Chapter 187-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Bai Muqing was waiting quietly in the reception room when she suddenly turned toward the door. Ye Zheng happened to push the door open and enter.
"Congratulations, Ye Zheng... Your Holiness."
Bai Muqing awkwardly uttered the last word, seemingly still trying to adapt to her friend's new identity.
A laugh escaped from Ye Zheng's throat. She walked closer and put her arm around Bai Muqing's shoulder. She rarely made such intimate gestures, but today was a special day. A small breach of etiquette in excitement was worth forgiving.
The Empire's unprecedented young Pope smiled as she embraced her friend. Bai Muqing's shoulders and neck became somewhat stiff, clearly also unaccustomed to such contact.
"No need to be so formal. Just continue calling my name."
Bai Muqing looked straight ahead, but her vision could reach Ye Zheng beside her. Her figure, state, and emotions were all clear. Bai Muqing's expression was dazed for a moment.
Since when did Ye Zheng stop being a model lady whose every move was wrapped in the Saintess's feathered robe? No longer bowing her head obediently, no longer concealing her ambition, openly displaying emotions and aggression that made others retreat, her gentle and harmless smile covered with a layer of unsettling shadow, her every gesture affecting this country's breathing.
Ye Zheng seemed to have changed a lot. Even the long hair Bai Muqing was most familiar with was cut. Unless they were as close as now, the wind would no longer send her hair strands brushing across her hand.
From mascot Saintess to the high position of Pope, many in the upper district were shocked beyond measure. But Bai Muqing knew Ye Zheng had never changed. Her soul was more stable than anyone's, each step fraught with danger yet extremely firm.
From now on, Ye Zheng wouldn't stop her steps either. Bai Muqing knew this, which is why she waited for her here today.
"Ye Zheng, I came to tell you something."
Ye Zheng tilted her head, released her arm from around Bai Muqing, and looked at her seriously.
"The day of your sermon, at the moment the Demonic Domain suddenly descended, Sykes was at the scene."
Sykes was at the scene?
It wasn't strange for him to come join the excitement that day, but she had people strictly monitoring the sermon scene. No one discovered that the noble Crown Prince was also present. Since when did Sykes become so sneaky?
What concerned her more was that Bai Muqing emphasized "the moment the Demonic Domain suddenly descended."
"Muqing, do you mean he's related to the suddenly descended Demonic Domain?"
Bai Muqing slowly blinked once, her pale lashes fluttering. She said, "At the moment the Demonic Domain descended, strange energy fluctuations occurred at his location. Afterward, I went to find him but couldn't."
"However, at the location where he was hiding, I discovered something strange."
"Hidden deep underground, seemingly covered by other forces. I couldn't truly 'see' that thing."
Hearing this, Ye Zheng's eyes flickered. She raised one palm and suddenly cut across her palm. Several drops of blood splattered on Bai Muqing's face. She moved her lips in surprise.
"It's it."
The deep wound recovered to normal in the blink of an eye, but Bai Muqing still keenly caught that fleeting scent—it was the same as what was buried underground!
"What is it?" Bai Muqing asked.
"It's Dragon Bone."
Bai Muqing lightly drew a breath. "It's inside your body?"
"Just placed a small piece. It can amplify power."
"Then what's buried underground is a large piece of Dragon Bone. The lower district shouldn't have such large Dragon Bone... Ye Zheng, did you know early on that the Empire was deceiving people?"
"Dragon Bone can't repel Demonic Domains at all. It's clearly summoning Demonic Domains..."
Bai Muqing's voice was very soft, soft like trembling breath. Ye Zheng just quietly watched her, leaving her space to organize her emotions.
History of the Empire recorded that five hundred years ago, Aston XIV sent the Empire's marshal to supervise the Dragon Bone burial work. That marshal was precisely the Bai family's ancestor.
Such an important secret—the current Bai family head, Bai Muqing's father, very likely also knew.
*
Bai Muqing left shortly after. Ye Zheng stayed alone in the reception room, recalling Bai Muqing's expression when she left.
The ice-carved snow-sculpted face seemed to have a crack in the ice surface. Beneath the ice was fiercely surging water, not knowing where it would flow.
When Bai Muqing had new thoughts, she might come find her again.
Ye Zheng walked to the window, looking at the people coming and going below, pondering Dragon Bone and Sykes matters in her heart.
On the day of the sermon, doubt had arisen in her heart. The Demonic Domain came too coincidentally. If it hadn't been a type she could just handle, her reputation would have already plummeted, and she might not have smoothly ascended to the Pope's position.
So it was Sykes who deliberately summoned the Demonic Domain to sabotage her actions?
Ye Zheng propped her chin thinking. Sykes himself was a Dragon Bone creation with a special connection to Dragon Bone. The place where she gave her speech that day happened to be close to the lower district Dragon Bone location, so he used some method to make the Dragon Bone's power more active, summoning the Demonic Domain.
However, this didn't seem like Sykes's style. Moreover, from Ye Zheng's observation of him, he had little interest in Dragon Bone, always focused on his own power.
It seemed she hadn't paid attention to Sykes for a while. He might also be growing in secret, his methods becoming more skilled. Ye Zheng thought again of the Emperor's hypocritical face. This growth was very likely guided by someone with ulterior motives in secret.
