After Tilis left, Luo Wei and the other two continued northward, soon catching sight of the town.
This northern town was far livelier than the "simple and honest" Herglais Hot Town, bustling with merchant caravans coming and going. Whether heading to Thornflower Castle, further north, or even the Kingdom of Winterfrost, this place served as an essential rest and resupply point.
Evelyn gazed ahead with curiosity in her eyes. "I remember sneaking here to play often when I was little. I never expected it to have changed so much!"
Luo Wei couldn't help but chuckle. "That's not surprising at all, Teacher. If you came here as a child, it must have been over a hundred years ago. Of course, it would have changed a lot!"
Evelyn nodded silently. "You're right..."
The trio pressed on. This town was managed by a branch family under the Abrahams. Guests arriving via the usual route would be received by the family and escorted by carriage to Thornflower Castle.
However, just as they were about to reach the outskirts of the town, a group of riders suddenly closed in on them.
Helena tensed up, recognizing the identity of the group—they were knights from the Church.
Evelyn had never been fond of the knights either, but Helena harbored even more resentment toward them. As fellow "others," Helena lacked the noble status that Evelyn had, so she had often faced pursuit from the knights and the Special Affairs Department in her youth.
Luo Wei gently took Helena's hand, signaling her to stay calm. Evelyn, facing the lead knight who had ridden up, promptly revealed her identity by displaying the Thornflower emblem of the Abraham family.
"So it's Lady Abraham," the captain said, naturally unaware of which of the duke's children she was, so he addressed her as Lady Abraham.
Evelyn had expected the knights to disperse immediately after she revealed her identity, but the captain remained stern-faced.
"We just sensed a strong aura of dark magic in the distance. Given the recent large-scale disturbances caused by dark sorcerers in the southern part of the empire, especially with the appearance of that wicked Calamity Witch, all parishes in the country are on high alert. So..."
"Lady Abraham, I apologize, but it's my duty to perform a divine inspection on you and your party."
Evelyn and Luo Wei exchanged helpless glances. They hadn't expected the witch to have such a fearsome reputation now. Perhaps they shouldn't have chosen this location for their teleportation.
"Divine inspection?" Evelyn glanced at the captain again. "Are you looking for heretics or others? If it's the former, both of us can use magic. If it's the latter, all three of us are. What, are you planning to take us all back to the Church?"
She let out a cold laugh. "You haven't forgotten whose territory this is, have you? Shall I take you to that old castle? There are plenty of heretics and others there—you can arrest as many as you like."
"Lady Abraham..." The captain's smile turned awkward. As the captain of the knights responsible for this region, he was well aware of the Abraham family's dubious reputation. Unfortunately, his superior wasn't the duke but the bishop...
As the tension grew, several clergy members from the Church hurriedly pushed their way through the knights.
A middle-aged man in white robes approached with a warm smile. "Lady Evelyn, please rest assured. This is merely a routine inspection. If there are no issues, you won't face any trouble."
"Bishop Lawrence," the knight captain quickly stepped behind him.
The trio shifted their gaze to him. After some introductions, they learned that he was the bishop of this parish and one of the guests invited to the duke's birthday banquet.
Bishop Lawrence's smile was amiable as he looked at Evelyn. "I have a good personal relationship with your father, and I didn't used to be so involved in these matters."
His tone turned somewhat resigned. "But recently, the higher-ups have been pressuring us to increase inspections. Honestly, they don't seem to consider my position. Do they not know what kind of place I'm overseeing...?"
After confirming their identities, Evelyn exchanged a few polite words with him. Since he was also a guest, he wouldn't cause them any trouble, so she reluctantly agreed to the routine inspection.
The bishop's entourage included a priestess, Feilin, as well as several nuns and monks. After Evelyn nodded her consent, Feilin stepped forward, closed her eyes, and silently prayed to the gods, beginning to perform the divine ritual.
