Chapter 003: Unintentional Peeping
The churches in this imperial capital were enormous. Besides the square in front and the sanctuary at the center of the church, there was also a vast back garden. Of course, this back garden wasn’t simple—it was divided into several areas. In addition to the headquarters of the Temple Knights and the residences of priests and nuns, there were also some abandoned buildings, said to be ancient sanctuaries from hundreds of years ago. But now that the Holy Church held a high status on the continent, they naturally wouldn’t use such cramped places.
Du Fan entered the back garden through a small gate in a corner of the square. The Temple Knights on duty showed respect as they saw his white robe, then raised their silver gleaming spears in greeting. Du Fan nodded with a smile, made a blessing gesture, and walked past them.
Inside the back garden, there weren’t posts every few steps like in the square, but due to its vast size, it was easy for those unfamiliar with it to get lost. After thinking for a moment, Du Fan headed toward the dense jungle in the center of the garden. Having lived in the church for a long time, he was extremely familiar with this back garden. If he remembered correctly, there was a path through those woods that led directly to the back door of the church.
After walking around the edge of the jungle for a while, Du Fan finally found a very hidden path. He had discovered it accidentally a few years ago, but due to the many affairs at the church, he had rarely visited it in recent years. Now, as he stepped onto this path, strange feelings arose in his heart—a sense of novelty and unknown excitement that made him smile.
With this smile, Du Fan moved like a nimble kitten, slowly weaving through the bushes. Although there was no path in the bushes, he didn’t mind at all; instead, he explored around with great interest. Finally, after walking for most of the day, he stopped. To his disappointment, he realized he had gotten lost without realizing it.
Hoping against hope, he looked around for a while and faintly saw an ancient building in one direction. Strange noises seemed to be coming from inside the building. Du Fan rubbed his nose and looked up at the sky, which had already darkened. With some luck, he headed toward that building.
As he approached the building, Du Fan realized what stood before him was a simple wall covered in various plants, seemingly so fragile that it might collapse with the slightest movement. The old wall was full of cracks, from which a faint white mist seeped out, along with some indistinct noises. After pondering for a moment, Du Fan decided to see what was inside. He pulled off his white gloves and threw them aside, then reached out to feel the wall ahead. With a gentle pull, he successfully removed a brick. At the same time, a burst of white mist sprayed out from the hole, accompanied by the sounds of birdsong—those youthful voices made Du Fan’s expression stiffen. Could it be? Was this place…? As if to confirm his guess, Du Fan quickly leaned over the wall, his eyes widening as saliva streamed down his chin. What appeared before him was a huge hot spring, where a group of young girls were bathing. Vaguely, he seemed to recognize a few familiar faces. In fact, this place wasn’t mysterious at all—it was just a hot spring in the church’s backyard. Somehow, since ancient times, it had become a bathing spot for young nuns. It happened to be the nuns’ most relaxed time of day; those usually stern nuns lay leisurely in the hot spring, chatting about topics typical of ordinary girls—such as which bishop was old but still lecherous, which Templar was handsome yet kept by a countess, or which priest and old nun pretended to be proper while secretly having an affair… Besides, the curvaceous and youthful bodies visible through the mist made Du Fan’s expression even more bizarre. To be honest, Du Fan wasn’t a proper priest. He had become a charlatan merely to survive better, so he wasn’t bound by the rigid thoughts of some ascetics in the church.
Like any normal man, upon seeing this scene, Du Fan couldn’t help but feel reluctant to leave. Of course, he disdained doing such things on purpose—that was something only the weakest men would do. But today’s situation was an accident; taking one look was no different from taking several looks. It was just like when in the sanctuary—why not take a look if you can?
It’s an accident. I definitely didn’t do it on purpose.
Du Fan muttered these words to himself, scanning the hot springs several times, almost taking in everyone before finally sighing in satisfaction. He thought to himself, “Huh… why does this scene resemble certain chapters in the Holy Scripture so much? I heard there are countless angels in the palace of that old Light God in heaven. Although those guys have angelic faces and figures, wouldn’t it be tempting to stare at them every day? If it doesn’t make one tempted, could it be that the Light God is actually castrated?”
As he pondered this philosophical question, Du Fan withdrew his gaze, ready to leave temporarily to look for evidence that the Light God was castrated. That’s when he suddenly heard some interesting conversation.
“Ah… you mean that priest in white, Du Fan? Although he seems a bit irresponsible, he’s not as terrible as you say, is he?”
A somewhat delicate voice rang out, seemingly not far from the hiding spot.
Du Fan had planned to leave, but hearing his own name made him curious. He leaned back over the hole and peeked inside. About a few meters away, several nuns wrapped in bath towels were discussing something heatedly. The previous sentence seemed to have come from one of them.
Du Fan glanced at them and realized none of them were acquaintances of his. He was puzzled—how could these nuns be discussing things without knowing him? Could it be they were all tempted and trying to seduce this young master?
Hmph! Though I may be an unqualified swindler, how could I do such a thing? I’m pure! If you want to seduce me, wait until the next life!!!
“I knew you’d say that…” The nun closest to Du Fan snorted. “I think you’ve all been deceived by that pervert. He’s worse than any old scoundrel. Be careful if you meet him again… otherwise, be ready to have your bones gnawed clean.”
At that point, the nun even posed a few gestures to show her disdain for Du Fan. Du Fan felt so wronged—although he had peeked here today, it was an accident! Could she really speak to him like that? Essentially, he was a good person! But still, peeking was something that made him feel a bit insecure, so naturally he didn’t dare jump in and argue loudly. By then, the nuns had already started chatting excitedly, still focusing on Du Fan. The voice that spoke first still carried some doubt: “Emily, after saying so much, none of us really know that Du Fan well, and we’re not sure if it’s true… If you say so, there must be a reason. Please tell us quickly.” The nun named Emily hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Um… you all know… I went to the chapel to pray today, right?” “Yes! And so what?” “Um… well…” Emily hesitated further. “I… while I was praying, I happened to encounter Du Fan giving blessings… As you know, I’ve always hated such things, so I wasn’t focused during my prayer… Then I accidentally noticed that bastard… that pervert… Du Fan… was staring at people’s chests the whole time… He’s… he’s just a pervert… a scoundrel…” Saying this, Emily shook her head angrily, as if trying to get rid of her resentment. She untied her bath towel and stepped out of the hot spring gently. Her beautiful figure was exposed in the misty air, her fair skin tinged with an indescribable blush, but all of this made Emily’s figure even more captivating… “Bang!” Du Fan slammed his fist against the wall. “I thought it was someone else. It turns out to be that insanely beautiful girl from today… But then again, is there something wrong with my eyes lately? How come I can’t even recognize her after she takes off her clothes?” Scratching his head in confusion, Du Fan quickly dismissed the thought. Staring at Emily’s naked body, he snarled, “It was just a few glances, right? Will I lose any flesh? How dare she tarnish my reputation as the youngest and most talented charlatan in the entire capital! Hmph, if my uncle can tolerate it, my aunt can’t… I’ll definitely get revenge!”
As he spoke, Du Fan kicked the wall hard, and with a loud “crack” — the already extremely old wall was torn apart by his kick, creating a large hole.