After this period of adjustment, Matt, as the ghoul, had gradually integrated into his current identity and even started to think about issues from the standpoint of "Priest Matt" without needing guidance from others.

It was a good beginning.

Luo Yan planned to let him maintain this state and further delegate specific tasks to him.

In response to Lord Demon King's trust, Matt nodded slightly.

"Understood... I will do my best to handle this matter to your satisfaction," he said.

"I trust you won't disappoint me," Luo Yan said with a faint smile, then continued, "I've said my part, what about you? Do you have anything to report... or is there anything you need my help with?"

Matt nodded and spoke frankly.

"The church has been put back on the right track, and Adela, the security officer, has settled the trivial details. The only trouble is that as a ghoul, I'm unable to use holy spells, and for the believers' prayers, I can only superficially adhere to the teachings of Saint Sis... but I'm afraid this isn't a long-term solution."

At this point, he paused, continuing somewhat embarrassedly.

"And there's also the issue of Holy Water... the production of Holy Water likewise relies on the power of Holy Light."

This was not just his problem.

It was also an issue for the security officer Adela.

In this world, the churches of Saint Sis were not only churches, but they also played the role of hospitals to some extent, responsible for treating fatal wounds that herbalists couldn't heal.

Although most poor people couldn't afford the services of the church, Silver Pine Town did have some wealthy freemen and gentry.

Then there were the adventurers.

The high-income, high-risk group would also prioritize purchasing the church's services when injured in hopes of swiftly returning to their best state and getting rid of their physical pain.

Even though Luo Yan had proven that devout faith wasn't the only way to use magic, it still didn't change the fact that holy spells could restrain the undead.

This was part of the rules.

Just as flames formed by fire elements could ignite objects to produce real flames.

Even if he taught Matt how to use Holy Light, the latter would reveal his true colors during actual use... like his body decaying faster, for instance.

After a moment of contemplation, Luo Yan spoke.

"Holy Light is not the only healing spell. I can teach you the Healing Technique. As for Holy Water... how much does it usually cost?"

Matt answered truthfully.

"500 silver coins."

500 silver coins!

Upon hearing this number, Luo Yan couldn't help but inhale sharply.

500 silver coins could buy a set of sword and shield at the weapon shop in Thunder City, or, converted to the equivalent copper coins, could buy over five thousand loaves of bread—those big ones that can feed a whole family!

This sum was almost equal to the entire year's income of a tenant farmer working on a lord's land.

And considering the costs of renting the land, daily living expenses, various taxes, and fluctuations in food prices, most farmers couldn't save much money after a year.

No wonder Chris harbored a bit of hostility toward the nobles and even wanted to kill Luo Yan, mistaking him for a noble and greedy for his wealth and life.

Although the guy deserved sympathy, Luo Yan couldn't help but feel an urge to criticize: Saint Sis made the rules, the church collected the money... not to say hate is useless, but what's the point of hating the nobility alone?

Picking on the soft ones, huh!

Any such understanding would get one exploited anywhere.

"That's too expensive," Luo Yan shook his head and said, "Tell the faithful who need to arrange funerals to... just say that Saint Sis has acknowledged their good intentions, and they should keep the money for themselves."

"As for those who have so much money they have nowhere to spend it and still want to buy... just get some water from the well, use it as Holy Water, and then release the souls of the deceased from their bodies with the 'Soul Release Technique'."

After all, Holy Water is sprinkled on corpses, and the dead can't sit up and say whether it's truly Holy Water or not.

Apart from Holy Light, low-level spells from the undead category could equally liberate a person's soul from a body that had just started to rot, allowing it to go wherever their faith takes them... although based on principles completely different from holy spells.

Given that undead spells aren't quite suitable for public display.

After the "funeral" is over, Priest Matt can perform it for them in retrospect.

As to whether this counts as deception?

Of course, it's a deception!

But these people believe in something as absurd as "500 silver coins for a good rebirth," so Luo Yan thinks they might as well believe he is Qin Shi Huang because, at the end of the day, he truly could appoint them as ghost soldiers.

Reality is just that cruel.

Holy Water can only prevent a corpse from becoming an Undead, it simply cannot ensure that the deceased's soul is born into a good life!

This isn't Luo Yan's subjective conjecture, but what is written in the "Holy Word Book"—

"Water blessed with Holy Blessing can grant the dead eternal rest."

As for being born into a good life... that's purely a misunderstanding or an impractical wish of the people.

In both the surface world and Hell, reincarnation is based on the soul's level.

To elevate the level of the soul without taking a dark path, one must only please their own worshipped deities.

For Demon God Bayele, it is enough to be a cleric who preaches and contributes to the faith.

Most humans living in Hell choose this path, dedicating their lives to the Demon God, ensuring that after death they do not resurrect as Undead but instead their souls enter the Rebirth Pool, and they are reborn as High-level Demons.

Luo Yan is not too clear about the situation on the surface.

But by referring to Hell, High-level Demons should correspond to titled Knights or nobles, right?

Clerics correspond to Priests then.

It seems there is a great chance as long as one dedicates a lifetime to Saint Sis, the next life could be born into a noble family.

To think you can buy the start of a rich second generation life with five hundred silver coins is a bit like a fool's dream.

Even the players of "Cataclysm OL" know that Joss Paper cannot buy a soul's level.

You want to level up?

That requires "contribution"!

Upon hearing the Lord Demon King's orders, Matt hesitated for a moment, his expression one of uncertainty.

Substituting well water for Holy Water seemed a bit too extravagant.

"Is this... possible?"

Luo Yan gave a faint smile.

"Holy Water is just water on which a Holy Blessing has been bestowed. As for whether a blessing has been given inside or not... apart from yourself, who can expose you?"

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Furthermore... you can spread the news, just say that in Silver Pine Town there's a saint who is favored by Saint Sis. The... amulets he makes can also ensure that corpses won't turn into Undead."

"As long as the dead are willing, they can sleep in their coffins until they turn to ash. These amulets are very inexpensive, only requiring ten silver coins, and it's not just for the dead to carry—living people, especially adventurers, are highly recommended to carry them..."

"Of course, they only work for the dead."

This thing, rather than calling it an amulet, is in fact just a stone inscribed with a "Soul Release Technique" magic circle.

The wearer, upon death and barring strong lingering attachments, will naturally have their soul freed from the body.

As for being awakened as skeleton soldiers by an Undead Mage, that's none of his business.

This thing is on the same wavelength as Holy Water, except one is sprinkled and the other is used.

Little Demons are very adept at making these things.

He had said he would help them solve the food crisis, and in a sense, this could be considered fulfilling that promise.

Matt meticulously noted down Lord Demon King's instructions, then inquired.

"This 'saint'... what's his name?"

Luo Yan carefully considered his words for a long while, taking two minutes to draft the outline of the entire story.

"He's an orphan, having lost his parents from birth."

"He was born in the hottest cavern of the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, witnessed only by the erupting magma crying along with the infant."

"Thanks to the deity's protection, he miraculously survived a great disaster."

"An old Priest brought him home and raised him to adulthood..."

The prologue of the story didn't need to be extensive; too much detail would be overkill and not conducive to word-of-mouth transmission. Any lapses in detail would naturally be embellished by wandering minstrels.

What he needed to do was to start the story off and then ensure the amulet really worked.

"He has no name."

"Those who knew him affectionately referred to him as—"

"Flame King."

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