Hidden Secrets

Qin Ran's offer of help drew completely opposite reactions from Sister Mony and Gonglansen.

"Thank you, Detective Qin Ran!"

"But this is our affair. Getting you involved would bring you a great deal of trouble!"

Sister Mony politely declined Qin Ran with a smile.

"Hmm, if you're sorry, then act like you're sorry. Don't think a few words are enough!"

After hearing Qin Ran's words, Gonglansen smiled and nodded.

Then, he began persuading Sister Mony.

"Mony, I think highly of him. He has decent skills and good character!"

"And didn't you say he was the best detective in the city?"

"Finding those people is exactly what he does best!"

Gonglansen's tone gradually became serious.

"We've gathered some people, but those guys are hiding in the shadows while we're exposed. If they lose patience and a conflict breaks out... because of my oath, I cannot leave this place. Lidd and the others would inevitably suffer heavy losses! Besides, no one can guarantee when those people might break in—if it happens during class... that outcome is definitely not what we want!"

As Gonglansen continued persuading her, Sister Mony began to hesitate.

It was not only because Gonglansen held considerable standing in Sister Mony's heart, but also because what he said was true.

If something like that happened...

Sister Mony quickly shook her head.

She would never allow those greedy thugs to harm her students.

"Detective Qin Ran, please!"

Sister Mony turned around and looked seriously at Qin Ran.

"Although I don't have enough money to hire you..."

"Sister Mony, I already told you, this is my compensation to you—since it's compensation, of course I won't charge you!"

Qin Ran interrupted Sister Mony, then said, "However, please tell me the whole story in detail! The more detailed, the better!"

"This is quite a long story. I'll get some stools!"

As he spoke, Gonglansen brought three stools out of the cabin.

After each of them sat down, Sister Mony began her story.

"Saint Paul School was called Saint Paul Church fifty years ago. It was the church where the Dawn Goddess first bestowed a miracle—roughly a thousand years ago, though people regard that as a legend now! In truth, even Gonglansen and I do not know whether it is real. However, my teacher, the last pope of the Dawn Church, firmly believed it was true and looked forward to the goddess bestowing another miracle!"

"Unfortunately, nothing happened until my teacher passed away! Instead, the Church's influence steadily weakened. It was not only the small Dawn Church; even the greatest Radiance Church was no exception! People placed greater faith in gunpowder, steam engines, and electricity. Knowledge was no longer held solely by the Church, and more people came to possess it!"

"Still, I considered that a good thing, because everyone had escaped the shackles of darkness and become more prosperous and peaceful! That was precisely the doctrine of the Dawn Church! Therefore, from the very beginning, I opened the books collected by the Dawn Church to several renowned scholars and, together with those scholars, turned Saint Paul Church into Saint Paul School!"

"And I changed from the Dawn Saintess into Sister Mony, the headmistress. Gonglansen, my guardian Knight, became the final Knight of the Dawn Church!"

Sister Mony calmly and softly recounted the transformation of Saint Paul Church, as well as the changes in her and Gonglansen's identities.

That calm tone and faint voice made it seem as though she were speaking of strangers unrelated to herself.

Yet Qin Ran, sitting nearby, sensed a trace of sorrow from the two of them.

It was not merely a change in their emotions.

It was also the change of history.

The wheels of history could not be stopped. One could only go with the flow.

When one had the will but lacked the strength, sorrow was all that remained.

Because anyone who stood in its way would inevitably be crushed to pieces beneath history's wheels.

Gonglansen being the last Knight of the Dawn Church explained everything.

Where had the remaining Knights gone?

Even accounting for death by old age, illness, accidents, and so on, there should not have been only one Knight left.

Moreover, judging by Gonglansen's vigor, which rivaled that of a man in his prime, it was clear that these Knights of the Dawn Church lived far longer than ordinary people.

A change of era would inevitably be accompanied by bloodshed!

The old guard being broken by the reformists—

That was not something that could be achieved with a few simple words.

Qin Ran could already picture those old-fashioned Knights refusing to accept the changes of the new era and launching their charge.

Facing row after row of muskets and cannons, they mounted their warhorses and unleashed the most dazzling charge of their lives.

Dazzling, yet brief.

And they were merely a small group of the purest people.

Such changes in a new era would inevitably affect countless others.

