Absolutely not to be burned at the stake

Three choices, three paths.

Li Wei stared at the screen, no longer able to think about anything else, his brows furrowed as he quickly began to analyze the situation.

Although the true extent of the power of this Alchemist Church is unknown, the Sacred Heart Cathedral is clearly extraordinary. Its scale is so grand, yet it houses only Father Hansen, and Father Hansen is even a bishop!

In Li Wei's memory, according to the calculations of the Roman Catholic Church in his own world, a bishop is a high-ranking figure who presides over an entire diocese and should have many priests and monks under his command.

Although, in the original owner's memory, this Sacred Heart Cathedral had only had Father Hansen for more than ten years, and Father Hansen rarely went out and almost never left Shadow Town.

But there is no doubt that Father Hansen held a very high position in Shadowtown. Whether it was the mayor, the tax collector, or the captain of the guard, they were all extremely respectful and even fearful in front of Father Hansen.

Moreover, for a priest to possess such absurd power as the "right of the first night" suggests that... Bishop Hansen is likely no ordinary person. The Alchemist Church he represents is undoubtedly a behemoth in this world.

Killing a bishop has created a huge mess.

Li Wei thought for a moment, quickly reviewed the fragmented information about the church and Father Hansen from the original owner's memories, and felt a little more certain.

Choosing option A, burning down the church? That would be too much of a commotion, and the townspeople would definitely find out, put out the fire, and investigate. Once Father Hansen's body is discovered, I'd be the prime suspect. Besides, the system only says "pretend you know nothing," it doesn't say it can clear you of suspicion. The risk is too high.

Option B: Flee with the whole family? The parents are honest, hardworking farmers, the younger sister has visual impairment, and the individual's understanding of the world is limited to the area around Shadow Town. The distant mountain city, over a hundred miles away, is only known by its name and general direction; the specific route and potential dangers are completely unknown. Dragging the family along, and evading possible capture...

One hundred gold pounds, tempting as it may seem, is only possible if one can survive to reach the mountain city and live in anonymity. That's far too difficult.

Option C, taking over the church and becoming the new priest? That sounds the craziest and most daring.

But upon closer examination, if handled properly, it might be a relatively low-risk option. Father Hansen is a loner, seemingly with little contact with the outside world. If I could impersonate the new priest, at least in the short term, I could stabilize the situation, buy time, gather information, and improve my capabilities.

Moreover, the reward is the "Talent Spell - Fear of the Mind," which sounds relatively practical.

In this world of divine arts and extraordinary powers, having an extra talent or spell means having an extra ability to protect oneself and disguise oneself.

With that in mind, Li Wei no longer hesitated. He needed more information to refine the plan.

He turned and left the sanctuary, heading towards Father Hansen's study/bedroom, guided by the original owner's memories. There should be crucial information there.

Father Hansen's room was on the second floor of the church, accessible via the stairs in the main porch. Levi, now light and agile, quickly reached the room. The door was locked with an old-fashioned brass lock.

Li Wei tried pushing it, but it wouldn't budge. He thought for a moment, then took two steps back, looked at the lock, and then at the corridor. He walked to a window at the end of the corridor; the window was made of stained glass and couldn't be opened.

Although Hansen definitely had the key, Levi really didn't want to go back to that gloomy basement and search through that bloody corpse.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wei raised his hand, and a ball of golden-red flame suddenly ignited in his palm.

He brought the flame close to the seam between the lock and the door panel. A tremendous heat emanated from it, but he carefully controlled it, concentrating the heat only on the latch.

A few seconds later, the brass began to glow red and soften. Li Wei picked up a rusty nail from the ground with his other hand, probably left over from previous renovations, carefully inserted it into the crack in the door, and pried it open with force.

"Click".

The latch was heated until it softened and deformed, and the door was opened.

Li Wei quickly slipped inside and gently closed the door behind him.

The room was more spacious than I had imagined, but it was very messy. A huge oak desk stood by the window, piled high with parchment, books, ink bottles, quills, and all sorts of oddly shaped bottles and jars.

