A ball of warm yellow light shaped like cotton suddenly adhered firmly to the surface of the gold coin, and then quickly became smaller, lighter, and flatter.
It was like ice cubes on an iron plate exposed to the summer sun, melting completely at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As the ball of light disappeared, the gold coin it was attached to seemed to become more lustrous, and in Daisy's unique perception, there was a special atmosphere of calm and stability inside the gold coin.
It was as if the ball of light condensed from the "fog of decay"...had merged with this ordinary gold coin.
Seeing all this, Daisy understood something. Her confused eyes suddenly showed a look of enlightenment. Her mouth opened slightly into an "oh" shape and she nodded slowly:
"So this is ah……"
Qi Ji's right hand still held the "Twilight Servant" floating in the air, and his left hand was retracted into the cloak. After groping for a while, he took out a black, smooth, flat object from the interlayer:
"Try paddling with it."
Daisy's eyes moved to Qi Ji's left hand, and she saw that she was holding a black and exquisitely crafted dagger. The whole body of the dagger was made of unknown metal, and the handle was made of wood painted with dark paint.
It was the weapon "seized" from the first black-clad killer.
After seeing where Qi Ji was holding, Daisy's pupils subconsciously contracted.
The small and delicate hand was holding the blade of the dagger without any scruples, with the handle facing Daisy herself.
The ebony-black, double-edged blade pressed tightly against the delicate fair skin, leaving a few slight marks on the latter, making any bystanders nervous, fearing that the slightest movement would cause scars on her delicate and flawless little hands.
Daisy also had such concerns, but out of trust in Qi Ji's strength, she didn't ask anything. She stretched out her hands and very carefully grasped the handle of the knife pointing at herself.
"Whoosh-"
Just as her hands were clenched tightly, Qi Ji let go, and then the gold coin that was fused with the ball of light floated out of thin air, drifted nimbly in front of Daisy, and hovered very steadily.
Daisy loosened one hand and held the black dagger tightly in the other hand, with the tip of the knife raised and pointing straight upwards, aiming at the silver moon that had not yet left the zenith position.
She took a deep breath and let it out long, then adjusted her position and used the wrist and upper arm of the hand holding the knife to cut down. It wasn't very forceful, but it was very stable!
"brush!"
The wide side of the gold coin was facing her, and the sharp black blade cut right through its center axis, piercing through it in an instant.
Daisy felt very clearly that when the blade came into contact with the gold coin... there was no additional resistance, as if the glittering golden coin was just an illusory projection, and the blade was just passing through empty air.
But Daisy knew that the truth was not so, because in her perception, the mysterious aura originally contained in the gold coin had now disappeared.
It was as if it had been completely consumed after "protecting" the gold coin from being damaged by the sharp blade.
Recalling that the wizard sister called this ball of light "preset", Daisy couldn't help but sigh that this title was so accurate and vivid:
It contains the power of the "Mist of Decay", but it will not be released immediately. Instead, it is stably restrained in a certain attachment.
Only when the appendage encounters specific stimulation will it release its own effectiveness.
Preset means "pre-set"...which is exactly what it means.
In this way, the condition of mom and dad and the changes that took place in them at that time become very clear.
The wizard sister made two "presets" of the power of "cowardice" in advance, and then placed them on dad and mom respectively.
When the killer hiding in the dark suddenly appeared and attacked them, the blade's passing triggered the two "presets", causing the power of "cowardice" to be applied to the dagger.
The power of "cowardice" can make the object it is applied to lose its "effectiveness", making it unable to achieve its original purpose within a certain period of time. Even if all the prerequisites are fully met, it will be "invalidated" without reason.
It was under the protection of this power that my parents were able to survive.
The original doubt was resolved, but a new doubt arose from the bottom of my heart:
"Sister Mage, when did you... leave a 'preset' on Mom and Dad?"
First of all, it was definitely not during the battle. Firstly, there was simply no time and opportunity. Secondly, every time Qi Ji exerted the power of the "Mist of Decline", Daisy would feel it in real time on the "live broadcast screen".
At that time, she did not sense that Qi Ji had used any "Mist of Decline" power related to "cowardice", only once "laziness" and once "degeneration".
In other words, Qi Ji had already implanted those two "presets" into his parents' bodies a long time ago.
Qi Ji chuckled a few times and gestured with his hand:
"I did it when you just walked out of the main door of Sunset Church."
"what?"
