Chapter 95: Section 96: I am willing to accept you


    The crew was restless, their glances at Zhenjin filled with doubt.


    “Xi Suo, watch your words!” Lan Zao stepped forward.


    But the next moment, Zhenjin put a hand out to stop him.


    With tranquil azure eyes, Zhenjin calmly regarded the agitated Xi Suo. “I am merely stating the facts and upholding justice.”


    “The identity of a Half-Beast should not obstruct our investigation of the true culprit.”


    “If Zong Ge is not the real perpetrator, then Xi Suo, think about this,” he continued. “you’ve accused an innocent person and, because of your actions taking away the shipwright, implicated many more innocents on this ship, leading them to potential death. Meanwhile, the real culprit might still be alive, right beside you, watching your reckless accusations as if it’s all a spectacle.”


    ...


    “If that’s the case, don’t you think this is condoning sin, allowing justice to be clouded?”


    Zhenjin’s tone remained steady; his counter-questioning made Xi Suo’s face flush, leaving him speechless.


    The crew’s murmurings quieted down, and they had to admit Zhenjin’s points were valid.


    “If you have concrete evidence, I will surely advocate justice for you. Trust me, this is my promise to you, as a Holy Temple Knight.” Zhenjin patted Xi Suo on the shoulder.


    Xi Suo opened his mouth, unable to voice a response as he looked at Zhenjin, then turned to look at the stoic Zong Ge, feeling disheartened. “Lord Zhenjin, I believe you.”


    Zi Di narrowed her eyes. “But, Lord Zhenjin, we have found traces of Zong Ge, Sanda, and their group before. They deliberately cleaned the battlefield, erasing their own tracks. Doesn’t this action itself contain malice?”


    “It’s my habit,” Zong Ge rarely took initiative to explain himself, significantly influenced by Zhenjin’s earlier words.


    “I must take responsibility for myself and for my people. Even if the shipwright didn’t want to come with me, I had to do everything possible to capture him!” Zong Ge didn’t conceal his intention.


    “Bad guy!” Big Fool, hearing this, angrily slammed his wooden club on the ground.


    Zhenjin then remembered Hei Juan’s speculations.


    He looked at Zong Ge, “This is the style of soldiers. Have you served in the army? Which one?”


    Zong Ge snorted coldly, not contesting but neither responding, instead saying, “Are you interrogating a criminal, Holy Temple Knight?”


    “Of course not.” Zhenjin shook his head. “However, this matter ultimately needs resolution. Effective communication is the basis of cooperation. If you continually refuse to prove yourself, how can we trust you?”


    Zong Ge scoffed, “You want me to prove myself? And how will you prove your identity then? Just because some people emerge and name you as a noble and call you a Holy Temple Knight, should we just believe them? I’ve heard that every Holy Temple Knight is under the watchful eye of the Holy Emperor. Maybe you should pray to the gods to bring down the Divine Arts so that we can truly believe.”


    Zhenjin suddenly gripped his sword’s hilt, his brows furrowed deeply and his face darkened, his gaze turning icy. He sternly warned, “Zong Ge, watch your words! You dare to belittle the gods! I carry the gaze of the Holy Emperor, which is the gods’ blessing. Divine Arts are a divine gift, not for performances or proof of identity. Apologize now, this instant! Otherwise, you will face the wrath of a Holy Temple Knight!”


    Zhenjin said this and stepped forward, closing in on Zong Ge.


    Lan Zao, Hei Juan and I reached for our weapons behind him, Zi Di slid her hand into her bag, and Big Fool picked up his wooden club, growling from deep in his throat. In that brief moment, the wounds on this little giant had already stopped bleeding. The Giant Bloodline endowed him with strong recovery power.


    Zong Ge’s face slightly changed, realizing he had misspoken.


    He placed his right hand on his chest, bowed deeply to Zhenjin, and gave a salute, “I was wrong. Who am I, with what virtue and capability, to belittle a god? It’s my sin. I swear I will donate three hundred gold, as a penalty for my reckless words today. And I will kneel before the priests of the Holy Temple and voluntarily confess my sins.”


    This was the era of gods.


    Blaspheming against the gods indeed brought divine punishment.


    Just as nobles were meant to be elevated, faith penetrated deeply into the hearts.


    Even Sanda and others who followed Zong Ge found Zong Ge’s words too rash, privately thinking he had been reckless.


    Seeing Zong Ge sincerely admitting his error, Zhenjin’s expression somewhat cleared.


    Hei Juan suddenly interrupted, “Wait! Zong Ge, dare you swear to the gods you believe in that you’re neither the attacker of the camp nor the murderer of the captain?”


    “Attack on the camp?” Zong Ge questioned.


    “Our camp was attacked by bat monkeys and rhinoceros; dare you swear these beasts weren’t under your influence or control?” Hei Juan pressed on.


    Zong Ge snorted coldly, folded his arms, and held his head high, refusing to answer.


    The person beside Sanda was amused. “What an imagination!”


    “Think a little, we were all here.”


    “How would we control these ferocious animals?”


    Hei Juan sneered, “Then how do you explain, our second campsite, and just now Xi Suo and the shipwright were all attacked by beasts?”


    “We’ve been attacked too, why suspect us?!”


    Hei Juan squinted at Zong Ge, “You’re a Half-Beast, even if you don’t have special methods. Who’s to say those with you don’t?”


    Sanda coldly stared at Hei Juan, quietly counter-asking, “A Half-Beast can control animals because they have Beastman ancestry?”


    Hei Juan smirked, “Then why were you able to appear in time to rescue Big Fool and the shipwright? How would you explain that?”


