Chapter 354: What

Who am I? Where am I? What's for dinner tonight?

It's so dark here!

I can't breathe!

Officer, I—I can't breathe…

Trapped by the slick yet powerful tail of a rune serpent around his neck, Herbert struggled to breathe.

To save himself, he flailed his hands in all directions, signaling to the Ash Bishop that he had surrendered.

Surrender, surrender meow!

Only after a while did the Ash Bishop realize Herbert wasn't deliberately groping—he truly couldn't breathe—and she quickly released the serpent tail from his neck.

"Ha—"

After regaining air, Herbert didn't care if his current state exposed anything—he coughed violently: "Cough! Cough! Cough!"

He widened his eyes, his lips twitching uncontrollably, then finally couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Fuck!

Are you really trying to strangle me?!

I won't drown underwater, sure, but I still need to breathe—I don't truly go without air!

The Ash Bishop sensed Herbert's expression and couldn't help letting out an involuntary huff.

"Hmph."

Her sudden huff made the Knight Commander freeze again, mid-report.

"... My Lord? Did I do something wrong?" The Knight Commander's expression shifted slightly as he cautiously observed.

What's wrong with My Lord today?

Why so many unusual reactions?

He hesitated inside, unsure whether he should continue speaking.

She seems unwell—or perhaps in a bad mood. Should I… come back another time?

Maybe I should just slip away?

The Knight Commander wanted to run.

Unlike the Thorn Bishop, who outwardly feared but inwardly did not, merely feigning respect for elders,

in the Knight Commander's heart, his fear of this venerable Ash Bishop far outweighed his respect.

Without exaggeration, he was terrified of this inscrutable Warden.

Even facing the Grand Bishop, he understood the terrifying power of that Saint.

The opponent was overwhelmingly powerful; even if he gave his all, he could never defeat them.

When confronted with this chasm between heaven and earth, he could accept it calmly.

But facing this Ash Bishop—who had always dwelled within the Vault of Secrets and never once acted—he felt profound helplessness, a crushing sense of his own weakness.

Standing before her felt like staring into a vast, unfathomable darkness, filled with endless, intricate information.

Scary?

Yes, it was terrifying.

The Knight Commander knew why he felt this way.

It was his old affliction—the overabundance of his Spirit Sight—catching a glimpse of details he shouldn't have seen.

Spirit Sight, his earliest awakened talent, allowed him to perceive "things" invisible to ordinary people.

It was this unique gift that let him stand out among countless cultivators.

With Spirit Sight, many enemy concealment techniques were rendered useless before him—he was practically a specialist against spirit-type foes.

Yet it was also a curse that haunted him his entire life.

He had abandoned his noble family's luxurious life and become a Holy Knight precisely because, as a child, his Spirit Sight caused him to be shunned by his own kin.

To "cure" his eyes, his parents nearly spent their entire fortune and were ultimately tricked by followers of Miss Xie Shen, who intended to sacrifice his eyes to the Purposeless Demon God.

Though those were past events, every time he stood before the Ash Bishop, he couldn't help but recall those painful times.

Sensing the Knight Commander's "concern," the Ash Bishop snapped back to herself and coldly huffed:

"No, it's nothing. Ignore it. I just remembered something… unpleasant."

"Continue. Go on… hss!"

But as soon as she finished speaking, before her words had even faded, she suddenly bent down, staring at her skirt, letting out a furious, confused grunt.

"You!!?"

Knight Commander:???

Me?

Are you… speaking to me?

What did I do?

The Knight Commander, usually inscrutable and cold before outsiders, now stood frozen, not daring to breathe.

Hss…

What did I do?

But I didn't do anything.

Yet if not me, then who else is in this space?

Not even a soul.

I have Spirit Sight—I've checked thoroughly. No second presence.

What the hell just happened?

Old master, give us a word!

Please stop speaking in riddles—it's truly unsettling!

At this moment, the Knight-Lieutenant was utterly bewildered, confused, stunned, and terrified…

Especially bewildered—even more so than afraid.

What on earth is going on!?

