Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Eavesdropping.
The surprise and confusion in the archbishop's eyes flashed away, but he quickly adjusted his mood.
"As far as I know, he has never been married," Zhan En said cautiously. "In fact, I never ask about the private affairs of other clergymen."
Su Cheng was just making up an excuse.
Although she was indeed a little curious about this question.
And that’s a pretty good answer.
"So," she continued, feigning distress, "he's probably not married, but if he's already in a relationship, you probably wouldn't know about it, right?"
The Archbishop looked at her silently for a few seconds before sighing softly, "...No."
——Maybe they have a good personal relationship?
So even if he didn't ask, he could answer this kind of question?
Su Cheng felt that this was enough, so he pretended to realize that the other party was busy. "Did you want to go out just now?"
"Yes," the blond young man glanced down at her, "Go out and see if anyone is injured. If so, I can help them."
Su Cheng: “?”
Not going back to the temple?
And is he serious?
Not to mention the archbishop, even for the bishop, it would be extremely difficult to ask them to personally treat the wounded.
Ordinary imperial nobles may not be able to do this.
This kind of thing would only happen in certain sacrificial ceremonies held by the Vatican, specifically for the purpose of showing off and blessing believers so that ordinary people can enjoy the blessings of the gods.
She finished the remaining fried potato balls in a daze and asked the boss to pack some food for her to take away.
The drunks in the hall seemed to have cooled down a bit. They were staring at the blond man in uniform and rubbing their eyes, as if they suspected they were hallucinating because they drank too much.
There were already quite a few people on the street outside. They might have felt that there had just been an earthquake, and they all looked frightened.
As soon as Su Cheng came out of the tavern, he saw some unusual figures.
There was a group of teenagers standing at the intersection ahead. Their clothes and appearance were obviously different from those of the nearby residents. She immediately recognized her ex-fiancé among them.
Su Cheng: “…”
Su Cheng turned his head and said, "What bad luck."
Although she only looked for two seconds before looking away, it was enough for the fifth-level warrior to sense it.
In the crowd at the street corner, Murong Yue turned around and happened to see a familiar profile.
The girl was holding a large bag of food wrapped in oil paper. Her fluffy curly black hair was casually tied behind her head. She was looking up and talking to the person next to her.
The tall blond young man lowered his head slightly, listening to her attentively, his emerald green eyes gentle as water.
The man was wearing a snow-white coat with a lapel and golden trim on the cuffs. Behind his back were two intertwined scepters shrouded in a circle of holy light.
Murong Yue was slightly shocked.
——Two scepters and a ring of holy light!
archbishop!
Not long ago, his classmates said they wanted to go out for a walk. Murong Yue didn't have the time to do so, but the teachers kept hinting that they hoped he and Su Cheng would reconcile.
He really didn't want to listen to their nagging and couldn't stay in the hotel, so he simply went out with his younger classmates.
Each of these people is capable and they are not afraid of being robbed even if they go to the slums. What's more, Jinpo City is the most prosperous city in the southern part of the empire, and its lower city area is not that bad yet.
Everyone dispersed and strolled around, but unexpectedly a couple said they saw Su Cheng from afar, and that she seemed to be dating a clergyman.
Yet they weren't quite sure.
Because they saw Su Cheng and the man enter a shabby restaurant on the street together.
Even though she was not a noble, she was from a wealthy family after all. How could she be willing to eat and drink in that kind of place?
Murong Yue suspected something was wrong, so he simply followed their instructions and came over to take a look, and he actually saw them.
“…Senior?”
A junior student next to him looked at him in confusion, and found Murong Yue standing there like a sculpture, so he couldn't help but look in the direction he was looking.
"Oh my god, that's not—"
The other two students also discovered it.
"Who is that man? That emblem... he's not an ordinary priest, is he?"
"Damn, that's a holy fire ring and a scepter! Two scepters! Yes, yes, it's the Archbishop!"
The students of Nanhe College come from different backgrounds. Those who came to the southern recruitment this time all wanted to broaden their horizons and did some research before coming.
What is the status of an archbishop?
Looking at the entire Vatican, the number of high-ranking clergymen holding the title of bishop should be in the five digits.
After all, a standard parish usually covers a single core city and its affiliated villages and towns, and in some cases includes multiple small and medium-sized cities.
However, it is different for archbishops. In a diocese under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, there may be dozens, or even hundreds of standard parishes.
It all depends on the region.
Therefore, the number of archbishops in the Holy See is only in the three digits.
Most archbishops cannot be promoted any further, because the next highest rank is either to become a cardinal, of which there are only twelve positions, or to command paladins. However, the archbishop is only half a level lower than the legion commander, and the legion commander is often promoted from division commanders with outstanding battle records. There is never a shortage of people to fill these positions.
However, the Archbishop of the Amber City Temple is not only a student of the Cardinal, but also a favored one of the God of Light.
Although this is not something that everyone knows, those who know it dare not look down on him.
