Chapter 319 Sick

"..."

Fang Ke found it both ridiculous and utterly incomprehensible, and for a moment, she looked at the other person with a complicated expression, speechless.

So for the past three years, she's been dealing with Xie Xiu?

OK.

Finally, she couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and ask only three words, "Why?"

Xie Xiu, who was originally a god, went to great lengths to kill himself. Was he sick?

Indeed, from the moment I entered this world, everything around me seemed to be seriously ill.

The most apt description of this sanctimonious church and temple is "the rich feast while the poor freeze to death on the streets."

Over the past few years, she has been on missions and witnessed firsthand the true devastation and misery of the world.

In a world where the Papacy holds sway and the monarchy is merely a figurehead, a society without social order is abnormal.

It can be said that almost all wealth, medical care, and civilization were concentrated in local churches. Ordinary people could only learn to read and write by becoming apprentices of pastors in local churches.

Once, Fang Ke encountered two villages that were simultaneously struck by plague, but the priests only allowed her to save one of the villages.

The other one is said to be a person who does not believe in gods and has committed the sin of betrayal, therefore they will not be saved.

Only then could they shut up, and both villages stepped in to save them.

Fang Kecai discovered that the other village was not disrespectful to the gods, but rather that the two villages had been fighting each other for centuries.

After gaining influence and connections within the church, Village A began to make baseless accusations against Village B, alleging that Village B was extremely disrespectful to God, deliberately destroyed statues and temples, plotted to attack the church, and sought independence—a series of shocking and heinous acts.

The local church was furious. After that, the church blocked Yi Village from economic, medical and cultural development. As a result, Yi Village fell behind Yi Village by more than 20 years. It suffered from years of famine and plague, and there were even cases of cannibalism.

I've heard that every year many young boys and girls are offered to A Village in exchange for a small amount of food, but A Village uses these children to offer as sacrifices to the church...

That year, if it weren't for the natural cycle of events causing a plague in Village A, the situation in Village B would never have been reported.

The ineffectiveness of top-down governance is a problem that many regimes may face.

Leaving aside the many bad habits of the churches under the Vatican's administration, the situation in these two villages already foreshadows the cruel reality of the world.

Despite the constant fighting and shifting of beliefs, for ordinary people who have no access to real magic, life goes on as usual; it's just that they are now governed by a different "monarch."

They only have more excuses to scheme against people they hate, using any pretext to accuse their opponents without thinking. A simple "He is disrespectful to the gods" or "He insults the gods" can get someone arrested and hanged.

Fang Ke didn't explain these phenomena because she was still in hiding, but now it seems unnecessary, as she has already confronted the main god head-on.

The bishop released her hand and smiled gently.

"Why would I kill myself?" He seemed to see through Fang Ke's doubts at a glance, shook his head and said, "No, he and I are not the same person, or rather, by killing him, I am truly myself."

"...?"

"Your surprised look is quite amusing."

Fang Ke suddenly let out a disrespectful sneer, "I understand, you are his shadow, substitute, alternate personality, the unacknowledged one of the twin souls."

build:"……"

Xiu narrowed his eyes, finding her sudden change intriguing.

"Did you guess right? You have to be right about at least one of these, otherwise I really can't understand why you would kill yourself to prove your existence. Come to think of it, people usually only try to prove something when they are the least recognized."

Xiu's expression changed slightly, it was unclear whether she had been provoked by her words.

But he said, "So this is the real you, quick-witted and sharp-tongued. Didn't you feel bad pretending to be well-behaved all these years?"

Fang Ke sat up, propped the pillow against the headboard, leaned her back against it, and looked at him calmly and equally.

"Yes, Your Excellency, the situation has changed. Now let's discuss the terms."

"?" The man raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's changed?"

"In the past, I tried my best to figure out the combat system of this world. I was afraid of this world because I thought that you, a mortal, were so powerful."

"so?"

"But now I know that the combat system I fear is the pinnacle of this world... and I have already adapted to it in the past three years."

