Chapter 106

Ye Zheng maintained an unshaken, indifferent expression.

Yet inwardly, she was startled by the excessive intensity of Kieran's reaction. She had used the dragon bone buried within her body to imply that she, too, was part of the experiment, making him believe she was an insider dispatched by the church. In truth, this fabricated identity could easily be exposed, especially before someone like Kieran, who was known for his intelligence and swift reasoning.

However, the moment she revealed this identity, Kieran immediately altered his attitude. Not only did he accept it without hesitation, but he even displayed something bordering on fanaticism, as though he'd witnessed a god descending upon the mortal world.

【Stream】 was repairing the deep wound on her palm while remaining vigilant of every movement from the person opposite her.

Whenever Ye Zheng stared intently at someone, her expression would unconsciously soften. At first glance, she appeared entirely approachable. But if one gazed into her eyes for too long, one would discover frozen earth sealed beneath years of relentless frost.

After Kieran calmed himself from his initial excitement, he failed to notice the chill within Ye Zheng's eyes. Instead, he drew a photograph from his inner pocket.

The man gently stroked the photo. Ye Zheng stepped closer. It was a photograph of four people.

A family of three and Kieran.

"You share a close relationship with Director Yuan's family."

Ye Zheng glanced at the photograph. Her gaze settled upon the young girl positioned in the lower right corner.

"They're a respectable family, which is why I don't understand how things devolved to this point."

Ye Zheng subtly shifted her gaze, observing the emotions of the man beside her. The sorrow and confusion Kieran displayed at that moment didn't appear fabricated.

"I've devoted most of my life to the Hope Project. After arriving in the Western District, Mr. Yuan consistently supported my work. I have no lover here. My family in the upper district doesn't know the truth of my responsibilities. They wouldn't understand me. Over time, the Yuan family became like my second home."

If those were truly his sincere words, then when he'd earlier received that information and stared at it for a long while, it was likely because he'd seen the photograph of the Yuan family of three and experienced a stir of emotion.

Ye Zheng continued listening.

"Yuan Yuan was a very ambitious child. Unfortunately, her talent wasn't sufficient. You know the experiment is extremely dangerous. The greater the girl's talent, the more stable she remains after the dragon bone is implanted."

"Unfortunately, this experiment has always been the empire's deepest secret. Girls with exceptional talent are usually from the upper district. Only a very small number of the fortunate among them are permitted to learn about this project."

As he spoke, Kieran looked at the Saintess with evident approval.

"You are a magnificent existence, willingly dedicating yourself to this noble and perilous experiment. I believe that's precisely why the God of Hope chose you rather than... them."

Ye Zheng merely smiled at those words and offered no further reply.

Of course she couldn't say more, not only because speaking further would invite mistakes. Kieran's seemingly casual remarks had already stirred violent waves within her mind.

Girls. Could this dragon bone experiment truly involve only girls? That didn't align with the information she'd previously gathered. And the "them" Kieran had mentioned carried implication. Could he be referring to Sykes and... Pei Xi?

From Kieran's standpoint, Sykes was the SSS-CLASS savior exalted by the imperial royal family. It wasn't strange that the divine sword would choose him. But Pei Xi was merely a youth from the lower district with exceptional competitive results.

Come to think of it, Kieran had just gathered her, Pei Xi, and Sykes together. That alone suggested Pei Xi held particular significance in his eyes. Given Pei Xi's status, a district bishop had no need to concern himself so deeply.

Viewed this way, Pei Xi must also be connected to the experiment.

"Ha, I've digressed."

"Yuan Yuan wished to join the church's ranks and protect people like you, but her abilities were too weak. How could I allow her to undertake something so dangerous? Her parents wouldn't have agreed either."

Ye Zheng spoke slowly. "So, you made her stronger through the experiment?"

"Only then would Mr. Yuan consent. Only then would she have the confidence to pursue her dream. I watched her grow from childhood. I couldn't bear to see her married off young, condemned to a mediocre life."

