Arriving at Saint Luoke Cathedral once more, Xialuote had expected to be led to the upper areas as before. However, after leading her through the main hall, the young cleric turned into a side aisle, pushed open a low wooden door that one could easily overlook, and brought her before a stone staircase spiraling downward.
Could this be the legendary Inquisition? Has my transmigration been exposed, and I'm being taken in to be tortured under harsh interrogation? Half-nervous and half-puzzled, she followed the cleric down the stone steps. To her surprise, the space broadened the further they went, soon opening into a wide corridor illuminated by an array of oil lamps, candles, and light-reflecting panels.
Paved with flat flagstones, the corridor branched off toward different sections. Offices were partitioned by double wooden doors, thick walls, and neat stone pillars. From time to time, figures dressed in gold-and-white robes with holy emblems pinned to their chests hurried past, greeting one another with only a glance—silent and bustling.
As expected of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun—even their basement is lit like high noon, yet they operate just like a true underground organization... Xialuote mused inwardly as she surveyed her surroundings, realizing this subterranean area had likely been built alongside Saint Luoke Cathedral from the very beginning. In scale, it was hardly smaller than the main cathedral above.
She followed her guide past a row of offices bearing golden nameplates, walking past an alchemy laboratory, a storage room, the archives, and a heavy wooden door marked "Dissection Room."
Could there be corpses of out-of-control Beyonders or cultists inside...? Remembering what had become of Zhuli'an Laite's body after it was taken away, she suddenly felt that even the bright lights of the cathedral's basement could not dispel the chill creeping over her.
At last, she arrived before a door near the end of the corridor. Most of the doorplates she had passed displayed full names, such as Yelun Bo'ensi and Qiao'er Wo'en, yet here there was no surname, only the name "Weiyefu."
Does she not use a family name because of her convent background, or is she deliberately concealing it? A few thoughts crossed Xialuote's mind, but she did not dwell on them. She knocked and walked inside.
The Purifier captain's office was far simpler than imagined. On the walls hung several oil paintings praising the Sun and extolling the saints. Bookshelves held editions of holy canon and tales of saints and angels from different eras and in various bindings. On the desk lay several sorted reports and a small golden casket. Weiyefu stood beside the desk. When Xialuote entered, she looked up, offering a gentle smile.
Today she wore no white nun's habit. Just as during the operation to capture Zhuli'an, she was dressed in a white shirt, a dark vest, and trousers tailored for agile movement. Cut cleanly, the clothes outlined her waist, shoulders, back, and the curves of her legs, making her look both like a well-trained female warrior and someone of highborn elegance.
This made Xialuote unable to resist looking at her a few times more.
It's only because such attire is so rare; it's definitely not because Madam Weiyefu's proportions are so good... Making excuses for herself in her head, she bowed in greeting as though nothing were amiss, then asked curiously, "Madam Weiyefu, why aren't we in the upper area this time?"
"Because there are things you ought to see." Weiyefu paid no heed to Xialuote's gaze, even taking a few steps closer so that her legs, previously obscured by the desk, came into full view. "You have already participated in an operation with the Purifiers and come into contact with Beyonders outside the Church and underground exchanges. It is time you understood how the Inquisition truly functions."
With that, she went to the door and signaled Xialuote to follow.
The two stepped back into the brightly lit underground corridor. Slowing her pace, Weiyefu led her past the row of rooms once more, explaining as they walked:
"The Inquisition is the sole armed enforcement body under the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, tasked with investigating heretics and cultists and resolving extraordinary incidents that could endanger ordinary people. A subterranean area like this is built beneath the cathedral in every city for us to work, differing only in scale."
Her voice echoed down the corridor alongside their footsteps, carrying a certain solemn grandeur.
"Here are offices for clerical staff who analyze information and investigate cases, as well as secret chambers for sealing dangerous items and confining heretics. As for the Purifier teams, they are the Inquisition's most essential component."
Xialuote nodded thoughtfully.
She had heard bits and pieces of this before and learned some from Weiyefu's booklet, but only by standing in this underground facility and watching the silent personnel bustling about did she gain an intuitive grasp of the Inquisition's stature within the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
The cathedral above ground is a sanctuary for praising the Sun, while the subterranean realm is an abyss for burying heretics... Moved by the contrast, she could not help asking, "Does the Brotherhood of Preachers—composed of believers who advocate striking hard against heretics and cultists—refer to the Inquisition?"
Weiyefu shook her head and answered calmly, "That is merely the philosophy of a portion of our members. Within the Church, there is also the Minor Brotherhood, which advocates spreading the faith, treating neutral Beyonders leniently, and seeking to recruit figures from among the populace. Because they promote asceticism, they are also known as the Order of Mendicant Friars.
"In addition, female believers in certain convents whose philosophies align with theirs formed the Nine Sisters Society."
So that's how it is. Outside rumors always tilt toward the exaggerated and terrifying. If a church only ever used brute force, it would never spread its faith widely; after all, there are seven orthodox gods in this world... Xialuote mused cautiously. Recalling that Weiyefu had come from Fuweier Monastery and, despite being a Purifier, was always willing to explain things patiently and grant second chances, she clearly did not resemble the fanatical figures in rumors who dragged people off to underground interrogation cells at every turn. She likely belonged to the Nine Sisters Society, or at least shared a similar philosophy.
