only god

Chapter 658 The Unknown Prophet
  After reading all the borrowed books, Eden returned them to the Lecture Hall. After packing his luggage, he bid farewell to this city that had converted to paganism and went to Castle mentioned in the book of the heretic Leben. area.

Eden spent six gold coins to hire a carriage and asked the driver to rush to the Ques area at full speed. As far as Eden knew, that place was probably on the border of this country.

After half a month of traveling and traveling, Eden finally arrived in a small town in the Ques area.

Based on his judgment and speculation, as well as inquiries along the way, he determined that the unknown prophet's preaching ground was near this town.

Eden pinched the unlucky coin in his arms and looked at the town from a high place.

There are only about two hundred people in this small town, which is not much different from a larger village. It is said that hundreds of years ago, this small place actually had only a dozen households, not even a hundred people. It was just a small town. small village.

How did a small village become a small town? This relies on the rumors of the unknown prophet. More than [-] years ago, due to the emergence of rumors, people from all walks of life gathered together, and the village ushered in a temporary prosperity. Many people came because of the relics of the unknown prophet, which brought business, Handicraft industry, textile industry... Gradually, the population of the village increased dramatically. At its peak, there were thousands of people living in it. The town was surrounded by the remains of tents that had been stationed there.

After the tide receded, many people still refused to give up and settled here. They became the permanent residents of the town. As a result, the small village that originally had only a dozen households suddenly became a town with more than [-] people.

Holding the unlucky coin, Eden decided to wait until he found a place to live here before using it.

In fact, he had thought about using the bad luck coins during his journey.

But after comprehensive consideration, Eden felt that the risk was too great.

The bad luck coin first takes away a person's luck for several consecutive days, and then returns it all in one day. If you want to get luck, you must first lose it.

What should we do if we encounter robbers on the road because of the unlucky coins that take away our luck, and accidentally the driver dies and the carriage is lost?
  Even if he doesn't encounter robbers, it would still be extremely troublesome if the coachman has evil thoughts and secretly takes him to some wilderness due to loss of luck.

After this experience, Eden became more cautious about how to use the unlucky coins.

"The best way is to use it in a stable environment. That way, no matter how bad your luck is, it won't be too bad."

Eden muttered to himself.

He packed his luggage and walked towards the town.

In addition to clothes, money, and books, the heavy luggage also contained some water and dry food. The dry food was basically fermented scones.

Eden put the books in the innermost place, and the money in the upper place, followed by clothes, and dry food at the top. It was not placed randomly, but deliberately. This is true religion, the preachers of the Zealand era. A tradition handed down.

Arriving in the small town, Eden found a farmer to stay overnight.

Under the magic of money, the farmers not only welcomed Eden's arrival, but also obeyed the stranger's words.

The farmer had three sons. The eldest son and the second son both went to work in the lord's house. There were only his wife and youngest son at home.

"More than eighty years ago...many people came here, wanting to find the place where the unknown prophet preached. My father told me that at that time, all kinds of big shots came here."

Standing on the street, the farmer described the scene he heard from his father in a matter-of-fact manner.
  "The place where people go most often is the southwest, and many people say they saw ruins there."

It seems I’d better not go to the southwest.

Eden thought.

So many people have been there but haven't found it, which probably means that the ruins are not in the southwest at all.

"What about the second most people who went?"

"Uh...my father seems to have said that, but I don't remember much. It seems...southeast?"

"What about due east?"

"It doesn't seem like there's anything going on. I haven't heard anything about it from my father."

…………

After asking around, Eden eliminated the two directions where most people went, and the two directions where the least people went.

His eyes fell on the dense forests to the north and northwest.

On the street, in a blind corner that Eden could not see, a figure approached.

"Hey!" The farmer pointed behind Eden and said,
  "What are you doing, old guy?"

Turning his head, Eden wrinkled his nose. He saw a disheveled, dirty old man bending down and picking something up. There was a dull stench on his body. He must have not bathed for many days.

Looking down again, I realized that he was picking up the crumbs that fell out of his luggage.

The old man slowly straightened up, ate the crumbs from his palm, then pointed at Eden's luggage and then at his own hand.

"You want me to give him the bread?"

Eden was surprised and confused.

Although it was very abrupt, Eden still took out half a scone from his bag and was about to hand it to the old man when the farmer picked up the sickle from the corner of the door.

"Go away, old man, go away! Cursed ones, go to hell!"

The farmer held a sickle and drove the old man away. The latter stepped back step by step and soon disappeared in front of the two of them.

"Who is that?"

"Ah... I scare you, maester."

As soon as he faced the rich Eden, the farmer changed his face and looked very friendly.
  "He is a mute man and is blind in one eye. He is physically and mentally weak."

"Why did you do this to him?"

There was an accusation in Eden's voice.

"My king, look at this compassionate man...Maester, actually, everyone treats him like this. We actually sympathized with him and pitied him, but...he is not mentally healthy."

The farmer paused, recalled something, and then continued,

"This town was plundered by an army of idiots more than forty years ago."

Idiot…

Eden frowned.

The pagans... seem to be calling the true believers stupid again.

Did my previous guess... really come true? But...which guess is it?

Seeing Eden frowning, the farmer didn't know whether he should continue talking.

"Go on."

After coming back to his senses, Eden said this.

"Yes, yes...the stupid soldiers came and asked us to convert. Many people temporarily converted, but the old man's family still refused to convert, so the stupid soldiers killed all his sons. They tortured him so much that he lost one eye and his throat became hoarse."

When he heard this, Eden felt a sense of suffocation and guilt.

The priest's feelings are indescribable.

He would not, and could not, console himself with the reason that pagans would do the same to true believers, that sin would not cease to be sin just because there was a good reason, that an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, might seem to be justice, but in fact it was just sin. Excusing rhetoric.

"After the Lecture School was re-established here, we also converted again. At that time, we all pitied him and helped him at first. However, he seemed to think that our pity and help were deserved, and he began to idle around and do nothing all day long. Get up, tell me, how can we endure this anger?

He doesn't farm either. He just sows some seeds on his own land in the spring. He holds the family scripture every day, goes to the seminary all day long, and pesters the officiant to read scriptures with him. The officiant is the best here. I am a patient person, but I was annoyed by him. I had to read scriptures for this mute old man every day. I think you would be annoyed too, just like psoriasis. In the end, even the chief priest refused to let him enter the seminary. Every time I gave a lecture, I would let him stand at the door and not let him in. "

The farmer said a lot, blaming the old man himself for what happened to him today.

Eden would not take one side of the story, so after hearing it, he still felt sympathy for the old man.

(End of this chapter)