Holy Vessel

  A faint smile escaped from Yidun's mouth, and he looked at Jester with great interest, who was sitting on the sofa with a wolf-like expression. Cain played with his own gun, sitting in his old position, stroking the purple bruise on his forehead with his left hand, humming as he stared at Jester. Feli and Gole stood inside the bar, desperately wiping wine glasses, while one leaned against the door frame watching the commotion.

  Jie Si waited for half a day, but Yi Chen still didn't say a word. He let out a bitter smile: "Boss, sorry about this. What do you want to do? I've already admitted defeat. I was just going to take a look at the situation, who knew I'd end up facing them head-on?"

  Yi Chen snapped his fingers, took off the outer garment stained with a few bloodstains, and laughed loudly: "Ahah, Jester, dear Jester, you dare to challenge two red-robed high priests and over ten bishops head-on, yet say it's just to test the waters. You're truly great, this former servant of God, really an honest lamb! Didn't God teach you to forbid lying?"

  Jie Si Te Ren Ming stretched out his hand, gesturing to Cai En and said: "Cai En, sorry about that. I was in a hurry to leave, so I knocked you out. You can deal with it however you want, if you want revenge, go ahead, at most let you beat me up for a while."

  Kane flashed a hint of a smile: "Well, no big deal, I'm not particularly interested in beating up a superpower user, my hands would hurt too much. If there's another situation like this in the future, please discuss it with me first, and I'll consider you as having knocked me out already." Jester let out a wry smile, exhaled slowly, and looked at Yichen: "OK, boss, Kain is fine now, what do you plan to do with me?"

  Yi Chen sat on the sofa opposite him, smiling and saying: "Alright, since you got me hurt, let's just deduct your dividend for this year. Of course, Fatadi and others' income will be given to you, but our own several venues' revenue, you won't have a single penny, agree?"

  Jester smiled: "It doesn't matter, I have enough money now, and I'm not Chekhov, so go ahead and deduct it."

  Yi Chen nodded, his face turning serious: "So, Jester, tell me, what are the Holy Artifacts? There are actually two of them in St. Paul's Cathedral." Yi Chen told Jester about the situation he had secretly observed, and these twists and turns attracted everyone present, even Cain leaned in, sitting on the sofa next to Yi Chen, listening intently.

  "God damn it, two holy artifacts? This is getting out of hand," Jest's eyes widened in alarm. "Boss, why didn't you take out those priests? You could have taken down a few during that surprise attack." His face twisted in frustration, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light as he stared at Yidun.

  Yi Chen smiled: "Why take the risk to get rid of them? I don't have any deep grudges against them, no need to provoke them excessively. Letting them lose a Knight's sword is already enough to make them heartbroken."

  "Ahahahaha! Yes, yes, a holy sword with immense attacking power has gone missing and those Vatican guys are going to get scolded by the Pope for sure."

  Yi Chen nodded, glanced at Phil who had quietly walked in and closed the door behind him, gesturing for him to come closer and listen. He asked Jester, "So, what exactly is a holy relic? Is it truly a powerful treasure that has been blessed by God or an angel?"

  Jester shook his head and said, "So-called sacred artifacts are actually objects that have been passed down since the Middle Ages, possessing incredibly powerful abilities. Hmm, they weren't blessed by God or some heavenly angel, but because their original owners had an unimaginably strong cultivation that can't be compared to now. Their owners were usually devout ascetics who, after putting down these weapons, continuously repented and cultivated in front of the murderous tools they once used, allowing their powerful sacred energy to infuse into these objects, giving them unbelievable power."

  Yi Chen furrowed his brow: "Could it be that back then, the cultivators possessed even stronger holy powers than the current high priests?"

  "Who knows? Anyway, that's how things are. Some of the artifacts passed down from back then indeed possess powers that surpass those of today's followers. Perhaps because the clergy has started to degenerate, they naturally receive weaker powers compared to the ascetics of old. Think about those American priests who molested boys at the beginning of this century... Tsk tsk, would God grant them power? Not striking them dead with lightning is probably already a great act of mercy."

  He nodded and said, "Maybe so. Just like China's cultivators, ancient cultivators could easily reach the state of unity with heaven and ascend to the immortal realm, but now... even those few old ghosts I know have become incredibly powerful, yet they still don't have the power to ascend. It's been hundreds of years since a celestial being has appeared in China."

