in her house?
Could it be that she thought both Adele and Ai Wei Na were being watched, so she chose to limit their contact during the simulation?
That seemed quite possible.
Xia'er opened the notebook and began to read its contents.
**Chapter Sixty-Eight: Cult Leader Xia'er.**
**[Year of the Saint, June 20, 741, 5 PM]**
**[Ai Wei Na took the information I provided very seriously. She realized that both she and Adele had been exposed to the gaze of the Saint's Church. She decided to secretly contact Adele and have her come over to discuss a solution.]**
**[I saw the subsystem and understood that this was a simulation, so I didn’t interfere with Ai Wei Na’s actions, merely observing the unfolding events.]**
**[To avoid involving ordinary people, Ai Wei Na still didn’t call back her other servants. I ended up cooking for her again; although it was just a simple stew, she seemed quite satisfied.]**
**[Year of the Saint, June 21, 741, 3 AM]**
**[Adele arrived at Ai Wei Na’s house under the cover of night, and we began discussing strategies in Ai Wei Na’s room.]**
**[What surprised me was that Adele had a much deeper understanding of the Saint's Church than Ai Wei Na. She provided a lot of information from within the Redemption Society—information compiled by her former teacher, Xie Lun. It seems Xie Lun had been contemplating contact with the Saint's Church for quite some time.]**
**[The discussion wrapped up around 2 AM, and I summarized the key points for you.]**
**[The Saint's Church does not have a fixed base; its organizational structure resembles an intelligence network, with members embedded in various fields. Ji Di is likely a "missionary" placed in De Dun Manor, spreading heretical beliefs while using her position to serve the Church.]**
**[Their internal communication is less efficient than that of the Salvation Goddess Church. To avoid exposure, they use one-way communication, allowing only superiors to contact subordinates. Ji Di likely has no means to reach out to other superiors or even peers, only passively receiving information.]**
**[However, this cultist, used for information transmission, is very secretive and low-key. It’s nearly impossible for others to identify them based on appearance or ability; only they can recognize who is responsible for passing on information.]**
**[According to records from the Redemption Society on interrogating cultists, one described the experience of seeing a bishop as akin to witnessing the world where the Mother Goddess resides—a longing, a beauty that you can never truly comprehend, which purifies your faith.]**
**[I suspect it might be due to their exposure to some text or object from another realm, leading to a mental breakdown.]**
**[They decided to report together the next day: Ai Wei Na to the Church and Adele to the Redemption Society, then wait for two days to see how things develop.]**
**[I still think this proposal is too dangerous. I persuaded them to escape to An Su immediately after delivering the information, while I decided to stay behind, waiting for developments and for you to arrive.]**
**[But both Ai Wei Na and Adele strongly opposed this suggestion, insisting it was too dangerous for me and that we should leave together.]**
**[Ai Wei Na and Adele are both quite loyal; they don’t understand the concept of simulation. They only feel that my life is as precious as theirs, and it must be cherished.]**
**[Ironically, I’ve become the one among the three who "values my life the least," which is quite a thought.]**
Xia'er nodded slightly at this point.
Ever since she learned to distinguish between the system and the subsystem, her emotions in the simulation had stabilized significantly, even allowing her to make a few jokes in the notebook.
Adele’s ability to bring more information about the Saint's Church was an unexpected boon for Xia'er.
She pondered the description of the bishop used for information transmission.
I wonder if my **[Pages from Another Realm]** can achieve such an effect.
Whether it could or not, Xia'er had to give it a try; after all, it was just a simulation—no harm in experimenting.
She turned to the next page and continued reading the notes.
**[Year of the Saint, June 21, 741, 12 PM]**
**[In the morning, they all left separately before dawn.]**
**[I asked Adele for some healing potions, took some money, and left the manor after they did. I needed to distance myself from Ai Wei Na and Adele for a while to see if I was also on the Saint's Church's watchlist.]**
**[I specifically rented a room not far from Bell Tower Alley. Recently, the "Ascetic" members of the Salvation Goddess Church have been quite active, distributing diluted dehydration cure potions and taking severely ill individuals to the Church hospital for treatment.]**
**[I noticed that the inn that had been booked out in the previous simulation was still in that state, with priests coming and going.]**
**[If nothing unexpected happens, Yuli Si is likely still inside, remotely directing the actions of the Salvation Goddess Church members.]**
**[I won’t waste time; I’m preparing to go out and buy some things you might need, and I’m planning a surprise for you.]**
**[Don’t worry, it’ll just hurt a bit, like getting a shot. It’ll be over quickly.]**
A shot, huh...
That needle looks pretty thick, doesn’t it?
Xia'er rolled her eyes and flipped to the next page.
**[Year of the Saint, June 22, 741, 12 AM]**
**[Everything is set up. Last night, I tested with pork multiple times, adjusting the hand crossbow to a distance and force that would pierce the body without damaging too many internal organs.]**
**[We had originally agreed to meet at a café today, but after waiting a long time at the restaurant across from it without seeing either of them, I decided to leave.]**
**[I need to quickly prepare the scene for your arrival to avoid running out of time.]**
**[Welcome to the future simulation, I...]**
Your welcome method is a bit extreme.
But just as I wrote in the notebook, the force was well-controlled, not injuring any organs, and with the help of the extraordinary potion, I could hardly feel any pain now.
The simultaneous disappearance of Ai Wei Na and Adele, not showing up at the agreed location, indicated that something must have happened to them.
If there’s any further information, Xia'er would investigate the reason for their disappearance.
But for now, there were more pressing matters awaiting her.
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