Chapter 24 Chapter 24 "Carry you over——"...
"No thanks," Ian said calmly, "I'm leaving tonight."
Su Cheng felt a little regretful.
But she was also more certain that the other party was not the God of Lust in disguise—
She really hadn't completely dispelled her doubts until now, because the guy in front of her was so handsome.
After traveling through time, she met beauties one after another. Her threshold had been raised severely, but she was still stunned by them.
Is this really a coincidence?
Moreover, the God of Lust is also proficient in magic, so it is definitely more than enough for him to teach a novice like her.
As for that sacred art, it's not like there aren't other magics that can disguise themselves as having similar effects.
The God of Purity arrived quickly before because they were in his temple. Now that they have moved to another place, who knows if they will come quickly?
But if it really is that person, he would definitely accept such an invitation, right?
Su Cheng felt more relaxed as he thought about it. "Then maybe we'll meet again in the Holy City... or the Imperial Capital?"
Ian was noncommittal, "Maybe."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Su Cheng wanted to follow, but as soon as he lifted his leg, he felt dizzy and had to hold on to the bookcase to keep his balance.
She didn't want to fall to the ground, so she had no choice but to sit back at the table. Just then, the priest who had delivered the meal came over to collect the tableware and was a little surprised to see her.
"Are you okay?" the man asked as he cleared the cups and plates. "Did you touch any cursed books?"
Su Cheng was stunned. "There are books like that in this place?"
She had thought that the Vatican would classify such books as heretical.
"Of course," he said matter-of-factly. "Some scholars leave notes that require a specific method to read—"
Before he finished speaking, the man suddenly turned his head to look, then bowed, stepped back a few steps respectfully, and made way.
The archbishop approached in a gorgeous uniform, his epaulettes and seal chain gleaming in the light.
His emerald eyes fell on the girl at the table, and his gaze seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Sir," Su Cheng quickly stood up, "I also want to thank you. The trainer is very experienced and very..."
She noticed the surprise that flashed across the other person's eyes, and couldn't help but look down at herself, only then realizing that her clothes were a little strange.
"It was an accident. I spilled some juice and he generously lent me his clothes."
Su Cheng immediately explained, "Oh, I forgot to ask. He just said he was leaving Jinbo City tonight. So if I want to return the coat to him, where should I go to find him?"
archbishop:"……"
He stared at her with those beautiful green eyes, as if trying to understand it all.
Su Cheng's heart skipped a beat. "Why aren't you talking? Could he really be the god of lust?"
"What?" Zhan En showed a rare moment of loss of composure. "No, no, it was indeed me who told him about your situation, and he thought he could give you some advice."
Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."
The Archbishop looked at her as if he were observing some magical creature. "Why do you have such thoughts?"
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment, "I just haven't recovered yet. I'm afraid that guy will come looking for me again, so I'm suspicious of beautiful men now. In fact, when I see you, I even suspect that he's pretending to be you."
The archbishop seemed a little speechless, and finally sighed softly, "No, of course not. Please don't say that again, and thank you for the compliment."
As Zhan En said this, a look of hesitation appeared on his handsome face again, as if he had something to hide.
"May I ask you one more question," the Archbishop whispered. "Of course, you don't have to answer."
Su Cheng blinked, "What do you say?"
"What advice did he give you regarding your mental training?"
"ah?"
Su Cheng really didn't expect him to ask this. He thought he was going to mention something about gods and was thinking about how to make up a lie. Hearing this, he simply told him the truth.
The blond and blue-eyed young man nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction in his eyes, just like a fan who got an autographed photo of his idol.
"I understand," the archbishop said solemnly. "Thank you."
Su Cheng: “???”
She always felt that something was wrong, but even though the headache was gone, she was in a state of mental exhaustion and instinctively didn't want to think too much.
The archbishop also handed over several books, all of which were records of the deeds of various people favored by God within the Vatican - of course, they were all stories from thousands of years ago.
Su Cheng was still extremely happy.
As a magician, I had read quite a lot, but my understanding of the God-favored Ones was only conceptual, and I had no way of finding more information.
Because this kind of information is not available to ordinary people.
The number of those favored by the gods is small, and many of the contents involving gods are difficult to record. Even if they are written in books, such classics are often not passed on to outsiders.
If it were residents of some small places, they might not have even heard of the term "God's Favored Ones".
