Chapter 104

“Damn it, what kind of place is this?”

Roy surveyed his surroundings. The streets shrouded in fog were utterly windless, like a stagnant pool. As he walked, he suddenly stepped on something. Bending down, he picked it up. It was a newspaper.

“Come take a look. There’s an address written in this advertisement space: Opposite the municipal office building at No. 123 Jin Yun Street… Municipal office building?”

Pei Xi finally realized their location. This was Platinum County in the Western District, the most prosperous area and political center of the district. Lu Qi’s home lay farther west in Lan Xia County, York Town, still a considerable distance away.

Kyle’s expression turned disheartened. “Why were we suddenly transported here? It’s completely deviated from our planned route.”

The three exchanged glances. After entering the Western District, the surrounding scenery had gradually and imperceptibly transformed. After retracing their steps once, they confirmed it had been a spatial displacement.

To ensure public safety, the lower district lord had suspended all transportation routes into the Western District. The three of them had taken numerous detours over several days before finally arriving.

Pei Xi clenched his fist. Since they had reached the central Platinum County, where the nobles, political elites, and key documents of the Western District were concentrated, they might as well determine what had occurred here.

Along the way, not a single person was visible. Nor were there many corpses. Most people had likely sought refuge.

After a moment’s thought, Pei Xi quickened his pace. He said to his companions, “Let’s go to the church.”

When catastrophe strikes, people often become more devout and seek divine assistance. The clergy might possess more knowledge about this strange disaster.

The three young men lowered their heads and moved forward. Roy, walking behind Pei Xi, narrowed his eyes slightly. Something felt wrong.

Wait. Why was Pei Xi walking this route so naturally? He didn’t hesitate at intersections, as though he were intimately familiar with the path to the church in Platinum County.

Roy, who seldom interrupted, spoke up. “Pei Xi, should we find a map of this place—”

His voice cut off abruptly. The fog had thinned without their noticing. Ahead, a building crowned with the distinctive spire of a church emerged.

Pei Xi stopped suddenly. His gaze locked onto the structure.

Roy came to stand beside him. The blond young man looked at Pei Xi’s slightly dazed profile with puzzlement, as though he hadn’t expected to locate it so swiftly either.

✧✧✧✧✧

“Hope Plan?”

Sykes stared at Ye Zheng, his tone rising.

Ye Zheng tilted her head. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve never heard of such a plan. He was an official appointed by the empire. You should know more about them, Your Highness.”

The Hope Plan was likely connected to Wen Jian’s clandestine experiments in the Western District. A sense of foreboding settled in her heart. The church’s secret experiments and this so-called Hope Plan might involve far more people and forces than she had anticipated.

Sykes turned again to stare at the corpse lying with its eyes wide open. The weight in his chest grew heavier.

He should know. As the empire’s heir, there shouldn’t be secrets concealed from him. The moment the man had blurted out “Hope Plan,” his heart had jolted. His mind had searched frantically for any recollection, yet found nothing.

Perhaps the man, his father, had once mentioned it, and he hadn’t paid attention. Or perhaps the Hope Plan was entwined with his missing memories.

Sykes’s fist tightened at his side.

“Your Highness, let’s set this aside for now. Aren’t you curious where Madam Zhou has gone?”

Sykes lifted his gaze and scanned the surroundings. He realized the peculiar middle-aged woman had disappeared.

“She was with you just now, Ye Zheng.”

“Mm. She just attempted to kill me.”

Ye Zheng nodded calmly. Sykes frowned at her before fully processing her words.

“That woman was controlling the fog?”

“The documents state she’s an ordinary person. Could this director’s wife have been replaced by an ability user?”

Ye Zheng listened to his reasoning and shook her head.

“She should be the genuine person. As for her ability, it might be linked to what we’re investigating.”

The mysteries before her and the adversaries behind them were intricate. It wasn’t an opportune moment for solitary action. For now, she could only continue cooperating with Sykes.

A flicker of worry passed through the Saintess’s lowered eyes. Lu Qi’s whereabouts remained unknown. Sela, Wende, and the others were still en route. She didn’t know whether Zhou Yun would target them.

