sovbooks Chapter 73: Non-stick Pan Resigns?
Chapter 73: Non-stick Pan Resigns?
Chapter 73: Non-stick Pan Resigns?
The Leode family.
It has written a magnificent chapter in the magical history of the Gray Star era.
They were one of the few legendary magic families in that glorious era, renowned for their profound heritage, exceptional talent, and fearless exploration of the unknown.
After the Black Mist Era began, her experiences are unknown.
Long before Ellu was established, they had already been fighting against "wish fulfillment" on their own.
Leod named it the "Weeping Mist".
The core information of the Mist of Lamentation is top secret, and only a few of the chief elders know the inside story.
Even though the Raven Gunn was the leader of the Evil Deer, he only learned of its existence through the Leod family.
Because of his striking good looks, Wahedien appears very young, with the visual impression of someone only in their early twenties.
If it weren't for the crow's prior warning that the person in front of him was 37 years old, Nan'an would have thought he was the same age as himself.
Her short, brownish-red hair wasn't styled very meticulously; it casually fell across her forehead, giving her a lazy and melancholic look.
Her skin was like beautiful, cool porcelain, gleaming with a delicate sheen under the warm sun.
His facial features are almost perfectly proportioned, with a high nose bridge and lips that are clearly defined but slightly thin.
His blue-gray eyes were pure and deep, and when his gaze fell upon them, it was as if he were facing a clear, windless sea.
Previously, Nan'an believed that Gu En's appearance fit the stereotype of a rich young master and was a representative of someone who relied on his looks to get by.
Now Nan'an knows why Suiyue was so impressed with Wahedeen.
This guy has a face that appeals to both men and women!
If everyone's face were a credit card, then Wahdien's credit limit would guarantee financial freedom.
As expected of the Gray Star Era, this is a prestigious family whose name is so renowned that even a country bumpkin like him could hear about them from adventurers. Their genes, selected from the best of the best over countless generations, are terrifyingly powerful.
But—Nan'an didn't have a good first impression of him.
Wahedien reeked of alcohol, and the gentle breeze made him slightly tipsy as he was downwind.
In that scent, you could vaguely smell something—cheap perfume?
After each hunt, when the Red Rat Adventure Team returned to rest before rejoining the group, Nan'an could smell a similar scent on his companions.
For the first time in his life, Nan Anping doubted his sense of smell.
"Someone with that face shouldn't be playing such low-level tricks—stop messing with my nose and get back to work!"
Strangely, Wahdien did not discuss matters with Gunn. After entering the manor, he went straight to the dining area. His mind, which was drunk, seemed unclear. He just looked at him with his hazy but beautiful eyes.
Over and over again, up and down.
It's like they're scrutinizing a prisoner.
"You found out?"
As Nanan fell silent, Wahedien let out a drunken burp.
"The Mist of Lamentation—you understand?"
"Deep within the black mist, I narrowly escaped its pursuit."
"Hmm—then watch your mouth. You're Erlu, you know the rules—hiccup?" Seeing that things were not going well, Gunn helped him to the side.
A short while later, a loud vomiting sound was heard.
Wahdien stumbled, casually wiped his mouth, and swayed back the way he came.
The fact that he made a special trip to El Deer Manor, only to leave after a brief exchange, nearly drove Nan'an's brain to a standstill.
Suiyue also opened her mouth slightly, tilted her head to peek at Huoya, and asked in a low voice.
"This is the patriarch? They're the ones who control all the information in the Mist of Sorrow? Is this family wiped out?!"
"There really is no one left," said the Raven. "The collateral branches of the Leod family separated long ago, and the information about the Mist of Sorrow is only known to the direct descendants."
Nan'an understood.
If we compare population to ammunition, Leod's direct descendants have reached the point of running out of ammunition and supplies in their fight against the Mist of Sorrow.
The best members of the family, probably without even having time to raise the next generation, were forced to plunge into the fog.
"6
""
"Nan'an keenly sensed something amiss: "Has the Mist of Mourning been active for the past century?"
After seeing the guests off, Gunn returned and nodded.
"The black mist mutation has stopped, but the Weeping Mist, as a special kind of god-demon, is erupting periodically. The Leode family has always been responsible for suppressing it."
"The most recent time was 16 years ago," the crow recalled.
Suiyue asked in bewilderment, "Why not ask Eroshi for help?"
"The presence of Gunn and me in that area will only make things worse," Raven said helplessly. "Unless Vahdeen allows it, we can't explain any more to you—besides, you don't seem to be very popular with him."
