Volume 5 Chapter 66

Volume 5 + Chapter 66: The Priestess of the Azure Fox God

“What a nuisance.”

Dressed in her shrine maiden robes, Bai Lian returned to the White Night Sect’s palace within Taoyuan Township, a faint trace of exhaustion visible on her face.

After receiving news that the Azure Fox God had become enraged, she had immediately set out and rushed to the depths of Taoyuan Township. As on previous occasions, it had taken a great deal of effort to calm the Fox God’s fury and prevent disaster from befalling the land.

These were the duties of a priestess.

“Lady Bai Lian, you have returned!”

The senior members of the White Night Sect bowed respectfully, forming a welcoming corridor as she passed.

With the High Priest absent from Taoyuan Township, all affairs here were now entirely under Bai Lian’s authority.

“Mm.”

Bai Lian nodded lightly and, under the welcoming gazes of the crowd, entered the palace and took her seat.

“Thank you, Lady Bai Lian, for calming the wrath of the Fox God!”

The senior church members all prostrated themselves in unison, paying their respects toward Bai Lian.

“This is simply my duty as a priestess,” Bai Lian replied calmly.

“Lady Bai Lian, regarding the holy water…”

One of the senior church members hesitated as he spoke.

Deep within Taoyuan Township lay a sacred spring, there lies a well blessed by the Fox God. The water produced from it could be regarded as holy water, though its flow appeared only intermittently.

There was no need to explain the value of this holy water. Every member of the White Night Sect longed for it. It allowed people to forget their suffering, embrace blissful happiness, and strengthen their faith. All confusion and doubt would be swept away, elevating the mind to a spiritual realm beyond that of ordinary beings.

“Now that the Azure Fox God’s wrath has subsided, the holy water has begun flowing again,” Bai Lian replied.

“That is wonderful, our thanks to the Fox God!” the senior members said with heartfelt reverence. “And to you as well, Lady Priestess!”

“…”

Looking down at the foxfolk worshipping her with such fervor, Bai Lian’s eyes showed little emotion. If anything, she felt only boredom.

Suddenly, a disturbance outside the palace caught her attention.

“What are you doing?! Disturbing Lady Bai Lian is a capital offense, get out immediately!!” shouted the guards stationed outside.

“Lady Bai Lian! Lady Bai Lian, please save us…!!” A desperate cry echoed from outside. Someone was pleading to see her.

The senior sect members’ expressions changed. All of them feared that the disturbance might anger Bai Lian, and some even stood up, ready to drive the intruders away by force.

“Let the people outside come in,” Bai Lian suddenly said.

“…Yes, Lady Bai Lian!” The guards outside permitted the intruders to enter.

Two foxfolk stepped inside. Both were members of the White Night Sect, ordinary believers of the lowest status, a man and a woman who appeared to be lovers.

“Lady Bai Lian, please help us. I no longer have any holy water!” the male follower said.

“Lady Bai Lian, we have gone many days without receiving holy water… we simply cannot endure it anymore…” The female follower spoke with a look of agony.

“Isn’t holy water distributed on schedule? Why have you not received any?” Bai Lian asked.

“We asked our superiors, but received no explanation. Instead, they beat us and ordered us not to ask further… We had no other choice but to come seek you!” the male follower explained.

Bai Lian immediately understood what had likely happened. Her gaze swept across the faces of the senior church members. Someone had almost certainly embezzled the holy water meant for ordinary believers.

The senior members all lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

“You may all leave,” Bai Lian ordered them.

“Yes…”

One by one, the senior members withdrew from the hall.

“I truly apologize.”

Bai Lian turned her gaze toward the couple, and a subtle change appeared in her expression.

“Originally, all believers of the Fox God should receive the god’s blessings. Yet something like this occurred, and the two of you were denied holy water. I feel deeply saddened and guilty.”

“Lady Bai Lian, you are truly a compassionate priestess!”

“Not only did you refrain from punishing us for barging in, you are even willing to restore justice for us!”

The couple were overwhelmed with gratitude.

Bai Lian smiled gently. “Tell me your request.”

“Please, quickly… We haven’t tasted holy water in so long. We really, really can’t endure it anymore…”

“Please! Without holy water we will go mad. As long as we can have it, we are willing to do anything…”

The couple knelt on the ground, continuing their humble pleas.

Bai Lian produced two small bottles and generously handed one to each of them.

“Thank you, Lady Bai Lian!” the couple said together as they accepted them.

Just as they opened the bottles, preparing to drink, Bai Lian’s next words sent a chill down their spines.

“One of these bottles contains holy water that has been contaminated. The other contains pure holy water. If you drink the contaminated one, you may lose your life. The other, however, is perfectly safe.”

“Th-This…!”

The couple’s faces turned pale with terror. Their hands trembled violently as they held the bottles.

By appearance and scent alone, there was no way to distinguish which bottle was contaminated and which was pure.

Both of them hesitated.

Yet, for some unknown reason, the atmosphere in the air suddenly felt strange. Their breathing grew rapid, their craving for holy water reaching a feverish peak. Their eyes were bloodshot, and raw impulse began to overwhelm their reason.

“A-Hui… help me…”

“What?”

“You must understand me. You love me, you said you would give everything for me, didn’t you?”

The female follower suddenly lifted her bottle and poured some of its contents straight into her lover’s mouth.

“A-Hui, try the poison for me!”

“Y-You…! Cough, cough, ah… AHH!!”

The male follower screamed in agony as the corrupted holy water devoured him. Within moments he collapsed, lifeless, his body sprawled on the ground, his eyes filled with resentment and regret.

“So that one was the contaminated holy water… which means the other bottle must be pure!”

A twisted smile spread across the female follower’s face. She tossed aside her own bottle and snatched up the one that had fallen to the ground. Not wanting to waste a single drop, she even crouched down to lick it from the floor.

She paid no heed to the lover who had just died beside her. It was as though she had lost all humanity, desperately consuming the holy water to satisfy her craving.

“Haha… hahaha!”

Seeing this scene, Bai Lian laughed from the bottom of her heart.

Since childhood, her father, the High Priest of the White Night Sect, had always told her that she was destined to become the priestess of the Azure Fox God, someone fundamentally different from ordinary foxfolk.

Ordinary foxfolk were born to kneel before her, bowing their heads in worship.

And indeed, that was exactly what happened. These common foxfolk always knelt before her, endlessly begging, telling tales of their tragic pasts and presenting countless requests.

She found it unbearably dull.

In truth, Bai Lian had never cared to understand the lives of these inferior foxfolk.

Then one day, a thought occurred to her.

When fulfilling the requests of believers, she began, out of curiosity, to impose cruel conditions upon them.

To her surprise, in pursuit of their own happiness, the believers agreed… committing acts that bordered on madness.

Watching these lowly foxfolk twist themselves into such distorted, frenzied states brought Bai Lian a strange sense of pleasure.

From that moment onward, there was no turning back.

Bai Lian became addicted to tormenting others, their suffering transformed into her own delight.

“You killed your own lover with your own hands, yet you show not the slightest trace of regret. How ugly… and how laughably pathetic.”

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]