The King of Black Fog

After leaving the cathedral, Li Changzhou and his two companions split from Yafeiluna and her group.

They hadn't come to socialize or catch up; their mission was complete, and naturally, there was nothing more to talk about. Yafeiluna herself had many things to attend to.

"There are always bigger fish." Li Changzhou sighed.

On bus 389 to Palermo Independence Square, the clouds freely painted across the blue sky seemed like an angel was the artist.

There were few passengers on the bus, and like repelling magnets, they kept their distance from one another.

Hearing what her brother said, Qian Xia became animated and immediately began mocking him, "Some invincible force you are, yet you ran away with your tail between your legs!"

"Didn't you hear me say 'there are always bigger fish'? I wasn't defeated by a person, but a whole other sky."

Before Qian Xia could open her mouth to respond further, Li Changzhou continued:

"Besides, if it weren't for you two wanting a bit of practice, the moment we entered, I would've been behind that red-robed archbishop, grabbing his neck before he could chant, and that would've been the end of it. What happened afterward wouldn't have even occurred."

Qian Xia's face clearly read — Brother, you really have no shame.

It was hard to tell whether she was scorning Li Changzhou for comparing himself to the sky or for trivializing the situation.

"If you didn't just happen to have the 'Flame Wave,' I guarantee you'd have failed at the crucifix test," she finished, adding, "in your sinful life."

Was that an inverted sentence?

Or a sentence emphasizing his life was sinful?

"Not to mention the six monks, even before the Holy Tree appeared, sixty of them wouldn't have been enough." Li Changzhou even thought to himself that he was boasting.

Sixty was a bit much; if they all chanted at once, he might not have been able to kill them all in time.

Fifty then. That number was about right; he could manage to deal with them before they began chanting.

"It's not just about the Evangelical Skill and the Holy Tree, the cathedral itself is just as important," Yang Qinglan chimed in.

"The cathedral?" Qian Xia asked curiously, "I didn't notice anything off about it, other than it looked very wealthy."

"Just the gold used amounted to 1200 kilograms." Yang Qinglan explained to her.

She continued:

"Monreale Cathedral was built by Norman King William II in the 12th century and is the largest remaining Norman architecture in the world. It has accumulated countless beliefs.

"Those beliefs were once considered superstitious, but with the Evangelical Book, they became real. I could feel it when the 'Bible·Knight' came out."

Li Changzhou's expression became thoughtful: "When the Holy Tree appeared, I also felt something was off."

"Once something has happened, there's no point in dwelling on the negative impacts. It's better to think about the positive aspects," Yang Qinglan said as she brushed her hair, blown about by the breeze coming through the window, "At least this time there were no casualties, which prevented us from falling into conflict with the church, and we even obtained the crucial Perception Grass Medicine."

Speaking of this, Qian Xia had something to say.

"Trusting my instincts, sixth sense, and years of experience, I think our Elixir Pills were underpriced! Two definitely aren't worth just one plant!"

"From one plant, we can produce three pills; we didn't lose out, we just didn't gain as much as we could have," Yang Qinglan voiced her opinion.

"But, according to the electric rice cooker (Jade Cauldron) principle, isn't there something like a success rate? I think since the value game has only started two months ago, and the medicinal ingredients are this month's issue, it's not that we didn't gain much, but that we lost a lot."

Yang Qinglan thought about it seriously and felt she was right.

"Right," she nodded, admitting her mistake, but there was still a reason, "You were just one Perception Grass Medicine short; urgency is inevitable when facing the final hurdle."

"Another small issue is that it might have exposed the Jade Cauldron, which could potentially cause us trouble later on." Qian Xia's intelligence analysis was that of a clever person.

The bus was somewhat quiet.

Yang Qinglan looked at the siblings.

One of her arms was resting on the window sill, a few strands of hair falling across her temples, lifted again by the wind.

Li Changzhou held his right hand loosely to his lips and coughed lightly: "Urgency is inevitable when facing the final hurdle."

"Exactly!" Qian Xia nodded vigorously, "The key is we're not afraid of trouble! If they dare come to Xia Country, they'll find no churches to shelter them!"

"Shouldn't you two settle the bill for the milk tea and desserts you had at the bookstore earlier?"

"Wow, Qinglan, you're so cold-hearted!" the sister exclaimed.

"Qinglan, you're so heartless!" the brother echoed.

Yang Qinglan smiled: "And the food expenses over this period..."

"It's Li Changzhou, this jerk! We're twins, we have telepathy, it's what he thought, that made me blurt it out!"

"All I've been thinking about since the start is how beautiful Miss Yang's silhouette looked in the cathedral, nothing else! Wait, Miss Yang, look outside!"

Yang Qinglan gave him a long look before turning to the window.

The bus was approaching Palermo and was passing a port filled with white sailboats.

As a relaxing trip after the event, Qian Xia initially wanted to visit Rome or Water City Venice, but Li Changzhou, not wanting to expend his intelligence, forcefully decided to take the bus to Palermo.

As she looked at the sailboats, Yang Qinglan took out her phone to take a picture, deciding not to bicker with Li Changzhou anymore.

Qian Xia silently gave her brother a look, implying — a furious Qinglan is scary.

Li Changzhou agreed, interpreting it as — a shy Miss Yang is adorable.

However, the siblings saw another side of Yang Qinglan — after making a mistake, she steadfastly refused to admit it.