CHAPTER 106 (2): ADVICE FROM YAN BEIHAN

Starlight dismissed everyone with a wave of his hand, and he was suddenly looking a little drained.

He slumped down onto his throne, looking more exhausted than anyone had ever seen him.

Everyone wanted to say something, but they didn't dare to with Starlight in this state.

Zheng Yunqi extended a deep bow toward Starlight, then departed without a word, and Zhao Wushang quickly followed suit, followed by everyone else.

At the entrance of the hall, they turned back to see Starlight sitting on his throne, all alone. In spite of all of the luxury and splendor around him, he appeared incredibly lonely and helpless, the type of helplessness that could only be seen in someone who had struggled with all their might for all their life, but remained unable to break free from the shackles of fate.

Everyone fell into a dejected silence, and they felt as if Starlight's current mental state were a mirror image of their own.

They silently made their way back to their residential quarters, but barely any of them was able to get any sleep that night.

All of them stared up at their ceilings in the darkness, thinking about Starlight and themselves, feeling combinations of emotions that they had never felt before.

Some of the girls wept silently the entire night.

The vulnerability and sincerity that Starlight had displayed had won over everyone.

He was a hideous, uncouth, ruthless, and unpredictable man, yet everyone felt closer to him than ever before.

Even though he had fallen from his godlike pedestal, he felt more genuine and reliable as a leader, someone that everyone could truly place their trust in and follow.

He was just like them, perhaps with an even worse starting point, yet he had achieved more than all of them, so what excuse did they have to accept their fates?

After this heartfelt address, all of the respect and reverence that they harbored toward Starlight had turned to unconditional support!

From this day forth, any beating or punishment that they received from Starlight would feel justified, and they would convert those punishments into fuel and motivation!

He may be beating me, but he's never overlooked me or discriminated against me.

From this moment forth, Starlight's radiance was beginning to outshine that of Night Demon, Yan Beihan, and Chen Yin in everyone's hearts.

They were all unfathomable prodigies who were too far out of reach, whereas Starlight was much more down-to-earth and truly understood them.

In their eyes, that was enough to earn their undying loyalty.

***

After posing on his throne for half a night, Starlight switched identities and came to work as Administrator Fang.

He was pondering what effects would arise from the address that he had delivered the night before and what everyone would do once they returned to the main church.

Would this be sufficient stimulus to motivate them into climbing to greater heights? Would they actually be of use to him once he reached the Church of the Self-Righteous?

He was certain that the address that he had delivered had truly touched the hearts of everyone, and that his words were sure to bring about some changes.

I don't need much. Out of the five hundred people in this branch helm, if even five or six end up becoming useful to me in the long term, then my efforts will not have gone to waste.

As he made his way into the administration hall, everyone extended friendly greetings toward him, while Cripple Hong hurriedly lowered his head.

Fang Che reciprocated the greetings as he made his way to his desk. As he sat down, he couldn't help but wonder where Zhao Ying'er was. She had been absent ever since the graveyard incident, but Fang Che knew that there was someone that he could turn to for answers.

While out on the patrol, Fang Che asked, "How is Administrator Zhao's recovery coming along?"

"You're talking about Administrator Zhao Ying'er?"

"That's right."

"After she sustained those injuries last time, I heard she was taken back to her clan to recuperate."

Sure enough, as the gossip king of the administration hall, Tang Zheng always had all the answers.

"Where is her clan based?"

"I don't know. Administrator Zhao's history has always been a mystery."

"Even you don't know where her clan is?"

Fang Che was shocked.

"I do not," Tang Zheng confirmed with a hint of resignation in his voice.

"It's very impressive that she's been able to keep this secret even after working in the Hall of Protectionists for so many years."

"What do you mean so many years?" Tang Zheng exclaimed. "She's only been working in our Hall of Protectionists for half a year. She only started less than three months before you!"

"Are you sure about that?" Fang Che asked as he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"Of course! This is common knowledge. You can ask everyone else if you don't believe me."

Fang Che's brows furrowed tightly as he fell into deep thought.

He clearly recalled that on the day Zhao Ying'er gave him that letter, she had told him that during the previous infiltration of the White Cloud Prefecture from the Church of the Self-Righteous, she had only been a sixth-rank General.

According to Fang Che's knowledge, the previous infiltration had been three years ago, so why had Zhao Ying'er told him that?

She had either lied to him, or she had previously been working in another Hall of Protectionists and had only been transferred to this one less than half a year ago.

If she had been lying, then what was her objective? Alternatively, if she had been transferred from some other Hall of Protectionists, what was the reason for the transfer?

