That child’s face still bears traces of tears… and she looks so thin, I wonder how much she’s suffered.
“Then, can you learn the Crystalization Ability?” Liang Lai asked again.
At this question, a fleeting stiffness appeared on Morgana’s face.
“In theory, we can’t.”
That one sentence sent Liang Lai’s heart plummeting to the bottom.
“But on the other hand—”
Morgana’s tone suddenly shifted, her face once more adorned with a mischievous smile. “Even though we can’t learn the Crystalization Ability, we do have a similar ability~ As long as we want, our appearance can look almost identical to Crystallization~ As long as no one breaks us open to look inside, or leaves us for too long, there won’t be any flaws at all.”
Now, in front of everyone…
Liang Lai pursed her lips and nodded.
It sounded pretty good, but the risk was still very high.
But at this point, there was no other choice—they could only take the risk.
“There’s still another problem,” Liang Lai rubbed her brow. “How are we going to get past the Checkpoint?”
It wasn’t like she could just swagger back openly, dragging an unidentified ‘orphan’ along with her; the Priest would definitely become suspicious and report it.
Morgana blinked, immediately slipping into character.
She tugged at her patched robe, ruffled her hair until it was messier, and her gaze turned instantly timid and bewildered, with a touch of dullness—she truly looked like a pitiable girl who’d suffered much and wasn’t too bright.
“Big sister,” she timidly clutched the hem of Liang Lai’s robe, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s, “I… I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten for days…”
Liang Lai:
Isn’t this getting into character a bit too quickly?
She sighed. “Let’s go. Remember, don’t talk much—watch for my cues.”
“Mm-mm!”
Morgana nodded vigorously, sticking close behind Liang Lai with a dependent, obedient air—her acting was completely on point.
When they returned to the Wall of Sighs Outpost, that middle-aged Priest was indeed still anxiously waiting.
As soon as he saw Liang Lai return, he hurried over.
“Saintess, you’ve finally returned! How did it go?”
Only then did he notice the filthy, drooping-haired, unfamiliar girl clinging to Liang Lai’s robe and refusing to let go.
“And this is…?”
Liang Lai maintained the calm and compassionate demeanor of a Saintess.
With a sigh, she said, “I encountered this pitiful child while patrolling the border. She seems to be a wandering orphan from nearby, so starved that her mind is hardly clear, trembling behind a rock. I saw how truly pitiable she was—if left unattended, she might not survive the night. Divine Mercy shines upon all lost lambs, so I brought her back.”
Upon hearing this, the Priest’s face showed sympathy, but a trace of hesitation followed.
“Saintess, your mercy is boundless, but these border refugees have uncertain backgrounds—shouldn’t we first…?”
“I have already made a basic inspection,” Liang Lai cut him off, her tone gentle yet carrying indisputable authority.
“There is no trace of evil taint upon her—she’s just frightened, and a bit… simple-minded.”
As she spoke, she affectionately patted Morgana’s hair.
Morgana played along, shrinking her neck and letting out a small animal whimper.
“Simple-minded?”
The Priest glanced at Morgana’s blank, dazed appearance, unable to meet anyone’s eyes.
Most of his suspicion melted away. Someone like this was unlikely to be an infiltrator sent by the heretics.
“Mm.”
Liang Lai nodded, smoothly steering the conversation back to the main issue.
“As for the anomaly here, I have already discovered the root cause.”
The Priest’s spirits lifted, and he was instantly all attention.
“Please instruct us, Saintess!”
After a brief moment of thought, Liang Lai repackaged Morgana’s “Landveins” theory into a version the Holy Court could understand and accept, her tone steady and full of confidence:
“It was not the work of those faithless ones. Using Holy Light, I sensed that it is the ‘Ancient Chaos’ deposited deep beneath this land that has recently begun to stir.”
She used “Ancient Chaos”—a term from the Holy Court’s scriptures describing the primordial energy at the world’s foundation that has yet to be fully purified by the Holy Light.
“This disturbance has upset the balance of the earth’s energies, creating an invisible ‘Swirl’. As Faith Power passes through here, it’s disrupted and dispersed by this Swirl—like clear springs flowing into muddy sand, naturally becoming turbid and weak. The commoners, long exposed to this unbalanced energy field, naturally become listless in spirit, with disturbed dreams.”
The Priest nodded repeatedly, awe and realization all over his face.
This explanation fit the Holy Court’s world view and accounted for all the observed phenomena—it sounded much more convincing than simply saying “couldn’t find the reason.”
“Then… how should we purify this land tainted by ‘Chaos’?” the Priest asked urgently.
Liang Lai shook her head, her expression grave. “It is not contamination. Forcible purification would only provoke ‘Chaos’ into an even more violent backlash, with the opposite effect.”
Following Morgana’s advice, she gave a solution.
“What we need is ‘guidance’ and ‘soothing’. Starting immediately, reduce this area’s light honey extraction by thirty percent to let the land breathe. Send a team of Choir white-robed Sacerdotes here, to sing the Song of Tranquility at dawn and dusk outside the outpost each day—its peaceful melodies will calm the restless energies. At the same time, order the commoners to minimize nighttime activities for now, to avoid being affected by the chaotic earth energies.”
She paused, then added, “Maintain these measures for a period, and when the earth energies settle naturally, the Faith Power channel will gradually stabilize. During this time, observe closely and report any changes to the Papal Hall at once.”
This combination of measures not only provided specific actions, but also preventive steps and long-term observation—thorough and professional, exactly how a seasoned Saintess should handle things.
After hearing her, the Priest’s face was full of trust and gratitude.
“At your command, Saintess! I will make arrangements at once. Thank you, Saintess, for dispelling the fog and showing us the way!”
Liang Lai nodded slightly, holding herself with proper dignity.
Hee hee~ Once again, I pulled off my act today—so satisfying!
“It’s my duty. With that, I’ll return to the Holy City and report. As for this child…”
She glanced at Morgana, who was still acting the part of the dazed girl.
“I’ll take her with me. Leaving her here would only be a burden.”
“Yes, yes, Saintess is truly merciful!”
Naturally, the Priest had no objections—in fact, he thought the Third Saintess was exceptionally kind, even willing to take in a silly child.
They passed the inspection smoothly.
Liang Lai couldn’t help but think that border Priests were much easier to deal with than those in the Holy Court, and even had a touch more empathy and kindness.
Perhaps it was because they were so far from the Holy Court…
Liang Lai took Morgana and boarded the carriage for their return.
The moment the door closed, Morgana collapsed onto the soft seat, letting out a long breath.
The silly expression vanished from her face, replaced by a sly, triumphant grin.
“How was it? Wasn’t my acting spot on?”
She crossed her legs and swung her feet, looking nothing like the timid, pitiful girl from just moments ago.