Chapter 49

 Ye Fanjing stared at his daughter’s departing figure, suddenly wondering why she had chosen to go out now. The ability tournament had been paused due to the incident, and the entire upper district was uneasy.

It was probably related to church activities. His daughter was quite enthusiastic in her role as saintess.

Returning home late the previous night after heavy drinking, Ye Fanjing still felt a dull ache in his head. He had originally planned to network that morning, but after hearing his daughter’s promise, he relaxed instead.

Who could be more effective than the crown prince or the prime minister? Seeking them out directly would only earn him cold shoulders.

The middle-aged man’s face, though slightly puffy, looked unusually spirited. He pressed his throbbing temple, unsure whether it was the hangover or overexcitement.

He felt as though fate was favoring him once again, just as it had on the night his brother drowned.

Ye Zheng had the butler prepare a vehicle. Sitting inside, she leisurely admired the pleasant morning scenery of the upper district.

Beneath the prosperous and warm facade, the empire’s power structure surged with undercurrents. If those high-status children returned safely, just many officials connected to the tournament would be demoted. If all perished, a major reshuffle would follow.

Countless people eyed the chance to rise.

Ye Fanjing’s “clever” plan was obvious. His competitiveness was weak. But as his daughter, she would fulfill his wish. After fulfilling it, how long could a mediocre man hold such a position?

A greater storm would soon drag him into the abyss. Ye Zheng laughed softly. She already knew the answer. Even if others stirred no waves, Ye Zheng was confident in her own ability to cause trouble.

The girl lightly propped her chin on her hand, her cold, clear pupils reflecting the scenery retreating outside the window.

As for Ye Di, let him be assigned to guard the Crown Prince’s hunting grounds.

With the Crown Prince absent, the aberrant beasts there had grown unusually restless. Ye Di’s ability was well suited to suppressing violent monsters. She was curious whether the strength he always boasted about would allow him to preserve his dignity in front of those beasts.

Even if Ye Di wished to retreat later, she would firmly pin this younger brother down in the hunting grounds. In this way, readers would naturally assume that Zhao Mei and Ye Zheng were siblings, which would neatly explain their similar abilities and appearances.

For this reason, before her identity was exposed, Ye Di was no longer suitable to appear in the manga.

Ye Zheng caught a faint reflection of herself in the car window. Suddenly, she recalled a familiar face. The smile at the corner of her lips faded slightly. She had arranged paths for her father and her brother, yet she had never known how to arrange one for herself.

The car came to a stop in front of the church. Ye Zheng gathered her long hair over her chest, lifted her skirt, and stepped down.

The pure white hem of her dress disappeared into the sacred church doors. The Ye family’s driver knew he would need to return that night to pick up the young lady, yet he did not mind waiting. He sincerely admired her devotion. She had only just returned home, yet she was already plunging back into church duties. If he possessed such status, who would still be willing to work?

Ye Zheng smiled and greeted the other clergy. Apart from praying to the God of Hope, the saintess occasionally handled paperwork as well.

She quickly finished the leftover tasks from before the tournament, naturally bade her colleagues farewell, left the grand cathedral, and boarded another car.

✧✧✧✧✧

In the lower district, rain fell without end.

The lingering, blood-colored aberrant realm glowed ominously beneath the gloomy sky. People feared it deeply, and the streets were nearly deserted.

Black leather boots stepped through shallow puddles. Above them were neatly tailored black clothes and trousers that outlined a slender and elegant figure. A low black umbrella concealed most of the girl’s face, revealing only pale lips and a fair chin.

In a world drowned in water, Ye Zheng required no eyes to move unerringly. Wende followed behind her, dressed entirely in black. Her tall frame was cloaked, and she carried no umbrella. Her steps were steady and unhurried.

Patter. Patter.

Somewhere nearby, chaotic footsteps splashed through water, disrupting the flow along the ground. The subtle disturbance went unnoticed by ordinary people.

Ye Zheng raised her black umbrella, revealing a fair face that appeared strikingly pale in the dim streets. Her pale lips parted.

