Chapter 31: On the One Hundred Methods of Judging a Witch
Early morning, the roads had very little traffic.
Luo Xiu performed the Sky Control Technique and quickly arrived at Livia Church.
Logically speaking, as a priest of the church, he was supposed to come and pray once a month.
It was also to maintain his impression in the eyes of the public.
However, ever since he took the Witch away from the church two years ago, Luo Xiu had not visited Livia Church even once.
As a priest, this was undoubtedly dereliction of duty.
Luo Xiu didn’t care; he had plenty of derelictions of duty elsewhere.
He entered the church and went to the hall used for prayer.
It was still early, and there was no one else in the church, except for an old man in red clothes standing beneath the tall, elegant, twelve-winged, pure white Statue of Goddess.
He was Seco Bodon, one of the seven Cardinal Bishops of the Holy See.
Noticing the stir behind him, Seco turned around and bowed respectfully.
He lowered his head slightly, not daring to look directly at the man. This young junior was far more robust than his old bones.
“Father Luo Xiu, I have been waiting here for a long time.”
Luo Xiu gave a casual hum, “Speak, for what reason?”
A glint flashed in Seco’s eyes, and without delay, he got straight to the point.
His tone carried a hint of regret.
“Father Luo Xiu, you and I are both loyal believers of Goddess, so why do you insist on playing dumb?”
“Your Eminence the Pope has given you many chances. If you persist on the wrong path, it will only lead to your death!”
Luo Xiu frowned and said coldly, “Seco Bodon, is this how you speak to me?”
The old man in red clothes bowed and quickly apologized.
He thought to himself, *This young man is so unreasonable. I’m kindly advising him not to go astray, and he’s telling me my attitude is wrong?*
“Please calm down, Father.”
Seco hesitated for a moment before continuing his persuasion, “Father Luo Xiu, I hope you understand that Your Eminence the Pope cherishes your talent, which is why he has tolerated your recklessness repeatedly.”
“But no matter how reckless, there is always a limit.”
“I am here to persuade you today. If someone else comes next time, it will be the Judgement Army of the Holy See.”
The danger in his words was palpable.
Luo Xiu narrowed his eyes, his expression unmoved.
“Are you threatening me?”
He flicked his sleeve with full composure.
“Luo Xiu has lived his life acting according to his will; why must I explain myself to others?”
“Get out!”
With Luo Xiu’s cold command, Seco Bodon’s old face was a mixture of emotions.
He had come on a mission to persuade, but he never expected Luo Xiu to be so disrespectful.
Seco did not rush to issue threats, but in his heart, he had already sentenced Luo Xiu to death.
Since you insist on being stubborn, do not blame the Holy See for being heartless!
The old man, with a dark expression, turned and left.
This negotiation ended with Luo Xiu and the Holy See completely falling out.
After Seco Bodon left, Luo Xiu stood alone.
He looked up at the tall Statue of Goddess before him.
His gaze drifted over the statue, first to the goddess’s graceful and beautiful face, then slowly moving to the twelve giant wings behind her.
The wings were truly enormous, almost covering the entire sky.
Pure white and sacred.
In the empty hall, Luo Xiu’s soft murmur echoed alone.
“Are gods always pure white and sacred…?”
The man stood quietly for a long time before leaving.
…
…
The Manor.
After Luo Xiu left, a slender figure slowly ascended to the second floor.
Eileen was aimlessly wandering.
Selena had gone with Miss Anna to learn how to order new clothes.
She planned to personally order one for Luo Xiu and one for Eileen.
Life at the manor was very comfortable, so it was normal for Selena to have such leisure time.
However, Eileen was not very fond of these miscellaneous matters.
At such times, she would wander around the manor alone.
To call it a manor was, more accurately, to say she was wandering around Luo Xiu’s study.
As she grew older, in Luo Xiu’s words, Eileen’s “tsundere” personality had not changed one bit.
This inherent nature might only change after experiencing some major life upheaval.
Luo Xiu’s study was large, but the furnishings were simple.
Besides a frequently used desk and chair, there were tall bookshelves one after another.
Eileen liked to stay here. She would often pick a random book from the bookshelf, sit in Luo Xiu’s chair, and read quietly.
Today was no exception.
She tiptoed and took down a thick book from the shelf.
The morning sun shone through, illuminating the graceful figure of the girl hidden beneath her black dress.
It also illuminated the large characters on the book’s cover.
“On the One Hundred Methods of Judging a Witch”
Holding the book, Eileen instinctively glanced around.
The manor was quiet in the early morning. Furthermore, to maintain secrecy, Luo Xiu had dismissed all the servants in the manor.
At this moment, apart from the rustling sound of leaves occasionally stirred by the breeze outside the window, there was no other movement.
But Eileen’s small face was still a little nervous, inexplicably feeling guilty.
Holding the book, she sat down in Luo Xiu’s seat.
Then, mimicking the man’s usual habit, she spread the book open and began to study it with a serious expression.
Eileen had actually read this book several times before, but each time she couldn’t read much before being interrupted by various accidents.
The content of the book was as its title suggested, detailing the methods priests commonly used to deal with witches over a hundred years ago.
For example, the most common method was flogging and so on.
Eileen naturally approached it with a critical eye.
But to her surprise, while the first half of the book was acceptable, the latter half became increasingly inappropriate.
It could be considered a forbidden book.
If it were merely a description of how to judge witches, it would not be considered forbidden by the Holy See; it could even be used as positive material.
However, the descriptions of witches and priests within the book were extremely ambiguous.
If people from the Holy See were to see this, they would undoubtedly treat it as a heretical book written by some cultists to deliberately defame priests.
Fortunately, it had always been stored in Luo Xiu’s study, and no one paid attention to it, so it survived.
Eileen read very quickly.
The study was silent, with only the rustling sound of her occasionally turning pages.
As she read, her small face became redder and redder.
By the end, her face, which was usually clear and peerless, was now flushed red.
Coupled with her physique, the skin on other parts of her body was an unusual snowy white. The contrast made her even more breathtakingly beautiful.
The last few passages in the book were extremely decadent. Eileen simply couldn’t continue reading.
She hurriedly closed the book, let out a long sigh, as if finally escaping some strange state.
The girl lightly patted her chest, calming her rapidly beating heart.
After a short while, she recovered, a hint of shame and anger welling up in her eyes. She cursed softly.
“Tsk, what a pervert. He actually keeps books like this on his bookshelf. This was clearly premeditated!”
Eileen angrily reprimanded someone, completely forgetting that when she found the book, it hadn’t even been opened.
Eileen sat in the chair for a while longer before turning to glance at the sky outside the window.
At some point, the sun had already risen high into the sky.
(End of this chapter)
