"Do you recognize me?" White was quite surprised when the middle-aged man said his name directly.
"Of course he recognizes you. If it weren't for Mr. Bethlehem, you would have died long ago." Trish said softly on the side, no longer as "noisy" as before, and his expression was even more respectful.
"You are that light!?" White almost blurted out after hearing this.
"You really have a heart that yearns for light, Mr. White." The middle-aged man just smiled, but did not give a formal answer, and then slowly passed between the two people and went outside.
For more than a month after that, Bethlehem stayed in Fort Fort to serve the poor in the slums. With the arrival of the middle-aged man, some inconspicuous carriages came in every day, transporting batches after batches.
A batch of old clothes and semolina. All the poor people in the slums can receive enough clothes and food to survive without any cost. Even the children received a piece of candy before the New Year. Although it was just a small piece
The cookies are small, but they make the children cheer.
However, all of this was done quietly. If he had not been personally involved, White would not have even noticed what was happening in the slums.
"White, are you here to listen to Mr. Bethlehem's lecture again?"
In addition to caring for the orphans and widows, the middle-aged man often teaches children and young people in a simple house. Of course, if you are interested, anyone can attend. The content of the courses is mostly simple literacy and numeracy.
, as well as explanations of natural knowledge. At the end of each class, Bethlehem will spend a short paragraph telling legends and stories about light and gods.
In his narration, the thousands of years of history of the mainland are organically condensed and turned into fascinating ups and downs one after another, and there are many seemingly casual but profound philosophies hidden in them. In all the stories,
, the "heaven on earth created by the god of light in the mortal world" is undoubtedly the most popular and praised by the listeners.
"It was a country where there was only love and light, where people were equal, loved each other, and there were no disputes. Milk and honey flowed on the earth; in the forest, the branches were covered with snow-white bread and plump sausages. Here
, it is spring all year round; here, there are harvest festivals every month and every day.”
"Sir, is there really such a paradise?"
More than once, a child listening to the story couldn't help but ask questions. Although the adults on the side were silent, their eyes were also full of hope.
"Yes, of course there is, that is the bright kingdom of heaven on earth." Bethlehem said with a smile every time.
"So, where is it?" someone else asked.
"It must first be in your heart." The middle-aged man pointed to his heart: "God said, there must be light here."
"bright?"
Whenever he hears this, White can't help but think of the light that illuminates his soul. Since that light is real, then the light on earth and heaven should also be real.
Gradually, White had such an idea.
Finally, one day, after a lecture, White stopped Bethlehem.
"Sir, I have heard people say that true equality is impossible in the land of Erathia. At least, it cannot be achieved under the current conditions." Then White repeated Moriarty's remarks that day exactly.
In order to strengthen his argument, he even drew a "pyramid of power" directly on the ground.
Looking at the rough patterns drawn by White and listening to his story, the middle-aged man frowned in a rare way and said nothing. Instead, he squatted down next to the "Pyramid".
"Could it be that what Moriarty said is really an irrefutable 'truth' that even this erudite and mysterious man in front of him can't argue with." Seeing this, White couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he still waited patiently.
After a while, Bethlehem stood up slowly: "If we follow the laws of the world, this triangle is indeed perfect. Because human nature has deep-rooted arrogance, jealousy, rage, laziness, greed, gluttony, and so on.
It will tempt mortals to commit endless sins, causing violence and humiliation of the weak, and evil to kill the good. However, if in the kingdom of light, the supreme authority is in the hands of God, and God is extremely just and loving, so even if
Even a small soul can be saved; no matter how weak the body is, it can still face the powerful."
"Then how can we achieve the kingdom of light?" After hearing this, White couldn't help but ask.
"Do you really want to know?" Without an immediate answer, Bethlehem asked.
"Yes, I really want to know." The world described by the middle-aged man is very close to Lawrence's Utopia, even better. As a follower of the Centurion, White has an extremely strong urge to see it with his own eyes.
Incredibly gorgeous scenery.
"Justified by faith!" Bethlehem said solemnly: "Only with the strongest faith can we reach the Kingdom of the Lord."
"Lord?" White was surprised when he heard such a title for the first time.
"Exactly. Our Lord is the supreme being in this world, benevolent to all living beings, and extremely holy." Bethlehem said solemnly: "This world is like a wilderness, and all living beings are like helpless lambs. Only those who believe in my Lord and serve him are in heaven.
Only through the Father can we obtain eternal salvation.”
"Is this so?" White was shocked by the middle-aged man's description, and then asked: "Since the 'Lord' is so great, why didn't His glory and miracles be shown in Erathia?"
