Chapter 249 — Heresy and Faith

He had been standing here for a long time, gazing all the while at the remains of the God of Nature, his wrinkle-covered face taut, showing no change of emotion, giving no clue as to what he was thinking. Only when there was no one left around him did he sigh softly. "So it really is dead..."

Then he silently took from his bosom a silver disc, oak wafers, blessed tender twigs and acorns, and with these things built a small altar before the isolation wall. He lit the oak wafer at the center of the altar and scattered a pinch of pollen onto the small flame. His movements were scrupulous, precise and deft, just like those druid priests of three thousand years ago when the line of transmission had not yet been broken.

Few druids in the world today could still master such a complete set of ritual movements.

Yet the flame at the center of the altar merely burned quietly, and gradually died out as the fuel was exhausted. The God of Nature was right before his eyes, yet this altar could not summon even the slightest miracle.

Pi Yun did not mind. He simply quietly completed this brief yet complete sacrificial rite, and only when the things on the altar had been utterly consumed by the flame did he raise his head. Looking at the white stag's remains giving off a faint glow in the darkness, he suddenly broke into a smile.

"You just lie here. It seems the God of Nature will never appear again."

Having said this, Pi Yun turned around and left this place without a trace of reluctance.

He passed through the already emptied Fortress of Defiance, through the ancient fortress in the Dark Mountains, and took a long time to walk back to the domain. The giant sun was gradually sinking in the west, its vast corona like a golden crown shrouding the forest to the west, and in the dimming daylight he saw a group of people leaving the town's only church together.

These were presumably common folk who had just finished their prayers. Their faces all bore calm, placid smiles, and that holy-light priest who looked like a berserker stood at the church door, watching the last batch of worshippers depart.

Wright had already spotted Pi Yun approaching. This holy-light priest of peculiar style began greeting him from afar in a loud voice. "Old man! Come in and sit a while? I've still got some flatbread left that I haven't handed out!"

The communion sweetcakes distributed by the Cecil Church of the Shining Star—every single one made by Pastor Wright's own hands—were of a firm texture, indestructible; fitted with a handle, they could cleave gold and sever jade, utterly unbreakable.

Which was why they were never all handed out.

Pi Yun considered his own teeth and stomach, and decided that as an old man there was no need to challenge things that even young people dared not challenge. So he politely declined Wright's kindness—but still walked into the church.

"It's rare to see you come by," Pastor Wright said, lighting the magic crystal lamps in the church and handing a cup of clear water to Pi Yun. "In the whole domain, I'm afraid you're the one who comes to church the least—even Miss Amber comes more often than you."

Piyun asked without thinking: "Did you lose something?"

Wright actually picked up the thread smoothly enough: "There's really nothing here worth losing, so Miss Amber hasn't been coming around much lately either."

Piyun was taken aback, then laughed silently; after a few breaths of laughter he sighed softly: "Is your faith firm?"