Ye Zheng guessed the method to summon Demonic Domains probably wasn't something Sykes suddenly comprehended himself either.
Unfortunately, the other party's luck was a bit worse, instead letting her learn of another Dragon Bone burial location.
"Completely destroying Dragon Bone is the only way to end the Demonic Domain's curse."
Ye Zheng unconsciously bit her lip. If what Marcy said was true, then she indeed had to find a way to learn all Dragon Bone locations and find a way to completely destroy them.
As long as the Demonic Domain existed for one day, this country couldn't develop normal order.
Fortunately, as Pope now, she could mobilize the Hope Sei Curia's power. Whether finding Dragon Bone, destroying Dragon Bone, or directly confronting the royal family, she had enough confidence.
However, she still needed time to coordinate. Just several disobedient archbishops were enough to drag down her decisions and speed, not to mention more people below with various ulterior motives.
It wasn't that ascending to this position meant possessing absolute power.
Ye Zheng walked out of the reception room, strolling through the Curia. A middle-aged man wearing Knight uniform with medals saw her, stopped, and greeted her.
Ye Zheng nodded slightly and asked, "Percy, any news?"
The Curia's Knight Order commander looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Your Holiness. They seem to have escaped into the train station. We're not yet certain where they went."
"Not certain where they went? Then search every place. From city center to country roads, there's never a shortage of Hope Sei Curia people."
Hearing the new Pope's indifferent voice, the man nodded in agreement, watching the Pope leave with respectful eyes.
Ye Zheng calculated in her heart. Since she had successfully taken office, she could start promoting her own people. She needed a Hope Sei Curia absolutely loyal to her.
Not one that dragged its feet even finding three boys, like the stupid villain organization in stories.
[You want to find Percy's whereabouts? Don't forget the manga updated.]
The System's anxious voice called out. Ye Zheng, who had a calm expression, suddenly widened her black eyes, her gaze becoming clear—right, she almost forgot the manga updated.
[While you were holding the coronation ceremony, the manga updated a chapter.]
From the coronation ceremony until now, Ye Zheng had received too much information and was too busy. The System had remained silent without disturbing her.
Ye Zheng quickly changed into casual clothes, left the cathedral where the coronation ceremony was held, and returned to the Holy Journey Knights Order base in the lower district.
According to rules, she should move into the magnificent Papal Palace to demonstrate the Pope's supreme status.
Ye Zheng temporarily didn't move in because she didn't trust the place Wen Jian had lived in. She sent people to renovate and inspect it thoroughly, and arrange a new bedroom. Only after completing the renovation could she stay in the Papal Palace with peace of mind.
The Papal Palace wasn't just magnificent—it was also a tightly designed, solid fortress. Ye Zheng needed such a place.
Returning to the familiar base lounge, Ye Zheng took out her phone and opened the manga app.
Reading the new update at ten lines per glance, Ye Zheng's expression became increasingly subtle. Scrolling to the end, she in the manga raised the golden sword, while simultaneously, Percy raised the Divine Sword pulled from the mire!
...The Divine Sword really wasn't so easily discarded from the plot by her.
[No choice. The Divine Sword is an important prop in the manga plot. The plot will automatically correct itself, trying hard to make the plot approach the original plot.]
Ye Zheng stared at the Divine Sword in the manga. She scrolled down and looked again at the section where Percy found the Divine Sword.
It was that drop of golden Blood of the God that guided Percy to find the Divine Sword.
Ye Zheng enlarged the screen again, carefully examining the Divine Sword Percy held. After the Blood of the God climbed up the Divine Sword along Percy's hand, it disappeared, and the Divine Sword suddenly emitted dazzling golden light.
Could it have merged with the Divine Sword?
This thought suddenly jumped out. Ye Zheng was surprised for a moment. She recalled Marcy's memories. From beginning to end, the inheritance ceremony never used Blood of the God, and Blood of the God didn't appear in Marcy's memories either.
From the memories she saw of Marcy, she knew Marcy established the Curia several years after the God of Hope disappeared, so everything about the God of Hope was initially collected by the royal family, including the Divine Sword.
The God of Hope's prototype, Hope, was just a human with powerful strength. She used many weapons, among which the most famous and powerful was her golden sword, practically invincible.
Ye Zheng had a bold guess. Could the Divine Sword and Blood of the God originally have been one entity?
Even, they originally weren't Hope's things, but Hope obtained them through some chance encounter?
This way, Percy, suspected to be a Blood of the God creation, might not be the God of Hope's successor, because the Blood of the God very likely wasn't Hope's blood!
Ye Zheng's fingertips gripping the phone suddenly tightened. She very much wanted to master an ability like time travel right now, to interrogate Aston XIV from back then. Only he was the person closest to the truth from five hundred years ago.
She closed her eyes, calming her emotions. It's okay. Then she'd just take both the Divine Sword and Blood of the God to research.
Percy couldn't possibly escape her control, because his every move was drawn into the manga by the Creator. Every detail clearly presented in her palm.
Ye Zheng lowered her eyes, exited the manga interface, and clicked into the reader forum.
Not only did the manga reveal his whereabouts, even readers were actively analyzing the protagonist's next step.
"Hmm, why are they all analyzing me?"
Ye Zheng looked carefully, her composed expression becoming puzzled.
Author's Note:
Everyone rest assured, I'll work hard to update during Spring Festival too
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