Does This Kid Even Know How to Bribe Someone?

The Old Priest turned into the church. He first exchanged greetings with several deacons, then rose onto his tiptoes to peer farther inside.

The first time someone achieved something, if the god they believed in favored them, that god would bestow upon them a corresponding title.

For instance, the Mother God of Life Cult's first sacrifice, or the Radiant Holy See's first prayer—

All titles bestowed by gods were essentially the same. They could only be distinguished by their names: titles bestowed by evil gods sounded suitably evil, while those bestowed by righteous gods sounded suitably righteous.

God-Bestowed Titles were rather uncommon. Even in the largest church of their Border City, at most one would appear each month.

From afar, the Old Priest spotted Father Luwen, who was on duty. This man had always been diligent and devoted to his work; even in winter, he was the last to return home. Beside him stood Lord Luojia, the Candidate Saintess.

Father Luwen seemed to be speaking to someone, but the Old Priest could not see clearly.

The moment he saw Father Luwen and Lord Luojia, he prepared to greet them first. This was also why the Old Priest had managed to work at the entrance for so long—he knew how to read the room and had a good eye for such matters.

If one of the higher-ups took a liking to him, perhaps he could even become an Acolyte Saint.

"Excuse me, please."

A smile was squeezed onto the priest's face, nearly pushing the wrinkles on his forehead to one side. He did look fairly kind and amiable. After asking the believers beside him to let him through, he squeezed his way over to Father Luwen.

"Your Excellency Luwen."

He drew a cross with his hand, then clasped it before his chest. He bowed first, then removed his hat in greeting to Candidate Saintess Luojia. "Your Excellency Luojia, may Divine Radiance shine upon you both."

"Hello." Luojia did not know who this old man was, so she merely nodded coolly in response.

Her attention had long since drifted elsewhere.

Luojia lightly pursed her thin lips as she watched someone. A trace of confusion showed in her brilliant golden eyes, and she tilted her head like a cat astonished by the world.

"Father Danny," Luwen remembered the old man's name, "hello."

"May I ask which talented young person has won the goddess's favor? Could you introduce him to me?"

The Old Priest spoke flatteringly. "That would truly be an honor."

After delivering his pleasantries, he turned around and used Scouting Magic to look around.

Scouting Magic was the most basic kind of magic. Even ordinary people could use it, and it consumed virtually no Magic Points.

Its effect was simple: it allowed one to see the titles of those who had been blessed, along with the descriptions of those titles.

The Old Priest swept his gaze over the worshippers, searching for the person blessed by the goddess. It was not Deacon John's nephew, nor was it Priest Sunny's daughter.

Wait—Father Danny spotted that person too. He blinked in disbelief, his expression rather comical as the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes stretched and bunched with the movement of his eyelids.

"Hello." Ansu walked over with a sunny smile.

Above his head were three conspicuous words: The Newborn.

Father Danny immediately felt terrible.

Compared to Danny's shock, Miss Luojia was even more puzzled.

The Newborn. What kind of title was that?

Still, it sounded quite positive.

A first birth—it gave off such a vibrant, lively feeling.

Luojia had also received a title the first time she prayed. That title had been exceptionally dazzling: Shining Star of the Future for Naraku.

What surprised Luojia was not that someone had received a God-Bestowed Title upon praying for the first time—as a Candidate Saintess, she had seen plenty of that.

Rather, it was that the person who had received the goddess's blessing was Ansu.

As far as she knew, this was the first time in the Border Church that the Radiant Goddess blessing had been bestowed upon a Child of Curse.

Perhaps Ansu truly was pure and kind-hearted inside—Luojia thought.

Look at his title description:

Title Description: So young, yet already possessed of such a heart. If this child is not eliminated, he will surely become a towering figure of the Holy See in the future.

That sacrifice to the Mother God of Life had probably been a helpless measure he came up with to save them.

"Young man." Father Luwen spoke kindly to Ansu and patted him on the shoulder. "You are a child of the Morningstar Family, aren't you? Congratulations. You have truly exceeded our expectations."

"Your Excellency the Dean,"

Ansu recognized the dean's emblem on Luwen: a sun surrounded by violets. He thus knew the man's identity.

"May the goddess bless you."

Then he turned to Luojia, drew a cross, and performed the holy rite. "Your Excellency Luojia, we meet again."

Ansu winked at Luojia smugly.

Luojia looked at him. A gentle smile rested on the boy's lips, his ash-white hair hanging over his shoulders. His pale azure eyes were as clean as a sky washed by rain.

"Hello." She deliberately kept a straight face and replied to Ansu coldly.

"A believer who receives a blessing upon their first prayer may not necessarily pass the Saint Trial, but anyone who passes the Saint Trial will certainly have received the goddess's blessing." Father Luwen smiled. "I look forward to your performance a month from now."

"I am honored," Ansu said.

The Old Priest was now caught between them, feeling awkward no matter what he did.

Especially since he had made things difficult for Ansu before.

He wanted to slip away quietly while the others were engrossed in conversation, but before he could take a step, Ansu suddenly changed the subject.

"To be honest, I've always admired the sacred Church,"

Ansu said. "I wanted to contribute to our Lord's holy cause, so I brought a tithe. Father, please return the gold coins I entrusted to your care."

The church fell silent.

Father Luwen narrowed his eyes.

Father Danny froze completely.

He stared at Ansu in disbelief. He had never expected the latter to dare say something like that. Was he going to break the code of silence and report him?

This was a bribery arrangement—both giving and taking bribes! Was this kid bribing someone for the first time?

Under the Church's doctrine, both bribery and accepting bribes were absolutely forbidden.

According to Church law, even if Father Danny had deliberately made things difficult for Ansu, Ansu still could not bribe him or privately give gifts to clergy members.

Anyone who did such a thing, regardless of the reason, would have their Church Membership revoked.

That was why Danny had accepted the money with complete peace of mind. The kid would not dare report him.

In fact, Danny had taken money from Noble Scions more than once, and nothing had ever gone wrong.

He had nothing to lose while they had everything to lose. At worst, he would lose his job, but if those Noble Scions were found guilty of bribery, they would lose their status as Acolyte Saints.

Most importantly, he was far from the only one in the entire Church who accepted bribes.

Everyone took money.

It was not just priests. Even saints, the deacons among them, and several higher-ranking fathers all engaged in more or less the same exchanges of interest.

Everyone saw through it, but no one said it aloud.

Perhaps this kid was simply too stubborn and did not understand the code of silence.

The Old Priest decided to play dumb. "I do not know what you're talking about. Did that happen? Think carefully again."

The implication was clear: they were tied to the same rope, so Ansu had better think carefully before speaking.

After working in this line for so many years, Danny had never once spat out gold coins that had already entered his pocket.