Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 121: The Two-Pronged Plan of Vadracho
The two of them left the hall.

Mike also needed to report back to the factory area temple, so he left the upper city with Feng Xiuhu.

Compared to Feng Xiuhu's cheerful face, Mike was worried.

After they got on the carriage and were alone in the compartment, Mike was finally able to say some things that were not to be told to outsiders.

"You're confused. How can the factory district temple be taken over so easily?"

Feng Xiuhu misunderstood: "I have no experience in work, but I still have you to help me."

"Hi!"

Mike said angrily, "That's not what I meant."

Feng Xiuhu crossed his arms and said disdainfully, "You mean the temple? The temple and the church have been at odds for so long, and I haven't heard of any real trouble."

"That's because it was suppressed!"

Mike was genuinely worried about Feng Xiuhu: "You haven't been to the temple to work in many days, so you don't know the danger."

"Because the Duke of Great Powers had to consider his reputation, the Upper City District only engaged in minor skirmishes. Conflicts between the temple monks and the church priests were limited to brawls or backstabbing."

"But outside of the Upper City, no one cares. You don't know, but in the past few days, two deacons and three Divine Guards have disappeared. All of them were from the Factory District Temple. They've disappeared, their bodies are nowhere to be found, and even their spirits are nowhere to be found."

Feng Xiuhu raised his eyelids and asked, "Has the temple already taken action?"

Mike spread his hands and said, "Who else could it be? But the murderer was very clean and left no evidence. He died without a single witness."

"Besides, there's no way to reason with this. The bigwigs at the temple, from the chief priest on up, simply wouldn't bother to attack minions like us. Everyone knows it's all just a vent of anger from the underlings. While the temple seems to have condoned it, it never explicitly ordered it."

Feng Xiuhu thought about it carefully and understood where the church suffered a loss in this matter - the Wind-to-Rain Technique practiced by the monks in the temple contained a spell to erase spirits. This was a natural characteristic of the rules of wind and rain, so the monks had the confidence to kill people and destroy traces.

It's different on the church's side. Only high-ranking priests know how to cast spells against spirits, so ordinary deacons have no way of retaliating against the temple monks - not to mention whether they can defeat them or not. Even if they do, evidence will be left behind, which will be a handle for the temple for nothing.

Mike sighed and said, "Why do you think the Cardinal said that Bishop Chen of Konate's people are not up to par?"

"Bishop Konate's eleven priests are all serving in the cathedral, but none of them dares to take over from Fathers Lomond and Hollis."

Speaking of these two names, Mike couldn't help but glance at Feng Xiuhu's expression. Seeing that he looked calm, he continued, "Back then, the church and the temple weren't so entangled, but they had already sent two priests to the River Styx. Now the situation is even more dire. Who would dare to risk their life for their future?"

As I was doing the math, I found that the blame was placed on me.

Feng Xiuhu touched his nose and said, "That's not true. The temple only targeted the deacons and the Holy Guards. Now that I've been promoted to a priest, my status is different. They have to think carefully."

Mike was not so optimistic: "This is also what I don't understand."

His tone was filled with suspicion. "Judging from the Cardinal's attitude towards you today, it's clear that he particularly likes you. If that's the case, he shouldn't have put you in danger in the factory district sanctuary."

"As you said, the priest is already of high status. Although he is in a dangerous place, the temple will not easily attack him. This statement would make sense if it were applied to any other priest, but it does not apply to you."

He stared at Feng Xiuhu cautiously and said, "The temple's hatred for the church is a stone. You alone have eight dou. The remaining two dou will be shared by everyone in the church."

This may be an exaggeration, but it's the truth.

Feng Xiuhu was also somewhat shaken by what he said. He stroked his stubble and thought, "So, Old Man Qiao probably has no good intentions. I feel like I'm being used as a pawn."

……

Feng Xiuhu was not the only one who had the same doubts.

Thorsten Zhao and Vadracho walked side by side in the corridor of the cathedral. The matter had been decided and could not be changed, but Thorsten Zhao still made his own suggestions.

"Although he comes from a humble background, Feng Xiuhu is indeed a rare talent. I would like to deploy two more Divine Guard teams to the factory area temple so that his safety can be guaranteed."

"can."

Vadrajo nodded in agreement.

Toverson Zhao glanced at him inconspicuously - this showed that Elder Vadela did not want Feng Xiuhu to die.

As if he saw Toverson Zhao's doubts, Vadracho chuckled and spoke.

"The Hierophant received a divine oracle yesterday."

Hearing this, Toverson Zhao's face immediately became serious, and he folded his arms in a salute: "Praise the Mist."

Vadracho said slowly, "The oracle was given to Sails City, and the leader of the church will convey it on his behalf."

"Sail City is the birthplace of the Wind and Rain Temple. The faith here is exceptionally pure."

"Weakened the temples and plundered their faith. We still did too little."

"Only by using blood as a spear and bones as a shield can I please my Lord."

Toverson Zhao heard the hidden meaning: "Master, is it true that we are not eroding faith fast enough? Do you want us to be more radical?"

His brow furrowed again. "However, if I really do this, it will only completely infuriate the temple... unless this is exactly what my master wants."

Vadracho looked at him intently, his words carrying a warning: "Don't speculate on God's will."

Thorsen Zhao knew he had spoken out of turn and bowed his head to admit his mistake: "Follow the guidance of the fog."

Vadracho silently withdrew his gaze and regained his composure, "This is also the reason why I let Feng Xiuhu take over the Holy Temple."

"Feng Xiuhu offended Lady Fengyu, but Wan Laiqiu chose to let him go."

"We don't know the reason behind this, and Feng Xiuhu himself doesn't know either, but Wan Laiqiu must know."

"So I pushed Feng Xiuhu to the forefront, to see if the temple would take action against him. This would also reveal Wan Laiqiu's true attitude towards Feng Xiuhu."

"If the temple really comes to trouble Feng Xiuhu, Feng Xiuhu will definitely not tolerate it given his reckless personality. He will only make things worse, and then we will have a reason to be aggressive."

"And if the temple is influenced by Wan Lai Qiu and doesn't dare to offend Feng Xiuhu, that would be even better. Feng Xiuhu is a man who acts erratically but with clear goals. Even when he was a deacon, he dared to extend his influence into the port area. Now that I've promoted him to a priest, his ambition will only drive him to continue expanding the church's territory."

Vadracho smiled meaningfully: "So no matter which one it is, we have achieved our goal."

Toverson Zhao looked down at the mist pattern on the carpet: “I understand.”

He asked quietly, "These things...do I need to remind Bishop Konate? He seems a little resentful."

Speaking of Konate Chen, Vadracho frowned slightly: "No need."

"Perhaps I was overshadowed by Feng Xiuhu's brilliance. Today, I didn't feel his piety. I was like a blindfolded sparrow, unable to find its way."

Hearing this, Toverson Zhao's expression changed slightly.

"I heard... he's been hanging out with some nobles quite frequently lately."

(End of this chapter)