Arrival

"Brother Su, are your investigations and intelligence-gathering usually this tedious?"

They had just left a small border city when Yu Ziqing could not help asking.

Like the one Yu Ziqing had entered before, this small city was already practically paralyzed. It also had a thatched-hut district.

Moreover, this small city had already been visited by the Grand Priest of the White Sun Evil Sacrifice. That Grand Priest had taken away the so-called most devout family from the thatched-hut district here.

These past few days, they had been racing from place to place without pause. Yu Ziqing had learned quite a lot by following Su Li, but the process of tracking down intelligence was truly dull and tedious.

Especially for an agent of Su Li's low standing. He had to toil and travel everywhere, yet rarely found any particularly valuable leads.

True high-ranking agents were not even called agents. They were called Shadow Envoys. Some even dared to operate in the open, posing as members of a nation's diplomatic corps and traveling to Great Zhen's capital.

The valuable intelligence there was so abundant that saying it could be picked up everywhere would not be an exaggeration.

Unfortunately, Su Li had never been able to go to such places before, and now he could go even less.

After spending these days working alongside Yu Ziqing, he had also begun noticing certain problems. He increasingly felt that following Yu Ziqing's trail might truly lead them to something extraordinary.

Even setting those things aside, merely observing the three people in Yu Ziqing's group had already been a considerable gain. Su Li always felt that this fellow who called himself Qing Ziyu had problems of his own.

He was strange. He understood quite a few obscure things, yet did not understand many simple ones. His conduct was even stranger, completely unlike anyone else Su Li had encountered.

But none of that mattered. As long as they could uncover one major piece of intelligence, take revenge on the White Sun heretic, and, in the end, obtain from Qing Ziyu a method to restore his severed arm—one he could actually endure—then everything would be perfect.

Who Qing Ziyu had been before was no longer important to Su Li. At least now, he was his friend.

More than a month passed.

They traveled over ten thousand li along Great Zhen's southern border and visited dozens of cities, only to discover with horror that the White Sun Evil Sacrifice had already seized nearly the entire route.

The connections among the people at the bottom between Great Zhen and Great Li had been almost completely severed by the White Sun heretic.

Then they traced the information further and learned that the border troops had all been transferred away by Great Zhen's upper echelons.

That was because internal strife had broken out within Great Zhen. Great Zhen was divided into eastern and western regions, with hardly anyone in the west and everyone active in the east. Now, for some unknown reason, internal rebellion had erupted between the east's north and south. The rebels had come on like a raging tide and were locked in a chaotic battle with Great Zhen's suppression forces in the central region.

At this point, who would still have the mind to deal with the White Sun heretic ravaging civilians along the southern border?

Even Su Li and Yu Ziqing, based on the countless pieces of information they had gathered from the lowest levels, could basically confirm that this White Sun Evil Sacrifice was different from the previous one. They had definitely been developing in secret for a long time.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to quietly seize dozens of cities across more than ten thousand li of Great Zhen's southern border in such a short time.

Now, all they needed to do was change the flags atop the city walls. In name and in reality, they would seize everything at once, directly carving out their own territory.

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

Even if they did, they no longer had the energy to deal with it. They might even lose the throne—who would still care about a heretical sect that had always only harmed civilians?

Unless the White Sun Holy Mother publicly appeared—and already possessed the strength of the eighth or ninth rank.

Su Li had already sent the intelligence he had gathered back to Great Li, but they had yet to receive a reply.

"We'll keep investigating. Let's find out where they took all those believers. Something major is definitely about to happen."

Deep within a snow-covered mountain range, one white-robed devotee after another walked through the air, constantly entering a cavern.

The inside of the cavern had long since been hollowed out. Its space extended in all directions and was enormous.

The sound of chanting had turned into murmuring whispers that permeated every inch of the place.

All the devout believers brought here had their own lodgings. Meals were provided on schedule every day, but the quality of all their conditions depended on the believers competing with one another. The most devout naturally received the best treatment. Every seven days, the one at the bottom would be driven out.

Sister-in-law Li and White Dog had been settled in a small courtyard. They even had separate rooms.

So many days had passed, yet their family had never fallen to last place. But as more and more people were eliminated and thrown into the snow to fend for themselves, they were now only half a month away from last place.

Sister-in-law Li's eyes were bloodshot. She no longer needed to look at the scripture while chanting. She chanted everywhere and at all times. Even while sleeping, she continued muttering to herself.

White Dog could not compare to Sister-in-law Li, but whenever he was awake, he chanted without pause as well.

Even so, their family remained in grave danger.

White Dog still could not understand it. No family could possibly be more devout than theirs, so why did their family still rank last every seven days, hanging by a thread?