Su Cheng hugged the books tightly, thanked them repeatedly, and asked casually, "Regarding the Favored Ones of the Temple of Law—"
She had already used the power of the God of Contract and had mastered at least one way to trigger it, but she had no idea about the other main god.
The Archbishop pondered for a moment. "As far as I know, the Imperial Minister of Justice, Seraphina Batten, and the Supreme Judge of the Scarlet Sun Empire, Wei Hou, are both followers of His Highness the God of Law. A considerable number of His Highness the God of Law's followers are engaged in related work. They always put the law first and are not swayed by personal feelings or interests..."
The Silver Moon Empire is the largest country in the Northern Continent, and the Red Sun Empire is located in the chaotic Southern Continent. The beliefs there are not unified, and the believers of the Dark God also carry out activities openly.
For thousands of years, the southern continent has been plagued by sectarian disputes, with wars raging from border towns to the royal court. There are many battles that people can see, but even more that they cannot see.
The factions of the gods' followers and followers also mixed in with the upper echelons of the empire and started a huge fight.
"...Seraphina was once a judge. His Highness the God of Law appeared to her during certain major cases," Zhan En said softly. "In one of the most famous cases, the defendant, who according to the law deserved the death penalty, was a person favored by the gods. She used the power of another god in court, but ultimately could not escape punishment. His Highness the God of Law personally killed her."
Su Cheng pondered for a moment. "By the way, Your Excellency the Archbishop, could you please not publicize my identity as a God-favored One? It's okay if you need to report work or something, just say it. Everyone at Nanhe College knows about it anyway. This matter can't be completely concealed, but just don't let everyone know."
Zhan En nodded slightly. "Don't worry, we have rules. This is also the promise made by His Majesty the God of Light to the Lords of the Allied Gods. The Church will never casually disclose or spread the identities of any God's Favored Ones. In addition, I don't think you need to worry about those people. They certainly don't want others to know that they have offended the God's Favored Ones, especially those favored by the God of Contract and the God of Law. Well, this may cause their status in the circle to plummet, and even make them deserted by their friends and relatives——"
Su Cheng nodded: "So they won't tell everyone about me. At most, they will tell important family members so that those people won't offend me."
The Archbishop smiled at her.
Su Cheng always felt that he treated her a little differently, as if she had suddenly unlocked some important node, and they went from being polite strangers to friends.
When we left the temple, it was completely dark outside. The night breeze was blowing gently, making the evening a little cooler.
"...It's really getting colder," Su Cheng wrapped his coat tightly around himself. "No need to send me off any further, sir. Just stop here."
This time they went through the side door and did not pass through the square as before, but she still saw her uncle's carriage from a distance.
I think someone must have informed Lin Zhen, so he was waiting here on purpose.
Zhan En had been walking with her out of the house, and did not stop when he heard the words, but only said that he would take her to the car.
"Your Excellency the Archbishop?!"
As a mid-level warrior, Lin Zhen had good eyesight and had already seen his niece and the blond young man walking side by side.
He greeted her with a big smile on his face and showered her with compliments.
The archbishop was still gentle and kind, and politely addressed him as President Lin.
Lin Zhen recognized the bishop's clothes and badges, and could naturally distinguish his higher-level identity. He was so happy that he was grinning from ear to ear.
They were all experienced people, and they exchanged pleasantries with each other. Su Cheng listened with great interest, but the more he listened, the less he understood.
She suspected that her brain had not recovered yet.
I got on the carriage in a daze, and when I looked up, I saw my uncle's face was complicated, and his eyes were fixed on my coat.
Su Cheng silently took off the clothes and held them, then asked them what they were talking about just now.
Lin Zhen glanced at her and said, "I'm talking about the Chamber of Commerce. There's been some pagan activity on the border lately, and some banned magical materials have entered the market. The people in the Vatican are afraid that they may be associated with evil forces, so they've basically taken them away..."
Su Cheng was stunned for a moment, "Is there some kind of gel?"
Lin Zhen was very surprised. "You knew that too? Did he tell you?"
"Uh, that's my—" Su Cheng swallowed the captain's words that were about to come out of his mouth. "My friends outside told me that they heard that many things in the underground streets are out of stock. They heard that the mages in the city defense army can't get them even if they want them. The people from the Church have been holding them back."
"That's it," Lin Zhen hesitated, as if wanting to ask her about her friends, but didn't dare to ask any more. "Those people are putting pressure on the Chamber of Commerce. His Excellency the Archbishop is saying that once the materials are proven to be flawless, they won't hold on to them forever. He just wants me to be assured and pass on a message to the garrison."
