Chapter 365: Good Lord, Bad Lord

Should we say they aren't cultists enough, or that they're too much cultists?

In short, after seeing their own leader beaten into a blood‑filled gourd, the other heretics in the hall immediately announced unconditional surrender, so swiftly that the surrounding Guardian Knights didn't even have time to react.

"We've surrendered, brother; once we surrender we can't fight!"

"You…"

Finding a high‑quality sandbag after such effort, only to have it leak sand all over you before you even swing a few times feels terribly frustrating, but they're not demons, so they can only reluctantly give up.

Seeing the dust settle, Te Ni Si approached the now non‑human‑shaped Grandma and thrust the staff in his hand beside her shattered head, which still retained only a rough shape.

"Your defeat is sealed; just say whatever you have to say."

"Cough…"

But what he got in return was Grandma, eyes wide open, spitting a mouthful with all her might.

Unfortunately, the scorching, fiery mouth could barely produce a sound, let alone complete the full loading and firing sequence.

Thus the blood‑filled foam never ignited; it detonated directly in the barrel, which only made her choke a bit and was otherwise meaningless.

The pool of blood beneath her expanded further as she coughed uncontrollably; the intense pain made Grandma shiver all over, yet after catching her breath she still gritted her teeth.

"I will never betray my deity!"

But before the words finished, a voice came from below the high platform.

"Fine, you won't betray, I'll betray first!"

???

Grandma forced her head to turn, only to find it was a heretic she had personally escorted, who usually treated her with filial respect as if she were his own mother.

And it wasn't just him; regardless of how they behaved in daily life, everyone below the stage began to clamor.

"Sir, I confess everything; I only beg to survive a single life!"

"I don't want to betray; they forced me. In fact, I've always wanted to contact all of you!"

"Please, I still have an eight‑year‑old mother and a seventy‑eight‑year‑old child at home!"

Grandma glared furiously, her blood loss suddenly accelerating.

After taking several deep breaths, she lay back down and shrieked at the ceiling.

"I'll speak first; it's not their turn! I know a lot, and I've confessed everything!"

Count's Guard:???

Guardian Knight:???

"Brother, you're from the Church; what the hell is happening with them?"

"I don't know; they suddenly started competing over who could confess faster?"

Seeing all the captives submit, the Count hurried to Te Ni Si, stating that as the local lord he would fully cooperate in crushing the Shadow Cultists and heretics.

"I understand your point, but the most urgent matter now is to quickly find out what exactly is happening behind the scenes in your domain."

Thus, Te Ni Si originally intended to lock all these heretics in the castle dungeon for interrogation, but to avoid alerting anyone, decided to conduct it directly in the church's underground.

As for the uninformed believers who, as usual, came to the church to pray to either the sun or a deer head, they were escorted by the Guardian Knights along with a few especially obedient captives and turned away outside the church.

"In a few days is the big day; the deity will pay special attention to our Wind Shadow Territory, and Grandma is now leading everyone in preparation."

"No need, no need, no need, we have more than enough manpower; look, even the Archbishop has come to help."

"Look how happily I'm smiling, haha, don't worry, it'll reopen in two days."

One can only say surrender has become a habit; once or twice, it turns into three or four times.

So in the basement, it's no longer the first time that heretics who have betrayed the Church are reporting their situations with remarkable efficiency.

Almost without being asked, they spill everything like beans pouring out, as if eager to film their first shock at seeing relatives convert to a dark god.

Thus the interrogators worry not about how to pry their mouths open, but how to stop their meaningless rambling.

By that evening, the civil staff under the Count had gathered all testimonies, completed their synthesis, and arrived at a rather astonishing conclusion.

Throughout the Wind Shadow Territory, aside from the newcomers who have just converted and are still in the observation period, almost all Holy Light believers have already been corrupted.

Te Ni Si pinched the investigation report and wandered alone down the church corridor for a long time.

If she had watched some classic Korean drama, she would probably exclaim, "Damn, how did the Church become like this?"

If she had watched some classic British drama, she would understand why Humphrey said, "We can't investigate everything; who knows what we might actually find?"

But she's just an other‑worldly old lady, so she only has one thing to say.

"They're still alive? Just slaughter them all!"

