High Above

When I was a child, I lived with my grandparents because my parents disappeared.

There are a few moonglow osmanthus trees at the door of our house. They were planted by grandma and grandpa when they got married. Every autumn, they will have a faint fragrance, and the leaves will turn blue and white like the moon.

Grandpa used to be a decorated veteran of the Southern Legion. He had a pension and lived a relatively comfortable life. However, after his death, life became difficult.

Grandma is a weaver. When she was young, the cloth she weaved was strong, durable and beautiful. However, after marrying her grandfather, she did not use it for a long time. After her parents disappeared, grandma was in a state of confusion for several years, until her grandfather passed away. , she recovered from her extreme sadness.

For me, grandma picked up the dusty loom again. The cloth she weaved was still strong and durable, but she couldn't sell it for much. She could only barely maintain food and clothing, and occasionally sold some old things at home to support the family. , and I also learned the art of making garlands with the flowers of the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in autumn, but I still couldn’t make ends meet.

Later I learned that this was because a weaving factory opened in Nauman City. Since then, it has been difficult to sell the cloth woven by individuals at a high price.

I hate weaving factories. The cloth that grandma knitted was so beautiful, but it was difficult to sell.

My life was simple and poor, but occasionally, my grandma would give me one or two eggs.

She said that if a boy wants to grow up well, he must eat something nutritious.

She said she was very sorry, but my grandparents did not protect anything, neither my parents nor me.

She said, Loren, you have to grow up quickly, grandma won't be able to take care of you for long.

Grandma has nothing to do with me.

I want to grow up quickly.

The flowers of the moonflower blossomed twice. As I grew up, I could go to the town to do some odd jobs. The carpenter uncle next door was willing to accept me as an apprentice. I became an apprentice. My grandma was very happy. She sold the money and married my grandpa. The jewelry he left behind as a apprenticeship ceremony.

In the autumn of my second year as a disciple, when the osmanthus was blooming, I learned the cause of my parents’ death.

They are merchants affiliated with the Great Chamber of Commerce around the Agate Stone Plain. This profession is indeed dangerous in Nanling, but as long as they don't go south of Indigo Mountain, Nanling is not that dangerous.

Their disappearance was not because of monsters or robbers, but because a noble who believed in a cult wanted to resurrect his children.

My parents...my mom and dad...became his guinea pigs.

The Church of Huaiguang and a young knight of the White People discovered the sinful behavior of this lord, and the evil lord also died on a rainy summer night.

The knight of the White People seemed to be a very powerful person. He replaced the evil lord. My grandmother also wiped away tears and told me that she finally understood where her children were buried and that they could finally go home.

They were buried next to Grandpa.

Everything is going well. I don’t need grandma to save money and buy eggs. The master will give me eggs occasionally. It is said that this is because a chicken farm opened next to Nauman City. Since then, eggs have become very cheap.

I love chicken farms. But I vaguely felt that the chicken farm and the weaving factory were the same thing, and I could afford to wear cheap cloth.

I'm a little confused

For better or worse, Grandma can finally rest.

But not long after, the food disaster came.

Grandma also fell ill.

It is said that this is a bad thing done by an alliance called the "Flying Flame Land". They spread diseases on our land and ruined the crops. They made the wild beasts go crazy and made many people unable to buy food.

Originally, it was difficult for this disease to be effective on people, but grandma was too weak.

Flying Flame Land... This is the first time I know the name of another country. This is the first time I hate a name so much.

I couldn't afford medicine or food... Even my master's family started to worry, so I had to go back home.

Although the governor has ensured the stability of food prices, they are still much higher than usual.

I sold all the remaining furniture at home and went to catch the cicadas hibernating under the trees. I went outside the town to look for wild vegetables and unrotten tree fruits... But let alone buying medicine, I could barely afford to cook porridge. .

Grandma is getting weaker and weaker, and there is nothing I can do. This was not just a disease, but the result of years of sadness and malnutrition.

Grandma is dying. I can only sit still. I didn't even have tears, I didn't have time to cry, I tried my best to find a way.

I did not find it.

I hate myself like this.

But maybe it's a miracle.

As a massive motorcade stretching for more than ten miles entered the southern border, the price of food dropped rapidly.

They even brought cheap medicines, and the team’s doctors also provided free clinics along the way.

They claim to be hired by a knight named Ian, who aims to perform good deeds, sell food at a fair price, and treat diseases free of charge.

The big grain farmer in the town said sourly that this knight was just seeking fame. Of course he wanted to gain a good reputation for himself when he became a noble.

Some wealthy people said that this knight had just cleared away all the other territorial knights around his territory. He was trying to win people's hearts and attract some poor people to work in his territory.

Who the hell cares about this. If someone can cure grandma, I will be a cow and a horse for him for the rest of his life!

I ran as fast as I could to the big town where they had free clinics and begged them to treat my grandma.

The doctor looked at me seriously, murmured to his colleagues, and then nodded in agreement.