Su Cheng frowned. "The magicians in the army are putting pressure on you? Shouldn't we contact the Magic Resources Control Department of the City Defense Command? They're responsible for purchasing materials for the magicians in the army, right?"
Lin Zhen shook his head. "The Chamber of Commerce has always had some dealings with them. For example, our transport team has always been able to use the Imperial Post Road thanks to the passes issued by the Administration Department. We also have priority purchasing rights for some goods, which we obtained by using the government's banner. On the other hand... well, we have to work for them too. Some things may not be able to be released once they fall into the hands of the Holy See, especially magical materials from the Southern Continent. Six out of ten types can be judged to be tainted with heresy. Once the Holy See purifies them, their effectiveness will be greatly reduced before they are released."
Although he said this, there was not much worry on his face, because now that he had gotten close to the archbishop, things were different.
"Chengcheng," Lin Zhen looked at his niece and couldn't help laughing again, "That archbishop has a very important background, and he's not even married yet!"
Su Cheng thought he was going to talk about something serious, but suddenly his face was filled with black lines, "Uncle——" "You are going to do great things. If you have a husband like this," Lin Zhen said seriously, "you will be more popular in the upper circles of the empire in the future. Relations with the Holy See are hard to come by. Look at those powerful people. They either come from families with generations of nobility or have husbands and wives who can lend them power. Why do you think your parents are willing to arrange a marriage for you? Isn't it because they think the Murong family is aristocratic, and..."
"Wait," Su Cheng was frustrated. "When did I become someone who wanted to blend into the imperial bureaucracy?"
Lin Zhen sighed, "Even if it's not, hey, you're still young, and there's no rush for these things, but you have to be aware that if you hadn't become a divinely favored person, I wouldn't agree with you canceling the marriage."
Su Cheng also sighed, "The reason you agree now is only because you think I can find someone better."
The group of people around Murong Yue also thought so.
So they supported him in breaking off the engagement before, but now they probably regret it.
never mind.
Su Cheng really didn't want to say more to them, whether he didn't want to get married or whether marriage at least required mutual love.
They obviously all feel that interests are more important than this.
"Don't bother with this anymore," Su Cheng whispered, "I don't want to be bound by the shackles of marriage."
"What are you afraid of?" Lin Zhen said without hesitation: "You are a person favored by God, who can care about you having a lover? Look at those nobles in the imperial capital——"
After saying that, he stopped again.
He wanted his niece to be in love with the archbishop.
Those people in the Holy See are not easy to deal with, especially when they are in this position.
I have never heard of any archbishop's wife or husband daring to keep a bunch of mistresses, even if the other party is in a high position of power.
Although most of the high-ranking officials in the Vatican are single, similar cases are rare.
"Forget it, I won't say anything more," Lin Zhen said helplessly, "We don't have such rules in our family, and I haven't asked about your cousin's marriage..."
He was talking about his own son and daughter, who had studied in different colleges before. After graduation, they both worked in the local area and rarely returned to Jinpo City.
The carriage returned to the Lin family mansion. As soon as the two entered the door, a group of relatives surrounded them in the yard.
Brothers and sisters of the same generation, uncles and aunts of the older generation, etc., all had smiles on their faces, holding various gifts in their arms and hands.
Su Cheng was surrounded by them, and her ears were filled with a lot of congratulations and blessings. The relatives who looked down on her on weekdays now looked more fawning than each other.
"I knew Chengcheng would be a great person in the future—"
"...The Murong family is not worthy of our good child!"
"It was your third sister who was wrong before. She was still young, so just forgive her..."
"When you arrive in the imperial capital, don't forget us. Your fourth brother will soon reach the second level. If there is a noble lady who is willing to marry him, in fact, my wife can also..."
"Alright, alright," Su Cheng was dizzy from the noise. "I released magic with others in the temple and now I need to rest."
Everyone showed awe again.
Everyone knows that there is no shortage of magicians in the Holy See. When they heard this, they just thought it was some secret technique that only those favored by God could use.
Su Cheng quickly slipped back to his own courtyard, locked the door, changed his clothes, and collapsed on the bed.
So much happened that day.
She didn't dare to rest even when she was lying down, desperately recalling various plots of the original novel in her mind -
After all, some information can save lives at critical moments, such as the young earl who was killed by the oath.
As she thought about it, she sat up again.
