In the Name of God

A squad of fifteen Dragon Cavalrymen and twelve Copper Hats stormed into the dormitory building and made their way straight to Lin Qi's single room. One of the Copper Hats adjusted the half-olive-shaped brass helmet on his head, then knocked on the door with an air of authority.

"In the name of the imperial family, please open your door!"

Before even a single breath had passed, the brown door remained shut. The Copper Hat who had knocked stepped back twice, and two Dragon Cavalrymen seized a lead battering ram. With a shout, they slammed it hard into the door. At the instant of impact, a faint red glow appeared around both men, and a flash of red shimmered across the lead ram as well.

The oak door shattered. Its fragments were swept violently into the room, and seven or eight Dragon Cavalrymen drew their swords and charged inside. One of them kicked a small square table to pieces. A jar of water, already frozen, had been sitting on it, with a piece of black bread beside it. The jar shattered on the floor, and the bread rolled away.

The single room was not large to begin with. Seven or eight burly Dragon Cavalrymen crowded inside, and for a moment it seemed as though they had filled the entire place.

A thin, gaunt Copper Hat with a gloomy, deathly pale face sauntered into the room, putting on airs as he called out, "Lin Qi, third-year student in Class One of the Accounting Department at Berely Fifth University, are you staying here?"

Lin Qi, dressed in a thin white shirt and sitting upright at his desk, writing furiously, turned around in surprise. He nodded calmly. "Yes, Your Excellency. I'm Lin Qi. Didn't your parents teach you to knock before entering someone's room?"

The Copper Hat raised his two sparse eyebrows, which were so thin they were almost invisible, and sneered. "In the name of the imperial family, you're under arrest. We have solid evidence that you were involved in last night's assault and arson. If the charges are proven, you'll spend twenty years in prison, poor boy!"

The Copper Hat glared at Lin Qi through clenched teeth and slowly drew a steel baton, looking ready to teach him a lesson.

'In the name of the imperial family'?

Lin Qi rose to his feet, calm and composed, and carefully placed the Rabbit Hair Brush from the East on the pen rack. He turned to face the Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats, then said, word by word, "In the name of God, I ask you to leave my room. Otherwise, everything you do will be blasphemy against God! If the charges are proven, you'll be punished by the Church's Inquisition and sent to the stake!"

'In the name of God'?

The Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats, who had been swaggering moments before, fell silent. The gaunt Copper Hat's baton had also mysteriously vanished. They exchanged glances, then all looked at the desk before Lin Qi: an oddly shaped pen rack, an iron cross with a winged man bound to it in chains, and the Rabbit Hair Brush resting on the man's shoulder.

Beside the pen rack sat a small cup of golden ink. The specially made ink shimmered brilliantly in the lamplight. It seemed almost alive, slowly swirling as it gave off a sacred, spiritual glow.

The Dragon Cavalrymen did not know much about these things, but the Copper Hat in charge drew a sharp breath.

The Judgment Pen Rack and Purification Holy Water were essential tools used by the Church's clergy to copy scripture. Lin Qi wasn't using the goose-feather quill favored by the nobles of the Western Continent, but a Rabbit Hair Brush from the East. According to the Church's scriptures, the only time a Rabbit Hair Brush was used to copy prayers was at the end of the year, when the old year was about to pass and the new year was about to arrive. During the prayers welcoming the new year, prayer scriptures were copied with one and burned as an offering to God.

A goose-feather quill made fine, delicate strokes, giving the writing a somewhat petty air. Though convenient, it could not produce the grand, imposing characters that an Eastern brush could. That was why the Church's clergy took pride in mastering the brush. Lower-ranking clergy who could not learn to use one would spend a little money to hire someone to copy their prayers for them.

Remembering the jar of water and the black bread on the table they had just kicked apart, the Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats all felt their hearts sink.

When copying prayers, one could not eat meat or drink alcohol, out of respect for God. One could only drink water and eat black bread. With those two things on Lin Qi's table, along with the Judgment Pen Rack and Purification Holy Water, anyone who wasn't a fool would know what he was doing!

He was copying prayer scriptures to be offered to God on behalf of a member of the clergy!

"Damn it!" All the Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats frowned. When "in the name of the imperial family" clashed with "in the name of God," the imperial family's authority generally came off worse, unless something unexpected happened!

"God, curse these heretics who have profaned Your glory! They deserve the stake! Their entire families deserve the stake! Their neighbors on both sides deserve the stake! Even the old midwife who delivered them should be sent to the stake! Why must such sinners profane Your glory?"

While the Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats nervously weighed their options, the portly Father Balin came rushing up, panting. He flailed his arms and unleashed a torrent of abuse at the group. As the Fifth University's assistant priest, Father Balin was responsible for guiding all the university's students in matters of religion. His position in the Berely diocese was highly unusual. An assistant priest might have little real power within the Church, but Father Balin was, without question, a mid-ranking priest.

The rank of a mid-ranking priest was enough to place him above the deputy head of the Security Office or the commander of a Dragon Cavalry unit. Faced with Father Balin's "wrath," all the Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats bowed their heads. Their hearts twisted into knots. They had landed themselves in serious trouble this time.

"In the name of God!" Father Balin stamped his feet and roared. "Anyone who disrupts the copying of my New Year Prayer Scripture deserves to die! You all deserve to be sent to the stake. No—the stake is too good for you! Burning you to ashes wouldn't cleanse your filthy souls in time. You should be boiled in oil, drenched from head to toe in scalding fat, then have molten lead poured down your throats. Only then should you be sent to the stake to face God's punishment!"

The faces of all the Dragon Cavalrymen and Copper Hats turned deathly pale. They suddenly regretted sucking up to the family behind Black Horse House and getting themselves tangled up in this mess.

Damn it, the Church was not to be trifled with—and now they had angered an assistant priest!