Chapter 110: The Church

What happened next, well, you already know.

Basically, after Bu Guo saw the two of them head behind the pond and waited a while without seeing them come out, she decided to check if there was anything valuable among all the stuff scattered on the ground.

And wouldn’t you know it, she actually found a beast core!

...

“Here you go.” As Bu Guo gave a brief summary of what happened, she reluctantly took out a green, bead-like object from her bag... This was the beast core.

As she was taking it out, whether because her hands were unsteady, or she was too nervous, or maybe her legs had gone numb from standing too long, she moved a bit and the bag slipped from her grasp and fell straight to the ground.

“No!” Bu Guo scrambled to catch the bag, but in her panic, the beast core slipped out too, landing on the ground with a crisp sound, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.

Su You had been about to take the beast core, but seeing this, she chose instead to help Bu Guo catch the bag.

The sudden drop startled Bu Guo so much that sweat broke out on her forehead. When she saw Su You reach out and catch it, she barely managed to blurt out a quick “thank you” before snatching the bag back from Su You’s hands.

Su You wasn’t upset at all. Instead, she bent down to look for the beast core that had just fallen.

When she finally found the beast core in a corner and turned around, she saw Bu Guo let out a sigh of relief and start organizing her bag.

Maybe she’d been really frightened, because Bu Guo’s hands were shaking as she tried to close the bag, and she struggled for quite a while without managing to pack it up again. Because of this, Su You could clearly see what was inside—

It was a grayish-white ceramic jar.

Combining this with what Bu Guo had just said, Su You guessed that it probably contained the ashes of the old woman who had taken her in.

A ceramic jar like that would break easily if dropped, and it also carried a special meaning. No wonder Bu Guo had been so nervous just now.

The “soul burial” Bu Guo had mentioned was actually a kind of ritual often performed by the church. Supposedly, holding this ceremony would allow the deceased to rest in peace and be reborn into a good family in their next life.

Although Bu Guo was a little con artist, if she could have survived without stealing or cheating, would she really have become the compulsive liar she was now?

Just the fact that she was willing to care for the old woman who took her in, carrying this ceramic jar with her for two years, and was even now trying to scrape together money to have the church perform the soul burial for the old woman—Bu Guo’s character was already far better than most kids her age.

...

Once Bu Guo had finally packed up her things, she stood up with the bundle in her arms and looked quietly at Su You.

Maybe because Su You had just helped “save” the ceramic jar, Bu Guo wasn’t exactly close to her, but she was definitely much more grateful and friendly now.

“This time I really didn’t lie to you. I’ve already given you everything I took.” Bu Guo’s eyes were a little red—not from crying, but from the panic just now.

Looking at her small, thin frame clutching such a big bundle, and her slightly red eyes, Su You couldn’t help but feel that this kid was genuinely a bit pitiful.

Because she was just so real...

“Mm, I believe you.”

To say “I believe you” to someone who’s used to lying—Su You only said it because she knew Bu Guo really hadn’t lied this time, and Bu Guo knew it too, but hearing those words still made her feel a little strange inside.

Bu Guo hugged her bundle tighter, pushed down her emotions, and continued, “So... can I go now?”

She had arranged with the priest to hold the soul burial for Granny in three days, but she had to scrape together enough money in those three days, or the priest wouldn’t help her.

And now two days had already passed... tomorrow was the last day.

It had been hard enough for her to save up money in the first place, and even though she’d gotten better at talking her way through things, it wasn’t exactly a reliable method, so she still hadn’t managed to save enough.

She’d been genuinely happy when she found the beast core. She didn’t know exactly how much it was worth, but the person who’d given it to her before had said that with one of these, you could buy a house in a small town. So it had to be valuable—at least enough to cover the cost of the ritual.

But now, not only had her efforts been wasted, she’d also spent so much time here... In short, Bu Guo didn’t want to stay any longer.

Su You didn’t know her plans, but she definitely didn’t want Bu Guo to leave.

That’s why she was even harder to recruit than Meike... With her heart set on leaving, it was almost impossible to get her to stay.

Unless Su You could find her “weak spot”—like how Duoya needed the dragonbone tattoo.

Su You quickly ran through her recent conversation with Bu Guo in her mind, and as if she’d thought of something, her gaze swept over Bu Guo’s bundle once more.

“You can leave if you want, but first you have to help me with something—as compensation for stealing from me.”

Right now, Bu Guo’s mind was completely occupied with how to quickly scrape together the rest of the money for the soul burial, so it hadn’t even occurred to her that Su You might not let her go.

Because time was running out, Bu Guo’s state of mind had changed.

With her nerves frayed, she couldn’t put on a good act, and even her lies lost their usual polish.

“Not now, I need to save money. The priest said I have to pay him by tomorrow.” Bu Guo was worried Su You wouldn’t let her go if she didn’t believe her, so she very seriously promised Su You that she’d definitely come back later.

Bu Guo liked to lie, but in some things she kept her word. At least Su You knew she was probably telling the truth this time.

But even if she wasn’t lying, someone else was.

“As far as I know, the soul burial ritual is performed by the bishop. Ordinary priests don’t have the authority, let alone the ability.” The ritual itself was real, but whether it could really achieve the legendary effect, Su You wasn’t sure.

But she remembered now—Bu Guo had said it was just an ordinary priest who agreed to help her. And just as Su You said, only the bishop had the right and ability to perform this ritual.

In other words, Su You was telling Bu Guo that she’d been tricked.

How could an ordinary priest have the authority to make decisions for the bishop?

Most likely, the priest saw that Bu Guo was just a gullible kid, and decided to take advantage of her desire to hold a soul burial for her granny to scam her out of her money."

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