Chapter 348: Who Killed Eleanor?

Huh? This isn't the Divine Chosen… sigh, O Divine Chosen, I've been looking for you forever. Where did you just go?

Eh, no problem, just a few odd jobs in the unit, so I went to handle them.

Oh, I see… um, that, Divine Chosen, I still don't quite get the matter of kidney qi regulation—could you explain it to me in more detail?

I just wanted to hide in the toilet and kill some time, but somehow I ended up eating a truckload of big melons, wasting so much time back and forth.

Fortunately this was a banquet, not a battlefield, so it wasn't catastrophic just because he dropped the connection for a while; thus Ji Ming quickly regained his social rhythm.

But now isn't the time to keep farming reputation; while he dealt with various celebrities trying to strike up a chat and suck up to him, he also led his chatty circle of friends all over looking for the Archbishop's whereabouts.

It's a shame that, as a succubus, this sort of place should be her absolute home turf, but Tenisi is getting on in years, low on energy, and even standing a bit long makes her waist sore and back ache, her whole body feeling like it's about to fall apart.

Moreover, as the Archbishop suddenly recalled from the outer territories, her identity, the Holy See's stance, and all the possible underlying reasons behind this are quite thought‑provoking—naturally, countless people want to pump her for information, and intense mental strain only adds to her fatigue.

So Ji Ming wandered the banquet once and still didn't see where she was; if he hadn't run into that old man who'd guided him in again, grabbed him and asked carefully, learning that Tenisi had left the banquet and gone back to her room to rest, he would have thought the opposing forces were incredibly strong—even a super‑powered old lady capable of crushing the weird army could be assassinated.

But that's fine—saves me from having to make up an excuse to talk to her alone…

Thus, under the old steward's guidance, Ji Ming came to Tenisi's residence, and after politely sending the outsiders away, he gently knocked on the door.

But in the midnight chill, the thudding knocks echoed far away, yet inside the room there wasn't even a hint of movement—it was as silent as if no one were there.

Until five seconds later, a voice suddenly came from just beyond the door separating him from Ji Ming.

Who's there?

Holy shit, it's like dealing with a ghost!!!

Startled, Ji Ming lowered his voice.

It's me.

The Archbishop, obviously annoyed at having her rest disturbed, didn't go full blunt and nasty like Lao Nv Shi did—she just spoke in a cold tone.

"Ji Ming, it's very late now; elderly people need rest—what urgent business do you have coming to see me?"

Urgent?

If I had just blurted it out without holding back, the whole banquet would have blown up on the spot—you know that, right?

So this is a big deal; no matter how careful one is, it's never too much. Feeling uneasy, Ji Ming didn't come out and say it directly—instead he started speaking in riddles.

"Archbishop, there's an emergency—it's about Eleanor. I just…"

The next moment, the door was flung open.

You! What did you do to her!!

Ji Ming was about to speak when he saw, through the crack in the door, a deathly pale face with disheveled hair and eyes glowing with an eerie purple light.

!!!

His eyes widened instantly; if his heart hadn't been trained to be unusually sturdy, he would have unleashed a full‑power 【Saint's Judgment】 right then—no matter what weird thing you are, I'd vaporize you first and ask questions later!

Tenisi, seeing Ji Ming's reaction, also suddenly realized she wasn't in a fit state to receive visitors, and with a bang she hurriedly shut the door, her voice fading away.

"Wait a moment, just wait a moment…"

This time Ji Ming waited a full five minutes before the door was reopened, and what he saw was finally the Archbishop restored to her usual complexion.

As for just now…

It was probably just a bit of skincare routine for an elderly person after a hard day's work, late at night when everything was quiet, and they both unconsciously forgot about it.

She set down two cups of floral tea, Tenisi sat opposite Ji Ming, inhaled, was about to speak, then frowned and exhaled the breath again.

"…Um, what were we just talking about?"

……

"Um, the matter's rather complicated; you'd better brace yourself first."

Tenisi laughed heartily, revealing the composure of one who's weathered many storms.

"Child, I'm this old—half my body already in the grave—what haven't I seen? Just say it; don't worry, my pact with Buluowa still stands, and I'll help you."

