It was well past midnight when Xiao Delun burst into my room, face flushed with excitement.
"Priest Luo, you must come! Something unbelievable is happening at the brothel!"
I groaned, dragging the blanket over my head. "Xiao Delun, what kind of nonsense is this? It's the middle of the night."
Before I could bury myself deeper into sleep, he grabbed my arm and started pulling me out of bed.
"No, I'm serious! You need to see this for yourself. Trust me. It's not what you think."
As we reached the hallway, Li Yao's door creaked open. He stepped out groggily, eyes half-lidded, his inner robe hanging loosely around his shoulders.
"What's going on?" he muttered, voice thick with sleep. "Why are you dragging Priest Luo out in the middle of the night?"
Xiao Delun waved him over impatiently. "Come on, Li Yao. This is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle!"
Li Yao squinted, tugging his robe shut as he followed. "You're not even dressed properly," he muttered, eyeing Xiao Delun's rumpled state.
We stepped out into the night, the town cloaked in shadows and the faint scent of rain lingering in the air. The streets were mostly deserted, save for the occasional flicker of lantern light behind closed windows. Xiao Delun led the way in an eager trot, barely glancing back to see if we followed. I exchanged a glance with Li Yao, who sighed but trudged along beside me. Whatever this "spectacle" was, it had better be worth the lost sleep.
When we finally stopped, I found myself standing in front of a brothel. "What were you doing in a place like this?"
Xiao Delun scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just... drinking. With some friends."
Li Yao smirked and reached over to tug at his collar, revealing a telltale smudge of red lipstick on his neck.
"A lovely keepsake from one of your friends," he teased.
Xiao Delun cleared his throat, yanking his collar back up as his face turned crimson. "This isn't about me, alright? There's a priest inside. He's driven out all the customers. The girls are furious but no one can get him to leave! He's preaching and waving around some glowing book!"
I blinked. "A priest?"
"Yes. Tall, bronze skin, foreign-looking—"
I didn't wait for him to finish. A strange dread had already coiled in my stomach. Pushing past the flustered guards at the entrance, I stepped into the brothel's main hall.
The scene inside looked like a battlefield after a very colorful riot. Women in bright robes were shouting, furniture lay in splinters, and the sweet, heady scent of spilled wine mingled with the cloying perfume of incense.
At the center of the chaos stood the unmistakable figure.
"Priest Vitale," I muttered, hardly believing my eyes.
He held an ornate black book in one hand, the pages glowing faintly as he recited from it in a booming, impassioned voice. His other arm swept through the air in dramatic gestures, as though addressing a pious congregation.
Unfortunately, the only audience he had were furious courtesans throwing curses—and shoes—his way.
"You call this a house of pleasure?" Vitale thundered, his deep foreign accent resonating through the hall. "It is nothing but a den of sin and debauchery! Repent, and you may yet find salvation!"
"Salvation? What we need is for you to leave!" shouted one of the women, lobbing her shoe at him with startling accuracy.
Another, braver than the rest, lunged with a wooden stool. With an effortless flick of his wrist, Vitale sent her tumbling backward into a pile of cushions. The others stepped away, glaring, but no longer eager to confront him.
I stepped forward with a sigh. "Priest Vitale."
He turned, eyes blazing, but when he saw me, his expression lit with recognition.
"Ah, Priest Luo!" he cried, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming an old friend. "What brings you to this unholy den?"
"I could ask you the same," I replied dryly. "Why are you causing such havoc?"
He tapped the leather-bound book proudly. His bronze face glowed with conviction. "This holy priest is here to deliver the word of God to these lost and wandering souls."
His voice was serene—righteous, even—but the three women behind him looked ready to throw him out a second-story window.
One of them hurled a clay cup at his head. "Get out of here, you holy bastard! We don't need your preaching!"
Priest Vitale raised his hands in a gesture of peace, though his voice remained as unyielding as ever. "Be grateful that this holy priest was raised in a community that cherishes the delicate nature of women. That is why I refrain from striking back."
A second clay cup promptly hit his shin. He flinched, jaw tight, but forced himself to remain composed. "This holy priest does not wish to harm women. Do not tempt me."
The women around him cackled, their laughter ringing with defiance. But the brothel's owner, a stout, sharp-eyed woman with an iron will, was far less amused. With a snarl, she hurled a heavy wine vessel that smashed against the wall behind him.
"Ungrateful sinners!" Priest Vitale thundered, the sleeves of his robe whipping with the force of his movement. "This holy priest is trying to save your wretched souls from eternal damnation!"
The owner stood tall, arms folded across her chest. "What I do with my soul is none of your business, priest. Now get out of my brothel before I throw you out myself!"
Priest Vitale's grip on his sacred book tightened, knuckles pale against the dark leather. "You dare insult this holy one's God?"
