Chapter 76: The Plan
Less than ten minutes after feeding the girl her blood, the convulsions in her body subsided, and even the bleeding from her orifices stopped.
“It actually worked?”
Xu Zhi was quite surprised. After all, the narrator’s solution had sounded like total nonsense.
“So this is occultism? Are there any books or materials I can study?”
[Probably none of those things have survived to the present day.]
“Eh, that’s a shame.”
Xu Zhi looked genuinely regretful. Lately, her learning efficiency had been astounding. If such books existed, they’d actually be a great help to her.
[But not necessarily.]
Xu Zhi: ?
“So you’re being vague on purpose again, huh?”
[…What I mean is, ordinary books and records on occultism likely haven’t survived, but some special ones might still exist.]
[And with the arrival of the Mist, many previously hidden artifacts are resurfacing.]
[However, even just reading those special items can drain a person’s mental energy significantly. The information they contain might not even be accurate—and some are cursed with deadly sacrificial traps.]
[Getting into occultism requires reading a vast amount of foundational material, and those basic knowledge texts are extremely rare. Without them, even if you obtain a special book, you likely won’t understand it.]
[So don’t get your hopes up too high.]
“So troublesome.” Xu Zhi sighed.
While chatting with the narrator, she noticed the girl’s convulsions had completely stopped. When Xu Zhi looked up, the girl seemed to sense her gaze and struggled to slowly lift her eyelids, revealing a pair of crimson, gem-like eyes.
No longer dull like lifeless glass, those red eyes now held a faint light.
“Looks like she’s stabilized.” Xu Zhi raised her brows slightly in conclusion.
But the girl’s new eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief. She clearly didn’t understand what was happening or why she could see again. Shortly after she opened her eyes, a flicker of gray light passed through her pupils. Her expression turned dazed, and a hint of inner struggle crossed her face.
That struggle didn’t last long—it quickly faded. However, she still looked at Xu Zhi with unfamiliarity and caution, mingled with a trace of bewilderment.
It seemed that her faith and the moth’s influence had briefly clashed, and her belief system had clearly won.
Xu Zhi wasn’t surprised. These [Cup] attribute believers were practically brainwashed—their faith was deeply rooted. With her current level of supernatural ability, trying to alter that faith in one go was a pipe dream.
But as the saying goes: time is on her side.
A single instance of influence couldn’t shake faith, but what if she was influenced constantly?
Eventually, even stone is worn down by water.
Xu Zhi quietly observed the girl on the bed, whose gaze alternated between dazed and conflicted. Occasionally, she even shook her head. Before long, as if utterly exhausted, she closed her eyes and fell into sleep. But even in dreams, she could not escape the presence of the moths.
In a way, this was its own form of torment.
A faint tapping came from the window. Xu Zhi turned and saw Zhen hovering outside. She waved her hand, and the moth understood, flying up into the sky.
Xu Zhi then rewrapped the girl’s eyes with cloth and called the boy back inside.
“You want to go back and fight for the position of Archbishop. Do you have a plan?”
“I might be able to help you.”
The boy, who had lost his sight, raised his head in disbelief—though he saw only darkness. He asked, “Are you serious?”
“Of course. Didn’t I spare your life?”
He gave a bitter smile. “But you took my eyes.”
Xu Zhi’s tone was light. “It’s just a pair of eyes. Can’t you just dig out another pair from a follower later?”
She said it as if eyes were nothing more than clothes or shoes—easily replaceable.
But it wasn’t that simple.
He had no idea what abilities Xu Zhi possessed. That she could make special eyes was completely beyond him. Her talk of replacing them sounded like pure nonsense.
Still, though he thought this, he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he said, “If you’re willing to help me, that’d be great.”
“My original plan was…”
He hesitated a moment, then said, “To find locations where low-level followers and supernaturals gather, use them to strengthen myself, and hunt down the followers of the assistant priests to obtain their cores. Since they’ll definitely send people to find the saint, it’s a race—whoever gathers more strength faster wins. Once I’ve built enough power, I’ll consume the saint’s heart and return.”
“If I win, I get all the resources and become a candidate for archbishop. If I lose, at least I’ve eaten the saint’s heart—they wouldn’t dare sacrifice me recklessly. They’d have to find another way.”
Xu Zhi didn’t comment on his plan. Instead, she asked, “How do you plan to find low-level believers?”
The boy didn’t hide anything. “High-level believers can sense the presence of nearby lower-level ones. That’s how I’ve managed to hide with the saint for so long.”
That was the answer Xu Zhi was waiting for. She smiled and said, “Forget about the gathering place for supernaturals. I’ll take you to round up a bunch of low-level followers, and help you kill off the ones chasing you. How’s that?”
The boy froze, then cautiously asked, “You’re helping me because…?”
[Cup] attribute cores were useless to ordinary supernaturals. He couldn’t imagine what Xu Zhi hoped to gain. In his eyes, there was no benefit in it for her.
“I’m just curious what an archbishop looks like. I want to see for myself.”
That was Xu Zhi’s answer.
It made him feel even more baffled. Truthfully, he didn’t know what archbishops were like either. But fear and reverence for them felt ingrained in his blood. He instinctively knew they were terrifyingly powerful. Xu Zhi’s casual tone struck him as naive and arrogant.
Still, no matter her reasons—if he succeeded in becoming an archbishop, everything would fall into place.
After all, at that point, any scheme would be meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.
And right now, he didn’t have the right to refuse. If he wanted to live, he had to cooperate with this unpredictable woman.
“Alright.” The boy nodded and agreed to work with Xu Zhi.
He didn’t know her real intentions, or that the saint had just received a new pair of eyes. He held a mix of resentment and fear toward Xu Zhi—but more than that, greed.
Ordinary people wouldn’t be so blinded by greed. But clearly, faith had already unbalanced their minds.
“As proof of our cooperation, I’ll take custody of the saint for now. You’re blind and can’t care for her anyway.”
As soon as Xu Zhi finished speaking, Yi crawled from her wrist to the floor, grew in size, and with a flick of its tail, gently scooped the unconscious girl up from the bed.
