The Root of All Evil

"Mother and daughter are both lustful..." Hearing Lisi's mutter, Annan raised an eyebrow. "Say what you want about me, but do not lump me together with Qinna. I hate it when people call us mother and daughter... Hmph, for Yaxiu's sake, I'll let it slide this time. Next time you do it, I'll spank your little bottom." What did she mean by "for Yaxiu's sake"—as if the two of them were so close! Lisi lifted her chin stubbornly, but catching the ferocious glint in Annan's eyes, she reflexively covered her bottom, ducked behind Yaxiu, and hissed in a tiny voice, "Th-Then it's you who's lustful!" "Mm, I'm lustful, and I crave Yaxiu." Annan affectionately held Yaxiu's arm, but noticing Harvey looking over, she immediately sat bolt upright with proper decorum. "So what?" Lisi was fuming. Shaking Yaxiu, she said, "Papa, look at her! Just look at her!" "Ahem," Yaxiu cleared his throat, his mouth curving into a smug grin. "Please, don't fight over me—" "Don't be happy too soon." Annan fixed her gaze on Yaxiu. "Before, you could claim that the Gospel was slandering you and weaving a fabricated future. But this board explicitly states that Qinna took an interest in you back when we passed through Fanmula... In those few brief encounters, I never saw you have any special interaction with her. And Qinna isn't the type to hide her feelings. Once she takes a liking to something, she can hardly wait to flaunt it..." Recalling how Annan had just demanded that Yaxiu feed her, the others couldn't help thinking that if Harvey hadn't been supervising in person, the Purple Moth would probably already be sitting on the cult leader's lap—Annan was definitely Qinna's flesh and blood. "...If she was interested in you, she must have already had intimate contact with you." Annan stared intently at Yaxiu. "So, what happened between the two of you?" "Eldest Miss, you know me. I spent that entire time playing video games," Yaxiu said earnestly. "Back then, I barely had enough time to fight the Extreme Cleaver Carp Supreme Duke! How could I have had time to hook up with Qinna? She's a Sanctuary sorcerer—she could squash me with a slap!" "I can testify to that," Harvey spoke up unexpectedly. "Yaxiu really was playing games the whole time back then. Besides, plenty of people in the Sennheiser clan liked him. If he only wanted something lustful, there was no need to seek out Qinna, whose strength far exceeded his own." "Plenty of people in the Sennheiser clan liked you...?" Annan glared at Yaxiu. "Not a single person related to Sennheiser is good!" Lisi piped up from behind Yaxiu with an outrageous claim. Although Harvey's defense didn't completely clear his name, it had at least shifted everyone's attention. Yaxiu looked at Harvey with deep gratitude. "Truly my good friend! I'll leave my mortal remains to you to handle in the future, Harvey! Igola, learn a thing or two from him. Friends should help each other out—" "Therefore," Harvey drawled leisurely, "the critical turning point where Yaxiu hooked up with Qinna was actually at Berdette Manor." "Huh?" "Alice saw it with her own eyes back then. When Yaxiu placed Qinna into the water, he pretended to slip and fell in, holding Qinna and tangling with her in the water for quite a while. Then, after Qinna floated up, she even licked Yaxiu's cheek. At the time, Qinna had lost all her strength and couldn't resist because she was dominated by Igola. It really was the best opportunity for Yaxiu to take advantage of the situation and reap all the benefits—" "I have decided that after I die, I'll be cremated and scattered across the sea, without leaving you a single speck of ash," Yaxiu gritted out through clenched teeth. He turned to Lisi and Annan to explain, "Harvey is talking utter nonsense that even a ghost wouldn't believe! Don't take it seriously!" Harvey: "But it was a ghost who tattled to me in the first place..." Annan asked expressionlessly, "Did you or did you not fall into the water?" "(′Д`) Well..." Lisi asked, "Did you or did you not hug Aunt Qinna in the water?" "(′Д`) Well..." Annan said, "Did Qinna lick your face?" "(′Д`) Well..." Lisi asked, "Did you ever think about sleeping with Aunt Qinna—" "Whoa! The Culprit Board just updated with the next rank!" Yaxiu excitedly opened the Book of Gospel. Annan and Lisi both huffed, but neither pursued the matter further. In truth, neither of them genuinely believed Yaxiu had deliberately seduced Qinna. Leaving aside whether Yaxiu even had the capability, Qinna's personality was primarily like that of a foul-tempered stray cat: the more proactive you were in approaching her, the more she disliked you; conversely, if something was forbidden to her, she would chase