Yet this innocent Knight-Lieutenant would never guess the truth.

As he respectfully reported to his superior, in this solemn setting, beneath the superior's skirt lay one of his own subordinates… yes, a subordinate the superior particularly favored.

One can only say that the young man the Knight-Lieutenant favored was simply too eager to advance!

How quickly he'd risen—to become a minister beneath the great leader's skirt…

At this moment, Herbert in the darkness was greedily gasping.

"Inhale—exhale!"

Having held his breath too long, he was now compulsively inhaling deep, large breaths, letting sweet air flood into his lungs.

"Inhale—exhale!"

Savoring the intoxicating, unusual fragrance emanating from the rune-serpent's tail, he breathed freely.

What is this smell?

Smell it.

Hmm, nice!

Inhale one breath.

What's this smell over here?

Smell it.

Hmm, also nice!

Inhale another!

"Inhale—exhale!"

Although the special ability of the robe isolated internal sounds, preventing anything inside from leaking out… the Ash Bishop himself could hear it!

???

What is this boy doing inside?

Even though he knew Herbert was merely breathing, the way Herbert looked so entranced made it seem as if he weren't just breathing—but savoring the serpent's tail…

Wait, you?

What exactly are you savoring?

What the hell are you sniffing!?

This unprecedented sense of shame made the Ash Bishop unbearable—not just his tail, but his entire body began to itch.

He couldn't help but want to lash out and whip this fellow away—but he couldn't!

If he'd expelled Herbert right at the start, it would've been easier to explain.

But now it was too late; he'd already made so many strange movements. If he expelled Herbert now… what would the Knight-Lieutenant think?

Would the boy overthink it? Think something had happened between him and Herbert?

He definitely would!!!

Now, not only for his own reputation, but he absolutely could not expose it.

After realizing the logic of the situation, the Ash Bishop clenched his teeth, grinding his silver ones nearly to shards.

"Herbert, you… you wait!"

After indulging in "breathing" for a while, Herbert's expression froze. He shook his head hard, forcibly breaking free from that entranced, abnormal state.

"Cough! Huh? What was I just doing? I… sss!"

Regaining his senses, Herbert blinked, bit his lip, and suddenly realized he'd done something incredibly improper.

"Cough, cough… what did I just do?"

"So, does this count as achieving 'Today's Headline'?"

Herbert didn't consider himself an odor addict—he wouldn't act like a pervert and sniff others aggressively—except for cute little animals, which were exempt.

Most often, others sniffed him and said, "You smell so good!"

But since it had already happened, Herbert wasn't overly panicked.

He'd already done outrageous things; saying "Oops, can we make up?" wouldn't make it vanish, and panicking wouldn't help.

He'd already done so much—adding a little more wouldn't matter.

More importantly, what he'd just discovered was the real key.

A truly earth-shattering secret.

"The Ash Bishop… she's also a monster girl… sss, who could've guessed this?" Herbert couldn't help but hiss through his teeth just thinking about it.

The Ash Bishop, one of the only three Cardinal Bishops publicly known by the Mist Monastery, the oldest, most mysterious, and most powerful among them.

She's a monster!?

Could there be anything more insane than this?

The heretical monsters the monastery hunted and denounced had infiltrated it, risen to high rank, and held power second only to the Yidazhu Sect's leader.

This plot is just too deranged!

"But the Yidazhu Sect's leader must surely know the Ash Bishop's true nature—why would he tolerate or permit her existence?"

"Could there be some hidden reason behind this?"

Herbert furrowed his brow deeply, straining to unravel the reason.

The Archbishop was actually a sanctimonious hypocrite — seemingly supporting the cultivators' ideology, but secretly tacitly allowing the existence of magical creatures — no, wait, hadn't he already guessed that long ago?

Or perhaps, this Mist Monastery was only a righteous holy land on the surface, while secretly it was a demon's den — that would be a bit too far-fetched.

Or maybe…

Suddenly, Herbert recalled the rune patterns on those snake scales, turned his head, and looked at the snake tail nearby that was keeping its distance from him, radiating a feeling of "disgust."

