Somewhere in the Conquest Sea, the main island of the Xiatree Islands.
Xia Shu Island at night, deep within the island, among the dense forests, lay a clear lake. In the darkness, the clean water reflected the stars and moon in the sky, and the gentle breeze stirred ripples across the lake's surface.
In the center of the lake was a wooden house supported by countless wooden poles. Inside this not-so-small wooden house, a Sister dressed in white was sitting quietly on the floor mat. Restricted of her freedom, she was silently praying under the illumination of the stars outside the window.
"Lord... please bless everyone to be safe and sound, please bless all the innocent to be spared from disaster."
Sister Vanya, who was imprisoned alone, prayed devoutly like this. At this moment, she sincerely hoped that this chaotic situation could have a peaceful end. She sincerely hoped that God could prevent the tragedy from happening, although the hope might be slim.
'Now... I can only wait for Miss Dorothea or the Church to rescue me. But if the Church sends people, this island will likely face utter destruction. Not to mention the original residents on the island, how many of the other pilgrims and I can escape? I wonder if Miss Dorothea has a more appropriate solution...'
Sitting in the empty small wooden house, Sister Vanya thought to herself. She knew that the puppet marks she had placed on those few hijackers were probably being used by Dorothy somewhere now. She hoped that Dorothy's activities on the island using these marks would yield some results.
Just as Sister Vanya was hoping in the wooden house, a familiar voice suddenly came from her mind.
'Great Aka... I now request direct communication with Sister Vanya, please build a bridge for me...'
Hearing these words in her mind, Sister Vanya was slightly startled. Having experienced similar incidents before, she immediately knew what was happening. Then she immediately thought and spoke in her mind.
'Is that Miss Dorothea? Has there been any progress on your end?'
'Yes, thanks to your help, I was able to conduct this level of investigation on the island. Overall, I have indeed found some interesting information, information that can help you escape.'
In Sister Vanya's heart, Dorothy's words sounded directly. After hearing Dorothy's words, Sister Vanya couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then continued to think.
'Phew... Is that so? Then that's great. So, do you need my help with your next plan?'
'Of course I do, or rather, Vanya, you are the key to my plan. Now, listen to me finish speaking...'
Then, Dorothy explained her thoughts in Sister Vanya's mind. Sister Vanya, who was in the house, also sat still and listened carefully, and the more she listened, the more her brows furrowed.
'This... is this your plan? Can I, can I do it?'
Having heard Dorothy's words, Sister Vanya spoke with a worried tone, and then Dorothy's comforting words immediately came from her heart.
'Don't worry, I believe you can definitely do it. I will always be watching you and helping you, just like when we dealt with the Werewolf named Smith before.'
"Like at the Werewolf's mansion last time?"
Listening to Dorothy's words, Sister Vanya murmured uneasily. After hesitating for a while, she felt that now was indeed not the time to sit and wait for death. With the long-accumulated trust in Dorothy, she decided to cooperate with Dorothy's plan once again.
Just like this, after Dorothy and Sister Vanya communicated, planned, and prepared for a long time through the information channel, everything was finally ready. Sister Vanya, sitting on the floor of the wooden house, took a deep breath, and then looked at the starry sky outside the window.
Then, Sister Vanya calmed her mind, silently walked to the tightly closed door of the wooden house, reached out and knocked twice on the door, and then began to wait quietly.
After a while, the door of the wooden house was opened. Appearing behind it were several men dressed in Natsuki attire, with wary faces. They held weapons in their hands and stared intently at Sister Vanya, while Sister Vanya spoke to them in a friendly and polite tone.
"Good evening everyone, I have something I would like to discuss with your Feng Shu Priest now. May I?"
Sister Vanya spoke to the two guards in front of her in Iweig language. After a slight pause, one of them immediately spoke directly in not-so-fluent Iweig language.
"No... you are a captive now, you are not qualified to see the Priest."
"Can't I see him? That's too bad... I have... some information that just came from the Church side, and I need to convey it to him."
Sister Vanya continued speaking to the two guards without being discouraged. The guard who understood Iweig language was slightly stunned after hearing Sister Vanya's words, and then blurted out.
"Information from the Shining Light Church? How did the Light contact you? Did they ask you to convey their reply?"
The guard questioned with a serious expression, while Sister Vanya also nodded silently with a smile, confirming the guard's words. Seeing Sister Vanya's response, the guard did not dare to delay and immediately left.
"Please wait a moment."
Not long after the guard left the wooden house, he brought other people over. Sister Vanya was familiar with the figure; it was Bahoda, the leader of the group of hijackers from before.
"The Light has a way to contact you? Do they have a reply to our demands? What did they say?"
Bahoda looked at the Sister in front of him and asked urgently, while Sister Vanya just continued to smile silently and speak.
"I need to meet the Feng Shu Priest. There are many things I need to discuss with him directly."
Sister Vanya said this. Hearing Sister Vanya's words, Bahoda couldn't help but be stunned. After thinking for a moment, he finally replied.
