CH-082

82 !!!!!

The arrival of Bishop Holm was not accidental.

The altar had once again been plagued by rumors of death and injury, so it was only natural that he came to assess the situation.

However, the matter was quite simple; the entire sequence of events could be explained in a single sentence. Therefore, by the time he arrived, he already knew the situation, but he never expected to hear such words from Shu Li.

Though untimely, the words were sharp and striking.

He not only felt a resonance but also a deep emotion—Father Alistair must have endured many years of suppression within the church system. Perhaps Father Alistair himself might not have realized how much he had been constrained by this church.

Now, Holm could enlighten him, guide him, and reshape him.

Perhaps for Rainier, Father Alistair is a silver statue; but for Holm, Father Alistair is more like a sharp silver weapon.

Holm's gaze grew increasingly profound.

However, Shu Li was unaware of just how inscrutable Holm's look had become. Seeing that Holm didn't say much else, he simply nodded in greeting, then stepped aside to let him visit Sister Rita.

At that moment, the injured woman was still deathly pale, her color not yet returned.

The treatment for blood loss caused by the wound was limited to stopping the bleeding.

Shu Li felt it was necessary to help solve the case quickly, firstly to ensure a smooth return to Savoy, and secondly for the sake of Sister Rita's soul.

In fact, when Shu Li first heard that someone had been crushed to death by a statue, he immediately ruled out anyone who seemed particularly loyal to the Lord and the church, including Sister Rita.

Sister Rita strictly adhered to church rules and doctrines, even accepting that her child died because he couldn't dodge the carriage carrying the statue.

This kind of person had essentially given their body and soul to the church, agreeing that all their misfortunes were outcomes arranged by the Lord. However, someone with such inner conviction would generally never use a statue to kill or injure someone.

To give a simple example, it's like in a Chinese family, many parents are already accustomed to the idea that their children should first get married and then establish a career, and carry on the family line. They wouldn't stop urging their children to marry just because the child couldn't handle the pressure and left them.

Fixed patterns of thinking are shackles that limit people's actions.

However, Rita's words, "I have already been possessed by a demon," suddenly awakened Shu Li.

At the same time, Rita also mentioned the word "crazy."

This was clearly a lucid self-assessment of her own actions.

Therefore, it was very likely that after her child's death, Sister Rita experienced a traumatic stress reaction, exhibiting symptoms of dissociative identity disorder.

On one hand, she was too loyal to the Lord and the church to question the Lord's decisions; on the other hand, because her child was deemed sinful by the Lord, her maternal love could not accept the Lord's judgment.

The pain and pressure brought by this contradiction were externalized into the existence of being "possessed by a demon," allowing her to not blame her Lord, but instead use her own evil side to fight against the world.

And Rita was deeply convinced of this identity.

Precisely because of this, Shu Li could also explain why, during the hunting grounds, when he had once handed a salt bag in Rita's direction, Sister Rita didn't say a word but deliberately avoided him.

This wasn't because Shu Li didn't need to show the salt bag, and it certainly wasn't about avoiding physical contact between men and women; it was because for Sister Rita, "salt is for exorcism."

She couldn't touch it.

Thus, as a demon, she could use a statue to smash and injure people.

At the same time, as a demon, she could also commit suicide.

After all, according to the church's greater principles, believers are forbidden from self-destruction.

But the reality was that her entire spiritual core had already collapsed.

When Shu Li left, he left Naxi with Sister Rita, letting the little fox stay by the side of the unwell Sister Rita to provide a calming and stabilizing effect.

His pet therapy plan had finally worked.

And with these successive injury incidents, the truth could no longer be delayed.

*

They first searched Sister Rita's room and office but found nothing.

It wasn't until they reached the altar where Rita was last seen that Shu Li suddenly stopped.

It was a blind spot between the altar and the wall, almost completely hidden by dark curtains.

When Shu Li pulled back the curtain, he saw a package wrapped in coarse linen, wedged quietly in the gap. It was already soaked with some liquid, showing dark stains.

A faint, piercing smell of rust drifted through the air.

Shu Li naturally wouldn't pick it up directly with his hands. Instead, he used a tool to lift the cloth package out, then carefully opened the linen, revealing shards of an amber glass bottle, with dark red liquid still clinging to the fragments.

