Four Split Personalities

"So dramatic, if it were me, I’d be thrilled to have such a pretty girl following me around every day."

Fire Yang rolled his eyes in annoyance and then, gritting his teeth, turned to look down the mountain: "Are all the superiors of the Holy Church Union like this?!"

Even though Fire Yang has had major issues with the Holy Church Union for a long time, after personally witnessing the six Sun Priests choosing to sacrifice themselves to cover the retreat when escorting Motan, and then learning about the Holy Knights and Priests of the Justice Sect who died protecting the last few to escape here, his view of these ’charlatans’ changed significantly. He redirected his displeasure towards the higher-ups of the Holy Church Union.

"You can’t really say that."

Motan shook his head gently and said softly, "Saintess Xia Lian, whom Yu Chen and I know well, is very kind. There are also Knights and high-ranking Priests from the Justice Sect who are acquainted with me, and they all have very good character. It’s just... where there is light, there is shadow. Nearly all organizations, powers, and groups have their dark sides. The Holy Church Union is no exception, and even though their methods go against objective morality and can even be deemed vile and despicable, in their perspective, they probably don’t think they are doing anything wrong."

Fire Yang snorted disdainfully and said coldly: "Isn’t such treacherous behavior within their own ranks a wrongdoing?"

"I mean from their standpoint. As a victim myself, of course, I think it’s a huge mistake, and I wish those who trap me would just explode."

Motan smiled and spread his hands: "Honestly, I really don’t want to get involved in these things. The pressure is too great."

Fire Yang, who frequents forums and fan sites, cursed out loud and shook his head: "That’s a bit deserving of a beating. Think about those players who help the elderly with errands, don’t have enough to eat, and are neither loved by mother nor favored by uncle, and even get scorned by NPCs when they try to take on a monster-hunting quest. You, who got embraced by the Church of the Dawn and revered as a boss by many players and NPCs and who gets Epic quests falling into your lap while sitting at home – you dare say ’this isn’t what I wanted’? Have you no shame?"

"Whether I have shame or not depends on the situation."

Motan, feeling a bit tired from the mountain road, slowed down his pace and looked exhausted: "People pursue different things; some want a life full of fanfare, and then there are those like me who prefer to munch on melons while watching others live a life of fanfare."

"You really lack ambition."

"Mm, isn’t that the truth..."

The two chatted intermittently, their conversation not particularly enlightening. After all, they had been together for nearly two months and occasionally met up online in reality, so their conversations were mostly just bantering.

Yizou silently followed behind the two without any intention to join in or eavesdrop, despite being advanced stage and having extremely sharp senses which would allow her to listen in on the conversation even if they spoke softly. Even when Fire Yang sneakily looked back at her, she, with the spirit of a Knight, chose not to eavesdrop, showing a mindset far more advanced than those from the City of Light who took tailing Motan and Yu Chen for granted.

After about an hour, they finally rejoined the main force on the peak of Holy Mountain Sumier. Fire Yang then bounced off to report the battle outcome to his Teacher.

Motan, familiar with the place, entered the side hall on the left of the Enlightenment Temple, greeted a few familiar faces, and went straight to his room. He turned to the Female Knight who had been following closely behind and smiled: "Go and get some rest."

"Okay..."

Yizou nodded slightly but didn’t move. Her room was just across from Motan’s, arranged specially by Fire Yang.

"Didn’t you want to return to the battlefield as soon as possible?"

Motan scratched his head in exasperation, reminding her: "Then you should heal your wounds sooner. When the time comes, I guarantee you’ll have my permission to join the fight. Heh, don’t worry about me too much. This is the heart of Sumer, and if someone really managed to fight their way here just to take my head, it wouldn’t do much good even if we had a big Holy Knight here, so go rest."

Yizou gave a soft ’okay’ again, her eyes hesitant, as if she still didn’t want to leave.

"Ah, forget it..."

Motan shrugged, casually opened his room door, and beckoned to the obviously troubled Female Knight: "Want to come in and sit for a bit?"

"Ah... this..."

Yizou hesitated for a moment, then carefully lifted her head, her gaze unsure: "Would I disturb your rest?"

"No rush, if you have something to say, come in for a cup of tea."

Motan shook his head nonchalantly, pushed open the door, and without looking back, said, "If you’re simply concerned about my safety, then you should go back and rest."

Yizou hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed Motan into the room. At his gesture, she sat down with a tense and upright posture next to the square table in the center of the room, eyes on her nose, nose on her mouth, and mind on her heart.

"Relax a bit."

Motan, who was preparing to boil water by the short cabinet, looked back with a smile and asked, "How about some Silithus Flower Fruit Tea? Wang Yu gave me quite a lot before I came here; by my conservative estimate, even with my current consumption it’ll last till next year."

"Sure, sure! Thank you, Predecessor Hei Fan!"

Yizou hurriedly nodded; she was quite fond of black tea personally.

"Fire Yang can’t get used to this stuff. Wang Yu even told me to bring a couple of pounds for Mr. Mundo before, but it turned out that the old man now only drinks water." While Motan was awkwardly fiddling with the tea set that Yu Chen stuffed to him along with the tea leaves, he casually chatted with Yizou.

Perhaps it was because her predecessor Hei Fan was so unassuming and approachable, the initially nervous Yizou quickly calmed down and said with a smile, "Predecessor seems to have a really good relationship with Her Highness the Saintess."

"She’s easy to get along with but a bit shy."

Motan smiled, came over with two cups of fragrant black tea, placed them on the table, and said while shrugging, "You two must be quite familiar as well, right?"

Since the story of some Priest being old pals with Her Highness the Saintess was spreading within the Church of the Dawn, Motan simply didn’t bother explaining that her relationship with Yu Chen was actually very platonic.

Yizou replied with a shy smile and a nod, "I’ve received a lot of care from Her Highness before."

"I don’t buy it; it’s more likely you taking care of her."

Motan looked skeptical and took a sip of tea before softly asking, "So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Yizou pursed her lips, holding the cup hesitantly before finally speaking up, "I... I want to know why Predecessor doesn’t personally take command. I can see that in this period, Mr. Fire Yang could lead us to defeat those Blasphemers only because of Predecessor’s help. Though I’m not clear about the methods, the fact we won so many battles is actually..."

"Do you think he’s stealing credit?"

Motan interrupted Yizou, looking at the slightly indignant Female Knight before her with a laugh and a sigh, "You think that guy is shamelessly asking for my help to claim the victories because he’s a local and on good terms with me?"

"Uh, isn’t it...?"

Yizou looked dumbfounded at Motan.

"Of course not, actually that guy has always wanted me to take the forefront, it’s just that I steadfastly refuse."

"Why?"

"Because I don’t want to stand out, yet I need to have a certain degree of influence. And Fire Yang’s influence, naturally, is also my influence."

"Eh? Why’s that?"

"Not wanting to stand out is because I’m determined to be an idle fish. Wanting influence is because I’ve found a breakthrough opportunity that might not only improve the situation in Sumer, but also allow me to take some revenge on the side."

Chapter 608: The End