  Jester said in a low voice: "Europe hasn't had a powerful saint for hundreds of years either, perhaps people's hearts are all falling, so no one is worthy of such great power."

  Yi Chen smiled: "Never mind all that, so what is this so-called 'identifying sacred artifacts' and 'recognizing the master', what kind of procedure is it?"

  Jester snorted in disdain, saying: "Appraising sacred artifacts is just letting a few red-robed archbishops examine some unknown artifact to see what kind of abilities it has - attack, defense, protection, healing, or exorcism... To put it bluntly, it's just a bunch of antique dealers appraising antiques. As for the so-called 'recognition', it's just under the auspices of the greatest, most public, most majestic, most sacred, and most representative of God's glory - the Pope himself, letting a knight with noble sentiments, great power, and a pure body obtain the artifact's power and become the Church's loyal henchman... That's how things are."

  Yi Chen slightly tilted his head, furrowed his brow in thought, and Jest suddenly burst out laughing: "Of course, the blow that Boss gave to that damned Paul is enough to make the people of the Vatican cry. Normally, if a set of Holy Artifacts is incomplete, it can only exert 30% of its power at most. And after the Holy Artifacts recognize their master, if the master dies or is injured, they will not reattach themselves to a new master for at least a year... So this set of Holy Artifacts has become useless for a year, unless the Pope is willing to put in the effort to repair that damned Paul."

  Yi Chen said with a hint of regret, "Is that so? I should have gotten rid of Paul earlier... Can the Pope heal someone whose entire skeletal system is shattered and 50% of their meridians are severed?"

  Jester licked his lips, revealing a wolf-like smile: "Boss, if the Pope uses all his might and doesn't spare his own strength, he can indeed save someone in just a few days, even if that person is on the verge of death. Of course, we can prevent Paul from becoming a Holy Knight, right? Boss, do we have this power?"

  Yi Chen raised his right index finger, wagging it in front of Jester and warning him: "No, Jester, you must remember that if things are not fully accomplished, then do not regret or try to forcibly make up for it. Our current strength is not enough to deal with the Vatican's manpower at present. Do you understand? You must learn to let go. You have already set up a small universe, and as long as you continue to cultivate, you may reach the effect of rebirth before me. At that time, you will be a so-called immortal first-class person. Are you still afraid that you cannot avenge your enemies?"

  "Ah, yes, boss, I hear you, I won't be impulsive again..." He swung his fist heavily and revealed a sinister smile.

  With a satisfied smile, he said: "So, all problems are solved. Phil, wait till dawn and go to the gate to welcome the newspaper, let's see what the headlines are. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the journalists of the British Empire will perform... Wonder how the Vatican will cover up certain things, can't wait."

  Yi Chen suddenly thought of another question and curiously asked Jester, "So, Jester, tell me, why didn't those dark council people get rid of Paul? If they got rid of Paul and then destroyed the two holy artifacts, wouldn't that be more direct? I know they cherish their members' lives, but if they could strike at the Vatican, would they care about a little sacrifice?"

  Jester said bluntly, "The sacred artifact can be destroyed, but the sacred power of an artifact that has already recognized its master can never be destroyed. The Vatican can infuse the sacred power into any other object of the same nature, although the effect is slightly worse, but there is not much difference."

  "Ah, I see! So the best way to deal with these sacred artifacts is to seal them away, right? That's why those lucky vampires wanted to escape with the holy sword - their top official must have a way to seal the artifact!" Jest nodded in agreement with Yichun's words. Yichun burst out laughing and rubbed his hands together excitedly, saying: "What a pity... what a pity! I really want to see the Western black magic sealing technique, but unfortunately, the Dark Council would never let me observe their actions."

  Jie Si looked at Yi Chen with a bit of strangeness, he really couldn't understand why Yi Chen would be interested in these things.

  Yi Chen's mood became quite good, and he loudly gathered a table of mahjong players to start a gambling session. Fei Li sat on his lap, smiling and dealing out cards randomly for him, causing Yi Chen to suffer a huge loss in no time. Meanwhile, Fei Er, sitting below him, had a smile all over her face as she continuously picked up cards.

  Daybreak found Phil out waiting for the paper, while Cain was dragged into a game by Jester.

  Ten minutes later, a stunned Phil walked in: "Boss, there's nothing about St Paul's Cathedral in the papers. The news editor of The Times swore to send a reporter immediately... And the same with The Sun, not even a small report on St Paul's Cathedral, nor any reports of over 20 police officers suddenly being hospitalized."

