Chapter 24

"We're going to Faith City with Kate and the others tomorrow." Qin Yi frowned and turned toward Qin Rong. For some reason, he felt vaguely uneasy.

"Nothing will happen." Qin Rong thought for a moment before speaking.

"Ah! What rotten luck. How come other people can spread Faith Power without trouble, while we have to go through all this hassle?" Qin Yi irritably hugged his blanket and rolled around on the bed.

"Maybe it's a good thing." Qin Rong said calmly. "Didn't you hear what Koville said? Faith in this world is no longer that devout. Perhaps that city lord merely wants to cooperate with us."

"Cooperate?" Qin Rong repeated thoughtfully.

"Mm." Qin Rong turned to face Qin Yi and placed a large hand on his head, rubbing it gently. He said soothingly, "Stop thinking about it. The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge. We'll know once we meet him."

"Mm." Qin Yi nodded obediently.

There was nothing more to say.

The next day, Qin Yi opened his eyes under Qin Rong's urging. Seeing that Qin Rong was already fully dressed, he frowned. "Do you have to be this eager?"

Qin Rong raised his eyes toward the blazing sun outside and smiled indulgently. "It's already late."

With a helpless sigh, Qin Yi scratched his scalp, then got up and walked into the washroom.

The water here was just as clear and transparent as Earth's. The droplets fell onto his hands with a refreshing chill, thoroughly clearing Qin Yi's muddled mind. His face covered in water, Qin Yi stared blankly at the mirror before him. Reflected in it was a familiar yet youthful face. He gazed at his own features, feeling dazed for a moment.

Rebirth, cultivation, transmigration to another world...

The scenery around him reminded Qin Yi that this was absolutely not a dream. Such vivid sensations could not possibly be replaced by something as illusory as a hallucination. Still, he had to admit that fate was truly wondrous...

After changing clothes, Qin Yi entered the hall with Qin Rong. Kate and Koville were already prepared. After a simple breakfast, they boarded Kate's luxurious carriage and set off for Faith City.

Since wind magic arrays were carved around the carriage, the ride was exceptionally smooth, without the slightest bump. Qin Yi curiously watched the scenery flash past outside.

"Well? It feels rather novel, doesn't it?" Kate said with a double meaning.

"It certainly does." Qin Yi nodded knowingly.

"If you don't mind, we can head directly to Faith City," Koville said. He carried Lovi's orders, so naturally his mood differed from the others'.

Qin Yi glanced at Kate, who also seemed somewhat uneasy, then nodded. "No problem."

Even if there was a problem, objecting would be useless.

The rest of the journey passed in silence.

By the time the carriage reached Faith City, the sun was already setting. After passing through tightly guarded gates, Kate's carriage went straight to a grand and imposing estate before coming to a stop.

Koville got out first, then smiled at everyone inside the carriage. "Welcome to my home."

Unlike the extravagant luxury of Kate's home, Koville's style was more restrained and solemn beneath its opulent foundation. This was probably the ostentation of an old noble family.

To conceal their identities as pure-blooded Demonfolk, Qin Yi and Qin Rong had used disguise potions under Kate's guidance to turn their hair and eyes into ordinary blond hair and blue eyes. Beneath the butler's polite, gentle, and refined exterior lay an unconcealed reserve and arrogance. When his gaze swept over Qin Yi and the others, it carried almost naked contempt. Qin Yi guessed that if Koville had not personally led them in, they probably would not even have been allowed through the front gates. This subtle disdain instinctively displeased him. Still, seeing Koville's enthusiastic smile, he remained silent. His attitude, however, was no longer as warm as before.

Koville also keenly sensed Qin Yi's displeasure. He could only smile wryly. "Butler Reeves is my mother's confidant, and my mother is rather... Still, my mother is a very kind person."

Qin Yi and Qin Rong smiled without saying anything. It was indeed inconvenient for them to comment. To the two of them, such matters were trivial. Their sole purpose in coming to Faith City, even to this plane, was to gather Faith Power. As for everything else, the Qin brothers truly did not take it to heart.

By Earth's standards, the lord of Faith City was probably equivalent to a provincial governor. Even requesting an audience required an appointment in advance. However, this city lord was likely very curious about what Qin Yi had brought out. Thus, on the very next day after they arrived in Faith City, someone from the City Lord's Manor came to invite them over for a talk.

But when Qin Yi saw the renowned and mighty city lord at the City Lord's Manor, even someone as composed as him could not help widening his eyes—

This black-haired, red-eyed little boy with red lips and white teeth, who occasionally blinked a pair of watery eyes, revealed two small dimples when he smiled, and stood less than one meter sixty tall, was actually the incomparably majestic, overwhelmingly powerful, and highly capable great demon city lord Koville had described?

City lord my ass!

"Hello. I'm very pleased to meet you." Upon seeing Qin Yi and Qin Rong, City Lord Lovi nodded in a gentlemanly manner, then gestured for them to sit.

"I am very curious about the promotional proposal Koville submitted. May I boldly ask which deity your family worships?" Lovi sat elegantly behind his desk and asked Qin Yi.

Qin Yi silently consulted Andre before answering, "Satan, the God of Darkness."

"Satan?" Lovi furrowed his brows and repeated the name in confusion.