Good good good, truly worthy of an Archbishop—she sure speaks more pleasantly than Lao Nv Shi!

Ji Ming first used Eye Devil Magic to perform mental encryption on this area, blocking any possible external probing at its root, then spoke quickly.

"I and Eleanor were chatting in the men's restroom when I accidentally saw the Jueqiao family's third son, Ke Luo, and the big grain merchant, Wen Si Te, kissing!"

???

Tenisi: "Nima, I've never seen anything like this."

For a moment she couldn't even figure out what the point of that remark was; after a while of baffled head‑scratching, she blurted out a sentence.

"You… why were you chatting with Eleanor in the men's restroom?"

Ji Ming was almost done compiling in his head the list of questions she might ask, complete with reference answers ready to match and answer perfectly—he never expected it to come from this angle!

He froze.

"Is… this really important?"

Reason told Tenisi the latter was definitely more important, yet she still blurted it out instinctively.

"Isn't this important!!"

Then she let out a soft sigh.

"Ji Ming, you surely know about Eleanor's affair, right? Yes, back then I was also involved; since I'm still alive, I have to take responsibility for my old friend."

Ji Ming secretly curled his lip, humph, and yet claimed he wouldn't be in a hurry…

"Fine, the answer's actually simple—since you'd feel tired, Eleanor and I would too; we just didn't expect that, while both choosing to piss‑escape, we'd end up in the same stall, that's all."

But Ji Ming knew he had uncanny luck—everything turned out best… well, at least everything was arranged in the most outrageous way, so he didn't think such a coincidence was strange at all.

So Tenisi, hearing that utterly outrageous explanation, still couldn't help shaking her head with a "I don't believe you" look, but she didn't dwell on it further, steering the conversation back onto the proper track.

"Um, the kissing—is that literal or…?"

A glance at Ji Ming's gesture, and she instantly understood it instinctively.

"…Oh, that really is a big deal… you didn't tell anyone else, right?"

Ha, if this gets out the influence would be too huge; I don't think my small frame can shoulder this pot, so of course I didn't, and I came to consult you right away.

Well done! I have to say, you're still very reassuring in these matters.

He openly offered praise, then Te Ni Si took a sip of tea and fell into thought.

One is formidable in strength and sharp-minded, likely to become the noble heir of the nineteenth-generation Jueqiao Duke.

One wields great influence, frequently shuttling grain between Deep Forest, Radiant Light, and the Barren Plains; according to church intel, his backside is very likely seated with the Deep Forest side as a transnational grain magnate.

These two together are definitely not a good sign; it's very likely a plot targeting the Jueqiao Duke, even the entire Jueqiao Pass region.

Although the church now has a reliable ally called the Soul Spirit Holy See outside the pass, the scattered Sunlight City has, under the church and the community's efforts, gradually restored normal civil order.

But the wolf clan on the forest's other side is restless, and there is likewise an ambitious evil god as an ally; given their current intentions and posture, they will surely head north sooner or later to keep expanding their territory and followers,

Against this backdrop, Jueqiao Pass's importance as the kingdom's southern gateway goes without saying; as the saying goes, you must be strong yourself to forge iron, and if problems arise here, the southern nobles, as useless as mud trying to support a wall, would have no chance to repel any foreign invasion, and the entire southern region would quickly rot.

If… no, the Deep Forest people will surely seize the chance to stick a foot in! They'll let the bandit troops descend the mountain to cause chaos, colluding with the wolf troops inside and out, forming a pincer to advance further into Radiant Light…

As an elderly person who fled to this land five hundred years ago, merely watching the kingdom's rise and fall, and who even personally took the field once twenty years ago, Te Ni Si, who knows everything about Radiant Light, could only deduce one outcome.

—Radiant Light pills, everyone hurry up and wash up, prepare to welcome the royal teacher with the fullest spirit.

So what attitude does the Jueqiao Duke have?

Does he know about this?

How far has the Deep Forest people's infiltration progressed?

The situation is urgent, and the answers to these questions are more important than one another, yet Te Ni Si couldn't even think of a single viable solution, let alone any reliable line of thought.

