absurd deduction game.

In his long priestly career, this was the first time the archbishop had ever encountered a ghost that came purely from the East.

Among the investigators of the ideal state, there were quite a few Easterners. They traveled to various places for work. If the impression of Easterners among ordinary people in the continent where Yolikev Town is located comes from caravans and mysterious legends, then the impression of Easterners among people in the church system mostly comes from their busy figures in various strange events.

Therefore, from his youth when he was just an ordinary priest, the archbishop had already come into contact with many people from the East. After being transferred to the town of Jolikf, he was promoted to archbishop after being examined again and again. During this period, he cooperated with Eastern investigators to investigate many cases.

The Ideal State sent a large number of investigators to help the town, and surprisingly, 80% of them were of Asian descent. The archbishop thought he was used to communicating with them, but he never expected that after being locked in a small underground cell, the first person to come looking for him would be a ghost.

An Eastern ghost.

You should know that ghosts are mostly considered evil in the eyes of their church, because only evil spirits linger after death, and their obsessions can cause them to commit terrible mistakes and sins.

So when the archbishop first saw the ghost in blue robes walk through the wall, he almost thought it was some sealed monster that had escaped. His sense of responsibility as a bishop began to warn him. He had no holy objects in his hands, but the prayers he recited were almost instinctive.

A beam of holy light, carrying the scent of wheat, pierced through Yi Qing from above. Yi Qing squinted – the various ornaments on his body shone brightly in the holy light, and the only damage this attack caused him was “dazzling”.

After the light went out, nothing happened.

However, some monster outside was stimulated by this power fluctuation and let out a low whimper.

The archbishop, realizing just how powerful this ghost was: "..."

His eyes cleared considerably, and he then remembered that he had checked all the things sealed underground, and had memorized the list and numbers, but there was no such ghost in blue among them.

Yi Qing opened his folding fan and chuckled, "You're not very friendly, Archbishop."

The title "Archbishop" is inappropriate.

But this also reminded the archbishop that he had not sensed any intention to attack from Yi Qing, so he immediately thought of another possibility: "Are you a colleague of one of the investigators?"

Only Eastern investigators would have any connection with such an Eastern ghost.

These words made the faint malice in Yi Qing's eyes recede. He waved his fan, appearing calm and refined: "You didn't use words like 'raising a ghost' to greet me, so you do have some manners. I forgive you."

"Well then, let me introduce myself. I am Yi Qing, Carlos's companion. He knows what happened between the Secret Cult and you, so he asked me to come and take a look."

Those deep blue eyes stared at the archbishop, creating an inexplicable sense of pressure.

The archbishop was somewhat horrified.

He could send chills down one's spine with just a glance, almost like an evil god descending to earth using a vessel. Strangely, those filthy things would corrupt one's spirit once they got close, causing one to fall into madness and become a monster. But the man in front of him was clean and pure.

The archbishop even smelled a faint aroma of tea.

His mindset changed very quickly. The moment he realized the situation, he gave Yiqing a kind smile that was typical of an old man, just like he would give to the children in the church who were still learning: "Thank you, Mr. Yiqing, and Mr. Carlos."

“If I remember correctly, Mr. Carlos was among the first investigators to arrive in town about two weeks ago. I didn’t have much contact with him. Why did he ask you to come?

Yi Qing's lips curled up slightly.

If people who live a long time are all shrewd, then almost no one has "lived" longer than him, so he can naturally see through the old man's clever wording.

Well, he's still a likable old man.

His mood subtly improved at the fact that Carlos had made him his liaison—or rather, his "magic assistant."

“Carlos said he could offer some help to make things easier for you,” Yi Qing said. “For example, you want to ask other churches in other cities for help, right? Sending a signal underground on your own isn’t difficult, but it can be quite troublesome. We can simplify that process.”

“This underground seal has no effect on me, and the esoteric cultists are certainly not at my level. Archbishop, do you know what this means?”

The archbishop certainly knew.

If Yiqing could help him in some way, even just by transmitting his voice... it could cause the secret sect's plans to collapse.

However, Carlos stayed in town for more than half a month, and during that time he did not take the initiative to cooperate with the church like Qu Xianqing, Yu Xing and others. The archbishop would not be naive enough to think that this Mr. Carlos was a helpful and kind person.