This answer surprised Daisy again: "So early?!"
"I've said it before," Qi Ji repeated with a smile, "Magicians don't perform without preparation."
While they were talking, the group had already walked for more than ten minutes on the streets that were a little quiet, but not deserted.
The "Deep Blue Church" with a deep blue roof and the "Harvest Church" with an overall brown color and olive green pattern decorations also appeared in the distance.
I raised my head slightly and watched the huge, bright silver moon pass its highest point, surrounded by dazzling pale light, and gradually sink towards the western horizon.
For some reason, Qi Ji's thoughts naturally spread out.
"It's been three days..." A low and meaningless sigh floated out from under the hood.
Please leave, only one update today
I'm not in a good condition. I just woke up last night and I'm in a state of confusion. I have to go to the outpatient clinic later, so there will only be one update today. I'm very sorry.
Chapter 143 Missing
The moon is bright and the sky is cloudless.
The silver light, as bright as the sun, poured down from the infinite distance, coating this small border town with a thin layer of snow-like clothing.
Let everything sink deeply into the tranquility of total silence.
The Holy Temple, Marquisate of East Woshu...
Stio.
In the center of the spacious and flat manor, the solemn and majestic Iris Mansion stands tall.
The long years have left obvious marks on the gray-white walls and stone pillars, causing them to lose their original luster, become rough and stained with some dark stains.
But these flaws do not diminish its momentum, but instead give it a heavy and profound ancient atmosphere.
In a spacious bedroom in the tall and majestic Iris Mansion.
The oriel windows on the bedroom wall are not covered by curtains, and the thick and tangible double curtains are fully drawn to the sides.
The cool evening breeze blew into the room from the open window, causing the heavy curtains to sway slightly and then slowly fall down, repeating this cycle over and over, adding a bit of dynamic atmosphere to the quiet bedroom.
The huge silver moon was approaching the horizon, just in front of the bay window. The bright and dreamy moonlight poured in, illuminating every corner of the bedroom, including the cup of black tea on the small round table, which had already gone cold but still had more than half of the tea left.
It also illuminates...a beautiful girl with a slender figure, delicate face and temperament, who is sitting quietly on the windowsill, with her back against the window frame and looking out the window.
"It's been three days..."
Lunxi placed his hands on his thighs, looked meaningfully at the silver moon as bright as a jade plate, and let out a long and deep sigh.
It was already late at night, but she was not wearing pajamas, but rather a relatively casual outfit:
She wore a light-colored long skirt with ruffles on the lower body and a white women's long-sleeved shirt on the upper body with a black bow tie at the collar.
Her medium-length chestnut-colored hair was loose, with straight and smooth ends just covering her shoulders.
Deep confusion and melancholy flowed viscously beneath her dark green eyes, adding a bit of calmness to her originally lively and cheerful temperament.
It has been exactly three days since the so-called "Lionsmith Mansion Massacre".
After the crisis was resolved and Qi Ji disappeared, three church priests from East Woshu Cathedral rushed to the scene and conducted an extremely rigorous investigation and search of the entire Stio.
The Lion Craftsman Villa complex, which had basically become a ruin, was completely blocked off. The three church pastors who had reached the realm of "Elucidator" jointly used divine magic, and in an afternoon they created a golden mist that was enough to cover the entire villa complex, blocking the outside world from prying eyes.
Moreover, from that day on, more followers from the Grace Holy Church arrived in this originally inconspicuous town one after another to continue to strengthen the blockade.
This small border town has undergone some subtle changes in just a few days:
On the surface, all people's livelihood activities seem to have not changed much. Merchants, craft shop owners, and adventurers in the northern district have not been greatly affected and are still carrying out basic trading activities, commodity production, and commissioned handovers as usual.
The small vendors and workers in the East District are still struggling to make ends meet, worrying about the daily necessities of life, and worried about the ongoing epidemic... They are curious as to why the Central District where the masters live is always filled with a sacred and solemn mist.
The contract workers, vagrants, criminals and thieves in the South District still live a hard life without any sense of existence, selling their conscience and health for the meager chance to survive.
Several nobles in the central area were affected to a certain extent.
The frequency of various social activities such as banquets, afternoon tea, tea parties, salons, etc. has decreased, and the number of appearances of the four noble family heads has also decreased, as if they are busy dealing with some affairs.
But if you observe carefully, you will find that... no matter which city, you can occasionally see men and women dressed as clergymen wandering around the streets, seemingly wandering aimlessly.