The old man unconsciously broke out in a sweat, grew increasingly restless, and to calm his thoughts he could only, as before, force himself to think of pleasant things as a balance.

……

Right! Think of the good—surely nothing could be worse than this!

But just as if he could hear his own inner voice, Ji Ming suddenly spoke the next second.

Furthermore, Archbishop, don't rush to ponder it—I still have something to tell you; after I finish, we can figure it out together.

Te Ni Si felt a faint ominous premonition, but still forced composure.

"Hmm, go ahead."

Then she heard that sentence again, as if she had just heard it.

"This matter is rather complicated; you need to brace yourself mentally before I can speak."

Anxious as she was, she instantly grew a bit angry at this cryptic behavior and sped up her speech.

"Oh, Ji Ming! I just told you—I've lived this long and have already experienced so much……

"Ai Li Nuo was assassinated."

"……uh!"

Te Ni Si's confident words ended there; they clutched their chest as if struck by illness, nearly passing out in one breath.

After finally regaining strength, without even catching that breath, they hurriedly rose and rushed outward, moving so fast they were almost a streak of light.

Until she was about to reach the door handle, a sound came from behind.

"Cough cough!"

Only then did she shudder to a stop, realize what happened, and sheepishly sit back down.

"Sorry, this matter is indeed too important; I…… really can't help but be anxious……

"Alright, I understand. Since you can come running to me so calmly to tell me these things, it must mean you've already resolved the assassination, right?"

"Of course."

Ji Ming told Te Ni Si the whole process, from discovering Ai Li Nuo's wound to treating it, including the truths and possibilities he had inferred from it.

After a moment's thought, Te Ni Si's expression returned to still water, speaking word by word.

"Before this I didn't dare assert it outright, but adding what you've said, I can guarantee that behind all this, the Deep Forest people are definitely up to something."

After speaking, as an eyewitness, Tenisi told Ji Ming a clan's secret history.

——Twenty years ago, nominally no troops were sent, but secretly supporting the Iron Clad Legion besides the Holy Light Church, there was actually another major backer: the previous generation's Duke of Jueqiao.

——Even to say that this person now also once participated in battle in a personal capacity!

After she said that, Ji Ming understood: as a living person, Ailinuo's existence is meaningless, but as a card on the table, "Ailinuo" with a bunch of buffs is simply the biggest trump card.

Especially for the Duke of Jueqiao, who has countless ties to the Iron Clad Legion, he is quickly eating up a series of debuffs such as armor‑break, special attack, defense reduction, etc.

If Ailinuo dies here, even as an unshakable lone minister of the southern borders, Heteman can barely protect himself, causing Deep Forest's attempt to smear him to fail.

But as an old comrade-in-arms, he actually couldn't even protect the orphan of his own legion commander; for Heteman this is absolutely a huge pressure, and if he does anything further it's very likely to make him choose to give up and retreat, letting the nineteenth generation take over early.

Anyway, their goal is merely to control Jueqiao Pass—whether they let it collapse completely or make it their puppet, the effect is the same!

All of this is high‑level information Ji Ming couldn't obtain before; the reasoning, which originally had many loopholes, now, after Tenisi's explanation, seems to have all come together.

So Tenisi even has to thank Ji Ming for meeting Ailinuo in the toilet and being able to provide timely effective medical aid; otherwise, if she really had just died like that, she would have no face to go on living...

I don't know if it's because she's really aging or because she's recently started muttering crazily about being old, but Ji Ming suddenly feels that she clearly has an extremely long shelf life—until today she could still find a place in some otherworldly work as a popular female lead, an old succubus, and her face really shows a few more signs of age.

The oldster languished for a while, then raised his head and asked.

"Where is Ailinuo now?"

"I had her stay in an empty reception room and placed a seal on the door; at least tonight no one will find her inside, so she's temporarily hidden."

"Good, wise choice! So you must have some idea in doing this—come on, let me hear it."

Ji Ming gave a light laugh.

"I've heard that old folks all like fishing; Your Grace the Archbishop, have you ever fished?"