The bishop is unfathomable.

The reception room wasn't very big; it was about the same size as Director Barris's office.

So there was only room for a small round table, on which hot tea and some snacks were placed. The rest of the space, except for the path for people to walk, was filled with soft little sofas.

Acting Cervantes and Inspector General Black sat down next to each other, occasionally exchanging information about the aftermath of yesterday's riots.

Meanwhile, Curator Barris sat opposite the two, leisurely reading the newspaper with his legs crossed, occasionally picking up the teacup beside him to take a sip of hot tea.

The two people talking became more and more serious, clearly indicating that the trouble they were dealing with was far more complicated than outsiders could imagine.

The most crucial piece of information came from a cultist captured during the riots.

"Mr. Cervantes, do you think what that esoteric man said is true or false?"

Inspector Blake asked with a grave expression.

Cervantes sighed softly, "It's very likely true. Because after that man was brought back to the church for questioning, we discovered that he was not a follower of the Faceless Ones, but rather one of the Sons of the Dust."

"The Children of Dust are clearly more dangerous than the Formless Ones, who belong to the Unseen Surge faction."

"After all, the former is just doing whatever he wants, and everything he does has a purpose, at the very least it's to satisfy himself."

"The harm they can cause is actually far less than the outside world imagines."

"After all, they care more about the outcome than the chaos and wailing. As long as the result is achieved, any means are acceptable."

"Therefore, the Formless Surge is considered a relatively less fanatical faction within Tantric Buddhism."

"But the children of the sand are different... a bunch of rotten villains, sometimes no better than fools who think they are doing good."

"That's just the kind of people they are...it's not surprising that they do anything."

"Including taking everyone down with us."

"After all, in their view, everyone is destined to die, rather than endure the pain and torment of reality."

"It would be better to die sooner, to be liberated, to merge with the power of the god they praise, and to enjoy eternal peace..."

Cervantes chuckled coldly at this point, then turned to Inspector Black: "My view is that the pursuit of the Faceless Ones' followers can be put on hold for now. The Faceless Ones' actions seem more like a distraction tactic. This is likely a deal between esoteric sects."

"The main task now is to find out the whereabouts of the Children of Dust, and to figure out where their ritual is set up and what kind of ritual it is, so as to destroy their plans as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, once the ritual is completed and goes undetected, we will be in a perpetually passive position."

"They might even die during the ritual itself."

Blake nodded with a dark expression, then said, "I'll report to the chief and deputy chief when we get back."

"After all, I'm only the third-in-command, and I don't have the final say on many things."

"Just like you, you still have to follow Bishop João's orders in many things."

Cervantes laughed. "It's alright. Bishop João is a smart man; he has already approved my actions. If your report is not taken seriously, he will speak with Director Fran."

Blake nodded and said nothing more.

But in secret, he had already cursed the idiots of the Sons of Sand hundreds of times.

Although he was an inside man for the esoteric sect, the problem is that he did not belong to any faction involved in this incident.

He was from the Bell of Silence faction and had no idea what the purpose of this attack was.

He didn't even get involved in the whole process; he simply let a seemingly harmless scholar, who appeared to be powerless, go.

Although this scholar is suspected to be the faceless man himself, this is unlikely in itself.

The church's testing and oversight bureaus are technically capable of identifying someone's true identity.

Of course, he did come to check on things with a bit of a test in mind.

But that's not the point. The point is that he knows Cervantes's words make a lot of sense.

It's no wonder that a bunch of self-righteous, well-meaning fools and lunatics are capable of anything.

Even if you sacrifice the entire city's inhabitants, it's the same thing!

To be honest, he's starting to get restless.

Rather than testing the identity of the administrator, who is likely to be innocent, he now needs to resolve a crisis that concerns his life and fortune.

After all, even if the other party really is the faceless one, one has no right to conflict with the other party, and even has to help cover for them.

He came only to satisfy his own curiosity.

Just then, Li Wei, dressed neatly, knocked twice and came in.

"Sorry to keep you both waiting. Ah, you're here too, Director. I'm so sorry, it's my first day on the job and I'm not familiar with the area, so it took me a little while."

As Li Wei spoke, he naturally sat down next to Barris.

Then he looked at the serious-looking black-clad executor in front of him and Blake sitting next to him.

Just as Levi was pondering whether to take the initiative to greet Inspector General Black, whom he had met once before, Barris leaned forward and handed Levi the gift that Black had given him, which was placed on the round table.

"This is an apology from Inspector General Black to you, to make up for the time you wasted yesterday morning. Please accept it; it's just a small token of my appreciation."

Li Wei accepted the gift somewhat bewildered. He intended to say something polite in response and express his gratitude, but before he could even speak, he was interrupted again by Barris.

"Just accept the gift quietly; there's no need to say anything. It's a Belgorous custom."

Li Wei scratched his head: "Is that so?"

Then Cervantes smiled, though a smile on his face looked worse than a cry, but it did at least show some goodwill.

"Please don't be alarmed, Mr. Li Wei. This is just a formality in the record of a conversation."

"Even church agents have to fill out a report if something this big happens."

"I will only ask you a few questions. The curator, Barris, will be watching the whole thing. He is a level six powerhouse, and there are few in the entire empire who can compare to him. I would not dare to do anything underhanded."

Then Cervantes stood up, bowed to Barris and Livy, and said, "Please look me in the eye and answer a question I have for you."

"This is a simple divine spell, a blessing from radiance."

"It can distinguish whether a person is lying or innocent."

As he spoke, Cervantes' eyes lit up, emitting a hazy golden light.

"Please answer: Are you truly innocent in the riots that occurred yesterday morning?"

Li Wei looked directly into Cervantes' eyes and smiled as he spoke: "Of course, I am absolutely innocent and have not done anything."

"I spent the entire morning, during the riots, in the interrogation room of the Control Yuan."

Upon hearing this, the golden light in Cervantes' eyes faded, replaced by a smile: "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Livy. May the radiance protect your reason and enlighten your wisdom."

"In a couple of days, once things have settled down a bit, Inspector General Blake and I will come to see you again. We can then hand over the work of retrieving the banned books."

"It's time to hand over this job, which was temporarily managed by the Bureau of Oversight and the church due to the vacancy, back to its original purpose."