Her fingers idly twisted a strand of still-damp hair. Ye Zheng’s thoughts moved swiftly. At present, all clues converged on the Hope Plan. And the Hope Plan was highly likely connected to Wen Jian’s experiments involving dragon bones and human bodies. Combined with the fact that the ordinary Zhou Yun had suddenly manifested an ability, and that in the manga spoilers Lu Qi had displayed non-human traits…

In short, such a vast experiment must require a base. If they located the experimental base, they might uncover both Lu Qi and the truth.

“In that case, we’ll find Zhou Yun and kill her first. Then this strange fog will dissipate.”

Sykes spoke in a low voice, unmistakable anger threading through it.

Ye Zheng glanced at him. Her gaze dropped to the torn shirt faintly visible beneath his coat. She understood his fury.

Had her own role in the manga shifted toward villainy? Had Sykes’s role subtly changed as well? Recently, his clothing seemed perpetually fragile.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Oh, I just thought of something amusing. You said you want to kill Zhou Yun? Her body can dissolve into the fog. Finding her now will be exceedingly difficult.”

“It seems you’ve thought of a better approach?”

“Let’s go to the grand church.”

Pope Wen Jian had conducted experiments in the Western District. He must have involved the local clergy. They would surely know something.

Having decided on their next destination, the group quickly reorganized and set out once more. After the earlier chaos, only eleven of the original twenty knights remained, and half were wounded. Ryan was gravely injured as well. Ye Zheng used her ability to provide them with basic treatment.

They pushed open the heavy main doors. Ye Zheng stepped once again into the dense, dim fog. Perhaps it was merely psychological, but she always felt a pair of sorrowful, damp eyes watching her from within it.

Walking in the center of the formation, she observed the surrounding streets. Before the disaster, this area should have been the most densely populated. Now, not a single soul was visible.

It was exceedingly strange. They hadn’t even encountered many corpses. Where had so many people gone?

With clues scarce, it was only when the group halted before a magnificent church that Ye Zheng abruptly regained her focus.

The somewhat disheveled knight captain led two men forward. Having learned from the municipal office incident, they didn’t dare act carelessly. They approached the main doors with caution. The knight captain raised his hand and knocked twice.

No reply came. Beneath the Crown Prince’s steady gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously. He was just about to slam his palm against the door when it opened quietly from within.

The knight captain’s hand nearly struck the face of the man who had come to answer it. He hastily withdrew his hand and offered an awkward apology.

“It’s fine. Please, come in.”

The man dressed in white robes carried an extraordinary bearing, yet his expression radiated warmth and tolerance. His voice resembled the mellow resonance of a cello, refined and composed, leaving the knight captain momentarily stunned.

Ye Zheng stood a short distance away. Her eyes fell upon the man at the doorway. Fragmented memories flickered through her mind. She felt that face was faintly familiar.

An instinctive unease stirred within her. When she stepped into the church and saw his face clearly, that unease peaked.

The Saintess arranged a proper smile and inclined her head. “Bishop Kieran, I’ve long admired your name.”

The man regarded her with mild surprise. His gaze drifted briefly to the sword at her waist before he nodded lightly. His tone remained gentle. “As expected of the most celebrated Saintess the empire has seen in a century. Meeting you today truly lives up to your reputation.”

Sykes studied the man for a long moment before lifting his chin. His golden eyes narrowed slightly. “Kieran Aston?”

The man named Kieran looked toward the two youths, his smile deepening with quiet satisfaction. He shook his head faintly. “It seems my reputation isn’t small after all. Even His Highness the Crown Prince and the Saintess remember an insignificant person like me.”

“You’re too modest, sir. Your elegance back then is still spoken of in the Upper District.”

Ye Zheng smiled, though her dark eyes dimmed subtly.

She’d seen him before. At her great-uncle’s birthday banquet when she was twelve. Even in the Upper District, where elites and nobles gathered, Kieran Aston’s presence had been enough to make most people feel inferior. Graceful, handsome, erudite, he’d effortlessly become the center of attention.

He belonged to a collateral branch of the imperial family. There were countless relatives bearing the Aston surname, and the name alone carried little weight. Yet Kieran Aston had made that name renowned through his own ability. Even the emperor had praised him highly. Rumor claimed he’d served as the emperor’s confidential advisor.

