In the Name of God

A troop of fifteen Dragon Cavalry and twelve Copper Hats stormed into the dormitory building, heading straight for Lin Qi's single room. A Copper Hat adjusted his brass helmet, shaped like half an olive, and majestically reached out to knock on the door.

"In the name of the Empire's Royal Family, open your door!"

In less than a breath, the brown door didn't open. The Copper Hat who knocked took two steps back. Two Dragon Cavalry grabbed a lead battering ram and, with a loud shout, smashed it heavily against the door. The moment they struck, a faint red halo appeared on both Dragon Cavalry, and a flash of red also flickered on the lead battering ram.

The oak door splintered, and fragments were violently swept into the room. Seven or eight Dragon Cavalry drew their swords and charged in. One of them violently kicked a small square table in the center of the room, smashing it to pieces. On the table had been a jar of already frozen water and a piece of black bread. The water jar shattered, and the black bread rolled onto the floor.

The single room was not large to begin with. Seven or eight burly Dragon Cavalry crowded in, making it feel as if the entire room was stuffed full.

A gaunt, pale-faced Copper Hat walked in with affected dignity and called out, "Student Lin Qi, third year, class one, accounting major at Berely Fifth University, do you reside here?"

Lin Qi, dressed in a thin white shirt and sitting upright at his desk, writing diligently, turned his head in surprise. He calmly nodded and said, "Yes, esteemed sir, I am Lin Qi. Did your parents not teach you to knock before entering someone's room?"

The Copper Hat raised his sparse eyebrows and sneered, "In the name of the Empire's Royal Family, you are under arrest. We have sufficient evidence to prove your involvement in last night's attack and arson. If found guilty, you will serve twenty years in prison, poor child!"

The Copper Hat glared at Lin Qi through gritted teeth, slowly drawing a pure steel baton, preparing to teach Lin Qi a lesson.

'In the name of the Empire's Royal Family'?

Lin Qi stood up calmly, carefully placing the Rabbit Hair Brush from the East onto his brush rest. He turned around, facing the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats, and said word by word, "In the name of the Deity, please leave my room. Otherwise, all your actions are blasphemy against the Deity! If found guilty, you will be punished by the Church's tribunal and sent to the stake!"

'In the name of the Deity'?

The previously arrogant Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats fell silent. The baton in the gaunt Copper Hat's hand mysteriously disappeared. They exchanged glances and simultaneously looked at the writing desk in front of Lin Qi—a strangely shaped brush rest, with a man with wings bound to an iron cross by chains. The Rabbit Hair Brush rested on the man's shoulder.

Beside the brush rest was a small bowl of golden ink. The specially made ink shimmered under the light, seeming alive as it slowly rotated, emitting a sacred and spiritual glow.

The Dragon Cavalry didn't understand much of this, but the leading Copper Hat gasped.

'Judgment Pen Rack', 'Purification Holy Water'. These were essential items for Church clergy to copy scriptures. Lin Qi wasn't using a quill favored by Western continent nobles, but a Rabbit Hair Brush from the East. In Church scriptures, only at the end of the year, when the old year passed and the new year arrived, would prayers to the Deity be copied with a Rabbit Hair Brush during the New Year's prayer assembly.

Quills had fine strokes, exuding a petty air. Though convenient for writing, they couldn't produce the grand calligraphy of Eastern brushes. Therefore, Church clergy took pride in mastering the use of the brush. Lower-ranking clergy who couldn't master it would spend money to hire others to copy prayers for them.

Recalling the jar of water and black bread on the smashed table, all the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats felt a sinking feeling.

When copying prayers, to show respect to the Deity, one could not consume meat or alcohol, only drink water and eat black bread. The presence of these two items on Lin Qi's desk, along with the Judgment Pen Rack and Purification Holy Water, meant that anyone not completely foolish would know what he was doing!

He was copying a prayer scripture for a clergyman, dedicated to the Deity!

"Damn it!" All the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats frowned. When the 'name of the Empire's Royal Family' clashed with the 'name of the Deity', the former usually lost.

"God, curse these heretics who profane your glory! They should be sent to the stake, their entire families should be sent to the stake, their neighbors should be sent to the stake, and even the old woman who delivered them when their mothers gave birth should all be sent to the stake! Why are there such sinners to profane your glory?"

As the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats anxiously weighed the pros and cons, the portly Father Balin rushed up, gesticulating wildly and cursing the group of Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats. As the assistant priest of Fifth University, Father Balin was responsible for the religious guidance of all students at Fifth University. His position in the Berely diocese was extremely special. Although an assistant priest in the Church had less real power, Father Balin was a genuine mid-level priest.

The status of a mid-level priest was enough to surpass a deputy director of the security bureau or a captain of the Dragon Cavalry. Facing the roaring Father Balin, all the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats lowered their heads. Their hearts twisted into knots; they had gotten into serious trouble this time.

"In the name of the Deity!" Father Balin leaped and roared, "Anyone who disrupts the copying of my New Year Prayer Scripture deserves to die! You should all be sent to the stake. No, the stake is too good for you! Burned to ashes, not enough to cleanse your vile souls. You should be subjected to boiling oil, have boiling oil poured all over you, then have molten lead juice poured into your mouths, and only then be sent to the stake to receive the Deity's punishment!"

The faces of all the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats turned pale. They suddenly regretted provoking such trouble, all to curry favor with the family behind Black Horse House.

Damn it, the Church couldn't be provoked, but they had already angered an assistant priest!