  Yi Chen snatched a card from Feili's hand, threw away another one and said indifferently: "Is that so? Very good, very good. Jester, take a look, the power of the Vatican is beyond our imagination. Even The Sun, which dares to report on the British royal family's dogs biting people, didn't make a single noise this time. Their influence is indeed formidable."

  Jester let out a cold hum, his face gloomy and silent, carelessly throwing out a card, which ended up benefiting Gor, who smiled as he took the card.

  Yi Chen stood up, stretched his waist and said: "I'm so tired, I'm so tired. Jester, this is my last warning to you. Be honest, if it wasn't for your good luck yesterday night, my power would have been enough to support you from a distance, and you would have been done for. Remember, you only have one life, you can waste your own life, but don't drag down your partners. Let's all take a rest, this matter is settled, there's nothing more to say."

  Vaguely, a few people with particularly keen senses of perception, such as Yì Chén and Fēi Lì, Jí Mò, vaguely felt that the sky had transmitted some kind of strange vibration, but it was very weak. Yì Chén shrugged his shoulders, and, not concerning himself with the matter, pulled Fēi Lì upstairs.

  An hour later, Yi Chen was woken up by Phil: "Boss, the people from Scotland Yard want to see you. He's a high-ranking police officer."

  "Superintendent? Phil, have we had any fights or violent crimes in the area recently? Any deaths?"

  Phil also shook his head and said, "Recently, everything in the arena has been normal. Those who like to cause trouble have been taught a lesson and don't dare come again. It's calm and peaceful, and we don't have any leverage in their hands either. Besides, didn't you just send a batch of money to their leader half a month ago?"

  Yi Chen wiped the dust off her face and rearranged her clothes, then went to the living room on the second floor.

  That serious-looking, about forty-year-old senior police officer smiled and stretched out his hand: "Mr. Yichun, I've long admired your name, it's really not easy to meet you."

  Yi Chen's hand also stretched out and grasped his: "This is... I basically know all the police officers at Scotland Yard, but you are a rare one."

  "My name is Viktor, Karl Viktor, you can call me Karl."

  "Karl? Sounds like a dog's name..." Yi Chen thought to himself, but on the surface, he remained polite and said: "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Karl. You are..." He gestured with his hand, and the two sat down on the sofa.

  Carl shrugged in a typically British manner, shaking his head slightly to express helplessness and said: "I'm responsible for certain special cases, so I rarely interact with big shots like you. This time is also about seeking cooperation from Mr. Yi."

  "Cooperating with the police to maintain social stability is our bounden duty, we are all law-abiding citizens of the great British Empire. May I ask, what kind of case would warrant the deployment of a senior investigator from the Special Investigation Department?" From Karl's self-introduction, Yichen slightly guessed which organization Karl belonged to.

  Carl said bluntly, "A plane belonging to the Vatican was shot down by a light anti-aircraft missile and crashed into a residential area. According to analysis, the attacker may have used an American-made Stinger missile. We'd like to ask Mr. Yichun if he has any relevant information. Does he know who has been spreading rumors about buying such military equipment recently?"

  Yi Chen's heart skipped a beat, so the shock was because of this, the Vatican's turning point was shot down? I don't know if there are big shots like Cardinal Red on it, if there are, I'm afraid the scene of crazy trials and crazy fire executions in the Middle Ages will appear again. The Vatican's revenge is not a joke.

  Yi Chen smiled and said, "I'm a law-abiding citizen, Mr. Carl. Do you think I'd sell arms? That's too terrifying, how could I possibly know about these things?" Yi Chen's heart was racing a bit, as his secret arsenal had eight poisonous dart missiles stored inside. If the Scottish Yard really got their hands on some intel, he'd be in big trouble...

  "Mr. Yidun, I won't say anything meaningless or hypocritical," Karl said sincerely. "You know what kind of person you are, and we have some information about you too. However, compared to other big bosses, you're still the most law-abiding one, so we don't want to offend someone like you. Give me something I want to know, and I'll leave immediately."

  Yi Chen picked up the wine cup presented by Ge Er, took a light sip, smiled and said: "Is that so? Then... hmm... this is going to be tough."