Kieran looked at Ye Zheng as though seeking affirmation. "You can understand Yuan Yuan and me, can't you? You also allowed Wen Jian to implant the dragon bone within you."

Ye Zheng's breathing deepened slightly. She felt that if she remained any longer, she truly wouldn't be able to restrain herself from crushing the man before her.

"Before Yuan Yuan participated in the experiment, did she truly understand it?"

She asked.

"The Hope Project is the empire's greatest secret. As the person in charge, I can't disclose everything, but I informed her of all the risks. That was her choice, freely made."

"... Two final questions. How exactly did Yuan Yuan die? And what does Zhou Yun intend to do?"

At the mention of Yuan Yuan's death, Kieran returned the photograph to his pocket and turned his face away from the Saintess's gaze.

"Yuan Yuan lost control of her abilities during a rescue mission within an Aberrant Realm. The people beside her had no choice but to kill her... As for Zhou Yun, driven mad by Yuan Yuan's death, she seeks to destroy everything."

The scope of the word "everything" was vast. Did Zhou Yun wish to destroy the Hope Project, the Western District, or the entire empire?

Ye Zheng recalled the woman who had brought annihilation. She realized she needed to negotiate with Zhou Yun once more.

Even if he believed her fabricated explanation, Kieran wasn't honest. The man was absurd to the point of ridicule because he'd even deceived himself.

Ye Zheng decided to return and rest. She placed her hand upon the doorknob, then as though recalling something, turned to look once more at Kieran inside the room.

The white-robed man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, thoughtfully gazing at the darkened window. The dim light softened his outline. If he appeared in a manga, with his appearance and eloquence, he likely wouldn't lack popularity.

"Kieran, Yuan Yuan didn't die because she admired me."

"She died because she believed in you."

Ye Zheng withdrew her cold, mocking gaze, turned, and left. The door closed behind her.

Kieran's figure trembled within the room. He stiffly turned his head, staring at the tightly shut door.

✧✧✧✧✧

The following morning.

In both scale and design, this church in the Western District wasn't much inferior to the grand cathedral in the upper district. That was Ye Zheng's foremost impression after walking through it.

The nave formed the central area for receiving ordinary civilians. The side aisles connected to the transept, the altar, and the storage rooms for ceremonial objects. At the rear lay a garden, where a bell tower rose tall. Based on Ye Zheng's familiarity with church architecture, there should also be a basement.

She hadn't yet located the basement when a nun approached her, conveying that the bishop hoped she would attend a meeting in the bell tower within the rear garden.

"Only me?"

The nun shook her head. "It seems there are two other distinguished guests."

Yesterday, Ye Zheng had used the excuse of rest to send Pei Xi and Sykes away. Today, Kieran intended to gather the three of them once more.

The Saintess who possessed the divine sword as God's chosen, the SSS-CLASS savior who appeared once in five hundred years, the flawless work that truly replicated the God of Hope... Zhou Yun's words echoed again in her mind.

The nun led Ye Zheng to the back door. Upon seeing the dense fog outside, she hesitated and halted.

Ye Zheng leaned her head out to look. The slender bell tower loomed faintly within the mist. She dismissed the nun and stepped alone into the heavy fog.

"Ye Zheng?"

Through the hazy mist, Pei Xi's figure gradually became distinct as he approached.

"If you don't mind, let's walk together. It's dangerous in the fog."

He said. The Saintess gave a slight nod in silent agreement. For reasons he couldn't explain, Pei Xi released a quiet breath of relief. Even if they were no longer friends, at least they shouldn't become enemies.

He remembered the obsessive thoughts that had once consumed him. After that incident, the Saintess Ye Zheng had become a distorted nightmare lingering in his mind.

Yet after entering the Western District and seeing her in person again, he suddenly realized there was no true conflict between them.

Pei Xi pondered briefly before continuing the conversation. "Where's Sykes? Aren't you two acting together?"