"The Lord's kingdom on earth once stood on this land, but the world's sins were too deep and greed and foolishness were endless, so the 'Lord' withdrew the miracle of universal benefit, leaving only a window for those who truly
A believer." The middle-aged man said with a smile.
"So, can the Lord's heaven on earth be recreated?" White is not looking forward to the distant heaven, but is very interested in the "perfect kingdom" that Bethlehem said once really existed.
"Mr. White, if you really want to know, how about we discuss it in detail on another occasion?"
For some reason, the middle-aged man took the initiative to suspend the topic, as if he no longer wanted to continue the casual conversation. For this, White had no choice but to wait.
"What kind of person is Mr. Bethlehem?" That night, while helping Trish wash some newly arrived old clothes, White finally couldn't help asking.
"Saint." The green-eyed girl said seriously.
"what is that?"
“Adhere to the Lord’s will, walk in the Lord’s way, and promote the Lord’s glory!”
"Trixie, do you also understand this? Or, can you explain it to me?" Surprised by the green-eyed girl's answer, White also said seriously.
"No, White. The 'preaching responsibility' is far beyond the scope of someone like me. If you have any questions, you still need Mr. Bethlehem to answer them for you." Trish shook his head.
"But Mr. Bethlehem stopped talking to me today."
"That must be because the time has not come, or your heart has not been filled with light." Looking at White, the green-eyed girl said softly: "If you are really serious, just wait patiently."
"Okay, I listen to you." White stared at Trish and nodded.
A few days later, for unknown reasons, a civil affairs official from Fort Fort suddenly came to the slums and ordered everyone to pay a "special defense tax." The price was set at one silver coin, including the elderly and children.
.Perhaps. To some nobles, a silver coin is simply insignificant. For example, Moriarty once easily paid hundreds of Erathian gold coins to Roland Garr for golden mutton chops and some information. But as far as those poor people are concerned, a silver coin is
A huge sum of money is as far away as a rainbow in the sky. In fact, most residents in slums can't even find a few coins in their pockets.
Naturally, the poor could not meet such a request. The civil affairs officials seemed to have expected this, but coldly gave a second option: Anyone who cannot afford to pay taxes must offset it with labor.
The moat outside the castle has only been drained in the past few days, and there is a lot of silt and debris underneath that needs to be cleared away. Then, the tax defaulters will naturally have to work hard and plunge into the cold silt to perform hard labor.
"This is ridiculous!"
White immediately became furious at the Civil Affairs Officer's order. It was obvious that the fundamental purpose of Fort Fort's upper management was to force the poor to work in the cold winter to clear pond mud for them, and the so-called "special defense tax" was nothing more than a cover or coercion.
The other party's tool to submit. What's even more despicable is that those high-ranking nobles did not even spare the underage children, forcing them to the cold river bottom like driving young animals.
"At least, you should let those children go!" Unable to bear it, White stood up and shouted angrily at the civil affairs official.
"Everyone is equal before the law." The bloated civil affairs officer glanced at the one-armed man and smiled coldly.
"But your law requires even children to be coerced, don't you think it's too much?" Similarly in the Dawn Fortress, although there are various injustices, at least it does not go to this extent.
"What do you, a pariah, know?" the civil affairs officer seemed a little impatient.
"At least I know that your 'law' is an evil law that harms innocent people!" White blurted out.
"Oh, what a bold guy, how dare you question the law of the country in public!? Someone, stand this loser up and give him thirty lashes!"
Unable to endure the provocation and nonsense of the man in front of him, the Civil Affairs Officer showed his original ferocity and shouted. Immediately, several guards rushed forward together, pushed White to the ground, took off his shirt several times, and then
The soldier then pulled out a long whip made of leather cords and thorns from his waist, and lashed the opponent Luo Lu's back mercilessly.
"Pah...pah...pah..."
The whip was struck fiercely, and the penetrating "crack" sound resounded through the streets.
The elderly, children, and women were all silent, watching in horror as pieces of flesh and blood were drippingly cut from White's back.
"Who has any opinions?"
Like a supreme king, the civil administrator looked at the silent slums and smiled happily.
"I have…"
Under the whip, White shouted again with all his strength. Having lost his arm, he no longer had the same courage as before, but he still retained the strength of a warrior.
"Oh? Very good! Give him another thirty lashes." The civil affairs official said solemnly with a grim look on his face.
As a result, the hell of the whip completely submerged White. Before he could hold on for long, White completely passed out. And the ruthless whip continued to fall until...another beam of light came. (To be continued...)
