Bibi Dong threw back her head and laughed bitterly. "Hahahaha... Hahahahaha! Yes... I should have realized it long ago. How could I have been so foolish?!"
"I was treated like a fool and deceived for so many years, yet I stupidly kept thinking of him? I even betrayed Spirit Hall for him."
"I hate him! I hate him so much! Why did Yu Xiaogang deceive me like that back then? Why?!"
As she vented her hatred for Yu Xiaogang, a twisted and frenzied thought rose uncontrollably within her. "But I hate Teacher too!"
"Why didn't Teacher expose that piece of trash sooner? Why did he have to use such a cruel and heartless method to warn me, trampling my dignity beneath his feet?!"
"Why... Why couldn't Teacher forgive me just once?" Bibi Dong thought resentfully.
Seeing Bibi Dong laugh one moment and cry the next, looking nearly insane, Gui Mei frowned. Somewhat impatiently, he said, "Yue Guan, why are you wasting words on her? She is no longer Spirit Hall's Saintess. She is merely a traitor!"
"Traitors deserve no mercy! His Holiness the Pope's decree does not permit us to waste time here!"
Having said that, Gui Mei stepped forward and, without the slightest pity, grabbed Bibi Dong by her tattered robe.
Like dragging a dead pig, he brutally hauled her toward the central square of Spirit City.
Bibi Dong completely gave up struggling.
She let the hard stone slabs scrape against her body and let the rain wash over her continuously. Along the way, she passed all kinds of Spirit City residents.
Feeling their stares, Bibi Dong instinctively used her ragged sleeve to cover her ugly face.
At that moment, an absurd feeling even arose in her heart. Fortunately, Teacher had ruined her appearance.
Otherwise, if the people of the entire city recognized that the once lofty Saintess had become this monstrous sight...
Before long, Gui Mei dragged Bibi Dong to the destination.
This was the busiest and most prosperous place in Spirit City. All kinds of grand celebrations and ceremonies were usually held here.
As if discarding trash, Gui Mei casually flung Bibi Dong into a dark corner by the wall.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed a pure gold bowl before Bibi Dong. Immediately afterward, Gui Mei summoned two Security Team members who were patrolling nearby.
"This is the Saintess who betrayed Spirit Hall," Gui Mei said hoarsely. "By His Holiness the Pope's decree, she is to hold this golden bowl here and beg!"
"From now on, you Security Team members are responsible for watching her! Remember, no one is allowed to take this golden bowl! And no one is allowed to kill her. Keep your eyes on her every day, and do not let her starve to death."
"If anything goes wrong, I imagine you Security Team members do not wish to bear His Holiness the Pope's wrath, do you?"
The two Security Team members stared at Bibi Dong in the corner, her face scorched black and hideous, and were utterly dumbfounded.
This was the Saintess who had once stood above all but one? They could not understand it. Why would a perfectly good Saintess betray Spirit Hall?!
"Please rest assured, Ghost Elder! We will guard her day and night and never allow anything to go wrong!" the two Security Team members immediately promised with a bow.
"Let's go, Yue Guan. Don't waste any more time here," Gui Mei said indifferently before leaving with Yue Guan.
Watching the two lofty elders depart, the faces of the two Security Team members immediately fell.
"Pah!"
One of the Security Team members looked at Bibi Dong, who was curled up in the corner and trembling, and intense disgust flashed through his eyes.
He stepped forward and spat directly onto Bibi Dong's face, cursing, "You ungrateful piece of trash!"
"His Holiness the Pope and Spirit Hall showed you kindness beyond measure, yet you dared betray Spirit Hall? If it were up to me, I'd have someone like you, who bites the hand that feeds you, cut into a thousand pieces!"
With that, his face darkened. He lifted his heavy leather boot, ready to kick Bibi Dong viciously.
"Hey! What are you doing? Have you gone mad?"
The other Security Team member's face changed drastically. He hurriedly reached out to stop him and lowered his voice. "Didn't you hear what Ghost Elder just said?"
"She is someone His Holiness the Pope ordered us to guard. She absolutely cannot die, even if she is a traitor who bites the hand that feeds her!"
"If you kick her without controlling your strength and kill her outright, both our heads will be rolling."
They both knew just how miserable and weak Bibi Dong was right now. That kick might truly take her life.
The Security Team member reluctantly withdrew his foot and said coldly, "Tch! I only wanted to kick her once to vent a little. How could one kick possibly kill her so easily?"
"His Holiness the Pope is far too merciful. He actually spared the life of a traitor like this? I really don't understand it!"
"Enough. Say less."
The Security Team member who had stopped him said quietly, "How could insignificant people like us possibly fathom the thoughts of those above?"
"Since His Holiness the Pope punished her, he did not directly order her execution after all!"
"Perhaps His Holiness the Pope merely wants her to suffer here for a while. When she truly comes to her senses one day, he may remember their former bond and take her back, allowing her to start over?"
"What did you say?" The Security Team member who had wanted to kick her swept his gaze over Bibi Dong. She was already in such a miserable state—utterly miserable. His Holiness the Pope would take her back? How could that be possible!
"But what if that day really comes? If you offend her beyond repair today, will either of us have a way to survive later?"
"All we need to do is guard her, make sure she does not die, and make sure no one steals the golden bowl. We need not concern ourselves with anything else!"
Bibi Dong, whose heart had already turned to ashes, heard those final words. In her dead eyes, a glimmer of hope seemed to flash.
"That's right... That's right... Teacher used to love me so much. He cherished me like his own daughter, holding me in the palm of his hand."
"How could he truly abandon me? How could he truly be so cruel to me? He must be doing this because what I did before hurt him too deeply."
"So he is using the harshest possible method to punish me and make me atone... As long as I obey Teacher, stay here obediently with the golden bowl and atone for my sins, act obedient enough, remorseful enough, sincere enough..."
"One day, once Teacher's anger subsides, he will surely come here in person and take me back to the Papal Palace!"
Bibi Dong almost pathologically convinced herself of this in her heart. A smile actually appeared on that twisted, vicious face.
"She is actually smiling? I think she has gone mad. She fell from Saintess to a filthy, stinking beggar in a single day. Anyone would probably be unable to accept that, right?!"
The Security Team member who had wanted to kick her leaned against the wall to shelter from the rain and looked at Bibi Dong with contempt.