Within the blurred vision, the young woman beside him finally turned her head. Her features gradually sharpened through the mist. Pei Xi heard her curious reply. "Why aren't Roy and the others with you? Your relationship with them is much closer than mine with Sykes."

A displeased voice emerged from within the thick fog.

"It seems you aren't very satisfied with the relationship between us, Saintess."

Blond hair and a crimson uniform stood out even within the mist. Ye Zheng watched as a figure of red and gold, radiating a subdued aura, approached slowly.

"No, I am entirely satisfied with this purely cooperative relationship, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

A strange expression flickered across Sykes’s face. His golden eyes swept over her. "I am likewise very satisfied with this relationship."

Ye Zheng arched a brow slightly. Judging from Sykes’s reaction, he should already be aware of the arrangement made by his imperial father.

After this matter concludes, she could find an opportunity to probe Sykes’s attitude and attempt to begin from him.

If that truly failed, she wouldn’t mind transforming the wedding so meticulously prepared by the elders into a funeral. That plan was, in fact, the one that intrigued her most. Unfortunately, with her current strength and available action points, carrying it out would still entail certain risks.

Pei Xi cleared his throat softly. He answered the Saintess’s earlier question before Sykes could arrive.

"Bishop Kieran sought me out alone, so Roy and Kyle are waiting in the room for me. Lu Qi has disappeared. We came to the Western District to search for her."

After speaking, Pei Xi subconsciously studied Ye Zheng’s expression. When she had been Zhao Mei in the Cloud Soarers team, her relationship with Lu Qi had been the closest. That emotion hadn’t seemed false.

Yet to his disappointment, Ye Zheng merely frowned, showing no further reaction to the news of Lu Qi’s disappearance.

So he fell silent. The three of them walked in silence all the way to the bell tower.

They pushed open the narrow door and squeezed into the confined space. A spiral staircase extended upward to the top of the tower. A white figure descended slowly from above.

"Good morning, children."

Kieran’s softly hued blue hair shimmered under the faint light filtering down from the tower’s summit, making him appear like an angel descending beneath a halo.

For a moment, no one responded. After yesterday’s conversation, both Pei Xi and Sykes harbored subtle misgivings toward him.

He couldn’t be simply categorized as a good person or a villain, an enemy or an ally. After Ye Zheng had pointed out his tactic of deliberately blurring the focus, the two youths had also sensed the dissonance and elusive danger that clung to him.

"Good morning. By the way, does Your Excellency have some important confidential matter that requires discussion in such a special location?"

Ye Zheng responded with courteous composure.

Kieran had already stepped down the stairs and now stood before the three of them. His eyes swept across their faces with grave scrutiny, as though appraising treasured possessions.

Without warning, the man braced one hand against the wall.

Ye Zheng’s heart jolted. She instantly sensed something was amiss.

The leaping Stream nearly bound his hand. Her body abruptly lost its support. The ground vanished beneath their feet, and the three of them plummeted through the suddenly hollow floor.

"Her target is you, so remain in a safe place."

"Even if the entire Western District is destroyed by her, preserving hope makes everything worthwhile."

The man’s unreal voice echoed from above.

The three youths crashed into a narrow, enclosed space. The four walls were pitch black and unyielding.

After climbing up from the unfamiliar floor, they faced one another in the darkness.

Even Ye Zheng, who understood Kieran deeply, hadn’t anticipated that he would imprison them for such a reason.

At the same moment, a monster taller than the clock tower landed nimbly in the back garden. Its massive body caused the earth to tremble briefly.

Its larger lower half was that of a majestic black dragon. It folded its wings and settled quietly upon the ground. Yet upon closer inspection, the uppermost portion revealed a diminutive woman’s body. Pale skin was marred by large patches of black scales. Her eyes were entirely black, devoid of any white.

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Authors Note

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You may refer to Falin from Dungeon Meshi, a human body fused with a dragon’s form.