I have his face etched deeply in my heart. He is my benefactor.

The doctor came to my house. He frowned and seemed to be having a hard time.

He stabilized my grandma's condition and then told me that the medicine he gave could only cure it for a short time. Grandma's body was extremely weak and her vitality was as weak as a candle. Even if she was cured this time, she would never survive. Year.

One year seems to be a short time.

A year seems like a long time.

I have no other choice.

After grandma woke up, sometimes she was awake and sometimes she didn't recognize who I was. The doctor couldn't do anything about it. He said it might be Alzheimer's disease, or it might be a fever that burned out the brain. He told me that there was no cure for this disease. Although he sympathized with me, there was really nothing he could do.

I really don’t blame the doctor, I am very grateful to him, but my family has no money, so I can only weave a sweet-scented osmanthus wreath for him.

My grandma has dementia, and even though I try my best to take care of her, I still can’t take care of her.

As the doctor said, this is a terminal disease that I cannot reverse. This is something that cannot be done through hard work, prayers and begging.

No one will ever slip me an egg again, no one will give me a hug when I come home, no one will ever hold me in my arms and gently comb my hair.

I want to cheer up and spend the last year with my grandma with a cheerful and optimistic attitude.

Can't do it...

It really can't be done.

Seeing how my grandma couldn't recognize me, and would even pause when walking, and then look around blankly, no matter how much I suppressed myself, I would still wonder if what I was doing was right.

For grandma, is all this a salvation, or is it the cruelty of surviving?

I can't tell...

But maybe it's fate.

In other words, in this world, there really is a god, there really is a great being watching the world, making everything still have some vitality in despair.

In the first spring after my grandmother had dementia, the doctor who treated her then found me.

He said that because I didn’t yell at him when I learned that my grandma’s condition was incurable, and I even held back my tears while weaving a wreath for him, he went out of his way to find out some news for me.

He said that in the old Rhian Territory, where my parents died, and where the White People Knight who hired him for medical treatment along the way is now, there was a very secret medical experiment.

He said that this experiment is urgently needed for the elderly, patients with dementia, those with mental degeneration, or those who are on the verge of death.

In other words, they need experimenters.

It was on that land that my parents died because of the experiments of the evil nobles.

And now, a benefactor told me that a kind lord came to that land, and he also needed test subjects to verify a certain technology.

Satire?

Or is it the last hope?

The doctor told me that this experiment is not something that ordinary people can participate in. It is best to have a grudge against Feiyandi and prove that you have lived in Nanling for several generations and that someone in your family has served in the army... In short, it is a very confidential request and must not be allowed. Leak.

Because my grandfather had joined the army, my grandmother just met the requirements.

I raised my head and looked at the moonlight cassia outside the door.

The green-white leaves exude a faint fragrance, just like before.

Even if he passes away, will grandpa still protect us?

I choose to believe.

I followed the doctor and took my grandma to Xiahui Ling.

It was a beautiful place, very different from the gloomy castle of the evil lord I imagined. The mountain people coming and going were also very different from the savage and rude people in the town said. They looked like us and spoke the same language, except they were strong. A little, a little rougher skin doesn't make any difference.

Grandma was sent to the laboratory, and I stayed in a recently built orphanage in Xiahui Ling... Indeed, if grandma passed away, wouldn't I be an orphan?

Although grandma is not dead yet, after entering that laboratory, she may be no different from death.

I can only believe and wait.

The orphanage in Xiahui Ling is different from what I know. The orphans here don't need to paste paper boxes or weave baskets. All we need to do is study.

In addition to ordinary reading and writing, we also have to learn a subject called mathematics. The teacher will tell us stories and take us to play games together.

The teacher said that I am very smart. I am the fastest among my peers in learning words and mathematics. I can understand the lessons and implications of stories and answer the teacher’s questions after class. I am also the most disciplined and never mess around. The one who runs and jumps around.

maybe. The master once said that I learned to be a carpenter very quickly. In fact, it was more than that. I could vaguely see that the games the teacher led us to play were actually training our ability to listen to commands and also cultivating our ability to work together as a team. These are all It is a game that my grandfather once played with me.

The teachers and dean liked me very much, and the doctor would visit me occasionally. My intelligence seemed to be beyond their imagination, and I could easily follow the courses that were theoretically difficult for adults.

And as time went by, I gradually learned that the orphanage I was in, and the doctor, were all members of a sect, and this sect was established by the local lord, the messenger of the Dragon God, and the co-leader of the mountain people. A new faith.

He is the core of the belief of this sect called "Chongling Sect". Almost most of the empire's believers believe in the leader himself, not in the "spirit of heaven and earth" or "spirit of all living things".

I can vaguely understand that although the empire and the mountain people seem to be integrated, they still have conflicts in their beliefs. The Dragon God and the Cult Leader are never one, and this is where their differences lie.

The orphanage I was in was the one that tended to worship the leader.

So that’s it, they just want my faith.

