“Witch.”
Liang Lai’s voice dropped low, her vigilance instantly rising to the maximum.
“You’ve infiltrated the area under the Holy Court’s jurisdiction and approached the Saintess—what is your purpose?”
Although she was indeed interested in that group at the rusted frontier, witches and bloodthirsters were, after all, of the other two races besides humans.
It was only natural to harbor some wariness.
Besides, the witch before her had just said she’d been expelled—who knew what she’d done to deserve that?
“Purpose? I’m just here to play with you~”
Morgana tilted her head.
“And to see how you’re doing, of course. Looking at you now… hmm, your robe is pretty, and you seem to be eating well, but your mind doesn’t seem to work so well anymore—you don’t even remember me.”
She shook her head regretfully.
“But you told me a long time ago that something like this might happen one day, so I forgive you~”
Liang Lai ignored the second half of her nonsense, seizing on the key point.
“Play? There have been recent anomalies in the Faith Power here, the Dustfolk are dispirited—is this your doing?” She stared hard into Morgana’s eyes.
Morgana pursed her lips, a look of “how can you blame everything on us” appearing on her face.
“Can you not pin every crime on us? Sure, we like our little experiments and research, but causing widespread trouble with no real benefit? That’s way too much hassle for too little gain.”
“And besides, we really don’t want anything to do with you lot in the Church, let alone… actively making things harder for you. It’d be good enough if you all stopped making trouble for us.”
“What’s really going on then?” Liang Lai pressed further.
“I could tell you…”
Morgana’s eyes flickered with cunning light.
“But information is valuable! You’ll have to promise to let me visit your home, and I’ll tell you everything I know. Fair trade, right?”
There she goes again…
Holding in her impatience, Liang Lai explained, “If you were found in an area under our jurisdiction, I would have to bring you back. But this isn’t one of those areas. If we’re discovered and someone reports us to the Pope, both you and I will be punished.”
That was the truth.
More importantly, Liang Lai had no idea what sort of identity she could use to bring the girl before her back. Adopt her? Sure, the girl looked young, but a witch couldn’t possibly hide her abilities for long. That would only arouse the church’s suspicion—and not only would the two of them be finished, but the children she’d adopted would also be dragged down with them.
Yes, what Liang Lai truly worried about was the risk her adopted children might face.
“How about this then,” Morgana took a step back and made an even more outrageous request, “Let me follow you, and when your mission is done, I’ll just wait outside. Then you can tell me what it’s like inside, show me your room, or… draw me a map? Or… you can tie up my hands—yes! Tie me up! That should be enough, right? That way I’m no threat.”
She even stretched out her hands, wrists together, and presented them to Liang Lai with an expression that all but said, “See how sincere I am? Quick, praise me!”
Liang Lai looked at those slender hands, so delicate yet possibly containing strange powers, then glanced into Morgana’s violet eyes filled with “Say yes, say yes!” A ridiculous thought flashed through her mind: maybe… tying her up really would work? At least it would limit her movements and make supervision and interrogation easier.
She was silent for a moment, then took a Silver Ribbon from her small pouch.
The ribbon had been blessed with Holy Light, capable of suppressing evil energy to some degree.
“You’re sure?” Liang Lai asked for confirmation.
“Absolutely! Quick, tie me up!” Morgana urged excitedly.
Liang Lai took a deep breath, winding the Silver Ribbon tightly around Morgana’s wrists several times, finally tying a firm knot.
Morgana was surprisingly cooperative, even helping to adjust the knot’s tightness.
“All done~ I’m your captive now!”
Morgana raised her bound hands with a big grin. “A captive has to answer questions, right? Go ahead, ask me.”
Looking at this “captive” who was delighted with her own situation, Liang Lai felt a deep sense of powerlessness once again.
She decided to ignore the details and go straight to the point.
“Fine. Morgana, tell me—what is the real reason for the energy anomaly in this area and the dilution and disturbance of the Faith Power?”
Morgana finally dropped her playful act and became a bit more serious.
She pointed to the dusty yellow earth underfoot and the weathered stone formations in the distance.
“The reason? It’s not that complicated, and it’s not about any conspiracy. The main thing is that there’s a little problem with the Landveins.”
“Landveins?”
Liang Lai frowned.
In the Holy Court’s classics, that term belonged to forbidden knowledge, thought to be the heretical force revered by witches and other deviants.