after it with boundless zeal. Although the future board had woven a future where Qinna yielded completely to Yaxiu's every whim, for one thing, that was fabricated, and for another, such a transformation could indeed happen when a stray cat was tamed into a house cat. They even suspected that the future woven by the Gospel had involved Qinna trying to forcibly conquer Yaxiu, only to somehow be turned on and defeated by him, leading to the outcome depicted on the board. Qinna was definitely the wicked one; Yaxiu was innocent! On this point, Lisi and Annan reached complete consensus. "Huh?" Seeing the ranker, Yaxiu couldn't help laughing. "Igola, your sins are truly heavy. You got someone else dragged onto the board!" [Culprit Board Rank 7: Canary] [Crime: Anfeier Berdette failed to win over Igola Bogin and missed the wonderful ending where the Rust Crow and Canary lived together in bliss, leading to Igola successfully seizing control of Berdette's dominance core and forcefully dominating the joint pursuit force that invaded Berdette Manor, thus allowing Yaxiu and his companions—who were on the verge of capture—to narrowly escape.] [Evaluation: Evident Sins] [Sinner: Anfeier Berdette] [Anfeier Berdette receives the reward: 'Rust Crow's Golden Feather'.] ... [Culprit Board Rank 6: Queen of the Caged Birds] [Crime: Evalline Berdette once planned to lock Annan and Yaxiu in the basement to become her playmates, but ultimately failed and helplessly watched them escape Mengfeila.] [Evaluation: Inexcusable Sin] [Sinner: Evalline Berdette] [Evalline Berdette receives the reward: 'Veil of the Unnoticed Ghost'.] When seeing the earlier rankers, Yaxiu and the others had guessed that the two Berdette sisters would definitely be on the board, but they hadn't expected the reasons to be so absurd—Anfeier was ranked because she failed to marry Igola, while Evalline was ranked simply because she failed to turn Yaxiu and Annan into slaves! Never mind Anfeier; Evalline's dominance was unquestionably an evil atrocity trampling upon human rights! When Evalline dominated millions of citizens in Mengfeila, the Gospel hadn't condemned her; yet because she failed to dominate Yaxiu and Annan, the Gospel deemed her sin inexcusable! "Rust Crow's Golden Feather..." Yaxiu asked with some confusion, "But when we bathed together, I never saw any wings on Igola. Does it refer to the feathers of void wings?" "A legendary miracle of the mind faction," Igola said calmly. "It fuses faction attainment with the feathers of void wings. As long as someone successfully absorbs this feather, they can directly acquire the corresponding faction attainment—a miracle bordering on divine power, yet extraordinarily damaging to the sorcerer themselves. Under normal circumstances, no mind sorcerer would ever create such a feather." "Then since it's called 'Rust Crow's Golden Feather,' does that mean in the world line where you and Anfeier lived happily ever after, the Gospel believes you would create this feather?" The swindler fell silent for a moment. "Anfeier is the 'vessel' for the mental energy of a million people in Mengfeila. Plagued by chaotic mental energy, she lacks the focus to delve into any sorcery faction, destined to never become a sorcerer." "So the Rust Crow sacrificed a golden feather to help the Canary become a sorcerer?" Yaxiu smiled. "The Rust Crow carries a golden feather in its beak to gift to the Canary... Sometimes the Gospel doesn't just bring bad news." "It is bad news to me." The swindler lowered his eyelids. "I have no desire to become the kind of person who is kind to others." "That's because you haven't met the right person yet." Yaxiu blinked. "Someone will eventually make you let go of all your resentment and reconcile with your past. Trust me, you'll definitely meet someone like that—or maybe you already have. Once the Weaving Ceremony ends, if you're too shy to go to Berdette by yourself, we can all go with you." Meeting the cult leader's burning gaze, the swindler suddenly chuckled and said casually, "I'll consider it." "Then it's a promise!" Yaxiu looked back at the Book of Gospel. "Then what is this Veil of the Unnoticed Ghost..." "A legendary miracle of the necromancy faction, the most mysterious legacy of Hagendasi," Harvey said. "It is said that the Unnoticed Ghost can make all undead ignore one's presence. In certain necromantic abysses, a necromancer can act with complete impunity using this miracle." "This reward might allow Evalline to escape the death curse," Annan said suddenly. "We all know by now that the Berdette family heads never living past forty is most likely related to the undead ancestor they seek to resurrect. With the Veil of the