I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 604: The Cursed Girl

The Archbishop of Justice waved his hand. A cabinet in the living room instantly opened, a streak of light flashed past, and a Soul Bead landed in his palm.

A tangible surge of spiritual power erupted, rushing into the butler’s mind. Wang Lan and the others stood quietly, a chill creeping into their hearts. The Hell Monarch’s schemes run so deep, he even managed to place a pawn within the Archbishop of Justice’s home.

After a long moment, the Archbishop of Justice removed his hand from the butler’s forehead. The butler’s eyes rolled back, his face went blank, and he collapsed to the floor, stupefied. Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Justice activated the memories stored within the Soul Bead.

A scene appeared: a dim basement where the butler knelt, awaiting instructions from a person clad in silk pajamas and wearing a golden mask.

In God’s Country, only the Pope was entitled to wear a golden mask. The person in the scene was giving instructions to the butler, but no sound came through. However, the image alone was enough to illustrate the problem.

Then, the butler took out a USB drive. The owner of the golden mask opened it, revealing a video of the Archbishop of Justice dining at home—a very warm and ordinary scene.

The video quickly ended, and relieved smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.

"Archbishop of Justice, this video is enough to clear your name."

"My exoneration isn’t the most important issue right now," the Archbishop of Justice said, his voice tight. "What’s most important is the mastermind behind this. To dare to wear a golden mask that only the Pope is allowed to wear... he truly deserves death."

"Archbishop of Justice," Yulia hesitated for a moment before speaking, "earlier, Wang Lan made a conjecture about the mastermind. He believes the culprit is someone from the high ranks of our Papacy."

"High ranks? How high?"

"Very high," Wang Lan affirmed.

"On what basis?"

"Only someone intimately familiar with the Archbishop of Light could have orchestrated this deadly trap, initiating the scheme with Li three years ago and manipulating the hearts and minds of everyone in the Papacy to such a precise degree. It couldn’t have been done by someone who doesn’t work closely with you all. And this time, your butler surely wasn’t a spy for the Hell Monarch from the very beginning, was he?"

"Of course not," the Archbishop of Justice stated. "Soro has been with me for fifty years. He was a steward in my household since I was ten, and as I grew, he became my butler. He has always been fiercely loyal. I never imagined he would ultimately be bewitched by the Hell Monarch and betray me."

"So, the one who could bewitch the butler must be someone who can frequently access you. And in the video, he’s wearing a golden mask that only the Pope can wear. Why?" Wang Lan pressed.

"He wants to be Pope?" the Archbishop conjectured.

"Correct. The mastermind is someone who has the potential... or at least, is qualified to become Pope."

The Archbishop of Justice’s face instantly darkened again. "I understand now. He’s at least a Cardinal Bishop."

"Narrowing the circle to this extent, what comes next shouldn’t be difficult," Wang Lan said. "Archbishop of Justice, I wonder if you noticed that the mastermind has a heart-shaped birthmark on his chest?"

"I did see it. Thank you, General Wang Lan, for your assistance. You are indeed as wise as the rumors say. I am very grateful that you could identify the mastermind and clear my name so quickly. Please leave the rest to our Papacy. We can handle it."

"Then we will take our leave," Wang Lan said.

With the search narrowed down so significantly, finding the mastermind was no longer difficult. There were only about twenty Cardinal Bishops in the entire Papacy, and one with a heart-shaped birthmark on his chest... should be unique. Wang Lan’s biggest concern was that none of these twenty bishops would have such a mark.

Although there’s a saying, "You never know if tomorrow or an accident will arrive first," this time, no accident occurred. The Pope urgently summoned all Cardinal Bishops to the Holy Temple for a meeting.

After excluding the female bishops, only eight Cardinal Bishops remained. When the Pope ordered all of them to disrobe, a bishop with a birthmark on his chest was revealed to everyone.

Immediately, the Pope took action and arrested the Sin Evil Bishop. The Sin Evil Bishop, still clueless, became enraged when the Archbishop of Justice presented the evidence. Ultimately, he was thrown into the Thorned Prison.

This was also specifically instructed by Wang Lan. He feared it might be another of the Hell Monarch’s elaborate traps, so he advised them not to sentence the bishop yet, but to arrest him secretly and refrain from publicizing the matter.

After the arrest of the Sin Evil Bishop, the Archbishop of Justice immediately ordered a search of the Sin Evil Bishop’s divine domain. When the Holy Knights stormed into the Sin Evil Bishop’s house, his wife, wearing a black robe and heavy, vivid makeup, was sitting on the edge of the bed.

In God’s Country, relatives of the clergy were forbidden from wearing black clothing; indeed, black clothing was not an option for anyone in God’s Country. Only the fallen, those who had dedicated their hearts to demons, would wear black.

Seeing the Holy Knights burst in, the Sin Evil Bishop’s wife flashed a ferocious smile, then ignited flames and burned herself to death.

At this point, the truth was beyond doubt. Soon, the Holy Knights discovered an evil altar in the basement of the Sin Evil Bishop’s home. Surrounding it were a dozen boxes, each containing the corpse of an infant less than a month old.

Upon comparison, all these bodies belonged to infants who had gone missing over the past month. Most had been stolen from orphanages.