“Found her.”

The girl’s voice fell as cold as the fine rain.

“Damn it!”

Rain lashed down relentlessly, yet the agile man paid it no mind. He crouched atop the eaves, hawk-sharp eyes fixed on the panicked woman fleeing through the alley. He cursed under his breath, growing impatient.

The woman looked utterly ordinary and weak. Her movements were clumsy and chaotic, yet she somehow avoided his attacks every time. No wonder the Pope had personally dispatched them.

He released another flying knife. The fleeing woman seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, dodging again in a flustered manner. The man on the eaves remained unhurried. He had already driven her into this alley. His partner should have sealed off the other end by now.

In the next moment, the desperate woman collided headlong into a black-clad embrace.

The man relaxed. Then his eyes widened abruptly as he stared at the figure standing at the mouth of the alley.

That was not his partner.

His throat bobbed. A shout nearly escaped, but the thick smell of blood flooded his mouth first.

He spat out a mouthful of blood and looked down. At some point unknown to him, a white, blade-like object had pierced straight through his chest.

The man tried to turn his head to see his killer. His body swayed, his footing slipped, and he fell from the eaves.

As his body crashed down, his eyes were wide open in death. He had no chance to see who had killed him, yet he clearly saw the black-clad figure standing at the end of the alley.

Somehow, the figure felt familiar.

His fading thoughts struggled to focus. A fair and beautiful face, long black hair, eyes that appeared gentle and compassionate.

The black-clad figure approached and crouched down of her own accord. The familiar face became clearer.

No… no way…

Realizing who she was, the man’s eyes bulged in violent agitation. His body twitched like a dying fish. The name hovered at the edge of his lips, but he never had the chance to speak it.

Ye Zheng examined the dead man’s face, her gaze careful and calm.

“Not church personnel.”

“Most likely hounds raised privately by the Pope.”

Wende leapt down from the eaves, retracting the bone thorn from her hand. She frowned at the young woman cowering in the corner.

“My lady, how should we deal with her?”

Wende did not know who this woman was, nor why both the Pope and the saintess were searching for her. However, since the saintess had chosen not to explain, she would not pry. As the saintess’s knight, she was accustomed to her young lady’s mysterious way of doing things.

Ye Zheng turned her gaze toward the trembling woman in the corner. That terrified expression was identical to the one she had worn when she was parasitized by the egg inside the realm.

“Our last farewell was rushed. What is your name?”

The young woman’s pupils trembled. It was unclear whether she had yet to recover from the frantic chase or whether she was frightened by the softly speaking girl before her.

She remembered this face.

This girl had told her that there was a way to save her from that horrifying insect body. She had even pointed out an escape route and told her to ride the beast away.

The young woman’s pale lips moved as she prepared to speak. Her vision suddenly darkened, and she lost consciousness. Ye Zheng withdrew her hand from the woman’s nape and handed her over to Wende.

“I can sense it. There seem to be more of his people nearby. We should withdraw.”

The Pope was paranoid by nature. Even though she had deliberately misled him before and allowed the woman to heteromorphize into a monster that was then killed by his men, he still sent many people to search the lower district.

This only proved how important this woman was to him. Or rather, how irreplaceable the dragon bone fragment inside her body was.

It was a pity that he could never guess that the dragon bone inside the woman now belonged to her.

“Should we take her to that place?” Wende asked.

By that, she meant their small base in the lower district. Ye Zheng gave a soft response. There was no other place suitable to hide the woman.

This woman carried secrets about the Pope and the dragon bone. She had to uncover them.

Wende was silent for a moment before speaking again, taking the initiative. “If my lady intends to hide her for a long time, we will likely need someone to watch over her.”

“Wen Xin’s home is not far.”

Ye Zheng paused, recalling the talented yet timid woman who constantly belittled herself. She had arranged for Wen Xin to write the article that led to her husband’s death according to plan. She wondered whether Wen Xin was happier now that she was alone.

She looked at Wende and shook her head.

“It is too risky. I cannot drag her into this without her consent.”

