Chapter 353: Open the Door! Freedom of Faith!

Wu Chang and the other two were dressed plainly, but their clothes fit perfectly, made of fine fabric, unmistakably out of place in the slums.

Especially Erin—just by her appearance, one could tell she was someone of great importance.

Her saintly, compassionate demeanor seemed to have stepped straight from a fresco in St. George's Cathedral; even Queen Olivia would pale before her.

A person of importance arriving in the slums was rare enough; for such a person to voluntarily offer to treat Thomas's sister was rarer still.

Thus, Wu Chang and the other two followed the boy named Thomas, while the slum dwellers trailed behind them in a long, noisy procession, heading toward Thomas's home.

Thomas's home was a cramped rowhouse of rough red brick, barely over ten square meters, with only a small window on one side, leaving the interior dark and airless.

Upon entering, the stench of damp mold, rotting food, excrement, and vomit hit them at once.

The odor was unbearable; Wu Chang and Revinton instinctively frowned and reduced their breathing.

But Erin's expression remained unchanged; the moment she stepped inside, her gaze fixed on the girl lying on the bed.

"Thomas, I feel better—I don't need you to find a doctor for me anymore," came a faint voice from the bed.

Slowly stirring, a skeletal figure—skin stretched over bone, cheeks sunken from dehydration—sat up.

Thomas had been right: his sister was indeed gravely ill.

It wasn't just the fever and diarrhea from malaria—her chin had retracted, giving her face a "heaven-covering-earth" appearance, her cheeks swollen, her features grotesquely distorted.

The facial deformity had nearly disfigured her and made speaking extremely difficult.

More startling still, when she thought Thomas had returned and tried to smile to reassure him, her exposed teeth glowed faintly green-white in the dim room.

Wu Chang stared at the scene before him and nearly pulled out the Soul-Purifying Banner from his personal space.

"Possession by an evil spirit?" he whispered.

Only a vengeful ghost could reduce a person to this state—and luckily, he and Erin were professionals; an evil spirit encountering them was blessed indeed.

But the evil spirit in this dungeon dimension was elusive; he couldn't spot its true form at a glance—he needed to observe more closely.

Before Wu Chang could act further, Revinton spoke beside him:

"This isn't possession by an evil spirit. It's an occupational disease."

Wu Chang slowly raised an eyebrow, glancing at Revinton in confusion—what occupation could cause such a severe illness?

A necromancer?

Revinton whispered: "Phosphorus-induced jaw necrosis. His sister is most likely a matchstick worker."

"In matchstick factories, wooden sticks are dipped into phosphorus slurry containing white phosphorus, which releases toxic vapor at room temperature."

"White phosphorus is bone-affine; when its vapor mixes with saliva, it corrodes teeth, then spreads along the jawbone."

"The lower jaw is rich in blood vessels—once inside the body, white phosphorus easily accumulates there as it circulates. Combined with external corrosion, this leads to necrosis of the lower jaw in matchstick workers."

In Wu Chang's real-world dimension, matches were rare—he had never heard that producing them was this dangerous.

He whispered: "If the jawbone is already necrotic, how do you treat it?"

Revinton shook his head slightly. "No cure. In mild cases, removing the chin and changing jobs might allow survival. In severe cases, the toxin has spread to the brain—survival is unlikely."

Wu Chang fell silent. No wonder he'd seen several people without chins among the crowd following them—he'd wondered why, in Stilran, where there was no betel nut, they had such symptoms.

Now he realized: those people must have been matchstick workers.

He whispered to Revinton: "Didn't know you understood medicine."

Erin's doctor act was fake—Revinton was the real thing.

Revinton replied softly: "Truth hides in the details. I never studied medicine—just pay more attention to details."

While the two whispered, Erin had followed Thomas to the window.

Thomas first introduced the girl on the bed as Grace, his sister.

Then he told Grace that Erin was a doctor come to treat her.

Grace had just woken up, eyes still closed, and hadn't seen who stood behind Thomas.

