Chapter 50

Chapter 50

"Has the Hainie Church been corrupted by darkness? Did the Church of Lis's inscription really say that?"

Faced with Tom's answer, everyone present was shocked, their eyes filled with doubt and resistance.

Seeing their reaction, Tom thought of the gold coins in his pocket, lowered his eyelids, and nodded firmly. "Of course. Otherwise, why do so few of the children sent to the Hainie Church survive? Is it really because of tests from the gods? But according to the Church of Lis, the deity is the most tolerant and merciful—He would never willingly harm those children.

"And think about it—don’t most of you have sick family members who sought holy water from the Hainie Church? How many of them actually recovered? Were those who didn’t get better truly lacking in piety?

"Take Lady Mary from North Road, for example. She gave a hefty donation to the Hainie Church every month, treated her parents and husband with utmost kindness, and even helped homeless people like us.

"Yet such a good person didn’t even make it to thirty. How is that fair? If even she wasn’t deemed worthy of living, how much good can the rest of us expect?"

As if recalling Lady Mary’s kindness, Tom wiped his eyes with his sleeve, still grumbling angrily about her unfair fate.

Seeing the tears in Tom’s eyes, the others gradually thought of the good people they knew, discussing among themselves until they realized, to their horror, that none of them had a happy ending.

"But... but didn’t the Hainie Church’s bishop say Lady Mary was so virtuous that she was taken early to live in paradise?" someone who knew the story muttered. Those nearby found the explanation plausible.

"Right, maybe she was taken up early to live a blessed life with the deity?"

Watching them waver again, Tom’s eyebrows twitched, and he shook his head.

"I know what you’re saying—we all thought that way at first. But the gods have already declared that to enter heaven, one must first be kind, righteous, and do good deeds, and second, fulfill all worldly bonds. Those who die prematurely can only enter rebirth, waiting.

"Because they still have loved ones in this world, they must meet them once more on the path of reincarnation before their bonds are broken and they can truly be reborn.

"Do you really think the dead would willingly abandon their families? Who doesn’t have someone they care about? If the deity truly wanted to call them to a better life, He would bring them joyfully, not rip them apart so brutally, leaving families broken.

"And those who commit evil deeds—I’ve heard their sins are written in a book of sins. The smoother their lives were, the worse their suffering in hell."

Remembering the descriptions of hell he’d been told, Tom narrowed his eyes, breaking out in a cold sweat despite the heat.

He couldn’t be the only one scared—everyone should hear this.

"Do you know what hell is like? There, punishments last for centuries!"

Tom vividly described the torments of hell, satisfied as the crowd paled and huddled together.

"Alright, I’ll stop here. Any more, and something bad might happen. Believe it or not, it’s up to you. I’m just a storyteller. If you doubt whether the Hainie Church is corrupted, look into it yourselves—see if they’re guilty of wrongdoing. I’m leaving now. Goodbye."

Without waiting for objections, Tom slipped through the crowd and away.

His companion, who’d been keeping watch for the Hainie Church, whistled and followed him.

They’d already decided—this place wasn’t safe anymore. They planned to go to Yangcheng, where there were plenty of opportunities and even hard work paid well.

Besides, the Church of Lis’s medicine had saved many. Maybe their own ailments could be treated too.

With the money they’d earned helping those two men, they might finally live well.

Tom was clearly a great storyteller, leaving the crowd lost in thought long after he’d gone.

"Are... are we really going to hell?"

"Maybe... uh, maybe not?"

The questioner was uneasy; the answerer wasn’t confident either. They wanted to ask Tom for clarity, but he’d already disappeared, leaving only the horrifying images swirling in their minds.

"Could that Tom be playing a trick on us? H-how could this be real? The Hainie Church never said anything like this."

"But could a beggar really fabricate all that if he hadn’t actually heard it? And if it weren’t true, how could he describe hell so vividly? The punishments he described—think about it—they actually add up."

"He did say he was just telling a story..."

"Can’t you tell he was being sarcastic? He didn’t care if we believed him; he was just telling what he knew."

"Oh no, if this is real, I cursed out my neighbor yesterday... Does that mean I’ll have my tongue ripped out after I die?"

"Likely. Crap, I smacked my daughter today before leaving the house—does that mean little demons will beat me every day?"

Everyone there, whether guilty of major sins or minor faults, was now nervously tallying their own misdeeds against the possible punishments awaiting them.

"What the hell do we do? I don’t wanna end up there!"

"Wait, didn’t Tom say good deeds could offset sins? If we start doing good deeds now, maybe we won’t be punished when we die?"

"Yeah! Maybe if we pile up enough good, we’ll make it upstairs."

"But which good deeds rack up the most points?"

"I don’t know. Ugh, Tom left it so vague—useless..." Not wanting to add to their sins, the complainer quickly covered their mouth and fell silent.

"Maybe we oughta check out Yangcheng sometime. Since all this news came from there, the people there must know more."

"But isn’t the Hainie Church attacking Yangcheng right now? Couldn’t things be chaotic over there?"

"N-no freaking way. It’s god-protected—no chance it falls that easy."

"True. Let’s wait and see how things develop before deciding whether to go."

Most, being cautious, held back until things were clearer.

