Ed actually knew absolutely nothing about the internal organizational structure of the Tree Worship Church.
However, he still had a basic understanding of how the power structure operated. Logically speaking, a letter of appointment from the central institution would be sufficient, and issuing such a document from the province was somewhat superfluous.
But Ed wasn't sure if it was just the provincial archbishop wanting to have a private conversation with someone in the White Wax Town Parish, so he put that question on the Number Two burner.
If Duolin looks at Ed with the expression of someone looking at a fool and says that this is standard procedure for personnel changes in the Holy See, then Ed will steer the third question toward resolving the misunderstanding and cooperating sincerely.
But seeing the growing fear on Duolin's face, Ed realized he had guessed more or less right, and felt much more at ease.
The third question will then lead to the result he most wants to see.
Your expression has already answered me. Alright, I won't delve into it further.
Ed sighed and looked again at Duolin, who had given up all resistance:
"Question three: Are you aware that the clergy in the White Wax Town Parish are conducting human experiments in secret?"
Upon hearing this, Duolin felt as if his brain had instantly shut down.
At that moment, he even had the thought, "How wonderful it would be if I couldn't understand the royal language."
But the sound still reached his ears and was successfully converted into information that his brain could understand.
Duolin's eyes trembled noticeably as she looked at Ed with pain, resentment, and disbelief:
"You, no, you, please say it again."
Ed stared coldly at Duolin:
"Do you even know that human experiments are being conducted in White Wax Town?!"
"I have no idea!"
Duolin almost shouted his answer, breathing heavily, recalling what he had seen the previous night—the kind priests led by Yiden:
"We... all five of us knew nothing about this. We only arrived in White Wax Town last night. The appointments were for one bishop, one tax official, and three priests. We are all innocent Holy See guards of the Holy City, and we truly know nothing about this!"
After rattling off a long speech, Duolin wasn't sure if the mysterious young man in front of him would believe him. He watched as the other man gradually squatted down from his bowed position, his single eye filled with piety and gentleness.
"I swear, in the name of my faith."
Duolin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He believed himself to be unparalleled in piety, and his words were all true. He just didn't know how to establish a relationship of trust with the other party.
But now that the fellow believer in front of him was willing to give him a chance, and even made a vow in the name of faith, he naturally wouldn't let him down.
Duolin's gaze hardened instantly. He looked at Ed, at the sapling in Ed's eyes, which held a hint of reverence.
"I swear in the name of the Tree God and its devout followers that everything I say today is true, and if even one of them is a lie, may my body wither and my soul decay."
So that's how vows are formatted... I've learned something new.
To gain the other party's trust, Ed also made an oath, but unfortunately he was not a follower of the Tree Worship Church, so the oath was invalid from the beginning and naturally had no legal or mystical effect.
After establishing mutual trust, Ed looked at Duolin:
"Very good.
"You passed the test; it seems you are not an apostate."
Ed smiled.
This was the final step of PUA. For Duolin, who had been provoked, intimidated, and even had his faith waver slightly in just a few minutes, his gentle smile was the best medicine to save his soul. Ed's ingenious lies were about to be used as a medium to leave an indelible mark on Duolin's mind.
"But whether he's a fool... remains to be seen."
Ed looked at Duolin and patiently persuaded him:
"Think carefully and tell me the truth; this will determine your life or death."
Having recovered from the shock, Duolin was now somewhat afraid of the boy in front of him. The boy seemed to possess a magical power that guided him to lower all his guard and trust and entrust himself to him.
Upon hearing Ed's question, Duolin began to think again:
Five priests died within the parish in what appeared to be dragonfire, after which Yiden and the others were reminded that a village worshipping dragons existed within their parish...
Is this a form of guidance?
The priests of the White Wax Town Parish are suspected of conducting human experiments, but Yiden has not shown him the names or details of the apostates...
Is there any connection between the two?
If all the priests in the White Wax Town Parish participated in human experiments, why were the five of us sent here without knowing anything?
If some of them know while others don't, then what exactly is the boundary?
By the way, boundaries—it's impossible for everyone to participate in such behavior that clearly deviates from the doctrine; there's likely some kind of boundary between the two groups!
So what is the simplest and easiest-to-distinguish boundary?
It's about life and death.
Everything makes sense now!
It doesn't matter how the five priests died; what matters is why they died!
What matters is whether or not one believes in those priests, not one's own identity!
Duolin looked at Ed excitedly and whispered his speculation:
"Those five valiant priests discovered Yiden and the others' unusual behavior and uncovered their hidden secret, which is why they were silenced! We newcomers, on the other hand, knew nothing about this, and being parachuted in, we were easily manipulated... Am I right?"
Yes, absolutely right!
Ed wanted to give Duolin a thumbs up!
A character like this shouldn't exist in this world; the great tomb where some imaginative people live is where he should go.
That's great! I don't even need to tell the story myself; this imaginative weirdo has already figured out the whole plot!
Where on earth can you find such a useful helper?
Ed smiled and nodded, indicating that Duolin was right.
Seeing that the other party admitted it, Duolin felt his throat go dry, but he still asked:
"There are still two things I'm unclear about..."
"Feel free to ask me."
Ed patted his chest and assured him.
"The first question is, why did those five devout and righteous priests die... from dragonfire?"
"That's easy to explain. A while ago, a Black Dragon named Nige Ganhuo passed through this area, and according to my investigation, dragons love to accept lucrative jobs. So it took the money from those apostates and became their black glove."
Oh, I see... That makes sense now.
Duolin nodded and continued to ask:
"The second question is, who exactly is the apostate that Yiden asked us to investigate?"
"Ha ha."
Ed laughed. Who is it? It's so hard to guess...
Before Duolin was certain that Ed was a heretic, Ed knew that Dorin had never seen his portrait.
Therefore, the right to define who the apostate is falls into their own hands.
Looking into the other's clear, foolish eyes, he chuckled twice, seemingly mocking Duolin's thought process in a good-natured way. Then his words fell like a hammer blow, completely breaking through Duolin's chain of logic:
"'Apostates' are the devout priests who died, and the devout priests who died unjustly are what they call... 'apostates'."