Yet, as someone who’d transmigrated from the modern world, she felt a strange sense of familiarity—it was as if she’d seen a fellow countryman on a street full of foreigners.
“Yeah, it’s the energy channels running beneath the earth,” Morgana gestured with her bound hands.
“Just like blood vessels in the human body. Your Holy Court’s power is a bit like… hmm… forcibly injecting a highly exclusive ‘nutrient solution’ into the veins. That’s basically it.”
Morgana continued, “Normally, you inject yours, the Landveins flow as they wish, and though you may not get along, you basically keep to yourselves. But a while ago, maybe a few months back, something down deep in the earth here… moved a little.”
“Moved?” Liang Lai pressed.
“Could have been a minor earthquake, or maybe an Ancient Ruins or a Seal loosened up, who knows.”
Morgana shrugged.
“Whatever it was, it caused a part of the Landveins here to get a bit blocked, or you could say ‘congested’ just a little.”
She held up her two bound fingers, indicating a tiny gap.
“Even a tiny change like that is like dropping a rock into a calm river. The flow starts swirling and gets turbulent. And since your Holy Court’s Faith Power depends on resonating at a specific frequency and a stable environment to be effective, once it passes through here, the swirling, unstable ‘current’ disrupts and dilutes it.”
“Huh, so that’s why the Dustfolk feel their faith connection weakening, the Light Honey they offer drops in purity, and, stuck in that chaotic energy field, they end up listless and plagued by nightmares? That’s all because of this?” Liang Lai swiftly matched cause to effect.
“Bingo~ You got it~” Morgana nodded, “Smart! Even with your memory gone, your mind still works fast!”
Liang Lai ignored the comment and sank into thought.
If the cause was really a natural energy fluctuation and not sabotage by heretics, the solution would be entirely different.
The Holy Court’s Sanctification Prayer and holy powers were aimed at “pollution” and “heresy”; against a naturally chaotic energy current, their effects would be limited—or might even worsen the disruption due to conflicting energies.
“Then… is there any solution?” She blurted out, almost instinctively.
Morgana flashed a smug smile.
“Want to know?……Figure it out…”
“What do you want now?” Liang Lai was already a little used to her tricks, asking helplessly.
“Umm… haven’t thought of anything new yet!” Morgana tilted her head, considering.
“Let’s call it a buy-one-get-one-free, I’ll throw in the solution for you! It’s actually simple—since it’s not ‘pollution’, don’t even think about ‘purifying’ it. Your methods won’t work here; forcing them will only make the Landveins angrier and the chaos worse.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Guide it, of course!” Morgana looked at Liang Lai like she was an idiot.
“It’s like managing water: it’s better to redirect than to block. Get someone who’s good at sensing Landveins, like us witches, or maybe some of the older priests in the Bloodthirsters’ tribes might know a little, and have them guide the blockage or help the chaotic energy find a new, stable outlet. Once the Landveins settle down, your Divine System will naturally stabilize again.”
She paused and added, “Of course, that only treats the symptoms. To cure the root cause, your Holy Court should really cut back on extracting Faith Power from this area and let the Landveins and your system gradually adapt to each other. But I doubt you’ll take that advice, so never mind.”
Liang Lai was silent.
Morgana’s explanation sounded bizarre, her worldview clashing completely with the teachings of the Holy Court.
But as a modern person, Liang Lai could sense a strange internal logic, a consistency that neatly explained all the anomalies and pointed out exactly why the Holy Court’s methods were ineffective.
“Impressive.”
Liang Lai gave her a genuine thumbs-up.
But… she wasn’t sure she could believe it.
She’d heard that outsiders like Morgana harbored only hostility and malice toward the Holy Court—who knew if this solution was a trap meant to harm her.
Trust her? The risk was huge.
Don’t trust her? The mission couldn’t be completed, and the abnormality here would persist.
In the end, duty and the desire for truth overrode her innate wariness toward heresy.
She decided to take the risk and try the suggestion—in her own way, of course.
“I understand.” Liang Lai nodded, not saying whether she believed it or not.
She reached out her hand.
“Thank you for the information. Now, please leave—I need to return to the outpost.”
Morgana looked at the outstretched hand, then at her bound wrists, blinking her big eyes.
“Eh? That’s it? You’re not going to take me for a look around? I told you so much, and I’m still your captive! Shouldn’t captives be locked up and interrogated? That’s how the script’s supposed to go!”
She looked at Liang Lai with watery eyes, as if staring at a heartless villain.