Chapter 133 (2): Death Sentence

"I already made a guarantee to Night Demon that our people will definitely be just as good as, if not better than the people currently under him, so don't let me down! If something goes wrong, I'll be holding you responsible!"

"Me?"

Hou Fang was dumbstruck.

You made the promise, why should I have to take responsibility?

"Should I be the one to blame then?" Yin Shengong asked in a cold voice.

"No, of course not," Hou Fang hurriedly replied.

From there, a long silence ensued, and Yin Shengong seemed to have fallen into deep thought, but he didn't dismiss the three elders.

Finally, the silence was broken as he said, "This is a pivotal opportunity for our One Heart Church, but there are some concerns that I must raise. Firstly, Hai Wuliang is still out there. Our church's protective array has done a good job of keeping him out thus far, but I'm worried that Hai Wuliang will somehow infiltrate our church during my absence, so make sure to be extra vigilant. Do not allow anyone to enter or leave our church while I'm gone."

"You can count on us, Pope Yin."

"Secondly, while this is good news for our church, it's important to remember that Night Demon killed a lot of people from the main church during the Parasite Ascension Project. The clans of his victims haven't been able to find him, so they'll surely set their sights on me.

"I don't think anything will happen to me while I'm at the main church, but on the way there and back, I may not be so fortunate. If something happens to me, Night Demon is current of an insufficient cultivation base, so even if he's given the position of pope, he won't be able to hold onto it."

Before the three elders had a chance to speak, Yin Shengong raised a hand to stop them as he continued, "Hold on, let me finish. If I do not make it back, I want the three of you to immediately leave and adopt false identities. From there, I want you to assist Night Demon in his cultivation,and when the time is right, he can avenge me and reprise the position of pope of the One Heart Church."

After a grim silence, Mu Linyuan said in a solemn voice, "I'm sure nothing will happen to you, Pope Yin."

"That is naturally my hope as well, but this is an ordeal like no other, and there are many people out for my blood. If I am able to return alive, then there will be no need for any action on your part, but if I die, then you must act right away without even the slightest hesitation!"

"Yes, Pope Yin!"

***

From there, Yin Shengong pulled out his communication jade to message Night Demon, and it was only then that he saw that Night Demon had already messaged him.

"What's going on?"

"The assessment team has come to our escort agency."

Yin Shengong was very much taken aback to see this.

Isn't the assessment already over? I've already been informed of the outcome! What is the assessment team still doing there?

"The leader of the assessment team is Feng Xing, a descendant of Deputy Pope Feng Du. He suspected me of being Night Demon, and I had to tell some lies to convince him otherwise..."

Night Demon's messages came through one after another, detailing the lies that he had told, the close calls he had endured, and the vow of fealty that he was forced to swear to Feng Xing.

After notifying Night Demon that he had seen all of his messages, Yin Shengong turned to Mu Linyuan and said, "Feng Xing suspects that Starlight and Night Demon are one and the same, so we're going to have to change some details in Starlight's file."

He relayed all of Fang Che's lies to Mu Linyuan, who immediately departed to make the necessary changes.

Yin Shengong looked on with a heavy heart as Mu Linyuan departed.

It was a very unexpected turn of events that Night Demon had been forced to swear a vow of fealty to Feng Xing.

He knew that both Yan Beihan and Chen Yin were trying to recruit Night Demon, but Feng Xing had beaten them to the punch.

Both Yan Beihan and Chen Yin had already invested quite heavily in Night Demon, yet he had pledged his loyalty to someone else, and the two of them were not going to be pleased.

This was a major problem, but Yin Shengong knew that Night Demon had no other choice because turning down Feng Xing would've meant certain death.

Given that Feng Xing was still at the Unmatched Escort Agency, he couldn't send any further messages to Night Demon for fear of exposure, so all he could do was suppress his agitation and wait.

However, there were no further updates from Night Demon, and Yin Shengong knew that he had to have been busy attending to Feng Xing.

He could only heave a concerned sigh before leaving the One Heart Church to set off for the southeastern headquarters because the chief supervisor wanted to accompany him to the main church.

