Chapter 239: Ai Mu Lin's Entanglement

In the corner of the prayer hall of Harvest Church, as soon as Ai Mu Lin sat down, he couldn't wait to lower his voice and say:

"Do you know the 'Fool'?"

"It's the Fool that many people in Bei Ke Lan De have been searching for his followers and devotees recently."

Lei Ke Dun looked at Ai Mu Lin for a while, almost laughing, before slowly speaking:

"I'm not a bounty hunter, so I don't know much about Bei Ke Lan De's news."

"But I do know something about the 'Fool'. What? Your blood clan doesn't help you solve psychological suggestion problems, so you plan to pray to the Fool yourself?"

"I" Ai Mu Lin fell silent, and after a long pause said hesitantly:

"I'm not that stupid to pray to an unknown evil god; how is that any different from suicide? Is dying any more disgraceful?"

"This is the Ancestor's revelation!"

"Are you sure this isn't your blood clan's higher‑ups fooling you?"

Lei Ke Dun voiced a doubt about Ai Mu Lin's words.

His expression suddenly turned serious, his chin slightly raised, his scarlet eyes faintly revealing a hint of arrogance as he opened:

"This is a revelation from the Ancestor; no blood clan dares to forge it or lie about it!"

"And I haven't even said anything yet, how do you know this is what our blood clan's higher‑ups told me?"

"It's not hard to guess."

Lei Ke Dun leaned back, resting lightly on the chair back, his voice flat yet confident as he said:

"Since the great calamity, your Ancestor has rarely responded to your prayers. Since He now gives a revelation, a major event must be imminent."

"Compared with those dukes and counts, you are just an ordinary blood clan member no older than a hundred years; how could your Ancestor give a revelation solely to you?"

Ai Mu Lin swallowed, wanting to retort that he was not an ordinary blood clan but one of the key figures in the Ancestor's revelation.

It is a blood clan secret, not to be exposed lightly. He clenched his teeth, comforted himself internally, and decided not to engage with this clueless fellow.

He then sighed again, his voice rather conflicted as he asked:

"Then tell me, should I pray to that Fool?"

"Do you believe in your Ancestor?"

Lei Ke Dun replied with a question.

"Of course I do!" Ai Mu Lin answered without hesitation.

Huh. Lei Ke Dun let out a light laugh, meeting Ai Mu Lin's puzzled gaze and continued:

"So, do you think your Ancestor would tell you the true, dangerous name of an evil god without concealment or instruction?"

"If He directly gave you the Fool's true name, that would mean the Fool is not a particularly dangerous evil god."

"But even if not extremely dangerous, it could still be risky!"

Ai Mu Lin furrowed his brows, speaking with tangled feelings.

Although his words still worried about possible danger, inside he was indeed wavering.

"Preparing for the end times involves danger; that's normal. I'm one of the few key figures the Ancestor's revelation gave!"

"When you strive for the blood clan's future, the Ancestor's devotees will naturally fall upon you!"

Lei Ke Dun's self‑descriptive words interrupted Ai Mu Lin's internal self‑analysis.

"Huh?" Ai Mu Lin asked confused, "I'm already a key in the Ancestor's revelation."

He fell silent, realizing he had said too much, awkwardly trying to cover his mouth.

Lei Ke Dun shook his head wordlessly, thinking this guy is really naive! The blood clan's higher‑ups fooled him with a couple of lines and he believed them, and after believing he actually succeeded!

Ai Mu Lin, a bit embarrassed, closed his mouth, leaned against the chair back, one hand propping his forehead, his thoughts scattering.

At least up to today, no one has been heard of suffering a tragic fate from praying to the 'Fool'. Perhaps, as Lord Ni Baisi said, the 'Fool' and the Spirit Realm's pure light are orderly, enthusiastic hidden existences.

Ai Mu Lin, with a sudden clarity, looked up at Lei Ke Dun across the table, cleared his throat and said:

"Do you know what the Seven Pure Lights of the Spirit Realm are? Are they truly orderly, enthusiastic hidden existences?"

Although he didn't understand how Ai Mu Lin's topic jumped so quickly, Lei Ke Dun nodded slightly and answered:

"Indeed they are, and they, together with many Spirit Realm beings, have formed a secret organization that teaches humans knowledge, called the Pure Light Brotherhood."

"In a sense, they are direct subordinates of the 'Fool' you mentioned."

