Jia Xiu Talks the Cultists into Submission

Billy, male, 32 years old, believer of the God of Deceit and Curses.

He could no longer quite remember when he had become a believer of this god.

Maybe it had been twenty-one years ago, or perhaps twenty-two.

He only remembered that it had been a sweltering summer.

As a child, he had been skinny and small, always getting bullied. That day, he had used the money he had saved from odd jobs to buy a bag of fruit candies.

He had never eaten fruit candies before. They were something only children from wealthy families could afford.

He had saved money for months just to buy that bag of candy. Children could not earn much from working.

When he received the candy, he felt as though he had gained the whole world, as though he was no worse than the children of wealthy families.

He counted them over and over, making sure every piece was accounted for. There were twelve in total, like twelve jewels.

Yet that joy did not last long.

A child a head taller than him punched him hard in the eye socket and snatched away the candy.

Perhaps some people would say it had only been a bag of candy.

But to Billy back then, it had been his entire world.

From the moment the candy was taken, his world had been destroyed. Hatred consumed him. He cursed the town and longed for everything in it to be destroyed.

But he had no power.

Then, a god he had never heard of answered his wish.

As long as he completed the ritual and summoned a powerful Undead, Creekwood Town would become a hell filled with Pain and despair.

From then on, he became a loyal believer of the God of Deceit and Curses.

Summoning the Undead and destroying this town became the only obsession keeping him alive until this day.

Yet just like his failed childhood, his life as a cultist had failed as well.

Over twenty years, he had developed only a dozen or so followers, and several had quit halfway through.

They had completed eight sacrifices in total, all involving the old, weak, sick, or disabled.

Perhaps they were not sacrifices worthy of satisfying a god, but this was already the best he could do.

Because he lacked guidance, he had figured out the ritual steps and the placement of the magic circle all on his own.

The results were poor, barely functional at best.

In truth, the god had bestowed upon him a passage recording the ritual, but he was illiterate.

Nor could he simply ask someone to tell him what the words meant.

He could only break it down word by word, ask different people about them, then piece it together himself with a little guesswork and understanding.

But that was not even the worst part.

The bigger problem was that this tiny cult was nearly out of food.

With no other choice, he had accepted Hannas's job.

Dealing with nobles was extremely unwise, but he truly had no choice.

Yet he had never imagined that this kidnapping would become a turning point in his fate.

"What about yesterday?"

Billy stared at Jia Xiu's smiling face, his heart pounding wildly.

What did that mean?

Billy pondered it with his not-so-bright brain.

This kid thought sacrificing eight people in one day was why he had said it was not bad.

Cold sweat broke out on Billy's forehead.

His achievements over twenty years were not even as good as one day of this man's?

This was a senior!

Had the god finally answered his prayers and sent a senior to guide him?

No!

It could not be such a coincidence.

Billy pressed the Obsidian Dagger to Jia Xiu's throat. "Quit bluffing. You're an outstanding spellcaster certified by the Association!"

Jia Xiu calmly asked in return, "What? Can an outstanding spellcaster certified by the Association not be a believer of the God of Deceit and Curses? Do you even understand deception?"

"Th-this..."

Billy was bluffed by Jia Xiu's words.

Jia Xiu continued dropping a bombshell. "The placement of the materials in your ritual circle is wrong."

"What?"

Billy knew very well that there was something wrong with his magic circle, but he had not expected someone to spot it at a glance.

"Move the Skull Bowl five centimeters to the right, then switch the positions of the scroll and the Human Bone Flute..."

Following the issues revealed by the Rune Eye, Jia Xiu corrected the misplaced constants back to their proper positions.

Seeing how certain Jia Xiu sounded, Billy adjusted the materials with half-belief and half-doubt.

The instant the arrangement was restored, the ghostly green flame burning on the candles immediately leaped higher.

In his eyes, it was not merely the flames that rose, but also his hope of fulfilling his long-cherished wish.

"Senior!"

Billy's attitude immediately became respectful.

"Sorry, truly sorry. Quick, untie him. We were hired by Hannas too. We'll return the money right away."

"Wait!"

Jia Xiu, who had just been untied, spoke to stop them. He flexed his somewhat stiff wrists and explained.

"Believers of the God of Deception, and you do not even dare scam the son of some minor noble? We will do the job, and we will not return the money!"

"But..."

Billy worried that if Hannas became enraged, he would have the lord's Knights come to wipe them out.

"No buts!"

Jia Xiu brought out every bit of acting skill he had learned in the University Drama Club, looking exactly like a seasoned cultist.

"This is your first step toward becoming truly qualified believers of the God of Deception. Besides, Hannas definitely did not come to you with his father's approval, so even if he suffers a loss, he will not dare go to the lord."

The surrounding cultists nodded one after another.

Worthy of being a senior. He dared scam a noble right from the start.

"Let me see the ritual you prepared."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior." Billy hurriedly thanked him.

Jia Xiu finally had the opportunity to examine the entire ritual carefully.

Two hours passed in a blink. Several cultists waited eagerly, yet none dared disturb him.

Meanwhile, Jia Xiu was utterly shocked.

This ritual was even more complicated than he had anticipated.

First of all, the entire ritual was actually one-way. The followers provided sacrifices, but the god gave nothing in return.

As for that Undead-summoning spell, strictly speaking, it was fake and had only visual effects.

In other words, this God of Deceit and Curses had given its followers absolutely nothing, written them an empty check, and was collecting sacrifices for free.

No wonder its name included deceit.

Its words and deeds were perfectly aligned!

And beyond the evil god deceiving its followers, something even more remarkable had happened: that fake Undead-summoning spell had accidentally hit the mark.

There truly was an Undead in this cave. Affected by the sacrificial ritual, it was in the process of awakening. Its name was Bubu.

It was the high research-value target discovered by the Detection Spell.

After figuring everything out, Jia Xiu cleared his throat.

"Ahem. From now on, we will stop using such backward methods as sacrifice."

"Huh?" Billy asked. "Then what will we use?"

"The faith generated by prayer."

"But with the faith of people like us, it would not be enough to summon an Undead, would it?"

"Who said we would rely on your faith? What I want is the faith of every tourist who comes to Creekwood Town!"

"The tourists' faith?"

Billy did not understand. Creekwood Town did indeed receive many tourists every year, but what tourist would be bored enough to seek out an evil cult to pray?

"Yes. I am going to create an 'Absolutely Real, Ultra-Terrifying Cult of Deceit and Curses Secret Cave Escape Experience'! Praying to the god will be a necessary step to clear it."

Billy did not fully understand what that long-named project meant, but he roughly understood that the senior intended for tourists to generate faith during the experience.

After sorting out that logic, he voiced his concern.

"But that faith will not be devout enough. We would be deceiving the god."

"What?"

With an expression that said you are beyond teaching, Jia Xiu looked at Billy in disappointment until Billy was completely bewildered.

"I-I..."

"What do you mean, 'I'? If you do not even dare deceive the God of Deception, how can you become a qualified believer of the God of Deception?"