As he spoke, the crow stroked his chin, mimicking Vahdeen's scrutiny of Southan.
"Could it be because of her?"
Gunn instinctively asked, "Who?"
As soon as he said it, he realized what was happening and immediately joined the ranks of those examining Nan'an.
"W-what?" Nan'an asked, bewildered. "This is the first time I've met him."
The two tacitly changed the subject, simply raising their glasses and silently clinking them together with Nan'an.
Nan'an did not linger; the Shuangmian group had achieved all their expectations, and it was time to return to Keren.
Coralina also followed Nan'an's travel dates, except that this time her little group had temporarily disbanded.
As autumn approached and the weather turned cooler, the young ladies' families were unwilling to let them go out and suffer in the cold.
Inside the carriage, Clara, wrapped in a soft wool shawl, sighed as she gazed out the window at the yellowing leaves.
"There are ways to enjoy cold weather too—really."
Nan'an was very curious about the "how to play", but his intuition told him that it was better not to ask too many questions.
Clara pulled out a chestnut wine to drown her sorrows.
Suiyue, holding the pomelo specially allocated to her by the Eru carriage, ate it for a while, then opened the carriage window and, playing the role of a pea shooter, fired a seed machine gun.
Nan'an did not participate in their "entertainment".
He sat quietly by the window, carefully flipping through a thick stack of parchment scrolls on the table.
Suddenly, all that remained was the whistling wind rushing in from outside the car window.
Like a surprise inspection by the homeroom teacher, the noisy classroom fell silent in an instant, making it alert and raise its head.
Two heads peeked out from in front of the table, standing on tiptoe and trying to steal a glance.
"Take a picture if you want to see it." Nan An pushed the scroll forward. "How old are you guys? Haven't you grown up yet?"
"Sigh, in front of the old man, we are just children."
As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black," Suiyue desperately needs a normal person besides Corella by her side.
Silly Niu Niu is already a chatterbox, and if he speaks in a tone that's in line with the shameful aristocracy—ugh!
Clara exclaimed, "The Living Corpse Register! All of them?"
"147 samples. Since we have nothing else to do, let's help classify them according to the intensity of their erosion ability."
"Not 200?" Suiyue questioned.
"The chief elder's decision is that 53 people were probably screened out from the first batch for reasons that are difficult to explain."
Before the chief elders could integrate into Solitz's formal management and live as normal people, Nan'an decided to remain silent for a period of time to see if the 150 Living Eclipses could restrain their "impulse".
The village being built is very close to the entrance of the Black Mist of the Sickle River. If the urge to plunge into the Black Mist cannot be suppressed, one should set aside the desire to help others and respect the fate of others.
After all, his core ideas had been recognized by the elders.
"Those who obey are treated as normal people, while those who disobey are 'living worms'."
With this in mind, Nanan decided to learn more about his future colleague, Father Rusca.
"Suiyue, tell me about the Dawn Church." Nan'an closed a scroll and turned to Niu Niu, who was struggling with a pomelo peel.
"Why didn't you ask me?" Corella asked curiously.
"Suiyue was raised by Dawn, and so were you?"
Clara obediently shrank back and continued drinking her fruit wine.
The Church of Dawn, with faith in the goddess of wisdom and starlight, Zorza.
Its prototype is the Church of the Starlight Night God from the Gray Star Era.
As the black fog descended, existing scriptures and doctrines clashed perfectly with the current state of the black fog, and believers from various sects witnessed the dramatic changes in reality, causing their faith to waver.
The leadership of the Church of Starlight Night God quickly completed a new round of scripture interpretation, turning their focus to guiding the people through the calamity.
The original belief was changed to a view of salvation.
By advocating unwavering faith in and following the will of the church, we can usher in the dawn and see the light before the age of darkness.
The arrival of the black mist was interpreted as "Zorza's Night Trial".
The unknown is frightening.
How to package the unknown into something that ordinary people can understand and accept is a skill.
The Church of Dawn, through its rapid and flexible transformation, became one of the first religions to occupy a niche.
Even if people scoff at the idea of a "trial," the deep-seated need for reassurance among a vast number of ordinary people cannot be ignored.
The vast majority of people in the world cannot be called wise.
Even scholars with decisive wisdom cannot remain absolutely rational when faced with bizarre and unknown black mists and gods and demons.
Let alone ordinary people.
The Nora people, burdened by survival pressures and mental anguish, yearn for "stability" amidst uncertainty and the unknown.
