Chapter 59: Pope Yin is Showing Off

"We did it? We've come out alive?"

"What? You wanna go back inside? You can go in on your own then."

"No, no, no, no, no," Zhao Wushang said as he frantically shook his head. "I'm never going back in tehre again! It just feels like everything was... a little too easy, given that we're..."

Fang Che immediately threw a hand over his mouth to silence him, then snapped, "Why wouldn't it be easy? It's not like we're demonic church members or anything!"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, you're right."

Zhao Wushang was drenched in sweat once again, having almost let slip the fact that they were demonic church members.

Only after walking for quite some time did they think to hire a horse-drawn carriage.

Upon returning to the branch helm, the two of them heaved another massive sigh of relief.

Everyone erupted into cheers as the business license was placed on the table.

"Hurry up and hang up the business license! We have to prepare for an official opening and get a plaque made as well! Zhao Wushang almost pissed himself back at the Hall of Protectionists, the little coward! Organize a celebratory feast tonight! For our advertising slogan, make it something like 'we can deliver your good safely to anywhere, even the headquarters of the Church of the Self-Righteous!'"

Everyone erupted into laughter.

"That's actually a promise we can follow through on!"

Fang Che took a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then made his way into his office as he grumbled, "I'm going to take a rest. That was way too exhausting!"

Everyone immediately gathered around Zhao Wushang.

"Did you really almost piss yourself? And why is your face so swollen?"

"Helmsmaster Starlight slapped me," Zhao Wushang explained in an embarrassed manner. "I was so scared at the Hall of Protectionists that my mind went blank, and I almost exposed us. The helmsmaster slapped me before I could say anything self-incriminating."

"Sounds like you deserved it then!"

"What was the Hall of Protectionists like? I've never been in one before."

"I advise you to keep it that way!"

Under everyone's collective peer pressure, Zhao Wushang was forced to provide a recount of his embarrassing feats, and he suddenly began laughing as he spoke.

He snuck a furtive glance at the door of Fang Che's office, then whispered, "Our helmsmaster's acting all tough, but in reality..."

All of a sudden, Fang Che sprang out of his office and gave Zhao Wushang a brutal beating.

"I knew you were gonna talk shit behind my back!"

Zhao Wushang could only curl up into a ball to protect himself while begging for mercy.

Finally, Starlight let him off the hook, then turned to depart once again as he said, "I'm going to quit my job. I'm a head escort now, so I don't have to work as a steward anymore."

Zhao Wushang was left rolling on the ground, moaning in pain.

He was carried onto the bed, and over forty curious faces had squeezed into the small room, encouraging him to continue his story.

"Keep going?! Did you not see what happened to me just now?!"

"You've already copped a beating, you might as well finish the story."

"Come on, tell us!"

Zhao Wushang took a hesitant glance at the door, and two people immediately went outside to stand on lookout duty.

Only then was Zhao Wushang willing to continue his story.

"In the beginning, the helmsmaster was really confident, but as we began to approach the Hall of Protectionists, both of us began feeling weak in the knees, and we had to lean on each other for support."

The thought of the menacing Starlight being so afraid that his knees were weak instantly sent everyone into a chorus of raucous laughter.

"Once we were there, neither of us dared to go. I was really scared, and I referred to him as helmsmaster without thinking, so he slapped me across the face and told me to call him head escort. Once we went inside, the helmsmaster began stuttering, and he was so nervous that while paying for the business license, he forgot the price and had to ask the guy at the window twice!"

Everyone immediately erupted into raucous laughter, and even Zhao Wushang was rolling around all over the bed with mirth.

That night, the One Heart Church branch helm became a joyful haven, and the mental image of a trembling and stuttering Starlight had everyone laughing until they were gasping for air.

It presented a more realistic side of Starlight to everyone, one that was just as capable of feeling fear as they were.

The news quickly spread to the main church, but no one found it amusing at all. The story was only so hilarious to the members of the branch helm because it created such a stark and comical contrast with Starlight's usual menacing and fearless demeanor, but those who didn't personally know him naturally weren't amused.

