At dusk, there was a knock on the door of Xiaoshi Village Church.
After a while, Father York, dressed in a black robe, walked to the door. He saw a man standing in the shadows outside the door. He wore a flat-brimmed hat and a black jumpsuit. He had seen this kind of man many times. Most of them were people who had done something shameful and came here to pray for God's forgiveness.
At this time, the man spoke, and the content of his words was consistent with York's judgment.
"Respected Father, I'm sorry to bother you so late. The sin in my heart has never ceased, and I have no choice but to come to you to confess."
"Haha, it doesn't matter. The God of Light is always here, and so are His servants." Father York opened the door and said gently.
The man nodded to express his gratitude, lowered the brim of his hat with his hand, and walked sideways into the church.
"Okay, we can start now." York said as he entered the confessional and sat down.
The so-called confessional booth is actually a place similar to a sedan chair, with a window on the front to communicate with the outside world. The window is separated from the outside by a layer of black cloth, which is also to protect the privacy of believers.
"Father, I am guilty!"
"Everyone in this world has sinned, but as long as they sincerely repent, God will forgive them."
It was the same old, boring dialogue. Father York mechanically repeated the same words dozens of times a day, his mind a little distracted. He wondered if he had misheard the noise earlier, or if a rat had gotten into the secret passage.
"So...then Father, are you guilty too?"
"Well, of course, I repent every day that I cannot spread God's grace better." York answered very dignifiedly.
The man outside snorted a little heavier... Why, was he ashamed by the comparison? York wondered.
"But I want to commit a crime now, and I can't control myself."
"Then pray sincerely and ask God to give you strength so that you can control yourself."
The man outside was silent for a moment: "But I still want to know, if I really commit a sin, will God forgive me?"
"If you truly repent, God will forgive you."
"Huh... Praise God!" The man outside seemed to be relieved.
"Praise God." York stood up. Well, finally, he had gotten rid of this inexplicable confessor. Should he go rest first, or continue with the exciting thing just now? Well, I should go train those two young fillies again. That feeling is wonderful.
"Father."
"What?" York, who was savoring the wonderful taste, paused and replied subconsciously.
"Thank you for the bread."
"What..."
puff!
The man who came to confess moved his long black robe, revealing a crossbow with an arrow already shot out from the hem. Then he quickly loaded the arrow and fired, loaded the arrow and fired...
Puff, puff, puff.
The thin wooden planks and black veil of the confessional were quickly pierced and torn apart by the crossbow bolts. For a moment, sawdust flew and muffled groans continued.
"Hah…hah…huh…"
After firing several crossbow arrows, the man gasped for breath, appearing extremely nervous. He pushed up the brim of his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. A pair of narrow eyes were revealed. It was Tang En.
Tang En raised his crossbow and opened the confessional. York's eyes were wide open, his upper body covered in blood. The fatal wound was in his heart, which he covered with his hands. The huge hole there took his life.
"God will forgive my sins. I wonder if your 'boss' will forgive yours..."
...
About three kilometers east of Xiaoshi Village.
A team of knights in holy armor advanced slowly. This wasn't because their mounts were inferior; on the contrary, they were of purebred and exceptionally majestic. The only thing slowing their progress was a magnificent carriage in the center of the group.
A small window on the side of the carriage suddenly opened from the inside, revealing a wrinkled, but spirited, elderly face. The knight waiting beside the carriage quickly approached.
"Buck, how long will it take?"
The knight did not dare to neglect and said respectfully, "Lord Sethman, we will arrive at the Xiaoshi Village Church in about a quarter of an hour."
"Well, this damned bad road, I hope it won't damage my carriage."
Buck looked at the carriage road moving at a snail's pace speechlessly: "Don't worry, Lord Sethman, your carriage is intact." Damn it, at such a speed, it would be a miracle if there was any damage.
"That's good!" Sethman in the carriage was visibly relieved and continued, "Tell me briefly about that Little Stone Village Church."
"Okay, Lord Sethman," the knight, known as Buck, apparently having done a lot of research, said immediately, "Little Stone Village Church has nearly a thousand believers. It's managed by a low-ranking clergyman, York, who is responsible for Little Stone Village and the four surrounding farms. These five farms are the fiefdoms of one knight."
"Five farms, nearly a thousand believers... Well, this York is quite a talent."
Buck nodded in agreement and said, "York also applied for a promotion last month and is currently undergoing assessment. Master Sethman, do you think you should…"
"Let's go check it out first. If he's a smart guy, give him a promotion. Buck, remind me when we get to the village entrance. I need to rest a little. Alas, I'm getting old and my energy can't keep up."
Buck quickly said, "I've made a note of that. Master Sethman, you've been working so hard on this journey, please take care of yourself." "Are you old? Those two nuns must have been torturing you last night, weren't they?"
Sethman naturally couldn't hear Buck's complaints, and nodded with satisfaction, and was about to close the carriage window.
Ding, ding, ding...
"Hey, is that the church bell?" Sethman said in surprise.
This place is in the southern part of the empire, so unlike the northern border towns, there is no need for alarm bells. Usually, when a melodious bell rings, it is undoubtedly the church bell.
"Yeah, it should be. Judging from the direction of the sound, it should be Xiaoshi Village."
