Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

The little smarty answered every question, leaving no room for resistance: "Our organization is called the Vision Cult. I was recruited into the cult three years ago and currently serve as an envoy, mainly responsible for intelligence gathering and information transmission..."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly, listening to Xiaolingtong continuously reveal the secrets he knew, and gained a clear understanding of the Vision Sect in his heart.

This is a new sect with the Holy Eye as its core belief. It promises that believers, through faith in the Holy Eye, can transcend suffering after death, reach the Pure Land, and never fall back into the five defilements of this world.

To attract more followers, the Vision Church promotes frugality, opposes extravagance and waste, and encourages believers to sincerely believe in the Eye. They believe that as long as one is sincere, one will receive a response and blessings from the Eye.

More importantly, the sect promotes a relatively equal relationship. Regardless of one's background, anyone who remains devout to the Holy Eye and abides by the rules can rise to become a key figure within the sect.

Xiaolingtong is such an example.

Although he had only been a member of Vision Church for three years, his outstanding performance and contributions to the sect led to his rapid rise to the position of Messenger. This position not only meant higher status and closer access to the core, but also granted him the right to directly contact the leaders and even the heads of the monasteries.

The incense master, as the presiding officer of the Vision Church's daily rituals, serves as a bridge connecting believers with the Holy Eye. They hold a revered position in the hearts of the believers; even if their official rank is not high, they possess irreplaceable importance. The parish master, on the other hand, is the leader of a Vision Church branch, responsible for managing local believers, promoting doctrine, and recruiting new members.

After Xiaolingtong finished speaking, Zhou Qingfeng learned a lot of information about the Vision Church, but he still didn't get the most crucial information because Xiaolingtong's identity and status were still too low, and he didn't know what earth-shattering conspiracy the Vision Church was plotting.

Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Little Lingtong, I'm giving you a chance now. As long as you take us to the next secret meeting of the Vision Cult and help me figure out what conspiracy the Vision Cult is plotting, I can spare your life out of mercy. If you don't help me, it's okay, I'll still let you go and spare your life, but I will spread what you said today, and you can weigh the consequences yourself."

Xiao Lingtong discovered that he could control his mouth and body freely, but it was too late.

Because everything that should and shouldn't have been said has already been said.

His expression shifted between anger and uncertainty as he weighed the pros and cons. He couldn't move forward or backward; to help would mean betraying his faith, violating religious rules, and conspiring with outsiders to murder fellow believers. If the Vision Church found out about this, he would definitely not see the sun rise the next day.

Not helping won't change anything, because if what you said today gets out, it'll be like mud falling into your pants—even if it's not shit, it'll still be shit. You'll be eliminated by the Vision Cult as a traitor, and no matter how much you struggle, you'll lose your life.

He slowly stood up and said helplessly, "Brother Jiang, you are so vicious."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "Then I'll take that as a compliment."

Xiao Lingtong lowered his head and said with a gloomy face: "We will have a secret meeting tonight. I can arrange for you to infiltrate the meeting, but I have conditions. I need a ticket for a ship that will depart for Sihai City at dawn, and 50 coins as travel expenses and resettlement fees. If you do not agree or cannot do it, you might as well kill me. I don't need to struggle anymore. I have no way to survive anyway."

There is never a lack of wisdom and vision among ordinary people; they simply lack opportunities and are forced to have a short-sighted perspective due to harsh living conditions.

Especially in war-torn, no-man's-land, a nobody like him who has survived more than ten years of hardship at the bottom is even more cunning, knows better how to survive in the cracks, and is better at assessing the situation. He has no illusions or expectations.

Because once he gets involved in the struggles of powerful figures, regardless of the outcome, he will not have a good ending. He will probably become cannon fodder and no one will even give him a second glance.

Zhou Qingfeng looked at the mobile phone and suddenly smiled: "Okay, I will prepare the ticket and money you want tonight. After you lead us into the gathering and find out what conspiracy the Vision Cult is plotting, I will give you the money and ticket."

Xiao Lingtong frowned and remained silent, only humming in response, appearing preoccupied and sullen.

The group paused briefly and, taking advantage of the evening before the sun had completely set, hurried back to Ravencrest.

Inside Crow Castle, Little Smart said, "I need to go home and prepare, otherwise I won't be able to take you to the gathering. While I'm at it, Brother Jiang, go and help me prepare the boat tickets to Sihai City and 50 coins. We'll meet in the narrow alley next to the First Meeting Tavern in half an hour."

Zhou Qingfeng said with a half-smile, "There's no need. Since you want to go home to prepare, I'll go back with you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingtong looked helpless and said, "Okay."

Zhou Qingfeng turned to Ning Cha and said, "Get me a ferry ticket to Sihai City at dawn, is there any problem?"

“There’s a problem, but it can be solved.” Ning Cha replied calmly, then turned to Zhan Fu and Zhan Qi and waved her hand: “Go and do it.”

The two brothers, Zhanfu and Zhanqi, clasped their hands in acceptance and turned to leave.

After more than a decade of operation, the resistance force was actually quite large. Although they were poor and weak, compared to Cai Guozhong's Hell Legion, it was like the difference between a militia and a regular army. But precisely because they were weak, they were better at breaking up into smaller groups and dispersing themselves as civilians.

Ravencastle also houses secret strongholds of the resistance and spies. These spies, who have infiltrated Ravencastle, are disguised as ordinary people from all walks of life, and some are even soldiers of the Hell Legion. When not in use, they remain silent.

However, since it concerned the safety of their comrades, Ning Cha, Zhan Fu, and Zhan Qi, these key members of the resistance, would not casually reveal it.

Xiao Lingtong led Zhou Qingfeng and Ning Cha back to his door. He turned around and said, "Wait a moment. I'm going home to pack my things and prepare to run away. I'll also deal with some relationship issues. You know, I can't run away with a woman. I need to end things properly. I'll be back quickly. If you're worried that I might run away, you can come in and keep an eye on me."

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "No need for that. I'll wait for you here for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingtong nodded, pushed open the door, and entered the small courtyard he had rented. He began searching through the kitchen, toilet, bedroom, and guest room, taking out all the scattered and hidden money and putting it into his storage bag.

Having survived in the martial arts world for so many years, Xiao Lingtong never keeps his money together. He doesn't carry such an obvious storage bag on his person, but hides it at home. He only carries 20 magic coins with him, so even if he encounters a situation where he has to spend money to avert disaster, the loss is negligible.

"Little Smart, Little Smart, where are you going?"

"Little Smarty, where are you packing your things to go? Aren't you going to leave us behind?"

"Little Smart, say something!" The three hot and beautiful pets in the house surrounded Little Smart, seemingly realizing that he was about to run away with the bucket, and they all panicked and blocked his way.

"Get out!" Xiao Lingtong shoved the three women away roughly, without explaining a word, and started hitting and kicking them.

P.S.: Yesterday, I was delayed in updating because of joining the Writers' Association. I wrote a chapter in the middle of the night and updated it first. I will update three more chapters during the day to make up for it.