Among the investigators, the neutral faction is the majority.

He asked with a smile, "What do you want from me?"

Yi Qing chuckled softly: "A promise."

……

After that, Yiqing frequently visited the church's basement, coming every few hours on average due to the time-sensitive nature of the messages.

Just as he said, most people in the world could not detect that he was deliberately concealing his presence. Even in the territory of the Harvest Mother Goddess, he moved about as if he were in an empty place.

Sometimes, Yi Qing would pass by the statue of the Mother Goddess in the church, stop and look up at it for a while. He thought of the power of the vengeful ghost inside Zhao Yijiu and felt that the gods of the Khrushchev system shouldn't be so powerless.

Perhaps the Harvest Goddess has already discovered him, but she has tacitly approved of his arrogant behavior, after all, he is now an allied unit of the gods.
Thinking of this, Yiqing would greet the statue of the Mother Goddess of Harvest with a smile, and then go to secretly meet with Her Archbishop.

Just as the news from the west of the town was spreading throughout the town, he saw the archbishop again. The archbishop seemed to be in a very good mood. After exchanging greetings, he immediately inquired about the poor children in the church who had been deceived.

"Are they safe in the cemetery? Hopefully they haven't been discovered by the cult."

Yi Qing said, "Of course, even those who are seriously injured and brought back to the church will be immediately transferred to the cemetery through magic and brought back to life if they show any signs of death. What you should be most concerned about is your own affairs."

As he spoke, he took out the tokens that the deacons and guards had given them.

If it's just talk, no one will believe it.

The archbishop saw the tokens, including a handwritten letter from his most irritable deacon subordinate, Herbert. The crooked handwriting on the letter was difficult to imitate, since "writing" scores had once been the biggest obstacle for Herbert's promotion to senior deacon.

In his letter, Herbert described their situation in general terms, claiming that an Eastern investigator named Zeng Lai possessed many miraculous healing artifacts. He said that not only were they out of danger, but their injuries were also rapidly healing. He asked the archbishop not to worry and to do whatever needed to be done, as they always believed in and supported the true archbishop.

The archbishop struggled to read through the holy light, then let out a long sigh, somewhat moved. He was about to offer his usual reflections when Yiqing asked, half-curious and half-jokingly, "Having sat in such a high position for so long, are you still so sentimental? I see your heart is almost overwhelmed with emotion."

The archbishop: "..." I'm not moved anymore.

He cleared his throat: "Of course, of course, the ability to always perceive beauty is what the Mother Goddess teaches us. If a clergyman becomes aloof and emotionally closed off under the cloak of his robes, then he is not a priest, but an aristocrat and a capitalist."

Yi Qing was surprised: "Is the Harvest Mother Goddess really this normal?"

Sensing the disrespect for the Mother Goddess in Yi Qing's tone, the Archbishop paused for a moment before deciding to explain to his friend from the East: "It's not just the Mother Goddess; in fact, even deities like the Mechanical Father God share similar doctrines. They all strive to avoid becoming twisted and corrupt beings, as it's easy to be tempted into depravity and become one of the evil gods."

The line between a righteous god and an evil god is sometimes so thin.

Therefore, the righteous gods strive to widen the gap between themselves and the evil gods. When the evil gods are cruel, they are merciful; when the evil gods are unrestrained, they are restrained; when the evil gods are constantly thinking of invading the human world, they keep their distance and only provide appropriate guidance and help.

The archbishop wasn't always this devout. Many clergy members come to the church to gain prestige; spending a year or two there will significantly increase their salary and benefits in any job they seek.

He truly became a devout believer little by little through his work in the church and through the teachings of the Mother Goddess of Abundance, and gained the approval of the Mother Goddess.

After he finished explaining, he naturally wanted to see if Yiqing understood, but he saw that Yiqing's gaze was fixed on nothingness, as if she had already drifted off into thought.

"..." Forget it, recommending faith to an evil spirit... no, a benevolent spirit, might indeed be a bit crazy.

In fact, Yiqing did listen to what he said.

He could sense that the archbishop was not lying, so from a higher-dimensional perspective, he discovered some rather interesting things.

All of the settings of the K-series are derived from "He" in Yin-Yang City. Twisted, crazy, and indescribable are the first impressions of "He".

