The Villain Saint is my secondary account

In theory, it is somewhat blasphemous for a believer to invoke the names of other gods, but Ella certainly wouldn't care about such things, so Ye Xiao had no taboos.

Since mentioning Mammon's name can resolve some trouble, there's no harm in not mentioning it.

“No, I am not a follower of this lord now.” Abbott paused. “But it doesn’t matter. The priest told everyone in town that a follower of Lord Mammon would be visiting today, and asked us to treat him well. It seems to be you.”

"Hmm." Ye Xiao nodded noncommittally, although he felt that it definitely wasn't referring to him. "It seems that the conflict just now was indeed a misunderstanding."

Abbott lowered his sleeves and led Ye Xiao down a side path. "I originally wanted to come here to collect some fish and shellfish during the night tide, but since you're here, I'll take you to town first."

"Thank you for your trouble." Ye Xiao put on the air of an older brother on patrol, but then he suddenly remembered that he was not wearing any clothes, so he quickly took out a piece of clothing from his spatial ring and put it on.

The three of them walked up the winding path, which was not far. After only ten minutes, Ye Xiao saw the town that Abbott had mentioned.

Ye Xiao was prepared to see all sorts of strange buildings and oddities in this eerie place.

But to my surprise, the scene before me was unexpectedly beautiful.

Under the moonlight, rows of clean, white-walled, pointed-roofed houses lined the path paved with white gravel. The warm, pale yellow glow of the streetlights spilled onto the flowers blooming on the windowsills of each house. The colorful, layered rooftops were draped with emerald green vines, and in the distance, a tall tower could be seen standing against the boundless night sky.

Neat tables and chairs lined the roadside shops, where small groups of people sat together drinking and chatting. In the shop windows, humanoid mechanical puppets made of brass fittings busied themselves carrying plates, while children dressed simply and cleanly cheered and played with winged spherical machines on the road.

The liveliness here is different from the noisy revelry on Anstan Boulevard. It is more of a natural and harmonious scene, as if it has stepped out of a fairy tale. Every scene you see is a beautiful medieval oil painting.

Ye Xiao followed Abbott into this beautiful scenery and felt relaxed and refreshed.

"By the way, where exactly is this place?"

The scenery was beautiful, but it was unlike any other place Ye Xiao knew.

"Hopstown, though we prefer to call it Hope Town."

Hope Town… Ye Xiao murmured. It wasn’t that he was gloomy, but places with names like that always gave people an ominous feeling.

Arriving at a tall building with a blue roof and white walls that appeared to be the town hall, Abbott led Ye Xiao forward and said to the armored soldiers guarding the entrance, "Please help me inform the mayor that Lord Mammon's followers have arrived."

The soldiers were completely covered in armor, but Ye Xiao noticed that there seemed to be some mechanical parts operating in the gaps between the armor, leading him to believe that these soldiers were also mechanical puppets.

After glancing around a few times, he said softly, "Your town hall is still open so late? The town hall in Valond closes before afternoon tea time."

"The armored guards work all day, but these two days are special because of the festival celebrations, so the human city staff are also working."

Mech race? Ye Xiao was surprised to hear this term; he had never heard of this race in his previous life.

However, he could roughly guess that it referred to the mechanical puppets made of brass parts, but the use of the word "race" made him a little confused. Could it really be considered a race?

"Two days, is tomorrow also part of the celebration?"

“Of course, but tonight is just a night of revelry, and the passageways to and from here will be closed tonight,” Abbott said. “The official celebration is tomorrow, and right now everyone in town is just making preparations.”

"Tomorrow... Pilgrimage Day?" Ye Xiao found it hard not to connect the two dates.

"You mean the festival of the Church of Loren?" Abbott crossed his arms. "Although it's the same day, it's not the same festival for us—tomorrow is the day of the birth of the great being we all believe in."

Just as Ye Xiao was about to ask another question, the guard who had gone to report returned and said to the two of them, "I'm sorry, sir, but a visitor who claims to be a follower of Mammon has just arrived."

Oh no, the imposter has run into the real deal.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao immediately felt guilty.