Compared to the almost invisible traces by the kitchen stove, the smell here was much stronger.

"Blood?" Leyton was extremely familiar with this smell. Sometimes it smelled sweet and fishy, other times, like now, it smelled like rust. "The medical clinic here doesn't do bloodletting treatments."

A whole glass bottle of blood would certainly require a bloodletting treatment to obtain.

"Blood is unclean," so if bloodletting was truly necessary, either a physician would be called, or it would be done elsewhere.

Seeing the pattern, Shu Li stopped his movement, "Sister Rita said that people in the church don't live long, implying poison, and this poison might be this blood."

Human blood, under normal circumstances, is not toxic, unless it has already decomposed.

Besides, if it were truly poisonous, the church members would have shown symptoms from the start, but everyone currently looked normal.

However, the reason Shu Li didn't want Leyton to touch it was that some diseases are transmitted through blood, and the sanitary conditions here were poor. Simply rinsing the blood away wouldn't sterilize or disinfect anything.

Leyton immediately withdrew his hand because of Shu Li's words and quickly asked, "Are you saying that Sister Rita put this blood into our food?"

"It's very possible, otherwise how could the same traces appear on the kitchen stove? And how could there be glass shards on the ground?"

Leyton's face turned a sickly green, and he subconsciously touched his body, "So, are we going to die?"

Raymond asked strangely, "You didn't eat the church's meal this afternoon."

Leyton suddenly remembered—he had eaten scallion pancakes for lunch, not the church's standard meal. His eyes widened, cold sweat broke out, and he quickly made the sign of the cross on his chest, whispering a prayer of thanks to the Lord, "...You saved me."

Nearby, Father Simeon seemed to recall something, his expression becoming even more despairing and ashen. He just stood there in silent shock, "..."

Raymond, however, hadn't noticed Simeon's absent-mindedness and smiled, patting his shoulder, "If Father Simeon didn't take a bite and then spit it out every time, we wouldn't have realized there was a problem with the food."

Although these words lacked sensitivity, they did comfort Father Simeon.

Shu Li recalled that from the very first day he arrived, Father Simeon had a conditioned reflex to vomit when faced with food in St. Dan's City.

It wasn't because the food was unpalatable or bland, but more likely due to the Carson City incident, which made him extremely sensitive to any remaining trace of blood in his food, immediately triggering an allergic reaction accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Father Simeon has truly been a great help to us," Shu Li affirmed.

Fortunately, the blood in the glass bottle wasn't decomposed and smelly, otherwise, with the current medical capabilities, recovery would have been very difficult.

This era had no antiviral drugs or antibiotics.

Thinking of this, Shu Li realized that his life had been a bit too comfortable lately. He absolutely needed to prepare these crucial things as soon as possible.

Seeing that Shu Li also thanked him, Father Simeon's feeling of nausea immediately dissipated, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face, "It's my honor to be of some use."

Shu Li then turned to Leyton, speaking calmly, "The blood hasn't completely turned black and viscous, there are no obvious clots, and there's no putrid smell. This blood was likely collected within the last three or four days."

He further explained, "And this amber glass bottle is specifically used for holding medicine. I might need to trouble you to check which pharmacies she visited or which physicians she saw. We need to know what this blood is, and we can't just assume everyone is safe just because they seem fine for now."

Hearing this, Leyton was startled, then quickly responded, "I remember, she has always been in contact with the Bishop's physician, Phillips. Every time the Bishop sees a doctor, she, in her secretarial role, is responsible for arranging Phillips's visit."

"Then please ask him to come over." Shu Li felt that passing on information secondhand could lead to omissions; it would be best to confirm it personally.

At that moment, a clear, cold young voice came from the direction of the door, like silverware washed in snow water gently clinking, but his tone sounded like reciting lines, "Father Alistair, we have made Father Jikai speak." @Infinite Good Reads, all in Jinjiang Literature City

"He admitted that he deliberately left the collar clasp at the scene because he saw the holly branch on the altar, realized it was Sister Rita, and so he tried to cover it up."

He paused here, deliberately lowering his speaking speed slightly, "Bishop Rainier asks... could you come over and take a look?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the entire space.

He stood there with an attitude of "once I'm done talking, I'll leave," standing straight, not actually leaving.

