"Knight Agnes."
Ansu's expression darkened. That scholar's face was truly filled with righteous dignity. "I will not accept any gifts. There is no need to say more."
Seeing that Brother Xian Zong was angry, Agnes did not dare speak.
Brother Xian Zong truly was an upright man who did not know how to adapt. She felt troubled.
She truly wanted to repay Xian Zong for saving her life.
After a long while.
"Dawn is almost here."
Ansu slowly broke the silence, his tone softening. "I should return to the Imperial Capital. It is a long journey. May I borrow your horse?"
"My mount..." He showed a hint of regret. "Unfortunately, it was shot dead by Lord Calvin just now."
May I borrow your horse? Agnes felt that something about those words sounded strange.
Agnes had also seen the horse that had been slain by the Spear of Light.
Faced with Calvin's attack, Brother Xian Zong had not fought back. He had even intended to cast Blessing Magic upon the fallen Calvin. That was the only reason his own horse had been shot dead.
Of course she could. It was only the loan of a horse. Agnes was about to agree immediately, but then she thought of something.
It had already been mentioned that Agnes was a socially adept person, a socially adept captain.
Was everything really that simple?
Like a bolt of lightning striking from the crown of her head down to her spine, she felt utterly enlightened. She understood!
Whether her guess was right or not,
Agnes knew what she ought to say at this very moment.
She immediately gave a few orders to the attendant beside her. The latter first looked stunned, but quickly jogged away.
"Unfortunately, our party has no spare sacred mounts either."
Agnes refused first, then added, "However, this horse has temporarily lost its owner. You may borrow it to travel back to the city."
The attendant had already led the horse over. This fine steed was snow-white from head to toe, holy light radiating from its four hooves, with a snow-white horn growing from its forehead. Its bearing was utterly unlike that of an ordinary horse. It was Calvin's beloved little mare, a sacred mount with the bloodline of a divine beast.
Sacred Beast Unicorn Intermediate Sacred-grade Skill: Protection While riding the unicorn, one could resist some low-level curses
Look at her way with words—she had used the word "borrow."
After the horse had been frightened away, its instincts had driven it toward the city, where it encountered the large search party looking for Calvin halfway there.
Agnes knew how to improve. Look at her artistry with words—she had even started using the word "borrow"!
This was not a gift.
Brother Xian Zong merely found it inconvenient to return home, so she was lending him a horse to ride home. As for how distant the Imperial Capital was and when Brother Xian Zong would return it, that would be left to fate.
The sacred mount clearly resisted upon seeing Ansu.
But Agnes forcibly held the sacred mount's reins. "This child has lost her owner. Meeting you is truly her good fortune."
The unicorn stared at Agnes with the look of one questioning her entire existence.
Agnes enthusiastically stuffed the reins into Brother Xian Zong's hands. Your former owner had no objections. What objections could you possibly have?
"You are quite thoughtful, child. Then I shall borrow her for now."
She had improved, but it was still not enough. Ansu smiled. "Then we shall meet again someday."
From the moment Ansu saw this sacred mount, he had wanted to get his hands on it.
The reason was simple. Since it possessed a trace of divine beast bloodline, he could breed it repeatedly and keep refreshing its traits until he got something valuable.
—This was the sort of thing he had loved doing most during his fifth playthrough in his previous life.
He swung onto the horse's back. "By the way, you came to hunt witches tonight, correct?"
"To be honest, and you may laugh at us," Agnes said with a bitter smile, "our Crimson Moon Hunt may end with nothing to show for it."
Nothing at all.
That would be the greatest disgrace in the Border Holy See's sixty-year history.
Upon returning, she might be impeached, perhaps even dismissed. She thought silently.
"Travel fifty kilometers south, and you will see a river. Follow it downstream, and there will be a cave," Ansu said. "There is a Heresy Stronghold there."
Agnes looked gratefully at Brother Xian Zong. She had received yet another favor and no longer knew what to say.
Ansu's reason for telling her was simple: he wanted her to get fifty kilometers away, as far as possible, and stop delaying Brother Xian Zong from making a huge profit tonight.
And she was even going to thank him.
"Thank you for your grace!" Agnes and her subordinates lowered their heads together. "I truly do not know how to repay your kindness!"
"May the Goddess's radiance forever shine upon the world," Ansu said brightly. "You need only agree to one thing for me."
"What is it?"
"If you find child sacrifices at a Heresy Stronghold in the future, please do not dispose of them. If handling them is inconvenient, secretly send them to the residence of my disciple, Ansu Morningstar."
"Of course, you must swear to the Goddess that you will not reveal this matter."
Those words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
Agnes's mind instantly crashed from shock.
Ansu Morningstar, the heir of the Morningstar Family,
was actually the secret disciple of the Saint before her!
Everything connected. Everything made sense.
No wonder that wastrel had behaved so unusually this past month. No wonder he had resolved to join the Holy See. No wonder he studied so desperately every day!
So it was because the Saint had come.
So he had actually been taken in as the Saint's disciple—
Although taking a Child of Curse as a disciple was, by common sense, an absurd thing.
But the persona Ansu had previously built up now came into play: even when facing the fallen Calvin, Brother Xian Zong had spared no effort to save and guide him.
Brother Xian Zong was a noble man, a man who had risen above base interests.
Then accepting a Child of Curse as his disciple did not seem so excessive.
Guiding those on the brink of corruption toward goodness was surely this great Saint's creed. Agnes thought to herself.
Why had Brother Xian Zong kept it secret from everyone else, yet told her?
Brother Xian Zong wanted to give her an opportunity!
Seeing her expression, Ansu's lips curved into an imperceptible smile.
That sentence had killed four birds with one stone.
First, the Children of Darkness were all talents, important talents for his future plans. Naturally, he could not let them go.
Ansu had a clear understanding of himself. He knew his moral character was very low; simply put, he was not a good person—but he would not massacre children.
Second, he would find himself an incredibly powerful backer and borrow the tiger's might. Then many troublesome matters would not fall upon him.
Third, no matter how rapidly his cultivation advanced in the future, he would have a legitimate explanation. If anyone asked, Brother Xian Zong had taught him!
And there was one final reason, the most important reason of all:
Those little gifts that Brother Xian Zong found inconvenient to accept, or disdained to accept, during holidays and festivals,
could the Knights Order not simply give them to his disciple Ansu in the future?
Young people had to be given opportunities to improve!
"I swear to the Goddess," Agnes and her attendants said as they knelt on one knee, "that we shall honor your teachings and never reveal this to outsiders!"
Ansu nodded lightly. "Farewell, then."
The sacred horse had originally resisted fiercely, but Ansu softly said something in her ear: "The Goddess's—" Before he could finish, the sacred horse instantly behaved herself and did not dare move at all.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Ansu rode the sacred mount deeper into the wilderness. The blood-red moon grew more and more faint. In three hours, the sky would break into dawn.
The three-day Blood Moon Night was finally coming to an end.
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