A holy white light enveloped the three of them. True to Bishop Lawrence's words, it was indeed a routine check. The inspections for Evelyn and Helena were completed quickly.
However, when it came to Luo Wei, the divine ritual seemed to go on endlessly, lasting for over three minutes...
"Feilin?" Bishop Lawrence looked at the priestess in confusion, unsure what she was doing.
Moreover, Feilin's expression as she stared at Luo Wei grew increasingly peculiar. She kept her gaze fixed on him, even intensifying the divine energy enveloping him.
Luo Wei felt the holy light bathing his body, as if it were cleansing his soul. His entire body felt warm and comfortable, even a little pleasurable.
But if this continued without end, it was clearly not normal. This was no longer just a divine inspection.
"Brother!"
"Luo Wei!"
Helena and Evelyn both stepped forward anxiously. Evelyn questioned Bishop Lawrence, "What is the meaning of this?"
Perhaps because the divine ritual had lingered on Luo Wei for too long, the knights grew nervous and closed in, drawing their swords as if they had caught a dark sorcerer in the act.
"Feilin?" Bishop Lawrence quickly asked, "What's going on? If there's no suspicion of dark sorcery, then stop this at once!"
"No, no..." Feilin muttered under her breath, still not ceasing her actions.
Luo Wei knew the ritual she was performing wasn't an offensive one but rather a blessing. He was equally puzzled. "Are you... blessing me? But I'm not injured, nor do I need healing."
Feilin finally stopped the ritual, but her gaze at Luo Wei was now filled with astonishment.
"This has never happened before. The gods seem to favor you greatly..."
Luo Wei was taken aback, as were the others around him.
Feilin immediately glanced at Lawrence, then turned to Evelyn. "Lady Abraham, your guard has a divine affinity. This kind of talent is extremely rare. Have you considered letting him join the Church?"
"Join the Church?" The situation had taken an unexpected turn. Evelyn exchanged a look with Luo Wei, then firmly declined.
"No, thank you. A member of the Abraham family would never join the Church. Has Bishop Lawrence never mentioned this to you?"
"Huh?" Feilin frowned, looking at Bishop Lawrence.
Bishop Lawrence gave an awkward laugh and quickly explained, "She's only just arrived here and isn't very familiar with the Abraham family yet."
"Oh." Feilin nodded slightly, no longer paying attention to Bishop Lawrence, and instead turned her gaze back to Luo Wei.
"What about you, Mr. Luo Wei? Don’t you have such thoughts?"
Her eyes fixed on Luo Wei’s expression, and without even waiting for him to respond, she continued,
"With your talent, I can assure you that if you choose to serve the church and dedicate your life to the divine, you’ll quickly rise from the lowest rank of a friar to a priest, or even a bishop, an archbishop!"
Luo Wei chuckled, "But I’ve always been a free spirit. I don’t want to dedicate my life to the divine."
"Besides, I can’t stand all those strict rules of the church. I’ve heard that friars and nuns have to remain single their whole lives. How lonely that must be..."
As he spoke, he teasingly glanced at Evelyn. If he were to "take the vows," she’d probably be so furious she’d tear the church down.
Helena suddenly popped up, "Brother, if you become a friar, I’ll become a nun at your church! Don’t worry, I’ll always be by your side!"
Evelyn, exasperated, pulled her back. This child was so easily satisfied—just having her brother around was enough for her...
But Evelyn wasn’t like that!
And leaving aside the matter of Luo Wei joining the church, this priestess Feilin’s gaze made Evelyn feel extremely uncomfortable.
Her eyes were practically glued to Luo Wei, that almost greedy look making Evelyn inexplicably irritated. So, with a cold expression, she stepped between the two of them.
"Forget about joining the church. You should go back and ask your bishop about the specifics. Hmph! Inviting someone from the Abraham family to join the church—what were you thinking?"
Bishop Lawrence gave an awkward smile.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
