Chapter 172

Wen Jian sat at his desk, writing documents. Each stroke pressed deep marks into the thin, fragile paper.

When he heard a knock at the door, he steadied his slightly trembling hand, set down the pen, picked up a silk headscarf, and wrapped it around most of his face before granting the person outside permission to enter.

“Your Holiness.”

The man dressed as a priest spoke with the utmost respect. “The Ability Tribunal has announced the punishment for Ye Fanjing. They’ve revoked his position as Chief Adjudicator, and he’ll face additional penalties for several old cases. The confiscation of his property and land is certain. The Ye family will likely find it extremely difficult to recover.”

Most of Wen Jian’s face was concealed beneath the white headscarf. The lips that remained visible, thinned by age, resembled withered, shriveled petals. When he smiled, none of his usual gentleness remained, only cold harshness and vicious intent.

“Good, good.” He smiled as he offered repeated praise, then asked, “Are those people still stationed outside the church?”

“Yes.”

To deal with him, Ye Zheng and Ye Fanjing had actually dug up that case from fifteen years ago. Back then, he’d accidentally killed a maid, and the matter had been settled with money paid to her parents. He’d never expected them to drag the incident back into the light, let alone use their connections to mobilize the upper district court in an attempt to arrest and try him.

He wasn’t as incompetent as Ye Fanjing. The church’s knight order was under his direct command. From priests and nuns to bishops, the overwhelming majority were his people. Within the church, who would dare show disrespect to the Pope?

Those law enforcement officers would never dare to break in and arrest him. If they tried to act, he could just as easily invoke the Church Law to punish them in return.

The most troublesome part of this situation was the damage to his reputation. If those law enforcement officers hadn’t appeared, such rumors would’ve been easy to suppress.

But those people had stood like wooden stakes at the entrance of the grand cathedral, turning suspicion into something solid in the eyes of the public.

Wen Jian didn’t care about the opinions of commoners. To ascend to the Pope’s throne at such a young age, he’d relied heavily on the support of the great nobles. However, things had developed to this stage, and he could already sense that those old figures were beginning to waver.

Ye Zheng. He ground his teeth inwardly as he uttered the name. She was the one who’d incited Ye Fanjing to move against him. She couldn’t wait to drag him down from his position.

Wen Jian sat at his desk, sinking into deep thought. The man delivering the report watched him carefully, seeming hesitant about whether he should say more. Suddenly, Wen Jian picked up his pen, quickly signed the document, let out a long breath, and then set the pen back down.

Ye Zheng had indeed dealt him a heavy blow, but the price he’d forced her to pay was her entire family.

The Ye family was already infamous. Even if Ye Fanjing had a close relationship with the emperor, the emperor couldn’t go against the public outrage from the lower district just to protect him. On the contrary, sacrificing the Ye family to calm the situation was the most efficient choice the emperor could make.

If he could find Wen Xiaoxing, he’d still have plenty of time to contend with Ye Zheng. Without the protection of her family and without any real power, the Saintess would, sooner or later, be crushed beneath him.

If he failed to find Wen Xiaoxing... damn it. He should’ve never been so impatient and released a monster he hadn’t fully studied just to deal with Ye Zheng. In the past, he could easily sever the life link with his creations, but Wen Xiaoxing was something truly demonic. It even made Wen Jian begin to question whether he had actually created him at all.

If he still couldn’t find Wen Xiaoxing, he feared he wouldn’t be able to personally bring Ye Zheng down before his death.

But it didn’t matter. He had already decided on the candidate for the next Pope, a young man with both ability and background. As for Ye Zheng, she could forget about climbing any higher. Let her sink to the very bottom forever alongside the sinking ship that was the Ye family. This was the price she’d pay for overstepping her bounds!

Wen Jian rose from his chair. Slightly hunched, he made his way toward the door. He would personally issue the Pope’s order to drive away those reckless law enforcement officers waiting outside the church.

