The materials sent by the astrologer also included an interrogation video.
This interrogation seemed to have taken place shortly after Wange Yue’s murder.
Xiaoxi immediately recognized Qiuli, who was handcuffed, and the middle-aged man sitting across from her—scruffy and listless.
That was the Minister of the Beihua City Magical Girl Department, whom Xiaoxi had met before.
Although the Minister had initially opposed Qiuli joining the Association, the two now seemed much closer.
The Minister sat down cross-legged in front of Qiuli and skillfully lit himself a cigarette.
“Do you mind, Qiuli?”
Qiuli shook her head. She had long been used to the smell of smoke when she worked as a Corpse Collector.
“But smoking isn’t allowed in the interrogation room, is it, Minister?”
“It’s fine. Thanks to Little Wange, North Blossom City rarely has incidents. The Association’s interrogation room hasn’t been used in a long time. No one will find out.”
“….. I’ve already said everything I need to say in the previous interrogation, Minister,” Qiuli said calmly. “When I arrived, Wange was resting at home. I stayed for a while and then left. I don’t know what happened after that.”
The Minister interrupted her. “I’m not here to ask about that today. I wanted to ask you about Little Wange’s basic situation.”
“Why are you suddenly asking me about that?”
“Because the Association plans to start its investigation from Little Wange’s basic circumstances. But as you know, Little Wange’s only relative was her grandmother, who passed away two years ago. And those people from the Church… ahem… in short, they refused to provide anything, so I can only ask you, Little Wange’s friend.”
The Minister made a “please” gesture. “You can start by telling me what you know—like Little Wange’s hobbies, religious beliefs, and so on. But since she’s from the Tianqi Church, she must believe in Christianity, right?”
What I know, huh… Qiuli’s expression turned serious.
“Wange wasn’t a superstitious person. Do you really think she believed in any religion, Minister?”
“Wange believed in Christianity only because of her grandmother.”
Wange Yue had very few relatives—Qiuli only found this out after getting to know her.
Since childhood, she and her grandmother had relied on each other.
And as for Wange Yue’s personality, since she was old enough to understand things, she had always been filial to her grandmother.
During the Great Chaos, Wange Yue never left North Blossom City because she couldn’t bear to leave her grandmother and the neighbors around.
Wange Yue herself didn’t believe in any religion, but her grandmother was a devout Christian.
Old people—it’s normal for them to be a bit superstitious.
Like most younger generations, Wange Yue didn’t argue with her grandmother over such matters.
She just went along with it. When her grandmother went to the community church every week for gospel meetings, Wange went with her.
When her grandmother told her to believe in Christianity, she believed.
So on the surface, Wange Yue was a Christian.
But at first, deep down she was a bit dismissive of it—Wange Yue told Qiuli this later when they chatted.
Initially, she only went with her grandmother to church every week and said a casual prayer before meals out of filial piety.
The weekly church activities were also attended by the neighbors, mostly elderly.
Wange Yue usually liked to help and care for the neighbors, and she had good relationships with all of them.
Gradually, she noticed that these elderly people didn’t have many hobbies or pastimes.
Attending church every week seemed to be one of their few social activities.
At that point, Wange Yue’s view of religion began to shift. Perhaps for most elderly, religious belief was more of a spiritual support.
Its humanistic care value was far more important than whether it was actually true.
Later, the old man next door passed away unexpectedly.
Wange Yue helped a lot during the funeral.
She knew the couple had relied on each other for years, and their children were rarely around.
She was worried that the sudden loss of her husband would be a huge blow to the old woman.
But to her surprise, the old woman’s mental state was actually quite good during that time.
The old man’s funeral was a standard Christian one.
The urn was covered with a white cloth imprinted with a cross, and the pastor from the community church presided.
“The old man has gone to heaven to enjoy his blessings. It’s fine…”
Hearing the old woman say this at the funeral, Wange Yue’s resolve strengthened.
She suddenly realized what a great psychological comfort religious belief was for the elderly in the face of life and death.
At least, “gone to heaven” was a much more acceptable statement for them, wasn’t it?
Then came the years when the Great Chaos fully erupted.
The number of Magic Creatures and Monsters surged, and it was around that time Wange Yue awakened to become a Magic Girl.
In the early days of the Great Chaos, before many large organizations appeared, people banded together within their communities and streets.
After becoming a Magic Girl, Wange Yue helped set up a stronghold around the community church—this was the prototype of the Tianqi Church.
Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow slightly. She knew the general history of the Tianqi Church’s rise, but she hadn’t expected that its stable establishment was actually related to Wange Yue.
Wange Yue had good talent. After all, in those times, a high-level Magic Girl was an important guarantee for survival.
The Church used this opportunity to develop and expand little by little.
Later, the new management seemed to seize on the gimmick of “religion” as a selling point, expanding the scale of the Tianqi Church during the most severe years of the Great Chaos.
This allowed the Church to develop into an organization qualified to sit at the Six Seats and claim a share after the Great Chaos.
As for management decisions, Wange Yue didn’t interfere much.
She wasn’t good at it, and the Church’s growth during the Great Chaos could protect more people—she saw that as a good thing.
But Wange Yue probably never imagined that the Tianqi Church would turn out like this after the Great Chaos.
The later development of the Church wasn’t important for now.
For Wange Yue, a major turning point in her life came a year or two after the Great Chaos ended: her grandmother passed away.
Her grandmother left during her afternoon nap.
Wange Yue couldn’t tell if she was truly sad.
Her grandmother was a very peaceful old woman, kind to the neighbors, and had taught Wange Yue the right values since childhood.
Wange Yue loved her grandmother deeply.
But given her grandmother’s advanced age, she understood it was inevitable.
And since her grandmother died without illness or pain, it was actually a “joyful funeral.”
But still… she had relied on her grandmother since childhood.
The funeral was held in the Christian style, as her grandmother had wished.
The two of them had no other relatives.
Wange Yue originally thought not many people would attend.
But to her surprise, many people came that day.