Thus, everyone's attention focused on the suddenly appeared Leslie.

But Leslie only saw Shu Li's gaze in return.

One second, two seconds, three seconds—the air seemed frozen.

Leslie stood at the door, his solitary and aloof eyebrows unconsciously drooping, as if suddenly realizing something. Then, he lowered his head, looking calm but actually flustered, glancing out the door and then back at Shu Li, biting his lip.

"Sorry, I didn't notice, I interrupted you."

Leslie's tone was very soft, filled with a rare self-reproach.

Usually... he really only cared about himself, accustomed to ignoring others' feelings and disregarding others.

Shu Li looked at Leslie and said, "No, you didn't interrupt anything... it's just a bit sudden."

He reassured him, "I'll come with you."

After saying this, Shu Li still reminded Leyton not to forget to bring the doctor.

*

On the way to see Bishop Rainier, Shu Li wasn't surprised that they had gotten Jikai to talk.

Father Jikai couldn't lie.

As long as Bishop Rainier meticulously confirmed the timeline with Father Jikai point by point, the truth would eventually surface.

However, what he didn't expect was that standing before Bishop Rainier was also the disheartened, hands-hanging-down Archdeacon. Cardinal Otto stood behind a chair, acting as a background prop. Cavin and Shemus stood beside the Cardinal, happily greeting Shu Li when they saw him.

Shu Li smiled slightly at them as a response.

"The case of the gold hidden in the statue has been solved." Bishop Rainier explained the situation clearly to Shu Li as soon as he saw him.

When they traced the origin of the statue, they discovered that Bishop Whitmore had used the statue to conceal church donations, then used the guise of transporting the statue to quietly convert the gold into his personal assets.

And the cost of making the statue itself provided the perfect smoke screen to cover the shortfall.

Previously, this matter had almost been exposed.

Because their workmanship was truly rough, unable to withstand the slightest bump or knock.

When the Bishop and his men were driving the carriage carrying the gold out, Sister Rita's child collided with the Bishop's carriage.

In the rush to avoid a collision, Bishop Whitmore, unwilling to see the statue fall and reveal the gold in the middle of the street,

ordered the driver to run right over the child.

The child was crushed in the street.

The Archdeacon also knew about this.

At that time, he heard that the child had seen a statue fall, and the Bishop didn't know if the child had seen it or not.

So, the Bishop watched as the child received treatment, watched as the child, on his deathbed, comforted his mother in a faint voice, saying that the Lord must love him too much to take him from Sister Rita's side early.

During this process, the Bishop missed some words, but he watched Sister Rita's expression the whole time, and only after confirming she showed no abnormality did he believe the secret of the statue hadn't been leaked.

Then Bishop Whitmore felt at ease.

And the Archdeacon also relaxed, thinking the case of the gold hidden in the statue was completely over.

But unexpectedly, the Bishop died, and the murder weapon was the very statue hiding the gold.

This clearly indicated that the murderer knew about the statue and harbored hatred for the Bishop.

However, the Archdeacon didn't initially know who the murderer was. He was only worried that Cardinal Otto, Bishop Rainier, and Bishop Holm would inquire about what they had done. So, the Archdeacon immediately switched the murder weapon, using a different statue that had no issues.

After finally concealing the matter of the statue to temporarily avoid the heat, he didn't expect another injury caused by a statue, making the hidden gold unavoidable.

Just as the Archdeacon was at a loss, he realized that among those suspected of using the statue to injure people, Sister Rita was also included.

The Archdeacon suspected that during the child's dying whispers with his mother, Sister Rita had learned the whole truth.

So, the Archdeacon, going all out, exposed Sister Rita, saying, "If hiding the gold is our sin, then Sister Rita has repeatedly killed, even using a statue to kill. This breaks the law and blasphemes the Lord, adding sin upon sin."

Rainier calmly pressed, "What direct evidence do you have that she killed someone?"

At this, the Archdeacon had nothing to say.

It was all his speculation.

Although Bishop Rainier said this, he didn't entirely trust Sister Rita's innocence, so he used the Archdeacon's information to confront Jikai.

Only then did Jikai quietly admit that he had seen the holly branch that Sister Rita always carried at the scene and realized she was the murderer.

