Chapter 74
Jidi spoke quickly, eager to get her words out while simultaneously refining her plan in her mind.
“Hmm?”
Xia'er raised her tone, looking skeptical.
“I secretly captured the extraordinary individuals involved in the sabotage plan. Although I didn’t catch the mastermind… we did apprehend Adele, one of Xie Lun’s former students.”
Jidi explained.
“And the mastermind?”
Xia'er’s tone was displeased. “What good is capturing Xie Lun’s student?”
“The mastermind is Aivina from the Russell family. She was rescued by her ‘Crown Guard’ before we could kill her… we didn’t have time to brainwash her.”
Jidi quickly clarified. “But we have captured Adele, who had close contact with her.”
“From Adele, I learned something that Xie Lun had kept from us.”
After a brief pause, Jidi continued, “Xie Lun… could never succeed in the Reproduction Ritual—his virus, and even his previous status as a ‘Plague Doctor,’ were all secured by his student, Adele.”
“Xie Lun is not a suitable candidate at all. Instead, Adele is the one who could be most beneficial to our church; she is a genius on the ‘Physician’ path!”
“She was captured just as she was preparing for the Reproduction Ritual. Now, we can transition her to the similar ‘Plague Bearer’ path. When she drinks the potion, we can guide her to embrace the Mother Goddess, and then… have her develop an infectious disease even more potent than dehydration syndrome!”
Jidi laid out her plan in one breath, her eyes closed tightly, her heart racing.
She believed this argument had a good chance of convincing the bishop before her.
Xie Lun’s talent was mediocre at best; it was his frequent research reports that had caught Jidi’s attention, combined with his interest in the Holy Assembly, that led her to facilitate this plan with the bishop’s help.
If the plan succeeded, she would be directly reassigned from Boren City to Ansu… even the possibility of becoming a true bishop was within reach.
Unfortunately, the mission had failed, but it was inherently an impossible task!
Now, Jidi had discovered a ‘Physician’ path genius far surpassing Xie Lun, someone she could utilize to redeem herself!
“How do you know Xie Lun’s reports are false?”
Xia'er asked calmly.
“Your Excellency! It was Adele who admitted it herself! I interrogated her personally! I can tell if she’s lying!”
The praise she had imagined didn’t come, and Jidi felt a wave of panic wash over her.
“You know?”
Xia'er scoffed, her tone mocking. “I could just as easily claim to be the mastermind behind the sabotage, the one who killed Xie Lun. Can you tell the difference?”
Jidi’s face froze.
When the bishop first entered, she had accidentally seen something she shouldn’t have, causing the potion in her body to bubble and her mind to feel unstable.
But after a while of flattering the bishop, her mental state gradually stabilized, and she began to analyze every emotion in the bishop’s speech with her abilities.
Just moments ago, she hadn’t sensed any deceit in the bishop’s emotions… the bishop was not lying…
Even though such an outrageous claim came from the bishop’s mouth, Jidi felt no hint of falsehood in it.
The bishop before her might possess many seals she had never encountered…
“You must be joking… Your Excellency, how could she compare to you… I checked; she has no seals on her…”
As Jidi spoke, she began to doubt her own lie detection abilities.
“Take me to see her.”
Xia'er interrupted Jidi, speaking firmly.
“Of course, I’ll lead the way.”
Jidi quickly lowered her head and stood up, feeling a slow sigh of relief in her heart.
The bishop didn’t pursue the matter of the failed plan any further; instead, she seemed interested in Adele, which was good news for Jidi.
At the very least, it meant that the plan she had just conceived had convinced the bishop, making it seem feasible.
Jidi focused on her feet, her peripheral vision catching the bishop slowly raising her arm and gently snapping her fingers.
Two silver lights flashed, and the seal on the letters on the ground, as well as the seals at the bishop’s waist, vanished in the silver glow. Jidi could no longer sense their presence.
What the… how many seals does this bishop have on her? Isn’t she afraid of the side effects?!
No wonder she always seemed so weak; it turned out she was burdened with a pile of seals.
Jidi reined in her thoughts, no longer speculating about the bishop’s true strength. She moved around the bishop and walked toward the bookshelf behind the desk, whispering, “She’s currently held in the dungeon’s secret chamber. I’ll take you to see her.”
Two white shadows emerged from Jidi’s own shadow, gripping the bookshelf in front of them and slowly pulling it apart.
The massive bookshelf split in two, revealing a narrow path made of gray stone bricks.
One of the white shadows pressed a switch, and oil lamps lit up one by one in the secret passage.
Xia'er followed Jidi at a distance of about seven steps, trailing her down the winding path.
As they descended, Xia'er felt the temperature around them drop, even her breath felt icy in her lungs.
Fortunately, she had already stored away the deadly Blood Roland, and her body was gradually warming up. This slight temperature change posed no challenge for Xia'er.
After what felt like descending five floors, Xia'er finally followed Jidi to a relatively spacious area.
This space was about the same size as the previous hall of the Death Roulette, with three massive pillars supporting the circular stone chamber.
It lacked the expected damp and dark atmosphere; aside from the blood-drawn symbols on the floor being somewhat unsettling, there was nothing particularly strange.
Xia'er noticed that besides Jidi’s room, there were two other spiral staircases leading down to the secret chamber.
It seemed this was a place for their worship or rituals.
The two white shadows walked ahead of Jidi, and at the front side of the hall, there was a wooden door—its structure resembling that of a bell tower church.
Xia'er followed her into the side corridor, where Jidi stopped in front of one of the room doors, reached out, opened it, and stepped inside.
“Your Excellency, this is Xie Lun’s student, Adele.”
Once inside, Jidi pointed to the person locked behind the iron cage.
Xia'er stepped into the room, turned to look in the direction Jidi was pointing, and her pupils slightly contracted.
In the center of a semicircular iron frame connected to a long wooden structure firmly embedded in the ground, it resembled a twisted version of a cross from the Holy Assembly.
Thin lines hung down from above, with silver barbed hooks at the ends piercing through the person’s arms, stretching them open and pressing them against the cross behind.
In the upper corners of the cage, two thicker hemp ropes hung, stained black with congealed blood, and at the ends of these ropes were two large black iron hooks, which pierced through the person’s cheeks and lips, securing them to the cross.
The one hanging on the cross was Adele.
Adele’s black clothing had been torn to shreds by whips, revealing her pale, bloodied skin beneath.
At that moment, she was standing on her toes, balancing on a wooden stool, her head drooping as if she had already slipped into unconsciousness.
“I interrogated her the moment she was brought in this morning.”
Jidi stepped aside, allowing Xia'er to see better, and slightly bowed, continuing, “I guarantee no one else knows about this, Your Excellency.”
Xia'er stared expressionlessly at Adele hanging there, showing no signs of movement.
This was merely a simulation.
With the help of [Calm Reflection Lv.2], Xia'er, who had died multiple times in simulations, felt no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.
“Wake up!”
Jidi seemed dissatisfied with Adele still being unconscious. The white shadow beside her crossed over the cage and kicked the wooden stool out from under Adele’s feet.
The stool shook violently, and Adele, already struggling to balance, wobbled precariously.
“Ugh…”
Adele’s body lurched, the wounds on her arms and mouth tearing open further. She awoke in agony, her eyes opening, but she couldn’t see anything in front of her.
Her eyes were already covered in blood.
Adele dared not struggle, knowing that any movement would only worsen the pain inflicted by the barbed silver hooks and iron hooks piercing her skin and muscles.
“Where is the ‘Plague Bearer’ potion?”
Xia'er asked, her expression unchanged as she turned to Jidi.
“It’s here! I’ll go get it right now!”
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