It's the cyber age now, and you're still playing traditional villains?

"Oh no! It's the city defense troops and the royal court knights!"

Someone saw who was coming through the window and was immediately horrified. "Are they here to arrest us?!"

These words were like a heavy hammer, hitting the others hard on the head.

The fact is that it has been so peaceful these days that many people have almost forgotten that they are actually participating in an illegal gathering. It has even become a daily routine for them to come here to punch in, collect eggs and pray to the saint. They feel uncomfortable if they don't come for a day.

Until now, when snot falls into the mouth, everyone finally knows to shake it off.

But it was too late. As he was talking, the Royal Court Knight had already kicked open the door and walked in. Now he couldn't run away. Where was the secret door? Help!

"Everyone, don't move. Put your hands on your head and squat down!"

The leader was also an old acquaintance, Knight Commander Chen of the Royal Court Knights. He waved his sword in the air and shouted with a stern look, "We received a report that someone was holding an illegal gathering here... Who is the person in charge? Come out!"

"……it's me."

Xu Shi straightened his clothes and walked down from the stage. "I am Xu Shi. May I ask this lord, we are just preaching and giving alms here, what crime have we committed?"

"Xu Shi? The one from overseas?"

Knight Commander Chen frowned, as if he was seeing him for the first time, "You are not running your trading post properly, what are you doing... You are breaking the law, do you know that?"

Ok?

Foreigner?

When this was said, the others were surprised. So you are not a local? No wonder no one had seen you before...

People really don't have much impression of Xu Shi himself, including Xia Ke'an and others - things like outsiders and trading stations have long been popular, but it may not be the case for specific people. Xu Shi and his people rarely show their faces in public, at most when they conquered the sea god? But at that time, there were so many people and eyes, who would really stare at strangers? All their energy was on seeing off their family and friends...

"do not know."

Xu Shi had a blank expression on his face and was very honest. "I've been in the Hualan Empire for so long, but this is the first time I've heard of such a law."

“…This is not an excuse for you to get away with it.”

Knight Commander Chen said seriously, "In any case, this kind of activity is not accepted by the imperial law. We need to shut it down. As the organizer, you also need to come with us to verify the situation."

"Actually, I can just go back and talk to Brother Cheng... Never mind, you guys are also on official business, so it's okay for me to go with you."

Looking at the iron-faced and selfless Knight Commander in front of him, Xu Shi thought about it and decided to compromise, "I can't make things difficult for you, right?"

"Thank you Mr. Xu for your understanding."

Seeing how cooperative he was, Knight Commander Chen certainly didn't make things difficult for him. He gestured to him in a gentlemanly manner, "Please."

"As for the others... detain them here for the time being. Not even a fly is allowed to fly out."

The general public did not have such a good attitude as Xu Shi. When they heard him say this, the scene suddenly became chaotic.

"Ah?! Please listen to my explanation. I am innocent!"

"I just came to collect the eggs, I didn't do anything..."

"Please let me go back. I have a three-year-old mother and an eighty-year-old baby at home..."

"Shut up, everyone!"

Someone slammed the ground hard with the spear in his hand, "If you make any more noise, you will be killed without mercy!"

These words worked better than anything else, and everyone immediately became as obedient as quails.

But even though my mouth was closed, my mind and eyes could not help but move.

In short, they were very regretful, and many people immediately felt resentful towards Xu Shi and his group.

Despicable outsiders, it's all your fault for being involved in some religious sect. Now, when you die, your blood will really splash on us...

"...Everyone, please be patient."

At the critical moment, Xia Ke'an's voice came, "I have listened to the oracle. The Holy Fire Cat God told me that the Holy Fire will not stop, and the Holy Road will not stop... All of us will be fine."

Looking up, she was also calm and composed, just like the impression she gave to everyone in the past few days, elegant and quiet.

To be honest, even though the Holy Fire Cat Cult has not been established for long, the popularity of the White-haired Lolita Saint is actually not inferior to that of the Holy See - a very crucial factor is that the Holy See's Saint is a relatively mysterious existence. She rarely appears in front of the public, and she is absolutely not like Xia Ke'an, who will listen to your sufferings one-on-one in the confessional and answer your questions.

The most important thing is that she doesn't cover her face. The little girl looks very cute...

Her words also made everyone feel more relaxed - how could they forget about this? The saint herself could listen to the oracle and predict the future, so how could she not know her own safety?

If she says it's okay, then it should be fine... including her and Xu Shi's postures, which make people feel inexplicably at ease.

Although Xu Shi, the nominal leader, seldom shows up, his aura of "unity of purpose" has never stopped - the Holy Fire Cat Cult gives alms to the people and helps them solve their problems. These are the behaviors that can best accumulate positive energy during this special period, and the effects they bring will definitely not be weak.

Many people may not realize that their devotion to Xu Shi is not necessarily much less than Xia Ke'an's.

This is the confidence that the S-level ability brings me.jpg

All in all, everyone is now in a much more relaxed mood than at the beginning. Even though they are locked in this church and unable to leave, it is hard to see anyone being as anxious as an ant on hot pan.

"I hope it's just as the Saint said. I hope nothing will happen... Please, God..."

"Which god do you worship?"

"Of course it's the Holy Fire Cat God!"

"That's fine... Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered that someone had said before that outsiders like us were the ones who contributed greatly to the conquest of the Sea God?"

"Yes, yes, I heard about it too, but neither the Church nor the royal family said whether it was true or not... But, the matter of the Seagod Stone seemed to have started from their trading post?"

"Who knows? The Church and the royal family did it, too."