But Jikai was willing to sacrifice himself for Sister Rita, to atone for her sins.

"Before becoming a believer, she was first a mother."

"And the mad things she did were also a reflection of my own laziness and helplessness. If I had stopped the Bishop's decision to throw the child into the forest back then, she wouldn't be trapped and tormented by pain. The sins Sister Rita committed are the shadow of my inaction, which could rightfully be called 'hypocrisy.'"

Gripping his cross, Jikai faced Bishop Rainier and the largely hands-off Cardinal Otto behind him, his voice full of firm pleading, "Redeeming others is the only right believers have to act on behalf of the Lord. Please allow me to redeem her soul and give a poor mother the hope of rebirth."

Now, Rainier wanted to ask Shu Li how to handle this matter.

Father Jikai insisted on being the scapegoat.

If the church accepted Father Jikai's substitution, it would be acknowledging this "scapegoat mechanism" and admitting that faith allows human sacrifice.

If the church did not accept Father Jikai's substitution, it would expose the so-called "doctrine of atonement" as a sham, also shaking the very foundation of the faith.

"Father Alistair, what do you think about this?" asked Bishop Rainier.

How could Shu Li not see through it?

If Bishop Rainier wanted to pass judgment and convict, he could simply arrest Sister Rita, or let Father Jikai swallow the secret himself.

After all, this matter already had a resolution.

But precisely because Bishop Rainier wanted to save both of them, he asked for Shu Li's thoughts, hoping he could help find a solution that satisfied both sides.

However, Shu Li believed the issue had gone beyond that level. Speaking loudly enough for both to hear, he said, "Today, Sister Rita tried to commit suicide at the altar and admitted to me that she killed Bishop St. Dan, and also poisoned everyone's meal in the church."

"I saved her."

"Not many people know about this, and I won't voluntarily disclose it. But I'm afraid that after Sister Rita wakes up, she might also confess the truth herself."

Shu Li stated firmly, "Sister Rita has already thrown caution to the wind."

Bishop Rainier fell silent—the weight of this sin was no longer something that the word "mother" could excuse.

But letting a poor soul swallow the bitterness the church brought her was definitely not something Rainier wanted to see.

Rainier looked towards Leslie, who was standing quietly nearby, "What are your thoughts?"

Although Leslie hadn't heard the conversation between Rainier and Shu Li, he could tell from their expressions that this matter was more difficult than imagined, and that Rainier's initial ideas were probably impossible to realize.

Or rather, Rainier might actually have a relatively good plan, but he wanted to know if there was an even better way.

Leslie slightly lowered his gaze, his eyes moving between Rainier and Shu Li for a moment, "I only know that in the North Territory, murderers are directly executed by hanging according to the law."

His tone was calm as he added, "However, the church also has the authority to judge its own members. After all, Sister Rita belongs to the church, so handling the matter according to church regulations is also legitimate. There are rules and laws to follow in all things; no one can object."

Bishop Rainier already intended to cultivate Leslie, and at this moment, he didn't forget to guide him, "Laws are the foundation, but as a superior, besides obeying the law, you must also look at the bigger picture. This is something you need to learn from Claude. A judgment might affect not only people's fates but also the public's faith."

"Yes, I understand," Leslie didn't argue, only looked at Shu Li, "No matter what decision is made, the Lord has the highest authority."

Shu Li could readily produce the answer they wanted, packaged as the most perfect, unimpeachable answer.

In fact, the education he received told him that this kind of matter should not be decided by their emotions or weighing pros and cons.

People should not rely on intuition or feelings, but should always remain rational, prudent, and value procedural justice.

Perhaps Rainier and the others were used to deciding who lives and who dies with a single sentence.

But for Shu Li himself, such a thing was too high and mighty. Even saying "forgiveness" seemed too condescending.

Shu Li's way of thinking was a clear-eyed and restrained form of compassion.

"I cannot communicate with the Lord at any time," Shu Li paused, his tone steady, "I suggest that this matter be submitted to the joint judgment of the bishop candidates from the eight dioceses. Let the public voice deliberate before the Lord, so that justice is done in the light, and redemption can also be achieved under honest faith."

Rainier felt a sense of respect for Shu Li's idea, and Leslie also hadn't thought there was such a way to handle it.