But then he saw a girl with long pink and white hair, dressed in a black and white maid outfit, peek out from behind the soldier.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Reunion

Seeing the familiar, adorable maid, Ye Xiao subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

Perhaps because he had spent some time with the other person, the guy's lazy demeanor gave him a sense of ease, so when Ye Xiao saw the other person inexplicably appear here, his first reaction was not to be wary but to feel somewhat at ease.

But Ye Xiao was never entirely obedient; he still maintained reasonable suspicion: "Good heavens, how did you end up here?"

“I…I don’t know either.” Greta stuck out her tongue. “After I reported to the head maid that you had left me alone, she punished me by making me sweep the stands…and then I thought I’d lie down there and take a nap, and when I woke up I found myself here.”

...What kind of nonsense is this?

Ye Xiao was speechless. If you wanted to believe it, it seemed like something a normal person couldn't pull off. But if you didn't believe it, seeing the other person's blank expression made it seem like it might not be impossible.

"You two... know each other?" Abbott scratched his head.

Ye Xiao nodded and looked at the guard, "Could this be the other follower of Lord Mammon you mentioned?"

“Of course, I am a faithful follower of the adults.” Before the guard could answer, Greta pulled a small wooden demon statue from her pocket, puffed out her chest proudly, and said, “Look.”

Ye Xiao's gaze unconsciously passed over the maid's ample chest before noticing the statue, clearly indicating that his failure rate in the "Don't Look Challenge" would also be 100%.

The statue was even smaller than the one Abbott had in the settlement room outside the capital, about the size of a thumb. Because it was so tiny, the demonic image that should have been ferocious looked rather clumsy.

"This is a counterfeit product, isn't it..." Ye Xiao was speechless. "The smallest one I've ever seen is twice the size of this."

"Don't talk nonsense, this style does exist!"

Greta angrily stuffed the statue into her pocket. "I'm not showing it to you!"

"Okay, okay." Ye Xiao shrugged.

"But you, when did you become a follower of Lord Mammon?" Greta said, her hands clasped to her chest.

“I even went to the arena to fight for Lord Mammon, so wouldn’t you say that counts as a believer?”

"That seems to make sense."

This guy... doesn't seem very smart, Ye Xiao thought.

The two guards at the entrance looked at each other, unsure how to deal with the two believers who had appeared at the same time.

"Guests are welcome, please come in." A slightly weathered voice rang out, and an old man with a white beard, his body hunched over, descended the steps beside the hall with two mechanical alchemy servants.

Like a respected elder in all fairy tales, the old man wore a long, black and gray robe that trailed on the ground. The two guards bowed respectfully upon seeing him: "Mayor."

Even alchemical golems seem to behave politely in this place.

"Thank you." Ye Xiao also bowed politely.

"Please follow me, both of you," said the alchemist servant beside the old man. "We will prepare two guest rooms for you."

Its clear and articulate tone was like that of a stage actor reciting a script. The brass wheels on the chassis turned, carrying Ye Xiao and Greta up the steps to the second floor.

Ye Xiao observed the servant's wheel that could turn up the steps with some curiosity. There were more types of alchemical golems here than he had imagined, and even those with the same function seemed to have different forms.

The alchemical golems in the shops outside wear suits and ties, and have two legs and two arms assembled from multiple parts; but this alchemical servant has wheels underneath, and its body is a rectangular prism cast entirely from brass. It has two closed doors on the front, and a rough, female-looking metal head on top. Its overall shape is like a coffin standing on two wheels.

The reason for this difference in manufacturing process is unknown.

They were led to two rooms side by side on the third floor. The alchemical servant handed two small keys to Ye Xiao and Greta respectively, leaned forward to indicate their presence, and then turned the wheel and left.

Ye Xiao inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently. He pushed open the door and found a clean and tidy bed inside. At the foot of the bed was a brown wooden table with composite drawers and a matching chair. In the upper right corner of the inner wall was a small square metal door. There was nothing else inside.

He had only taken two steps inside when he noticed the maid had followed him in. He quickly turned around and asked, "What are you doing here?"

“I want to stay here too,” Greta said, her eyes clear.

"Don't you live next door?"

"I'm not familiar with this area, it's too dangerous for me to live here alone."