Furthermore, why was her clan so mysterious?

Fang Che continued patrolling the streets as he mulled over these questions.

***

In the wake of the Night Demon Church's demise, all of its branch halls and branch helms had entered a state of panic.

The Hall of Protectionists was working around the clock to eradicate the Night Demon Church's residual forces, while the One Heart Church, the Church of Light, the Three Saints Church, and the Divine Heavenly Church were also busy taking in as many of the Night Demon Church's past members as they could.

In the White Cloud Prefecture, Fang Che was doing everything in his power to uncover Night Demon Church incense halls and strongholds. He was doing so using the limited information that Zhao Wushang and the others had managed to gather during their time in the Night Demon Church.

Before long, his merit point total had increased by another 1,500, and apparently, it was all thanks to leads provided by Zuo Guanglie.

As a result, Zuo Guanglie's fishing skills quickly became renowned across the entire White Cloud Prefecture Hall of Protectionists.

***

"Are you free to talk, Mistress Yan?"

A response from Yan Beihan came through right away.

"What do you want, Night Demon?"

"There are two things that I want to ask you. I hope you can enlighten me."

"Go ahead, but I don't have much time. I've been pretty busy with cultivation of late. Speaking of which, I recently made a breakthrough to the third-rank King tier. You must've also reached the King tier at this point as well, right?"

Fang Che suddenly didn't want to chat anymore.

What the hell's wrong with me? Why am I messaging her? I should just be figuring out this stuff on my own!

"I wanted to ask you when the beautification effects of the Cloud Water Heavenly Fruit would wear off. The cultivation base enhancement effects are naturally very desirable, but as a man, it feels very awkward to see my skin becoming smoother and more supple by the day."

Yan Beihan immediately began gritting her teeth in fury.

I should've known this bastard wouldn't pass up any opportunity to spite me!

"I'm really regretting taking the Cloud Water Heavenly Fruit from you now, Mistress Yan. How is your skin doing? I hope it's not too rough."

"You really are an interesting man, Night Demon! So interesting that every time I talk to you, I want to split your head open to see just how massive a pile of shit there is inside!"

"Right now, my head is full of nothing but you, Mistress Yan!"

"Are you calling me shit?!"

"What? What makes you say that, Mistress Yan?"

Yan Beihan hurled her communication jade into the wall, and there was no response on Fang Che's end for a long time.

He had already put away his communication jade. Clearly, she had been truly infuriated by him and no longer wanted to talk.

However, right as he was about to resort to thinking things through on his own, he received a new message from Yan Beihan.

"What's the second thing you wanted to ask me?"

Fang Che was ecstatic.

"The person sent by Obsidian to deliver resources to me has arrived, and I'm considering whether I should meet him. I don't know if it's going to be too big a risk to take."

"It's fine, you can take whatever he gives you and not have to worry about it. He's super rich, so you don't have to feel indebted to him. As for your safety, that's not a concern, either. If the person that he sent wants to kill you, then he could massacre the entire White Cloud Prefecture just to kill you!"

A chill instantly ran down Fang Che's spine.

It seemed that this Obsidian was far more of a big deal than he had previously imagined.

"I see. Thank you, Mistress Yan."

"How come the guy he sent has only just arrived in your White Cloud Prefecture? Did he crawl his way there?"

"I was thinking the exact same thing!"

"In any case, you can go meet him without any qualms. Like I said, if he wanted you dead, you'd be screwed regardless of what you did."

"That's very reassuring to hear. Looks like he's more reliable than you are, Mistress Yan."

With a furious roar, Yan Beihan dashed her communication jade against the wall once more, and this time, it shattered into pieces!

"Night Demon, you bastard! I'm a dog if I ever speak to you again! I'm going to kill you!"

"What's wrong, Beihan?"

A gentle female voice sounded from outside her room. "Who are you going to kill? A girl like you shouldn't be yelling about killing people. You have to maintain a serene mental state. Otherwise, you won't be very ladylike if you allow your Five Spirit Parasite to corrupt your heart. Even if you're going to kill someone, you have to wait until after you're married..."

"Mother, my communication jade broke. I need another one," Yan Beihan sighed as she opened the door of her room.

"You broke your communication jade again?"

A beautiful woman entered the room, her brows furrowed slightly in disapproval as she reprimanded, "Stop throwing your communication jade every time you throw a tantrum! Instead, go beat up whoever annoyed you! They can still recover after you beat them, but a broken communication jade is broken permanently!"

"Yes, Mother," Yan Beihan replied with an indignant pout.