And as soon as his words fell, even the Cardinal, who had been acting as a background prop behind him, lifted his head.

Shu Li's words were like morning bells and evening drums—not deciding by power, not protecting out of selfishness, but entrusting the judgment to the consensus of the people and the reverence before the Lord and life.

He didn't want to become the light itself, yet whenever people most needed to see the path, he always lit a small flame to illuminate the way.

Cardinal Otto suddenly understood why Teacher Rainier valued this young man so much. He couldn't help but murmur, "...This is the kind of person worthy of bearing the heavy responsibility of faith. This self-awareness and restraint are probably the key to sustaining faith..."

Shu Li proposed this idea not only to block all avenues for private manipulation and prevent power and privilege from manipulating others' fates.

Equally, he needed to allow Sister Rita to escape her own predicament.

She had clearly said, "I am crazy..." This showed that during this process of revenge, her heart was heavy with pain, not seeking pleasure.

With a collegiate trial, Shu Li could, in his personal capacity, spare no effort in her defense, allowing her to truly break free.

"If there are no objections, we will wait for Sister Rita to wake up and then hold a joint trial in the conference hall."

Bishop Rainier looked at Shu Li, feeling his own heart tremble uncontrollably. Hearing these words, he unconsciously clenched his fist and said, "Agreed, let's do as Alistair says."

Leslie didn't want to miss the opportunity to participate in the matter alongside Shu Li, so he quickly asked, "Do you need me to treat Sister Rita?"

"No need, she will wake up," Shu Li was confident in his diagnosis, "The coma won't last too long."

Leslie only felt rejected and began to reflect, thinking that his answer just now must not have been thorough enough, which was why he wasn't trusted. Disappointment welled up in his heart, "..."

But as his eyelashes just fell, Shu Li noticed Leslie's dejection.

Because they were close, Shu Li, standing beside him, casually rubbed Leslie's ear.

Shu Li had a habit of rubbing others' ears with his thumb and index finger, from the lobe to the cartilage, a gesture that was both gentle and affectionate.

After doing it, he sometimes remembered this little action, but other times it was so natural that he didn't think much of it.

But this small, comforting gesture made Leslie freeze up completely.

Along with this little action lasting two or three seconds, Shu Li's voice softly fell, "Thank you for your heart's desire to help everyone."

Leslie's heart stirred in unison, and he instinctively lowered his head, "..."

After Shu Li said he was going to examine the Bishop's body, Leslie finally couldn't help but slightly turn his head and gently touch his own ear with his fingertip.

The lingering warmth was still there, like an indescribable touch.

Just then, Cavin and Shemus came over, grinning mischievously as they reached out to touch, "So just touching his ear makes Leslie show such a well-behaved expression..."

Before they could finish, Leslie coldly slapped their hands away.

His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was clear, "I don't like others touching me."

The two brothers rubbed their stung hands, looking aggrieved, "You didn't have to hit so hard..."

On the other hand, after Shu Li examined the body, especially the Bishop's occiput, he was fully prepared for what he needed to do.

*

At 4:30 PM, the originally scheduled interview time for bishop candidates was postponed due to the collegiate trial.

As soon as Sister Rita woke up, she was informed that St. Dan's Church knew of her crimes and would put her on trial.

None of this was unexpected.

Because she had confessed her crimes to the person who ultimately saved her.

She didn't want Father Jikai to bear her sins.

The reason she hadn't come forward initially when he was misunderstood was that there were still people she hadn't killed yet. She had already added poisoned blood to their food and drink. If she hadn't succeeded, she couldn't stop.

She was unwilling, she was reluctant.

But after this life-and-death ordeal, and after being enlightened by that priest, she realized that she couldn't continue to make mistakes, not even for her own child's sake.

She sat in the center of the meeting.

Facing the clergy who were judging her, she felt fear, panic, and shame in the face of her own sins. At the same time, she grew increasingly aware that her sins were undeniable.

Could she truly attain redemption?

Just as this voice arose in her heart, a small, white, fluffy, warm fox jumped onto her knee. Sister Rita couldn't help but rub its fur with her hand, feeling a corner of her heart warm up along with the action.

The first witness to sit in the witness box was Father Alistair, who had saved her.

He always seemed gentle, yet possessed a detached rationality and clarity that made one shiver involuntarily.