The man who had been reporting hadn’t yet organized what he wanted to say next when he saw the Pope stride out at a brisk pace. He was somewhat taken aback. During this period, the Pope had been burdened by countless troubles and had looked as though he’d aged more than ten years. It had been a long time since he’d appeared this energetic.

But when he remembered the news he still hadn’t delivered, the man felt an even deeper unease. He hesitated for a moment where he stood before hurrying after him out the door.

He had just stepped into the corridor when his expression abruptly changed.

“Your Holiness!”

A group of clergy had gathered around the Pope, who had collapsed onto the ground. The man pushed through them and rushed closer. His expression turned even more horrified.

The headscarf that always covered the upper half of Wen Jian’s face had slipped off. To his shock, the Pope hadn’t merely aged by ten or so years. Deep wrinkles, dense age spots, and thinning white hair all revealed that the man before him, who should have been in the prime of his life, had suddenly aged by several decades!

When Wen Jian regained consciousness with the support of those around him, he didn’t even realize that his headscarf had fallen away. In his ears, the nuns were still discussing what had happened at Sieg Square that day.

“The Saintess said she’d ensure her father receives the punishment he deserves. She said she’d use the Ye family’s assets to compensate the victims…”

“The Saintess cut her hair to prove her resolve and instantly destroyed the Aberrant Realm that had suddenly descended. Tens of thousands were cheering…”

“No… no, Ye Zheng, how dare you…”

Wen Jian was supported by the crowd as they carried him back to the rest room. Along the way, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, sending everyone into even greater panic.

“Monster… a true monster…” he muttered indistinctly.

From the very beginning, the Ye family and Ye Fanjing had been nothing more than pieces she was prepared to discard. She had used pawns she’d long intended to abandon to deal him a devastating blow, and he had actually been foolish enough to gloat over it!

Wen Jian had always considered himself ambitious and ruthless. He had climbed his way up by stepping over countless corpses and had never once felt regret. Yet today, for the very first time, he did.

This had to be the gods punishing him, punishing this filthy world. That was why they had sent down something as terrifying and vicious as Ye Zheng!

✧✧✧✧✧

The Saintess, who was currently being called vicious by people from two different worlds, had already concluded her sermon. She struggled to break free from the crowd that surged around her with cheers and followed the Order of Sacred Conduct back to their base in the lower district.

After destroying the Aberrant Realm, she had promised the people that Ye Fanjing would receive the punishment he deserved and that the Ye family’s assets would be used to compensate the victims. This once again set off wave after wave of cheers.

Although she couldn’t influence the Ability Tribunal’s judgment on Ye Fanjing, Wen Jian definitely wouldn’t let him off easily.

Upon entering the base of the Order of Sacred Conduct, Wende led her into the room that had been specially prepared for her.

The Ye family residence would likely be seized within a few days. She would give everyone a generous severance payment. Ye Fanjing would go to prison, Ye Di would stay at school, and her mother could move into the base. This was the safest place, and it was also close to her former home in the lower district.

As for herself, if everything went smoothly, she would probably have to remain at the church permanently from now on.

Ye Zheng subconsciously toyed with her newly cut short hair. She called out to Wende, who was about to leave, and asked, “By the way, Wende, was there anything unusual around the perimeter during my sermon?”

Today’s Aberrant Realm had arrived with far too much coincidence, so she couldn’t help but pay close attention to it. Although, judging from the outcome, its appearance hadn’t been a bad thing — instead, it had turned the entire sermon into a genuine legend.

But if it had happened to be an Aberrant Realm that countered her ability, then all of her efforts would’ve been completely ruined…

Wende thought it over carefully and said, “Cheng Cheng stopped a church knight who was trying to stir up chaos. After using some methods, she found out that he was acting under orders from Bishop Joseph of the church.”

Ye Zheng nodded. Bishop Joseph was one of Wen Jian’s people, so it was within her expectations that he’d send someone to cause trouble. That was why she had asked Wende to bring elite members to patrol.

“Anything else?”