Fang Ke gave him a cold smile, "Nothing special."

Xiu's expression froze slightly, as if he disliked her saying those four words. "Philomena, are you so confident that you can defeat me?"

Fang Ke gazed into his dark eyes, "I might not be able to do it alone, but I have a god behind me..."

She tilted her head and pulled down half of her nightgown, revealing one side of her smooth neck and half of her snow-white round shoulder.

He raised his hand to smugly stroke the golden mark on her neck. "What do you think?"

Xiu and she faced off for a long time, the air thick with tension.

Especially since there were still bite marks on Fang Ke's wrist. Had she already decided to choose another one?

A surge of emotion welled up in Xiu's dark eyes. "Are you going to betray your promise to me?"

Fang Ke didn't take it to heart. "Don't put it so harshly. Didn't you insist on me being baptized, Your Excellency? I've refused countless times."

Xiu's icy gaze seemed to devour people. "Unfortunately, you have accepted my divine mandate. Even if I don't give the order, you will follow my will."

Fang Ke: "Oh, really? But yesterday God also said that he gave me divine gifts, and emphasized that it was his favoritism towards me... Your Excellency, I'm getting curious, between the two of you, whose divine gifts are stronger?"

Xiu was indeed provoked by her. He stepped forward, grabbed her collar, pulled it tightly shut, and dragged her in front of him, his eyes fierce. "What do you want me to do by provoking you? Do you want me to give you another divine gift right now?"

Fang Ke met his eyes, which were so close to hers, with a flippant expression. "So, didn't we agree to discuss some terms? You need me, sir, otherwise why would you have spent so much effort training me?"

Fang Ke took the initiative to step forward, but saw that Xiu was stunned and then subconsciously stepped back, which she found amusing.

Good grief, after pretending for so long, he's finally showing his true colors.

Did you enjoy the performance?

Next up is her.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've been waiting for me all this time, haven't you?"

"..."

"Your astrologer's prophecy actually said that I could kill God, didn't it?"

Xiu raised his eyes and remained silent.

"You sensed that I was already in this world, so you returned to the temple. After initially suspecting that it might be me, you subjected me to extreme and cruel tests, trying to increase the probability that I was the destined one step by step, right?"

While you were testing me, you brainwashed me step by step, instilling in me the profound meaning of killing a god, making me believe that this was the only thing I should fight for in my life, and gradually assimilated by you, becoming a real sword in your hand.

Even if someone fails to persevere through just one step, they won't be the person you're looking for. Their death wouldn't be a loss, so you're not worried at all, right?

Xiu crossed his arms and said after a long silence, "So what?"

Fang Ke laughed and said, "Then let's just say it directly. Right now, you need me, but I may not need you. So, bring out all your bargaining chips now."

"You're really shrewd, Philomena." The man seemed to laugh in exasperation.

"I take that as a compliment."

"With such a good idea, you must have already figured out the bargaining chips you wanted."

Fang Ke raised an eyebrow, only to see the man glance at her coldly, "Speak."

She spread her hands and said, "Fine, then I won't stand on ceremony. Give me back my energy body first."

Xiu's gaze was subtle. "You'd rather have a parasite than my divinely bestowed power?"

Fang Ke replied without blinking, "I'm afraid I'm unworthy of such a title. And to tell you the truth, sir, this energy body is my symbiotic source. Only with her can I unleash my full potential."

“Your Excellency’s important plans cannot be accomplished without this.”

Her eyes were fixed on Xiu, and her gaze was full of sincerity.

Xiu stared at her for a few seconds, then with an unfriendly expression, tossed a crystal ball into the air. Inside the transparent, crystalline crystal was a dormant ball of purple-gold energy.

He accepted it without showing any emotion in his expression.

"What else?"

Xiu was eager to hear what this woman was plotting.

"May I ask a question, sir?"

"explain."

"If you succeed in killing the god, what do you want to do, sir... or the question comes back to the beginning: why did you want to kill another version of yourself?"