It's so weird.

Although I have never seen him before, people like Lord Lord and Lord Cult Leader...who have saved me from despair many times...are the gods in my heart.

Although I don’t know the news about my grandma or the progress of the experiment, I know that in this world, except for Xiahui Ling and the Yinfeng Lord, no one will save me again and again. , help me. Whether it's the truth about my parents, food, doctors, or the hope of saving my grandma, he gave me everything.

When I told the doctor what I was thinking, he looked at me with a look of pure surprise in addition to shock.

I am very smart.

That's why I understand... Your Excellency, he is worthy of my worship.

At the Summer Festival, I officially entered the religion under the guidance of the doctor godfather, and prayed to the image of the Lord who was as perfect as a god.

At that moment, I seemed to see light.

This light was so real that it shook my soul.

During this time, the Lord was not in the territory. He went to a distant place to participate in a grand operation. No one knew what the action was, but everyone firmly believed that the master would definitely return successfully.

This was indeed the case. It didn't take long for the Lord's news to reach back to Xiahui Leader.

Everyone was either surprised, or suddenly enlightened, or even told others about the 'prophet' with a look of certainty.

The adults are prophets.

really. I am no exception to this thought.

Perhaps the Lord came to save me because he foresaw my pain and despair? I occasionally think this way, but I quickly shake my head in shame. This idea is too arrogant, self-righteous, and arrogant.

Now that things have happened, I have made up my mind to stay in Xiahui Ling all my life and dedicate my life to Chongling Sect and you.

Just...if you can.

I still want to see my grandma again.

I don't know if my wish can be realized...but if it is, it can only mean one thing.

Sir, he is the true God walking in the world.

July 26, Terra 774.

The master who returned from Nauman City is about to return to his territory.

The chief administrative officer, the alchemy director, the captain of the personal guard, and other important officials all went to greet him. Not only that, although there was no order, more than half of the people in the entire territory stopped what they were doing and went to the intersection to wait.

The midsummer sun was extremely dazzling. I raised my hand to block the too strong sunlight. The breeze blew, and the sea of ​​trees in the Baisen Mountains swayed slightly, and there was a continuous noise.

Under the bright sky, the dark asphalt road extends all the way to the depths of the forest. The towering and solid light-prismatic defense towers on the edge of the city reflect the sunlight and appear to be shining. Flags and banners are pulled up behind the vigilant soldiers. Shake.

Behind the people who came spontaneously were the newly built urban areas and streets in Xiahui Ling. No one came here with a smile on their face. Everyone was full of expectations and looked at the other end of the avenue with longing.

He showed up.

Surrounded by people, the white-haired lord returned to his territory, wearing a white robe and a blue scarf on his head. His long hair fell down his shoulders, and his eyes seemed brighter than the sun.

He is more perfect than the portrait depicts, more sublime than I imagined.

He smiled and waved to the crowd, and the crowd cheered in response. He rode forward slowly, and the crowd followed him.

And I walked forward unconsciously.

He crossed over the crowd, past the vigilant soldiers, and walked towards him.

"Um?"

The adult noticed me. He turned his head and raised his hand, as if to signal the soldiers behind him not to act. He looked at me with interest, pure brilliance flowing in his aqua eyes.

"A ten-year-old child has extraordinary potential." He got off his horse and came to me: "What's your name?"

"I am Loren from White Grass Town."

I slowly knelt down on one knee, put my right hand on my chest, and bowed my head deeply: "Sir, although my life has just begun, you have saved me from despair several times. I can be sure that you are the world. It is the only light that can shine on us."

"Sir, I swear to you at this moment, I am willing to dedicate my life and soul to you. From this life, I will run for you, pray for you, and fight for you."

——You are my God and my faith.

No one asked me to do this.

Although I knew that the godfather and the dean wanted me to do this, they had not yet had time to ask me to do it.

I just understand that only in this way can the impulse in my heart disappear and I can express the endless emotions in my heart.

Only this... only this.

Only then can I find peace.

I can't see the adult's expression.

But after a few seconds, he reached out his hand.

The cold palm touched my cheek, and a gentle force was exerted on me. My heartbeat, my breathing, and my thinking seemed to be seen through in an instant. But I am not afraid, because I really think and act like this from the bottom of my heart.

I sensed white light again, bluish-white light. The light is right in front of me, right in front of me, so close to me.

I smell the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus, not from reality, but from the depths of my soul. It is the only smell I know that is called beautiful.

“Despair creates piety, suffering creates faith.”

The soft voice said softly, and the adult helped me up and said softly: "I actually don't understand you, unless I really become you... But your pain, despair and joy of redemption are indeed conveyed. Into my heart.”

"I see, there is also a spiritual power called 'faith'..."

"Loren. Loren from White Grass Town...you are indeed beyond my expectation."

"I remember you."

Is the Ian Cult a Dragon Cult or a Fairy Cult? It’s hard to classify…

Anyway, please give me a monthly ticket!