In the end, the outcome had become clear.

Qin Ran remained silent. The weight of history made it impossible for him to speak casually.

Even if... it was not history he knew.

Sister Mony and Gonglansen were silent as well. They seemed to have fallen into memories of those years.

After a long while, Sister Mony came back to herself.

"Sorry, I remembered some things from the past—I've been thinking about those days a lot lately!"

"And the trouble we're facing was also caused by something from those days!"

With a sigh, Sister Mony continued.

"Although the Dawn Church was only a small church back then, not even one-tenth the size of the Radiance Church, it still had a thousand years of accumulated wealth—both knowledge and riches!"

"My teacher, the last pope of the Dawn Church, hoped the Dawn Church could rise again, so he hid that wealth away!"

"But he hid it too well... even Gonglansen and I do not know where it is!"

"Or perhaps Gonglansen and I disappointed him, so he did not tell us and instead told someone else!"

"But in the end, that wealth disappeared completely!"

"Just as Gonglansen and I were about to forget the matter, a group of people suddenly found me and hoped I could tell them where the wealth was hidden—they promised to restore the Dawn Church to the world!"

"I refused them, but they kept coming back, and their methods became increasingly excessive!"

"That is why Lidd was so nervous when he saw you!"

As she spoke, Sister Mony apologized once more.

"So that's how it was!"

Qin Ran suddenly understood.

"What restoration of the Dawn Church? They're just a bunch of people who learned a few scraps of the Dawn Church's secrets from who knows where and became consumed by greed!"

"Not to mention that we don't know anything. Even if we did know—we definitely could not tell them!"

"If not for the oath preventing me from leaving this place, I would make those greedy people understand what it means to court death!"

Gonglansen angrily clenched his fist.

He appeared extremely furious.

Qin Ran did not doubt his words in the slightest.

Their earlier exchange had given Qin Ran a deep understanding of Gonglansen's strength. In Hand-to-Hand Combat alone, Qin Ran was absolutely no match for him.

The man's powerful physique and special techniques surpassed Qin Ran's in every respect.

Moreover, Gonglansen did not merely possess physical strength and unarmed techniques. He was also no stranger to weapons.

At the very least, from the weapons Artilly Hunter had seen, Qin Ran knew that the last Knight of the Dawn Church before him was not unfamiliar with firearms.

In fact, he was likely exceptionally familiar with them.

A man with such powerful physical abilities, combat skills, and knowledge of firearms—if he wanted to kill someone, those people had better pray he never found them.

"What characteristics do these people have?"

Qin Ran asked.

"They sneaked in secretly and covered their faces. Only two appeared before me, so I do not know whether there are more!"

Sister Mony shook her head, unable to provide any further clues.

"All right, leave the rest to me! I guarantee I'll find these people in the shortest possible time!"

Qin Ran had not expected to get more information from Sister Mony. Since they wanted to find the wealth left behind by the Dawn Church, they would naturally have made preparations.

But that did not affect Qin Ran's decision to accept the side mission.

[Side Mission Discovered: The Watcher!]

[Side Mission: A group of unknown people discovered the secret wealth left behind by the Dawn Church. They want to obtain it through Sister Mony! You promised Sister Mony that you would find these people and keep Saint Paul School safe from harm!]

Qin Ran glanced at the side mission prompt.

Compared with the first side mission, the difficulty of this one had definitely increased by more than double.

Not only could he not determine their numbers, he also had no idea where they were.

Other than waiting for the rabbit at the tree stump, Qin Ran had no better method for the moment.

However, Qin Ran did not show any difficulty.

He smiled as he bid farewell to Sister Mony and Gonglansen.

Of course, to avoid the trouble of encountering the captain of the School Guard Unit, Qin Ran entered [Stealth] once again.

This time was different from when he had entered.

He had Sister Mony's permission.

After leaving Saint Paul School and the street where it stood, Qin Ran adjusted his clothes, slung the case containing [Viper-M1] over his back, and stepped out of the shadows.

Qin Ran did not call for a carriage.

Because this street was not far from where he lived.

Seeing that the sky was about to grow dark, Qin Ran planned to walk home and buy some food along the way.

After all, he had not eaten anything for the entire day.

However, after Qin Ran had walked less than twenty meters, he abruptly realized that someone was following behind him.