Meihua.
Fan Zhuo no longer wiped the blood from his nose, letting those two glaring red streaks drip down his chin onto his pristine white shirt, forming strange, eerie patterns.
He stared straight into Mika’s furious eyes, his face no longer showing the previous panic. Instead, it bore a solemn expression of sacred compassion.
Light.
“Lord Mika, you are mistaken.”
Fan Zhuo’s voice was calm and resolute.
“I did not do the things you imagine.”
“Hah?” Mika sneered coldly, “Then explain why Ye Ying said you were ‘gentle’? Why are you bleeding from your nose? Why are both of you…”
“Because I was performing Saint Light Purification for her.” Fan Zhuo interrupted her words, his tone still calm.
“Saint Light Purification?” Mika was momentarily stunned.
“Do you take me for a three-year-old? Saint Light Purification requires Ye Ying to be naked?”
“Lord Mika, your understanding of Saint Light Purification remains at the most superficial level,” Fan Zhuo said slowly, a trace of profoundness flashing in his eyes.
“The true Saint Light Purification does not require proximity, but purity of the soul. When I saw Miss Ye Ying’s negative energy accumulated from long-term imprisonment, the purest pity welled up within me.”
He turned to look at Ye Ying, still naked, his eyes devoid of any impure thought, filled only with sacred compassion.
“Miss Ye Ying, please tell Lord Mika what I just did to you.”
Ye Ying blinked, a playful gleam flashing in her amber eyes.
Of course, she knew Fan Zhuo was lying, but this lie… was quite entertaining.
“He really was purifying me,” Ye Ying said lazily, “Using his warm holy light to soothe the darkness in my heart. That feeling… was truly comforting.”
Her words were full of double meaning, but to an uninformed listener, it certainly sounded like a description of some sacred ritual.
Mika frowned.
Though she had lived for a long time and was familiar with various divine arts, she had never encountered such a thing and couldn’t immediately catch Ye Ying’s innuendo.
She began to suspect she might have misunderstood something.
“But… why are you bleeding from your nose?” She pointed to the bloodstains on Fan Zhuo’s chest.
“Because during the purification, I sensed the deep pain in Miss Ye Ying’s heart.”
Fan Zhuo’s voice trembled slightly, as if truly touched by something.
“The pain of betrayal, imprisonment, and misunderstanding by the world was so intense and real that it shook my very soul. When the holy light resonated with such pain, my body experienced some… physiological reaction.”
He gently stroked his chest, his face showing an expression of sacred suffering.
“This is what we clerics call ‘Sanctified Pain’—when we truly feel another’s suffering, our bodies instinctively resonate.”
Damn, I’m almost moved by my own act…
Fan Zhuo thought wildly to himself but maintained his mournful and compassionate facade.
Mika’s expression began to waver.
As an ancient elf, she was knowledgeable about many divine arts and acknowledged such phenomena could exist.
“Then… what about White Rabbit?” she asked unwillingly. “How do you explain her situation?”
“White Rabbit’s case is simpler.” Fan Zhuo turned to face Mika directly.
“Her energy module malfunctioned; I was merely repairing it.”
“Repairing requires her to lie on your bed? And end up disheveled?” Mika’s voice remained full of suspicion.
“That was because White Rabbit’s system overloaded during the repair,” Fan Zhuo explained calmly.
“You should know that when an android’s system overloads, it enters forced sleep mode. I was concerned she might catch cold sleeping on the floor, so I put her on the bed.”
“As for the disheveled state…” A hint of embarrassment flashed across Fan Zhuo’s face.
“That’s because her cooling system activated during the repair, raising her body temperature, and her clothes got soaked with sweat.”
Mika fell silent.
Logically speaking, Fan Zhuo’s explanation was reasonable.
Moreover, when she had just inspected White Rabbit, she did find her system condition was unprecedentedly good.
But…
Something about Fan Zhuo felt off. Everything he said and did appeared extremely righteous and justified.
Yet Mika couldn’t shake the feeling that this cleric was “righteously sinister.”
“Even so, you shouldn’t be alone with them!” Mika finally protested.
“As a cleric, you should avoid suspicion!”
“Lord Mika is right,” Fan Zhuo nodded.
“But as Asphodel’s warden assistant, I have a duty to ensure the physical and mental health of all detainees. If I neglected their needs out of fear of suspicion, that would be true dereliction of duty.”
He paused, his tone growing more serious.
“Besides, Lucien, the senior investigator, is currently probing heresy in this prison. If any abnormalities arise due to my negligence and are mistaken for heretical activity, the consequences would be disastrous.”
Mentioning Lucien, Mika’s expression instantly turned grave.
She knew how troublesome that Inquisitor was.
If he found any fault, the entire prison administration would be implicated.
“Then… you’d better be more careful from now on.” Mika said reluctantly, “If I catch anything suspicious again, I won’t let it slide!”
With that, she put away the huge wrench in her hand and turned to leave.
But at the door, she stopped, looked back at Fan Zhuo.
“Also, you’d better pray that Lucien finds no heresy. Otherwise…”
A trace of worry flickered in her eyes.
“This prison might face something terrible.”
Having said that, Mika seemed burdened and left without another glance back.
Silence returned to the room, leaving only Fan Zhuo and Ye Ying.
Ye Ying looked at Fan Zhuo, her amber eyes full of admiration.
“You little guy, your mouth skills aren’t bad,” she chuckled softly. “You almost had me convinced.”
Fan Zhuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath.
“Just acting,” he said bitterly, “But this time, it really was a close call.”
“Is that so?” Ye Ying squinted, “Then why did you react so strongly when you saw my body just now?”
Fan Zhuo’s face immediately flushed red.
“Forget it, I won’t tease you anymore.” Ye Ying laughed softly and settled back into the bath barrel. “But little guy, your ‘Saint Light Purification’ just now reminded me of something…”
“Reminded you of what?” Fan Zhuo asked warily.
Ye Ying’s voice carried a tempting tone as she slowly approached him step by step.
“I really have accumulated a lot of negative energy that needs your ‘purification.’ Starting today… you’re not getting away~”