Chapter 005: The Power of Gossip

It was another morning filled with a sacred atmosphere.
Du Fan still stood atop the high altar, his devout expression inspiring reverence in every believer. Even the most wicked sinners might feel the glory of the Light God in his presence.
Yet today, the expressions of those praying seemed somewhat strangely peculiar, which caused Du Fan to feel a hint of irritation. Still, being a professional charlatan, he continued to pray with a holy demeanor despite his impatience.
In fact, most of those who came to the cathedral today weren’t there to listen to Du Fan’s prayers but to see what exactly this legendary priest in white had that could make women push him down forcefully.
It turned out that gossip is innate for both men and women.
Last night, after Old Mark sent Du Fan back to the church, it took only one night for the events of that night to spread. Regardless of how many versions of the rumor about Emily pushing Du Fan around existed in the capital, in less than a day, almost everyone in the city knew about it—something truly astonishing.
Of course, in the countless versions of the rumor, the powerless priest in white was always pushed to the ground by the bold Miss Emily. As for why the two were alone together, there were countless explanations.
Some said Emily, feeling uncertain about her faith, thought of Du Fan to resolve her doubts and used that excuse to lure him into the study…
Others claimed Emily fell in love with Priest Du Fan after praying at the altar, so last night she forced him into the study to…
Still, others believed Emily was a witch who played with men’s emotions, doing what she did last night to tempt the holy and noble Priest Du Fan and make him her subordinate…
In any case, no matter what rumors they heard, everyone strongly condemned Emily. Some business-minded people began hiring writers to create a legendary novel titled *How the Priest Was Pushed Down*, planning to release it within three days. Some believers who had received Du Fan’s kindness spontaneously went to protest outside Duke Belinger’s residence, while those who had never met Du Fan started imagining themselves as the male or female protagonist in last night’s events.

And the person at the center of these rumors showed no awareness at all. After praying as usual, he lifted the curtain and stepped back behind the scenes. Just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly saw the streak of blood before him.
Du Fan was slightly stunned, but he quickly bowed and said, “It’s been a long time, Archbishop Anthony.”
Archbishop Anthony nodded slightly. For some reason, he felt an indescribable irritation.
This Du Fan had been sent to the Holy See by Duke Green himself six years ago. To show his goodwill, Duke Green even offered 200,000 gold coins to the Holy See. Thus, Archbishop Anthony had always been quite satisfied with this priest.
But after what happened yesterday, his mood still hadn’t settled, and the news he received this morning almost left him stunned!
My Light God! How dare someone try to assault a priest in white on such an occasion?
Well, assaulting someone was one thing, but why had it to be Du Fan? Even without considering his status, the reputation he had built over the years made this situation extremely difficult to handle. If handled improperly, not only would Du Fan be humiliated for life, but the Holy See itself could become a laughingstock.
Rubbing his brows, unaware of Du Fan’s true nature, Archbishop Anthony felt that this situation was several times more troublesome than last night’s incident.
Sighing slightly, Anthony gestured for Du Fan to sit down first before saying, “Du Fan, how do you plan to deal with what happened last night?”
“What happened last night?” Du Fan looked confused, as if he didn’t know what Anthony was talking about.
Anthony sighed. “You don’t need to act foolish. You must know exactly what I’m referring to. Although I’m not sure why this news spread so quickly in the capital, if we don’t find a solution, things will get very troublesome.”
Du Fan let out a soft sigh and said, “So, Archbishop Anthony, you know about it too?”
Anthony nodded slightly without saying anything.
Du Fan raised his head, his face filled with sorrow. “Archbishop Anthony, could this be a punishment from the Light God for me? Is my faith not pure enough?”
Staring into Du Fan’s clear eyes, Archbishop Anthony couldn’t quite determine his feelings. After a long while, he said, “This… it’s not your fault… But Du Fan, can you promise me one thing?”

Du Fan nodded slightly and said, “Please go ahead, my lord.”
“Let me handle this matter,” Anthony sighed. “As for you, could you go home and rest for now? I think you understand that rumors can’t be stopped no matter what; only time can dilute them all.”
Du Fan lowered his head and said in a low voice, “Yes, Lord Anthony.”
Anthony nodded slightly. He took out an old book from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying, “This is a compendium of magic and combat energy from our Holy Church. I heard you obtained the Milak potion last night, so I thought you might need it. Take your time to read it when you have free.”
Du Fan nodded, filled with gratitude.
Anthony shook his head with a wry smile, slowly stood up, and pushed open the door at the back to leave. Du Fan watched his back, flipped through the book again, and murmured, “Emily said no one believes her anymore. I’ve got the Milak potion, and now I even have time to train. Chenchen, do you think… have we succeeded this time?”
A cute little cat’s head poked out of Du Fan’s sleeve. It glanced at him disdainfully and asked in his mind, “Did you frame Emily just to keep our secret from being discovered?”
Du Fan shrugged and said, “It’s not just that. I also know that mastering magic and combat energy requires a lot of time. With my current reputation, if nothing goes wrong, I won’t have a single free moment in a day. That’s why I had to resort to this trick. As for Emily, it’s just bad luck for her. If she hadn’t noticed anything or, if she had, hadn’t come to threaten me, things wouldn’t have escalated to this.”
Chenchen stuck out her tongue and sighed inwardly, “Poor Emily… No wonder people say it’s better to offend women than scoundrels… You didn’t offend anyone else, but you had to offend this hypocritical swindler, who’s even worse than a scoundrel. What else could that be but seeking death?”
…
Mia stood outside Emily’s room, about to knock, but hesitated for a moment before pulling her hand back. This was already the unknown number of times today.
Ever since what happened last night, Emily had locked herself in her room, not stepping outside at all. Mia had been here since morning, trying to talk her good friend out of it, but for some reason, she just couldn’t mustered the courage.
What could she say to her?

Mia’s face turned red as she thought, Should I tell her, “Emily, what you did to Du Fan was right; I support your love”? But could I really say that? It wasn’t the first time Mia had met Emily, so she knew well that though Emily was bold, she wasn’t that reckless. If such a thing as pushing a man down hadn’t really happened, no one could associate a girl with it. As she thought about it, Du Fan’s handsome face somehow appeared in her mind. Her face flushed red as she spat a few times, trying to shake Du Fan’s image from her thoughts, but somehow the more she tried, the more vivid it became.

With a creak, the door was suddenly pushed open. Emily stood at the door, staring at Mia calmly, “Mia… what have you been doing outside my room all morning?”

Mia’s blush hadn’t faded yet. Nervously, she said, “Emily… I… I was just worried about you. I was afraid you might do something stupid.”

“Silly girl, what stupid thing could I do?” Emily shook her head helplessly. “Come in with me…”

With that, she stepped into the room first. Mia let out a soft “Oh—” and obediently followed in. Then she couldn’t help but stick out her tongue. The once magnificent room was now covered in traces of magical bombardment—craters and blackened areas on the floor, with the original decorations scattered everywhere.

“What… is wrong?” Emily turned to look at Mia.

Mia shook her head vigorously. “Nothing… nothing’s wrong… It’s just, Emily… you can’t keep doing this. Staying in the room all the time isn’t a solution. How about… how about we go to the chapel to pray for the Light God’s blessing and forgiveness? What do you think?”

“The chapel!” Fury flashed in Emily’s usually calm eyes. “Mia… you also think I’ve done wrong!?”