Academic Gathering with Lich Colleagues

Chapter 242 The Holy City and the Saints

What wakes me up is the resounding morning bell in the high tower. The solemn sound is like a layer of water waves, pouring into the dreamland, bathing every awakened person in peace.Lyle opened his eyes. There were no lighting tools such as kerosene lamps or candles in the hotel room, because it was unnecessary.

"It's amazing." Lyall looked at the Holy Cross shining on the church outside the window, it is also eternal in the night, it makes Lokarot have no night.But that light is different from any light that Lyle experienced in his previous life. It is not as blazing as the sun, nor as dim as the moonlight. It is like an integrated light source tailored for every human being.Even in this light, Lyall's sleepiness was not disturbed.That light, like the air, blended into Lokarot's life.

Locarrot's meals are very simple. On Lyle's dinner plate, there is only a piece of white bread without any other embellishments, plus a crock of milk.The smiling waitress saw the surprise on Lyall's face.

"Sir, during the Holy Light Ceremony, we will not provide meat at the beginning of the time period. But you don't have to worry, when the Lord Crusaders' troops enter the city, we will provide food to the returning heroes. At that time, You can share that food with us without any cost." When it came to the crusaders, the girl in the cardamom age in front of her had a light in her eyes, round and shining like pearls, maybe those paladins would give These Huaichun girls bring infinite reverie.Realizing her gaffe, she smiled apologetically at Lyle. "The troops of the Crusaders will arrive within these two days, so your patience will not be too long. In addition, our unleavened bread here is also quite delicious."

Lyle didn't have too many requirements for food, and he was more curious about the crusaders in the girl's mouth at this time. "Will the army of the Crusaders come to this holy city?"

"Yes, this is the meaning of the Holy Light Ritual, the saved city of Lokarot, a festival to thank its saviors. Save our crusaders, the Legion of Guardians."

While tasting the unleavened bread on the plate, Lyle listened to the stories told by the warm hostess.Before the Holy Light came, Lokarot suffered a terrible disaster, half of the city's population disappeared in a few days, and it almost became a Jedi.The helpless inhabitants enlisted the help of the church, and in the end, the city was saved by the Legion of the Guardians and became a holy city.When Lyle asked the details of the terrible disaster, the waitress looked dazed and embarrassed.

"Sir, I am not the actual person who experienced the disaster. I moved into Locarrot later. If you want to understand the history of Locarrot, you need to find those people who wear masks. But I advise you It's better not to do that, because they've been punished for their sins, and they're tainted with ominousness."

A masked person?a new name.Lyle didn't press further, because the waitress had a look of impatience and disgust on her face, like the initial enthusiasm was just a faux pas.

Drinking the milk in the crock, it really has a unique flavor, and the smooth liquid moistens my thirsty throat because of dry unleavened biscuits.It is also like pure holy water, washing away the paranoid thoughts in one's heart.

A holy city is not necessarily holy.

Kindness is just their appearance.Walking on the street, Lyle became more and more sure of his point of view.In a harmonious street, the smiles on everyone's faces, even the conflicts between the fingers, will disappear with a smile.Just like everyone is a saint, this beautiful and heavenly scene seems to Lyell to be a little peaceful and eerie.The smiles on their faces are like masks, completely obliterating people's chaotic nature, they are all suppressing themselves, those good things are not born from the heart.They are like bear children who want to behave well in front of their parents, and their holiness is just a disguise.

A false holy city.

Lyle looked at the radiance of the cross in the distance. Was its radiance, in the end, just ordinary brilliance?

Where there is light, there is shadow.

Among the figures with heads held high, Lyle saw an abnormal shadow.He was dressed in simple clothes and knelt down by the street. The exposed skin in the gaps in his clothes was thin and old, and the few white hairs on his head showed that he was an old man whose life was not satisfactory.At this moment, he knelt down on the ground and was putting resin on a special step outside a house.No tools are used, only his dry fingers are patiently smearing, as if he is carving a work of art.Wearing a white mask, he was so focused that he didn't care about the sight around him at all.

He is a stain.All the straightforward glances told Lyall this thought.Those figures who were humble and polite to each other became ferocious and indifferent when they saw this person.Even though he knelt down on the ground, maintaining a humble posture, even though he leaned against the corner as much as possible, avoiding those glamorous figures who "inadvertently" walked past him.

Finally he finished his work, trembling and dragging his tired body, knocked lightly on the door of the house.A man came out from behind the door, looked at the kneeling figure of the old man, and watched him stretch out his white palm.

Three deformed unleavened cakes were placed in the old man's hands, separated by a layer of cloth, which was his clothes.

"Thank you." In response to this voice was the sound of closing the door.

With his body hunched over, the masked old man walked into the alleys of the streets with his reward in his arms, where the brilliance could not be found.

There is a hierarchy in this city, and there is a distinction between people and masked people.

With resentment and sympathy, Lyle followed the pace of the old man into the alley.

He walked very slowly, and would stay in place to rest, he was too old.Just when Lyle thought he was lost due to dementia, he returned to his home.

It was a ruin that could barely be called a house, in the shadow of a beautifully built white tower building.This place, which should have been inaccessible due to the poor environment, is lively with human touch.Children are playing in the gravel, young adults are boiling the smelly resin, and they have become accustomed to the smell.

Lyall saw why they were wearing masks.

Scars, hideous and ugly scars appear on everyone, on the faces of children, the naked upper body of men, and the thin arms of old people.It was a very, very serious burn, which almost tortured their skin to the point of being ugly. It is hard to imagine what kind of ordeal they have suffered.

However, they didn't show any sadness. Although they wore masks, they didn't hinder their laughter. The women were talking next to the crocks filled with resin, and the men were stirring the turbidity in the big vat.The old man called out the children in front of him, and distributed the unleavened bread in his bosom to them.They laughed happily, the ugly scar on their face like a centipede.

Can human nature be sharpened in poverty?Looking at the smiles on their hideous faces, Lyall thought of those people walking on the streets in the city.In the end, Lyle didn't come forward, interrupting them with silly questions of his own momentary curiosity.I will pity them, but they don't need pity. Their tenacious and optimistic will is nobler than ours.Lyle walked back into the shadows and chose to leave.

The old man looked at the way he came back, and paused for a second or two, when a man with sweat on his face came over.

"Father, you don't need to go out to work. We have assigned tasks to each other. The old man doesn't need to take such risks."

The old man looked at his son who was a head taller than himself, and wiped the sweat off his face with his own cloth.

"But in your plan, there are no snacks for the children, right? They need nutrition, and use the best posture to face the next holy light ceremony."

"We'll go find more food for the children, Father, and we can take more work..."

"But you're tired, my boy. And I don't want to sit like those other old guys and watch you toil."

The children who received the fermented bread had already divided their own food.

"Grandpa, we are ready, can we eat?"

The old man and the children formed a circle, with the joy of getting food in each other's eyes.

"Yes, you are ready, children, but there is still one step left."

The old man's hunched body straightened desperately, and his head was held high, trying to surpass the shadow of the building and feel the light that enveloped Lokarot.His eyes were closed, and there was a peaceful smile on his face, resin-bleached hands like saints clasped on his chest, and the children took the food, imitating the old man.

"Praise the Light."

(End of this chapter)