A four-poster bed, its deep red curtains faded and blackened. A huge oak wardrobe, its door ajar, revealing several worn priest's robes inside. In the corner stood a fireplace, filled with ashes.

The air was filled with a strong musty and medicinal smell, and a faint... indescribable, cloyingly sweet odor, like rotting flowers, which was nauseating.

Despite his discomfort, Li Wei first went to the desk. He quickly flipped through the parchments. Some were account books, recording the church's income and expenses.

Income mainly came from "donations from believers" and "offerings" from the town hall, as well as "tithings." Expenses mainly consisted of purchasing food, firewood, candles, and large quantities of...medicine and certain special materials.

There were also some letters, which Li Wei quickly glanced through.

Most of the letters came from a place called the "Holy Judgment Office." They were printed official documents with identical content and dates on the first of each month, inquiring about "whether the situation in the Shadow Town parish is normal" and "whether there is any heretical or monster activity," etc.

Father Hansen's replies were also brief, always using a specific format to reply with "everything is normal" or "no changes".

Li Wei glanced at the calendar on the table; today should be... the 13th.

That means there are still more than half a month left before we need to send a monthly report to that "Holy Court".

He continued searching, stopping in front of a locked drawer at the very bottom of the desk. He did as before, heating the lock with the Fire of Origin and then prying it open.

There weren't many things in the drawer. A thick notebook with copper corners. Several oddly shaped metal stamps. A small bag of coins, which Li Wei weighed in his hand—probably a few dozen silver crowns and quite a few copper tals. And a roll of parchment tied with ribbon.

Li Wei first opened the scroll of parchment. It contained neat writing and illustrations, and looked like some kind of...appointment letter? He read it carefully.

"In the name of Catherine, the Goddess of Alchemy, the Holy Council of Cardinals has decreed the appointment of Hanson Crawford as Bishop of the Diocese of Shadowtown, to preside over all affairs of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, and to oversee the faith in Shadowtown and the surrounding region... His term of office begins in Holy Calendar 953... He must diligently perform his duties, guide the faithful, purge heresy, and resist evil spirits... He must report the diocese's situation to the Holy Council monthly... and undergo a Holy Council inspection every three years..."

Below are elaborate signatures and seals, with intricate designs and a central emblem of a saint wearing a crown.

It was indeed an official bishop's appointment! And it started in 953... In the original owner's memory, this year was 978 in the Holy Calendar, and Hansen had been a bishop here for twenty-five years.

Li Wei opened the thick notebook again. Inside was Father Hansen's diary, the handwriting messy, interspersed with strange symbols and abbreviations.

It's obvious that Father Hansen was rather lazy; the book only contains a few scattered, random notes.

However, Li Wei managed to glean some information from it.

The Sacred Heart Basilica is inspected every three years, or rather, maintained and replenished by a delegation from the Sacred Court. The last time this was done was over a year ago...

Then, Father Hansen's job was to submit a monthly report to the Holy Tribunal.

In addition, Father Hansen had suspected that the mayor of Shadowtown was doing something shady behind the scenes; however, given the substantial monthly offerings the mayor made, he decided to leave him alone for the time being.

After quickly flipping through the entire diary, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. From this information, it seemed that although Father Hansen held the position of bishop, this "Shadowtown Diocese" was very remote and neglected.

The connection between the Holy See and this place seems to be limited to a formal monthly "report" and a three-yearly inspection.

At other times, no clergy will come to Shadowtown. And the Holy See's inspection every three years is still about one or two years away, which gives Li Wei plenty of room to maneuver.

As long as he can impersonate Father Hansen and send the monthly reports on time and in accordance with regulations, no one will notice anything amiss before the Holy See's next inspection. He has one or two years to improve his skills, familiarize himself with the situation, and think about his next steps, or rather, to solve these problems.

Of course, what Li Wei needed to deal with right now was that there were still two prayer hours left before dawn.

The risks remain enormous. Impersonating a bishop, if exposed, could lead to a death worse than being burned at the stake.

But compared to the unknown risks of fleeing and the immediate exposure of burning the church, this seemed to be the only viable option.