Chapter 65: Turning a Blind Eye

“Sister—” Seeing that Ruolan was truly determined to execute him, Liuxi grew desperate. Yet, heavily wounded and wedged into the ground, he could not so much as move a finger; he could only watch in terror as that delicate fist descended mercilessly toward him.

Thud!

Just as Ruolan’s fist closed the distance to within an inch of his forehead, another hand suddenly darted in from the side and caught her fist in a firm grip.

“No need to be so hasty! Give me a little more time to interrogate him, won’t you?” Yin Seventeen stopped the girl, smiling as he spoke.

“Interrogate?” Ruolan was taken aback, her murderous intent slowly ebbing away. In the end, she could not quite steel herself to do it.

“Then… please go ahead…” the girl said in a small voice, wiping away a tear.

Yin Seventeen nodded and turned his gaze to the boy on the ground. Liuxi dared not meet his eyes, quickly averting his head. Facing this saint, whose strength far surpassed his own, his heart was full of dread.

Even so, he forced himself to speak. “If you wish to ask about the intelligence concerning our base—forget it! I won’t say a word.”

He did not want to die, true, but there were things in this world more terrifying than death. If he betrayed the god he served, his fate would be far worse than death.

Yin Seventeen waved off his objection, unconcerned. He seized the boy’s chin and forced him to look up, locking eyes with him and smiling. “Don’t worry, what I intend to ask is something you can answer. It won’t touch upon your secrets or deliberately make things difficult for you.”

Liuxi neither agreed nor refused—he simply remained silent.

Seeing this, Yin Seventeen asked, “What is the name of the evil god you worship?”

“This…” Liuxi hesitated. The question was simple enough, and indeed it did not touch upon any divine secrets or confidential matters of his faction. Yet, seeing the faint excitement in Yin Seventeen’s eyes, a sense of unease crept into his heart.

“As long as you tell me your evil god’s name, I’ll let you go. Otherwise, don’t blame me for resorting to harsher methods,” Yin Seventeen said, eyes narrowing.

The old priest who had sent the boy here was surely one of the Eastern deities. Yin Seventeen was eager to know which gods had intervened in this land—especially whether the group of Eastern gods he once worshipped was among them.

Hearing such a direct threat, Liuxi hesitated no longer. In a serious tone, he answered, “The god we serve is called the Empress Wa, Mother of the Earth, creator of all living things!”

“Absurd!” Ruolan, standing nearby, was so enraged she could barely speak.

“All living things were nurtured by Mother Gaia! How dare you… how dare you…” The girl was so furious she was at a loss for words.

The myths of the gods had spread throughout the world; Liuxi had known this since childhood. Confronted with his sister’s fury, he had nothing to say. Yet the deity he served claimed this title—he could not disbelieve, nor could he refuse to believe.

“That’s enough!” Yin Seventeen stepped in to mediate, trying to maintain composure. “You’d take the words of an evil god as truth? Wouldn’t that betray your faith in the goddess?”

At his words, Ruolan immediately restrained her anger, striving to calm her restless heart. After all, those were the words of an evil god—she could not take them as truth. They were false, and she need not argue with them; to do so would only lend them credence.

“Besides the Empress Wa, are there any other evil gods? Don’t tell me there’s only one,” Yin Seventeen pressed, fixing his gaze on the boy.

This time, Liuxi did not hesitate. “Aside from the one I serve, I’ve heard there are two others—Gonggong and Zhurong. They are the gods of water and fire…”

At that point, he trailed off, catching sight of Ruolan’s ashen face.

“They even covet the domains of Lord Oceanus and Lord Hephaestus—how outrageous!” The girl nearly fumed with indignation.

The stories of the gods clearly stated: Oceanus was the deity of the great seas, ruler of the cosmic river; Hephaestus, the god of flame, lord of forging and fire.

“That’s enough! Why take it so seriously? Think of it as a joke,” Yin Seventeen soothed her with a smile, stifling his own agitation.

The Empress Wa, Gonggong, and Zhurong—these three were precisely the deities worshipped by the Eastern civilization in his memories. Especially the Empress Wa, a figure of extraordinary significance for the Eastern people—the very mother of mankind.

Their names sounded so much more familiar than any of the Greek gods. Yet, in this world ruled by Greek deities, the Eastern gods were branded as invaders, cast among the ranks of evil gods.

Now, he himself was a saint of Athena. However deeply he felt affinity with the Eastern gods, he had to feign indifference.

“Hey, I’ve told you everything you wanted to know—will you let me go now?” Liuxi asked anxiously, afraid Yin Seventeen would go back on his word.

“Let you go?”

Ruolan shot him a furious glare. “Don’t even think about it! I’ll take you back to the Sanctuary for judgment by His Holiness the Pope!”

“Forget it.” Yin Seventeen smiled faintly and shook his head. “The Pope has neither the time nor the patience to bother with him.”

“Then, sir, what do you intend to do?” Ruolan asked, puzzled.

“Why, let him go, of course!” Yin Seventeen shrugged. “Didn’t I say? As long as he told me what I wanted, he’d be free. Did you think I was toying with him?”

He gave the girl a sidelong glance.

“But… but… Liuxi serves an evil god—he’s an enemy of the Sanctuary!” Ruolan protested, eyes wide. As a saint, it was her duty to vanquish the followers of evil gods. Releasing one was simply beyond her comprehension.

“Well…” Meeting her earnest gaze, Yin Seventeen felt a headache coming on. Though he had become a saint, his heart did not wholly belong to the Sanctuary—unlike the other saints. The title was merely a cover for his true identity as an outsider.

Letting Liuxi go troubled him not in the slightest—especially since Liuxi was a devotee of the Empress Wa. For her sake, he was willing to show mercy.

After a moment’s thought, Yin Seventeen quietly sent a message to Ruolan’s mind: “You don’t understand. This is casting a long line for a big catch. If we only bring back a small fry like him, what’s the point? Better to let him go, follow the trail, and root out more evil followers.”

“Really?” Ruolan was half convinced, but something still seemed off.

“Of course it’s true! Why would I lie to you?” Yin Seventeen replied with certainty.

“Well… all right then.” Ruolan no longer objected.