Now seeing Erin, her foggy mind cleared slightly; she shook her head and said:

"Thomas, I'm much better—I don't need a doctor, especially not such a high-class Young Lady."

This Young Lady looked more noble than any aristocrat—how much would her consultation cost?

Even if they sold themselves, they couldn't afford such a fee—how could Thomas possibly have summoned her?

She recalled a terrifying rumor: in the slums, many strangers claiming to be doctors would offer treatment in exchange for patients' cooperation in drug trials.

None of those patients ever returned.

At that thought, Erin seemed to transform into a demon in her eyes—she was doomed, but she would not let her brother fall into the demon's grasp.

She pushed Thomas's shoulder urgently:

"Make her leave—I don't need treatment."

Erin had no mind-reading ability, but she saw the fear and panic in Grace's eyes; she seized Grace's hand and spoke gently:

"Relax—I won't charge you anything, in any form."

Erin's voice carried a calming magic; Grace's emotions settled, yet she remained wary.

"Then who are you? Stilran has no doctors who treat patients for free."

Erin paused, then said: "I am a clergy member."

Hearing this, Grace's suspicion lessened—if she were a priest, it made sense.

Before the church was turned into a poorhouse, its priests occasionally offered free treatment to nearby believers—but since the Holy Lord Church became the Holy Enlightenment Church, everything changed.

"Praise the Lord, merciful Young Lady—are you a priest of the Holy Lord Church?"

From Grace's reaction, she was clearly a devout follower of the Holy Lord Church. To ease her fears, Erin had been about to say yes—but Wu Chang interrupted:

"No, we come from the New World. Our sect is the Yongguang Sect Sect; we worship the Eternal Pure Light. The Yongguang Sect Sect's relationship to the Holy Lord Church is the same as the Holy Enlightenment Church's relationship to the Holy Lord Church."

"Think of us as sister sects with differing doctrines."

Wu Chang's voice was loud—loud enough for the slum dwellers watching outside the door to hear.

He wouldn't stop Eileen from helping Grey or the others in the slums, but he couldn't accept Bai Qian.

Stilan was a religious state, but after the Holy Master Sect was forcibly changed to the Holy Revelation Sect, though customs and interests showed no obvious change, the deity worshipped shifted from the unknown Holy Master to the god of the Revelation.

The Holy Revelation Sect's forced annexation, combined with the coerced shift in faith, left the people of Stilan in a period of spiritual confusion.

Now is the perfect time to exploit this vulnerability—if the Holy Revelation Sect can latch onto the Holy Master Sect and forcibly make it a brother church, why can't our Yongguang Sect Sect latch onto the Holy Revelation Sect and forcibly make it a sister church?

Since we've already acted, let's go all the way—declare the banner of the Yongguang Sect outright and recruit believers.

Eileen understood Wu Chang's meaning and looked back at him with a hint of helplessness.

Wu Chang said, "This is for their own good."

Worship the Holy Master Sect—the Holy Master doesn't exist; worship the Holy Revelation Sect, and the Queen and Prime Minister will send them to the poorhouse.

Only by worshipping the Yongguang Sect Sect will someone offer them redemption and healing.

Eileen turned to look at Grey and said:

"The deity sensed your despair and suffering, so I came to lead you out of your torment."

There was no radiant light, no golden wings of a divine form—Eileen simply held Grey's hand, and Grey's body healed rapidly.

Her distorted jaw realigned, her decaying skin healed, and her eyes, once dim from malnutrition and malaria, regained their luster.

In just over ten seconds, the emaciated, demon-possessed skeleton transformed back into a teenage girl.

This scene could no longer be described as miraculous healing.

"A miracle! It's a miracle!"

The slum dwellers who witnessed it all knelt to the ground and cried out.

The onlookers shouted in awe of the miracle, but Grey, the one experiencing it, felt it less vividly.

She only felt warmth emanating from Eileen's hand, flooding her body—wherever the warmth passed, the pain from white phosphorus and malaria vanished instantly.

Though she hadn't seen sunlight in years, she remembered once basking in it, feeling a similar warmth.

