Chapter 653: The Many Faces in the Lobby, Priest Bataer's Apology

Priest Bataer gradually woke up from his unconscious state.

He looked at the unfamiliar wooden ceiling, feeling the soft bed beneath him instead of the cold, hard church stone bed.

After lying there for a while, he finally realized what had happened before he lost consciousness.

"Too impulsive, Luosa! You useless fellow, you only know how to hold people back! Look at what you've done!"

He was about to raise his hand to slap himself, but as his sour, open palm fell, plump wheat grains soaked in sweat slid off and landed on his face, causing him to freeze for a moment.

Reason regained the high ground, and the young Priest panicked; he finally realized how terrible the consequences of his previous actions could be, rather than wallowing in self-pity here.

Stuffing the grain seeds haphazardly into the pocket of his Robe, he climbed off the bed barefoot, looked left and right, and walked toward the wooden door of the room.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

"Damn it! I've been locked in!"

The young Priest grew increasingly anxious; seeing that the room had a window and it was open, he walked over quickly with his bare feet.

Just as he was about to climb out, he noticed the situation outside.

He was in a second-floor room of an inn facing the street; on the street outside, there were no scenes of emergency, conflict, or casualties as he had imagined.

The street was far emptier than when they had arrived; just then, a carriage clattered past, not slowing down due to any crowding of Refugees. Although there were still some Refugees from the Southern Province, who were numerous, they were leaning against the shops along the street, carefully exchanging some things in their hands in twos and threes.

From far away, he could sense through his perception as a Priest of the Agriculture God that the items the Refugees were exchanging contained the Divine Power of the Agriculture God.

"Is it the God-given food created by the blessing?"

His breathing gradually steadied; Priest Luosa-Bata'er was covered in cold sweat, but he gradually calmed down.

His gaze swept left and right outside the window, and he found no checkpoint Soldiers wandering the street, nor were there any signs that the street surface had been splashed with water and cleaned. He looked up at the sky; a glowing white light shone from the left side of the street, making the entire main street as bright as day, yet the sky remained a deep night.

A Moon Goddess glided onto the sky, which was like a Noble's silk, from the deep horizon; by the color, one could judge which Moon Goddess it represented, and thus determine the time, which seemed not to have been long since he lost consciousness.

"Hoo—"

Exhaling a heavy breath, he completely relaxed.

Only then did he notice the Amber Metal Long Staff placed at the head of the bed; this precious blessed weapon of the church could only have been placed here by his new companion.

Shifting his gaze, the Priest saw a piece of paper with writing on it on the bed.

Walking over to pick it up, he found the room slightly dim, so he walked toward the window to read the text on it by the light emitted from the White Stone City Wall.

"Priest, I persuaded the crowd to disperse, the Soldiers have left, you were unconscious, so I settled you in the inn room, the door is locked from the outside, just wait when you wake up, we will come up to find you, Jier."

Exhaling once more, a smile finally appeared on the Priest's face.

"Thank goodness, I didn't mess things up. Honestly, if I were alone, I'd really be afraid that a good intention would brew into an uncontrollable disaster. When out and about, one truly cannot do without a reliable companion!"

On the street, some Refugees noticed Priest Bataer at the second-floor window of the inn; the Priest's conspicuous shoulder armor and Heart Protector were very easy to recognize. Someone waved at him with an excited face.

Priest Bataer noticed and waved back as well.

Unexpectedly, those few Refugees actually knelt down to him in excitement and kowtowed heavily several times.

This made Priest Bataer's face flush; he felt he hadn't done anything, and what the Refugee brethren were grateful for was merely the power of the blessing, which had little to do with him—not to say nothing, but not much—and he dared not take the credit.

Knock, knock, knock, "Priest Bataer? Are you awake?"

After a while, Priest Bataer, who was sitting honestly on the soft bed resting, heard the call from outside the door.

It was Jier's companion, a Caravan guard in his thirties.

"Yes, I'm awake, please open the door."

He replied like this.

From outside the door came the clanging sound of a Metal Lock, followed by the sound of the lock falling off.

The wooden door was pulled open from the outside, and Xueya Site stood there: "Priest, Jier said you are awake, so if you are in good condition, go down to the lobby to have dinner. I have to go rest in the room across the hall; Jier is in the backyard reinforcing the carriage, you can go find him after you eat."

After giving instructions, Xueya Site placed the room's padlock and key on the wooden cabinet against the wall inside the door.

"Wait a moment, just now, how did things end up? I was unconscious at the time and didn't see."

Xueya Site waved his hand: "How would I know? I was in the backyard watching the carriage at the time. But Jier seemed to have the people go down and share the food with each other so that everyone could have enough to eat."

"How could that be possible?"

Priest Bataer was a Cunzi Priest and was particularly aware of the narrow-minded side of rural people. In the village, let alone getting everyone to take out their food to share, they wouldn't even want to pee in someone else's field.

