Chapter 96
“Staying here like this will only make things worse for Xia'er…”
Adele finished speaking and stole a glance around, noticing that everyone had fallen silent.
Yulis remained quiet for a moment before finally saying, “I have no objections.”
As long as Xia'er wasn’t with Ai Wei Na, as long as the “Glowing Bishop” came, even if Ai Wei Na didn’t agree, she could forcibly take Xia'er away.
As for her sister Adele, she wouldn’t be able to stop her from taking Xia'er. All she had to do was promise to take her to play with Xia'er every now and then.
Meanwhile, Ai Wei Na, lost in thought, hesitated for a moment before also saying, “I have no objections.”
Adele lived at 31 Gem Avenue, very close to the Jazz Bridge district, but quite far from the Bell Tower Church. Normally, it would take twenty to thirty minutes by carriage to get there.
Xia'er was indeed in poor health right now. If she could have a top-notch “Physician” to help her recover, it would speed up the process.
Adele also owned several properties on Gem Avenue; she could even live directly across from Adele. Once Xia'er was in slightly better shape, she could take her away and conveniently pick up her sister as well.
As for the High Priestess of the Goddess of Salvation? Would she rent a place nearby as well?
No, Ai Wei Na would simply rent several buildings in the vicinity.
Ai Wei Na knew that most of the wealth the Goddess of Salvation Church had gathered was invested in the An Su Church to solidify its foundation. Moreover, this church often offended certain merchants, nobles, and factory owners, making it a thorn in the side of capitalists and aristocrats.
They didn’t have many profitable assets, and even if they did, high labor costs and insufficient productivity would lead to bankruptcy under pressure from other capital.
Furthermore, the people of the Goddess of Salvation Church had been giving away their wealth to help others since they were “Ascetics.” By the time they became “Missionaries,” they were nearly bankrupt, and there wouldn’t be much disposable money left until they reached the rank of “Glowing Bishop.”
Even Adele, a “Physician,” could live on Gem Avenue, but the members of the Goddess of Salvation Church could only reside in the Bell Tower Lane district or nearby.
Would they send someone to keep watch nearby?
Sorry, the police station is filled with Russell’s people. What do you have to fight me with? They could easily find an excuse to detain them; ordinary “Ascetics” and church attendants wouldn’t resist.
As for Adele?
She wasn’t even on Ai Wei Na’s radar; her threat level was probably just slightly above that of a goose on a farm.
Seeing that both sides had reached an agreement and hadn’t immediately clashed, Adele let out a sigh of relief.
A wave of pride surged within her. With her extraordinary wisdom and courage, she had successfully prevented a conflict between the Russell family and the Goddess of Salvation Church.
Thinking of this, Adele straightened her chest a bit, then slightly hunched her shoulders and bowed her body, like a hunting wolf, and said firmly, “My home is over there. I… I’ll lead the way…”
Since Ai Wei Na and Yulis’s clothes were already tattered, and the only clothing available in the manor was the standard maid’s dress, they had no choice but to temporarily wear a maid’s dress each to cover their bodies.
Ai Wei Na carried Xia'er onto the carriage, holding her close, as if afraid that if she let go, Yulis sitting across from her would snatch Xia'er away.
Adele and Nia controlled the carriage as they made their way to the entrance of 31 Gem Avenue.
It was a charming four-story townhouse. Adele had rented the entire fourth floor to store various equipment and materials, so the space was relatively spacious.
At this hour, people were already getting up and heading to work, and the streets were bustling with activity. As they got off the carriage, they attracted quite a few curious glances.
After all, three beautiful girls sneaking a comatose beauty upstairs was a scene that was hard not to speculate about.
Once upstairs, Adele instructed Ai Wei Na to lay Xia'er on the bed in the guest room and began to clean and stitch up the visible wounds on Xia'er’s body.
Ai Wei Na took Nia out for a while, and soon after, Yulis hurriedly left Adele’s home, getting into a carriage heading toward the Bell Tower Church.
Completely unaware of what was about to happen, Adele was still diligently cleaning the blood off Xia'er, stitching her wounds, and applying medicine.
