Chapter 1: The Holy Knight Forced into Purity

"I curse this damned fate."

Under the dim lamplight, a handsome youth shook his snow-white hair, the corner of his mouth twitching as he forced out a slightly odd, dry smile.

"No, buddy… this really isn't right, is it?"

Herbert had been reborn, and not long ago had awakened the memories of his past life.

As a new corporate drone who had only been working for two years, the Herbert of his previous life hadn't even had the chance to wait for his remaining value to be squeezed dry by the capitalists before a hundred-ton heavy truck loaded with steel coils flattened him into a paper person.

Don't ask.

Ask and it's just that big-rig drivers have a hard life. jpg

Ask and it's just that we're all living our hardest. mp3

But Herbert at this moment was not cursing the miserable fate of his past life.

In any case, the him of his previous life was a lone bachelor; during festivals, if he wanted to sweep a grave, he could only go kowtow at the martyrs' cemetery. There were no lingering attachments behind him.

Being able to win the resurrection match after his dreams and flesh shattered into powder together, and be reborn as a human — Herbert still felt in his heart that it was a bargain.

What gave him a subtle expression was the scene he was currently in — a dark, cold, gloomy prison.

Good news: he was not a prisoner, but a warden guarding the inmates.

Bad news: this prison belonged to an ancient monastery.

A monastery…

Is this a place where an eighteen-year-old youth full of hot blood like him should be?

But for Herbert, this was still not the most fatal part.

Move a tree and it dies, move a person and they live; if it really won't work, just grab a bucket and run.

He wasn't some naive, foolish college student; having been stained with the smell of corporate life, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

What truly made Herbert completely lose it was everything that had happened the day before he awakened the memories of his past life.

Yesterday at noon, under the gaze of the gods, Herbert had sworn his holy oath and was formally accepted by the monastery, becoming a holy knight of the Kuxiu Sect.

And the oath he had sworn with his own lips was called — "The Oath of Purity"

Under the witness of the gods, Herbert would dedicate his life to justice and order in the world, fight for the weak, forever keep his soul clean, his emotions pure, his body chaste…

Listen to this!

Does this even sound like something a human should say?

Regarding this oath, after being shocked for a good while, Herbert let out a cry in his heart —

"Isn't this just a chastity lock on the magic side!?"

Herbert admits that in his past life he really did store a lot of unsightly little movies on his 24T hard drive, and that he had appraised many little games that exhausted one's mind and energy…

But to make him, for that reason, only be able to be an ascetic monk who abstains from emotion and desire in this life — isn't this punishment a little too excessive?

The crime really doesn't warrant this!

I didn't hog those resources either — I shared them all out after organizing and tagging them.

You can't just fixate on torturing me alone!

If it's a tightening spell, let them wear it together!

I can't escape, and neither can you —

"…Tch."

Looking at the holy mark on the back of his hand that would emit a faint golden glow in the dark, the indignation in Herbert's heart swelled even more.

It's one thing if others start out as a menial laborer at the Shaolin Temple becoming a monk — although it's also abstaining from women, at least there's still the chance to return to secular life, and with effort one can even pool resources with a Mo Sect enchantress to produce a child.

But the holy knights of this world are different — when they break their oath, they really do suffer backlash.

All the power of the holy knights comes from the holy oaths they swear; the heavier the oath, the stronger the blessing received upon fulfilling it.

As existences resisting on the very front line of madness and despair, the holy knights are favored by the gods and have received many blessings that could be called extravagant.

Some holy knights who swore great vows even gained the terrifying strength to wrestle dragons in direct hand-to-hand combat.

But, as every story says, Traces and Magic are never free; every gift of fate has secretly prepaid a corresponding price.

The more one is given, the more severe the backlash the holy knight suffers when they fall and break their oath.

Mental collapse, bodily corruption, soul withering… these are just basics; in certain circumstances one might even transform into an Abyss monster that knows only slaughter.

With Herbert's current situation, once he breaks his oath, in the lightest case he'll be gravely wounded and on the brink of death, in the worst case he'll drop dead on the spot, sent straight off to play another resurrection match with someone else.

So, at this moment, for Herbert — lewdness equals cooling off (death).

Tch!

To be fair, Herbert felt that the current situation really wasn't much better than being a eunuch.

The eunuch faction at least had their root of wisdom severed; even if they had the heart, they had no strength, and could only completely give up the thought.

But what about himself?

Not as good as those above, but better than those below — having strength with nowhere to use it… pure torture!

Bitter.

My fate is bitter!

Herbert took a deep breath, raised his head and slowly exhaled, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

Hmm hmm hmm ha uh ahhhhh —

After venting his impotent rage for a while, the now-calmed Herbert more or less accepted the current situation, squinting his eyes as he thought about how to respond next.

"Breaking the oath is definitely something I have to do; in this life it's just not possible not to break the oath… but I'll endure for now, no need to rush."

Although the feeling of having his 'little head' forcibly held down made Herbert unhappy, he was not a lust-crazed ghost who couldn't think without his lower half, and didn't go crazy over it.

Nor would he think about escaping from the monastery.

On the contrary, he planned to stay here and continue his cultivation.

In fact, Herbert did not come to the Misty Cloister of his own will — he was forced here under the name of "atonement."

The Albert family, into which Herbert was born, was a founding noble house of the Frost Crystal Kingdom; as hereditary dukes, they had always maintained a good relationship with the royal house, and the two families often intermarried.

And as the second son with the most outstanding talent among his brothers, Herbert was on very close private terms with his childhood sweetheart, the little Princess Feiliya, and could be called a confidant with whom he could speak about anything.

Many people believed that in the future they would become the new queen and the prince consort — Herbert, though he could hardly be said to like or dislike the idea, also took it for granted that this was quite likely to happen.

Therefore, when on that day Feiliya's personal maid came in her place to invite Herbert to a private meeting, he followed her without the slightest suspicion.

Afterwards, when Herbert arrived at the appointed place and came to Feiliya's boudoir, he was seized by the kingdom's Imperial Guard, who had been waiting there, on the absurd charge of "intending to defile the Princess's chastity," and thrown into the great prison.

Herbert tried to explain, thinking some misunderstanding had occurred, but no one paid him any heed.

The other party involved, Feiliya, never showed herself from beginning to end, tacitly consenting to all the accusations and abuse others heaped upon Herbert.

In the end, disheartened Herbert finally stopped defending himself and accepted the punishment of being exiled to the cloister.

After arriving here, he even took the initiative to devote himself to the Church, and tried to prove his innocence by the act of taking a vow of purity.

A textbook protagonist from a classical tragedy who proves his loyalty through death.

Tragic?

Tragic.

Heartache?

A little, but only a little.

As for himself in this life, Herbert feels more disdain than sympathy.

For a nobleman's son, his performance was a little too foolish.

Naive, far too naive!

A silly, sweet, innocent youth who could not see through the twists and turns inside conspiracies and plots, and never once suspected other people.

He never even realized that this was a cruel conspiracy deliberately aimed at him, and not a beautiful misunderstanding.

But now, looking back, Herbert can easily spot the overwhelming sense of wrongness running through this farce.

Hey, wasn't he just framed?

I thought something big had happened.

After all that fuss, isn't this just a honey trap!

How novel!

Herbert says that when it comes to this kind of move, he knows it all too well…

Don't get the wrong idea — he just has a lot of friends who frequently get honey-trapped.

Really.

Because he used to be a rather outstanding pettifogger… oh no, legal professional.

New author, new book~ please take good care of me! Here's a split for you!

Let me say one thing — the male lead is not a eunuch! (underline this point)

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(End of this chapter)