Chapter 50

 Hearing Wen Xin’s solemn words, Ye Zheng could not help but raise her finger to her lips and laugh softly.

No wonder the relationship between Wende and Wen Xin had improved recently. Wen Xin had chosen the same path as Wende.

Ye Zheng blinked, feeling something strange and wonderful stir in her heart. Because of her, many people had stepped onto a road filled with possibility, a road with no predetermined successor.

“Then I will entrust her to you, Wen Xin.”

There was a subtle movement beside them. Ye Zheng turned her head. The unconscious woman was stirring awake.

Wende stood up from her chair and pulled the still excited Wen Xin out, thoughtfully leaving private space for the saintess.

The young woman climbed down from the bed. When she saw the concerned girl watching her, she was startled and recoiled sharply.

“How strange. Why are you so scared every time you see me?”

Ye Zheng tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. She clearly looked approachable and kind.

“Are you this frightened when you see the Pope as well?”

Hearing the girl’s casual question, the young woman shrank back further, dragging her body away. She murmured, “P-Pope? You are Saintess Ye Zheng… the Pope’s person…”

Ye Zheng leaned forward and grabbed the trembling hand. The young woman was stunned by the sudden movement and looked up at the saintess’s face now so close.

“I am not the Pope’s person. I am the only one who can help you escape from him.”

“I personally risked exposure to save you. Now it is your turn to tell me who you are.”

The young woman was stunned for a long time. She slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, her voice unsteady.

“My name is Zhuo Ya. I live on West Lake City Street in the lower district…”

Zhuo Ya poured out her entire life story in almost a single breath, her words disordered and rushed. Ye Zheng did not interrupt her once and listened patiently.

“After graduating from school, I worked at a nearby factory. It processed protective gear for ability users. Then my right hand was accidentally caught in the machine, and half my arm was gone.”

Zhuo Ya’s face twitched, as though the bone-deep pain of that memory was still vivid.

“The factory said it was my own carelessness and refused compensation. The injury was severe. Ordinary doctors and low-level healers could not treat it. High-level healers were too expensive. I could not work anymore, and no one wanted to marry me.”

“Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, someone treated me.”

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze to Zhuo Ya’s flawless right arm. Not only was there no scar, but the skin was unusually fair and delicate. It looked nothing like the hand of a laborer from the lower district. It resembled the hand of a noble young lady from the upper district.

With such a level of healing, only one person came to Ye Zheng’s mind.

“That person was the Pope. He used his ability, Spring Hand, to save you.”

“It was just one year ago. The Pope held a public event in the lower district. You too attended.”

Ye Zheng immediately recalled the scene from a year ago. The Pope had held a grand event in the lower district. In order to demonstrate the mercy and love of the God of Hope, he personally led the clergy in providing free medical treatment to citizens. The city had nearly emptied that day.

Compared to the imperial family, there was far less resentment toward the church, despite its yearly bizarre land and tax levies.

Ye Zheng had been there as well. The clinic had been extremely busy, and she had paid little attention to the Pope’s actions. It was simply another operation to consolidate public sentiment and display his presence. She was well acquainted with the Pope’s methods.

Zhuo Ya nodded, recalling that day. Her expression was extremely complex.

“I thought I had witnessed a divine miracle. His hand touched my ugly stump without hesitation, and then my arm grew back like a sprouting branch.”

The legendary flesh-and-bone regenerating ability, Spring Hand. Ye Zheng had seen it many times. She had to admit that the Pope’s healing ability far surpassed her own. He was worthy of his S-Class healer status.

“Since it happened a year ago, why is he only seeking you now?” Ye Zheng asked. “And why does your body contain a top-secret dragon bone?”

Zhuo Ya lowered her head. Her fair right hand clenched the bedsheet tightly.

“Because I begged him to take me in. To repay his kindness, I said I was willing to do anything for him.”

She still remembered blurting out those words in desperation. At the time, the gentle and lofty man had revealed a faint smile. His deep brown pupils darkened slightly, making her feel timid for a brief moment.

