"No need," Ian said lightly, "I'm leaving tonight."
Su Cheng felt a bit of regret.
But she was also more certain that he probably wasn't the God of Lust in disguise—
She hadn't completely dispelled her doubts up to this point because the guy in front of her was simply too good-looking.
After crossing over to this world, she had encountered one beauty after another, raising her threshold significantly, yet she was still so stunned by him that she lost her composure.
Was this really a coincidence?
Moreover, the God of Lust was also proficient in magic; teaching a half-baked novice like her would definitely be a piece of cake for him.
As for that holy art, it wasn't as if there were no other magics that could be disguised as a similar effect.
The God of Purity had arrived quickly before because they were in his temple. Now that they had changed locations, who knew if they would come over so swiftly?
But if it really was that particular god, he would two hundred percent agree to such an invitation, right?
As Su Cheng thought about this, she relaxed a lot. "Then perhaps we'll meet again in the Holy City... or the Imperial Capital?"
Ian remained noncommittal. "Perhaps."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Su Cheng originally wanted to follow him, but as soon as she lifted her leg, she felt her steps falter, swaying a bit before grabbing a bookshelf to steady herself.
Not wanting to fall to the floor, she helplessly sat back down at the table, just as the cleric who had brought her food earlier came over to collect the dishes. Seeing her state, he was a little surprised.
"Are you alright?" the man asked as he cleared the cups and plates. "Did you touch some cursed book?"
Su Cheng was stunned. "There are books like that in this place?"
She thought the Church would classify all such books as heretical items.
"Of course there are," he said as a matter of course. "Some notes left by scholars require specific methods to read—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the man suddenly turned his head to look, then bowed, respectfully stepping back a few paces to make way.
The Archbishop, dressed in a magnificent uniform, approached. The epaulettes and signet chain on his coat gleamed in the light.
His emerald green eyes fell on the young woman by the table, his gaze seeming to freeze for a moment.
"Your Grace," Su Cheng quickly stood up. "I must thank you. That trainer is very experienced, and extremely..."
She noticed a flash of astonishment in his eyes and couldn't help but look down at herself, only then realizing that her current attire was somewhat strange.
"This is an accident. I accidentally spilled juice, and he generously lent me his clothes."
Su Cheng immediately explained, "Right, I forgot to ask. He only said he was leaving Golden Amber City tonight. If I want to return the coat to him, where should I go to find him?"
The Archbishop: "..."
He stared at her with those beautiful green eyes, as if trying to comprehend all of this.
Su Cheng's heart skipped a beat. "Why aren't you speaking? Could it be that he really was the God of Lust in disguise?"
"What?" Zane rarely showed a lapse in composure. "No, no he wasn't. It was indeed I who told him of your situation, and he believed he could come and offer you some advice."
Su Cheng breathed a complete sigh of relief. "That's good."
The Archbishop looked at her as if examining some magical creature. "Why would you have such an idea?"
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment. "I just haven't recovered yet. I'm afraid that someone will come looking for me again, so now whenever I see a beautiful man, I get paranoid. In fact, even when I look at you, I suspect whether you're him in disguise."
The Archbishop also seemed a bit speechless, ultimately letting out a soft sigh. "No, of course not. Please do not say such things anymore, and... thank you for the compliment."
As Zane said this, a look of hesitation and reluctance surfaced on his handsome face, as if he had some unspeakable secret.
"May I ask one more question," the Archbishop said softly. "Of course, you don't have to answer."
Su Cheng blinked. "What is it?"
"What advice did he... offer you regarding your spiritual power training?"
"Ah?"
Su Cheng really didn't expect him to ask this. She had thought he was going to bring up something about the gods and was just figuring out how to spin a lie. Hearing this, she simply told him the truth.
The blond, green-eyed young man nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction appearing in his eyes, looking almost like a fan who had just received their idol's autographed photo.
"I understand," the Archbishop said solemnly. "Thank you."
Su Cheng: "???"
She couldn't help but feel that something was off. However, even though her headache was gone, she was still in a state of spiritual power depletion and instinctively didn't want to think too much.
Moreover, the Archbishop handed over a few more books, all of which were internal Church records of various deeds of God's Favored—of course, all stories from a thousand years ago.
Su Cheng was still overjoyed.
Her predecessor's reading volume as a magician was already quite large, but her understanding of God's Favored only remained at the conceptual level; more information was simply nowhere to be found.
Because this kind of material wasn't something ordinary people could get their hands on.
The number of God's Favored was small, and since it involved deities, much of the content was inconvenient to record. Even if it was written in books, such classics were rarely circulated outside.
Residents of some small places might not have even heard the term God's Favored.