But anyone with a discerning eye could see that their eyes were full of scrutiny, as if they were searching for someone or something.
The residents of Stio would occasionally have their doors knocked on in the middle of the night, and then several guys in mysterious clothing would walk in without saying anything, wake the owner up with their rough hands, and search every corner of the house while questioning them without accepting any objections, and finally disappear without leaving any reason.
At first, some people were panicked, but after a few days, everyone realized that no one was hurt by these guys, so they stopped talking about it.
Every checkpoint in and out of the city is guarded by the security team and clergy. Whether it is a caravan or an ordinary citizen, they must go through strict approval before being allowed to pass.
The entire Stio has entered a state of being loose on the outside but tight on the inside: everything seems to be normal, but in fact, undercurrents are surging.
Luncy had no way of knowing the more specific details, but she could roughly guess what the church and the royal family were doing: they were investigating everything about the incident.
Whether it is Baron Lionsmith, Lanchester, or former church pastor Rosago, or even Sharon who calls himself "Moon Valley Demon Fighter"... these people themselves, and all their interpersonal relationships, are within the scope of their investigation.
After a few days, the church gradually focused its attention on the only person whose life or death was unknown:
Miss Sharon, or...Qi Ji.
As the person who had the closest contact with Qi Ji, Lun Xi was naturally subjected to the most detailed and tedious interrogation.
In this regard, Lunxi did not hide anything and stated everything he knew truthfully.
Because the one who came to question her... was an old man wearing a white robe with gold patterns. On the left chest of his clothes, the holy emblem of "Left Hand of the Law" was embroidered with bright golden lines.
Lunxi knew this old man.
He is the Archbishop of East Oshu Cathedral, Saint Cosman the Shining Glory!
Only those who are “saints” or above are qualified to be called “saint”!
Saint Cosman is a top-level clergyman who has reached the level of "saint" and is only one step away from becoming the angel or apostle of the Goddess.
Facing a top warrior who was almost touching the gate of the Goddess' Kingdom, Lunxi knew that as a skilled warrior, any deception and concealment would be meaningless.
Deliberately playing tricks will have no other effect except making him doubt your sincerity.
But Lunxi was not completely without reservation. She truthfully confessed about her encounter with Qi Ji in the Great Forest of the East Territory, the destruction of the Ghost Wolf's den in the South District, and the investigation of the corruption and collusion of Baron Lionsmith, but she deliberately adjusted some of her statements.
She knew that her power was extremely small, but she still tried her best to gain some benefits for the mysterious girl with whom she had only met for a few days, even if it was just to use ridiculous words to make her image more positive.
"Telling the truth is not necessarily the whole truth, nor is it necessarily the entire truth, nor is it necessarily the truth arranged in a true order..."
Lunxi muttered to herself, she knew that the Grace Holy Church must be searching for Qi Ji all over the country, but they just didn't say it out loud.
Chapter 144: Moonlit Path
Lunxi has mixed feelings about this.
Firstly, she didn't believe it and didn't want to admit that Qi Ji died just like that, without even leaving behind any trace or wish.
She sincerely hoped to find Qi Ji with the help of the powerful force of the church, because in this way, she could confirm that Qi Ji was safe and sound.
But... secondly, if Qi Ji really survived, then she must have her own reasons for disappearing, which made her unwilling to show up, accept the praise from the church and the government, and accept the worship of the people of Stio.
If she was really found by the church, it might not be a good thing for her.
This extremely contradictory mentality made her so tormented that she couldn't sleep well for two consecutive days. The added mental pressure tortured her body and mind, and her face looked much more haggard.
Looking at the silver moon that cast its blindingly bright light directly into the window, Lunxi was suddenly moved.
An inexplicable impulse arose from her heart. She pursed her lips, moved her legs, and jumped down from the windowsill of the bay window.
It was a strange restlessness that made it difficult for her to calm down and stay in the room.
Looking at the silver moon outside the window, she stood by the window for a long time, sighing and mumbling:
"Let's go out and relax..."
As she spoke, with the help of the bright moonlight, she fumbled around in the unlit bedroom and quickly took out a pair of socks and boots from the cabinet in the corner.
Generally speaking, there are no other clothes in her room except pajamas.
Because as the eldest daughter of the Iris family, if she wants to change her clothes, she only needs to tell the servants, and a personal maid will immediately take her to a special dressing room to choose.
