When Ye Chui came to, the back of his head still ached faintly, and his mind felt dizzy and heavy. He rubbed his head as he got up from the ground. After a moment of confusion, he remembered what had happened when he saw Green kneeling before him with a panicked expression.
“President, I really did not mean it!” Green apologised sincerely. “Who knew I could actually hurt you…”
“Green’s brick has improved rapidly lately. He struck Ye Chui before he could react, knocking him out without even activating Jarvis.” Debbie remarked in an amazed tone from the side.
“…” Ye Chui would not punish Green for knocking him unconscious. He was not that petty. Seeing his companion grow so strong only made him happy. Though Green had attacked without warning, and in such circumstances Jarvis’s passive defence was somewhat affected, allowing Green to succeed. Still, injuring him like that was worthy of praise. Ye Chui was not angry at all.
“You are not angry, are you, President?” Green asked nervously.
“No, of course not. Green, as president I am very pleased. By the way, double your morning training from now on. Let us keep pushing forward. Oh, and add an hour of practice before bed each night. Aim for even greater heights. Heh heh heh, I am not angry at all…” Ye Chui said with a smile, patting Green’s shoulder.
The others: “…”
Fine, the president was definitely angry…
Ye Chui calmed his expression, took a deep breath, and continued, “So, let us try again to summon Jarvis.” He looked at Green, preparing to counter the brick.
However, before Green could move, Celty suddenly sensed something. “Wait, someone is entering the courtyard. It is those witch attendants!”
Celty’s black fire magic allowed simple foresight, detecting approaching people. Ye Chui quickly waved his hand, signalling everyone to hide in the adjacent room.
Fiorre was also in the hall, wearing the shrine maiden outfit Ye Chui had given her. Ye Chui hurriedly instructed her to handle the visitors without giving anything away.
Soon, the black-clothed woman Ye Chui’s group had seen yesterday entered the room with two others. Fiorre knelt on the cushion facing the door, her expression slightly panicked at first, but she quickly composed herself.
Seeing the clothes on Fiorre, the witch attendant snorted disdainfully, hands on hips in arrogant posture. “What a useless thing, still wearing those clothes… I really do not know why Lord Xis keeps you here.”
“What do you want?” Fiorre asked softly, lips pursed. Before the rebellion in the Tidal Empire, all phase attendants had treated her with awe and utmost respect. But now, those once gentle and obedient witch attendants had completely changed their attitudes. Perhaps this was their true nature. The contrast had always left Fiorre deeply upset.
“Lord Xis has arrived and is waiting in the sacred hall. He sent us to fetch you!” the witch attendant said, chin raised. “Come with us. I do not want to keep Lord Xis waiting too long.”
“Xis?” Ye Chui, hiding in the side bedroom, was stunned. He knew this Xis was Bishop Xis, leader of the missionaries sent by the Church to the Tidal Empire. He was the instigator of the rebellion and captain of the missionary pirate gang.
Unexpectedly, he had come to the Ancestral God Temple himself. This was the perfect opportunity!
Fiorre was also surprised, instinctively glancing towards the side room.
Her gaze drew the witch attendant’s attention, who looked in that direction.
The next moment, Ye Chui struck. The door burst open with a whoosh. Ye Chui stepped out.
“Wha…” The witch attendant opened her mouth to cry out, but managed only one syllable. Ye Chui’s figure flickered, appearing before her. Whoosh whoosh, two streams of light shot from his magic guide book into the heads of two witch attendants. Their bodies slumped to the ground.
The remaining witch attendant stood farther away, near the door. She reacted quickly, turning to flee outside. But bang, Green’s brick smashed into her face. She fell straight back, unconscious.
The three witch attendants collapsed instantly.
Ye Chui’s group emerged from the room.
Fiorre looked astonished at Ye Chui and the others. She had not expected them to dispatch three witch attendants so cleanly. Witch attendants lacked witch powers but underwent training. They existed to serve and protect the witch clans. Witch clan abilities were not suited for combat, mainly assisting ancestral gods in unleashing their power, along with prayer and spiritual perception aids. Thus, every witch attendant possessed advanced swordsman strength, not to be underestimated.
Yet even so, they had been overpowered without resistance.
“We disguise ourselves as them and go with Fiorre to meet Bishop Xis. Then seize control of him. The Tidal Empire’s rebellion was caused by Bishop Xis. Controlling him will quell the chaos here.” Ye Chui quickly outlined his plan. He turned to Guibao. “Can you deploy a barrier over the entire Ancestral God Temple to prevent anyone from escaping?”
“The Ancestral God Temple is not large. This is easy for me.” Guibao replied proudly at once.
“Good. You, Longbao, and Baby handle that first.” Ye Chui nodded, then eyed the three witch attendants’ builds and scanned his companions. He continued, “I, Celty, and Green will disguise as these three witch attendants and go with Fiorre to meet Bishop Xis.”
Ye Chui then used his iPad’s [Meitu Xiuxiu] ability to disguise himself and Celty as witch attendants. [Meitu Xiuxiu]’s disguise scanned the target’s appearance first, then formed an illusion magic layer over the body. He and Celty successfully transformed into two black-clothed witch attendants. But when it came to Green, a problem arose.
“What did she look like again?” Ye Chui stood before the witch attendant Green had bricked in the forehead, full of confusion. Her face now bore a red brick mark, eyes rolled up, brows furrowed, nose bleeding, several teeth missing. It was horrific.
The companions shook their heads. Who remembered her original appearance?