Su Cheng hugged those books tightly, thanking him repeatedly, and casually asked, "Regarding the Favored of His Highness the God of Law—"
She had already used the power of the God of Contracts and had mastered at least one triggering method, but as for the other major god, she currently had no clue.
The Archbishop pondered for a moment. "As far as I know, the Empire's Minister of Justice, Seraphina Batten, and the Supreme Judge of the Red Sun Empire, Wei Xian, are both Favored of His Highness the God of Law. Among the Favored of the God of Law, a considerable number are engaged in related work. They always put the law first and are not swayed by personal feelings or interests..."
The Silver Moon Empire was the largest country on the Northern Continent, while the Red Sun Empire was on the chaotic Southern Continent. The beliefs over there were not unified, and followers of the Dark God would also operate openly.
For thousands of years, sectarian conflicts in the Southern Continent had been endless. The flames of war spread from border towns to the royal court. There were many visible struggles, and even more invisible ones.
The factional forces of the deities' Favored and followers were also mixed into the upper echelons of the empire, engaging in a massive chaotic brawl.
"...Seraphina was also once a judge. When they made rulings on certain major cases, His Highness the God of Law has been known to manifest," Zane said softly. "In one of the most famous cases, the defendant, who deserved the death penalty according to the law, was herself a God's Favored. She used the power of another deity before the court, yet ultimately failed to escape punishment. His Highness the God of Law personally took action and killed her."
Su Cheng thought for a while. "By the way, Your Grace the Archbishop, regarding my identity as a God's Favored, could you guys not publicize it widely? It's fine if you need to report it for work or something; say what you must. The people at South River Academy all know anyway, and this matter couldn't be completely hidden to begin with. Just please don't let it become known to absolutely everyone."
Zane nodded slightly. "Please rest assured, we have our rules. It is also a promise made by His Holiness the God of Light to His fellow allied deities that the Church will never casually disclose or spread the identity of any God's Favored. Furthermore, I don't think you need to worry about those people. They definitely wouldn't want others to know they offended a God's Favored, especially the Favored of the God of Contracts and the God of Magic. Well, this could cause their status in their circles to plummet, or even lead to them being deserted by everyone."
Su Cheng nodded. "So they won't go around talking about me either. At most, they'll tell their important family members so those people don't offend me."
The Archbishop smiled at her.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel that he was treating her a little differently now, as if she had suddenly unlocked some important milestone, turning them from polite strangers into friends.
By the time they left the temple, it was completely dark outside. A gentle night breeze blew, bringing a bit of a chill to the evening.
"...It really has gotten colder," Su Cheng said, wrapping her coat tightly around herself. "You don't need to see me out any further, Your Grace. Here is fine."
This time they took the side door and didn't pass through the plaza from before, but she could still see her uncle's carriage from a distance.
Someone must have notified Lin Zhen, so he was waiting here specifically for her.
Zane had accompanied her all the way out from inside. Hearing her words, he didn't stop, only saying that he wanted to see her to the carriage.
"Your Grace, the Archbishop?!"
As a mid-tier warrior, Lin Zhen had excellent eyesight and had long since spotted his niece walking side by side with the blond young man.
He went up to greet them with a face full of smiles, offering an endless stream of flattery and compliments.
The Archbishop maintained his gentle and amiable demeanor, politely addressing him as President Lin.
Lin Zhen recognized the robes and badges of a bishop, so he could naturally distinguish an even higher-ranking identity. At this moment, he was beaming with joy.
They were both smooth operators. As they exchanged pleasantries back and forth, Su Cheng listened with great interest from the side, but the more she listened, the less she understood.
She suspected that her brain just hadn't recovered yet.
She got into the carriage in a daze. Looking up, she saw her uncle's face full of complex emotions, his gaze landing on her coat.
Su Cheng silently took off the coat and held it in her arms, casually asking what they had been talking about just now.
Lin Zhen glanced at her. "We were talking about the Chamber of Commerce. Recently, the heretics on the border have been making moves, and certain contraband magical materials have flowed into the market. The people from the Church were afraid that they carried evil powers, so they confiscated basically all of them..."
Su Cheng paused for a moment. "Is there some kind of gel?"
Lin Zhen was quite surprised. "You know about this too? He told you?"
"Uh, that was my—" Su Cheng swallowed the word Commander that had rushed to her lips. "A friend I met outside told me. They heard that many things in the underground streets are out of stock. I heard that the mages in the city defense garrison want them but can't get their hands on them, as the Church has been holding onto them."