"Yes." Qin Yi nodded reservedly and smiled without speaking.

Lovi's boyish face creased solemnly as he thought hard for quite some time, yet he still could not figure out who this deity was. After a while, he spoke somewhat unwillingly. "I suppose your family worships an ancient Primordial Demon. Forgive my limited knowledge, but I have never heard this deity's name."

Qin Yi nodded magnanimously with a smile, though inwardly he complained, Of course you haven't. This is mythology from Earth!

Thinking of this, Qin Yi could not help criticizing Andre's terrible memory. He did not even know what kind of deity he was, leaving Qin Yi to make up lies for him. And he even claimed to be some divine envoy—more like a con man!

"When your family's elders were spreading the teachings, did they give you any particular instructions?" Setting aside his doubts, Lovi sat up straight, elegantly placing his hands over his crossed knees as he asked slowly.

"Were there any strict rules?" Qin Yi silently asked Andre in the space. After receiving a negative answer, he said, "The family elders only instructed me to spread the glory of God to every corner. There are no strict rules."

"That is wonderful." Hearing this, Lovi brought his hands together in a symbolic clap, then said to Qin Yi, "As it happens, when Koville was spreading your religion's teachings, I suddenly discovered that your doctrine shares some similarities with the Primordial Demon worshipped by the Demonfolk. I think the demon god worshipped by the Demonfolk may perhaps be connected to the Primordial Demon your family worships."

After saying this, he looked at Qin Yi expectantly.

"Is that so? That would be wonderful." Seeing Lovi's performance, Qin Yi replied perfunctorily. "In this era when the gods have fallen silent, if we can awaken the attention of the gods, it would be the greatest blessing for divine envoys such as ourselves."

He had spoken with Kate before, so he understood why Lovi had summoned them in such haste. The demon god they worshipped had not contacted them for several hundred years. In other words, no divine oracle had descended for centuries. To them, this was no different from being abandoned. Some passages in the materials Qin Yi had handed over bore striking similarities to the oracles once delivered by the Primordial Demon. That was why Lovi was so eager to find a way to contact the Primordial Demon through him.

However, among Qin Yi's hodgepodge promotional pamphlets, he had no idea which passage Lovi actually cared about.

"If possible, could you explain when your family received this sentence?" Lovi flicked his finger, taking a stack of materials from his storage space, then pointed to one passage and asked.

Qin Yi leaned forward and examined it carefully. Dark lines immediately fell across his forehead. The passage Lovi had pointed to was one of the classic pretentious lines commonly used in later fantasy novels...

"God said, let there be light, and there was light in the world. God said, let there be darkness..."

It was a scene found in nearly every fantasy novel. Qin Yi had long forgotten where it had originally come from. Still, that did not stop him from fooling Lovi.

"This is one of the divine oracles Lord Satan bestowed a few days ago. As for what it specifically means, we do not understand either." As Qin Yi spoke, he revealed just the right amount of ashamed embarrassment.

"Oh, heavens! Your family truly received a divine oracle." Lovi immediately stood up excitedly. After pacing around the room several times, he asked Qin Yi, "May I ask how your family contacted Lord Primordial Demon?"

"Ah?" Qin Yi glanced speechlessly at Qin Rong. Receiving the instruction to keep making things up, he scratched his head in apparent confusion before forcing himself to say, "Prayer. Sincere prayer. Lord Primordial Demon will surely hear our devout prayers."

"I'm sure the divine envoys of your family must be exceedingly devout." Lovi looked at Qin Yi with deep emotion, then said, "Unfortunately, our Church has not received a divine oracle for more than three hundred years."

"..." Qin Yi smiled awkwardly. He did not know what to say. Then an idea struck him. He suddenly heard Andre say a few words within the space, and he looked at Lovi with some difficulty before speaking. "If you do not mind, could we pay our respects to the deity of your Church?"

As he spoke, he clasped his hands together piously and performed the gesture monks on Earth used when asking for alms.

"Of course." Hearing this, Lovi immediately agreed proudly. He then said to everyone, "If there are no objections, I can arrange for you to visit the temple right away."

"Thank you, City Lord." Qin Yi stood and bowed to Lovi in thanks.

"You're welcome. It is my honor as well." Lovi smiled as he reached beneath the desk and pressed a red button. A moment later, a handsome, upright man dressed like a butler entered.

"Arrange a carriage for me. In half an hour, I will take our honored guests to the temple," Lovi said softly to the butler.

"Yes, my lord." The handsome man bowed respectfully, then quietly withdrew.

Lovi's gaze remained fixed on the handsome man until his figure gradually disappeared. Only then did he turn back to Qin Yi and the others. "If there are no problems, we can go to the temple shortly."

"May the glory of God be with you." Hearing this, Qin Yi immediately clasped his hands and bowed, determined to keep up the act to the very end.

Half an hour later, everyone successfully arrived at the temple worshipping the Demonfolk Imperial Court's deity. Qin Yi's gaze traveled over the magnificent, solemn, and imposing architecture, and he curled his lips in boredom. It was actually very similar to those temples depicted in later anime. Sure enough, temples in every world were all more or less the same!

But why was the temple where the Demonfolk worshipped their demon god so bright, splendid, solemn, and dignified? Shouldn't it be dark and eerie like the ones described in novels?