Arrival

"Brother Su, is investigating cases and tracking down intelligence always this tedious for you guys?"

As soon as they left a small border town, Yu Ziqing couldn't help but ask.

This small town, just like the one Yu Ziqing had entered before, was almost in a state of semi-paralysis. It also had a shantytown area.

Furthermore, this small town had already been visited by the Grand Priest of the White Sun Evil Sacrifice, who had taken away a family that was supposedly the most devout from the shantytown area.

These days, they had been rushing around non-stop. Yu Ziqing had learned a lot from following Su Li, but the process of tracking down intelligence was truly dry and boring.

Especially for scouts like Su Li, who didn't hold high positions, the work was exhausting and there weren't many particularly valuable clues.

Proper high-level scouts weren't even called scouts; they were called Shadow Envoys. Some were even openly recognized as members of a national envoy delegation, traveling to the capital of Great Zhen.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that valuable intelligence was readily available there.

Unfortunately, Su Li couldn't go to such places before, and he certainly couldn't now.

Over the past few days of working with Yu Ziqing, he had also begun to notice some issues, increasingly feeling that following Yu Ziqing's path might genuinely lead to something extraordinary.

Even setting aside those matters, just observing the three people in Yu Ziqing's group was a significant gain. He always felt that the person who called himself Qing Ziyu had something suspicious about him.

He was very strange, knowing a lot about obscure things but not understanding many simple ones, and his behavior was even stranger, unlike anyone else he had met.

But none of that mattered. As long as he could find a major piece of intelligence, get revenge on the White Sun heretics, and, if possible, truly obtain a method from Qing Ziyu to recover his severed arm that he could accept, then everything would be perfect.

Who Qing Ziyu was before was no longer important to Su Li; at least, he was his friend now.

More than a month passed.

They had traveled tens of thousands of miles across the southern border of Great Zhen and visited dozens of cities, only to discover with horror that the White Sun Evil Sacrifice had almost completely occupied this line.

The grassroots connections between Great Zhen and Great Li had been almost entirely severed by the White Sun heretics.

Following that, they received news that the border troops had been mobilized by the higher-ups of Great Zhen.

This was because Great Zhen was experiencing internal strife. Great Zhen was divided into eastern and western parts, with very few people in the west. Everyone was active in the east. Now, for some unknown reason, internal conflict had broken out in the north and south of the east. The rebels were advancing aggressively, and they were locked in a fierce battle with Great Zhen's pacification forces in the central region.

At this point, who would bother with the White Sun heretics who had been plaguing civilians on the southern border?

Even though Su Li and Yu Ziqing, based on the vast amount of grassroots information they had already gathered, had basically confirmed that this time the White Sun Evil Sacrifice was different from the last. They had definitely been developing in secret for a long time.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to have quietly taken over dozens of cities across tens of thousands of miles of Great Zhen's southern border in such a short period.

Now, all they needed to do was change the flags on the city walls, and both in name and in reality, they would be taken over, directly carving up territory.

The people in Great Zhen who were busy fighting for power and profit would likely not take this news seriously either.

Even if they did, they wouldn't have the energy to deal with it. Their throne could be lost, so who would care about these heretics who had always only harmed civilians?

Unless the White Sun Holy Mother appeared in person and possessed strength of the eighth or ninth order.

Su Li had already sent the intelligence he had gathered back to Great Li, but he had not yet received a reply.

"We'll continue investigating. Let's find out where they took those followers they took away. Something big is definitely about to happen."

In the snow-covered mountains, a line of cultists dressed in white robes walked through the air, continuously entering a mountain cave.

The interior of the cave had already been hollowed out, with a vast and intricate network of passages.

The sound of chanting scriptures turned into murmurs, permeating every inch of the space.

All the devout followers brought here had individual living quarters. Food was provided on time every day, but the quality of the conditions depended on the followers' competition. The most devout naturally received the best conditions. Every seven days, those who fell the furthest behind were driven out.

Sister-in-law Li and White Dog were settled in a small courtyard, and they even had separate rooms.

After all these days, their family had not fallen to last place. However, as more people were eliminated and thrown out into the snow to fend for themselves, they were only half a month away from being last.

Sister-in-law Li's eyes were red. She no longer needed to look at scriptures when chanting, and she was chanting all the time, even murmuring in her sleep.

White Dog couldn't compare to Sister-in-law Li, but he also chanted whenever he was awake.

Yet, even so, their family was still in a precarious position.

White Dog still couldn't understand why, even though no family was more devout than theirs, they consistently ranked last every seven days and were in such a precarious situation.

After the meal distribution, White Dog still liked to squat by the door and eat from his bowl. However, without that silly fellow around to see him eat so heartily, even though the food was better, it didn't feel as delicious.