"That's exactly it," Lin Zhen hesitated, seemingly wanting to ask what kind of friend she had met but not daring to pry too much. "Those people are pressuring the Chamber of Commerce. The Archbishop's meaning is that once they verify there are no issues with those materials, they won't hold onto them forever. He was just putting my mind at ease and asking me to pass a message to the garrison while I'm at it."
Su Cheng frowned. "The mages in the military are pressuring you? Shouldn't they go to that Magical Resource Administration Department of the City Defense Command? They're the ones responsible for purchasing materials for the military mages, right?"
Lin Zhen shook his head. "The Chamber of Commerce has always had some dealings with them. For instance, our transport convoys have always been able to use the imperial post roads entirely thanks to the passes given by the Administration Department. Also, we only obtained priority purchasing rights for certain goods by using the government's banner. In exchange... sigh, we also have to do things for them. Once some things fall into the Church's hands, they might not come out again, especially magical materials from the Southern Continent. Six out of ten types can be judged as tainted with a heretical aura. By the time the Church purifies them and sends them back out, their effectiveness is greatly reduced."
Although he said this, there wasn't much worry on his face, because now that they had connected with the Archbishop, things would be different.
"Chengcheng," Lin Zhen looked at his niece and couldn't help but smile again. "That Archbishop has an incredible background, and he is still unmarried!"
Su Cheng had thought he was going to say something serious, and suddenly felt exasperated. "Uncle—"
"You are someone who is going to do great things. If you had such a husband," Lin Zhen said seriously, "you would be much better off in the upper circles of the Empire in the future. Connections with the Church are something you can only hope for, not seek. Just look at those people in high positions of power; they either come from families of generational nobility, or they have a husband or wife they can leverage. Why do you think your parents were willing to arrange that engagement for you? Wasn't it because they felt the Murong family was noble, and besides..."
"Wait," Su Cheng was completely thrown off by him. "Since when did my persona become someone who wants to mingle in the imperial political arena?"
Lin Zhen sighed. "Even if you don't, sigh, you are still young, so there's no rush for these things. But you still need to have a clear idea in your mind. If you hadn't become a God's Favored, I actually wouldn't have approved of you breaking off that engagement."
Su Cheng sighed too. "The only reason you approve now is because you think I can find someone better."
That group of people around Murong Yue thought the same way.
So they supported him breaking off the engagement before, and now they were probably regretting it.
Whatever.
Su Cheng really didn't want to talk to them about it anymore, whether it was the fact that she didn't want to get married, or that marriage should at least involve mutual affection.
They clearly all felt that benefits were more important in comparison.
"Don't trouble yourself with this anymore," Su Cheng said softly. "I don't want to be tied down by the shackles of marriage."
"What are you afraid of?" Lin Zhen said without thinking. "You are a God's Favored. Who could stop you from keeping lovers? Just look at those nobles in the imperial capital—"
After saying that, he paused.
He was just hoping his niece could get together with the Archbishop, after all.
Those people in the Church were not to be trifled with, especially those who had reached such a status.
Indeed, he had never heard of any Archbishop's wife or husband daring to keep a bunch of lovers, even if the other party held a high position of power.
Although the higher-ups of the Church were mostly single, so similar examples were rare to begin with.
"Never mind, I won't say anymore," Lin Zhen said helplessly. "Our family doesn't have these rules anyway. I didn't interfere with your cousin's marriages either..."
He was talking about his own son and daughter. Those two had previously studied at different academies, worked locally after graduation, and usually didn't return to Golden Amber City.
The carriage returned to the Lin family mansion. Just as the two of them walked through the door, a group of relatives in the courtyard swarmed around them.
Siblings of the same generation, elder uncles and aunts, and so on—all of them were full of smiles, carrying various gifts in their arms and hands.
Su Cheng was surrounded by them, her ears flooded with a bunch of congratulations and well-wishes. The relatives who usually looked down on her now had expressions that were each more flattering than the last.
"I just knew Chengcheng would definitely be successful in the future—"
"...The mere Murong family is not worthy of our good child!"
"It was your Third Sister's fault before. She is still young, so just forgive her..."
"When you get to the Imperial Capital, don't forget us. Your fourth brother will soon reach the second tier. If only a noble young lady is willing to take him, actually, a madam would be fine too..."
"Alright, alright," Su Cheng was dizzy from the noise. "I cast magic with someone in the temple, and now I need to rest."
Everyone showed an expression of awe again.
Everyone knew that the Holy Church lacked no mages. Hearing these words, they only assumed it was some secret art that only a God's Favored could perform.
Su Cheng quickly slipped back to her own small courtyard, locked the door, changed her clothes, and collapsed on the bed.
Too many things had happened today.
Lying there, she didn't even dare to rest, desperately recalling various plots from the original novel in her mind—
After all, some information could save her life at critical moments, such as that young count who was screwed over by an oath.