It felt like a dream—everything became unreal. When she came to her senses, the illnesses that had plagued her were gone.

"I—I—I thank you—really, thank the deity." Grey gripped Eileen's hand, wanting to say more, but she couldn't express gratitude deeper than this.

Eileen stroked the girl's forehead and whispered:

"It's all over now. You'll get better."

Under Eileen's soothing touch, the girl's trembling gradually ceased; once her body recovered, a clear rumble sounded from her stomach.

Grrrrrrl~

Eileen's light magic could heal the girl's illnesses, but it couldn't directly replenish her nutrition.

Seeing this, Wu Chang pulled out several silver coins and slipped them into Thomas's hands as he knelt watching.

"What are you doing here? Your sister just recovered—go buy her something suitable for a convalescent."

Thomas stood up dazedly, staring at the coins in his hand. "Mr., I can't…"

Wu Chang had no patience for his excuses—just two words: "Go!"

Thomas: "Oh."

Watching Thomas squeeze through the crowd and run off into the distance, Raven said:

"Captain, your lady's magic is truly a miracle—I couldn't understand it."

Wu Chang said, "It's normal you couldn't."

Raven rolled his eyes. "Remember what I said earlier? Grimlan doesn't welcome foreign sects. This kind of miraculous magic will surely bring trouble."

Wu Chang remained calm. "No problem—I have connections above."

He came to Steam Phantom at Christine's request, to rescue someone from an S-rank dungeon—she can hardly refuse to grant him even the faith power of one city.

With Christine on his side, the Holy Revelation Sect won't object.

If they do object, then there's nothing to be done.

Under Prime Minister Ron's leadership, Stilan wholeheartedly promotes free trade—it makes no sense for them to be so closed-minded about faith.

If the Holy Revelation Sect refuses to share faith, then I won't mind letting Eileen reveal the deity's true form and smash open Grimlan's closed gates with the Light of Resolve.

Open the gates! Freedom of faith!

Raven's voice was quiet, but Eileen heard it clearly.

Before leaving, she had promised Wu Chang she only wanted to understand the source of everything and wouldn't interfere with his actions.

But when she sensed Grey's desperate prayers through Thomas, she couldn't hold back.

She whispered, "I'm sorry—I couldn't keep my promise."

Wu Chang shook his head. "No need to apologize. You did well—perfectly fine."

Look at other deities: Lyman enjoys manipulating minds and demands human sacrifices; the Great Mother harvests faith without mercy and launched multiple holy wars; the Goddess of Desire follows desire and needs a silver party just to descend.

Compared to these deities, Eileen's love of healing is perfectly normal—if she hesitated to save even one person, it would be a cruel injustice.

If we went to the Reason Realm, with our current strength, we might need to hold back.

But this is the Wasteland Realm!

Even Joy would get two slaps if he showed up; Lyman would lose two eyeballs if he dared come; even if the Deep Sea Lord built a divine realm, he could still pierce it through.

The Steam Phantom dungeon is suspected to contain a World-Selected One? He's here to fight the World-Selected One!

Seeing Wu Chang's firm resolve, Raven said no more.

A few minutes later, Thomas returned with a bowl of meat soup, a bowl of oatmeal, and two loaves of bread.

Seeing Thomas return, Eileen rose to leave without delay.

Wu Chang knew what Eileen intended to do. He said:

"Do whatever you want—just manage your time. We have things to do tonight."

Tonight, they would join Raven to investigate the explosion at Pine Mine.

Saving lives can wait—don't delay the main task.

Aileen said softly, "I will."

She stepped out of Thomas's house and spoke to the impoverished residents kneeling outside:

"If anyone in your home is sick and needs treatment, bring them here. If moving them is difficult, tell me—I will find time to visit you."

The people kneeling outside had been waiting for these words; hearing that Aileen truly intended to help them, they immediately began shouting praises to Ever-Pure Light while rushing home to bring their sick to her.

In the slums, everything is lacking—except for two things.

