Chapter 395: Devil in Human Skin
Xi Wei thought to himself that most of these religious people didn’t have clean anuses. However, the old priest’s earnest demeanor didn’t look like a joke, and since the old man had always been quite normal in his words and actions, Xi Wei decided not to provoke the old man’s nerves any further.
In the bedroom stood a statue covered with a red cloth. Through the dim light, the outline of the statue could vaguely be seen, appearing somewhat mysterious and eerie.
Xi Wei put on a pair of white gloves and stepped forward to remove the red cloth from the statue. Beneath it was indeed a statue of the Virtue Angel, with a sapphire pendant on its chest and draped in a sheer veil. The statue’s figure was curvaceous, and from the exterior details, it was almost flawless, with both the body structure and facial features rendered to near perfection.
**[Eerie Virtue Angel Statue]**
This was the system’s prompt.
Xi Wei also felt that this statue was no ordinary piece, as the facial carving was too intricate, with even the pores clearly visible. With such carving skills, why was Onions even serving as a temple bishop? Just sculpting statues for the royal family, combined with his status as a mage, would have been enough to make him immensely wealthy.
“Bishop Onions, your statue is quite impressive,” Xi Wei removed his gloves and sincerely praised the work, which made Onions breathe a sigh of relief.
Since entering the bedroom, he had been in a state of extreme tension, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead, so much so that the soldiers holding his arms could feel the moisture in their palms.
However, in the next moment.
Xi Wei, who had been motionless, suddenly broke off one of the statue’s fingers.
“Ah!” Bishop Onions exclaimed in despair.
The surrounding followers and priests also gasped in horror as they stared at the statue, overcome with uncontrollable panic.
From the broken finger, a dark red liquid began to flow, and a bloody smell quickly spread throughout the small bedroom.
The statue’s interior actually contained a corpse!
What followed was straightforward. No matter how reluctant Onions was, he had no choice but to confess his crimes.
The story began two months ago, when the Shrine of the Goddess of Abundance had just been established, and the old priest had handed over the entire management authority of the shrine to Onions.
Onions had been following the old priest for a long time, and the old priest had always regarded Onions as his successor, so this decision was not unreasonable.
The problem lay in the fact that Onions was not someone who dedicated his entire life to the gods.
Once he had power in his hands, faced with temptation, Onions chose to indulge his desires.
The position of a shrine priest had always been a coveted profession, especially for the priests of a benevolent deity like the Goddess of Abundance.
Not only did they have food and clothing without worry, but they were also respected.
At that time, the newly established shrine did not have many priests.
To become a priest, one needed to have a certain level of faith and the approval of the priest.
At that point, the shrine’s authority had already been fully handed over to Bishop Onions, and those who wanted to become priests had to form good relations with Onions.
Initially, Onions used this power to amass some wealth. Many merchants or minor nobles would spend some gold coins to arrange for their children to become priests at the shrine. However, not everyone had money, and commoners who lacked wealth also hoped to secure this worry-free job. Among them was a widow who decided to seduce Bishop Onions.
In the end, she succeeded.
After sleeping with Bishop Onions, she successfully became a member of the shrine’s priest team, and her actions completely awakened the hidden demon within Bishop Onions.
The number of priests in the shrine was limited, but Onions’ desires were unlimited.
Frequently, women would approach Bishop Onions, wanting to become priests, and Bishop Onions’ gaze gradually became more discerning.
He began to consciously choose young and beautiful maidens.
Those who were ugly, older, or whom he had already slept with were gradually phased out.
Since the number of priests in the shrine was limited, the first woman he had slept with was eventually expelled from the shrine, losing her worry-free and respected life.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality.
The widow, who had been ruthlessly discarded by Onions, naturally would not let it go.
She went to Onions’ home and threatened him that if he did not restore her position as a priest, she would expose his actions to the public, ruining his reputation and stripping him of his bishop’s halo.
However, the widow’s threats did not make Onions comply; instead, they brought about her untimely death.
Onions was, after all, a bona fide earth mage.
At that time, he was sitting at home carving a statue. Before the widow could catch her breath after speaking, she was impaled by an earth spike spell. At that moment, Onions had a sudden inspiration to carve a nearly perfect angel statue using the widow’s body as a model. He encased the woman’s body in plaster and slowly carved out the facial features, making fine adjustments based on his own vision, ultimately completing a master-level sculpture.
In the newly rising Dragonflame City, although the Wintery Empire’s laws were strict, the disappearance of an insignificant widow did not draw much attention.
Onions continued his transactions of power and lust, and after completing that perfect statue, he seemed to be under a spell, wanting to create more and more beautiful works. Eventually, he set his sights on the women he was about to phase out.
……
“Actually, that maid was also supposed to be killed and turned into a statue after sleeping with her,” Onions said with a mocking smile.
“They’re just a bunch of whores, all wanting to climb into my bed, become shrine priests, and live a life of ease and plenty. Women like that, if they die, then they die. I don’t think there’s anything to regret about it.”
He struggled to turn his head and glanced at Shanna, who was also being held by soldiers, and spoke earnestly to the King of Winter: “I did not molest Shanna. Although I hinted at such thoughts to her, she was very resistant. I had planned to deal with her later, but now, unexpectedly, she’s the one who has brought me to such a state. Everything before was lies she spun to expose what I did and to gain some sympathy to lessen her own crimes.”
What Onions said was roughly in line with Xi Wei’s earlier deductions.
Everything the girl had done was to frame Onions, but her actions were not wrong, as Onions was indeed a devil in human skin.
The soldiers had found five statues in his home, each containing the corpse of a woman inside.
Three of these statues had bodies that were already highly decomposed, and Onions had abandoned them in the basement, emitting a foul smell. Xi Wei speculated that these three statues had once been kept in the shrine’s basement and that these three women must have been shrine priests for some time.
As for the other two statues, they were recent works by Onions.
These women might have aimed to become shrine staff, or they might merely have coveted Onions’ power. Like that maid, they willingly stripped themselves bare and offered themselves to Onions in exchange for resources to sustain their lives.
“Bishop Onions, your actions severely violate the laws of the Wintery Empire,” Xi Wei said solemnly, looking at Onions as he delivered the final verdict: “You will be executed for your crimes. Regardless of whether these women deserved to die or not, you had no right to take their lives. All your assets will be confiscated. Do you have anything else to say?”
“No, Your Majesty,” Onions smiled. “No matter what, I’ve already gotten my fill of life!”