Thinking about it, she sat up again.
In the original story, the God of Light seemed to have disguised himself as an injured blind girl, even falsely claiming to be only fourteen years old.
He even acted pure, innocent, and untainted by the mortal world.
When Lin Yun met her, she seemed to be being chased by a group of bandits. Of course, all of this was fake, but Lin Yun saved her.
Her human form was naturally exceptionally beautiful. Lin Yun didn't save her purely out of the goodness of his heart; he mainly wanted to use the opportunity to have something happen between them.
As the protagonist of an R-rated erotic novel, Lin Yun's range of sexual fetishes was naturally very broad.
From widows, wives, and mothers to underage children, and possibly even including certain men—when he was almost gang-raped, the male villains mocked him for getting excited too.
But regardless, the God of Light didn't seem to have done anything with him, and instead used Lin Yun to accomplish some things, which caused quite a bit of dissatisfaction among some readers.
Su Cheng pondered that now she had become the protagonist, a similar script might play out.
Perhaps she needed to be wary of the trap of a weak and beautiful little boy.
Although she didn't like that anyway.
Besides, having seen all sorts of modern scams, badger games, and serial extortion cases, she was quite wary of such things.
Thinking this way, Su Cheng felt much more at ease and groggily fell asleep.
When she woke up, the garden outside the window was bathed in the glow of the sunset. Orange-red fiery clouds stretched across the horizon, and a gust of hot wind blew the hanging curtains open.
Su Cheng yawned and sat up, only then realizing she had slept until dusk the next day.
She simply leaned against the bed and read. First, she flipped roughly through a few books and found that they were all about the origins and experiences of various God's Favored.
These books were somewhat like biographies, talking about ancient people from a thousand years ago who were now either dead or had gone to the Divine Realm.
Most of them were the Favored of the Seven Gods of Glory. These people varied in age and background; the youngest was in the single digits, and the oldest was already a grandmother when chosen by the gods.
Farmers, merchants, craftsmen, teachers, singers, and so on—every profession was represented, and a small number were nobles or slaves.
—The reason it was a small number was that in these countries, ordinary citizens ultimately made up the majority, so there were more ordinary people among the God's Favored.
To be honest, because these were all Favored of the Seven Gods of Glory, and there were no Favored of the God of Contracts or the God of Law, it didn't seem to have much reference value at first glance.
But Su Cheng still read with great interest until there was a knock on the door.
She casually combed her hair and walked over. She originally thought it was her cheap uncle, but who knew that upon opening the door, she would meet a pair of beautiful crimson eyes.
The silver-haired young man looked at her with a smile.
"Hello, my dear."
Su Cheng looked at him in shock. "Sasha? You can't just run into my house like this—"
"I knocked," the vampire said aggrievedly. "Besides, your pajamas are very cute."
"I meant the courtyard," Su Cheng said with a deadpan face, casually tugging at the thin dress she was wearing. "Thanks. If you like it, have the tailor make one for you too."
Sasha tilted his head and looked at her. "I don't really wear dresses, but if you beg me, I can consider it."
Su Cheng: "...I beg you to get out."
He laughed. "That won't do. You need to come to the Mercenary Guild."
"Now?" Su Cheng subconsciously wanted to refuse. "I need to read!"
"Come on, Camus has finished the suppression potion," Sasha grabbed her wrist. "I could also carry you over—"
His fingers were as cold as ice.
Su Cheng gasped and cursed in her head. "What do you mean 'also'?"
"Hmm?" The silver-haired young man blinked. "Hasn't the commander played with you like this before?"
"We weren't playing, that was an emergency! And how did you know? Forget it, I'm going back to change clothes. Wait a moment!"
Just as Su Cheng was about to turn around, she was held down by him again.
The silver-haired young man leaned in close, his crimson eyes seemingly burning with flames. "I wanted to say this just now. You have a strange aura on you. Of course, most people who come out of the temple are like this, but you are different from them."
Su Cheng was stunned. "I thought you vampires didn't hate—"
He was talking about the God of Lust and Filth, right?
She had done that kind of thing with him in the temple. Even if it wasn't his true body, it was inevitable that she would be tainted by his aura.
The God of Lust and Filth was a minor god canonized by the God of Darkness. Their powers shared the same origin. Even if vampires weren't dark descendants like demons, they shouldn't hate it that much, right?
Otherwise, there wouldn't be stereotypes like vampires being the lapdogs of the God of Darkness, even though that wasn't the truth.
"What?" Sasha raised his eyebrows slightly. "Not hate that shadowless lie, the gilded tyrant, our supreme His Holiness the God of Light?"
Su Cheng: "?"