"Alright, I'll take you there now. You'd better not pull any tricks."
Just like this, under Bahoda's guidance, Sister Vanya walked out of her prison cell in the lake and rowed a boat towards the shore. Guided by the Light, the small boat quickly docked at the shore. Sister Vanya, having landed, was escorted by Bahoda through the night towards the town.
Along the dimly lit street, everyone arrived at the square in front of the tree, which had become empty and tense. Then, Sister Vanya was led by Bahoda around to the back of the giant tree, where a large wooden longhouse stood.
After walking up the wooden stairs, Sister Vanya and Bahoda arrived at the entrance of the longhouse. Here, Bahoda told Sister Vanya to wait at the door first, and then he entered the longhouse himself. Shortly after, Bahoda came out and spoke to Sister Vanya with a serious expression.
"Anman allows you to enter."
Hearing Bahoda's words, Sister Vanya walked into the longhouse. Then she came to a not-so-large wooden indoor room. There was a strong smell of herbs in the room. Under the ceiling hung string after string of different kinds of dried grass. On the walls hung some small bone fragments and dried meat, as well as an old cloth painting with a tree pattern printed on it. There was no table in the room. Various bottles and jars were placed in the corners. In the center of the room was a Stone pit built with Stones, and the raging fire burning inside provided dim Light for the room.
Behind the Stone pit, an old man wearing coarse cloth clothes, with a hemp rope tied around his waist and a face full of wrinkles and graying hair, was sitting on the floor. He looked at Sister Vanya with a solemn gaze, and then spoke in relatively fluent Iweig language.
"From the Light side, what is their reply to our conditions? Sister?"
Although Anman's words were neither hurried nor slow, deep within his eyes at this moment lay hidden anxiety and expectation. He was now eager to know the Light's attitude, eager to know what kind of response his desperate action would bring, and what the fate of his people would be.
Just as Anman was waiting for Sister Vanya's reply, Sister Vanya turned to glance at Bahoda behind her, and then spoke to Anman.
"For the following matters, I would like to discuss them with you alone, Feng Shu Priest."
As soon as Sister Vanya finished speaking, Bahoda beside her slightly furrowed his brows.
"Impossible. I need to protect Anman's safety. I will not retreat. Sister, just say what you have to say, don't pull any tricks."
Bahoda spoke sternly to Sister Vanya, but Sister Vanya did not respond directly to Bahoda's words. Instead, facing Anman in front of her, she placed her hands in front of her chest, and then quickly moved them to make a series of gestures.
Sister Vanya's hands moved skillfully in front of her chest, sometimes cupped, sometimes extended, as if performing a series of interpretations with her hands. In this performance, her hands were like a growing embryo, like a sprouting seed... After seeing Sister Vanya's gestures, Anman's eyes widened, and his mouth slightly opened.
"What are you doing! Stop!"
Seeing Sister Vanya's unusual actions, Bahoda immediately prepared to stop her, but at this moment, Anman immediately stepped in to prevent it.
"Step back first, Bahoda..."
"What, Captain Anman... just now this Sister she..." Hearing Anman's words, Bahoda showed a look of disbelief, but Anman spoke again immediately before Bahoda could finish.
"I know, it's alright, listen to me and go back first, I'll talk to her alone, she can't threaten me."
"Yes..." Hearing Anman's words, Bahoda's expression showed confusion and worry, but in the end, he decided to obey Anman and withdrew from the longhouse alone. For a time, only Vanya and Anman were left on the scene.
"Sit down."
Anman said softly to Vanya. Seeing Vanya sit on the ground in front of him, he added some firewood to the fire pit in front and then continued.
"You... where did you learn those gestures?"
"I've known them since I was a child, my Priest sister from my former hometown taught me."
Vanya responded sincerely to Anman. Hearing Vanya's words, Anman couldn't help but be startled, then slowly spoke.
"Your former hometown? Where is your hometown, and the Priest you mentioned... what does she venerate?"
"My hometown is on a distant continent, originally like here, it was a remote settlement with its own unique beliefs and culture, isolated from the world, but now, it has become a devout temple of the Holy Mother, and the Priest sister who taught me, what she venerates is the same as you, it is the Fertility Goddess."
"Yes, I am actually like you, a devout follower of the Fertility Goddess, we have a common object of faith."
Covering her chest, Vanya said quietly to Anman. Hearing Vanya's words, Anman's mouth slowly widened, and a clear hint of astonishment appeared in his eyes.
"As expected... I didn't think that in this world, besides us, there are other followers of the Goddess. It seems the former Priest was right, the Goddess's faith was once widespread across the continent, and we are just a small corner of it. Ha... after dealing with the Shining Light Church for so long, I thought the outside world was completely theirs."
"I heard Bahoda and the others say that you are different from other Shining Light followers, actively treating them on the ship regardless of enemy or friend. It turns out the reason is that you are also a follower of the Goddess..."
Anman murmured with surprise, clearly not expecting that the Sister in front of him shared their faith.
