CH-078

78 He said, the Lord God shone with light

Shu Li did not make a sound about this, but calmly handed the statue to Bishop Hugo.

Bishop Hugo took it, his fingertips pausing slightly.

He did not think Shu Li would suddenly hand him a broken statue for no reason.

Following Shu Li's gaze to the statue, Bishop Hugo noticed that within the barely perceptible cracks on its surface, an unusual metallic luster faintly showed through.

His expression instantly turned sharp.

Looking up again, though past seventy with hair as white as snow, his eyes, weathered by time, remained steady as iron, full of authority.

His gaze slowly swept over the crowd, a cold glint appearing in his pupils.

The crowd was shaken, and the scene, which had been filled with whispers, fell into dead silence.

Some lowered their heads, some looked away in panic, and no one dared to meet his eyes.

Bishop Hugo spoke slowly: "This matter must be thoroughly investigated."

His tone was not harsh, but it resonated like morning bells and evening drums.

Although Bishop Hugo was not the bishop of Sdan Church, no one questioned his authority at that moment.

No one hesitated in the slightest to follow his words, as if he were originally the highest-ranking clergy in Sdan City.

But despite his words, Bishop Hugo did not trust everyone in the church, nor did he have any faithful there he could rely on.

His heart never relaxed in the slightest.

In this church, he did not believe everyone was trustworthy.

Those who appeared devout on the surface but concealed dirtiness behind it were often the real obstacles preventing the truth from surfacing.

He never trusted verbal loyalty, only the gleam and evasion in people's eyes.

Moreover, Shu Li's hint still echoed in his ears – the person who threw the statue might still be hiding in the crowd. And whether that person's identity was good or bad, there was no need to dwell on it.

Thus, rather than directly condemning anyone, Hugo put away his sharpness and went along with the situation.

What he wanted was not an answer, but a flaw in expression, an avoidance in the eyes, a momentary fluctuation in breath caused by a guilty conscience.

Such a probe was sharper and faster than any interrogation.

"When I first arrived in Sdan, I heard the rumors about this city's statues."

"Nobles fought over them, commoners lined up, and the church doors were packed every day, all for that one eight-inch tall statue."

"Amid such a craze, in the face of such enormous profit, the Bishop of Sdan chose to distribute part of the statues for free, giving them to the common people who came to listen to sermons."

"Such integrity, unmoved by wealth, truly sets an example for bishops of many dioceses."

"The purpose of my visit to this diocese is to learn from the bishop of the leading diocese in our Northern Territory."

These words stirred ripples in the hearts of others like a stone thrown into water.

They could not help but glance sideways at Shu Li.

They had originally thought Bishop Hugo had come to support, back, and campaign for this young priest.

But the conversation between Bishop Hugo and Bishop Holm at yesterday's hunt had already made many hesitate.

No matter how much he favored or admired Father Aris, he could not openly violate church law.

Had they misunderstood?

Especially regarding this statue incident – his stern words and even direct点名 accountability made it seem instead like he supported... Father Simeon?

Not only did Father Simeon's years of service meet the bishop standard, but he also bore the respectful title of "ascetic." His leadership in the Stone Hollow牧区, where a "miracle" appeared, and his role as designer of this popular statue only added to his standing.

For a moment, thoughts surged in everyone's minds.

But no one dared to dwell too long. This was not the time for absent-mindedness.

Bishop Hugo, with a solemn expression, raised the statue and said coldly: "This statue is made of poor materials, shoddy workmanship, even inferior to the cheapest goods on the market. It is an insult to the Lord. But what is more terrifying—"

He paused, "There is gold hidden inside this statue. How many people in your Sdan City know about this?"

Such an astounding secret suddenly revealed before everyone brought dead silence to the surroundings.

The previously scattered thoughts scattered like birds in a forest, no one daring to respond for fear of being innocently implicated.

And Bishop Hugo's gaze swept across their faces one by one.

Innocent, hesitant, nervous, angry, and—

Before him, Sister Rita's pupils flickered, as if a huge shadow had fallen like a bird into her eyes. For a moment, the color of her eyes darkened. Her usual cold, stern demeanor now seemed layered with an extra coat of frost, a quiet danger added to her stillness.

A demonic voice clamored in her mind – she wanted to curse these clergy!

How could these sanctimonious clergy call her child sinful?!

They called her child a demon!!

These people were the demons!

So small, so small.

So kind...

Sister Rita's mind was in turmoil.

Or perhaps it was precisely because of Hugo's words that she was so unsettled, her mind endlessly replaying the image of her child's body growing colder due to bloodletting therapy.

That child had died in Sister Rita's arms, only to be discarded in the mountains by the church.

These scenes replayed in her mind, making her whole body feel cold.

Her lips moved, but she did not express her true thoughts or emotions, maintaining a silent expression.