Ye Chui looked at Fiorre.
She shook her head too. The Ancestral God Temple had seventeen witch attendants. He did not know them all well and could not recall this one’s face.
“No choice then.” Ye Chui scanned the witch attendant’s current appearance anyway and applied it to Green. “Green, disguise like this. If anyone asks later, Fiorre can explain you accidentally hit a tree, then tripped and face-planted on a rock, and after getting up, walked into a door frame.”
“…”
The president was definitely holding a grudge. Absolutely!
Ye Chui also handed out several miniature magic sound devices for everyone to wear in their ears for constant communication. Ye Chui, Celty, and Green followed Fiorre to meet Bishop Xis. Debbie, Guni, Shaleme, and Leisha hid nearby under Ye Chui’s shadow magic. The dragon-turtle trio set up the defence barrier around the temple.
Arrangements complete, the group prepared to depart. Fiorre suddenly remembered something, told everyone to wait, and hurried back to her room. After a while, she returned with a tearful face. “Where are my clothes…”
“Those clothes looked quite dirty, so this morning while everyone ate breakfast (when Ye Chui was unconscious), I washed them all for you. They are drying in the courtyard now.” Celty said with a smile. Laundry was originally the witch attendants’ job, but now they would not care for Fiorre. Dirty clothes had piled up, and Fiorre could not do such chores herself. Big sister Celty, maxed out in housework skills, had helped. She smiled and added, “Your Tidal Empire clothes really lack style. Girls’ clothes look just like boys’. Is this a witch clan tradition?”
Fiorre: “…”
“Fine, just wear that outfit. Those witch attendants already saw you in it, so there should be no issue.” Ye Chui said with a smile. He could dry soaked clothes instantly with magic, but why bother? Fiorre looked prettiest in the shrine maiden outfit.
“But I…” Fiorre prepared one last protest.
Ye Chui gave her no chance. “Come on, time is running out. Let us go quickly.”
“…”
Fiorre could only follow behind Ye Chui, Green, and Celty (the three disguised as alluring big sisters) with a wrinkled little face full of reluctance. Especially Ye Chui and Green. She could not help wondering if cross-dressing was Mr Ye Chui’s special hobby.
…
The sacred hall was the holiest place in the Ancestral God Temple. In the past, only witch clan heirs could enter to kneel and pray before a strange statue.
The statue looked like a rough block of wood, vaguely carved into human shape, but faceless, somewhat terrifying.
But now the sacred hall’s holiness was gone. When Fiorre led Ye Chui’s three in, seven or eight outsiders stood there. Several witch attendants and four Church missionaries, former members of the missionary pirate gang. Long pirate lives had stripped away the Church’s usual false kindness. They looked ferocious and menacing.
Before the strange statue in the sacred hall stood a short, fat bald man in his forties or fifties, wearing thick black robes. His features were honest, yet terrifying strange tattoos covered his body. Segments of scripture!
This man had tattooed Bible verses all over himself. Dense scriptures covered every inch of exposed skin, including his face.
Ye Chui had encountered dark believers who carved scriptures into their bodies, but this man was especially horrifying. He was undoubtedly the Church leader in the Tidal Empire, Bishop Xis, former captain of the missionary pirate gang.
As Ye Chui’s group entered the sacred hall, Bishop Xis was speaking to a witch attendant. She was thin and older than the others, seemingly the leader. Bishop Xis said coldly, “…Are you certain there is nothing unusual here? The Arbitrary Magic Guild appeared in the Tidal Empire’s capital, causing upheaval yesterday and destroying a street. These people are as lawless as rumoured! But yesterday I had the entire capital searched, yet found no trace of him. He very likely came to the Ancestral God Temple!”
“Lord Xis, everything in the Ancestral God Temple is normal. How could they hide here?” the witch attendant leader said in panic.
“It had better be. If they come seeking Fiorre, stop them at any cost. At least hold them until I arrive!” Bishop Xis continued. Then footsteps sounded. He turned and saw Fiorre and Ye Chui’s three enter the hall. He let out a puzzled “Hm?”
Ye Chui quickly glanced at Green. Bishop Xis must have reacted to Green’s current disguised appearance. He signalled with his eyes for Green to stay calm and not expose them. This Bishop Xis seemed powerful. He needed to find a chance to get close…
Then he heard Bishop Xis say in an amused tone, “Fiorre, why is a boy like you wearing girls’ clothes?”
…Boy!?!?!?
“What the fuck!?” Ye Chui blurted out.
In shock, his witch attendant disguise popped away with a “poof”.
The sacred hall instantly fell into unavoidable awkwardness…
Then Ye Chui looked at Xis, spread his arms. “Surprised? Unexpected!?”
“Ye Chui!?” Bishop Xis shouted sharply.
The followers and witch attendants in the hall snapped out of shock, instinctively charging towards Ye Chui.
Ye Chui’s mind raced with a million grass-mud horses. This was completely different from planned. He growled, “Attack, end it quickly!” and strode towards Xis.
Celty and Green immediately dropped their disguises. Debbie, Leisha, Guni, and Shaleme, hidden in the shadows, grabbed their weapons and rushed the followers and witch attendants. Battle erupted instantly.
A layer of holy light armour emerged on Xis. It was the Armour of Faith. He let out a cold, loud laugh. “You really are here. Ye Chui, you arrogantly think you alone can resolve the Tidal Empire’s affairs. You are all dead today!”
“Shut up!”
Bang!
Ye Chui pointed at Xis. [Spark Annihilation]!