Although the potion could directly heal these minor wounds, without stitching, they would likely develop unsightly scars.
After about two hours of busy work, Adele finally stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
What Adele didn’t know was that the section of Gem Avenue outside had already been sealed off by the police, and her neighbors downstairs had happily left without even moving their luggage.
Outside the blockade, a large number of disguised followers and church attendants loitered just beyond the line, occasionally arresting those who attempted to cross the blockade through alleys or rooftops.
Hours passed, and the sky outside gradually darkened until it was completely night. When Adele walked into the sickroom with the food Ai Wei Na had sent, she noticed Xia'er’s eyelashes fluttering slightly.
“Xia'er?”
Adele placed the tray on a nearby cabinet and sat down beside Xia'er, softly calling her name.
At that moment, Xia'er was slowly opening her eyes.
She could hear Adele’s voice beside her, but the buzzing whispers in her mind had lessened significantly.
She propped herself up and looked down, noticing the pendant around her neck swaying slightly, catching her attention.
She saw that she was wearing the pendant sealed with the “Substitute Saint’s Remains,” which was currently burning, helping Xia'er resist the invasion of the whispers.
This is… Ai Wei Na’s pendant?
“Don’t get up, just lie down.”
Adele reached out and gently pushed Xia'er back down, asking, “Do you feel any discomfort? Does your head still hurt? Have the whispers intensified?”
Before Xia'er could answer, Ai Wei Na, who had seemingly been monitoring the situation, pushed open the door and walked in.
Upon seeing Xia'er lying on the bed, looking a bit pale, Ai Wei Na stepped forward and asked expressionlessly, “Are you still feeling unwell, Xia'er?”
Just to be safe, she had sealed off this street; there shouldn’t be anyone else within fifty meters. She wondered if this would help alleviate Xia'er’s whisper invasion.
“I’m fine… Where is this?”
Xia'er spoke, glancing at the time on the system interface.
Eight o'clock in the evening… There were still nearly eight hours left before this simulation would end, and she could save the “Judicator” archive.
She needed to recover her body as much as possible to avoid any further whisper invasions when using the archive later.
Besides that, she had to use this time to devise a comprehensive strategy.
A plan targeting the “Glowing Bishop” who would come to inspect the 23rd Saint’s Church.
Even if she returned to reality, even if she didn’t report to the church and went directly to the Dutton Manor, she was ninety percent sure that she could kill Kidi within the thirty minutes of transforming into the “Judicator” using five life points, ensuring that none of the cultists would escape.
However, even if Xia'er killed them all swiftly, there would still be a hidden danger.
That was, she might be investigated by the arriving “Glowing Bishop.”
She wouldn’t even need to wait for the “Glowing Bishop” to arrive; even if she did nothing, if Ai Wei Na escaped and Adele and Yulis were captured, various clues would point to her, an otherwise unremarkable person.
Even if it was just to probe her situation, Xia'er’s life would be disrupted, and she could very well be brainwashed into a cultist in reality.
If she couldn’t resolve the issue with the “Glowing Bishop,” Xia'er would have to escape to An Su with her sister ahead of time.
Even escaping to An Su wouldn’t be safe… As long as she was identified as a person related to the incident by the Saint’s Church after so many cultists had died, they would find a way to capture Xia'er, even if she hid in An Su, which had various orthodox forces.
Xia'er felt that since stepping into the extraordinary path in the simulation, she had become mired in a quagmire; the more she struggled, the deeper she was drawn into various turbulent extraordinary events.
But Xia'er didn’t regret getting involved.
If she hadn’t intervened, she would have been dead long ago.
Even if they were killing the simulated version of her, Xia'er would make them pay the price.
“I’m fine.”
Xia'er lay on the bed and nodded. She noticed the bandages wrapped around her hand, turned to Adele, and said, “Thank you, Adele.”
Then she looked at Ai Wei Na, who was standing beside Adele, touched the pendant on her chest, and smiled, saying, “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me just yet.”
Ai Wei Na met Xia'er’s gaze expressionlessly. After a moment, she slightly averted her eyes, pretending to look at the scenery elsewhere.
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