Chapter 109: Unable to Prove Himself
However, Jayad couldn’t speak English. He could only read the Bible under my guidance. I had already taught him English pronunciation last night, to at least allow him to sound out words. But now, in his nervousness, he mispronounced many sounds, stumbling over his words and distorting accents in various ways.
“Hahahaha!” The onlookers burst into laughter, and those few priests even asked, laughing, “Where are your miracles? Is this it?”
Seeing Jayad’s predicament, I desperately wanted to remind him to look at the illustrations. If Jayad could just glance at the illustrations, he could release Holy Light. Unfortunately, I didn’t dare to shout. Jayad hadn’t expected this.
“Although I don’t know where you picked up an English Bible, not even a Latin one, and you can’t even read it, you come here trying to sneak in. Let me tell you, kid, this church is no place for children like you to freeload. If you really want to join the faith, go and study with the Preachers for a few years first,” the priest said impatiently.
“No, please believe me, give me a little more time, I can really use Holy Light!” Jayad said anxiously, but the more nervous he became, the less he could succeed.
At this time, a priest with an even fouler temper barked, “Enough! The child of a beggar like you, who can’t even read the Bible correctly, wants to share God’s Glory? If you can use it, then what are we who have endured over ten years of diligent study as devout believers?”
“But, I really…” Jayad was speechless but unwilling to give up. He hadn’t cared about such things originally, and he hadn’t even wanted to join the Church. However, thinking of Parul’s expectations, he felt he had to succeed, or Parul would be very disappointed.
Just then, a person dressed in what appeared to be expensive clothing walked over and said to the priests, “I want to buy ten Indulgences and three bottles of Holy Water.”
“Yes, sir, please come with me.” The priests’ expressions immediately changed to smiles as they surrounded the wealthy man, eager to make a transaction. No one paid attention to Jayad anymore. Of course, they had only regarded Jayad as a joke earlier.
Jayad stood quietly to the side, intending to speak after the wealthy man and the priests finished their transaction, and to silently release the Holy Light. However, the rude priest who had spoken earlier saw him lingering and became even more displeased, directly pushing him away.
“You little brat! Get out! You want to perform miracles? Let me tell you, you’re not worthy! If I see you again, I’ll beat you to death!”
Jayad was furious. Before coming to the church, I had hidden my jewelry and Jayad’s Dagger in a pit in the cave, the one dug by the Witch. So, he had no weapon now, but he still wanted to fight back with his fists. In simple terms, he wanted to beat him up!
Jayad possessed a fierce spirit inherited from his low social standing, willing to fight to the death over any disagreement. When the priest met his gaze, he felt as if he were being stared down by a wolf, ready to pounce and break his neck at any moment.
“What do you want to do?!” The priest took a step back. Just as Jayad was about to lunge, a large hand grabbed him. Jayad’s strength had become considerable, yet the person stopped him effortlessly with one hand.
“What are you doing?!” “What do you want to do, kid?!” Both shouted simultaneously. Jayad was addressing the person who inexplicably blocked him, while the priest, still shaken, was shouting at Jayad.
The one who stopped Jayad was an old man wearing a pure white Cloak. His face was hidden beneath his hood, revealing only his white beard. The Cloak was tattered, with many rips along the edges, but it wasn’t old or dirty; rather, it was very clean.
The opening of his shoes was tied tightly with Rope, and his hands were wrapped with white bandage. He looked like a traveler, and it was unclear why he had come out to break up a fight.
However, seeing him stop Jayad, I let out a sigh of relief. It had almost scared me to death. This was a church, and they were outnumbered. Even if Jayad managed to beat up the priest for a moment, he would be mobbed by the other priests. Furthermore, assaulting religious figures would lead to endless trouble.
“You little brat! Looks like you want a beating, huh? Watch me beat you to death!” The priest, perhaps embarrassed by Jayad’s earlier intimidating presence, now felt emboldened by his numerical advantage and rolled up his sleeves, intending to teach Jayad a lesson.
“Wait, wait, he’s just a child. Why are you arguing with him?” the white-robed old man stopped the priest again.
“And who are you? Why are you meddling in other people’s business?” the priest asked the white-robed old man, displeased.
“I’m just passing by. I saw you bullying a child and couldn’t help but overestimate myself to mediate,” the white-robed old man said.
“Heh, bullying a child? He’s a complete fraud, trying to eat and drink here for free!” the priest scoffed.
“I’m not a fraud!” Jayad shouted, but he was held firmly by one hand from the white-robed old man. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t move. Most importantly, the old man seemed to have merely placed a hand on Jayad’s shoulder casually, without any apparent effort.
“Alright, the Lord is all-knowing and all-good. Why can’t you tolerate a pathetic child?” the white-robed old man advised. Strangely, hearing his light words, the onlookers felt he made a lot of sense.
Even the hot-tempered priest suddenly felt that arguing with a child from the Lower Level was beneath him. He was a clergyman with status; how could he fight with a little beggar? It was truly undignified.
“And you too, don’t be impulsive. Don’t be rude before God,” the white-robed old man turned to Jayad and said. In an instant, Jayad felt that he had indeed done wrong and lowered his head in shame. However, he didn’t apologize, still resenting the priest deeply, only feeling that he shouldn’t have acted so rashly without thought.
“Then I’ll take him with me. I won’t disturb you any longer,” the white-robed old man said, bidding farewell as he led Jayad away. The priests respectfully watched him go.
However, I noticed his parting gesture was drawing a Sign of the Cross, right hand on both sides of his chest, then down from his forehead.
Returning to my side, Jayad said dejectedly, “I’m sorry, Parul, I messed up. They just don’t believe me.”
“It’s okay. Whether they believe you or not isn’t important. As long as I believe you, that’s all that matters,” I said, looking at the dejected Jayad, wanting to comfort him.
I even hugged him. It seemed Parul’s instincts were still lingering in my body, and I didn’t resist, speaking as I wanted to: “Older Brother Jayad, don’t mind those blind fools. We only need each other’s trust, don’t we? That’s how we’ve always been. As long as I know you can perform miracles, whether they believe it or not is irrelevant.”