Governance based purely on reason and power is costly and fragile under the continuous mental oppression brought by the black fog.
When fear and despair accumulate to a certain level, any administrative order may be misinterpreted.
People need comfort.
We need a story that can explain suffering and promise the future.
Even if this story is built on self-deception.
They need to be kept in the dark.
It's not about ignoring the danger, but rather about needing a filter of awareness.
The reality that is too naked, too complex, and capable of crushing the spirit is wrapped in a meaning that can barely be endured.
Learning from the lessons of the rampant cults at the end of the Gray Star era, Solitz took the initiative to cooperate with the Church of Dawn and establish it as the state religion to strengthen cognition through religion.
While the excessive suppression of religions outside the state religion is no longer necessary, typical cults are still being cracked down on with great intensity.
Taking the Twin Crowns City as an example, 7% of its population are believers in the Dawn State Religion.
Many orphans raised by the Church of Dawn grow up to be devout believers.
Those like Suiyue, who grow up to have no interest in religion and even believe that gods do not exist, are the odd ones out.
Ruska is 72 years old this year.
When introducing himself, the raven said that he had been in the Church of Dawn since his youth and had become a member of the clergy at a young age.
Is that correct?
After decades, even with seniority, a veteran priest should have become a regional bishop by now.
"It might be due to the split," Corella said. "The Church of Dawn underwent a reformation, which gave rise to other reinterpretive denominations."
The dawn arose suddenly because of the arrival of the black mist and the reinterpretation of the scriptures.
As times change and hundreds of years have passed, successors have followed the "ancient methods" and started the traditional movement of interpreting scriptures, based on the characteristics of the times and cultural background.
Everyone has the right to interpret classic works; it's simply a matter of who can win the trust of the people.
In order to cater to the needs of Solitz's rule, the old Dawn faction advocated "sacrifice".
Nobles are noble because they paid a blood tax.
Even those who currently hold high positions in the Senate, if their family lineage were traced back, would inevitably be one where generations of people have shed blood and made sacrifices on the battlefield against the Black Mist.
The goblin race, once despised and scorned by Nora, gradually changed the mainstream society's perception of Nora by having its people fight against gods and demons one after another.
The return trip was less boring thanks to the eroded scroll and Suiyue's childhood stories.
With the help of the two, Nan'an successfully classified the live erosion.
Upon returning to Keren City after some time, Nan'an noticed a significant increase in the number of patrol guards on the roads.
"Has Pirion upgraded his guard again?" he thought instinctively.
The inexplicable activity of the living eclipse around Kren must have touched a nerve with him, and the Kren Grand Governor is already breathing heavily in anger.
As Elu, the carriage arrived at the governor's residence without any hindrance.
The three of them entered the mansion as if no one else was there and went straight to Pirion's study.
"Please stop, everyone."
Nan'an turned to look at the servant who was rushing over, still slightly out of breath—well, judging from his clothes, he looked more like a butler?
That's strange, the butler's position is very important and won't be changed easily.
"Where is Consul Pieline?"
Upon hearing this, the butler immediately straightened his back, tugged at his collar, and spoke in a serious tone.
"Please note, guest, that the current governor of the Keren region is no longer Pirion, but Lord Barn Notu."
"I am not sure where the guests came from. Please clarify this in our subsequent conversations."
Nan'an was taken aback: "Pirion has become a veteran?"
The butler immediately corrected him: "What blasphemy! Please do not offend the authority of the Senate, guest. Lord Pirion is currently under investigation and has been stripped of all his duties."
What does that mean?
What kind of big hole could Pirion's nonstick pan possibly make, so that someone could use it against him?
Judging from his methods of dealing with the review committee, Nan'an could never have imagined that someone like him could cause trouble while serving as governor.
Was he framed?
Thinking of this, Nan'an simply didn't bother explaining to the steward who arrived late and was eager to put on airs for his master.
Clearly, the guards hadn't told him the two men's identities as Elu.
As expected, the three from Nan'an returned to the carriage, and just as they were about to leave, the steward rushed to the front of the carriage, his brows covered in sweat.
Nan An straightened his collar and, adopting a serious, businesslike tone, instructed Sui Yue.
"Close the door and drive."
Just before the steward could scream, "My lords of Erlu, please wait!" the carriage sped away.
"Wow, the old man's got some guts. Is he helping Pirion get revenge?"
"Why do you have to stand up for someone else?" Nan An laughed. "As a legendary heroic spirit, can't I have a temper?"