However, venting verbally is useless; killing alone can't solve the problem, so at dawn the next day, after returning to the church hall, her first words were.

"I'm not leaving yet."

His previous career as a doctor had given Ji Ming the habit of staying up late and getting up early—a habit he couldn't tell whether it was good or bad, but certainly hard to evaluate.

So, while sitting in the hall holding an alchemy book, pretending to study but actually browsing the Player Forum, he heard Te Ni Si's whisper.

Ji Ming's main reason for heading north to the Royal Capital with them is still to expand the players' map of the kingdom region.

Now the players already have the entire southern kingdom as a stage, which is ample in size, so he doesn't really care whether they go or stay.

But there's one thing Ji Ming has been puzzled about for a while; though it's not truly important, since it's been brought up, he might as well ask.

"Haha, I followed everyone mainly to see the customs of the Hui Guang Kingdom, so I'm not really concerned about this matter."

"But if I recall correctly, the main purpose of this convoy is to get Ai Li Nuo back to the Royal Capital for an urgent matter, right? It's already been two weeks—doesn't that matter?"

Te Ni Si glanced around, made sure no one was watching, then whispered.

"There's a minor incident in the royal family, so the point isn't that she's returning to the Royal Capital, but that we tell them she's on her way back."

Ji Ming understood immediately.

"Got it, we just need to strike that pose, right?"

That's right.

Royal affairs are nothing but that bit of inheritance rights trouble; since they already know the score and don't need a strategist, Ji Ming also can't be bothered to ask further.

We need to keep concise but faithful. Let's produce: "Royal affairs are nothing but that bit of inheritance rights trouble; since they already know the score and don't need a strategist, Ji Ming also can't be bothered to ask further."

As for why Tenisi chose to temporarily stay in Windshadow Territory, it's simple: since the local believers are almost all corrupted, the local church must already be paralyzed.

Therefore, before reinforcements from other dioceses arrive, they are the Windshadow Territory's sole Holy Light force, and only they can deal with the anomalies and other churches.

Besides, what if the Shadow Church later comes to rescue people and stir trouble, then just pats their drum and leaves? That would purely add trouble for the Windshadow Count.

Moreover...

At Jueqiao Pass the Forest Church assassinated the princess, and in Windshadow Territory the Shadow Church assassinated the Divine Chosen; as the esteemed Archbishop Tenisi, he's already broken into a sweat.

Logically, such things should happen even where the church's power is strongest; it seems the southern problem is no ordinary severity— the earlier we act, the sooner we can quell the calamity.

Therefore, she who previously harbored hopes of luck now must confront it; after sending an urgent letter to Holy Mountain requesting aid, she began contacting the bishops of surrounding areas.

According to canon law, let them temporarily obey his command, quickly start self‑inspection, and send people over to help.

This time we finally have some good news: the Shadow Church is relatively cautious, apparently operating mainly in this Windshadow Territory and daring not to meddle in too many places.

Even if other dioceses have hidden Shadow cultists, they were only spread unintentionally by friends and family to former nominal believers; a little publicity about the evil god's harm is enough to turn them.

Moreover, after this setback the Shadow Church also began strategic contraction; the few dioceses where they had opened offices were emptied out when angry cultivators went to investigate.

But the lack of more doesn't mean we can rest easy; reversing what we have is the top priority, so Holy Light cultivators must visit every village to see if we can cut off their foundation.

This includes Ji Ming, who had originally planned to slack off for a few days.

"Wait, why am I included? I can't even memorize a few sutras!"

Tenisi: "Because you're good‑looking, everyone wants to see something pleasing; as long as you speak, they may not believe you, but they'll surely listen."

So it's just a personal IP issue...

But this isn't my fault—I've been working hard to suppress my charm increase!

No choice—Ji Ming had to take a few Guardian Knights to the villages assigned to him.

The mountain road is rough, certainly no longer suitable for a carriage; after riding on horseback for a long while, he finally saw scattered thatched huts nestled in the mountain gullies,

... sigh, thinking back, I almost got talked into taking the civil service exam by college roommates; this time I'm skipping the exam and jumping straight into daily life.

And it seems that in every village, there are always a few figures at the gate—possibly children, possibly simpletons, possibly elders—but they all serve as lookouts.

