Chapter 970 — An Unstable Tilt

The arcanomobile glided smoothly along the broad, level imperial avenue. The lights of the streetlamps and buildings on either side flashed past the windows, casting rapidly shifting, blurred patches of light and shadow across the cabin's inner walls, ceiling, and seats. Pei Yi sat on the right side of the back row, his expression unchanged as he withdrew his gaze from the window.

The trusted attendant handling the driving asked from the front, "My lord, it will be a while yet to the Obsidian Palace. Would you like to rest a little?"

"No need. I'm still quite alert," Pei Yi answered casually.

The vehicle drove on, and the duke's mood grew calm. He glanced at the empty seat to his left, then looked past it out the window. The spire of the Church of Saint Yorel, God of War, was just rising above several houses in the distance; all was quiet there now, with only the light of the streetlamps filtering through the gaps between the rooftops. He turned to look the other way, and saw the neon flickering in the direction of the Vanarion Salon; even from here the faint clamor could be heard.

A familiar, deep, powerful voice suddenly came from the seat on his left. "Flourishing yet clamorous, splendid yet hollow—isn't it?"

Every muscle in Duke Pei Yi's body went taut in an instant. Within a hundredth of a second he was ready for battle, and then he swiftly turned his head—he saw a burly figure in holy robes sitting in the seat to his left, smiling at him.

And the trusted attendant driving in front showed no reaction at all, as though he had not noticed that another person had appeared in the carriage, nor heard the words just spoken.

"Lord Malm..." Pei Yi recognized the figure. It was none other than the current pope of the Church of the God of War. And yet... at this hour he ought to be inside the Grand Cathedral, under the "protective surveillance" of a great many elite agents of the Wanderer units and Lady Dailan herself.

Why was he here!? How had he come to be here!?

For a moment Pei Yi doubted his own perception and vigilance as a legendary powerhouse, yet his face remained calm. Apart from quietly heightening his guard, he merely said mildly, "To visit at such an hour and in such a manner—does it not seem to lack propriety?"

Malm Dunite, wearing only a gentle smile, said without the least sign of concern, "We have known each other a long time—and I remember you are not such a cold man."

Pei Yi grew increasingly wary, for he did not understand why this War God Pope had suddenly come to visit, and he was even more apprehensive about the mysterious means by which the man had appeared at his side. The trusted attendant driving in front still had not reacted at all, which made the whole affair seem even more uncanny.

"Then what urgent matter brings you to my carriage so late to find me?" he asked, watching the War God Pope's eyes while staying on guard.

"I merely suddenly recalled that I had not seen an old friend for a long time, and wished to pay a visit and chat a while," Malum said in a tone as casual as idle talk. "Pei Yi, my friend, it has been a very long time since you last went to the Grand Cathedral for pious worship, has it not?"

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"I go to the Grand Cathedral every week to make the necessary donations, and I have not stopped the necessary prayers and sacraments," Pei Yi said in a low voice. "Old friend, is this what you came so suddenly to discuss with me?"

But Malum seemed not to have heard the latter half of his words. He only shook his head. "Not enough. That is not enough, my friend. Donations, basic prayers, and sacraments are merely what ordinary believers do. But I know you are a pious follower, and so is Bade. The Wendell family has always been among our Lord's most devout followers, has it not?"

Then his eyebrows drooped, and he spoke as if with some regret, his tone like that of an ordinary old man rambling on. "But what has happened these years, my old friend? I can feel you drifting further and further from our Lord's path... You seem, intentionally or not, to be distancing yourself from your originally noble and righteous faith. Has something happened?"

Pei Yi frowned and did not speak.

Malum Dunite continued, "And that child Anluo has still not received baptism, has she... Old friend, Anluo is to be the heir of the Wendell family. You told me this long ago. How can the Wendell family have a member who has not received the Lord's baptism?"

Pei Yi finally could not help breaking the silence. "Your Excellency Malum, my friend, the Wendell family has indeed always piously served the War God, but we are not a family of clergy. There is no obligation, and no law, requiring every descendant of Wendell to receive baptism from the Church of the War God. Anluo has chosen a path different from that of her father and grandfather, and I approve of that path. I do not think there is anything wrong with it.

"Moreover, Anluo is twenty-five this year. She is a frontline commander capable of standing on her own. I do not believe we elders can still decide for her how her life should be lived."

Malum Dunite was silent for a moment, only staring tightly into Pei Yi's eyes. But soon he laughed, as if that imposing gaze had never happened. "You are right, my friend, right... Anluo is no longer a child.

"Still, I want to say one thing, Pei Yi. These years you have indeed drifted away from our Lord... Though I do not know what happened to you, this is not good.

"You have received baptism. You are a devout believer in the Lord, and the Lord once responded to you. This will not change merely because you have drifted away.

"Pei Yi, return to the righteous path. The Lord will be pleased as well."

Pei Yi's expression turned somewhat ugly, and his tone grew unfriendly. "Your Excellency Malum, I have urgent business tonight. If you wish to preach to me, we can find another time."

"Ah, urgent business..." Malum Dunite raised his head, glanced out the carriage window, and shook his head. "The direction of the Obsidian Palace. I think I know what your urgent business is... You are going to meet Luoyan Augustus again? Another sudden summons?"

Pei Yi immediately reminded him solemnly, "Your Excellency Malum, when addressing His Majesty, you must use an honorific. Even you should not call the Emperor by name directly."

"It does not matter. He and I are old friends as well. I called him that long ago," Malum smiled, but then shook his head. "It is only a pity that he probably no longer considers me an old friend... He even ordered the Lord's sanctuary sealed off, and placed me and my priests under house arrest..."

Pei Yi immediately corrected him. "That is not a sealing off. It is only an investigation. You were not placed under house arrest either. Those were protective measures taken to prevent further vicious incidents..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

The seat on the left was empty. There was no one there at all.