Chapter 754

Chapter 18 The Folly City Part 2

This was clearly an organized and planned action, but in essence, it was just a small farce initiated by some frenzied civilians, merely venting their emotions. Their words seemed unable to change the minds of the majority who knelt and prayed for divine redemption. Soon, more knights emerged from the church, capturing and leading those people away from the square.

I did not wait for the farce to end. When the crowd was most chaotic, I quietly slipped away on my own.

But even after walking quite a distance, my mind continued to ponder over what I had just witnessed.

The Church…

When did it start to have such corrupt impressions like “the nobility’s lackeys, the power’s hounds” in the eyes of commoners?

Even back when I was in the capital city, after that period of chaos had ended and so many people had died, with so many citizens losing their families and homes, the aggrieved and enraged crowds gathered for a demonstration, forcing even the archbishop Angel and Cardinal Saint George, once bitter rivals, to come forward together to clarify some matters…

Even then, no one had spoken words as despairing as those just now, words that seemed to have lost all hope in the entire Church and even the great deity.

It had only been less than two years…

What exactly happened in West Continent?

What has that guy Angel done to incite the people’s emotions to this extent?

Or is this phenomenon only occurring in Aletheia?

I don’t know; I can’t think of a reason. I had only arrived in West Continent recently and hadn’t interacted much with anyone. The information I could gather was too limited. On one hand, it felt like nothing had changed, yet on the other, I sensed that many things seemed different. With a belly full of questions, after more than two hours, I finally arrived at the street called “Jasmine” according to the map.

The name of this street was “Jasmine Lane,” which sounded elegant and beautiful. However, upon arriving, I discovered that it was actually a “pleasure street” in the city. Restaurants, taverns, opera houses—these were relatively normal establishments. There were also casinos and brothels—right at the entrance stood a brothel named “Babatara.” The stone structure looked magnificent from the outside, suggesting it was not somewhere ordinary people could afford.

At the entrance of the brothel, several horned carriages were parked side by side. Well-dressed men exited the carriages and walked directly inside, greeted by the prostitutes’ smiles. They all rushed in eagerly, one of whom was even topless and didn’t seem to mind being stared at by passersby on the street.

There were women like this not only here.

After entering the street, the smell of alcohol, vomit, and the stench of bodily filth filled my nostrils, reminding me of

The “Drunken Street” of the small town in Dongzhou was different from what one might expect, as it was devoid of the magnificent carriages and respectable people often seen elsewhere. Instead, on Jasmine Street, these were common sights.

One street was a dark and narrow alley, the other a chaotic haven of sin—both places for drinking and revelry, but with stark differences. Yet, there was one thing they shared.

Regardless of whether they were thugs, villains, wealthy merchants, or nobles, once drunk, they all displayed uncontrolled and outrageous behavior, revealing a grotesque side that had little to do with their status; they all looked more or less the same.

Shouts, curses, filthy language, and vulgar words filled the air. Even if unwilling to hear them, the moment one stepped onto the street, these sounds, like the buzzing of flies, would enter my ears from every direction.

Ahead, a drunken man held a wine bottle and embraced an obese prostitute, walking into an alley next to the tavern. Before even entering, he began undressing. Soon after, satisfied moans could be heard.

Crash!

A window shattered on the opposite side of another tavern, and someone was thrown out, rolling onto the roadside. He staggered to his feet, blood streaming from his head, cursing loudly. Two men stormed out of the tavern, immediately attacking him without hesitation.

“Damn fool, thinking he can steal my woman…”

“If I don’t beat you to death, I’m no son of Helles!”

Bang! Bang—

They fought fiercely, each punch landing with force, fighting from across the street to this side. Mud flew up, almost splattering my cloak. I had to frown and step aside, then quicken my pace.

Judging by their clothing and appearance…

Though I didn’t know their exact identities, they seemed to be doing well in this city. Unlike the emaciated commoners in the north and in front of the church—these people still had the energy to fight and cause trouble, and they could afford enough drink to get drunk.

This street was probably where only the few affluent residents or nobles of the city came to enjoy themselves…

While commoners could barely afford rye bread.

But as I walked further, I realized the reality was not as I thought—there were actually more poor people here. They hid in dirty, obscure alleys, places where the rich and noble would never venture, gazing up at the luxurious carriages on the street, their eyes filled with hunger and desire in the darkness. When the tavern staff dumped kitchen scraps or slop, they would rush forward together with rats.

I witnessed this scene.

Even a young boy, about my age, dressed in tattered, barely covering clothes, was knocked down in the frenzy, his mouth half full of

A leaf of vegetable, with soup dripping from his chin that he had scooped up from the ground, raised his head in panic, his slightly dazed gaze meeting mine for two seconds.

Then, I turned my head and continued walking forward.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the boy wipe his mouth and then throw himself back at the slop on the ground.

“…”

I let out a soft sigh.

This was really…

For a moment just now, I almost thought I was still in Dongzhou.

Is this the fertile and peaceful land of Xierjia that I remembered?

The wars and famines had long ended.

How did it come to this…

It made me lose any appetite to eat.

Creak—

The double doors of the vermilion wood on the side of the street were pushed open, and a drunken burly man dragged out a woman with freckles but a pretty face.

I turned my head and saw that the woman couldn’t bear his roughness; her steps stumbled, nearly causing her to fall. Although her wrist was clearly hurting from being grabbed, she still wore an awkward yet charming smile. Seeing this, the drunkard pinched her face and then laughed heartily, “Miss Rongfu, let’s go. I’ll show you the bravest man in the Second Knight Order of the Church… my size…”

…he was actually a member of the knight order.

The Church’s Second Knight Order?

The burly man didn’t finish his sentence when his companion came out from behind, laughing and slapping the bald head, “Get lost, we agreed I would go first!”

The burly man was unperturbed, “We’re doing it together… it’s not like there’s only one hole, right?”

“Hahahaha—”

They laughed wildly, reaching out to pinch and fondle the woman, who didn’t get angry but laughed along, using a slightly stiff coquettish tone, “Stop it, don’t overdo it, I still have to serve my man tonight…” The burly man laughed even harder, replying, “I’ll pay double for the night, so don’t go back tonight. Your man will agree,” as he staggered towards me.

The stench of alcohol made me feel nauseous, but what disgusted me more were their words and their identities. Frowning, I instinctively moved aside, keeping a distance from them.

Unexpectedly, the burly man stumbled forward, failing to steady himself and directly colliding with me, “Bang,” his elbow hitting my shoulder. I remained unmoved, but he stumbled back two steps, nearly knocking the woman down with him.

Finally steadying himself, he belched drunkenly, squinting his eyes and seeing a short and poor child, his expression hardened, anger surging, “Where did this stinking rat come from! Don’t you watch where you’re walking—”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab my hood.