In the original novel, the God of Light seemed to have disguised himself as an injured blind girl, and even lied that he was only fourteen years old.
He also acted as a pure, innocent, and untainted person.
When Lin Yun met her, she seemed to be being chased by a group of bandits. Of course, all this was fake, but Lin Yun saved her.
She was naturally beautiful, and Lin Yun saved her not just out of kindness, but mainly to use this opportunity to create something between them.
As the protagonist of an R-rated pornographic novel, Lin Yun's sexual fetishes are naturally very wide-ranging.
From widows, wives, mothers to underage children, and possibly even some men - when he was almost raped, the male villains mocked him for being "excited too."
But no matter what, it seems that nothing happened between the God of Light and him. Instead, he used Lin Yun to do some things, which caused some readers to be quite dissatisfied.
Su Cheng thought that if he were to become the protagonist, a similar script might appear.
Perhaps we should be wary of the trap of weak and beautiful little boys.
Although she didn't like that originally.
Moreover, having seen various cases of pig-killing scams, imprisonment scams, and serial fraud in modern times, she is quite wary of such things.
Thinking of this, Su Cheng felt a lot more at ease and fell asleep in a daze.
When she woke up, the garden outside the window was bathed in rosy glow, the sky was covered with orange-red clouds, and a gust of hot wind blew open the drooping curtains.
Su Cheng yawned and sat up, only to realize that he had slept until dusk the next day.
She simply leaned on the bed and read. She first flipped through several books and found that they were all about the origins and experiences of various people favored by the gods.
These books are somewhat similar to biographies, and they all tell the stories of ancient people from thousands of years ago, who are now either dead or have gone to the realm of gods.
Most of them are the favored ones of the Seven Gods of Glory. They have different ages and backgrounds, the youngest is in the single digits, and the oldest is a grandmother before being chosen by the gods.
There were all kinds of people, including farmers, merchants, craftsmen, teachers, singers, etc., and a small number of them were nobles or slaves.
——The reason why it is a small part is that in these countries, ordinary citizens are the majority after all, so most of the people favored by God are ordinary people.
To be honest, since these are all the followers of the Seven Gods of Glory, and there are no followers of the God of Contract and the God of Law, they may not be of much reference value at first glance.
But Su Cheng was still reading with great interest until there was a knock on the door.
She casually combed her hair and walked over. She originally thought it was her cheap uncle, but when she opened the door, she was met with a pair of beautiful crimson eyes.
The silver-haired young man looked at her with a smile.
"Hello, dear."
Su Cheng looked at him in shock, "Sasha? You can't come to my house like this--"
"I knocked," the vampire said aggrievedly, "Besides, your pajamas are cute."
"I'm talking about the yard," Su Cheng said with a blank expression, casually tugging at her thin skirt. "Thank you. If you like, I'll ask the tailor to make you one too."
Sasha tilted her head and looked at her. "I don't really wear skirts, but if you ask me, I can consider it."
Su Cheng: "...I beg you to get out."
He laughed, "That won't work. You need to come to the Mercenary Guild."
"Now?" Su Cheng subconsciously wanted to refuse: "I want to read a book!"
"Come on, Camus has prepared the suppressing potion," Sasha held her wrist, "I can also carry you over -"
His fingers were as cold as ice.
Su Cheng gasped and exclaimed, "What the hell do you mean by 'also'?"
"Hmm?" The silver-haired young man blinked, "Hasn't the captain played this with you before?"
"We're not playing, it's an emergency, and how would you know? Forget it, I'm going to go back and change, you wait a minute!"
Just as Su Cheng was about to turn around, he was held down by him again.
The silver-haired young man leaned in closer, his crimson eyes burning with fire. "I was just about to say that you have a strange aura. Of course, most people who come out of the temple will have this aura, but you are different from them."
Su Cheng was stunned. "I thought you vampires didn't hate—"
Is this referring to the God of Lust?
She and he did that kind of thing in the temple, and even if she wasn't there in person, she couldn't avoid being contaminated by it.
The God of Lust is a demigod appointed by the God of Darkness. Their powers are of the same origin. Even if the vampires are not dark descendants like the demons, they shouldn't be very annoying, right?
Otherwise, there wouldn't be some stereotypes like vampires are all lackeys of the Dark God, although this is not the case.
"What?" Sasha raised an eyebrow slightly. "Don't you hate that invisible liar, that gilded tyrant, our supreme God of Light?"
Su Cheng: “?”
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