Ye Zheng knew the crucial part was coming. She leaned forward slightly, waiting for Zhuo Ya to continue.

“He had me do some cleaning work at his private residence. It was much easier than factory labor. Because the Pope had brought me in personally, everyone treated me kindly. But sometimes, he would ask me to help him practice his ability.”

“Practice his ability?” Ye Zheng repeated.

“He used his power to heal my old injuries, large and small. I was overjoyed. I was grateful. My body felt as though it had been reborn. Then he asked me whether I wanted to become an ability user.”

“I was flattered. Ordinary people awaken at twelve. At my age, how could that be possible? I had never heard of ordinary people being turned into ability users.”

Combined with what now resided inside Zhuo Ya’s body, Ye Zheng almost instantly understood the Pope’s method.

That man, Wen Jian, had implanted a dragon bone fragment of unknown origin into Zhuo Ya. Possessing dragon bone, he naturally knew it could enhance ability users. For the sake of further experimentation, he had even begun testing it on ordinary people.

“You agreed?” Ye Zheng asked.

“I was afraid, but he was the Pope. He had helped me so much personally. I did not want to refuse.”

“And the experiment?” Ye Zheng continued.

“…It probably failed. I lost consciousness during it. When I woke up, there were no changes to my body. He ignored me for several days after that.”

Ye Zheng recalled Zhuo Ya’s abnormal regenerative ability. Perhaps it had not failed at all, only manifested too subtly.

“I thought I had disappointed him. I went to apologize on my own initiative, and I overheard something.”

“Then I ran.”

Zhuo Ya’s voice suddenly grew vague, skipping over details. Ye Zheng narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Zhuo Ya, I am not your enemy. Even if you hide the truth, the Pope will not spare you.”

As though her wound had been struck, the young woman turned her face away. From her reaction alone, Ye Zheng had already sensed something amiss. Her brows furrowed.

The Pope clearly wanted her dead. Yet Zhuo Ya spoke of him with fear, but not hatred. There was even the faintest trace of lingering attachment.

Zhuo Ya clenched her teeth. “I cannot say it. Do you know about the Pope’s Oathbinder? I overheard something and was discovered. He said that if I swore silence before the Oathbinder, he would treat me the same as before.”

Ye Zheng naturally knew of the Oathbinder, the man who stood beside the Pope and possessed a strange binding ability. It was said that anyone who spoke while the ability was activated would be bound by their words. If they later violated their oath, they would suffocate to death at any time, anywhere.

Aside from the Pope himself, no one had ever seen the Oathbinder’s face or knew his true identity. Merely knowing of his existence was enough to make people cautious around the Pope. It was rumored that he controlled many people this way.

Yet he had never used the Oathbinder on Zhuo Ya. In the Pope’s eyes, she likely held no real value worth controlling.

“But he broke his promise, did he not?” Ye Zheng said softly.

She watched Zhuo Ya’s dazed expression.

“Perhaps he thought about it for several days and decided to eliminate the threat after all. I was not worthy of his trust…”

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze, a trace of indifference passing through her eyes. Wen Jian appeared gentle on the surface, but in truth he was ruthless and paranoid. Once he discovered that she had overheard something, killing intent would have arisen immediately. He had merely delayed it for observation because of the experiment.

Ye Zheng did not emphasize the Pope’s cruelty in breaking his oath. From Zhuo Ya’s description, the Pope had sworn before the Oathbinder as well, yet broke his promise casually. This suggested flaws in the ability’s binding mechanism.

The girl’s black eyes stared directly at Zhuo Ya, making her shrink back further.

More troublesome than the Oathbinder’s death-bound oath was the Pope’s imprint and shackle on Zhuo Ya’s heart. At this moment, Ye Zheng could not fully judge the truth of Zhuo Ya’s words. She still seemed to harbor a sliver of hope toward the Pope.