What can us mortals do against the gods’ plans?

A very few, however, decided to follow Tom’s example and head straight for Yangcheng.

Not many were going there yet—if they waited until things were clear, they might miss their chance. Fortune favors the bold, and with only one life to live, they might as well take the risk.

As the crowd from the tea stall scattered, each lost in their own thoughts, the nobles inside the shop were equally shaken by the rumors their servants relayed.

And some of them knew even more than the common folk. Now, looking back, they could almost see the traces of corruption.

This is bad… Yenicheng’s in for a shake-up.

As word spread from the tea stall, people began viewing the Hainie Church with less reverence and more scrutiny.

Whether they had truly uncovered something or not, more and more accusations against the Hainie Church began circulating in the city.

Now, barely anyone showed up to Hainie Church—they were all waiting for new updates from Yangcheng.

Watching the dwindling congregation day by day, Archbishop Saibo slammed his fists on the table, sending ornaments flying. That damned Lis Church—they set us up!

It was the Lis Church that was the problem, yet somehow the rumors had twisted things against them. Could this Yangcheng attack blow up in our faces?

But even if there were issues, it was too late to recall their forces—the battle must have already begun. His only hope was a quick win. Once they wiped out those liars, the rumors’d die off.

Archbishop Saibo begged the gods for victory, but before the horns blew, an explosion blindsided them.

On the second day of the Holy Tablet's display, Hamude and his group had already linked up with the army outside the city. They planned to steal the Holy Tablet that very night, open the city gates, and let the army in to eliminate the members of the Lis Church.

Walking past with tea and snacks, Kane noticed the shifting expressions of excitement and tension on their faces. He shook his head slightly.

From what he knew, this was probably their last meal. He hoped they would be satisfied when the time came.

That night, Ning Chan watched a group of people heading toward the Holy Tablet and glanced up at the sky. A thought flashed through his mind: A moonless, windy night—perfect for killing.

The guards stationed around the Holy Tablet were all men guilty of unforgivable sins, Harry among them.

However, Ning Chan had told Harry that everything was set. As long as he stayed by the Holy Tablet and stood by it through this ordeal, his sins would be greatly reduced.

As for the other guards, they only knew they were to watch over the Holy Tablet and had no clue anyone would try to steal it that night.

In their minds, the Holy Tablet was impossible to steal—anyone who tried would face punishment.

Still, keen to prove their devotion to the Holy Tablet, they didn’t slack off or sleep. Instead, they took turns patrolling to prevent any mishaps.

“Who are you? If you wish to pay respects to the Holy Tablet, come back tomorrow morning.”

Seeing the group cloaked in black, Harry’s heart raced. Were these the troublemakers Lord Holy Son had warned about? Things were getting dangerous!

Unfortunately, Harry never saw Ning Chan’s promised backup before his death.

As the blade pierced his chest, his face still blank with confusion. *What’s happening? How am I dying? Am I going to hell now?*

No one answered him. The blade, now bloody, was yanked free and plunged into another body.

The guards desperately blew their whistles, hoping the city’s garrison would notice the disturbance. But the attackers were too numerous—they collapsed in blood before reinforcements arrived.

With the guards gone, the leader of the thieves stared up at the towering Holy Tablet and reached out to touch it, only to quickly withdraw his hand as if remembering something. He ordered his men to get it out of here fast.

Hesitantly, they touched the Holy Tablet. When nothing happened, they relaxed and carried it away.

Yet, as they lifted it, they paused—it was oddly light.

Truly a sacred relic—extraordinary indeed.

As they fled toward the city gates with the Holy Tablet, the city guards, alerted by the alarm, rushed toward the scene.

But they were too far from the Holy Tablet’s location. By the time they gave chase, the thieves had already reached the city gates.

Strangely, the tightly shut gates were now wide open.

Seeing this, the guards shot up signal flares to warn the troops outside, hoping to intercept the audacious thieves.

Yet, a flicker of doubt crossed their minds. In the past, the Holy Tablet would react when stolen—but this time… Had its divine power been exhausted from blessing the people?

The commotion woke the city’s residents. The boldest among them went out to investigate and soon learned that their Holy Tablet had been stolen.

Had they not heard the guards were already in pursuit, they would have confronted the thieves themselves.

Still, though they couldn’t intervene directly, they could at least follow from a distance to see what was happening, right?

As the curious crowd lit oil lamps and candles, discussing how this could have happened, a rumor about the Hainie Church reached their ears.

The Hainie Church has been corrupted by darkness. They stole the Holy Tablet by using dark energy to temporarily blind it.

They had struck a deal with the devil, trying to steal divine power.

Upon hearing this news, everyone cursed the members of the Hainie Church and worried if the Holy Tablet would really be taken by them.

If the Holy Tablet were indeed defiled by the devil, could their deity still offer them aid?

So worried about it that some who prided themselves on their tough build rushed to the front of the pursuing crowd, determined to reclaim the Holy Tablet.

Cloaked in black robes like the thieves, Ning Chan, who had been trailing them, watched as the group fled the city and neared their main forces, a smirk playing on his lips.

*Snap*

His snap was lost in the noise, but what followed was a collective gasp from the crowd.