“Anything else?” Wende furrowed her brows, then suddenly let out a soft “Ah.” “Miss Bai Muqing also came, along with Wu Shu and that blue-eyed boy. They all took action when the Aberrant Realm appeared. If we’re talking about anything unusual…”

“After the Aberrant Realm disappeared, Miss Bai Muqing left in a great hurry toward a certain direction. I don’t know what it was about.”

Ye Zheng recalled Bai Muqing’s current identity as a royal knight. She might’ve received some kind of mission. Still, she quietly noted this small anomaly in her mind.

“You’ve worked hard, Wende. Tell everyone to get some proper rest.”

After sending Wende away, the smile on Ye Zheng’s face gradually faded. The fatigue she hadn’t noticed earlier suddenly surged over her. She lay down on the neatly made bed and went over everything that had happened today in her mind.

With her eyes closed, she asked, “System, how many action points do I have right now?”

『Popularity: 244,678. Remaining action points: 700.』

『Your popularity has been rising very quickly lately. You don’t have to worry about action points at all!』

“Is that so.”

She had spent 200 action points when she cut her hair, but unlike the first time she had tried to cut it, there was no warning or intense pain. There was only a sense of lightness after shedding that burden.

『Because readers no longer expect you to be a beautiful, healing-type Saintess. Appearance is now the least important part of your character setting.』

Ye Zheng unconsciously revealed a faint smile. How wonderful. It turned out that many people from another world had helped her cut away that burden together.

She didn’t believe in fate, but today’s miraculous rain-domain Aberrant Realm had stirred an interesting thought in her mind. Perhaps, in unseen depths, someone was weaving a path of freedom for her.

Ye Zheng really wanted to take out her phone and see what interesting comments the people from that other world had posted. But she was too sleepy right now. Her eyelids uncontrollably drooped shut. She’d check after she woke up.

✧✧✧✧✧

By the time Ye Zheng woke up, it was already the next morning.

Without the long hair that had once reached her ankles, Ye Zheng felt that even the quality of her sleep seemed to have improved. She no longer had to worry about pressing on her own hair and pulling at her scalp.

She still remembered that, before falling asleep, she had planned to check the manga updates and the forum. Just as she was about to take out her phone, there came a slightly urgent knock at the door.

Ye Zheng walked to the entrance. The moment she opened the door, Wende handed her a gilded letter with a serious expression.

Taking the envelope, the lazy look on Ye Zheng’s face immediately vanished.

“This was urgently sent over by Madam.”

“His Majesty the Emperor’s letter indeed can’t be neglected.”

She tore open the seal and took out the gilded letter paper. The handwriting was thick and forceful, and at the bottom of the page was a lion emblem — the symbol of the royal family.

Ye Zheng carried the letter to the window, reading it carefully under the bright morning sunlight. All traces of sleepy laziness disappeared, and her expression grew increasingly grave.

This was a personal letter from His Majesty the Emperor. In a gentle tone, he praised and commended her bravery and wisdom. He informed her of the exact time for the Ability Competition award ceremony and also mentioned the dragon bone.

【The spine of the DEMONIC DRAGON will be displayed before everyone at the ceremony. This is the reward for the champion and the champion’s district.】

“…Something feels off.”

Wu Shu turned the letter over again and again, and the unease in her heart only deepened. The dragon bone was indeed the reward she’d always dreamed of, yet as a core secret of the empire, it had never once been displayed to the public.

And this time, the emperor actually intended to exhibit the dragon bone openly during the Ability Competition award ceremony.

As this year’s champion, Wu Shu should’ve felt honored if Ye Zheng hadn’t given her that hint during the final match.

No, even without Ye Zheng’s hint, just looking at the empire’s recent turbulence, any perceptive person would know better than to stand out too much at a time like this. Especially someone like her, a commoner. Who could say whether she’d end up being used as a pawn by some powerful figure once again.

What unsettled Wu Shu even more than winning the championship was that the title itself felt scorching in her hands, so much so that she didn’t know what to do with it.