"Alas... I don't think as much as you do. I just hope that the Holy Fire Cat Cult can continue to operate. They distribute food every day... Now that I mention it, I'm hungry. Do you have any food with you?"

"What food are you bringing? Isn't bread the one being distributed today?"

"Yeah, then I'll just eat eat eat eat!"

……

Looking at it this way, everyone actually hopes that Xu Shi and the others are safe and sound. To use a less pleasant word, is this what they mean by "whoever gives you milk is your mother"?

However, what they didn't know was that Xu Shi and his group, who were "escorted out" by the Royal Court knights, sat in the carriage as soon as they went out, and started to get close to the people who came to arrest them.

"You are on time, Knight Commander Chen."

Xu Shi was very satisfied with the other party's performance. He patted the other party on the shoulder and said, "It's just that your acting skills need to be honed. Most people can't see any problems, but from my perspective, your acting is a bit too much and it's easy to be exposed."

"Mr. Xu is right. I can't act anyway."

Knight Commander Chen shook his head and said, "It's just that the Grand Duke and His Majesty have given orders, so I have to come... Your acting skills are very good."

"You are much more interesting than your brother. You can even flatter him?"

"I speak from the bottom of my heart."

"I'm hungry……"

Xia Ke'an didn't bother to care about what kind of polite words his bad father was saying to others, and he lay weakly on Pan Ling's lap, "When we go down to the palace, they will prepare food, right?"

The silly disciple twitched the corner of his mouth. Is this the same saintly lady who didn't change her expression no matter how big the building was, and could easily soothe people's hearts with just one sentence?

You are the one with the best acting skills, right? Anyway, even though she knew that the other person was an old lady, no, a big sister, pretending to be young every day, she still couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair, comforting her like a child, "Yes, yes. If not, let them cook for you."

"Great! I didn't have enough of that cake last time!"

The old lady revived to her full health upon hearing this and almost jumped up.

Pan Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she had to admit that the little sister was cuter when she was smaller...

It’s not that the adult wasn’t pretty, it’s just that he looked a bit weird, which made her feel jealous…

……

As they were chatting and laughing, the convoy "escorting prisoners" also entered the palace area.

As the saying goes, you have to do the whole show, so naturally the group of people who "organized an illegal assembly" had to go to jail for a scene... But it was obvious that arrangements had been made here a long time ago, and it was not much different from a luxury vacation suite.

The white-haired loli got to eat the cake she had been longing for, while Xu Shi, as the "leader of the rally", was taken away for questioning in isolation.

Then, the next day.

Dongfang Xiao convened a grand court meeting, which was rare, and required all civil and military officials to be present. If they did not come today, they would not have to come in the future.

Her topics are also simple and direct.

"Recently, I have heard that some outsiders are holding a private gathering in the name of 'Holy Fire Cat Cult' to distribute supplies and win over people's hearts."

She sat on the throne with a serious face, and a female official next to her read the edict for her, "According to the law, this act is an unpardonable crime. However, last night I met Xu Shi in person and had a long conversation with him, and I realized that his teachings have the world in mind." , and also thought that he had made great achievements in conquering the sea god, so he will not be held accountable."

"Moreover, the current situation is turbulent, the destiny has changed, the divine weapons have changed, and the lives of the people are in urgent need. Therefore, I want to introduce new knowledge from overseas to bring reform and development to the empire."

"In view of this, I wish to appoint Xu Shi as the Imperial Teacher and give him the title of Earl. His religion can also help guide people to be good, so it will be established as the state religion for the time being. I decree this."

The edict was not long, but it was enough to make everyone present drop their jaws.

WDNMD, what did I hear?!

Ordinary people didn't know who Xu Shi was, but the princes and ministers knew him - the other party had personally demonstrated his armed equipment in front of them!

At that time, Cheng Gujian had actually already gone against the majority's opinion and started to accept and promote these new things... So this point in Dongfang Xiao's edict was actually not important. Instead, it seemed like an afterthought, or just a special recitation for him.

The really important point is another one: you want to worship him as your master? And you want to establish his sect as the state religion?

There were no fools among the people present. Everyone knew that this was their Queen, who was planning to completely break off relations with the Holy See.

No wonder the little queen is making such a fuss today - if she doesn't make a fuss about this, what else is worth making a fuss about?

After learning this, everyone looked at Cheng Gujian at the same time, wanting to see what his attitude was.

The other party just sat on the seat given to him, closed his eyes and rested, nodding intentionally or unintentionally, obviously agreeing.

That's right, if he didn't agree, this edict probably wouldn't be issued...

I have to say that a one-man rule has its advantages. Seeing that Cheng Gujian has expressed his opinion, naturally no one will be stupid enough to jump out and compete for the throne, or do something like "Your Majesty, please think twice". Even if there are opinions, they have to hold them in first, and complain after the court is over or discuss it later. Those who oppose now will definitely not have a good ending.

It was at this time that Xu Shi strode into the palace gate - of course he was not dressed as a charlatan, but he followed the local customs and changed into the decent formal attire commonly used by men in the Hualan Empire.

"…Student Dongfang Xiao, nice to meet you, teacher."

The little queen stood up from her seat, walked up to her, knelt on one knee, and performed the standard student etiquette.

There would be absolutely no problem with this, even if it was regarded as a gesture of her determination... The only thing that puzzled everyone was, Your Majesty, did you kneel a little too quickly?

"Your Majesty, there is no need to be so polite. Please stand up quickly."

Xu Shi smiled and helped her up. "I just couldn't bear to see the suffering of the people, so I opened the teaching and gave alms. Teacher is too flattering to me."