Chapter 599: We... Will Control York City!

Chapter 599 We... Will Control York City!

Kallen gently caressed the thick dossier in his hands. Its power was already equivalent to a forbidden curse; in fact, even a forbidden curse would find it difficult to achieve its effect.

The York City diocese held a special status within the hierarchy of the Church of Order, so it was clearly unrealistic for a single forbidden curse to affect most of the bishops in this region.

Even though the successor of the fallen god—that assassin, Valotti—had successfully assassinated the Chief Bishop's family, that was already the limit of the Church of Order's negligence and his own flawless execution.

Why did Valotti pick Kallen, an influential young man, as his second target after the successful assassination? Because he knew very well that the other bishops and high-ranking officials should have already triggered their security defenses by then.

Only... the six bishops taken to the auditorium by the Chief Bishop last time happened to be the people on this list, which made Kallen feel it was a bit too coincidental.

Although this could be understood as a deliberate arrangement and selection by the Chief Bishop.

But...

Kallen spoke up, asking, "My Lord Chief, Lord Bishop, may I ask a question from my personal perspective?"

Wolfrun raised his hand and said, "Of course you can, ask away."

"Is it that those six bishops—no, those five bishops—already had problems, or did they happen to become problematic precisely because they went that day?"

Hearing this question, Wolfrun smiled:

"What you want to ask is whether everyone is a black crow, just fond of wearing red divine robes on ordinary days, and when needed, one steps forward with eyes closed to make a selection, and as long as the divine robe is torn off, they are all black?

As for whether they are actually red or black, and whether to tear off the disguise, it purely depends on the requirements of demand?"

"My Lord Chief, I didn't mean that..."

"No, you should mean that. Meaning that is exactly right. We need to be naive in our attitude toward life, but in dealing with specific matters and work, naivety is unacceptable.

However, I cannot answer this question for you. Because of my stance and identity, you wouldn't truly believe my answer either.

How about this, you ask our Bishop Byrne. After all, these criminal evidences were all collected by his hard work. Do you know how difficult it is to collect enough solid and powerful evidence without alerting the person themselves?"

Bishop Byrne replied, "This is also why I am not very satisfied with you, but will respect you and obey your arrangements. Without your acquiescence and support, I could not have achieved this."

Wolfrun immediately waved his hand:

"Ah, don't say that. It was all done by you, a fellow hidden in the shadows, and has nothing to do with me. Otherwise, it would really sound terrible if word got out that I, the Chief Bishop, secretly helped you collect criminal evidence against my subordinate bishops."

"In fact, your reputation is already like this." Bishop Byrne smiled slightly. "If we were to rank the reputation list of the past Chief Bishops of the York City diocese, your reputation would definitely be the worst."

As the leader of a local interest group, he was now taking the lead in cooperating with external systemic forces to strike at and dismantle his own side. In the secular world, this was equivalent to a king leading a rebel army to overthrow his own rule—a true act of smashing one's own pot.

Bishop Byrne looked at Kallen and said, "I have already accepted you, so you should, correspondingly, accept me."

"You... still haven't given a definitive answer."

"In this world, is there a fishpond so truly clear that it contains no impurities at all?"

Kallen replied, "It does not exist."

"Yes, whether a fishpond is truly clean depends on whether the person managing the fishpond will clean it regularly."

Kallen nodded, indicating that he understood.

Bishop Byrne spread his hands, his gaze falling upon the center of his palm:

"However, you don't need to be too discouraged. I said that you and I are very alike, do you remember?"

"I remember."

"There is no shortage of two kinds of people in this world:

One is the kind who only knows how to move forward with lowered head, choosing to sink together with the mud even if they are in it, rather than thinking of looking up to see if there are stars twinkling above. He thinks he has been moving forward, but in reality, he has been continuously circling around inside the mud.

The other kind of person has only stars in his eyes, and is obsessed with distinguishing the characteristics of each star, debating the size and brightness of the stars as well as the meaning behind them. But he himself stands in the mud, without moving a single bit."

Bishop Byrne pointed his finger at Kallen, then pointed at himself:

"We both look up at the stars, but we do not obsess over their characteristics and beauty, or the moving stories contained behind them. We use them to identify the direction of our progress, and at the same time, our pace has never stopped.

You ask me if they are all black crows. I can tell you, they are not. Most of the diocese's bishops and deputy bishops, including department heads who are not bishops, are actually clean.

If it were really as exaggerated as being completely black, then my Church of Order would have collapsed long ago.

But are those five bishops who were arrested all of them? Is the dossier I investigated and just gave you all of them?

No, it is not all of them. Of course it cannot be.

But... the bulk of it is all inside."

"Yes, I understand."

"Clap, clap!"

Wolfrun clapped his hands, sighing with emotion, "I say, are we holding a reading insights exchange meeting here?"

Bishop Byrne smiled and said, "To be able to encounter a young man worth communicating with is a very fortunate and even happy thing. Naturally, there will be an impulse in one's heart to share one's experience and insights with him."

Kallen immediately stood up, bowing to Bishop Byrne:

"Thank you for your guidance."

Bishop Byrne also stood up, returning the bow.

Wolfrun picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "This is why inheritance often surpasses blood relationships. Even if it is one's own blood descendant, there is a high probability they will only resemble you in appearance. But if a young man can inherit the path one identifies with, it truly feels as if one has lived all over again. At least, it gives one's life another possibility."

Bishop Byrne nodded and said, "Indeed, compared to Kallen, your grandson is truly eyesore to look at."

Wolfrun: "..."