  Karl looked at Yi Chen, very seriously and said: "The top has given us a lot of pressure, I hope you can understand. We have all the information about the bosses in London, but we are not familiar with some channels, so please cooperate with us. The special plane that was attacked this time belongs to the Vatican, it is likely to become a very serious event because of the Vatican's reasons, if our thorough investigation damages Mr. Yi Chen's interests, I'm afraid this is also something you don't want to see?"

  Yi Chen didn't take Carl's veiled threat seriously, and with a look of "a dead pig not afraid of boiling water", he said: "I'm still not clear about your meaning, but if you can guarantee some things, maybe I can recall something." Since Carl himself admitted that they were unclear about certain channels, then he wouldn't know what was in his own inventory either. Yi Chen suddenly relaxed.

  Karl nodded and said with a knowing look, "If you can provide some unique and valuable intelligence, of course, I'll be happy to give Mr. Yichun some special treatment in the future."

  Easily satisfied, he smiled and said to Carl: "Thank you for your promise, a gentleman must keep his promises... Hmm, in a certain garden district in London's West End, there is a special villa, uh, its roof is golden, and its owner may know something... Of course, due to some relationship, I didn't tell you the above words, did I?"

  Karl looked at Yidun and asked with a hint of puzzlement: "What kind of person is this master? Is he the channel or an intermediary?"

  Yi Chen glanced at Carl, rolled his eyes and fell silent. After a long while, he finished the wine in his hand and finally spoke slowly: "He? He's a big shot, a heavyweight... Haha, a heavy firepower."

  Karl understood something and silently cursed Yichun a few times in his heart: "I reckon this heavyweight still has some unpleasantness with you, otherwise you wouldn't be so willing to say it out loud?" But on the surface, he was still smiling as he expressed gratitude to Yichun.

  Yi Chen smiled and saw off the guest. As they approached the gate, he casually asked: "Mr. Kal, why did those people attack the Vatican's special plane? Is there a big shot on board?"

  "Big shots? No, except for two unfortunate pilots, there's nobody on board, it's strange, what do they want to do? God forbid, if the two cardinals were on the plane...". Karl's face also showed a hint of fear, if the two cardinals were on the plane, the British government's security measures would probably be attacked mercilessly by Christians all over the world.

  Yi Chen watched as Karl drove away, standing at the entrance of Chinatown in contemplation: "Hmmm, the people on the plane were probably all Si Gang's subordinates, that's why they could escape from this situation... and even had time to take the sacred artifact with them. Strange, wasn't Paul supposed to be on the plane?"

  Yi Chen suddenly smiled: "Not bad, the Vatican's heart is really ruthless, giving up on Paul like this. But it's just a year, and after a year, a glorious Holy Knight can be born, what a wonderful thing! Although the holy sword has lost its power and can't fully exert itself, at least it's still considered a master..."

  Yi Chen walked away unsteadily, and the matter of the sacred artifact came to an end like this. It's still somewhat satisfactory, I suppose. Although it's unclear whether these things were done by people from the Dark Assembly or not, what exactly is going on behind the scenes, and what does Yi Chen have to do with it? Where did the sacred artifact ultimately go, and what does it have to do with Yi Chen?

  At the same time, White was with his boss in a secret hideout in London's West End, both staring blankly at today's special edition of The Times, which reported on this raid.

  "Boss, these people we're looking for are a bit too quick and ruthless, aren't they? What should we do?"

  His boss's face was also extremely ugly: "These crazy people, actually, actually directly hit the Vatican's special plane with a missile. God, I didn't mean to offend you... White Kade, hurry up and pay them the remaining payment, we're leaving Britain immediately."

  No matter how busy the wonderful people were in handling the aftermath, their efficiency was still good. In just one night's time, they found a mercenary organization, and these mercenaries even directly attacked the Vatican's special plane with missiles. It's really wonderful to say nothing of it.

  Of course, at the same time, in a manor house in the western suburbs of London, a dark council member was speaking into the intercom: "Lord Goya, a guy hired our external mercenaries to compete for the Holy Vessel. I ordered them to attack the Vatican's special plane. What are your instructions?"

  "Hahahaha, wonderful, it was you who ordered them to do it? Great, great, tell them to hide for now... Hahahaha, we've already obtained the Holy Sword and the special machine has been destroyed. That Holy Armor must have also suffered damage. The power of this set of Holy Equipment has been greatly reduced... Great, great, you did a good job. Next time there's an election, I'll propose promoting you to Senior Executor."

  Things in the world are like this, having universal connections, which is indeed a very interesting thing.