"Sister Rita, what are you trying to say?" Bishop Hugo looked at her face and asked calmly.

Sister Rita was Bishop Whitmore's secretary.

How could she not know the information?

But Sister Rita did not start with what Bishop Hugo had expected. Not even Hugo thought that a few words from him would make the real culprit willingly confess.

"One day, he told me that he saw the Lord God shining with light..."

"Who is 'he'?"

As soon as the question arose, Hugo asked again: "Sister Rita, what exactly are you trying to say?" His tone was unhurried but carried oppressive weight.

Shu Li saw that the nun's face was pale, which was not a good sign.

This could be due to a large secretion of adrenaline causing blood vessels to be in an anemic state.

This person might be too afraid, or perhaps extremely angry.

Shu Li leaned toward the latter, especially since he had just heard from Leyton about the tragic death of Sister Rita's child under the hooves of horses.

If that child had died because he accidentally discovered the secret of the statue, could Sister Rita really remain calm?

Shu Li: "..."

Bishop Hugo asked again: "Who is he?"

This question was like a dull thunder rolling overhead.

Everyone looked sharply at Sister Rita, but no one dared to speak.

Rita pressed her lips together, offering no further response, as if enduring or restraining herself.

In the brief silence, Shu Li sensed a strange restlessness in the air.

He glanced sideways and saw a group of people approaching quickly from the rear corridor of the church.

"The coadjutor bishop has arrived." A young priest, panting, rushed into the hall, breaking everyone's silence.

Behind him, priests, deacons, and nuns in clerical robes filed into the scene, their faces marked with haste and confusion.

"I heard something happened at the bell tower... and the statue..."

The coadjutor bishop frowned and asked, but soon noticed the broken statue in Bishop Hugo's hand, and his expression changed dramatically.

"What is this? Someone... someone smashed the statue?"

His voice was filled with fear.

"It is not that the statue was attacked," Bishop Hugo replied to them, "but that the statue itself is the source of the problem."

At these words, an invisible ripple instantly spread through the scene.

Hugo took in the expressions of everyone around him, his face impassive but his mind clear as a mirror.

He slowly withdrew his gaze, his voice low but powerful: "Father Aris has already said – among those present here, there is likely the person who threw the statue."

Upon hearing these words again, the crowd tensed up once more, as if awaiting punishment.

Bishop Hugo's gaze swept the hall once more. "In my view, there is not a single person here I can fully trust."

He no longer held back, turning to the coadjutor bishop: "Lock down the church. No related personnel may leave. Question everyone one by one."

These words struck like a heavy hammer on ice, unleashing a surge of cold current.

Everyone finally realized that this was no longer just a simple "statue accident."

This could very well signal that a storm of purification was about to sweep through the entire diocese.

Seeing how resolutely Bishop Hugo acted, Shu Li felt more certain that Hugo was a clergy member worth following.

His thought had barely surfaced for a second.

Bishop Hugo then looked at Shu Li, his voice soft and gentle: "Aris, did you hear the voice of the Lord God this time?"

This question came out of nowhere.

Shu Li: "..."

In the past, Shu Li would have encountered the body or the crime scene first, allowing him to quickly integrate information and reach a conclusion.

But now, clearly, Shu Li did not have sufficient understanding of the whole case.

He also was not sure whether someone's attempt to injure Father Simeon was directly related to the bishop's death.

Although both cases involved this eight-inch statue, if the murderer had intended to expose the secret hidden inside the statue, the murder weapon should also have contained gold.

Why had Bishop Hugo and the others not seen the gold inside then?

Had someone switched it?

Shu Li looked toward the coadjutor bishop across from him, who was constantly wiping away sweat.

"I need to return to the altar to pray before I can receive the voice of the divine." Shu Li immediately suppressed his own thoughts and replied calmly. "If possible, I would like to examine both statues."

Bishop Hugo quickly asked, "How long will you need?"

For a moment, Shu Li envisioned scenes from movies and TV shows where the protagonist makes a bet with others, with a time limit of three days. "..."

He paused. "I cannot be sure."

Bishop Hugo said, "The written exam for bishop candidates will proceed as scheduled at 10:30. It is nearly 10 o'clock now."

His words startled the other bishop candidates who had arrived late.

"We are still taking the exam today?!"

With so much happening!!!

Bishop Hugo calmly swept his gaze over their expressions. "If a bishop candidate lacks even this basic psychological resilience, how can he manage the affairs of an entire diocese? In the future, the Savoie diocese will center on grammar schools, facing not only the existing pressures of the diocese but also needing to negotiate with the Duke. If you are frightened off by a small matter, how can you be a good bishop in the future?"

Someone still unwilling to accept reality tried to find a reason to refuse: "But the review requires three bishops..."

Bishop Hugo raised his clear, righteous eyes and replied, "Isn't there a third bishop right here?"