"Subordinates?" Ai Mu Lin was stunned; he wanted to argue, aren't the Seven Pure Lights hidden existences? How can they be someone's subordinates?

"Even great beings of that level have hierarchical relations, like angels and deities?"

He sighed, stood up, forced a very strained smile, and gave Lei Ke Dun a slight bow:

"Thank you for the information. I need to go back and cool down; perhaps soon I will indeed recite the Fool's true name."

"Going home? Have you finished today's work?" Lei Ke Dun raised an eyebrow and asked.

Ai Mu Lin's steps halted, he gritted his teeth and replied:

"You'd better stay silent!"

Joewood District, house number 15 on Mingsike Jie.

The old steward of King Edsack's household, dressed in a well‑tailored long tailcoat, stood before house 15 and rang the doorbell.

Soon, the gate was opened from inside by Ke Lai En.

The old steward stepped forward two paces, bowing with neither arrogance nor loss of status, and said:

"Detective Moriarty, His Highness the Prince is waiting for you at the carriage at the street corner, hoping to learn the investigation's progress."

"Understood." Ke Lai En replied calmly.

Turning back to the hall, about to take off his hat from the coat rack, his stomach suddenly ached, the kind that makes you want to squat on the toilet.

He had no choice but to turn around, apologetically to the old steward:

"I'm very sorry, I need to go to the washroom; my stomach suddenly feels off."

The old butler responded without any unusual expression:

"That is your freedom."

After about seven or eight minutes, Klein came out of the washroom and returned to the entrance hall, but the old butler was already gone; only a maid with naturally curly brown hair was there.

Seeing Klein approach, she bowed meticulously and said:

"His Highness the Prince asked me to convey his apologies. He still has matters to attend to and cannot wait too long. Please visit Rose Manor tomorrow or the day after in the afternoon."

I hurried as fast as I could, and it was not even ten minutes. If I had grabbed a newspaper, I could have squatted a while longer.

Sighing inwardly to himself, Klein pulled up a smile and said:

"No problem."

After receiving the reply, the maid gave a light laugh as if making casual conversation:

"Detective Moriarty, you and that lady missed each other again."

"Ah?" Klein looked at her, somewhat bewildered.

The maid lowered her voice and said:

"That lady came together with His Highness the Prince this time. It was she who suggested making a detour to visit you."

So I missed her because of a stomachache? Is this also 0-08's arrangement? But isn't it on the same side as the lady who killed Talim?

Empress Borough, in a room laid with a soft, thick carpet.

A held quill pen stopped, no longer writing.

On the notebook beneath it, rows of words bore many marks of scribbling:

"The target attempted to break free of control, but unfortunately, Detective Sherlock Moriarty had already left before she came downstairs."

"The target attempted to influence the maids nearby, but was accidentally discovered by Butler Finkel, who dealt with the matter accordingly."

(scribbled out)

"The target deviated from the trajectory, attending Talim's funeral in place of Prince Edsach, however, after quickly returning to normal, she found herself unable to recognize that Detective Sherlock Moriarty."

"Al Tyns appeared at Talim's funeral for unknown reasons; he attempted to influence the target and inform her of some information, but at that moment a steam engine nearby happened to explode, which incidentally affected a passing Rose Sect demigod, who locked his gaze onto Al Tyns, who had just dispersed his spirituality."

"The target did not hear clearly the information Al Tyns told her; she was soon taken away by Prince Edsach, losing the opportunity to make contact with Al Tyns."

(altered)

"The target deviated from the trajectory once more, urging Prince Edsach to visit Detective Sherlock Moriarty, but unfortunately Sherlock Moriarty happened to have a stomachache and stayed in the washroom for a while, which was exactly the time the Prince could not wait."

Setting down the classical quill pen in his hand, Ince Zangwill looked at the woman to the side and said in a deep voice:

"What exactly did you place on her? Breaking through the restrictions again and again will cause major problems."

"Just an accident, no need to worry too much. There won't be any problems."

A lady wearing a plain, pure-white robe, her hair loosely pinned up, her features bright and radiant, revealed a trace of an alluring smile as she responded.

Then she slowly applied various things to her face, dressed with relaxed grace, and put on her jewelry, becoming ever more striking and seductive.

She cast a casual glance at the classical quill pen that Ince Zangwill had set on the table, and said with a smile at the corner of her mouth:

"Be careful with that quill pen in your hand. Last time you nearly swapped bodies with someone."

"No need for your reminder," Ince Zangwill responded with a stern face.

(End of this chapter)