Unnoticed Ghost, the Angel of Necromancy won't be able to affect them through their bloodline." "Huh?" Just then, Igola let out a strange noise. After a brief pause, he said, "Evalline just sent me the rest of the Dominance Faction's knowledge." "The Queen of the Caged Birds isn't such a generous person," Annan remarked calmly. "You'll have to thank the Canary properly in the future." At this point, the Culprit Board updated with Rank 5 and Rank 4, both Sanctuary sorcerers belonging to Mercury and Kasri respectively. Their crime, naturally, was failing to capture Yaxiu and his companions. As for why they ranked higher than Evalline, perhaps it was because greater ability meant carrying heavier blame. By the time Rank 3 arrived, even though everyone had anticipated it, they couldn't help holding their breath. [Culprit Board Rank 3: Ghost King] [Crime: Archibald Harvey, a necrophile from another realm, participated with Yaxiu and others in the Gospel Blasphemy Plan, serving as one of the root causes of turmoil.] [Evaluation: Heinous Crimes] [Sinner: Archibald Harvey] [Archibald Harvey receives the reward: 'Cursed Seven-Colored Tail Feather of the Ghost King'.] ... [Culprit Board Rank 2: Rust Crow] [Crime: Igola Bogin, a swindler from another realm, participated with Yaxiu and others in the Gospel Blasphemy Plan, serving as one of the root causes of turmoil.] [Evaluation: Deserving Ten Thousand Deaths] [Sinner: Igola Bogin] [Igola Bogin receives the reward: 'Cursed Seven-Colored Tail Feather of the Rust Crow'.] They made the board! Igola and Harvey were on the board again! Yaxiu couldn't help sneaking a glance at Annan—to be honest, at this point, Igola and Harvey didn't care about having a bit more mud flung at their names; saying they would go down in infamy for ten thousand years was practically a compliment. But the problem was that if they ranked again, their priority weight in claiming the divine wish would directly surpass Annan's! Right now, Igola was Rank 1 on the Scheme Board and Rank 2 on the Culprit Board. Harvey was Rank 1 on the Family Board and Rank 3 on the Culprit Board. Annan only had Rank 1 on the Art Board and Rank 10 on the Scheme Board. The Purple Moth's priority in obtaining the divine wish had already dropped below the two of them! Yet the eldest miss remained calm as she looked at the Book of Gospel. Noticing Yaxiu's gaze, she smiled and took his hand. "Your turn is coming up soon. Don't be nervous." Hearing Annan say this, Yaxiu couldn't help getting nervous too, greeting his first-ever appearance on the board with a mix of apprehension and anticipation. Ever since seeing the board's title, no one had doubted who Rank 1 would be. Now that even Igola and Harvey were on the board, could Yaxiu possibly escape? He actually could. [Culprit Board Rank 1: Purple Moth] [Crime: Annan Dolan, head of Funeral Agency, controlled Yaxiu and others through contracts to carry out the Gospel Blasphemy Plan, acting as the root of all evil in the Gospel Country.] [Evaluation: Iniquity Overflowing] [Sinner: Annan Dolan] [Annan Dolan receives the reward...] Suddenly, the text on the page began to distort, light and shadow flickering with a crimson glare. Yaxiu's pupils shrank. He had seen this happen far too many times over the past few days. When an anomaly appeared in the Book of Gospel, it meant— *Squelch.* To the sound of a blade drawing out blood, the Annan in the projection lay in a pool of blood, staring blankly at the ceiling with hollow eyes. The person who killed her wore the familiar dark red trench coat. When he turned around to face the camera, the unfamiliar coldness in his pupils sent a bone-chilling dread through the viewer. [Culprit Board Rank 1: Purple Moth] [Crime: Annan Dolan, head of Funeral Agency, controlled Yaxiu and others through contracts to carry out the Gospel Blasphemy Plan, acting as the root of all evil in the Gospel Country. However, due to the interference of Yaxiu Heath, this ranking is void.] [Evaluation: Iniquity Overflowing] [Sinner: Annan Dolan] [Reward: Voided.] [Chief Culprit: Yaxiu Heath.] After a brief silence, the cheers around them nearly lifted the dining room ceiling. "Awesome! The root of all evil identified by the Gospel is going to die soon! Her ranking has been voided!" "Since the root of all evil is dead, does that mean the entire future is voided?" "Yeah! What about people like the Ghost King and the Rust Crow? Why didn't Yaxiu Heath kill them?" "Go for it, Big Brother Yaxiu!" Amidst the cheering toasts and celebratory shouts, Annan looked at Yaxiu and chuckled softly. "Looks like I really do have to sleep in your room tonight. You have to protect me well, okay?" Her hand was trembling slightly.