Work Prophet
Chapter 146 - 62 Rumors and Gains

Chapter 146: Chapter 62 Rumors and Gains

Upon Li Yu’s reminder, the family head of the Arias clan quickly announced the winner of the contest.

However, due to the shock of Adelle’s fabrication of a miracle, the crowd that had gathered to watch the contest no longer cared much about the final outcome.

The furious crowd even tried to break through the barrier of the militiamen at one point, charging toward the female priest demanding her atonement.

But these disorderly masses were easily dispersed by the elite warriors of the Arias family.

Afterward, Miss Rabbit simply dragged Adelle into the castle, closed the grand doors, and regardless of how noisy the people outside became, she paid them no attention.

Facing the sturdy ramparts made of stone, the bare-handed followers of the Silver Moon Church clearly had no means to respond, and after a round of insulting and yelling, they could only disperse in annoyance.

Yet, the impact of this incident had just begun.

As expected, the Silver Moon Church immediately released a public decree across the territory, stripping Adelle of her priestess status and sternly denounced her act of deceiving believers in the name of performing miracles, permanently expelling her from the Church!

Following this, the Great Temple of Alberto embroiled in the affair also came forward to clarify that the Holy Coffin was still within the Temple, never lent out, and was merely undergoing maintenance and conservation, requiring some time before it could be displayed once again in front of the faithful.

They had never expected that a priest within the Church would exploit this interval to forge a fake Holy Coffin for swindling—such behavior was undoubtedly vile and unforgivable!

Subsequently, the Silver Moon Church also distributed a large amount of food and clothing to the lay believers and sent out dozens of priests to heal the sick in towns and villages across the western territories.

With swift damage control and a series of generous actions, the Silver Moon Church managed to minimize the negative impact of the contest in very little time, essentially turning the tide of public opinion against the Church and focusing all the questioning onto Adelle herself.

In conjunction with the rumors spread by the Silver Moon Church, the image of a seemingly innocent and kind-hearted priestess who was, in reality, blinded by greed, attention-seeking, and unscrupulous in climbing social ladders quickly took root in the hearts of all believers.

This terrifying two-faced person actually had no faith at all, and even often blasphemed Goddess Pexia in private.

Yet she deceived everyone, not just the believers who trusted her but also her teacher, friends, and even family, using their trust to pave her way and eventually managing to become a priestess.

But in the end, she could not fool the goddess’s eyes, revealing her true colors in this contest.

The Silver Moon Church even pinched their noses to send Li Yu fifty Gold Lions as a reward for playing a decisive role in exposing the female priestess’s fraudulent façade.

And that bag of gold coins also made Miss Rabbit stare in astonishment.

"If it wasn’t for living with Adelle for a year, I probably would also think she’s a despicable, shameless person with no bottom line. Not only the teacher but now all the companions and friends from our time studying in the Temple have come forward to testify that she’s a bad person.

"Even her own family says that she has been different from other children since she was young, that she was very keen on watching plays, always the last to leave whenever there were performances in the town... Are these true or false? Can these words be used as proof she’s a lying expert?" Ireya couldn’t believe it.

"That’s the way it is with discourse. Whoever controls the discourse can manipulate the truth as they please," said Li Yu. "For most ordinary people, they have neither the means nor the energy to discern the truth of rumors. Besides, this path, it was her own choice from the beginning, wasn’t it?"

"That’s true, but is it really necessary to go to such lengths?" Miss Rabbit was still indignant. "The goddess Pexia has always taught the believers to be honest. Shouldn’t the Church be setting an example in this respect?"

Hearing this, Li Yu glanced at the young girl.

The latter was puzzled and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I’ve recently been studying the history of the Western Territories. It mentions that the greatest aid in Furious Lion Alexander’s conquest of the Western Territories was first the thousand-mile reinforcement from Snow Claw Philip, and secondly, the Silver Moon Church, which spread many of the Enríquez family’s atrocities throughout the Western Territories.

"You can’t possibly believe that all those atrocities are true, can you? For example, one of them states that Family Head João of the Enríquez family had a fondness for beauties and enjoyed watching them dance over flames. Whenever he held a banquet, he would have hundreds of young girls perform this fire dance until they were roasted."

"Ah, I’ve heard this story when I was a child. It’s quite famous throughout the Western Territories. After hearing it, everyone thought João was brutal and inhuman. What, could it be false?

"I don’t know, but another atrocity attributed to João is his outrageous squandering. Rumor has it he held three banquets a day. At that rate, he’d have to kill at least three hundred young girls daily. He lived to be one hundred sixty-four. Do you think the Western Territories had that many young girls for him to kill?"

"Um... okay, you’re right, it seems the Silver Moon Church does indeed excel at fabricating all sorts of news," Ireya admitted.

Ever since becoming the Green Field Master, the young girl had experienced quite a few things and had matured a lot as well.

She was no longer as naive as she was in her childhood, thinking the world was simply black and white.

She just couldn’t help feeling sorry for her friend’s fate.

However, when her gaze fell upon the note that had been delivered to her table not long ago, she became excited again.

"How is it, are the statistics out?" Li Yu asked.

"Mhm mhm, a total of one hundred ninety-six people want to stay. And they will also bring over their families later on. Initially, I estimate that nearly four hundred people could be added to my territory this time.

"Wow, that’s a score! Add in the people from the Weiting Family, and next year you’re sure to collect a lot more in rents,"

The young girl hugged the note to her chest, her face full of blissful anticipation.

Of course, she didn’t forget to whom she owed all this, so she said to Li Yu, "This is all thanks to your superb medical skills, and your willingness to treat those patients. That’s why they want to stay."

This time the Silver Moon Church went to great lengths, gathering thousands of people in Green Field at once, and Li Yu certainly had no reason to waste the opportunity.

Afterwards, he volunteered to treat those not chosen for free, with the condition that these people would stay in Green Field afterward.

After witnessing his medical skills and those genuine miracles, many were touched and decided to stay. Some even expressed a desire to join the Double Rest Sect, but many more were reluctant to so easily forsake Goddess Pexia.

Li Yu didn’t insist, since as long as these people were willing to stay, sooner or later they would convert to Saturday.

With so many people, the Church territory certainly couldn’t accommodate them all, so Li Yu selected some with professional skills to absorb first. The majority of the rest were left for Ireya to settle.

And just like that, Miss Rabbit was struck by a pie from heaven.

Having nearly four hundred more people suddenly pop up in her territory, she now couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear whenever she thought about it.

Li Yu then reminded her, "Don’t forget the agreements we made before, first, you have to guarantee the rights of the Double Rest Sect’s believers in Green Field. Second, allow me or my people to preach to these newcomers."