Poverty and illness.

Especially during the Great Malaria outbreak, nearly sixty percent of the slum residents contracted malaria, and nearly fifteen percent died from it and its complications, like Grace did.

These people, who had been waiting to die, now saw a glimmer of hope.

One told ten, ten told a hundred.

The rumor of a saint with miraculous healing powers, willing to treat the poor for free, spread rapidly throughout the slums.

At first, people were skeptical—but after witnessing Aileen heal a patient even once, they became messengers of the rumor.

In the struggle for faith, nothing is more convincing than a living saint walking among mortals.

Even the most devout followers of the Holy Lord Church and the Holy Revelation Church found their faith shaken after receiving Aileen's healing.

Indeed, rumors claimed the Pope of the Church could commune with the divine and that his indulgences could grant believers entry into heaven after death.

The Grand Archbishop of the Holy Revelation Church was called a near-divine being, granted extraordinary power by the gods.

No one doubted that the Pope and the Grand Archbishop possessed supernatural abilities—but the problem was, these great figures refused to enter the slums, not even willing to glance at them.

In an instant, the entire slum's faith converged upon Aileen.

In the open space before Thomas's house, Wu Chang even saw a small sapling sprouting from the ground.

That was a sign: the accumulated faith in this realm had reached a threshold, beginning to coalesce into a Pillar of the Divine Realm.

He wondered curiously—if he built a divine realm within this dungeon realm, would the realm's rules still be influenced by the Origin Power of the Realm's Chosen One?

Aileen's rumor, like wings, spread swiftly through the slums—and it would reach the Holy Revelation Church just as fast.

Three hours after she began treating patients, Wu Chang sensed a large force of secret police and religious knights converging on the slums.

He drew the Lake Light Sacred Sword and hung it at his waist, approaching the newcomers—only to find, to his surprise, that their leader was Zhu Li herself.

Before the secret police and religious knights could enter the slums, the residents Aileen had healed spontaneously formed a barrier at the slum's entrance.

They said nothing, only stared silently at the secret police and religious knights—but the air was thick with tension.

One misstep, and a large-scale bloody conflict would erupt.

Zhu Li, seeing the row after row of emaciated human walls blocking the slum, showed surprise in her eyes; she ordered her subordinates to withdraw beyond the slum's boundary and await orders.

Then, using her extraordinary ability, she slipped into the slums through a back alley and arrived before Thomas's house, witnessing Aileen's actions firsthand.

After observing Aileen's actions, Zhu Li's expression grew complex. She turned her head toward Wu Chang, who had appeared beside her without notice, and asked, with a tone of confusion:

"Is this meaningful?"

Wu Chang replied, "What do you think?"

"I think this only changes things temporarily," Zhu Li said.

Wu Chang nodded. "I agree. But this is the greatest change she can achieve for these people."

"You cannot stand still just because you cannot find the perfect, complete solution. Even the smallest change is better than standing still."

Zhu Li, struck by insight, said, "Is this the solution you've chosen?"

Wu Chang nodded. "Yes."

Zhu Li said, "I understand. If you keep your actions outside Grimlan, and avoid the core region, I can find a way to appease the Queen."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow—he had expected to have to invoke Christine to peacefully resolve today's "religious dispute," but Zhu Li was far more reasonable than he'd anticipated.

As Zhu Li prepared to leave, he called out to her:

"What about you? Have you found the solution you're looking for?"

Zhu Li paused for a moment, her face expressionless. "I need more time to think."

With Zhu Li's permission, the subsequent healing sessions proceeded smoothly.

Night gradually fell, and Raven approached Wu Chang and said:

"We should go. We're still far from Pine Tree Mine—if we wait any longer, we won't make it in time."

Wu Chang was about to call for Aileen when Thomas suddenly interrupted:

"Mr., I just heard you say you're going to Pine Tree Mine?"

"I'm a miner there—I know every tunnel in the mine, and I know many of its secrets. If you need to do anything near Pine Tree Mine, perhaps I can help."

(End of Chapter)