However, at the height of his fame, he’d suddenly chosen to become a priest. In the years that followed, no news of him surfaced.

Only after learning of the Pope’s experiments in the Western District did Ye Zheng briefly investigate the region’s circumstances and discover that this man had gone there to serve as bishop.

『You seem to dislike him somewhat. Why?』

The system asked with curiosity.

Kieran Aston possessed a face that neither men nor women could easily resent. His emotional intelligence was high, his knowledge vast, and his storyline hadn’t yet unfolded. Ye Zheng appeared to have no reason to dislike him.

“Because he caught me killing someone.”

The system was stunned.

More precisely, he’d encountered her at the scene of a killing as she was escaping. Ye Zheng wasn’t entirely certain whether he’d actually witnessed her killing her great-uncle.

When she was twelve, she’d attended her great-uncle’s birthday. At the time, he’d served as chief justice. By chance, she’d overheard that a relative of a victim from the Blood Flower incident was dissatisfied with the verdict and continued filing appeals. To preserve his reputation, her great-uncle had hired someone to eliminate the appellant, disguising the murder as an accidental drowning.

“You know, a twelve-year-old child is at an impulsive age. My ability had only just awakened then. I couldn’t control it properly.”

“He drowned in the pool by my ability. It looked as though he’d gotten drunk and fallen in by accident.”

“That was my first time killing someone.”

Ye Zheng’s tone remained entirely objective. “After I’d finished and was about to leave the poolside, I ran into Kieran. He told me to be careful.”

『That sounds harmless. Adults often caution unruly children like that.』

Ye Zheng continued walking deeper into the church, her gaze fixed forward. Yet from the corner of her eye, she remained acutely aware of the tall white-robed figure. His back still carried the same composed elegance she remembered.

“No. My first reaction was that he meant I should be careful with what I’d done.”

The system choked. After a long pause, it finally responded.

『Given his character setup, that’s possible.』

A faint smile curved Ye Zheng’s lips. Was that a spoiler? It seemed Kieran truly was an important character.

Kieran led the group through the main hall. It was crowded with anxious civilians. Beneath the painted murals of the God of Hope, priests and nuns moved back and forth among them, offering aid. Everything appeared orderly and well managed.

“Nicely handled.”

The Crown Prince gave his approval. After spending so long in the Western District, it was rare for him to show even a hint of a pleasant expression.

Kieran beckoned a priest over and instructed him to take the injured knights away for treatment and rest. Then he looked at the Crown Prince and the Saintess.

“Your Highnesses, please follow me. I imagine you must have many questions for me.”

Sykes and Ye Zheng exchanged a glance.

In the deep, immaculate white corridor, the bishop in white robes walked ahead with a smile. “Oh, right. There’s also a young friend here. You might even know him.”

Kieran stopped before a tightly shut door and pushed it open.

“His name is Pei Xi. Do you know him?”

Pei Xi was inside the room. He was staring at the magnificent mural on the wall, looking dazed, his hand unconsciously reaching up to touch it.

How strange. The mural gave him an odd sense of familiarity. Was it because paintings praising the God of Hope all shared similar themes and techniques?

Creak—

The old door scraped against the floor with a harsh sound. As if burned, Pei Xi quickly withdrew his hand and turned toward the doorway.

Then he saw two people who stirred extremely complicated emotions within him.

Pei Xi first glanced at Sykes. The Crown Prince was as arrogant as ever. He restrained his expression and shifted his gaze to the youth standing beside him.

Today she was not wearing the Saintess’s signature long dress, but a neat, fitted set of trousers. The harmless gentleness was gone, replaced by a trace of sharpness.

At that moment, the gentle yet cunning Zhao Mei and the noble Saintess of his admiration completely overlapped into one person.

Ye Zheng.

Ever since she had cast aside Zhao mei’s disguise and raised the divine sword atop the Black Dragon’s corpse, this was the first time Pei Xi had seen her again.

He could not describe their relationship. Once, he had naively believed they were friends. And now… enemies? No, that did not seem quite right either.

The only thing Pei Xi was certain of was that he and Ye Zheng could never be friends again.