Of course, it was also possible the Church deemed descendants of the Suolun household worth winning over, and deliberately assigned a moderate to make contact.
As they talked, they arrived before a pair of massive golden double doors. Standing roughly four meters high, the doors reached all the way to the corridor ceiling. Carved upon them was a relief of the Sun Holy Emblem, gleaming like solid gold under the surrounding lamps and the sunlight deliberately channeled down to this spot.
Weiyefu took the initiative to introduce it: "These are the doors to the Hall of Holy Radiance. Inside, important items held by this cathedral are sealed, and it is also used to imprison Beyonder criminals. The formula and ingredients for the Arbiter potion you consumed are kept here as well."
She did not pause her steps. Realizing that an external affiliate like herself had no chance of visiting inside, Xialuote cast a wistful glance at the golden doors before hurrying after her. Soon, they looped around the other side of the circular corridor and returned to Weiyefu's office.
Once both were seated, the Purifier continued, "The second matter concerns the cultists exposed by Zhuli'an Laite.
"We have already carried out a round of arrests. One died resisting, and two were captured. According to the interrogation, at least as far as they know, there are no other members in Suxite who worship that evil entity. However, the identity of the 'Overseer' who maintained single-line contact with Zhuli'an remains unknown.
"The interrogation also revealed that their powers all stem from the boons granted by that entity, rather than any potion pathway recorded within the Church.
"Sequence 9 among them is known as 'Broker.' They can keenly perceive people's illicit demands and facilitate deals through eloquence and persuasion. Sequence 8 is 'Shadow Merchant,' capable of making transactions with creatures in the dark and shadows under relatively safe conditions, utilizing those creatures to launch limited attacks, hiding within shadows, and creating illusory silhouettes. As for Sequence 7, they said only Zhuli'an had received the entity's boon to attain that level."
Xialuote's brow furrowed slightly as she listened.
The abilities of a "Broker" sounded somewhat similar to a Lawyer; she even suspected it might just be an alternate name for the Lawyer pathway. But "Shadow Merchant" was entirely different from a Sequence 8 Barbarian, appearing to focus more on support and sneak attacks. It reminded her of Luna Le Mei, the woman in black who had cornered her at the printing plant and emerged from the shadows.
As for the Sequence 7 ability of this pathway, she had already experienced it firsthand. At its core was likely the "Convict" power that declared another's guilt, followed by the corresponding punishment.
Weiyefu clearly recognized this as well, and immediately added, "The final matter relates to Zhuli'an, and to you. The dagger used to kill him has now received an official designation and name."
She opened the small golden casket on the desk. Inside lay the dagger with which Xialuote was already somewhat familiar, except it now rested in a new leather sheath traced with golden lines and bearing the Sun Holy Emblem alongside intricate symbols on both sides.
"This is 3-1452, the Dagger of Verdict."
Xialuote knew that Sealed Artifacts were graded according to the danger they posed and the power they contained. Grade 0 and Grade 1 were limited in number and generally kept only at Purifier headquarters; furthermore, their designations were cross-notified among the seven major churches to prevent duplicates. Grade 2 and Grade 3 posed comparatively lesser hazards, and their designations were assigned independently by each church. To avoid collisions, they skipped numbers at set intervals; it did not mean the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun possessed over a thousand Grade 3 Sealed Artifacts.
Curious about the name, she asked directly, "The Dagger of Verdict? Is it really that formidable?"
"That is precisely what I must tell you." Weiyefu's expression turned solemn. "After killing Zhuli'an, it appeared to absorb the Extraordinary power that should have been expelled from his body. As a result, its power has grown stronger, and an anomalous change has occurred."
Why does this sound like a Sealed Artifact drank a potion and advanced on its own...? An absurd thought surfaced in Xialuote's mind, but then she remembered that the power Zhuli'an wielded had been a boon rather than from a standard potion, which made the matter seem all the more convoluted.
"Testing shows that it now deals higher damage against the guilty, and it allows the wielder to actively invoke an ability similar to Zhuli'an's 'Convict.' By calling out the target's crime, the user can briefly restrict their movements for roughly two seconds, with the effect depending on both parties' mental states at the time."
Weiyefu grasped the dagger through its leather sheath as she introduced it.
"Its negative effects have grown more potent as well. It causes the user to become conceited at a faster rate, and it may draw the attention of shadow creatures, especially at night or in enclosed environments.
"The greatest issue is that from the moment one holds it, any guilty individual will feel acute discomfort and remorse. It does not judge crimes strictly according to legal statutes; it is closer to judging the sins acknowledged deep within the bearer's heart."
So the more one is accustomed to confession, the more easily one is affected? Doesn't that sound entirely targeted at Church believers...? Xialuote glanced at Weiyefu subconsciously, another question popping into her head: What on earth did the Church use to test these effects? Could it be those cultists they just hauled back?
It seemed the terrifying rumors about the Inquisition outside weren't entirely made up out of thin air.
Just as her thoughts wandered, Weiyefu extended the sheath bearing the Sun Holy Emblem toward her.
"Try picking up this weapon now."
Chapter 45