His gaze fell upon those intricate and gorgeous multicolored runes, and he squinted slightly… Could these patterns really have been born naturally?

"Perhaps, she's not a magical creature in the true sense? But rather transformed after birth?"

There are actually many methods for a human to be transformed into a magical creature — it's nothing rare.

Like the Dragon Vein Warlock's transformation ritual, the bloodline transformation from drinking a vampire's blood, infection from being bitten by a beastfolk, a necromancer transforming themselves into a lich…

As long as there's a target, there are plenty of ways.

Perhaps, Bishop Ashes was one of them.

She had once been a human nun of the Mist Monastery, but later, for some reason, was passively transformed into this kind of snake-type magical creature girl who carries secrets within her own body?

Of course, this was merely a guess that popped into Herbert's mind for a moment.

As for the truth, that was another secret.

Herbert arrived at a possibly valid conclusion in his mind, and feeling slightly relieved, he looked around, blinked, and suddenly froze.

"Mm?"

It's so… spacious here.

No, how is it this spacious?

He clearly remembered that before, there was only a tiny bit of space under the skirt — even squeezing his head in was a struggle.

But now, the inside could easily let him stand up and run around freely.

"…What exactly is under a girl's skirt?" Herbert slowly rose, stretching his back vigorously.

He looked at the snake tail that was clearly avoiding him, and smiled at it, beckoning with his hand.

"Hey hey hey!"

After his earlier coughing hadn't drawn any attention from the outside, he became convinced that his situation here was isolated from the outside world, so he behaved quite relaxed.

Herbert was relaxed, but Bishop Ashes could not relax.

Swish — swish —

The tip of the snake tail rose, gesturing left and right like a snake's head, silently threatening Herbert not to come closer.

Don't you come over here!

And Herbert, sensing the power of that snake tail, confirmed it could smash him to pieces, and quietly gave up his little scheme, giving a cold snort.

"Hmph, if I can't go over then I won't — who cares."

Then, he looked up toward an even higher place — mm, as expected, he couldn't see anything.

Heh, he wasn't looking forward to it at all!

The highest point of the space was wrapped by the waist-cincher, blocking all line of sight — inside, only he and the rune-covered snake tail kept each other company.

"Mm… forget it, forget it."

Herbert's gaze swept back and forth for a while, and ultimately he gave up on the idea of continuing to court death. He shuffled over next to the snake tail and obediently sat down.

"I'm just looking, I won't touch anything, really, trust me." He muttered words that sounded like a scumbag's lines of seduction, his burning gaze landing on those treasure-like scales.

Tell me…

If I could take a bite of this thing, what kind of ability would I gain?

It feels like it's been so long since I got a new magical creature girl ability!

So then, how can I get her to give me a scale?

……

After Herbert quietly contemplated his "free scale" plan, Bishop Ashes finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This kid, he's finally calmed down.

She raised her head, gave the Knight Commander a slight nod, and hummed softly: "Mm, please continue."

"…" The Knight Commander actually had a bellyful of questions he wanted to ask, but in the end, he decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything.

He cleared his throat, kept a straight face, and continued the topic that had been interrupted several times: "Ahem, then I'll continue."

"Your Excellency the Watcher, after the Blazing Sun Incident you previously asked me to monitor the Sun Church's movements — now there's finally news from that side."

Bishop Ashes nodded slightly, having also guessed that the Knight Commander had been forced to come see her to report this matter, and offered encouragement: "Very good, you've all worked hard."

But the Knight Commander shook his head: "No, Your Excellency, this wasn't something we discovered — they proactively reached out to us."

After getting into business, the Knight Commander finally regained his earlier composure, his expression cold and solemn, and said with a frown: "Just earlier, the Sun Church sent a message hoping we could dispatch a team to support their holy war."

"Holy war?" Hearing this dangerous term, Bishop Ashes furrowed her brow deeply and said in a low voice: "Which church have they gone to war with?"

The Knight Commander's mouth twitched slightly, and in some disbelief he said quietly: "The Sun Church has declared war on… the Church of the God of Sinful Desire."

(End of this chapter)