CH 63

pei xia and lucifer found the ruins of the god of light’s branch chapel. the overall damage to the building was not very severe; the outline was still intact, the structure complete, and it could still be used.

however, here, vines were rampant, and the accumulation of dust, weeds, and organic matter was quite heavy. cleaning, repairing, and rebuilding obviously couldn’t be done in a short time.

they wouldn’t stay in beist for too long, dispelling the idea of using the ruins. lucifer suggested that after returning, they should preach for two days, assess the situation, and then write to the main church. they would inquire whether to send a priest and whether they could attract believers to sustain the development of the branch chapel. all of that would be dealt with later.

at this moment, the two stood in the quiet and dilapidated church, looking at the statue of the light god before them.

the statue was different from those in the human kingdoms, exuding a rough charm reminiscent of the vast grasslands. in this desolate church, covered with vines and devoid of vitality, it emanated a mysterious and eerie atmosphere.

“fei fei, should we clean the statue first?”

as the most devout follower of the gods, it was appropriate for him to show some reverence when faced with this dusty deity.

“sure.”

pei xia circled around, intending to find a cloth, but there was none, and there was no water here.

lucifer stopped his actions, directly using a water spell to clean the floor of the church. the dust was swept away, leaving a warm and lustrous sheen everywhere.

pei xia looked at the now much cleaner church, feeling a hint of envy: magic was indeed handy.

water magic could cleanse dirt, fire magic could incinerate weeds and vines, earth magic could assist in the construction, and wind magic, when combined with dust removal magic, could create miracles when magicians gathered together.

he glanced at lucifer, realizing that lucifer alone could renovate this branch chapel, but it would be too tiring. pei xia didn’t mention it.

lucifer sensed his envy, turned back, and smiled at him, his gaze gentle, as if it could drown a person: “do you want to learn? i’ll teach you when we get back.”

pei xia really wanted to learn, but unfortunately, his body wasn’t cooperative. he whispered, “i don’t have the talent.”

lucifer looked at him, as if wanting to say something, but then held back. he only revealed the second half of what he intended to say: “everyone has the potential to learn magic; it’s just a matter of the level of talent.”

the excessively handsome man smiled meaningfully, implying something: “i’ll teach you slowly; we have plenty of time.”

pei xia revealed his white teeth, unable to conceal his happiness. he always felt that he was growing fonder of lucifer.

afterward, the two returned to the small courtyard and briefed buck and others on their mission progress.

whether it was good or bad luck, there were recent rumors circulating in the city of beist about the demonic legend, with many orc girls mysteriously disappearing, believed to be abducted by demons. the orcs attached great importance to this matter and prayed to the grassland goddess, but the effect was limited, and orc girls continued to vanish sporadically.

therefore, upon hearing the news that the holy son from the church of light, known for restraining demons, was coming to preach and teach, many orcs were intrigued.

pei xia was aware of the situation; indeed, there were demons in beist, and they were somehow connected to the orc emperor.

as time passed, with more victims, he deliberately said to lucifer:

“your grace, did you sense the presence of demons in the city today?”

lucifer remained calm, neither anxious nor completely dismissive, giving pei xia a reassuring feeling.

“yes, but it’s not strong. in reality, demons are not uncommon. low-level demons often lurk among the crowds, feeding on human negative emotions. however, they rarely cause serious consequences. so, you could say that the scent of demons is everywhere in beist.”

“demons capable of influencing humans to serious consequences have not been discovered.”

buck suggested, “since that’s the case, let’s inquire more carefully when the believers come tomorrow.”

today, they only heard a few orcs mention this matter when promoting tomorrow’s teaching time. these ordinary orc civilians didn’t have more detailed information.

pei xia proposed, “since it’s a widespread case of orc girls disappearing, it will surely attract official attention. it’s more efficient to directly coordinate with the authorities.”

buck hesitated a bit, “this is the orc kingdom, and we are followers of a different faith. will they really trust us?”

lucifer gave his approval, “let’s assess the situation first.”

“yes, your grace!”

after discussing the plans for tomorrow, the group of holy knights dispersed. according to the usual practice, pei xia would wait for lucifer to finish bathing before taking his turn.

in the past, pei xia would bathe in a different room. however, now that they were lovers and had already crossed various boundaries, pei xia didn’t need to wait outside the door or go to another room to bathe.

a few days ago, pei xia had already bathed in front of lucifer. but he didn’t expect that today would bring new developments. while lucifer was bathing, amidst the hazy mist, he revealed his porcelain-like skin, leaning on the edge of the bath, affectionately watching pei xia, inviting him to bathe together.

pei xia thought, isn’t this like a romantic bath? how embarrassing!

as he undressed and hesitated, walking toward the tub, lucifer pulled him in with a swift motion.

the warm water enveloped pei xia.

the bath was large, scattered with dried flower petals and rose essential oil, filling the air with a fragrant aroma that was entirely different from the rugged feeling of pei xia’s usual baths.

lucifer, the pure and angelic son of light, in this lazy and enchanting atmosphere, transformed into a captivating fairy. he murmured pei xia’s name, reaching out to cup pei xia’s face.

pei xia had a premonition that something was about to happen in the tub.

but he was also a bit puzzled because he felt that lucifer wasn’t very happy.

this unhappiness had started after encountering the wolf clan prince and ribei and had been subtly present until now.