Father Alistair stated that he had personally heard Sister Rita confess to the crimes—

"Sister Rita said she was the murderer who killed Bishop Whitmore." "She also said she didn't want anyone else to live. I found her tools near the corner of the altar."

In just a few short sentences, the entire collegiate meeting was filled with shocked voices. All eyes pointed at Rita like sharp swords, as if looking at a terrifying demon.

Doctor Phillips was the second witness, "Yes, the glass bottle looks very much like our medicine bottles. A couple of days ago, when we were bloodletting a patient who came from the sea, because the bleeding wouldn't stop, we determined that he had contracted the 'sea plague' that spreads at sea. With non-healing wounds, it's basically impossible to save. Sister Rita was very curious about this."

After this testimony, everyone looked at Sister Rita again.

Sister Rita admitted to her crime, "After learning that this corrupt blood would cause unstoppable bleeding, I was indeed tempted. I knew that many people in our church were keen on bloodletting therapy, so I thought, if you also caught the sea plague, would the Lord take you away too?"

The hall buzzed with discussion. "Sister Rita is guilty! Such a person is terrifying!" "Yes, guilty!" "Inexcusable!" The clamor of voices rose and fell.

Father Alistair was not in a hurry, "Call the third witness—the Archdeacon of St. Dan. I heard you know Sister Rita's motive for murder. Please explain the situation."

The Archdeacon of St. Dan looked at the three formidable figures behind him—Bishop Rainier, Bishop Holm, and Cardinal Otto—and then clearly explained the case of the hidden gold and the process where the Bishop allowed others to trample Sister Rita's child to death with a horse.

Father Jikai was the fourth witness, narrating how Sister Rita's child was maliciously killed, never given the chance to be buried, and was instead ordered by Bishop Whitmore to be thrown into the wild forest for so-called spirit purification.

The fifth witness was Father Leyton, who continued to describe the desolation of being unable to find the child's complete remains.

Through these successive testimonies, the bishop candidates, who had just been denouncing the crimes, gradually fell silent. Their expressions became heavy with sorrow, their hearts shaken by the revelation. Some even let out sighs.

The sixth witness was still Father Alistair.

But before he began, he asked the doctor, "I would like to ask, did Bishop Whitmore see Doctor Phillips last night?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, Bishop Whitmore has been using bloodletting therapy every night recently to prevent illness, and he did so last night as well."

"Do you remember how much blood was let?"

The doctor said, "It wasn't measured, but last night's amount was less than the previous night's. Because Bishop Whitmore felt dizzy, and we all have experience that when this happens, we need to start stopping the bleeding."

Father Alistair then stated, "Last night, Bishop Whitmore had already died from the bloodletting treatment."

As soon as this sentence fell, the entire room fell into dead silence. No one knew whether Father Alistair's words were true or false, but everyone was beyond shocked.

Father Alistair continued to explain, "On the occiput of Bishop Whitmore, there was no bruising that would appear from an injury sustained while alive. Furthermore, at the crime scene, there were no blood spatters. This also indicates that the attack did not happen while he was alive. Cardinal Otto, and the Duke's three young masters can testify to this."

The audience didn't understand this analysis.

But Father Alistair was not flustered. He had Bishop St. Dan's body brought into the conference hall for all to see.

"If you don't understand the wounds, you can also look at his hands. Cold temperatures make a corpse stiffen and maintain the positions held at death. Look at his occiput, which was struck. His hands aren't positioned as if he tried to struggle or defend himself; they hang straight down. This is also not the state of a living person under attack. We can immediately conduct an experiment on this point."

He then asked, "Who here wants to try having their occiput struck to see what position their hands take?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Duke's sons, Cavin and Shemus, eagerly raised a stick, "I'm willing to help! I will definitely make the occiput bleed!"

Leslie behind them calmly added, "Don't worry, I can heal wounds. I won't let you die."

The clergy felt a chill on the back of their heads and instinctively covered them, "How can you do this?"

Father Alistair raised an eyebrow, "You're already protecting your occiput without even being hit yet. The Bishop was actually struck there, how could his hands show no reaction whatsoever?"

