The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

"Ansu," Rowan put away his smile, "make yourself clear."

"I remember very clearly." Ansu's smile remained brilliantly sunny, "I just temporarily deposited the gold coins with you, could it be that you've misunderstood something?"

This kid!

He's even better at playing dumb than I am, a master of feigning ignorance!

Priest Danny suddenly remembered what Ansu had said upon entering,

'I'll just leave this money with you for safekeeping'—these were Ansu's words, indeed not a word about bribery was mentioned.

No wonder he made the act of giving money so above board.

"But don't you find it strange,"

Priest Danny stared into Ansu's eyes, "why would you need me to keep it for you? You were only going inside for a short while; there was absolutely no need to entrust your money to me."

"Wasn't it your request?" Ansu responded in surprise.

"When did I request that..." The corners of Priest Danny's mouth twitched slightly.

Danny vaguely sensed that he had fallen into the young man's trap.

"No," Ansu said with a smile, still sunny, but in the priest's eyes, it carried a trace of chill, "Your exact words were..."

"'However, I simply don't wish for the smell of money to reach the front of the Goddess's shrine'."

Ansu repeated Priest Danny's words exactly, "Therefore, I couldn't bring the gold coins in, which is why I left them with you, for fear of offending the Goddess."

That was a metaphor!

It was meant metaphorically!

It meant I wanted you to leave!

Not to leave your money with me and then expect me to return it to you after everything was said and done!

Priest Danny cursed internally, but then he realized, the young man was still deliberately playing dumb!

Back then, he had deliberately steered the atmosphere, deliberately followed the twisted meaning, seizing the loophole in his own words, fabricating the illusion of 'intent to bribe' towards the priest!

"Could it be you've misunderstood my intention—what exactly were you thinking at that time?"

Miss Luojia also looked at Priest Danny with a doubtful gaze.

Sweating bullets.

Priest Danny felt himself sweating bullets.

This youngster had successfully extricated himself from being implicated in bribery. If this confusion continued, it would become him, Danny, who was lusting after wealth, misinterpreting the genuine intention of the future saint Ansu, wishing to accept bribery!

"Priest Danny, is what Ansu said true?" Priest Rowan asked him, frowning.

"I swear by the Radiant Goddess, every single word I have said is the truth, without any fabrication." Before Danny could answer, Ansu had already made an oath.

Oaths in the world of religion are the most sacred and inviolable.

To break an oath is to incur divine punishment, so when Ansu took the oath, Priest Rowan believed the matter to be true.

Because, indeed, none of Ansu's words were fabricated.

Priest Danny decided to admit defeat. If he continued, nobody could save him.

He feigned realization, "I remember now, Lord Ansu did hand me a bag, I haven't had the chance to look at it yet, so I'm not clear on the details..."

But what Ansu said next made him tremble with shock.

"Then, please return my one hundred and twenty gold coins to me."

You little swindler?

There weren't one hundred twenty, there were clearly only sixty!

You've just sworn an oath, why are you lying again... Danny's eyes widened in disbelief, then suddenly, he remembered something.

'I swear by the Radiant Goddess, every single word I have spoken is true, without any fabrication.' He finally understood the meaning of this oath.

It's a bloody dividing line!

I guarantee that what I said above was true, but as for the following words, they are all lies, completely fabricated!

What to do now....

Lord Ansu had already sworn an oath once, and both Priest Rowan and Miss Luojia were convinced. To ask him to swear again?

That would only make one seem ignorant and disrespectful, insulting a prospective saint of the Goddess, which could have even graver consequences.

Or perhaps admit that there were only sixty Gold Coins in the purse?

Damn it, he was only in charge of holding the purse, and had just said he hadn't had time to check it—how could he possibly know the exact amount?

Priest Danny, after all these years of service, still had some discernment.

Lord Ansu's statement was clearly a veiled threat, but it also offered a way out.

'You give me sixty Gold Coins, and I'll pretend as if nothing ever happened. You didn't take any bribes, you were merely holding my coins.'

Swear back at him and confront him? Say that there were only sixty and he hadn't touched them? Then Lord Ansu would completely turn against him and expose his bribe—that was the threat.

"Oh... I remember now," Priest Danny said with a forced kind smile, his gums nearly clenched, "I'll go get it for you right now, right away."

He returned to his study, unlocked the drawer, and counted out sixty Gold Coins—his savings from working part of a year, naturally, with quite a bit of bribery money included.

He gritted his teeth and placed sixty Gold Coins into the purse, weighed it, and, with a smile still plastered on his face, walked out to hand the purse to Lord Ansu.

To his surprise, Lord Ansu didn't even look at it and immediately handed the hefty purse to Priest Rowan.

"What is this?" Priest Rowan looked puzzled.

"This is a personal donation to the Church," Lord Ansu explained modestly, "It's not for an individual; it's a tithe. I feel more at ease personally delivering it to you."

Indeed, the Church did have the practice of tithing.

The faithful donate money to the Church as a whole, which in turn is responsible for distributing it to the poor.

In short, it's charity.

"One hundred twenty Gold Coins is too much, child,"

the more Priest Rowan looked at the young man, the more he liked him—humble, gentle, polite, and well-mannered, not at all like those spoiled rich kids,

"You've exceeded the maximum for an individual's donation."

One hundred twenty Gold Coins indeed was a tremendous sum.

It was the total income of an average family for over a decade.

"Then give sixty Gold Coins," Lord Ansu's words made Danny's face even sadder, even more pained, "It is a token of my sincerity."

You haven't spent a single penny!

Why should the money and the reputation be yours!

That's my money!

Those sixty were coerced from me as ill-gotten gains!

To make an offering to the Goddess with tainted money and then claim it as a gesture of your heart, your own heart is dirty too!

So young, just thirteen or fourteen, and already dirtier than I am.

We're all corrupt, so why should this fellow be favored by the Radiant Goddess?

And be granted a title!

Just because he's young, handsome, and comes from a rich family?

Like the High Priest who has worshiped the Mother Goddess for thirty years, Priest Danny, who has worshiped the Radiant Goddess for sixty years... was for the first time, doubting his faith.

And yet, he couldn't show his agony; he had to keep smiling and even clapped along.

"Oh, and this Gold Coin is for you," Lord Ansu took out another Gold Coin from the purse and placed it in front of the Priest with a pure smile, "Consider it a tip for holding onto my purse."

The final blow, the ultimate mockery to his face.

The old Priest felt his heart nearly bursting with anger, but he could only keep up a strained, hollow smile.

"I'm sorry, we... we are clergy, we... we cannot accept any personal gifts, nor... tips,"

Danny said through a twitching smile, "Not even... one Gold Coin."

He would never take bribes again.

Priest Danny watched the young man with Scouting Magic, focusing on the title above his head, the shining[Newborn]so dazzling.

A newborn...!