"Mom, we're back home."
Hayes said softly, then turned around and carried the other person behind him. Mrs. Radie obediently lay on his back and began to whisper these things that happened in the days after "he" left.
Hayes returned step by step steadily from the road. On the way, he noticed that the top of the metal stick on the scavenger's hand was actually an eagle emblem. He didn't look carefully before, and the eagle emblem was particularly rough and ugly, he thought it was just a ball of scrap metal. Generally, people holding the eagle emblem stick had only one identity.
"Forgot to ask, what do you call me?"
"Just call me Compane."
"Do you live here too?"
The scavenger with a heavy baggage gasped and tried hard to answer Hayes' inquiry.
"Ah, yes, I came to this place ten years ago... Huh, I've been here all the time."
Hayes looked at the other person's neck and could vaguely see a pendant, but he couldn't see what it was.
"You must be very religious."
"Ah? Ha, yes, because I am a priest, by the way, you are here to send Peak's relics, right? Will it be convenient to go back to the church with me? I want to give his soul a last requiem mass."
When the other party said that he was a priest, Hayes was also very surprised. This was too different from the image of the state priest he saw.
"Ah, of course."
"Then go here."
Then the four followed Company to a fork in the road and crossed several small tribes of scavengers, Hays saw many people saying hello to Company.
It is obvious that he is loved by such residents who have been abandoned in a desperate place.
Not long after, Hayes saw a house standing in the ruins, which was hard to call a church. Although it tried to create a suitable atmosphere for the church, the spire supported by broken canvas and the walls pieced together with scrap iron and stone slabs made it not very essentially different from the surrounding rags. When approaching, Hayes could even see some fists-sized cracks on the walls to see the situation inside, and the church door was also scrap iron on one side, which looked like it was "scrambled".
Next to the door, there was a bronze bell, or half, because a considerable number of the bronze bells were missing.
Pushing open the creaking door, Compane lowered the garbage bag behind him. Only then did Hays realize that the other party was actually taller than him after straightening his waist, but years of labor inevitably made the priest's spine bend.
Looking around, the main hall of this church only has tattered benches and chairs, at the end is a podium, and it is also piled up with waste wood. The candlesticks are all old black iron products, and they are also at the bottom nest. Compared with the magnificent church in Linhu Town, this place is extremely miserable.
The podium is generally believed to be the emperor's statue, and the same is true here, but it has to be said that although it is a bit undevoted, Hayes thinks it is really funny.
The head and body of this Emperor's Holy Elephant obviously come from two different statues, with a obviously big head and small body, like a big-headed doll. Moreover, the body part is obviously incomplete and can only be filled with various waste materials. In addition, according to the senior figure, this Holy Elephant should still hold a sword in her hand, but I don't know where the sword went, so I can only use a metal beam instead.
The final holy icon is not so much an emperor as a beggar, a scavenger, without majesty or sacredness, but for some reason, in Hayes's view, it is more like a "person" than those statues decorated with magnificent gold and jewelry.
"Sorry, wait a moment, it's a sacrament after all, and I need to clean it first."
As Compane turned around and walked towards the back hall, Hays also placed Mrs. Russ on a chair and glanced at the other party's scarred feet. He tore open his wind-shielding scarf and wrapped the other party's feet.
Not long after, Compane walked out and changed into a simple gray robe. In fact, it was a bit too good to describe this faded piece of fabric with "simplicity" to describe it, but it was much better than what he had worn before. At the same time, the dirt on his face and hands was also wiped away, revealing a face full of wind, frost and wrinkles, but it was not actually an old one. His hands were thick and big, with swollen knuckles and calluses. Hayes knew that this was a pair of hands that only those who were coolies would have.
He never thought that such a hand would appear on a priest of the state religion.
And then he noticed that after removing the burden and the torn robe, the priest had obvious lame movements when walking, and his left leg was not very natural.
After Compane came out, he brought clean water to Hayes and others, but Hayes did not drink it, but wet the remaining scarf with the water and wiped the dirty traces on Mrs. Russ's face and hands.
His two wives also opened the lunch box that Compane prepared for Mrs. Las, and found that although the prepared inside was very low-grade and cheap synthetic protein starch and a little bit of animal meat, they could be said to be rich in this bottom nest. So they took a spoon and carefully fed it to Mrs. Las.
When the priest began to light the nearly burnt candle on the candlestick with matches, Hays walked over to him.
"Pastor Kompane, why did you come here?"
Compane just smiled and said while lighting the candle:
"Why not come?"
"Uh...I mean..."
"I understand what you mean. In this place that has been abandoned by everyone, it seems that no one with 'identity' should appear again, but what about the people here? Everyone has reason to abandon this place and abandon these desperate people, but we cannot do it. We are hope, we are redemption, and no one should be abandoned by the God Emperor."
As he said that, the priest straightened his waist and looked at Hayes.
“This is the first lesson I learned in seminary.”
“Shen Academy…”
Hayes didn't know much about the state religion, but he thought it was a very noble place after hearing the name.
Then, the priest twisted his left leg and walked to the other side, took out half of the burnt incense from a small box, which showed that he was a very saving man on weekdays.
"In the eyes of my teacher, I have always been a rebellious student, but my grades are still good. If nothing unexpected happens, after graduation, I may be able to donate countless times in the middle or upper nest. I start with a servant in the gorgeous and brilliant cathedral, and do my homework day after day, eat cereal bread sent from the distant world, drink pure water, taste rose sugar, and occasionally drink some wine during the celebration, hoping that some old thing above will die suddenly and then get to power. Isn't this kind of life very comfortable?"
Chapter completed!