After the meal distribution ended, White Dog still liked squatting at the doorway and eating from his bowl. It was just that the foolish fellow was no longer there, and without seeing him eat with such gusto, even though the food was better, it somehow no longer tasted as fragrant.

After White Dog finished eating and was preparing to return, the smiling, kindly Grand Priest came walking over with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

White Dog hurriedly offered an awkward bow. The Grand Priest responded with a warm smile, giving him a trace of encouragement.

White Dog inexplicably found a bit of courage and called out.

"Grand Priest."

"Oh, White Dog. Is something the matter?" The Grand Priest's smile grew even warmer and gentler, dispelling much of White Dog's unease.

"Grand Priest, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course. It is my responsibility to resolve the doubts of the Holy Mother's believers."

"I... I wanted to ask: my mother chants even while she sleeps, and I never dare slack off either. Every day, the moment I open my eyes, I serve the Holy Mother. W-why does our family keep ranking near the bottom?"

White Dog was filled with unease. He always felt as though he was questioning the Grand Priest, but this doubt had trapped him for a long time and made him increasingly frantic.

"Grand Priest, are we not devout enough?"

The Grand Priest looked at him with a smile and reached out to stroke his head.

"Have you already begun hearing the Holy Mother's guidance?"

"I... I think so. I often hear someone chanting beside my ear, 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 given you a response."

White Dog understood the meaning of those words.

It was his mother's problem.

"But my mother is the most devout person here." White Dog grew anxious. In his eyes, this was the one indisputable fact.

A trace of pity appeared in the Grand Priest's eyes as he slowly said,

"Yes, your mother is the most devout person I have ever seen.

"But her devotion is all for you—for bringing you and your family filling food, warm clothes, and a shelter from the wind.

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

White Dog stood there blankly. He did not quite understand. He had only grasped the last sentence, but it struck his mind like a thunderbolt.

Yet he also believed that this Grand Priest, who was kind to everyone and the best of people, would certainly not deceive him.

By the time he came to himself, the Grand Priest had already left.

He returned home in a daze and stared for a very long time at his mother, who was chanting mechanically, almost frenziedly.

For half a day, he did not chant again. Yet the chanting that surfaced beside his ears grew ever clearer.

The lost look on his face slowly faded. The confusion in his eyes gathered into divine light once more, filled with resolve.

He left the chanting hall, went to his mother's room, and took out the bloodstained wooden spike. Step by step, he walked toward the chanting hall.

As he walked, he muttered to himself. The resolve in his eyes no longer wavered in the slightest.

"My mother's devotion is not toward the Holy Mother. That is wrong.

"Our family is the most devout toward the Holy Mother. No one can surpass us.

"We offer everything we have, seeking no reward and no mercy, only to serve the Holy Mother.

"Our family is the most devout.

"I am the most devout..."

He reached the chanting hall and drove the bloodstained wooden spike into the back of his mother's heart.

Blood gushed out, staining both his hands. The chanting beside his ears suddenly became grand and immense, filled with a power that shook the soul.

His eyes were drenched in blood. He could no longer see the complicated look on his mother's face as she turned her head, nor could he see how she had simply given up resisting.

At that moment, he began to speak. He began to chant.

His chanting resounded throughout the entire cavern. Though frenzied, it was filled with solemn grandeur and a sacredness that would not permit the slightest doubt.

A moment later, White Dog walked out of his home with the wooden spike in hand.

Outside the house, people were already kneeling respectfully across the ground. The Grand Priest stood there, holding a Crown of Thorns in both hands, smiling.

Behind White Dog, his father, his mother, his younger sister, and even all the family members who had died before had appeared at some unknown point. They knelt prostrate there, bowing in worship toward White Dog.

The Grand Priest stepped forward and crowned White Dog with the Crown of Thorns.

Then he retreated again, knelt respectfully on both knees, and performed a grand obeisance, his face filled with reverence and joy.

The thorns of the Crown of Thorns pierced White Dog's scalp and sank into his skull. Yet despite the terrible pain, he did not move at all, allowing the blood to stream down his face.

The blood stained the Crown of Thorns red, and then it turned pure white.

The gushing blood flowed like a stream, washing away everything on White Dog's body: his filth, his long hair, his stubble, his clothes, his rough skin...

Everything vanished with it. The blood transformed into a blood-red robe and draped itself over his body.

White Dog slowly closed his eyes. His newly grown hair automatically coiled into a topknot. His cheeks were like jade, his skin like snow, faintly glowing white. He was so beautiful that anyone who saw him would instinctively feel drawn to him, yet he also inspired awe, making them afraid to approach.

White Dog slowly opened his eyes. Below him, the Grand Priest immediately began kowtowing excitedly.

"Your subordinate Liu Xin welcomes the Holy Mother."