Sethman angrily asked, "What the hell is York doing? Why ring the bell at this time?"
Church bells are not rung for no reason. They are usually rung only during weekly prayer meetings or major religious celebrations, such as the Day of Destiny.
Buck spread his hands, indicating that he didn't understand either.
"Speed up and see what's going on!"
...
Just like Sesman and his friends were puzzled, the villagers of Xiaoshi Village also looked at the village church in surprise.
Most of them were believers of the Church of Light and naturally knew the meaning of the church bells, but they had never heard the bells ringing at this time before.
Ding, ding, ding...
The stubborn bell kept ringing.
The villagers looked at each other, put down what they were doing and walked towards the church.
Xiaoshi Village is small in area, and villagers who live nearby only need to walk a few steps to reach the church door.
At this moment, the bell suddenly stopped.
"Father York...Father York!"
The first person to arrive at the church was a peasant woman. She leaned against the church door and shouted something inside, but before she could shout twice, her hand flicked and the half-closed church door was pushed open.
The first thing that caught her eye was the church bell, and there was nothing next to it.
"Is someone playing a prank?"
"Father York..." she called softly and walked towards the bishop's hall in the church. Everyone here knew that York's room was behind the bishop's hall.
The door of the bishop's hall was not locked and was pushed open with a creak.
"Hey, Father York, what are you doing sitting on the ground?" It was already dark, and the bishop's hall was naturally even darker. However, the peasant woman still saw a figure lying with his head down, his back against the podium, facing the door.
The figure did not answer, and seemed to be concentrating on looking at something on the ground.
The somewhat insensitive peasant woman didn't notice anything unusual and took a few steps forward, ready to speak to Father York...
ah--
A scream of extreme terror was heard, and some villagers who had just arrived at the church were startled by the sound.
At the door of the bishop's hall, the peasant woman fell to the ground, her trembling hands pointing forward: "York, York...Father is dead...dead."
"What?" Everyone was shocked and looked inside.
After a while, the lights in the bishop's hall were lit.
Father York, dressed in a black robe, was lying on the podium. Blood was slowly flowing from several transparent holes in his chest. The pendant of the Holy God of Light on his chest had been dyed red, and a large pool of blood was spreading on the ground.
"Father York!"
"Oh my God, how could this happen! Wuwu..."
"Who smashed it? I'll hang him right now!"
"Hey, there's something on the ground, and there's some writing..."
Seeing York's tragic death, the villagers were completely furious. It should be said that York's performance in Xiaoshi Village was really perfect. He successfully left the villagers with the impression of being pious and kind. Now such a good man was brutally killed, and everyone could not help but be angry.
The crowd was furious and kept cursing the murderer. At this time, some careful people noticed the object next to York's hand and the blood-stained handwriting.
"Hey, this is a key."
"Is that the murderer's name?"
"If anyone can read, come and take a look!" some impatient villagers shouted.
"Get out of the way, I'll do it." A bearded farmer squeezed in and identified it. "Well, it says the truth is in the back room."
"The room at the back? It's Father York's bedroom..."
"Could it be that the murderer is still there?"
"Let's go. Leave a few of you to watch over York's body, and the rest of you go catch the murderer."
Everyone rushed towards York's bedroom, holding all kinds of things.
When they pushed open the door of York's bedroom, it was empty, but they found a removed bookcase and a secret passage behind the wall.
Hey, why is there a secret passage in Father York's room?
The villagers looked at each other in suspicion. The brave ones walked down the secret passage and soon found the two girls who had been brutally tortured.
"Hey, Old John, isn't this your granddaughter? Wasn't she sent to a monastery by Father York?"
"This one, looks like Mary from the neighboring village? I even visited her parents a few days ago."
"Yes, but didn't she say that Father York recommended her to become a nun in the congregation? Why is she here?"
...
The two girls were stunned when they first saw so many villagers coming in. After they came to their senses, they rushed to everyone and burst into tears, telling them what had happened to them.
When everyone returned to the bishop's hall and saw York's body, they all had complicated expressions.
The two girls cried and screamed, trying to bite York's body. After being dissuaded by the crowd, they lay in the peasant woman's arms and sobbed. The two girls had been tortured by York for a long time. In shock and joy, they sobbed a few times and fainted.
For a moment, the bishop's hall became unusually silent.
They had never imagined that York, who was usually kind and helpful, could actually be so filthy and despicable. Furthermore, York was a priest of the God of Light, a servant of God who constantly preached the gospel and encouraged people to be good. Their faith collapsed. For a moment, they didn't know what to say.
At this moment, an old man emerged from the crowd. They were all familiar villagers, so naturally, everyone knew him as Old John. He had been stunned ever since he heard his granddaughter's sobbing in the secret passage.
Old John walked over to York's body, silently watching. Suddenly, he spat a mouthful of thick phlegm in York's face. Then, amid the crowd's exclamations, he collapsed backwards.
The crowd was in chaos again, but fortunately someone noticed that he was not normal and came forward to support him.
At this time, another burst of hurried footsteps was heard, and a young villager who had not been present before shouted happily: "Inspector Sesman has arrived at the village entrance, everyone go to welcome him..." Seeing that everyone was looking at him with strange eyes, his voice became weaker and weaker, and finally he stopped talking.
"What's going on..."