"If you say that Sister Rita deliberately adjusted the body's posture, then why bother with poisoning? She could have just used poison directly. Why add the extra blow, alerting everyone to a murder and tipping them off to her plan? It's very clear that last night's killing was a spontaneous act; there was no time for extensive preparation, so naturally, she wouldn't have thought about the position of the Bishop's body."

The audience seemed deep in thought.

Father Alistair looked at Sister Rita, "So, Sister Rita, when you struck out in anger last night, the person you hit was actually already dead."

Sister Rita was stunned, speechless, "..."

"Furthermore, I am also unfortunately obliged to tell you," Father Alistair said, "the sea plague is not transmitted through blood. Otherwise, everyone wouldn't still have such rosy complexions."

This statement also reassured the priests who were worried about the poison.

Father Alistair delivered the final verdict, "Sister Rita, you did not succeed in killing anyone."

Sister Rita's gaze was fixed on Alistair's direction, her heart filled with complex thoughts, "..."

"Now, we shall proceed with the trial of Sister Rita," Father Alistair said, "Those who believe her crimes are forgivable, please raise your hands."

Father Jikai was the first to raise his hand, "Before she was a sinner, she was first a poor, suffering mother. Please understand this."

Father Leyton then said, "Sister Rita also sincerely confessed her crimes. Can't we give her another chance?" Saying this, he also raised his hand.

Following these two statements, the participants exchanged glances, and more hands were raised one after another.

"Please put your hands down!" Father Alistair looked around, his words terrifyingly ruthless, "Please exercise your own independent judgment; do not follow blindly. Now, those who believe she is innocent, please raise your hands."

The priests around raised their hands even more firmly, almost as soon as the words left his mouth.

Father Alistair seemed very dissatisfied with this outcome and asked the priests to reconsider carefully, "Let's vote once more." @Infinite Good Reads, all in Jinjiang Literature City

Some even called out, "She is innocent." "No need to vote again! Voting twice or three times, she's still innocent!" "Sister Rita is guilty, but she can be forgiven! The Lord also said that among us, who is without sin? Facing sinners like us, He always adopts an attitude of forgiveness." "We cannot convict her!" "Father Alistair, do you want everyone to find her guilty?!"

Amidst the accusations against himself, Father Alistair turned to Sister Rita and delivered his own judgment, saying, "I also believe you can be forgiven."

As he said these words, through the blur of tears she hadn't even realized she'd shed, Sister Rita saw his gentle smile.

Sister Rita's whole body trembled uncontrollably, from sorrow, from being moved, from pain.

She said, "Even if everyone forgives me, I cannot forgive myself. I am already stained with sin..."

Before she could finish, Father Alistair asked softly, "Then would you like to measure the weight of your sin? We all know that sin has weight."

Sister Rita looked at Father Alistair in surprise.

Similarly, the others were stunned, momentarily uncomprehending.

Measure the weight of sin? Is that something a person can do?

Alistair naturally understood everyone's gaze, "The Bible says, 'For likewise, the sins of the virtuous are like dust clinging to clothing, while the sins of the wicked are like heavy stones sinking into an abyss.' With the Lord's help, we can indeed measure that weight."

Before anyone could digest this, Bishop Rainier, acting on Alistair's behalf, took the lead and asked, "Then may Father Alistair attempt it?"

For a moment, all the stories they knew about Alistair echoed repeatedly in the bishop candidates' minds. Their hearts were filled with apprehension, tension, and perhaps a bit of anticipation.

But Alistair, unaware of their thoughts, simply took a small cross from his pocket, "This is the cross I used to communicate with the Lord before entering the conference hall. I asked Him to lend me a hand when I needed it. Finally, if we cannot determine sin, let us use His divine power briefly to measure the weight of sin carried by the sinner."

He then brought out the precision beam scale normally used in the church to measure holy oil and spices. The two pans were perfectly balanced.

Next, Father Alistair placed the small cross on one pan of the scale and weights on the other, saying, "Now we can see that this silver cross weighs 10 grams."

"Now, let us first measure our deceased, maliciously injurious Bishop Whitmore. We just need to place the cross in his hand. After five seconds, we take it back and place it on the scale."

Following these instructions, the crowd slowly squeezed from behind their tables towards the scale.

They saw Father Alistair place the cross on the pan. The pan with the weights shot up high, causing a stir among the onlookers. They could hardly believe their eyes.