Looking at the Chief Lord whose face was turning red with anger, Bishop Byrne asked in puzzlement, "I originally thought you should be very clearly aware of this point."

"There is still a difference between whether I am aware of it and you speaking ill of my grandson to my face, do you understand?"

"I don't understand, and I'm too lazy to understand." Bishop Byrne adjusted his divine robe. "Alright, we can leave now."

"It's still early." Wolfrun raised his hand. "Leon went to prepare dinner. Let's leave after eating."

"Fine, after all, the next time I accompany you for a meal might be at your funeral." Bishop Byrne pointed ahead. "Holding a dining tray, eating while facing your funeral portrait."

"If possible, I really want to make my funeral portrait wink at you."

"That's easy to arrange. I will deliberately splash a bit of soup onto the eyes of your funeral portrait. You can close your eyes and imagine that scene."

"No need to close my eyes to imagine it, I'm already feeling uncomfortable."

"Heh. By the way, your funeral is handed over to Kallen to arrange, is that right?"

"Yes."

Bishop Byrne looked at Kallen and said, "A very easy job, in all probability not many people will come."

"Maybe they will all pass away before me, heh."

"Dinner is ready." Leon knocked on the door and asked, "Grandfather, shall we start the meal now?"

"Mhm." Wolfrun responded, "Right now is fine."

Leon pushed a small dining cart inside. Kallen's gaze landed on the cart, on which were placed three bowls of... well, three bowls of something that Kallen didn't know what it was.

Bishop Byrne scooped out a meatball with a spoon, sent it into his mouth, and nodded, "The taste is not bad, very delicious."

Wolfrun, on the other hand, sucked a piece of dough sheet into his mouth and smiled, "Not as unpalatable as imagined."

Kallen looked down at the dough sheet and meatball soup in his bowl,

Tentatively, a question was breathed:

"Wonton?"

"Yes, Director. Though for some reason, the moment they hit the boiling water, the wrappers unraveled into this."

Karen took a sip of the broth, betraying his own palate as he lied smoothly, "You did well."

Wofulen stirred his spoon, blending the chaotic ingredients in his bowl into a more uniform mess, before looking up at Karen. "There is something I have been meaning to ask but kept forgetting: how did you guess?"

"It was not that difficult to deduce," Karen replied earnestly, setting his spoon aside. "Mainly because I had faith in you. I knew you would not simply abandon the field. Had you shown even a fleeting inclination to struggle, I would not have been quite so certain."

"Ah, so that was it. In truth, many matters resemble this bowl of chowder. According to your previous conversation with Leon, its proper form should have been neatly contained within the dough, correct?"

"Yes."

"Internal struggles within the Church operate on much the same principle. First, you must have a clear purpose. Thereafter, every measure and tactic you employ must revolve around preserving the integrity of that objective.

That day, when that fellow Neo took the stage and flipped the table, it was indeed an excellent way to break the deadlock. Young people always prefer and yearn for such dramatic spectacles.

Yet, it is akin to separating the wrapper from the filling. Once it is already boiling in the pot, attempting to wrap it back up becomes nigh impossible.

If you cannot smash the bowl entirely, and merely tear the skin apart, you are left with a muddy paste—but it remains within the bowl after all, unable to spill out.

It is just like your experiences these past two weeks. Though you tell me you did nothing but read and rest, the reality is that you knew perfectly well in your heart that even if you wished to act, you could hardly achieve any real effect.

Flipping the table is exhilarating, to be sure; it feels as though the suffocating resentment in one's chest has been completely vented. But as long as your opponent is not a fool, you will eventually have to bend down yourself and pick up the scattered pens and papers, all those broken trinkets.

The correct course of action should have been to follow your superior's instructions, pretending to be oblivious. Or rather, you should have let him see that you knew, yet had no choice but to cooperate, moving along with the process he desired.

Then, to mitigate the negative fallout of the affair, you would come to me. You would beg me, for Leon's sake, and for the sake of your hand in slaying the assassin for me, to grant you more names and details. You would take those to negotiate with the Regional Management Office.

Armed with that evidence, you would lock horns with those fellows, and they would not dare raise a clamor. As for me, I could have helped you stabilize the conflict. In the end, Jader would likely have been quietly abandoned to cut losses, much like Dolph.

In this manner, the negative impact would have been minimized, and you might even have preserved your status as the exemplary figure of the Whip of Order in this region."

"Chief..."

"Let me finish. I know that in your heart, you are unwilling to compromise in such a fashion. You may find what I say entirely too pedantic, incompatible with your convictions. Phrases like 'preserving oneself to plot for the future' are likely things you have heard so often your ears have grown calloused.

Yet there are times when you must not allow your own convictions to become a reverse shackle, restricting your room to maneuver.

Did Byrne not know what sort of wretched state that family was in? And yet, did he not also choose to stand in stead of the Regional Management Office to defend Vicolai?

In any endeavor, he who laughs last, laughs best.

Furthermore, this does not conflict with your beliefs. You would not be compromising for the sake of craven gain, but merely taking a step back to pave the way for a future gathering of strength.

Just like this... wonton, was it?

Since it falls apart when boiled in the pot, one might as well pan-fry it with olive oil. The methods differ, but in essence, it is transformed from the exact same food."

"But Chief, I feel I must have my own faith and adherence."

"If you do not choose to follow your faith, it will breed guilt and anger toward yourself. That is correct, but it is merely the first stage. You have learned to respect your own heart, to obey your faith, and from it you have drawn the courage to face hardships and make painful choices.

Yet the perception of a matter, even the simplest of phrases, will yield different interpretations as one's age and experience evolve."