He raised a glowing hand, light energy crackling at his fingertips. But before he could release it, I stepped forward and seized his wrist.
"Priest Vitale," I said sharply, "that's enough."
His blazing eyes snapped to mine. "Priest Luo, stand aside! I am delivering sacred judgment."
"Judgment without consent is not redemption," I replied evenly. "You preach salvation, but you cannot force faith into unwilling hearts. This is not your domain."
"That's right!" one of the women called out, emboldened. "Take your false god and your nonsense elsewhere!"
Priest Vitale's expression contorted, the corners of his mouth twitching with rage. "This holy priest must pluck your sinful tongue out to save your soul!"
He moved toward her, but I blocked him with my bamboo staff, intercepting his strike inches from her face. The woman gasped and stumbled back, her companions pulling her away.
"Are you not violating your own teachings by threatening violence against women?" I asked coldly. "They've asked you to leave. You are the one trespassing."
His aura pulsed with frustration, the air thick with mounting spiritual pressure. "Then I must purify this den of vice before it spawns more corruption!"
He raised his sacred book high, and the golden sigil etched on its cover began to glow ominously. The hum of gathered energy filled the air as panic swept through the brothel. The women shrieked and fled to the far corners, some shielding each other, others preparing to fight back.
"Vitale," I warned, stepping in front of them, "you're not saving anyone like this. Destruction is not salvation. This is not your mission—it's a tantrum."
"These women are beyond salvation!" he bellowed. "This place festers with sin! It must be cleansed!"
His hands glowed fiercely with holy light. As he swung his arm toward the wall, I met his strike mid-air with my staff. The impact rang through the brothel, shuddering up my arms.
Cries echoed as more women scattered, but they didn't flee entirely. Some stood their ground, eyes locked on us with a blend of horror and hope.
Priest Vitale's gaze narrowed. "You dare oppose divine justice, Priest Luo?"
"I dare oppose senseless violence," I shot back, spinning my staff and lunging toward his shoulder.
He dodged with startling speed, pivoting lightly to the side. "Then you leave me no choice," he growled. "If you stand with the sinners, you shall fall with them."
Vitale lunged, his palms alight with crackling purification energy that hissed through the air like fire. I ducked beneath the blow and twisted my staff toward his midsection. The bamboo connected with a solid thud, but he barely staggered.
He retaliated immediately, sweeping a leg toward mine with brutal force. I jumped back just in time, the hem of my robe brushing the floor.
Within moments, the brothel's receiving hall had transformed into a battlefield. Vitale's attacks were relentless—every strike precise, empowered by divine energy. In contrast, I relied on speed and the resilience of my staff, parrying his blows and weaving through narrow openings.
All around us, chaos erupted.
The women screamed, diving behind overturned tables and broken screens. "Help! Someone call the city guards!" a voice cried, cracking with panic.
The noise drew attention. Curious onlookers peeked through the door, drawn by the glow of energy and the clash of wood and light. A few daring spectators stepped inside, only to flee again when a blast of light narrowly missed a chandelier, shattering it into a rain of glass shards.
Even over the shouting and crashing, I could hear murmurs rippling from the crowd outside.
"What in the heavens is going on?"
"Two priests—fighting. In a brothel!"
"That's a first…"
Vitale launched another bolt of light in my direction. I spun my staff and caught it midair, deflecting the attack into the wall. The explosion blasted wood and dust outward. I pressed forward, refusing to give him the momentum.
Near the entrance, I caught sight of Xiao Delun and Li Yao huddled together, pale with dread.
"Should we help him?" Xiao Delun whispered, clutching the edge of a nearby table.
Li Yao shook his head without hesitation. "Step in? Are you insane? That's a grandmaster-level duel. Just pray the ceiling doesn't collapse."
"Both of you—get out of here," I snapped between blows.
They pretended not to hear me, ducking further behind the furniture.
I glanced briefly toward the brothel's main doors. More cultivators had arrived, drawn by the spiritual pressure and commotion. Most made no move to interfere—only to watch. The whispers spread quickly now.
"Is that Priest Luo?"
"They say the other one's a foreign priest."
"What kind of feud do they have?"
"They must be fighting over a woman."
Before I could intercept his next attack, Vitale hurled a radiant orb at my chest. I struck it sideways with my staff, redirecting the blast into a wooden beam. The explosion cracked through the room, but I kept moving, weaving between pillars and wreckage to keep bystanders safe.
The tension swelled, every blow pushing closer to catastrophe.
Then a voice thundered across the room.
"Enough!"
A single, resounding crack echoed as a staff struck the floor. The sound rang like a temple gong—deep, final, unyielding. Vitale and I froze mid-motion, light flickering between our hands, the room heavy with halted energy.
All eyes turned toward the entrance.