But I find it very sacred.

A badge on Mien's scholar's robe flashed.

【Life Concealment】Effect: Can conceal the life force and all energy fluctuations of multiple people.

They disappeared from sight along with Phyllis and the scholar.

They hurried to the scene of the crime, where arguing could be heard coming from the equally dirty and messy house.

A high-pitched man shouted; he had a long scar on his neck.

"I just want my money! I've already given you six months' grace; do you know how badly the boss yelled at me?!"

However, Mien and Phyllis did not see any anger on his face; instead, they saw a kind of pleasure in toying with his prey.

The man, surrounded by four people, lay on the ground, his face covered in blood.

"I could have paid it back... but..." He gritted his teeth.

"If the dispensing machine hadn't suddenly broken down!"

The scholar in the group said softly, "He was a bar employee. The man who hit him was named Paul. He was a manager at the bar and also a member of the gang."

As soon as the man on the ground finished speaking, he was kicked in the face again, and a tooth flew out.

Paul cursed viciously:

"You broke this stuff, do you expect me to pay for it?!"

"I don't need it... so I didn't run away. I'll continue working to pay it back, but I need a few more days..."

He dared not argue further and said fearfully, head bowed.

"Oh? A few days' grace?... "

Paul wasn't angry. Instead, he pulled a long knife from his waist and waved it in front of him with a smile.

"How long do you want to extend the time?"

"I only need five copper coins a day for food and rent... I'll use the rest to pay off my debts. I won't run away!"

"So you're trying to run away," Paul said with a laugh, stepping on the wound in the other man's abdomen, causing blood to gush out.

"So you need another year? Do you expect me to wait another year? Boss Miles isn't going to wait for me."

The man's face was contorted in pain as he wailed:

"But I really have no money left!..."

Paul held the knife to the man's head: "But you have hands and feet."

The man was taken aback, but a hint of surprise slowly crept into his eyes:

"You mean you'd trade my hands and feet for money?"

He wondered to himself: what are my hands and feet worth? But as long as he could pay off his debts, he felt no regret at all, but rather a sense of luck.

"Yes." A cunning glint appeared in Paul's eyes as he said meaningfully:

"As long as you're not dead."

"What...do you mean?"

A burly man next to him had already stepped on his arm, and with a flash of cold light, a long knife had already slashed down.

Because there's no magical enhancement, it's like chopping wood.

The man initially howled in pain, but then slowly clenched his teeth and fell silent, his face turning deathly pale.

The young scholar standing nearby seemed flustered and wanted to say something.

Phyllis glanced at Mien, who simply watched quietly without making a sound. Phyllis then looked away and calmly observed how things were unfolding.

His already weak condition caused his life force to continuously ebb away.

They then chopped at the man's foot, and after a while, seeing that the man was now silent,

The man wiped his forehead and revealed a satisfied and contented smile.

"Bohr..." The three burly men looked expectant.

Paul glanced at the three men's gazes, smiled smugly, and leisurely walked to the person on the ground. He then pulled a bottle of purple potion from his pocket.

It was gently dripped onto the man's body, and the familiar energy quickly spread and covered his entire body, rising and falling with his faint breaths.

Bohr then took out several more pieces of bone and a piece of white paper covered with black writing, placed them beside him, and then quietly began to chant the sacrificial incantation:

"With mortal flesh as ink, with truth as the covenant... Your heartbeat returns to order. Your soul returns to the covenant. Flesh and blood become the fuel..."

Soon, the purple light on his body flashed and gently lifted him up.

Mien's memory was awakened: it was exactly the incantation that Connor and the others in Iron Cans Street had chanted, word for word.

It seems they were taught by the same master.

Then, very quickly, the man who had floated halfway up was put back on the ground.

"What's wrong?" someone asked, puzzled, after watching excitedly.

"Nonsense!" A proud look appeared on Paul's face. "Do you really want me to sacrifice him right now?!"

He scoffed, "Do you expect me to say you did it if Miles asks?"

The others didn't dare say anything offensive to Miles, they could only glare fiercely at Paul.

"What kind of magic is this?! I think you're just playing some kind of trick, you idiot!" one of them cursed.

"Yeah, so what's with all this showing off? I really thought Miles gave you something, but you're too scared to sacrifice it and instead call us here to see your stupidity?"

Paul merely sneered and said dismissively:

"This isn't a sacrifice? It seems your brains have already been sacrificed as well."

Just as one person was about to get angry, he continued:

"This is a life sacrifice of the Covenant Truth Cult. While a person is still alive, he signs a covenant with the Mother Goddess, waiting for the Mother Goddess to slowly drain his life and soul, devouring everything he has."

"We'll torture him half to death first, then sacrifice him to the Mother Goddess. He'll die soon, and no one will know it's a sacrifice, especially Miles, you bunch of fools!"

The people around them pondered, and after being reprimanded, they stopped arguing and nodded thoughtfully.

He glanced at the man on the ground a few more times with a smile, spat, and then left with Paul, cursing under his breath.

Phyllis gestured, and the investigator beside her quickly followed.

Mien and the other person gradually emerged from the effect of [Life Concealment].

Phyllis immediately cast a healing spell, and the man was enveloped in holy light, gradually regaining his color.

"Just keep him alive for now."

Mien spoke slowly, and a pale purple magic ring emerged from his scholar's robes:

"This is a magical artifact that Hein developed a few days ago, specifically designed to suppress the power of the Contract Truth."

Mien needs to verify its effectiveness.

A magical ring emerged from it, slowly flying towards the man, enveloping him and then shrinking, while simultaneously binding the power of the curse.

The purple energy immediately provoked resistance, and in the struggle, the man let out a painful groan.

Before long, the purple energy could not withstand the onslaught and quickly collapsed. The power of the magic ring firmly suppressed it, preventing it from devouring even a fraction of the host's life force.

Mien breathed a sigh of relief; the effect far exceeded his expectations.

"Hein is quite capable," he thought to himself with a smile.

They also gained a better understanding of the potential crises ahead.

"That's fine." Mien waved his hand to stop Phyllis's Holy Light Healing spell.

Seeing her confused expression, he said, "As long as we keep it under control for now, we shouldn't overreact and alert the enemy. We should control casualties within a limited area."

Phyllis pondered for a moment, then asked:

"Should we request assistance from the local army or the Holy Knights?"

Mien shook his head: "It's not the right time yet."

The current situation is simply not taking them seriously.

The likely response will be: "Sect Buddhism? Isn't that your Temple Academy's business?"

Phyllis looked at the man on the ground and sighed, "What about the law enforcement officers? With their help, at least some casualties could be reduced."

Mien used [Life Stealth] again, and the two vanished from sight.

She quietly looked at the man on the ground, slowly opened her eyes, gasped for breath, and struggled to sit up, leaning against the wall.

He looked at his missing hands and feet, and the wounds all over his body; the sight intensified the pain, causing him to groan.

But gradually, a look of relief and liberation appeared on his face.

Thanks to the protection of the goddess of light, he did not die.

Most importantly, he traded it for zero debt, which made him laugh, a laugh that looked particularly eerie on his pale face.

After a long while, he managed to crawl to the side, gave himself a simple bandage and applied some medicine, and then rushed to a nearby clinic.

He needs to heal his injuries as soon as possible and then continue working hard at the bar so he can support himself and send some money to his daughter...

"It's not the right time yet..." Mien said.