Yaxiu did not notice that Evalin's expression suddenly turned very strange, though it vanished in an instant. "In other words, unless Igola comes to persuade you in person, you won't join us?"
"If you insist on marrying me..." Yaxiu mused, "I might not be entirely against considering it..."
"Ugh!" Evalin snorted coldly. "Speaking of which, you've almost saved up enough ransom money, haven't you?"
"Yeah. Thanks to getting high-paying jobs these past few days, it's all blessings brought to us by Belldete." Yaxiu raised his eyebrows. "Trying to trick me into spending again? No way. Those ten short clips I bought from you last time are enough to last me a year. You might not know this, but unlike full-length films, watching short clips takes a lot out of a man physically. You won't tempt me on that front anymore."
"How about the opposite, then? If you don't buy my junk, I'll send those ten short clips and the news of your purchase straight to Annan."
Sweat dripped down Yaxiu's back, but he forced himself to stay composed. "I'm deleting them right now! When I get back, I'll tell Annan my conscience woke up and I've seen the light!"
With that, he summoned his Book of Gospel, his finger hovering over it without pressing down for a long time. Evalin blinked. "Go on, delete them."
"On second thought, I refuse to yield to threats from an unscrupulous merchant like you," Yaxiu said self-righteously. "At worst, Annan and her sisters can double-team beat me up!"
"...Don't worry, I won't ruin my business reputation over someone like you." Evalin shook her head and turned to leave. "Once you've saved enough ransom, get lost. You've offended me—you refuse to die and refuse to become our dog. Not a single shop in Mengfeila will sell you anything."
"Unless it's to attend Igola's wedding, don't expect me to step half a foot into Mengfeila again!"
Yaxiu snorted, wrung out his rag viciously, and continued wiping down the statue, only to find Evalin standing atop it once more.
"Are you truly unwilling to join Belldete?"
Her voice held none of its past arrogance; it was calm, carrying even a faint trace of pleading.
Yaxiu fell silent for a moment, offered no reply, and simply resumed working.
Miss Belldete hopped down and walked away, disappearing around the hallway corner.
The cult leader glanced at her elongated shadow, recalling Annan's words:
*When we save up enough ransom, that is also when Belldete will make their move on us.*
* * *
"They've almost saved up enough ransom. It's time to make our move."
Inside the office lined with portrait paintings, Igola sat across from Evalin, calmly offering his counsel.
After a long silence, the blue-haired girl asked, "Can we really not recruit them?"
"Annan and Banjie's goal is a divine wish; you can't possibly meet their price. As for Harvey, even if you were willing to risk offending all of Gospel to protect him, he has a strong self-destructive urge. He would never stay for mere profit, unless you could offer him a far more magnificent prospect of death—and on that count, Belldete is indeed less appealing than Funeral."
"Lisi is tightly bound to Yaxiu. Since you're not recruiting Yaxiu, Lisi naturally won't stay either."
"Then go convince Yaxiu to stay," Evalin said. "He'd definitely listen to you—"
"In our original agreement, the only condition I set was that between Yaxiu and me, only one could stay," the Swindler said. "I don't care about the others, but if Yaxiu stays, I leave. Our deal is off."
"Why?" Evalin was bewildered. "I used to think you had some grudge against him... but he trusts you so much. Why won't you stay together with him?"
"It is precisely because he trusts me that I cannot remain with him."
Igola toyed with a strand of hair. "Do you know what my profession was back in Blood Moon? A social engineer, which is to say, a swindler. Though that profession might be quite rare in Gospel... A swindler who specializes in deceiving others, yet finds himself trusted—don't you think that's hilarious?"
"What's even more hilarious is that I truly won't deceive him."
"Though Blood Moon education was full of garbage, it had its gems," the Swindler said. "'Any relationship that causes you worry will pollute you'; 'Any relationship that makes you swallow grievances will harm you'; 'Any relationship that changes you will dominate you'... Personal freedom is the foundation of everything."
"If I stay with Yaxiu any longer, I will cease to be myself. Or, to put it more bluntly—"
"Fly too close to the sun, and void wings made of wax will melt."
The Swindler fixed his gaze on Evalin. "So do you understand now? It wasn't Belldete that chose me; it was I who chose Belldete. Back then, dazzled by the dark night, I bought the wrong ticket, boarded the wrong train, and took a wrong journey."
"Just because you bought a ticket doesn't mean you have to ride all the way to the final stop. It's time for me to get off. And I need you to smash that train to smithereens, leaving not a shred of lingering sentiment."
Evalin sighed. "Is there really no other way?"
"Isn't this what you planned all along?" Igola said. "The contract only stipulates that you must shelter the Funeral Agency and forbids you from directing, guiding, or indirectly leaking information through any means. But there is a loophole: members of the Funeral Agency can actively leak information themselves. And as long as someone from Funeral actively leaks it, the contract comes to an end, and you bear no further responsibility toward Funeral."
"You never intended to honor the contract from the start. You only wanted to keep Annan and the others pacified for the moment, buy a traitor with your wealth, and then use the contract's restrictions to trap them in Belldete, ensuring that everything went without a hitch and not a single fish escaped the net."
"Why turn sentimental now?" The Swindler chuckled. "A Blood Saint weeping over a corpse—hypocritical kindness?"
"...In the end, Annan and I were companions once. If they were willing to join Belldete, I wouldn't go this far," Evalin said calmly. "By the way, have you spoken to Annan?"
"No."
Right then, a knock sounded at the door. Igola rose to his feet. "Anfiel is here. Excuse me."
"Don't you dare use your insidious tricks on my sister."
"Not while you're still breathing," the Swindler said. "Tonight, I will contact Sennheiser, the agency, the Red Hats, and the other factions, passing them information on Yaxiu and the others. And then..."
"The nightmare that has hung over me for so many days will finally come to an end."
Watching Igola's retreating figure, the blue-haired girl sank into thought. Hearing her sister chatting and laughing with Igola outside, she summoned her Book of Gospel and spent points to inquire:
*Were there any lies in Igola Bogin's statements just now? If so, which sentence was a lie?*
Book of Gospel: *There were no lies.*
Evalin pondered for a moment, then a sudden realization struck her:
"Swindlers really are rare in Gospel..."
* * *
Fanmula, office of the Sennheiser Clan Matriarch.
"Nona, notify the other crest clan leaders to dispatch elite combat sorcerers and form a strike team for an expedition to Mengfeila."
The elven woman beside her nodded coldly. "Shall I lead the team?"
"No."
Seated in her chair, Qinna looked down upon the mist-shrouded city, her fingertips lightly brushing against her lips.
"Yaxiu Sennheiser is the guarantee of our family's continuation. I will lead the team personally to capture them back."
Chapter 401