Homecoming

The Church openly arrested the Empire's specially appointed visiting professor from Master Tower, an imperial minister, an imperial marquis, senior school officials, and even such a reclusive, eccentric man as Master Ke Cha right on campus. Before the adjudicating priest, no one dared utter another word. That display of authority and Sha Qi, that supreme majesty condensed from divine power, left a deep impression on Lin Qi.

"If I became one of the Church's upper ranks, I'd have a lot of money, wouldn't I?"

Almost instinctively, Lin Qi linked the Church's authority to the Church's wealth. He was not wrong. The armor worn by those Church knights was all costly triple-layered armor—the innermost layer was pure steel chainmail, the middle layer flexible ring mail, and the outermost layer sturdy, heavy plate armor. All three layers were inlaid with great numbers of rune formations made from rare metals and gemstones, capable of effectively resisting both physical and magical attacks.

A single suit of armor like that had to be worth over ten thousand gold coins, right? Compared to the pure steel plate armor of the Empire's Dragon Cavalry, which cost only a few dozen gold coins per set, the Church knights were practically walking golden men. No wonder they had made so much money selling Atonement Talismans. They were simply too rich.

Even the blood-robed priest leading them wore instantly activated spell rings on all five fingers of his left hand. Each such instant-cast magic ring was worth more than ten thousand gold coins! That one hand of the blood-robed priest was nearly comparable to Jiang Yong's right hand.

What an outrageously expensive, valuable hand!

Even these Church enforcers who ran about arresting people were so extravagantly wealthy. As for the Church's upper ranks—the scepter Bishops, crown Bishops, and those highest-ranking great figures—did they eat pearls every day and drink melted gold?

Even after Lin Qi boarded the passenger ship home, he was still absentmindedly pondering that question.

If someone could loot the Church's treasury, what an immense fortune that would be! As long as he could plunder the Church's treasury, perhaps Lin Qi's life goal could be fulfilled immediately. While alive, he would live in a palace built of gold; after death, he would sleep in a tomb built of gold.

"They're fucking rich!" Lin Qi smacked his lips and wiped away the drool that had nearly run down from the corner of his mouth.

Lin Qi stood on the deck in a daze, while Enzo had already mingled with the sailors. He generously invited them to share his mixture of betel nut and tobacco, while cheerfully accepting the hand-rolled cigarettes they made from inferior tobacco. Enzo worked hard to help the sailors hoist the sails and tidy up the odds and ends scattered across the deck.

As an outstanding swordsman, Enzo had more than enough strength. Doing such tasks was no more than a piece of cake for him.

After all, Enzo did not have as thick a skin as Lin Qi. He and Lin Qi had caught a passing ship to Dunkirk and saved the fare. Lin Qi could sit aboard the ship and enjoy himself with a clear conscience, but Enzo felt he ought to help out somehow.

"What a spendthrift!" Lin Qi glared irritably at the busy Enzo. "Working so hard burns too much strength, and later you'll eat even more. Don't you know we can only live on black bread for the next two days? Damn it, we spent our very last copper coin on black bread!"

Patting his purse, which was as clean as though it had been washed in water, Lin Qi let out a faint sigh.

On the dock, the Cripple was waving a white handkerchief in their direction. His eyes crinkled into slits with his smile, as if he were delighted that Lin Qi, that bastard who was always causing him trouble, was finally going to get the hell back home. Seeing that the passenger ship was about to depart, the Cripple shouted, "Lin Qi, my dear little Lin Qi, give my regards to your father. Tell him the Cripple has prepared some fine aged wine here, and if he has the time, he can come have a good taste!"

Lin Qi grinned and waved forcefully at the Cripple.

Not far behind the Cripple stood The Cripple's Shop. On a terrace atop the inn, Jiang Yong was standing there, watching this way curiously. The black poisonous lizard on Jiang Yong's round top hat gave off tiny flashes of light.

Glancing at Jiang Yong from the corner of his eye, Lin Qi took a deep breath. Damn it, a Heavenly Knight—how was Lin Qi supposed to make a move?

The passenger ship gave a slight shudder. Driven by the current, the vessel, its prow fitted with heavy angle iron, slowly headed downstream.

The Seine River was the only river in the northern part of the continent that never froze. No one could explain why. Even in the bitter depths of winter, when dripping water froze into ice, the Seine River's surface only formed a thin layer of ice no thicker than a finger. It never froze over with layers several feet thick like other rivers. Ordinary vessels only needed angle iron fitted to their prows to easily split the thin ice and sail along the river.

Accompanied by the crackling sounds of ice breaking, the passenger ship slowly entered the main channel at the center of the river, gradually accelerating as it raced downstream. From here, following the Seine River north, they could reach Dunkirk in no more than two days. That was Lin Qi's home, the territory where his ancestors had lived and multiplied for countless years. According to the records kept by Lin Qi's own family, the Lin Qi Family had lived in the Dunkirk region since the ancient Era of Destruction.

Lin Qi's family was renowned throughout the underworld of the Western Continent. The Black Tiger Family truly crouched over the north of the continent like a savage beast. Every shady business in the northern regions of the Western Continent was either directly controlled by the Black Tiger Family or had to surrender a share of its profits to them. The family's hidden influence was extraordinarily vast. Although it had suffered a severe blow at the end of the Hundred-Year Land-Island War, its power was still far from insignificant.

Moreover, although the Hundred-Year Land-Island War had thinned the Black Tiger Family's bloodline, it had also greatly expanded the family's wealth and influence. The present Black Tiger Family was at its weakest point in history, yet at the same time, its strongest.

There was nothing to say along the way. Heavy snow had sealed away everything on both banks of the Seine River. Everywhere they looked was a vast expanse of white, with no scenery worth seeing.

Only when they passed a small town called Light did Enzo become somewhat lost in thought—Enzo's hometown was in Light.

Lin Qi could only stroke his shriveled purse to comfort Enzo. When they returned, they would have travel money, and they could stop at Light on the way back to see his hometown. But now, they truly had no choice. If they got off the ship midway, they would no longer have the fare to board another passenger vessel.

Drinking icy water and gnawing black bread, Lin Qi and Enzo endured two days like two devout clergymen. Then, at last, a lighthouse nearly a hundred meters tall appeared ahead. They had reached Dunkirk.

The crew shouted excitedly as the passenger ship slowly pulled up to the dock. Lin Qi and Enzo stepped ashore by way of the gangplank and waved gratefully to the owner of the passenger ship.

Taking a deep breath of air mingled with the strong fishy scent of seawater, Lin Qi murmured, "All right, I'm back! Damn it!"

He tugged at Enzo, who was still looking around at the surrounding sights, and expertly led him into the dense crowd on the dock.