Todd, who came back from the smelting site, went into the laboratory, leaving only Huggins, Edgar, and Jerry looking at each other in the underground hall.
The three people calculated each other, and finally Huggins stepped forward, gently pushed open the laboratory door, looked at the monk apprentice who was busy among the bottles and jars, and said carefully: "Todd, what if
Our opponent is really the devil, maybe it would be better to let people from the church come forward."
Carefully pour the "ferric chloride" solution into a test tube that can be carried with you, then seal it and put it on the shelf in the small wooden box. Todd raised his head and looked at the man with some confusion. The man's face was full of confusion.
The worry and faint fear made him instantly understand what Huggins was thinking.
Todd, who was adjusting the chemical materials and packing up the large bottles and small jars, stood up on tiptoes and patted the man on the shoulder, giving him a "don't worry" look. Unfortunately, Huggins showed no signs of relaxing at all, and instead became even more uneasy.
Already.
In the few hours in the afternoon, Todd prepared everything needed to "remove the curse". After repeatedly telling the three Huggins to handle it with care, he handed over the several wooden boxes he carried to them for safekeeping.
.Then we came to the monastery gate, and together with Aiden Colm, who had been waiting for a long time, and other craftsmen and apprentices, set out towards the village of "The Cursed".
Starting from the monastery toward the southeast, after less than an hour's walk, Todd and his party arrived at the edge of Raven Forest before the sun set. The destination of this exorcism journey, Qianmu Village, also appeared in front of him.
in the field of vision.
Different from the previous life, the so-called villages here are very small. There are usually only a hundred people in the entire village, and smaller ones even have only a few dozen people. Such population gathering areas are like stars scattered across the entire plain, just by name.
No less than two hundred.
Qianmu Village covers an area of less than 100 acres. Standing at the entrance of the village and looking far into the distance, you can even see the boundary between the end of the village and the forest. However, the inside of the village is "small but well-equipped", including a church, a village hall, a warehouse, and a well.
Because it is close to the forest and has abundant wood resources, most of the villagers' houses are made of logs, which look more beautiful and elegant than other places in the plains.
Following Aiden and others, Todd walked through the dirt roads of Qianmu Village. The conspicuous monk's uniform on his body caused the villagers to talk about it.
The residence of the cursed craftsman is located close to the edge of forests and fields. He must have heard the news that the monks were coming to exorcise evil spirits. A large number of people gathered early at the door of the hut, many of whom came from neighboring villages or even towns.
Come, these men, women, and children in different costumes have various expressions on their faces, including curiosity, surprise, suspicion, and confusion.
Ignoring the noise of the crowd outside, Todd walked into the low bungalow in front of him under the guidance of the advancing team. Inside the room, the unfinished mud floor was strewn with rushes, even though it was already early spring in January.
, the cold wind still poured in through the cracks in the crumbling wooden wall.
The unconscious craftsman was lying on the bed in the middle of the hut, with a circle of people standing around him. Aiden Colm took the initiative to chat with a sturdy middle-aged man, who nodded and walked to Todd
In front of him, his back bowed slightly: "Heavenly Father, sir, we have been waiting for your arrival. I am Ackerman Xiaokuola, the village chief here."
Listening to the other person introducing the people in the room, Todd felt a little dizzy. There were village chiefs from nearby villages, squires from the fiefdoms, respected old men, etc. He had forgotten many of the names he had just heard.
There was only one person who impressed him more deeply.
The priest of Qianmu Village Church, Moore Rupert, was the first person in the church that Todd came into contact with.
Father Rupert, a very arrogant and somewhat hunchbacked young man, always likes to look down at others with his head held high. He has a silver cross hanging on his chest. He looks at the boy with a look that is a little strange and a little contemptuous.
It was like seeing "a sheep proactively found a hunter and asked for meat".
"Brother Todd, I never thought that monks would put down the books in their hands, walk out of the high walls, and provide exorcism services to believers."
The tone sounded a bit aggressive and not very friendly.
