Faith Shaken

Amelia remained silent. After becoming a Cardinal, she had grown even more reverent toward the god worshiped by the Church.

When orders came down from above, she followed them without question.

But not long ago, a middle-aged man had emerged from the Church. A golden cross shone in his eyes.

Even the Pope and the commanders of the major orders treated him with great respect. Amelia knew that he was a Divine Envoy—the messenger of God.

She had met a Divine Envoy before, and the presence had felt incredibly sacred.

But this time, things were completely different. The way the man looked at her made her sick. He had even gone out of his way to make her stay, claiming that he wanted to baptize her.

At first, Amelia had no idea what that meant and readily agreed.

But afterward, the man told her what she would have to do: during the baptism, she could not wear any clothes.

He also wanted to establish a sacred connection and inject his holy-light power into Amelia’s body.

Fortunately, another Divine Envoy of even higher status had summoned him to carry out a mission. That was the only reason Amelia had escaped the ordeal.

After that incident, Amelia began to question her faith.

An ordinary person would certainly have remained in the dark. They believed that the Holy Light Clan were true gods.

But Amelia was already a Cardinal. At her level, she naturally knew about the other races.

Even so, she had always believed that the other races possessed gods as well.

Compared with the other races, the Holy Light Clan was different. They were more sacred and compassionate, fundamentally different from those beastlike races.

But after what happened, Amelia’s faith began to waver.

She could not accept that the god she had revered for so long—a god whose image was practically carved into her very genes—was no different from the other races.

After hearing Xu Mu’s words today, her doubts grew even stronger.

“You really defeated someone from the Holy Light Clan?”

Amelia asked curiously.

“That’s right. She’s a woman named Hathaway.”

Xu Mu made a few simple gestures. “She looked a little thinner than you, but her lightning was just as powerful as yours. Most importantly, she wore an eyepatch.”

“It was her!”

Amelia’s pupils flickered. She had actually seen that Divine Envoy before.

That eyepatch, in particular, had been impossible to miss.

She remembered that whenever the woman was with the other Divine Envoys, they all treated her with the utmost respect.

Amelia clenched her fists, completely at a loss.

If what Xu Mu said was true, then that woman had taken out her anger on an entire family simply because she had lost.

And she had so casually used “defilement” as an excuse. Could it be that all those missions Amelia had received to purge defilement had actually been nothing more than massacres of innocent people?

At the thought, Amelia crouched on the ground and covered her head, unwilling to believe it.

Xu Mu was just about to speak when he suddenly turned around and saw Ye Tong in the distance.

“Wife, didn’t I tell you to rest?” Xu Mu asked softly.

“I saw that you hadn’t come back for so long, and the formation was still active, so I came to take a look.”

Ye Tong walked over with a smile. “What happened?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe her faith was shattered.”

Xu Mu shrugged.

“Are you all right?”

Ye Tong walked over to Amelia, placed a hand on her shoulder, and asked with concern.

Amelia raised her head and looked at Ye Tong. The woman’s tranquil, gentle face left her momentarily dazed.

Was this the woman they claimed was being plagued by defilement?

“I’m fine.”

Amelia shook her head lightly.

“Husband, turn off the formation,” Ye Tong said as she looked back at Xu Mu.

Xu Mu nodded. Judging from Amelia’s filial-piety score toward Ye Tong, she probably would not suddenly attack her.

Xu Mu understood women like her very well.

Just like the leaders of those cults, their true goal was to satisfy their own selfish desires.

Money, beauty, and the pleasure of enjoying their followers’ offerings—that was what they really wanted.

But the doctrines they preached were often all about truth, goodness, and beauty.

The reason was simple: most people still hoped for a better world.

That way, they could attract a larger audience.

And people like that were easier to control than outright villains.

Amelia seemed to be the same kind of person. She had genuinely regarded the Holy Light Clan as the embodiment of truth, goodness, and beauty descended into the mortal world.

But now, she had discovered the truth beneath the surface.

After Xu Mu deactivated the formation, the three of them appeared in the courtyard.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

Ye Tong took Amelia’s hand and pulled her up from the ground.

Xu Mu followed behind them as they headed into the living room.

Ye Tong sat beside Amelia and fussed over her. “What exactly happened? Did my husband bully you? Don’t worry. I’ll definitely get justice for you.”

“No. Xu Mu didn’t bully me.”

“Don’t be afraid of him. I won’t mind you. I agree to you marrying him.”

Ye Tong continued speaking. She had not expected them to find a foreign woman as well.

Women like this were generally better at enduring hardship. If she really married into the family, she could be placed first.

Feng Yue would come next, and Ye Tong would have the final say.

“You’ve misunderstood. I’m not—”

Amelia hesitated, but in the end, she explained everything that had happened from beginning to end.

Only after listening did Ye Tong understand the reason. “Then are you still going to arrest me?”

“No. The moment I saw you, I could tell they were talking nonsense.”

Amelia shook her head.

“Then what are you going to do? You accepted this mission. If you fail to complete it, will they punish you?” Xu Mu asked Amelia.

“That’s hard to say. But I’ve failed to complete missions before, and they didn’t kill me just because I couldn’t finish them.”

Amelia crossed her arms.

“I’ll give you a convincing excuse. Just tell them that I’ve already joined the Sanitation Office.”

Xu Mu thought for a moment. “When you came to arrest my wife, a senior Cleaner happened to be visiting my home. He got beaten up.”

He felt that Ye Chen and Hathaway would most likely believe this explanation.

After all, the last time they had gone to the Ninth Inner Realm, Xu Mu had already spoken with two senior Cleaners.

Ye Chen and Hathaway had both been nearby and witnessed what happened.

Amelia looked surprised. “Are you serious?”

“It’s true enough. Just say that. Make up the rest yourself. You don’t seem like an entirely honest person, so I’m sure you know how to embellish the story.”

“I’m a very honest person.”

Amelia said that, but inside, she had already come up with a convincing explanation.

The Church’s members had gone onto the territory of the Dragon Kingdom to arrest the family of a Cleaner.

The Church could not afford to bear a charge like that.

“You’re honest, and you don’t talk much.”

Xu Mu rose from the sofa and stretched hard. “You can head back now. I’m going to sleep with my wife.”

“I’m not old!”

Amelia snorted before turning to Ye Tong. “Then I’ll be leaving now.”

“It’s so late. Why don’t you stay here tonight and leave tomorrow?”

Ye Tong smiled. “We have plenty of rooms anyway.”

“That works.”

Amelia nodded.

…

That night.

Amelia regretted staying here.

This was a sin of truly unforgivable proportions.