    “So, rescuing the shipwright in time is wrong now?”


    “Your esteemed knight also appeared in time, didn’t he?” someone immediately retorted.


    “It all comes down to, because we’re not Pure Blood Clan, you suspect us!” Sanda’s companion was indignant.


    “Enough,” Zong Ge raised his hand to stop the quarreling, turning to Zhenjin with a renewed cold and firm stance. “Regarding this matter, I have no explanation. Nor do I need to provide one to you.”


    Zhenjin deeply sighed, putting a stop to the accusations from his people.


    “Arguing is pointless.”


    “Let us return to camp together.” Zhenjin took the initiative to invite Zong Ge and his group.


    “What?”


    “Sir!”


    “Sir, are you going to bring these folks back to camp?”


    Xi Suo and others widened their eyes, utterly surprised by Zhenjin’s decision.


    Lord Zhenjin scanned the people around him with cool, blue eyes, his gaze clear and sincere, “Otherwise?”


    “We are all people from the same ship, all survivors of a shipwreck.”


    “We currently have wounded who need to return to camp to recuperate. They also have wounded, injured while rescuing the shipwright. I have seen it with my own eyes.”


    “Seeing is not necessarily believing, my lord,” Hei Juan spoke up, “What if it’s an act? A ploy to gain sympathy?”


    “Thank you for your reminder,” Zhenjin looked at Hei Juan with approval, “You make a good point, and indeed that might be the case. However, there is also another possibility, isn’t there?”


    “Among all possibilities, all doubts not truly proven, we shouldn’t deny one possibility because of another. Zong Ge might be wrongly accused, right?”


    “Gentlemen, imagine if he were a Pure Blooded Human instead of a Half-Beast, would your suspicions toward him be greatly reduced?”


    The crowd fell silent.


    Zhenjin then turned to face the people with Zong Ge.


    “We come from many places, we have differences in status, but here, we are all shipwreck victims stranded on an island, seeking a way out.”


    “Our goal is the same. We should stick together, and any suspicion, indifference, dislike, confrontation, and so forth will only make our cooperation difficult, thereby reducing our chances of escaping from here.”


    “I am Holy Temple Knight Lord Zhenjin. Here I promise you all that I will treat everyone fairly and justly, no matter where they come from, no matter their race, no matter their bloodline. I will also harshly punish criminals, bring the true culprits to justice, and not let evil roam free. I will do my utmost, lead from the front, and guide us all towards the hope of being rescued!”


    For a moment, all the eyes were on the golden-haired young knight, moved by his resolute words.


    “You… will you accept us?” Sanda was stunned.


    As a squad leader, he had dealt with many different beings. Yet, even he, a well-experienced goblin, had rarely seen such an impartial superior, a noble!


    Zhenjin smiled, “I am a Holy Temple Knight, I will not deceive you with lies.”


    “Holy Temple Knight…” many murmured the title, somewhat dazed.


    “Interesting,” Zong Ge stroked his chin, looking deeply at Zhenjin, regarding the young knight with a fresh perspective.


    The next moment, the fierce warrior raised his tone slightly, “Alright! Then I will go back with you.”


    “My lord?” The people around Zong Ge were astonished.


    Just as Xi Suo and others were cautious of Zong Ge, Zong Ge’s group was also wary of the others.


    Sanda immediately declared, “The lord’s decision is my decision.”


    The former mercenaries who objected immediately fell silent. Sear?h the Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhenjin’s timely and successful rescue of Xi Suo, the shipwright, and others was commendable.


    Although the bat monkeys and the Silver Rhinoceros were fierce, everyone was only injured, and no one died.


    The return journey went smoothly, and the large group returned to the campsite safely.


    “Is that an Arrow Tower?”


    “They’ve built a campsite so quickly?”


    “There were also attacks by fierce beasts here.”


    “Didn’t they say? It was a troop of bat monkeys and that Silver Rhinoceros!”


    People around Sanda chattered.


    Mu Ban and others first rejoiced at seeing Zhenjin, Xi Suo, and others but then showed surprise when they saw Zong Ge and his group.


    After explanations from Hei Juan and others, and Zhenjin’s reassurances, Mu Ban and the rest reluctantly accepted the fact.


    However, strongly expressed by them, Zong Ge and his group were ultimately not accepted into the campsite but stationed nearby temporarily.


    PS: Subscription sales are bleak, friends.


    To be honest, this is a bit unexpected. When the book was launched, it had over 80,000 favorites, but currently, the first subscriptions are just over 2,000, with an average order of 1,000. This subscription ratio is a bit unreasonable.


    I analyzed the reasons this morning:


    1. The book’s pace is slow, especially in the beginning, leading to an increasing number of people stocking up on chapters.


    2. Due to the ensemble and dramatized structure, the story spreading thinly across many characters, causing the plot points to be sparse, leading to a lack of momentum for readers to follow updates.


    3. The protagonist has not yet reached the point of realization, and the difference style between the Holy Temple Knight and Fang Yuan is like two extremes, causing many original readers to lose patience.


    4. The power system setup is old, lacking novelty.


    5. There are too many things being improved at once, and the stride is too large, straining credibility.


    There might be other reasons, which I will reflect on and adjust actively.


    I urge those reading pirated versions to consider subscribing to the official release, with each chapter costing only a few cents.


    Indeed, this writing method may not align well with web novel reading habits.


    I anticipated this, but didn’t expect it to be so severe.


    As I mentioned in the launch statement, I’m exploring new writing pathways without the burden of fame. Regardless of the outcome,