however, pei xia didn’t understand why lucifer was unhappy, was it because of someone? because of himself? but lucifer had clearly invited him to bathe together.

lucifer seemed reluctant to bring up this topic. after thinking for a moment, pei xia reached out and hugged him, attempting to make lucifer happier in his own way.

considering his current state, what else could he do but give a compliment?

after all, if it were him, receiving compliments would surely make him happy!

pei xia lowered his eyes and spoke affectionately, “fei fei, you are the most perfect person i’ve ever seen. your kindness has deeply captivated my heart. you are the angel of my dreams, even cleaner and more beautiful than an angel.”

lucifer, with black hair and honey-colored eyes, listened to pei xia’s endless praise like silver needles piercing his heart. the affectionate son of light, affected in an unexpected way, sighed gently, closing his eyes.

then he opened his eyes and decisively covered pei xia’s mouth, silencing the persistent mouth of the determined holy knight. he watched him shrink in the water, looking cute and obedient.

it was too irritating, and lucifer couldn’t figure out how to express his frustration. so, he decided to use his body to convey his feelings.

as a result, pei xia discovered that the son of light seemed to be in a better mood tonight, at least he was very enthusiastic! what did this mean? it meant that giving compliments worked!

pei xia was very pleased and continued to flatter whenever he found the opportunity.

lucifer put even more effort into it, and the result was that pei xia couldn’t continue. his throat became hoarse.

the next morning, early on, orcs started coming in one by one. as time passed, more and more orcs crowded the entire courtyard.

pei xia had a premonition that the orcs who would come later would fill up the place. after all, they had seen lucifer’s true appearance, and the infatuated looks on their faces were impossible to ignore.

he felt a bit jealous but also had a dark sense of pride.

fortunately, although the orcs who came were infatuated, under lucifer’s soothing, they didn’t do anything too extreme. the teaching process was lively, with people frequently raising their hands to ask questions.

the questions ranged from trivial to chaotic, and someone even asked what lucifer had for breakfast today.

whenever faced with such off-topic and overly intrusive questions, pei xia would approach with a stern face and throw the person out. if there was resistance, he would immediately subdue them. after a few rounds of this, the orcs became much more obedient.

at the right moment, lucifer guided the believers to talk about the disappearance of orc girls. they discussed it animatedly, but besides the known information, no useful details were provided.

at that moment, two unexpected guests entered the courtyard.

it turned out to be the wolf clan prince, nord, and norsen!

as soon as norsen walked in, he looked unhappy, and shouted, “what are you all discussing? stop talking nonsense. they were definitely captured by the human slave traders. there are no demons!”

after yelling, he subconsciously looked to the front and was momentarily stunned by lucifer’s face, which seemed more divine than earthly.

the hierarchical views within the orcs were not as severe as among humans, and they weren’t afraid of the prince either.

someone retorted, “if that’s the case, do you have any information about the slave traders?”

the second prince, norsen, snorted, “not long ago, a slave trading group was captured!”

“not long ago? could it be the slave trading group from the ribe incident?”

“if they have already been captured, how could they still be involved?”

norsen thought simplistically: ‘there must be a second group of slave traders!’

“i heard that this case started three months ago, with an orc girl disappearing every night,” lucifer said calmly. “the long duration and widespread scope make it unfavorable for slave traders to escape and easy to be caught. i don’t think it’s the work of slave traders.”

pei xia nodded in agreement, simultaneously contemplating. seeing norsen’s calm expression, he was sure that norsen had no idea what his father was up to.

as for nord, the eldest prince, he bowed to lucifer, saying, “i apologize for the sudden interruption. we heard that there were followers of the church of light nearby and came to take a look. we didn’t expect such a coincidence.”

nord glanced at the young man behind lucifer, smiling. he had recognized the two from the encounter on the street yesterday.

in reality, the demon’s abduction of girls was also a concern for the two princes, but they wouldn’t disclose it to others.

hearing his brother’s words, norsen followed his gaze. the attention that was firmly captured by lucifer finally gave a little space to pei xia. this glance startled norsen: “why is it you guys!”

pei xia grinned at him.

he hadn’t expected the two princes to arrive here on their own, but it worked out well. connecting with the two princes would make it easier to find opportunities to get closer to the palace.

pei xia leaned close to lucifer’s ear and whispered, “your grace, the two princes must have access to relevant information about the case. we can cooperate with them.”

lucifer had no objections and directly expressed to nord that he wanted to see all the records of the case so far.

nord agreed and wanted to invite lucifer directly to the palace. however, norsen was more cautious, saying that they didn’t know these people well and couldn’t just let them into the palace.

nord was somewhat helpless with his brother’s attitude, realizing that what he said made sense. he apologized to lucifer and suggested waiting for two more days before inviting him to the palace.

afterward, the two princes left, and nothing unexpected happened until sunset.

pei xia, lucifer, and the others had dinner. while eating, pei xia suddenly remembered something: “when we parted ways with ribe yesterday, she asked for our address, saying she would come to visit.”

“but it’s already dark, and she hasn’t come yet.” although it’s possible that she’s busy with work, pei xia’s heart still feels a subtle unease.

this unease was quickly validated.

in the dark night, norsen rushed in like a gust of wind, looking flustered. “if it’s a demon, you must be able to catch it, right?!”