Following this clue, the Holy Knights investigated further, belatedly realizing they had overlooked a critical piece of evidence: before these infants disappeared, the Sin Evil Bishop’s wife had visited those same orphanages to "comfort" the children.

As wives of Bishops, holding a superior status, they would often form groups to visit children in welfare homes and engage in charity fundraising to maintain their image among the congregation.

When all this evidence was laid before the Pope, whether the Sin Evil Bishop confessed became irrelevant. What was there to argue in the face of such irrefutable proof? In God’s Country, there wasn’t a rule stating one was not guilty unless they signed a confession; besides, even without a confession, the court’s judgment would stand.

"Execute the Sin Evil Bishop," the Pope commanded. "This public outcry has lasted too long. It’s time for it to end. Announce it to the public tomorrow!"

Early the next morning, the Papacy announced the truth. The one who murdered babies and drank their blood was not the Archbishop of Justice, but the Sin Evil Bishop. For the Papacy, the damage was the same either way.

Whether it was the Sin Evil Bishop or the Archbishop of Justice, both were bishops of the Papacy, and the disgrace fell upon God’s Country. So, no one questioned whether this was a ploy by the Papacy to protect the Archbishop of Justice by deliberately offering a scapegoat.

Besides, how could they possibly use a Cardinal Bishop as a scapegoat?

Fortunately, the Papacy also announced that it was a conspiracy by the Hell Monarch, who had bewitched the Sin Evil Bishop’s wife. She, in turn, had bewitched the Sin Evil Bishop.

Prior to this, God’s Country had suppressed news of the Hell Monarch’s resurgence. Many citizens still remembered the disaster the Hell Monarch had brought upon God’s Country thirty years ago.

To prevent panic, God’s Country had kept the Hell Monarch’s reappearance a secret. But now, it seemed impossible to hide it any longer. So, when the truth was unveiled, an uproar swept through God’s Country.

Concurrently, a state of emergency was declared in God’s Country, and the Holy Knights began to take full control of public security. A national alert in God’s Country meant complete vigilance throughout the nation.

This applied not only to the citizens of God’s Country but also to agents like Wang Lan from the International Security Council. Concerning this decree, Wang Lan expressed incomprehension. We’re here to find the Hell Monarch. They’re even restricting our movements? Then what do they need us for? God’s Country invited the International Security Council to intervene, but now it seems we’re not needed at all?

In response, Dyson patted Wang Lan’s shoulder. "God’s Country has its own complete system. Ours relies on institutions and various disciplines of knowledge to manage the complexities of different issues. But God’s Country relies on theology; it relies on Divine Power. After a national alert, the next step is the Holy Light. The Holy Light is like using ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. They don’t want us moving around so as not to disturb the Holy Light plan. Of course, God’s Country has its own ulterior motives. Do you think they invited us here genuinely wanting us to deal with the Hell Monarch? Their invitation was always meant to make us mere spectators."

The next night, God’s Country was enveloped in dazzling Holy Light. The Holy Knights launched continuous operations, arresting wave after wave of people who were either wicked at heart or had been bewitched.

As a result, Wang Lan and the others found themselves rather idle. Confined to their hotel with no permission to leave, the essence of their culture suddenly had a chance to shine brightly.

Fighting Landlords is an essence of their culture; Mahjong is the essence of that essence. A group of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners shouting things like, "Planes!" "Rockets!" or "Eat!" "Touch!" "Hu!" seemed utterly bizarre.

Yulia, as the liaison between the International Security Council and God’s Country, was also confined to the hotel.

Day and night blurred as Wang Lan’s group of four kept shuffling and drawing cards and tiles, unwittingly wasting time.

"Report! An old man has arrived outside. He says he’s an old acquaintance of Miss Yulia and wishes to see her."

"An old man? Who is it?" Yulia, who was shuffling tiles, reluctantly put them down. The charm of Mahjong was truly irresistible. Yulia had initially resisted when Xie Sisi dragged her to the table.

But after understanding the rules and playing a couple of rounds, Yulia seemed to have awakened her inner fighting spirit, becoming incredibly enthusiastic. On the first night, she dragged Xie Sisi, Jiang Xinyu, and Xu Xiangwen to play late into the night.

They only stopped when Xu Xiangwen was so tired he fell asleep at the table. The next morning, she was surprisingly eager to challenge the three of them again.

Yulia stood up and walked to the window, from where she could see the hotel entrance.

"Butler Browney? Let him in."

Soon, Butler Browney was brought up to the sixth floor and entered the room where Yulia and the others were staying.

Butler Browney was dressed in a white robe, his silver hair meticulously combed. For some reason, Wang Lan’s first sight of Browney reminded him of the butler from the Archbishop of Justice’s house.

Though their appearances differed, the hairstyle, the robe, and the demeanor were the same. Perhaps this was a defining trait of butlers from noble families in God’s Country: to be more gentlemanly and aristocratic than their masters. It was a requisite quality for their profession.

"Butler Browney, what brings you here?" Yulia asked.

"Miss Yulia, I beg you, please save Jiali!"

"Jiali? What’s happened to her?" Yulia’s expression changed abruptly as she asked nervously.

"Miss Jiali has been cursed by a Demon..."