Todd rolled his eyes and muttered: "'Admonitions from the Holy Word of the Lord' Volume 3, Chapter 9, Article 31."
Before the priest could react, he had already recited the scripture: "Service for the believers should be above all else, and should not be delayed. If someone asks for help while you are praying, go ahead with peace of mind! Treat this act as prayer
Dedicate it to your Heavenly Father. Do not make your heart uneasy or feel guilty because of interrupted prayers. Temporarily interrupting one good work for God is to complete another good work, and Heavenly Father is not treated lightly..."
Ignoring the stunned Moore Rupert, Todd turned to the village chief Ackerman Xiaokola: "Let everyone go out, I want to start preparing for the exorcism ritual."
Some noble people immediately expressed their opposition.
I came all the way just to see the monks' ability to exorcise demons, so there was no reason to be turned away.
What I'm waiting for is your words.
Pretending to be embarrassed, Todd thought about it for a while and finally agreed to the people's request, but the condition was that he could only come in after 30 minutes because he needed to decorate the ceremony venue.
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30 minutes later.
The sky is getting darker and darker, and the crescent moon hangs like a hook in the sky.
More and more people gathered outside the house, but inside there were only the monk Todd and the cursed craftsman. Compared with the silence inside, the outside was as loud as a market place.
Just when people started to get impatient, the closed door of the hut opened. Todd, dressed in a monk's uniform, stood at the door and said to everyone: "The exorcism ceremony is ready..." He glanced at the eager people outside the door.
Everyone, Todd continued: "Once the ceremony begins, I can't guarantee what will happen. It would not be surprising even if a 'demon bites' happens."
Upon hearing this, people stepped back one after another, and the idea of trying it no longer existed.
"Everyone is not allowed to make a sound from now on, otherwise the devil will be alerted, and Heavenly Father will also punish him! In addition, only six people can enter the room. You decide the list yourself." After saying this, Todd turned and disappeared.
door.
Finally, after some debate, the six people who participated in the exorcism ceremony were as follows: Huggins, Little Jerry, Aiden Colm, Father Rupert, a knight squire who had been on the battlefield and returned home from the army, and a
Sheriff of a nearby town.
The village chiefs Ackerman and Edgar stayed outside the house, responsible for maintaining order and keeping the place absolutely quiet.
When the six people entered the craftsman's hut, they were so surprised by the strange decoration in the room that they forgot to speak.
Windows, stoves, holes, and every gap in the room that could lead to the outside world were covered with black paper, and a cross was painted on each piece with white ash.
The craftsman's bed was moved to the center of the room, and the unconscious cursed man was covered with a brown linen cloth with a white cross painted on it.
Finally, with the bed as the center, a huge cross was drawn with white ash on the floor of the room, and seven candles were placed on the four sides of the cross.
"Is this an exorcism ritual?!"
The priest first raised a question. He had participated in more than a hundred exorcisms. In the past, most of them used holy water and scriptures as ritual means, but he had never heard of a scene like this, let alone seen it!
Todd ignored him and brought the six people to the craftsman's bedside and motioned them to stand at the left, right and lower ends of the cross respectively. The seven candles corresponded to the seven people, Huggins and Little Jerry were on the left end of the cross, the priest and the security guard
The official is at the right end, the village chief and the squire stand at the lower end, and I stand at the top.
"Before we start the exorcism, there are some taboos I want to tell you." In the completely dark room, under the weak light of the candle, Todd's face seemed a little unclear, and his low voice made people feel numb: "First
Article, you must not make loud noises during the ceremony
Second, before the ceremony is over, stand where you are now, no matter what happens, you must not leave; Third, you must not touch these papers and linen with sacred relics printed on them. If
If you heard it clearly and agreed to abide by it, please repeat it again."
In order from left to right, everyone recited the three taboos. The voices outside the room became lower and lower, and a strange atmosphere quietly came in the air.
Taking out the scriptures from his arms, Todd looked at the six nervous participants who were facing a formidable enemy. He covered his head with the hood of the monk's uniform, nodded slightly and said, "The ceremony begins."