"So, you found out something was wrong with this 'Hihian' and chased him out of the cathedral?"

Hines looked at the wealthy merchants who were queuing up in front of the offering box and asked Martin beside him.

"Yes."

Martin said in a calm tone.

By this time he had returned to his own form and returned to the Cathedral of Capernaum, and the old man had witnessed the departure of the "Sisian" and Avani, so he did not blame Martin too much for the departure that followed, but only asked the reason.

The two stood on the side of the prayer hall, in the shadow of the tall stone pillars, at this time the "big worship" had not yet ended, and the prayer hall was still overcrowded.

The annual "Great Prayer" has a fixed and complex process compared to the normal prayer, and it is also more solemn and sacred.

At 9 a.m., the service officially began, the cathedral played the prelude, the celebrant and the choir entered, and the hymn "Ode to the Light" was sung, followed by prayer and praise of the Light, the initiation of the scriptures, and the proclamation of the doctrine, which lasted the longest, usually more than half an hour.

Then there is the dedication of the faithful, which is now the ongoing process, with many believers giving their belongings in front of the statue of the Light.

Unlike the church "indulgences" that Martin had known in his previous life, the Holy Light Church did not advocate believers to exchange gold coins for salvation, and even in the earliest "big worship" rituals, there was no "dedication" process.

For these wealthy merchants, life is already luxurious enough, they are accustomed to exchanging money for what they need, the difference is only the amount of money they need, so when they want to get spiritual satisfaction, they will also subconsciously exchange gold coins.

And for the church, if there are enough gold coins to maintain the daily operation, and it can be exchanged for the peace of mind of the believers, then why not do it?

The dedication is followed by the bishop's prayer, including the joint prayer of the bishops of the suburbs and the capital of the Redstone Kingdom, mainly for those who have decided to return to the Light and for those who are sick.

This is followed by the devotees led by the celebrants and the royal family to sing hymns including the Lord's Prayer, the Blessing of the Light, and the Ode to the Light.

Finally, there is the exit ceremony.

Martin looked at the seat he had shared with "Hihian" before, and by this time there was already a new believer sitting on it, an old couple dressed simply.

"I noticed something wrong with this 'Hihian' in the cathedral, and although her appearance was no different from the one I knew, there was something strange about her whole being, and it was difficult for me to describe it accurately."

Martin's eyes weren't focused, he was really thinking about what he saw when he saw the fake "Xitian", recalling how she behaved at the time.

The result was that he really didn't notice anything wrong with this person's appearance, and unless it was a very familiar friend, it was really hard to spot the difference.

"She did some strange things to me in the church."

Martin pondered.

"Oh? What's the matter? ”

Hearing this, Hines's expression, which was originally a little serious, changed instantly, and he turned his head, revealing an expression that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and his tone revealed a strong curiosity.

"How does it smell of gossip... It's not what you think......"

The "voice" in Martin's heart began to complain again.

He closed his eyes and dispelled the thought, then replied:

"She was sitting on my right hand, and I had some strange feelings about the 'Ode to Light' that was being sung, and it made me feel a little uncomfortable, and then the 'Hihian' took my right hand, and a warm feeling came, and the discomfort disappeared."

After much deliberation, Martin decided to tell Hynes what had happened, and he was uneasy about the woman's last-minute remarks that "the prostration is actually a sacrificial ritual" and that "believers are sacrifices."

This uneasiness, combined with the confusion brought about by York, the red-haired ghost at the card table, hints at what the royal family and the church are plotting about, something related to xenomorphism and "tainted cards".

Martin was desperate to know what "shadows in the light" meant, and Hines in front of him was a very good person to answer his doubts.

And the only candidate at the moment.

"I followed her to an alley west of the cathedral and found her talking to another man."

Martin then recounted what he had followed, and withheld information about his identity from Avani's conversation with "Hihian", saying only that it was too far away for him to hear clearly, which was also in line with normal human hearing.

Martin then focuses on the words of "Hishian" about the "Great Prayer" and asks Hines what he means by these words to observe his reaction.

"It turned out to be her, Lilith......"

When Hines learned that the fake "Hithean" was the woman who had almost taken away her prophetic card, Hines muttered to himself.

"Lilith?"

Martin heard a new name, and Hines knew the fake "Maria"?

"Well, she can be counted as a student of mine when I was in the fortress before."

Hines seemed reluctant to talk much about this woman.

"There's something really wrong with this 'big worship,' but I'm not sure yet...... Maybe Lilith really knows something......"

Hines looked at the statue of Light not far away, a rare look of confusion on his face, like an old pedant suddenly discovering that the world was working differently than he had always thought.

He wanted to find Lilith.

Martin looked at Hines's expression and subconsciously made such a judgment.

Hines was distracted for a moment, then reacted, and said to Martin:

"Hehe, I always feel my ignorance after coming out of the fortress, which is a good thing for me, but it is also a painful thing. I'll continue to look into this matter, and if you have any further information about Lilith or the cathedral, you can come to me. ”

"And this 'big worship', although there have been no accidents so far, but due to your departure in the middle, I am afraid that you will lose the relevant bounty, and I am powerless to change this."

With a hint of apology in his tone, Hines looked at Martin sincerely.

"I'm sorry."

Martin was also apologetic, he had expected some punishment for leaving without permission, but it didn't seem to be.

I don't know if it's because of Hines' maintenance or if it's the club itself.

If so, then it's too lax in management, right? What if there was an accident due to his departure?

He didn't think about it any longer, the "big service" had already reached the bishop's prayer stage, and Stanley prayed with the tall bishop, Thomas Norton, for the sick, for the people at the bottom who were suffering.

Rather than praying meaninglessly, it would be much more meaningful to go to the slums and factories in the East Side, and get a feel for how many families are crammed into moldy rental houses, and feel what kind of environment the laborers are working in.

But Martin also understood that it was impossible for these people to go.

Looking at the rows of rich merchants and petty nobles praying on the benches, Martin felt a mixed feeling in his heart.

On the one hand, these people's rich lives are underneath the blood, sweat and even lives of the vast number of poor laborers, and on the other hand, these people are used as sacrifices by the royal family and the church, and he cannot tell whether he should harbor resentment or sympathy for these people.

While he was wrestling with this, Martin discovered an acquaintance in the group.

It's Miss Anne.

She's not a "savior", just an ordinary person, but she's also the daughter of the Archon of Cavides, how could she be here? On top of this "altar"?

Martin instinctively sensed something was wrong.

After staring at Anne for a moment, he noticed something even more surprising.

The girl was now surrounded by two extremely dull shades of red and black, which were intertwined and surging like two pythons entwining Anne, and their colors were getting darker and darker, and although slowly, they had a tendency to gradually condense into substance.

Martin was sure that Anne had only a faint purple color on her body before, which meant a mist of protection, which was not uncommon in the crowd, and he confirmed that Anne was just an ordinary person, and then he saved Anne.

But at this moment, Martin was extremely confused.

The appearance of two colors of mist on a person, which Martin had only seen in Hines before, meant two mediums, two different decks of different qualities.

This can be explained by the presence of Hines, but what is it about Annie? What does red and black mean?

Martin looked around and noticed that the entire prayer hall seemed to have undergone some changes as he observed Anne.