After White Dog finished eating, just as he was about to return, the Grand Priest, with a smile and a kind expression, walked over with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

White Dog quickly bowed clumsily, and the Grand Priest responded with a warm smile, giving him a bit of encouragement.

White Dog inexplicably mustered a surge of courage and called out.

"Grand Priest."

"Oh, White Dog, is there something you need?" The Grand Priest's smile became even warmer and more amiable, greatly easing White Dog's apprehension.

"Grand Priest, may I ask a question?"

"Of course, it is my duty to resolve the doubts of the Holy Mother's followers."

"I… I want to ask, my mother is chanting scriptures even in her sleep, and I have never dared to slack off. Every day, as soon as I open my eyes, I am serving the Holy Mother. Why… why is our family always ranked last?"

White Dog was filled with apprehension, feeling as though he was questioning the Grand Priest. However, this doubt had been troubling him for a long time, making him increasingly anxious.

"Grand Priest, is our family not devout enough?"

The Grand Priest smiled as he looked at him, extending a hand to pat his head.

"Have you begun to hear the Holy Mother's guidance?"

"Y-yes, I think so. I often hear chanting in my ears, but I don't know who it is."

"Then this is not your problem. You are a good child. The Holy Mother has heard your devotion and has responded."

The White Dog understood the meaning of these words.

This was his mother's problem.

"But my mother, she's the most devout person here," the White Dog said, a little anxious. To him, this was the most undeniable fact.

A hint of pity in his eyes, the Grand Priest slowly said, "Yes, your mother is the most devout person I have ever met.

But her devotion was only to bring you and your family food to eat, clothes to keep warm, and a house to shelter from the wind.

She is the most devout, but not to the Holy Mother."

The White Dog stood there blankly, not quite understanding. He only grasped the last sentence, and his mind was greatly impacted.

Yet, he believed that this kind and benevolent Grand Priest, who was the best to people, would certainly not lie to him.

When he came to his senses, the Grand Priest was already gone.

He returned home in a daze, watching his mother, who was chanting scriptures with a hint of madness and numbness, for a long, long time.

For a full half-day, he didn't chant scriptures himself, but the sound of chanting in his ears grew clearer.

His lost and dejected expression slowly faded, and the confusion in his eyes re-gathered a divine light, full of determination.

He left the prayer hall and went to his mother's room. He took out the bloodstained wooden spike and walked step by step towards the prayer hall.

As he walked, he muttered to himself, the determination in his eyes unwavering.

"Mother's devotion is not to the Holy Mother. This is wrong.

Our family is the most devout to the Holy Mother. No one can compare.

We dedicate everything we have, seeking no reward, no pity, only to serve the Holy Mother.

Our family is the most devout.

I am the most devout..."

He reached the prayer hall and thrust the bloodstained wooden spike into his mother's back.

Blood gushed out, staining his hands. The chanting in his ears suddenly became grand, filled with soul-shattering power.

His eyes were stained with blood, and he could no longer see the complex look on his mother's face as she turned her head, nor could he see that his mother had directly given up resisting.

At this moment, he also began to speak, to chant.

His chanting echoed throughout the entire cave, filled with a solemnity and unshakeable sacredness amidst the madness.

A moment later, the White Dog, holding the wooden spike, walked out of his home.

Outside the door, a crowd of people were already kneeling respectfully. The Grand Priest stood there, holding a Crown of Thorns, smiling.

Behind the White Dog, at some unknown time, his father, his mother, his sister, and even all his previously deceased family members had appeared. They were all kneeling there, worshipping the White Dog.

The Grand Priest stepped forward and placed the Crown of Thorns upon the White Dog's head.

Then he retreated, kneeling respectfully on both knees, performing a grand salute with respect and joy on his face.

The thorns of the Crown of Thorns pierced the White Dog's scalp and into his skull. He remained motionless despite the excruciating pain, letting the blood flow down his face.

The blood stained the Crown of Thorns a bloody color, which then transformed into pure white.

The gushing blood flowed like a stream, washing away everything on the White Dog – his filth, his long hair, his stubble, his clothes, his rough skin…

All of it disappeared, and the blood transformed into a blood-colored robe that draped over him.

The White Dog closed his eyes slightly. His newly grown hair automatically formed a bun. His face was like jade, his skin as fair as ice and snow, emitting a faint white light. He was so beautiful that one felt an immediate sense of closeness, yet also awe and fear, making them dare not approach.

The White Dog slowly opened his eyes. Below, the Grand Priest immediately bowed excitedly.

"Your subordinate, Liu Xin, welcomes the Holy Mother."