It wasn't that people were stingy; it was just a survival strategy for Difficult Survival in poor, remote villages where resources were scarce and wealth was limited.

Xueya Site was actually baffled by Priest Bataer: "No, why is it impossible? They are all Southern Province people who fled here and have had a hard time; what's wrong with helping each other in difficult times? Oh right, Jier also used the excuse of you casting the blessing Divine Art, saying the Agriculture God is watching everyone, and if everyone behaves well after receiving the God-given food tonight, we can do it again tomorrow morning before we leave. By the way, you can do it again, right?"

Priest Bataer gave a wry smile: "I can, I can; the blessing ability recovers daily, it's connected to my own Divine Power, but it's also independent. It's just that Jier is too bold to use the name of the great Agriculture God like this."

Speaking to the end, the Priest's voice softened: "Whether the Agriculture God is watching everyone, only the deity knows; we mortals cannot use the name of the deity to carry out things that have not been approved by the deity. This is a great sacrilege, and the punishment is very severe."

Xueya Site squinted at him: "You are a Priest of the Agriculture God, I don't know much about that."

Having said that, Xueya Site returned to the room across the hall, unlocked it, entered, lit a lamp, closed the door, and bolted it.

All in one go.

"Hey!"

His outstretched hand retracted; Priest Bataer ultimately didn't say anything. He keenly felt that this companion of Jier, his fellow traveler, was somewhat disappointed by his words just now.

Let him be disappointed; he was only a Cunzi Priest. As long as he could save his villagers and believers on this trip, he couldn't manage the affairs of these Refugees, nor was he qualified to intervene.

Shaking his head, he put on his Boots, tidied up the bed, then closed the window, took the Amber Metal Long Staff in his hand, went out, and locked the door.

Looking left and right, there was a staircase leading down at one end of the Corridor, and faint bright light and noisy sounds were coming from there.

He walked toward there, feeling slightly weak and hungry.

Priest Bataer, walking slowly down the stairs, did not initially attract the attention of the people in the inn lobby; those eating continued to eat, and those drinking continued to drink. A busy male waiter walked out from a corner door connecting the lobby to the kitchen, carrying a large tray of food with a smile, while a giggling female waiter walked around the guest tables in the corner of the lobby, carrying a copper wine pot; whenever someone's wine glass hit the bottom, she would add a cup.

An out-of-town merchant took the opportunity to pat the female waiter's buttocks, and amidst her feigned glare, he laughed and stuffed a copper coin in.

The female waiter didn't mind; she calculated how much money she had earned today from the clinking of coins in the abdomen area of her tight spring dress.

The result did not satisfy her.

The surroundings quickly quieted down; the female waiter saw that the out-of-town merchants at the table she was serving had all turned their heads in one direction.

She also turned to look; it was not a refugee from out of town, but a seemingly somewhat frail Agricultural God Priest.

A robe more formal than the Agricultural God Priests usually seen, unique decorations on the shoulders and chest, and a Metal Long Staff planted on the ground in his hand. Heavens! The tip of his long staff actually held a glowing Gem the size of a fist.

The waitress did not recognize amber, but she did not guess too wrongly; fine amber could be used to measure value as a Gem in many places.

"Everyone."

The young Priest spoke.

The hall was silent; even the stout Cook poked half his head out from the back kitchen.

"Please give me one serving of stew and two wheat cakes, thank you."

The hall returned to its noisy state once more; the drinkers drank, those eating ate, and those chatting chatted. The male and female servers continued doing what they were doing before. The Cook also smilingly agreed in a fawning manner, retracted his stout head, and decided to use the best skills of his life to present this important person with the best Mengtuoka stew.

But amidst the seemingly usual noise, the drinkers became clean in their movements, not daring to lay hands on the waitresses anymore. The eating Merchant became slow and deliberate, appearing to use every noble dining manner he had ever seen, regardless of the fact that the half a fat chicken on the plate before him and the chicken butt on his table knife made him look foolish.

The few wealthy patrons chatting no longer discussed the security problems brought by the refugees of the Southern Province at the Baishi Chengqiang Guanka, but instead shifted the topic to the deteriorating situation in the Southern Province and the pitiable innocence of the refugees.

The male servers walked with stiff steps, secretly swallowing their saliva. The waitress, however, felt that the coins tucked between her dress and her belly made her feel embarrassed and uncomfortable for the first time.

Bata'er Jiaoshi looked left and right, sighed, and said: "Call me when it's ready; I'll be in the backyard talking to my companion." After finishing, he walked out through the wooden door leading to the backyard.

As soon as the door closed, the hall fell into chaos.

The drinking merchants lowered their heads, bringing their flushed faces together, and discussed the Priest from just a moment ago in low voices.