The usually taciturn knight suddenly chuckled, her eyes holding a trace of indulgence befitting an elder sister.

“How do you know it would be without consent? Perhaps she would be willing.”

“Wen Xin is my sister. I think she would be happy.”

Ye Zheng hesitated only briefly. Sensing movement approaching, she made a swift decision.

“Then we will go to Wen Xin first.”

Wende hoisted the unconscious woman onto her shoulder. The two of them moved swiftly through the tangled, narrow streets. Ye Zheng sensed the surrounding area through the flow of water along the ground, perfectly avoiding suspicious figures.

Ye Zheng found herself thinking distractedly that it was surprising for Wende to proactively mention Wen Xin. The relationship between the sisters had always seemed distant.

Even back then, when Ye Zheng suggested finding a talented and tight-lipped person in the lower district, Wende had remained silent for a long time before mentioning her sister. Only then had Ye Zheng learned that Wende even had one.

Yet after meeting Wen Xin, Ye Zheng quickly understood why the sisters were distant.

They shared the same blood but had entirely opposite personalities. Wen Xin had obediently entered a worldly marriage. Wende had silently chosen a path that Wen Xin could never understand.

Ye Zheng still remembered a private conversation she had with Wen Xin at the time. Wen Xin’s voice had been fearful and timid. She said she was willing to serve, only hoping that the saintess could help her sister find a good marriage, rather than living like a man. This world would never truly protect her if she did.

Lost in thought, the two arrived at a familiar door. Wende knocked while carrying the woman.

Wen Xin, dressed in a faded blue dress, opened the door in surprise and hurriedly welcomed the two, no, three guests inside.

Ye Zheng had only just taken a seat when Wende bluntly said, “Wen Xin, we want to hide someone here. Church people are pursuing her.”

The woman with her hair tied in a low ponytail brought over tea. Upon hearing this, her hand shook, and the teapot rattled. Ye Zheng initially thought that the mention of the church had frightened her. However, when she saw Wen Xin’s suddenly bright eyes, she knew Wende had been right.

“R-Really? You are entrusting this to me? The saintess trusts me so much. I thought I was useless now.”

Wen Xin set down the tea set and sat awkwardly, yet she did not shrink back as she once had.

Ye Zheng observed the house and Wen Xin herself. Both were far neater than before. Sure enough, the woman was better off without that man.

“After that incident, I read every article published under your name. You are now a popular writer. You lack no reader, including one like me.”

Ye Zheng teased her with a smile.

Wen Xin shook her head seriously.

“The saintess is different.”

She was deeply grateful for the choice Ye Zheng had given her back then.

After her husband died in prison because of that article, many people in the area mourned him as a hero. Wen Xin was surprised by her own cold-bloodedness. She felt no sorrow at his death, only relief.

Seeing people mourn him made her feel nauseous. He had no heroic qualities. He only beat his wife. He had no talent. He only plagiarized his wife’s work.

Driven by indignation, Wen Xin began writing under her own name. Magazines that usually refused female submissions made an exception for her, labeling her as the “hero’s widow.” His so-called sacrifice became a hot topic in the lower district, and magazines competed for the gimmick.

At first, she used mourning her husband as a pretext to get her work accepted. Later, as her reputation grew and she formed stable relationships with editors, she began publishing a variety of pieces. She praised the Cloud Soarers, recorded the saintess’s deeds, and subtly critiqued reality.

Gradually, people saw Wen Xin’s talent beyond the identity of a widow. Yet she felt it was still not enough.

She was already living a life she had never imagined possible, yet she greedily wanted more.

Even a mediocre and vile husband could be memorialized as a hero. In order to gain acceptance, she had once pinched her nose and praised him. If that was the case, why could she not become someone greater, more celebrated?

Wen Xin stopped twisting the hem of her skirt. She sat up straight and solemnly met the saintess’s probing gaze.

“Saintess, please trust me. I will not waste the opportunity you gave me.”

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Authors Note

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Zheng hides too much and therefore acts like a lone wolf. However, she will gradually form connections with others, coming to understand and help them more.