But a deity like the Mother Goddess of Harvest, whose appearance is somewhat wicked but whose conduct is surprisingly orderly, is also part of [Her] will and power.

He has a normal side.

Doesn't this look a bit like Zhao Yijiu in her normal state?
The vengeful spirit hidden within Zhao Yijiu's body has become indistinguishable from him after a long period of absorption and fusion. The two states of good and evil are intertwined, seemingly in line with His true will.

Is this a coincidence, or is it inevitable?

Yi Qing's gaze darkened.

Perhaps, he could mention this to Yu Xing after the dungeon ended. Anyway, Yu Xing cares a lot about Zhao Yijiu and everyone in the Breaking Mirror Team, so he'll just consider it a good deed.

Coming to her senses, Yiqing pretended that nothing had just happened.

Under the archbishop's gaze, he shook his fan again and brought up the important matter: "Your request for assistance has been received. Four orthodox churches, totaling 82 people, are in time to arrive. I heard that there are a few more who are far away and are on their way with the help of the teleporters of the [Silk Weaving Goddess]."

"At first, they didn't intend to wait for the enemy to come to them. Those with scouting abilities thought they could find the ritual location in advance. They spent some time trying, but quickly came to the conclusion that the ritual location had been covered up by an evil god-level being, and they couldn't find it on their own."

The archbishop nodded; he had expected this outcome. However, the clergy outside wouldn't be convinced until they faced a setback themselves.

"So they finally agreed to your proposal to hide outside the town for the time being, while preparing for battle. Once the ceremony begins, they will rush to the destination as quickly as possible. You must also keep your word and break free from your captivity to join them before then."

Yi Qing thought of the old and young people dressed in different clergy uniforms with serious faces, but still felt that the old man in front of her was the most pleasing to the eye: "Every church has a leader, but after you join them, they will hand over the command to you, after all, you are the one who knows Yolikef Town the most."

The archbishop bowed his head silently, offered a prayer to the Mother Goddess, and then said in a low voice, "Of course, I will not break my promise."

……

The eighth day was drawing to a close at dusk.

Everyone in the town was busy, even though they had different thoughts on their minds.

The surviving investigators are also busy, especially the one or two with the lowest contribution points, who are eager to kill monsters in their last moments.

The news of tomorrow's "boss battle" has already spread among the divination practitioners. Those who are infiltrated by the secret cult, the orthodox church, and the town's upper class are all testing each other for information when they meet, afraid that they will choose the wrong side and be betrayed by others.

Only Carlos's office was relatively quiet, because everything was already in place.

News came from the church that the treatment of the wounded in the west of the town had failed. Zeng Lai went to the cemetery to treat the newly arrived unlucky man. Yu Xing, Qu Xianqing and Carlos rested in the living room and played cards.

Carlos was cheating, winning seven out of ten games. Qu Xianqing's expression remained unchanged, acknowledging the magician's card-playing ability. In any case, winning or losing didn't matter, since not a single pound of gold could be taken out of the dungeon.

While Little Blue Hair was gloating, Yu Xing leaned back on the sofa and clicked her tongue twice: "We're out of money, use this to pay off the debt."

"What?" Carlos asked casually, then froze.

Yu Xing casually took out two woven items made of red silk cord. One was a red hair tie with irregular light blue crystals adorning it, and the other was a small gadget that looked like a belt pendant, with a blue gemstone hanging from the top.

He tossed the latter to Carlos: "Here you go, I made it myself, so don't throw it away carelessly."

Then he turned around and handed the hair tie to Qu Xianqing: "You have one too, I think it suits you very well."

A question mark appeared in Qu Xianqing's eyes.

But her hands moved faster than her brain; almost instinctively, she accepted the gift her brother had given her, her question mark replaced by a subtle joy.

“You didn’t lose to me,” she reminded him.

"So what? Do I have to lose a game to give you something?" Yu Xing laughed, giving Carlos a light kick without any politeness. "Unlike him, if I give him something for no reason, he'll spout a lot of nonsense. Perfect, I'll use it to offset the gold pounds."

Carlos, who had been kicked, snapped back to his senses.

He chuckled, seemingly unconvinced, grabbed his sapphire pendant, and swaggered it around: "Fine, it suits my taste, I'll take it. Thanks, Captain~"

As he turned his head away, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes, and he instinctively tightened his grip on the object. (End of Chapter)