Ye Zheng stood up from the bedside without another word and left the room under Zhuo Ya’s lost gaze.

Outside, Wende was standing guard. She stepped forward. “Did you get what you wanted?”

“It is a bit troublesome. Let us leave first.”

After bidding Wen Xin farewell, Ye Zheng took her umbrella and stepped once more into the narrow, chaotic alleys.

The black umbrella bloomed like a sudden rose beneath the fine rain. Ye Zheng unconsciously spun it lightly, her gaze vacant as she watched the flowing water along the ground.

“Wen Jian truly is nauseating. I feel almost sick.”

She raised the umbrella slightly, revealing a completely expressionless face.

“His people have come again. Kill them all, Wende.”

Since she had already begun, she would see it through thoroughly. She would leave no future threats behind for Wen Xin or that woman.

“Yes, my lady,” Wende replied.

Pale, slender bone thorns slipped through the strange counterflowing water like white pythons lurking in the dark. A single strike was enough to be fatal.

✧✧✧✧✧

A black-haired, blue-eyed teenager walked alone through the unmanned streets in the fine rain, his expression vacant.

Pei Xi clenched his fists. He could not pretend not to care. He could not ignore the blood-colored aberrant realm that mirrored his nightmares.

He had to go see it, even though he was powerless. These past few days, many powerful ability users had been dispatched there and vanished without a sound. With his current strength, he would likely be able to do nothing but watch helplessly, just as he had in childhood.

Amid his numb thoughts, Pei Xi suddenly looked up, his nostrils flaring slightly. There was a faint scent of blood in the air. Did it come from the nearby realm, or from somewhere else?

Sensing that something was wrong, he quickened his steps. Turning a corner, he accidentally collided with someone emerging from the alley on the left, knocking aside their umbrella.

“Sorry… Ye… Saintess?”

Pei Xi froze in shock for a moment before daring to confirm that it was Ye Zheng. The saintess he knew always wore pure white dresses and carried a gentle temperament.

Yet the person before him was dressed in neat black clothing. Her ankle-length black hair was tied into a high ponytail. Her expression was unusually cold, as though she had not yet recovered from something, much like himself.

It was the first time he had ever seen her like this. She resembled a black blade steeped in blood, her aura entirely different from the familiar saintess.

…Blood scent?

Pei Xi’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Ye Zheng.

Ye Zheng picked up her overturned umbrella. A trace of apology flashed across Pei Xi’s face. When Ye Zheng curved her lips into a helpless smile at him, it was as though the familiar saintess had returned.

“Can you keep a secret for me?” she asked.

“The church and my family do not know that I came out. But I cannot pretend not to care about that place.”

There was bitterness in Ye Zheng’s gaze as she looked toward the distant blood-colored realm. Pei Xi followed her line of sight and understood at once. He was headed there. She had guessed correctly.

Pei Xi’s heart leapt violently.

So she was the same as him.

Just like their chance meeting at the cemetery last time, fate had brought them together again in this improbable way.

He stared at Ye Zheng in silence for a moment, then nodded solemnly. Whether it was today’s unfamiliar saintess or her secret observation of the Blood Flower-like realm, this secret would belong only to them.

“Do you want to go together?” Pei Xi asked slowly, tension faintly visible on his face.

“No need. I just came from there. You should head back early as well. It is dangerous here.”

The Pope’s people had already been dealt with. Pei Xi wandering around so conspicuously would make him an easy target. Ye Zheng offered her advice sincerely.

Pei Xi’s expression relaxed slightly. No wonder there was a scent of blood on Ye Zheng. She had already been there.

“No. Just like you, I have to go.”

He bade Ye Zheng farewell with reluctance.

Ye Zheng watched his figure disappear into the rain, then turned toward the hidden Wende.

“Wait a little. Once he has fully left the area, we will go there.”

After confirming Pei Xi’s retreating silhouette, Wende nodded and silently retracted the bone thorns she had already prepared in the shadows.