Despite this, Starlight's name had begun to spread in the main church, and as a result, this completely fake identity was given a sense of authenticity and credibility.

On the same day, it was made known that Xue Fuxiao had departed from White Cloud Warrior Academy, having arrived there in secret at some point.

***

Meanwhile, Fang Che was already reporting his work to Yin Shengong.

"I opened an armed escort agency, Master. I went to the Hall of Protectionists today to get the paperwork done."

After giving Yin Shengong a detailed recount of events, he concluded with: "Now that the escort agency has been successfully registered, it's a legitimate business, and our branch helm has truly been established. The next step of my plan is to wipe out the branch helms of all of the other churches and factions from the White Cloud Prefecture, but that's subject to your approval."

Yin Shengong was very much taken aback by the rapid progress that Fang Che had made.

Not only had he opened an armed escort agency in the blink of an eye, he had even brazenly ventured into the Hall of Protectionists for registration and made it a legitimate business!

Then again, Fang Che was an administrator at the Hall of Protectionists, so it made sense that he didn't fear the Hall of Protectionists as much as other demonic church members did.

"The other factions must be cleared out of the White Cloud Prefecture, but your top priority is to keep yourself concealed! As long as you can ensure that, you're free to do as you please."

"Yes, Master. I'll continue to keep you updated and come to you for guidance."

"No! Stop pestering me! You're an administrator at the Helmsmaster, a One Heart Church helmsmaster, and the head escort of the Unmatched Escort Agency! You need to start making decisions on your own instead of coming to me for every little thing!"

"But I don't feel at ease without your guidance, Master. I'm still sorely lacking in experience."

"That's nonsense! What if you become an important figure in the main church someday? Are you still going to constantly come to me for guidance? You need to learn to do things yourself!"

"Even if I reach the main church someday, I'll still need your guidance, Master."

"Piss off!

Despite Yin Shengong's abrasive tone, he was brimming with satisfaction at Night Demon's reliance on and devotion to him.

In his eyes, discovering Fang Che was the best thing that Sun Yuan had ever done, and even his death had come at the perfect time!

Yin Shengong heaved a sigh of contentment, but remained stern in the tone of his message as he insisted: "Make your own decisions! If you come to me with more trivial nonsense, then I'll skin you alive!"

"I'm worried that I'll do something wrong and make contributions to the Hall of Protectionists at no benefit to myself."

"You need to look at the big picture! So what if you do something wrong? Who

hasn't

made mistakes in their life? Besides, do you know how busy I am? Do you think it's appropriate for a mere Lord like yourself to constantly come pestering the pope of the One Heart Church over every minor decision that you have to make?"

"Alright, I'll try to be more self-reliant, Master."

Yin Shengong set down his communication jade, then began massaging his glabella as he complained to Mu Linyuan, "What a massive pain in the backside! Why does it feel like I'm raising a son? It's incredibly frustrating how overly reliant on me he is!"

Mu Linyuan stood up with a cold expression before exiting the room without a word, unable to find it within himself to play along with Yin Shengong's blatant gloating.

On the way out, he was met by Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang, who asked, "Why're you leaving so soon, Old Man Mu?"

Mu Linyuan grabbed onto their arms, then ushered them away as he explained, "Pope Yin is gloating about his disciple again."

"Oh, in that case, we're coming with you."

"Fine! Leave then, you jealous old farts!" Yin Shengong snapped from behind them.

***

Upon returning home, Fang Che began practicing his saber, sword, spear, and halberd techniques, as well as cultivating the Heaven Loathe Saber Techniques and Blood Smoke Hands.

Right now, I have the Heaven Loathe Saber Techniques, so I'm sorted in the saber department. However, I'm going to need better sword techniques than the Seven Blood Spirit Swords. I was able to somewhat glean Bing Qianshan's sword qi that day, but his sword qi leans more toward sun aura, while I'm pursuing star aura, so it's not quite the right direction. On top of that, I also require battle techniques for the halberd and the spear as well.

Things were not going according to plan.

The halberd and the spear were meant to be his two ultimate trump cards, but he had become far more proficient in the saber and the sword, completely going against the original plan he had laid out for himself.