So when a large group of white‑clad clerics on horseback came around the distant mountain bend, several snot‑nosed kids immediately screamed and ran back to the village.

"It's the gentlemen from the city, the village head grandfather, gentlemen have arrived!"

The village instantly turned into an ant nest that's been stabbed, with the sounds of packing up, closing doors, and calling children home ringing nonstop.

The Guardian Knights were dumbfounded, thinking our church's main activity funds come from slaying anomalies, treating patients, and donations from the rich—surely that's right.

Taxes do exist, but the amount is so small it's merely symbolic—how could they be scared to this extent?

So they slowly clenched their fists, wondering if it couldn't be that Shadow‑born lot, making money for themselves under the Holy Light's name!

They were planning to go back and abuse private punishment, harshly suppressing this crooked trend, when the situation suddenly took a turn.

"You little brat, did I teach you to read and write for nothing? You can't even tell a church gentleman from a noble gentleman!"

A relatively dignified old man dragged a wailing child into the village square, raising his other hand and shouting.

"Everyone, don't be afraid, it's the church's good gentleman—come out all of you."

Now the shrieks turned into cheers; the villagers were practically eager to offer food and drink to welcome the royal army, making the knights feel a bit embarrassed.

And Ji Ming thought of more, realizing why the players' expansion speed in the south could be so fast.

Even the Windshadow Count, who barely has a human appearance, can almost stop children's night crying in the countryside under the Shadow Church's interference—let alone those nobles who stop at nothing to extort wealth.

By comparison, even if they still aim to exploit labor, they merely have them do chores like weaving and delivery, while also providing food, lodging, and wages—truly a rare 'good gentleman'.

Following this line of thought, even if local cultivators have been infiltrated by the Shadow Church, they still maintain the church's former lofty image, so it's understandable that they enjoy such high popularity and prestige among villagers.

Nothing else—this is the correct answer.

But the solution being the solution, this 'answer' can only be written by me, so Ji Ming, after being ushered to the village square by the village head, still chose to 'act decisively'.

And this move, well, it's a professional‑matching one—just a few words left the simple villagers stunned.

In terms of understanding, Ji Ming, who has faced Him many times, should be the Holy Light Church's foremost expert on Lao Yang Tou, so with a few words he piled all the Wolf King Court's grave faults and virtues onto the Shadow Church's head.

This isn't unjust either; Lao Yang Tou is the Wolf King's state preceptor, essentially a strategist, and he dares claim that his heap of skeletal undead have no enemy corpses picked up from the battlefield?

Even so, amidst the villagers' astonished, wholehearted belief, a few stubborn ones still wore grim faces.

If it weren't for the Divine Chosen being good‑looking and pleasant‑spoken, a longer look might even prolong life; they should have long since stood up and loudly objected, their dissent lasting till the ends of earth and heaven.

So this isn't something mere talk therapy can fix; Ji Ming must produce something more concrete.

"I don't know how much you all know about me, but aside from being the Holy Light Divine Chosen, my proudest identity is that of a doctor."

——Nothing much to say, let's display the lord's holy trace.

Moreover, he is no longer the former 'knife‑wound doctor' who only knew the three steps of cleaning, suturing, and applying medicine.

With knowledge of anatomy and alchemy as his basis, he can barely mention any ailment without saying a couple of sentences, and the hidden ailments and old injuries he cures on the spot are countless.

"Divine doctor!"

Now even the stubborn ones had to concede, after all the Shadow Church, no matter how it pretends, couldn't possibly have professionals who master both the rejuvenation elixir and alchemy.

Before, there weren't lack of desperate souls trying to get them to treat illness, but...

"Sorry, can't do it, can't do it means can't do it—not even mugwort can do it."

Moreover, since they weren't summoned by grandma to the church for a faith battle, it shows their faith and strength are simply too low in purity.

Sigh, why bother quarreling over things we don't care about versus immediate gain? Besides, they even cured the happiness of the rest of our lives.

"Divine Chosen, I'm wrong, waa waa waa, I'm wrong—do you have a happier prescription? Even a little more happiness will do, please please please please QWQ."

Ji Ming (Sweating Soybean Special Edition): "Enough already."