"Yes, I also didn't expect to encounter remnants who believe in the Goddess in this remote sea area. I had some suspicion during my conversations with the warriors, and after seeing the various decorations and sculptures on the island, I became certain. Just now, I finally made up my mind to meet with the Priest here, so I used the excuse of the Shining Light message."
Facing Anman's emotion, Vanya also spoke quite sincerely. After hearing Vanya's words, Anman sighed and spoke.
"Ah... is that how it is? I thought you really brought news from the Shining Light Church. Now the fate of our entire tribe is tied to that."
There was a hint of slight disappointment in Anman's words. Although meeting followers of the Goddess from outside Xiatree seemed to make him a little happy, given the current situation, he was more concerned about the Shining Light Church's reply, as this was the most important matter concerning their entire tribe at the moment.
Seeing the disappointment in Anman's eyes, Vanya paused slightly, then continued to speak.
"Priest, the condition you proposed to the Church, using us as leverage, is for them to abandon forced evangelism on Xiatree, right? You want to use the Shining Light pilgrims as bargaining chips to make them respect the faith of the Goddess. Do you think the Church will really accept this condition? Will the Church really negotiate with you because of us pilgrims?"
Vanya spoke to Anman in a serious tone. Hearing Vanya's words, Anman paused, then spoke with a slight change in tone.
"Your words... what are you trying to express?"
"What I want to say is very simple. Based on my understanding of the Church, it is impossible for them to agree to your conditions. Even if all of us pilgrims are killed by you, the Shining Light Church will not make any concessions to Xiatree, and instead will incur more brutal retaliation. Therefore, what I want to warn the Priest is, do not expect to threaten the Church with us to achieve your goal. The Church would rather abandon us than agree to your conditions. If this continues, the fate of Xiatree is only destruction."
"Priest, do you really want to lead the entire Xiatree to such an end?"
Vanya spoke solemnly to Anman. Dorothy had read the secret transmission methods the Church used against otherworld heresies and pagans. She knew where the Church's bottom line was. The Church would not make any concessions to pagans for the sake of a few hundred people.
After hearing Vanya's words, Anman fell silent for a moment. He sat in place without changing his expression for a long time, then spoke seriously.
"I naturally know that the Church will not compromise so easily, but we also have a bottom line that cannot be crossed. Xiatree was once a remnant of the broken, and it is the Goddess's grace that allows us to have the right to survive. Xiatree cannot leave the Goddess, the foundation of Xiatree is the Goddess, and the veneration of the Goddess is the meaning of Xiatree's existence, the faith in the Goddess is the fundamental continuation of Xiatree. The Shining Light Church cannot compromise, and neither can we, we will not accept the Shining Light faith."
Anman said resolutely. Then his words became stern, and his expression became more vigilant. He pointed at Vanya in front and spoke directly.
"As a follower of the Goddess, saying such things just now, could it be that you want us to retreat in the face of difficulty and convert to the Light? Although you claim to be a follower of the Goddess, your words everywhere still favor the Light. Is your faith true or false? Did you just happen to learn those gestures and want to use them to deceive me?"
"I have never heard of a Sister who believes in the Fertility Goddess under the nose of the Church. The rituals of the Shining Light Church are so many and so strict, how do you hide your faith in their eyes? You are too suspicious. Did the Shining Light Church teach you those gestures and let you pretend to be a convert to the Fertility Goddess who converts to the Light, in order to move me and make me yield softly? If so, I can tell you, that is impossible!"
Anman said sternly to Vanya. In fact, from the beginning, he didn't simply believe Vanya was another follower of the Fertility Goddess just because of a few gestures. His vigilance had never dropped from the start. He was just pretending to trust the other party to get more information.
After hearing Vanya's words just now, Anman directly suspected that Vanya was not a follower of the Fertility Goddess, but simply a Church Sister, and the Church taught her these gestures to make her pretend to be a Fertility Goddess follower, creating an image of a Fertility Goddess follower converting to the Light in front of him, attempting to move him with such an image. After all, some of these gestures are not complicated, anyone can learn them.
Facing Anman's stern questioning, Vanya didn't react much, but continued to sit quietly in place, then looked at the vigilant Anman and slowly said.
"I am naturally a follower of the Goddess, Priest, you don't need to doubt this. If those ritual gestures can't prove anything, I can provide more powerful proof later."
"As for how I can believe in the Goddess under the nose of the Church, this is actually very simple. I just need to worship the Holy Mother among the Shining Light Three Saints as the Fertility Goddess."
Vanya said seriously to Anman. Hearing Vanya's words, Anman couldn't help but be startled. After digesting Vanya's words, he murmured.
"What...? Worship the Holy Mother of the Shining Light Church as the Goddess?"
"Yes, this is how I ensure my faith under the Shining Light Church, a very effective method, and it is also the method I want to recommend to you."
"You can do as I do, outwardly convert to the Shining Light Church, overlap the image of the Holy Mother with the Fertility Goddess, and worship the Holy Mother as the Fertility Goddess. And here, I have the corresponding method."