They had truly measured a weight! Bishop St. Dan was indeed burdened with sin. Everyone was astonished and uncertain.

Father Alistair then gave the cross to Sister Rita, "Please hold it for five seconds."

Sister Rita's heart pounded wildly. She could even hear the surging sound of blood in her ears from fear and tension. An inner voice told her that the Lord was judging her.

After five seconds, the cross returned to the pan.

As soon as it was placed, the pan with the cross shot up high. This indicated that the weight of this sin was far less than 10 grams.

"It seems your desire for atonement is very strong. The sins you have committed are considered light in the Lord's eyes."

Father Alistair said calmly, "If you do not accept the forgiveness of the people, are you also going to deny the Lord's judgment?"

As his words fell, Sister Rita's tears finally could not help but stream down her face.

"But I am not worthy..."

Alistair responded calmly, "Then let us see just how light your sin is."

Father Alistair guided her to continue looking at the scale. He removed the weights from the other pan and instead placed one, two, three, four... five holly branches, weighing exactly one gram in total.

When the fifth holly branch was placed, the cross balanced with it.

That was exactly the number Sister Rita always carried for her child.

"See, Sister Rita, your child is also blessing you from heaven." Father Alistair's voice was like a clear river, gently flowing into people's hearts, "So please accept that you are a mother, capable of the anger and sorrow of any mother losing her child."

The hall was silent. The eyes looking at Father Alistair became solemn and reverent.

And Cardinal Otto's eyes held a subtle, barely noticeable scrutiny.

*

In the afternoon, the matter of Sister Rita came to a temporary end.

The specific punishment for her would be further discussed by the Cardinals, but since the Consecration ceremony was tomorrow, the interviews had to be completed today. So the examiners didn't even grade the written tests; they simply posted everyone's answer sheets on the bulletin board for the clergy to evaluate themselves.

After seeing Shu Li's written exam paper, the others' ambitions for the bishopric subsided.

Just answering in Latin put him a league ahead of everyone else.

Added to the matter of the collegiate trial, they truly didn't understand how to compete with him.

They completely failed to grasp the necessity of the bishop selection process.

Wasn't this just inviting humiliation?

While everyone else was worried and distressed, Shu Li was also extremely distressed.

He thought all the scriptures were written in Latin, so the answers must be in Latin too. Besides, he was clearly a novice priest, having made more malt sugar candies than given public masses.

Who would have thought...

He really didn't want to become a bishop.

What was so bad about lazily coasting through life?

Shu Li felt some pressure but was also afraid of having too high an opinion of himself. Maybe this written test score didn't matter much anyway.

To truly think he would definitely become a bishop.

Wasn't that a bit too narcissistic!

Shu Li decided to just answer casually during the interview.

After all, he had already not disgraced the Carson Diocese. Bishop Rainier was sure to be satisfied.

So, when Shu Li was the third to enter the interview hall—

Cardinal Otto asked bluntly, "Do you want to become a bishop?"

What a sudden question!

Shu Li answered even more bluntly, "No."

An eerie silence fell over the room. Bishop Rainier, Bishop Holm, and Cardinal Otto looked at each other, completely unprepared for someone to refuse outright.

No way... Their inner thoughts were strikingly unanimous.

After a few seconds, Cardinal Otto, who had been acting as a background prop, suddenly stood up vigorously and applauded excitedly, "Excellent!"

The applause burst through the awkward, quiet air like a thunderclap.

He spoke in a booming voice, "Those most suited to hold power are those who do not crave it. What an outstanding answer! Truly outstanding!!!"

Rainier and Holm finally snapped out of it, also stood up with feigned enthusiasm, and began to applaud.

Shu Li: "Huh?"

Outside the interview room, the candidates couldn't hear what was being said inside, only the continuous bursts of applause and cheers, wave after wave.

The sound seeped through the door cracks, like a moment of divine will descending, causing everyone to unconsciously hold their breath. @Infinite Good Reads, all in Jinjiang Literature City

No one knew what had happened, yet everyone instinctively fell silent.

From that day on, the story of Father Alistair's interview that led to his promotion to bishop became one of the widely circulated tales in St. Dan's Church.

Even though no one knew what Shu Li had said, everyone believed it must have been an answer that only one chosen by the Lord could give.