Chapter 18: Master, Look at What This Is
6 PM. Moon God Monastery.
At this time, the Moon God Monastery appeared no different from usual, but in reality, it was under internal lockdown, with teams of Moon Apostles conducting secret investigations.
In front of the prayer room, a Moon Apostle with a severed arm and short brown hair was searching for something.
"Any findings?"
Imperial Flower Sonia spoke, her expression slightly anxious.
"Not yet."
The one-armed Moon Apostle shook his head. He pushed open the prayer room door and began inspecting the door gap and handle for any residual traces.
This one-armed Moon Apostle was named Tree Wolf. As for his former name, he had abandoned it when he decided to serve the Moon Goddess for life, along with everything from his past.
Tree Wolf was the Moon Apostle who had clashed with Su Xiao. He was the captain of the Moon Goddess's guards.
The Moon Goddess had three trusted confidants: Imperial Flower Sonia, responsible for external negotiations; Guard Captain Tree Wolf; and the third, Earth Dragon Tamen.
Sonia and Tree Wolf handled diplomacy and protection, while Earth Dragon Tamen only dealt with killing—or rather, he only knew how to kill.
The imperial capital had three individuals known as the strongest, and Earth Dragon Tamen was one of them. The other two were Ninth Army Commander Kukulin Bai Ye and Sword King Xiusite.
Of course, there were also extremely powerful transcendent beings among the common folk, but they rarely showed themselves.
This time, with the theft of the Moon Goddess statue, Earth Dragon Tamen had not stepped forward. His help in this matter was limited. If it came to killing, he was fine, but asking him to find something? The Moon Goddess feared he might tear down the Moon God Monastery.
Thus, two people were in charge of this matter: Imperial Flower Sonia and Guard Captain Tree Wolf.
"Do we have anyone skilled in this sort of thing? Like a detective or something."
Tree Wolf frowned deeply. With his face full of nose and ear piercings, he looked nothing like a guard and more like a fanatical believer.
"There are many, but they're not professional enough. They're better at finding heretics and the like. In the past, this kind of thing would have been handed over to the Ninth Army. They could catch the culprit in at most two days."
Sonia shook her head with a bitter smile. This was indeed their weak point. Most people skilled in reasoning and deduction didn't believe in gods.
The two continued searching the prayer room, with Moon Apostles occasionally coming in to report something to them.
It wasn't until midnight that Sonia and Tree Wolf still hadn't found the culprit. Not even a trace. The Moon Goddess statue had vanished into thin air.
Although the Moon Goddess statue was lost, it only caused the Moon Goddess to grieve until midnight before she went to sleep. Little did she know, this was just an appetizer; the main course was still waiting for her.
At 5 AM the next day, the Moon Goddess was awakened by urgent knocking. She received devastating news: the goddess statue in the grand hall had also been stolen—the one entirely carved from Immortal Crystal.
The Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue stood four meters tall. The grand cathedral was guarded by Moon Apostles around the clock, yet despite this, the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue was still stolen.
If losing the small goddess statue in the prayer room had pained the Moon Goddess, losing the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue was like a knife twisting in her heart.
It was the largest known piece of Immortal Crystal on the continent. After 175 years of painstaking carving by eight generations of craftsmen, it had become a treasure. In the hearts of the Moon Goddess's followers, it was almost the embodiment of the Moon Goddess herself.
Upon learning of the theft of the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue, the Moon Goddess spoke only two sentences.
First: "Find it. Search the entire imperial capital if you have to, but find that statue."
Second: "Send someone to inform the Holy King." The significance of the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue was too great. It was the empire's treasure, a treasure that could never be replicated.
This time, not only was the Moon God Monastery under lockdown, but the surrounding three-kilometer radius of streets was also sealed off.
...
Early morning birds chirped on the branches. Su Xiao, looking slightly dazed, walked out of his bedroom. He had just woken up.
Out of habit, he checked the team channel. Aside from Amu reporting that he was still at sea, there was only a message from Bubu Wang.
Bubu Wang: "Master, I stole a treasure."
Seeing this message, Su Xiao knew things were progressing. Last night, he had told Bubu Wang to improvise and steal whatever was important.
After washing up, Su Xiao had Bubu Wang take photos of the stolen item and send them to the team channel.
Soon, eight photos were sent to the team channel—shots of a crystal statue from various angles.
The more Su Xiao looked, the deeper his frown became. He felt this thing looked familiar, like he had seen it somewhere before.
"Bubu, where did you steal this?"
"Woof."
"..."
Hearing Bubu Wang's reply, Su Xiao was clearly taken aback for a moment.
"The one from the grand cathedral?"
"Woof."
"This thing..."
Su Xiao checked the items in the team storage space. The four-meter-tall Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue was inside.
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang meant: wasn't it "steal whatever's important"? He thought this seemed pretty important.
Bubu Wang's understanding was correct, but the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue was way too important. This thing was practically the face of the Moon God Monastery. No, on a larger scale, it was also the face of the Dawn Empire.
Just as Su Xiao was talking with Bubu Wang, the door was unlocked from the outside with a key, followed by hurried footsteps.
"Commander, big trouble! The Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue has been stolen!"
The young adjutant ran in, panting. Crow Eye had secretly reported this intelligence to her, asking her to relay it to Su Xiao.
"Is that so?"
Su Xiao looked visibly "shocked."
"That's right, it happened last night. The news hasn't been made public yet, only a few insiders know. The people at the Moon God Monastery are going crazy."
The young adjutant picked up the teapot and gulped down several mouthfuls. If she knew the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue was right in Su Xiao's hands, who knew what expression she'd make.
Just as the young adjutant was recounting the known details of the theft to Su Xiao, urgent knocking came from the door.
This time, Su Xiao went to open it himself. It was the same administrative officer who had delivered the order yesterday.
"Lord Kukulin, the Holy King summons you. Please arrive at the Imperial Council Hall before 8 AM. I must continue informing the other lords. Excuse me."
The administrative officer hurried away. Su Xiao made a decision in his heart: he absolutely had to take on the task of investigating this matter. This was an opportunity.
Bubu Wang stealing the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue wasn't a bad thing; on the contrary, it had created an opportunity. First, if even a national treasure like the goddess statue was lost, could the Moon Goddess remain calm? She would likely check other important items that hadn't been stolen yet, such as the Will Rune Stone.
Su Xiao, along with the young adjutant and Baha, rushed to the Imperial Council Hall at the Lurenfei Palace.
At this time, the council hall was almost full of imperial officials. The old Holy King sat at the head, and beside him was none other than the Moon Goddess.
The Finance Officer, the Chief Justice of the Arbitration Court, and other key officials were all present. A man in light metal armor with a longsword at his waist stood behind the old Holy King. He was one of the three strongest in the imperial capital, Sword King Xiusite.
Behind the Moon Goddess stood Imperial Flower Sonia and Guard Captain Tree Wolf. Her most capable confidant was not present, as this was the Lurenfei Palace, the old Holy King's domain.
In total, 26 of the 29 important officials with status in the imperial capital had arrived.
The Hawk Marquis's seat was empty. The old Holy King at the head gave Su Xiao a meaningful glance. Su Xiao naturally understood what it meant and sat in the seat to the old Holy King's right. The other officials were either resting with their eyes closed or whispering among themselves. No one objected to Su Xiao sitting in the Hawk Marquis's position.