This time, Yin Shengong left the One Heart Church headquarters on his own, hoping to lure out Hai Wuliang so that the warriors from the main church lurking in ambush nearby could pounce.

However, to his surprise, he made it all the way to the southeastern headquarters without encountering Hai Wuliang.

***

After getting to safety, he pulled out his communication jade to find a message from Night Demon.

"Young Master Xing has departed, Master."

Yin Shengong was very relieved to see this.

"Make sure to keep a low profile for now and refrain from killing people as much as possible. I have to make a trip to the main church, so wait for me to return before you do anything else that could land you in trouble."

"Yes, Master."

"I have been summoned to the main church to receive a reward, but I've already received wind that the clans of those who perished during the Parasite Ascension Project are waiting for me. However, I cannot turn down a summons from Deputy Pope Yan, so you have to be prepared for the worst."

"Please be careful, Master! Make sure to get away at all costs at the first sign of danger!"

Yin Shengong could only shake his head with a wry smile.

If those clans were determined to have his head, then any attempt at resistance or escape would be completely futile.

He could only hope that Deputy Pope Yan's summons would be enough to intimidate them into giving up on the idea of killing him, but if he were to die on the way there or back, even Yan Nan most likely wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"I should be fine, but you still have to be prepared for all outcomes. If something happens to me, abandon the Unmatched Escort Agency and your identity as Starlight right away and revert back to just Night Demon and Administrator Fang. No one knows the connection between those two identities, so you'll be safe. Your uncle-masters will also join you."

"Master, if something happens to you on this trip, then I will swear a vow to the Heavenly Centipede Deity to wipe all of the clans of the main church!"

Yin Shengong was unable to suppress an affectionate smile as he replied: "There's no need to get so worked up, I'm just hypothesizing a worst-case scenario. "

After setting down his communication jade, Fang Che fell into deep thought as he pondered how likely it was for Yin Shengong to die on this trip.

The faces of Zuo Guanglie and his band of brothers surfaced before his eyes, and it suddenly felt to him like this would be a good opportunity to get rid of Yin Shengong to avenge them.

However, it then occurred to him that Yin Shengong was not very likely to be killed.

He had received a summons from Yan Nan, and if he were to die on the way there or back, then that would be a direct affront to Yan Nan's authority.

Furthermore, Yin Shengong had not yet outlived his usefulness, so he couldn't die yet.

At the moment, Fang Che wouldn't be able to go very far at all just by relying on his connection to Yan Beihan and Chen Yin. Yin Shengong's continued support was necessary for him to reach greater heights, so for now, he was indispensable.

With that in mind, Fang Che heaved a forlorn sigh.

Seeing as Yin Shengong had to be kept alive, he may as well pull some strings to gain some further affection from the old fart.

With that in mind, he pulled out his communication jade and sent a message to Yan Beihan.

"Are you there, Mistress Yan?"

Yan Beihan's response was instantaneous.

"What's up?"

"I have a request for you."

"Go ahead."

Yan Beihan was feeling rather embarrassed by the fact that she still hadn't delivered the promised divine metal to Night Demon, so she was eager to make it up to him in other areas.

"My master, Yin Shengong, is traveling to the main church, and I implore you to look out for his safety. As you know, I've made many enemies, and those clans aren't able to find me, so I'm worried that they'll take advantage of this opportunity to target my master. I have no one else to turn to, so I could only shamelessly come to you."

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"No problem at all!"

This was a request that couldn't have been any easier for her to fulfill.

After concluding his communication with Yan Beihan, Fang Che decided to go a step further, and he reached out to Chen Yin as well.

"Are you there, Master Chen?"

"How can I help you?"

Fang Che repeated his request, and Chen Yin was even more eager to help. In his eyes, this wasn't about protecting Yin Shengong or winning over Night Demon. Instead, it was a golden opportunity for him to work together with Yan Beihan.

It would be the first collaborative effort between the descendants of the Yan and Chen Clans, and not only would this be beneficial to his clan, it would also elevate his status in his clan.

Furthermore, he was also doing Night Demon a favor, so it was truly a case of killing two birds with one stone.