His term of stationing in Jinpo City is about to end. Once he returns to the Holy City to report on his work, he will most likely be promoted.
Once he becomes a cardinal, he will also be a candidate for the next Pope.
——After all, it is well known that every Pope is a favored one of the God of Light.
Nowadays, there are only a few followers of His Majesty the God of Light.
Murong Yue's face darkened slightly.
He remembered that Su Cheng had mentioned Ling Yang, who was one of the two legion commanders of the Holy See's Paladins stationed in the Empire.
Although he had no regrets at all about breaking off the marriage.
But before they went to cancel the engagement, they never thought that this orphan who seemed to be living under someone else's roof actually had such a complicated relationship behind him.
Moreover, since the power of the Holy See is involved, it is very difficult to investigate these matters.
Although he didn't understand how the gods chose her, it was an established fact anyway.
Since she is a person favored by God, her relationship with the Holy See is completely logical.
The Holy See has always liked to win over and control those people - the followers of the main god of the Alliance of the God of Light.
"...What are those two talking about?"
A classmate next to him muttered quietly.
They are all low-level and mid-level warriors, and they all have sharp ears and eyes. Under normal circumstances, it is easy to hear conversations in the distance.
But there are so many people on the street and the noise is so chaotic. If you really want to eavesdrop on people's conversations, you have to put in some effort, otherwise you won't be able to hear anything.
Murong Yue was just about to tell them to mind their own business, but suddenly she felt that the junior student was using his fighting spirit.
He was shocked and was about to stop it.
The man suddenly shook his body, let out a painful and shrill scream, covered his ears and fell to his knees, with black and red blood constantly flowing out of his ears.
The other two students were all horrified, not to mention the passers-by around them, who all retreated three feet away.
The man rolled on the ground, the fighting spirit in his body scattered and flowing everywhere, as if his meridians were shattered, and he couldn't stand up for a while.
Murong Yue opened her eyes wide in shock, then reacted and looked up into the distance.
Su Cheng heard the scream and seemed to want to look back, but the blond man next to him put his arm around his shoulders.
He took a half step back, moved closer to her, and stretched out his long arms to completely block the scene behind him.
Therefore, she didn't see clearly what happened next.
"?"
Su Cheng looked up in confusion, "What did you just say you wanted me to help you with?"
"Since you've decided to study at Cross Star Academy," the Archbishop smiled down at her, "you should also go to the Imperial Capital. I'd like to trouble you to take a letter for me to Duke Batten, the current Minister of Justice, who, like you, is a member of the God of Law's Favor."
Su Cheng took a breath.
Why would the Archbishop of the Vatican need a small-time character like me to deliver a letter? They have all sorts of means of communication!
This was clearly an attempt to give her a leg up and introduce her to the Minister of Justice! It was almost the same as writing a letter of recommendation!
Su Cheng hurriedly thanked him.
The Archbishop winked at her and said, "I should be the one to say thank you for helping me."
They smiled at each other knowingly.
Su Cheng immediately forgot about the incident, or rather, he was too lazy to care about it.
No matter what his purpose was, Lin Yun always wanted to attract his fiancée's attention, make her regret it, or slap her in the face.
But she just wanted to stay away from Murong Yue.
After all, if someone is an eyesore, you will feel sick if you look at him for even one second longer.
So I didn't pay much attention to that guy.
As for who screamed, maybe it was some blind pickpocket. Anyway, this place was quite messy.
The gloom on her brow disappeared, and seeing that Zhan En was not in a hurry to return to the temple, she felt relieved and chatted with him about all sorts of things.
His Excellency the Archbishop is quite knowledgeable and has been stationed in temples across the northern and southern continents. He can also speak of the customs and culture of the Chiyang Empire in a vivid and interesting way.
He was talking about a time when he assisted the knights of the Inquisition in capturing heretics. Suddenly he paused and looked at her thoughtfully.
Su Cheng thought he regretted talking about the internal affairs of the Vatican.
"There's something," Zhan En pondered, "the prisoner who once passed by your house escaped from the prison of the Inquisition. Did you know?"
Su Cheng opened his eyes wide, "What? No! I don't know anything about that person-"
Her heart sank.
The Inquisition is an institution directly under the core of power of the Holy See. It deals with issues such as dereliction of duty, corruption and rebellion of clergy internally, and is responsible for arresting heretics externally.
The clergy of the Inquisition are all elites and have great power. When they are hunting down enemies outside, they can mobilize the local garrison paladins to cooperate.
So here comes the question.
Since Zhan En said so, the fugitive did not escape from Ling Yang, because he is the commander of the official Paladin Corps of the garrison, not from the Inquisition.
"...Lord Ling Yang had another mission and only assisted in tracking down the fugitive because it was on his way."
The Archbishop said softly, "The Inquisition is still searching for him, and as far as I know, the highest official in the Inquisition has already left the Holy City for this matter."
Su Cheng secretly said that it was not good.