"Go away, I don't even know you well, we've only known each other for less than a day." Ye Xiao's lips twitched. "Who knows if you'll stab me in the back while I'm sleeping."

"Why are you so suspicious! He's clearly harmless... Hey, what are you doing..."

Ye Xiao grabbed Greta by the collar and tossed her outside like a kitten.

The lazy little maid was surprisingly restless when she was lifted up.

Seeing Greta swing her fist, Ye Xiao slammed the door shut without hesitation.

It's much quieter now.

Ye Xiao was about to lie down on the bed when she suddenly realized that her pants were still wet, and there was dried sweat and blood on her body.

It seems like I haven't taken a shower since the fight in the Colosseum...

He couldn't help but sit down in the chair, close his eyes, and doze off for a while.

He was a bit tired after all the commotion today, so he decided to take a short rest before looking for a bathroom.

……

About an hour or two later, Ye Xiao opened her eyes in a daze.

Waking up alone in a strange room always brings an indescribable sense of loneliness.

In a daze, I seemed to hear some indistinct singing, but it disappeared the moment I regained consciousness.

He exhaled, stood up, looked at the still sticky sweat on his body, took out spare clothes from his spatial ring, and opened the door.

If they were living in the wild, he wouldn't care, but since they're living indoors, it's necessary to keep them clean.

The maid outside the door had long since disappeared. Looking at the tightly closed door next door, Ye Xiao guessed that the other person must have gone into the room.

The corridor was empty. Although oil lamps hung on the walls, casting a warm glow, the quiet and vast hall at night still gave one a sense of gloom.

It seems the other party only arranged rooms for them, without explaining how to handle food or bathing, and they didn't know who to contact if they needed these things.

This made Ye Xiaosheng somewhat puzzled.

He walked alone down the deserted corridor, searching for a bathroom. Perhaps the revelry outside had come to an end, for the night was now quiet and still.

That makes sense, since Ella's situation has already wrapped up, and she's happily gone back to her comfortable bed to sleep.

However, Ye Xiao didn't see the alchemical golems who were supposed to be working all day, which was strange.

As he walked, he heard a faint singing voice again.

The soft, mournful sounds, like sobs and lamentations, lingered in the empty corridor.

Chapter Forty: Midnight Song

"Little birds in the blue sky."

"A cold wind swept through the valley."

"Father, oh Father, why are you silent?"

"Mommy, Mommy, please don't cry anymore,"

An unusual singing voice drifted through the warm lights, like an invisible hand trying to lead Ye Xiao deeper into the corridor.

Ye Xiao stopped, his player instincts making him less inclined to explore the truth behind the song.

But a bright yellow gold coin suddenly popped out of his pocket and rolled forward down the long corridor as if controlled by someone.

Watching the gold coin roll further and further away, Ye Xiao gritted his teeth and finally took a step to chase after it: "Mamon, you old bastard."

The singing continued, becoming clearer with each step Ye Xiao took.

"And don't wear that red sweater."

"Holy Light, please stop shining on me."

"Even the little sister playing hide-and-seek can't see it."

The singer seemed to be a little girl; her voice was childish yet carried a hint of sadness.

The gold coin spun around a few corners and then fell with a thud in front of a tightly closed door.

Just as Ye Xiao reached the door, the melodious singing disappeared.

"The navigation is so accurate, Mammon, you might as well be called the Big Dipper Demon God." Ye Xiao thought to himself.

He tiptoed along the door and picked up the coin, when suddenly he heard a heart-wrenching scream coming from inside.

"what--!!!"

This startled Ye Xiao so much that he almost jumped up, but the seasoned veteran managed to control himself in time. However, the sound was so pitiful that it gave him goosebumps.

Then, a hissing sound, like a chainsaw turning, came from inside.

What the hell? Are they secretly filming an adult film here?

The door was closed tightly, so only the light shining through the cracks in the door could be faintly seen flickering shadows.

Ye Xiao had no choice but to slowly press his ear against the door frame, trying to hear what was going on inside.

However, the door creaked open the next second.

This was quite awkward. Ye Xiao stood at the doorway, looking like a thief with his body hunched over, staring at the white-bearded old man standing there.