Li Yuan turned and pushed open the wooden door of the thatched cottage. He was about to step out when he stopped, as if remembering something.
“Right, one more thing.”
Daoist Qing Lan looked up.
“Those people from the Imperial Inquisition at the festival,” Li Yuan said, turning slightly, his tone flat. “Release them. They were only following orders; there is no need to make things difficult for them.”
“Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I intended to let them go once the festival was over anyway,” Daoist Qing Lan nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation. “I will have someone attend to it immediately.”
Li Yuan nodded and stepped out of the thatched cottage. His figure receded into the dim underground cavern before transforming into a streak of faint golden light, vanishing silently deep within the earth.
Meanwhile, inside the spatial pocket.
The High Priest was pacing back and forth in front of the statue with his hands behind his back. His pace was uneven, his soles making muffled scraping sounds against the membrane floor. The hem of his white robe was soaked with sweat, his forehead was wrinkled with worry, and anxiety was written all over his face.
The festival had been interrupted, and the spokesperson had been disrupted by the Empire's people in full view of the public. Although the believers had been temporarily calmed, the private rumors were impossible to suppress.
More importantly—the Lord Envoy had appeared in person. Although the festival was technically completed, the ritual itself hadn't been fully carried out.
What did this mean? It meant he had botched the job! For the first time in hundreds of years...
The more the High Priest thought about it, the more uncertain he felt. He stopped and looked up at the statue of the God of Light, then quickly looked down again, muttering something silently as he rubbed his hands together.
Dark thoughts wouldn't stop surfacing in his mind, one after another.
What if the Lord Envoy blamed him? What if this year's vow power wasn't enough? What if—
At that moment, the statue suddenly glowed.
The heavy sound wave surged from all directions once again, low and carrying a metallic resonance. The High Priest knelt by reflex, his forehead pressed against the ground, prostrating himself lower than ever before.
“Your subordinate is here!”
“The matter of the festival ends here,” the voice said, brief and devoid of emotion. “There is no need for further investigation, nor is there a need to hold it again.”
The High Priest felt a surge of relief, but before he could even finish exhaling, the voice continued.
“Release all the people from the Imperial Inquisition. Return the spokesperson to her home as well; do not trouble them. Calm the believers outside; use your own discretion on what to say. This year's ceremony ends here. After the festival, everyone in the temple is to withdraw temporarily. Do not have any further direct contact with the Empire's people.”
The High Priest remained prostrated for a good while after hearing this. The Lord Envoy hadn't blamed him. Not only was there no blame, but he had been given a series of clear instructions. What did that mean?
It meant that while the job had been botched, it was still within a controllable range, and he still held the Lord Envoy's favor.
He swallowed hard, forcing down the excitement rising in his chest, and said loudly, “Understood! Please rest assured, Lord Envoy. I will handle this personally and ensure every task is carried out perfectly!”
The light on the statue slowly faded. Silence returned to the cavern, save for the occasional faint sound of the membrane walls twitching.
The High Priest knelt for a while longer before pushing himself up. He brushed the dust off his robe and let out a long breath. The troubles that had made him so restless moments ago were now practically nothing.
The Lord Envoy had spoken, letting him continue to govern the City of Divine Grace and ordering the release of those people from the Empire—this was the best possible outcome for him, as it allowed him to avoid a direct conflict with the Empire.
He straightened his clothes and turned toward the rift passage, his steps much lighter than when he had arrived.
That evening, on one side of the Central Plaza.
Ramina’s steps were still a bit unsteady as she emerged from the side door of the temple. Two priestesses supported her on either side as she walked down the steps. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the piercing sunset, her memories a chaotic mess. Her last clear memory was the day she was chosen as the spokesperson; the temple staff had dressed her in a long white robe and made her drink a bowl of unknown medicine, and then everything was a blank.
At the bottom of the steps, Mokotoba stood by a stone pillar at the edge of the plaza. He had been barred from the side door by the two guards earlier and had been wandering around the plaza ever since, waiting for news of Li Yuan and his sister. When he saw the side door push open and a young girl in a white cloak being helped out, he froze for a second before sprinting forward.
“Sister!”
Hearing the voice, Ramina snapped her head up, her previously unfocused gaze instantly sharpening. She saw the boy running from the other side of the plaza. Her lips trembled several times before she managed to choke out a name: “Mokotoba?”
Mokotoba rushed over and grabbed his sister’s arm, ignoring the glares from the guards. He looked her up and down, and after confirming she was unharmed, his eyes instantly reddened.
“You're okay... you're really okay....”
Looking at her brother, Ramina felt an indescribable ache in her heart. Although she didn't remember what happened after she was taken away, seeing Mokotoba like this told her he must have been worried sick these past few days.
She raised a still-weak hand to pat his shoulder and said softly, “It’s alright. I’m back now, aren’t I?”
Not far away, Vina and Baron were also released from the side door. The two were in much better condition than Ramina; although they had suffered some internal injuries from being blown back by the puppet on the altar, they were mostly fine after simple treatment from the temple's healers. Behind them followed the eight Adjudicators, all looking disheveled but otherwise alright.
Li Yuan stood by a stone pillar at the edge of the plaza waiting for them. Seeing them emerge, he walked over to meet them.
Mokotoba helped his sister over to Li Yuan and prepared to kneel without a word, but Li Yuan caught him by the arm.
“That’s enough, no need to kneel,” Li Yuan said gently. “I said I would help you get your sister back, and I kept my word.”
Mokotoba’s eyes were red, his voice thick with tears. “Lord, your great kindness, I—”
“If you really want to thank me, just live a good life from now on.” Li Yuan patted his shoulder, then turned to Ramina. A strand of Divine Sense swept through her body silently—her soul was intact, she was just physically weak. It seemed Daoist Qing Lan hadn't continued the ritual after it was interrupted, which saved him a lot of trouble.
He withdrew his Divine Sense and said to Mokotoba, “Your sister’s health is fine. I can guarantee that she will be perfectly okay.”
Mokotoba nodded vigorously, wiping his tears messily with his sleeve. Ramina also gave Li Yuan a slight bow; although she didn't know this young man at all, she could guess from her brother's attitude that he was the one who had rescued her from the temple.
Mokotoba bowed again to Vina and Baron, and then to the Adjudicators, before supporting his sister as they turned toward the West District. The boy looked back every few steps until the two figures finally disappeared into the depths of the alleyway.
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