The head of the Tribunal and the current Grand Inquisitor is a super sadistic person in the original novel, and the male protagonist is almost tortured to death by her.
The God of Purity at least kills people directly, but this Great Inquisitor is not that simple.
She enjoys playing with her prey and takes great pleasure in inflicting pain—whether it's her own or someone else's. In a sense, she's a complete psychopath.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel extremely regretful.
She had no recollection of what happened next in the fugitive demon plot.
As for the plot about the High Inquisitor, I only remember that the male protagonist was tortured and toyed with by this man in prison.
Of course, because that person is very good-looking, and the male protagonist has a lot of blood and can't die, this plot looks quite exciting.
If it were me——
Su Cheng took a hard breath and said, "Didn't you say before that the fugitive had already gone to the southern continent?"
"That's right."
"So... did the Grand Inquisitor also chase after him? Or something?"
The Archbishop did not answer her.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel annoyed.
She didn't even know how the hero was imprisoned! Was it related to the devil, or was it because of something else?
Why did I skip chapters when reading novels?
She thought desperately.
"I rarely interact with His Excellency Qin Jing—"
Jane looked up at the street in the distance, and the magnificent outline of the Vatican Temple appeared faintly under the moonlight.
"It's hard for me to guess what the Grand Inquisitor is thinking," he said softly, "but anyway..."
The archbishop paused in his speech and looked thoughtfully at the street corner.
"What's wrong?" Su Cheng turned around subconsciously, "Is someone eavesdropping on us?"
"That's not the case," the Archbishop said, his lips curled slightly. "I'm quite sure no one will eavesdrop again. It's just that the Grand Inquisitor may not be setting out to hunt down the criminal."
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the door of the Lin family residence.
Su Cheng was about to ask something when he saw Lin Zhen wandering in front of the door with an anxious look on his face.
Suddenly, the head of the Lin family turned his head and saw a young man and woman walking towards him, and then his face showed ecstasy.
Su Cheng: “…”
She saw the whole process of her cheap uncle's expression changing.
Lin Zhen's face was about to break with laughter, as if he had already imagined their wedding from this scene.
Of course, this did not prevent him from speaking all kinds of flattering words to the archbishop.
It’s not the same as last time.
Su Cheng originally wanted to ask about the Chief Inquisitor, but it was not convenient to speak now.
She could only watch as the archbishop and her cheap uncle exchanged pleasantries and then gracefully turned and left.
…
The east wing of the Amber City Temple.
The moonlight filtered through the colorful stained glass windows and spread across the hall, flowing over the gilded and stone-inlaid walls, illuminating the golden doors that stood in the air.
Those portals were arranged in an arc shape and suspended seven feet above the ground, as if they were held in place by an invisible force.
The door frame was engraved with complex runes, which shone brightly, like condensed lightning.
Outside the hall door was a long corridor, with dozens of clergymen sitting or lying on the ground, all injured, with blood stains on the obsidian tiles.
As Zhan En walked through the corridor, a warm platinum light appeared beside his hands. Wherever the white light passed, the injuries of the paladins and priests were healed instantly.
"Your Excellency the Archbishop!"
They came to their senses, bowed to him, and then looked towards the temple inside with anxious eyes.
Zhan En raised his hand slightly, signaling them not to panic.
"Whatever you came for—"
He walked straight into the hall in front.
His eyes swept across the portals floating in the air and looked directly below the middle door.
There was a white-haired man standing there, the cold moonlight spreading through his snow-white hair, outlining the curled arcs at the ends of his hair.
His body was wrapped in a pale half-armored robe, the fitting metal and cloth outlining his lean and upright lines.
The moment Zhan En opened his mouth, the white-haired man turned his head, and a cold smile hung on his handsome face.
Those emerald-like light green eyes also shone brightly in the moonlight, and the dark vertical pupils were narrowed into thin lines, as sinister and cold as a snake.
"...This is not a reason for you to hurt them, Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor."
The Archbishop said calmly.
"They believe that since I used the portal to enter your temple without the Pope's instructions, I should wait here until you return."
The white-haired young man raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a cold smile. "Look, I obeyed. I have been waiting for you and that God-favored One to return."
He paused. "And I'm also curious. You monitor the portal so strictly, yet you allow filthy vampires and despicable heretics to enter and exit your temple. And when that prisoner entered the Golden Amber City, you happened to be away from the temple. Is this really a coincidence?"
"First of all, this is not my temple. I am only the person in charge here, Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor, and my schedule is usually very full."
The archbishop interrupted him. "You have made a serious accusation. If you cannot provide conclusive evidence, I will have no choice but to ask the Cardinal to arbitrate. You will then bear all consequences."
"Ha, who doesn't know that you are the favorite of the Cardinal and the beloved disciple of Monsignor Bernard——"
The white-haired man chuckled, his voice inexplicably filled with amusement. "I can smell their stench. Tracking them won't be difficult. Want to make a bet?"
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