The eating Merchant only then realized he was chewing on a chicken butt, but he instead chewed forcefully and swallowed it with satisfaction.

The chatting wealthy patrons looked at each other, and the topic shifted again, from the security of the Southern Province to the strength of the Agricultural God Church and its attitude toward this matter.

The serious expressions the male servers had been holding on their faces finally relaxed, and several gathered together to discuss the identity and background of that Priest. Even regarding his attire, the frail look on Bata'er Jiaoshi's face was quite consistent with the male servers' imagination of the status and position of a young and promising Priest.

The waitress excused herself and trotted quickly toward the warehouse under the inn; she wanted to find a place with no one around to take out those coins. It was not that she felt the coins earned through her beauty were bad; she just felt that these coins were much better kept in a coin purse than stuck between her clothes.

"Jier! You're here."

As soon as Bata'er Jiaoshi went out, he looked left and right and noticed Jier climbing on the roof of their carriage near the stables in the backyard, removing the original canopy cloth and laying down a new layer of thick cowhide.

Beside them were several Shop Assistants who took care of the merchants' horses and guarded the carriages at the inn; they squatted nearby, watching Jier work with curiosity.

"Oh, you're awake, Priest. Have you had dinner? Go eat something quickly."

Jier greeted him, then pinched a small Iron Nail with his hand, placed the Iron Nail on the edge of the wooden frame where the cowhide covered the canopy, and 'gently' tapped it with a small wooden mallet in his right hand.

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

A small Iron Nail fixed the cowhide to the carriage canopy.

Bata'er Jiaoshi walked over and looked up at Jier the warrior busy reinforcing the carriage: "I've already ordered dinner; they will call me when it's ready. How about you, have you eaten?"

Jier had a strange expression, so he had to mumble that he had eaten; after saying this, he also rubbed his own jaw.

Confirming that Jier the warrior had also eaten, Bata'er Jiaoshi returned the salute to the several Shop Assistants from the inn who were taking care of the horses. Just now, these young men had bowed deeply to the Priest.

"Please go about your business or take a rest; I have something to say to Jier the warrior."

Bata'er Jiaoshi said this, and the several young Shop Assistants took the initiative to walk away, no longer watching.

"What is it? What do you have to say?"

Jier continued to put down the small Iron Nail, then tapped with the wooden mallet, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

"Sorry, Jier. Before releasing the blessing just now, I didn't discuss it with you and just did it on impulse." The Priest's voice was not loud; one could not hear it if they were slightly further away.

He was somewhat worried that his reckless move just now would annoy Jier, the main force of this rescue operation.

If a rift were created, or if he were to slack off because of anger, that would be truly terrible.

Jier shrugged: "No."

"No?"

The Priest looked strange.

"No, you don't need to apologize for your actions just now; you didn't do anything wrong."

Jier said this.

His hand movements did not stop; he placed a small Iron Nail, stuck the small Iron Nail shallowly into the cowhide, and then swung the hard small wooden mallet in his right hand, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

"You are an Agricultural God Priest; it is only right to take action when seeing those suffering from hunger."

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

"You are from the Southern Province; it is also right to do something to help when seeing your compatriots suffering."

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

"When formally using the 'Blessed Grain' blessing on the people being rescued, it is indeed necessary to test the situation and the range of the blessing in advance."

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

"I also have plans to find an opportunity later to release the 'Grass and Wood Source' prepared for me by the Vice Dean, and the powerful blessing 'Summon Spirit Beast in Heart' specifically bestowed by the Agricultural God, once or twice."

Jier smiled: "Before using them formally, one must understand these blessings that can be of great use, right?"

Bata'er Jiaoshi relaxed and chuckled: "That's true. But thank you anyway for extinguishing the trouble I caused, which was indeed untimely, and the chaos and disaster it might have ultimately caused, into nothingness."

The Priest stood the Metal Long Staff beside him and covered his face with both hands, rubbing it carefully.

"I almost caused an accident that would have ruined others and harmed myself."

Jier jumped down from the carriage roof and landed easily.

"Don't say that. Firstly, in my view, things didn't reach an unmanageable situation. Secondly, those suffering people truly needed help. If you hadn't done it at the time, how do you think I would view you?"

The Priest revealed his eyes from between his fingers: "Cowardly?"

This was Bata'er Jiaoshi's own understanding of himself.

"Selfish arrogance and indifference. If one cannot even see the suffering right before one's eyes, while only worrying about the believers and people of one's own village in the distance, then such a person is a selfish person, because his eyes only hold his own interests and the interests of those related to him. Even if the suffering of others is placed right before him, he remains indifferent."

"That's right, that's right."

Jier patted his shoulder: "So, I have high hopes for you, Luosa-Bata'er Priest."

At the same time, Jier thought silently in his heart that the Agricultural God might also change his view of you because of this.