That Woman

"Someone we know?" Sonia blinked, leaned closer to take a peek, but promptly shrank back. "You give the rundown. I'm far too pure to read this." This sorcerer manual was recorded in the format of a quest log. It was evident that its owner must have been a highly methodical sorcerer who liked setting small milestones and excelled at grinding. He recorded every major event of his life in the form of quests, even including summary reflections at the end. Truly an exemplary model worker. For now, let's call him the "Task Sorcerer." [Quest Name: Campaign for the Calamitous Fire Seed, Importance: ★★★★★] [Quest Objective: Become the Calamitous Fire Seed] [Quest Restriction: Restricted to temple sorcerers who attained Two Wings within three years] [Quest Reward: Become the Calamitous Fire Seed and obtain the chance to enter the Silent Spiral. Note: Every Calamitous Fire Seed who emerged from the Silent Spiral, without exception, became a three-winged sorcerer and ascended to the temple's upper echelon.] [Quest Failure: Lose the opportunity to become a Calamitous Fire Seed. Barring unexpected circumstances, the highest future rank achievable will only be a temple subdeacon.] [Quest Log: As the Silent Spiral rose, the quinquennial selection for the Calamitous Fire Seed quietly began.] [There were two other candidates with the same qualifications as me: that woman, and Frank. Frank was more senior than me, mature and steady, deeply beloved by the faithful, and was the front-runner. That woman was overly young, but she had taken the initiative to report her boyfriend for hoarding spoils, proving her loyalty to the Calamitous Fire, and had ascended to become a two-winged sorcerer within a single year—she could not be underestimated.] [Frank was the commander of the Silver Fire Knights. To secure more votes, he ramped up the knight order's raiding frequency and successfully captured Changfeng Castle, bringing more believers and funds to the temple. He enjoyed tremendous prestige among both the populace and the clergy, blazing like the midday sun over the desert—dazzling and fierce.] [As the vice commander of the Disciplinary Priests, I decided to increase the frequency of patrols and severely punish outlaws within the district to gain the approval of the faithful and the presiding priests.] [Compared to the two of us holding prominent positions, that woman was merely an ordinary nun in the Missionary Troupe—powerless, without backing, possessing no demonstrable competence beyond her beautiful face. Barring any surprises, she ought to have been the first person eliminated.] [Until she came looking for me.] [She said someone had reported to her that Frank was engaging in intimate physical contact with a member of his order.] [My first reaction was that it was impossible: from childhood, we temple sorcerers must constantly contend with the taint of the Calamitous Fire. Our spirits have long been tempered to be devoid of desire, our physical cravings nearly nonexistent. Furthermore, most of us cultivate the ascetic faction; eating sand and sleeping on the dunes already satisfies our basic survival needs, leaving no room for further longings.] [Moreover, the most cardinal rule among the temple precepts is that clergy are forbidden from engaging in any behavior that vents desire. Once physical desires are kindled, they burn hot, and a fiery heart is the kindling that the Calamitous Fire burns through most easily.] [Even love between members of the clergy must be cherished without physical contact. Relations requiring intimate contact, on the other hand, are viewed as tainted, disgusting, and depraved love. Thus, love among clergy is the purest of all, transcending every barrier of gender, race, and age.] [Beasts that succumb to physical desires are not worthy to serve as clergy guarding the Calamitous Fire.] [I refuted her with this. She pressed no further, meekly admitting her error and apologizing for her suspicions. Yet once she departed, I could not help wondering: what if Frank really was having intimate contact with his subordinate?] [If it were true, he certainly could not become the Calamitous Fire Seed. A sorcerer whose flesh cannot uphold abstinence could never possibly survive inside the Silent Spiral.] [Harboring such hopes, I inquired among many people for information regarding Frank, uncovering more and more suspicious details. And as I asked around, my suspicions began to spread, until soon the entire temple was buzzing about Frank.] [When the Silver Fire Knights returned the next time, Frank tracked me down and nearly beat me to death. However, upon investigation, it was confirmed that Frank indeed had intimate relations with his knight, Alancos. Frank was stripped of his clerical office by the bishop.] [I thought victory was assured, but when voting day arrived, that woman overwhelmingly won the majority of the votes. Aside from my friends, almost no one voted for me.] [Only then did the realization hit me: my behind-the-back smearing of Frank over the preceding days had already drawn everyone's disgust. On top of that, being beaten bloody in broad daylight by Frank without being able to strike back made my image plummet completely.] [I was like the desert night—bone-chillingly cold and dark enough to inspire dread. Not a single believer was willing to cast a vote for me.] [In contrast, that woman had been working quietly all this time, steering clear of arguments and controversies, faithfully fulfilling her duties. Coupled with her striking beauty, she steadily won the praise of many.] [The sun was too scorching, unable to tolerate the slightest blemish; the night was too shadowy, keeping people at bay. Only the water of the Crescent Spring possessed the sweetness that everyone adored.] [I seemed to understand at last, but it was already too late.] [Quest Result: Failure.] [Summary Reflection: Never trust women—especially beautiful ones.] Halfway through listening, Sonia caught on. "Could 'that woman' mentioned here be the 'she' from 'that sorcerer manual' we ran into before?" Though Sonia spoke without preface, Yaxiu understood what she meant. He briefly filled Diya in on the backstory. The reason the two of them remembered this figure so well was that the Vortex Secret Poison originated from "that sorcerer manual." Naturally, it had left a deep impression on them. After all, the Vortex Secret Poison could be considered the turning point of their Void Realm exploration, from which point onward their fortunes had soared like a clean energy fund. In that manual, the owner had gone through great pains to form a contract of never-forsaking with 'her', handing over the labyrinth toy containing information on the Vortex Secret Poison. Yet once 'she' reached Two Wings using the Vortex Secret Poison, 'she' immediately sold out the manual's owner to the temple in exchange for wealth and glory. Meanwhile, the manual's owner never betrayed 'her' right up to the very end—a whole heart of devotion utterly poured down the drain. "Very likely. Becoming a two-winged sorcerer within a year, reporting a boyfriend who hoarded spoils, plus the Holy Temple of Calamitous Fire... every detail matches." Crossing his arms, Yaxiu frowned. "That previous manual was understandable—the whole thing was written with 'I' and 'she,' so there was no particular need to record her name. But why didn't the Task Sorcerer in this manual write down her name either, referring to her as 'that woman' instead? He addressed Frank directly by name."