Chapter 344: Believe in Science

“My friend, you have sincerely confessed before the Father your sins and those of your father, but I must remind you: repentance must be complete and genuine. Have you revealed every wrongdoing, without concealment or omission?”

Little John pondered long and carefully, until he was certain he had left nothing out, then answered nervously, “Yes, that is all I know.”

That expression reminded Dominic of his graduation defense, when he had desperately squeezed every last drop of memory from his mind to deliver a cumbersome yet as complete a response as possible to the dean and invited examiners.

He did not know which part of his answer had moved the examiners enough to sign off on his passing; just as Little John now did not know which part of his confession had suddenly gripped the two monks.

Field, who had been pacing about, also stopped and stood quietly to one side, listening.

“May the Lord have mercy on you and your father; may He, through the authority granted me by the Church, forgive all your sins.”

The trembling in the basket-maker’s shoulders seemed to transmit to Dominic’s own arms; he tried three times before he could grasp the holy emblem on his person and press it against the man’s forehead.

“Now your soul has been cleansed and purified. Continue to pray and remain faithful to your faith, lest you fall again into sin.”

“Thank you, Father. If I may, I wish to offer the Church a donation as a sign of my gratitude.”

Freed by absolution, Little John repeatedly traced the sign of prayer in the air before him with a distorted posture, trying to rise and go inside to fetch something.

The monks stopped him, saying they would not accept any form of payment for hearing confession.

The weak sunlight pierced the thin mist; morning had come to the basin. Buckets clanged against the well wall, pots and pans clattered, and the shrill scraping of old doors opening and closing rose in succession.

After warning Little John not to speak of this to anyone else, the two avoided the main road and hurried back along the path they had come.

After walking a distance, leaving the village behind, they opened their mouths almost simultaneously as they met each other’s gaze:

“Do you think...”

“I think...”

Dominic stepped back; he needed others’ perspectives to confirm whether he was delusional or whether something truly had occurred. “You go first.”

“The thunder he mentioned—wasn’t it a bit like the one we heard that night?” Field worried his phrasing wasn’t clear enough, so he added, “You remember, right? The first time, when we were still talking about midnight snacks.”

“You remember too?”

Impossible to forget—the rolling crash had left an indelible mark in memory, so vivid that no reminder was needed to confirm they were referring to the same event.

“I thought...”

It was just a momentary lapse of vision, a missed flash; that fear had twisted his mind, fabricating a memory.

Even now, his subconscious instinctively denied its existence, trying to explain it away as yet another technical error of the coarse human soul, covering it with all manner of rationalizations.

But reality mercilessly tore open the still-unhealed wound of memory, dragging them back to that night.

“But what was it?”

Rockfall from above, with echoes rebounding through the valley? Like the resonance inside a church? Or perhaps a rare atmospheric phenomenon caused by clouds and mountains blocking light at a peculiar angle?

There still seemed room for interpretation, a logical explanation.

Contrary to common perception, though the Shenxue Academy mostly favored conservatism, its attitude toward exploring “the laws God established for the material world” was in fact contradictory: it disliked researchers making arbitrary interpretations, yet permitted them to explain phenomena within the framework, so long as they did not touch the core tenets of doctrine, using general natural laws.

This helped integrate faith with rational knowledge, producing talents better suited to the Church’s needs and more capable of defeating heretics in debate.

Natural philosophy suddenly became their final refuge; the two monks took shelter behind the veil of materialist worldview and found great comfort.

“I’ve heard that captains sailing to Jibei sometimes see light hanging from the sky. Perhaps what we encountered was similar—a rare atmospheric phenomenon confined to specific regions,” said Dominic, whose reading was broader, offering an answer to his companion—and to himself.

“Do you think it’s plausible?”

“All phenomena are unreasonable until explained.”

Compared to being tormented by invisible, intangible feelings, Dominic felt he needed a clear question and a clear answer—right or wrong, as long as it looked plausible, it would bring peace.

The good news was he had finally found that question; now he only needed to fill in the answer.

“Field, I have a good idea.”

“What?” Field’s impression was that his classmate was not usually someone who frequently had ideas.

“You wanted to write something new in your report, right? How about this: a local phenomenon never yet understood.” Dominic grew more excited as he spoke; the idea stirred a faint thrill within him.

He couldn’t pinpoint the source of the feeling—it was as if a traveler who had trudged through the night suddenly glimpsed light ahead, and foolishly believed warmth and fire waited there.

“And we could also explain the overturned cart—half of it was just an accident, not entirely a failure of ability.” Field had to admit the idea had merit, but its practical feasibility remained to be proven.

“The key is, how exactly do you plan to figure it out? Based solely on our experience and one oral account?”

“Personal insight is always limited. That is why the Lord taught men to write—to record knowledge on parchment. If it is an atmospheric phenomenon, then over time, even if rare, someone must have recorded it.”

“Just a reminder—you haven’t forgotten the state of all the books in the monastery, have you? And Baron Prielle doesn’t seem the type to collect books.”

“I haven’t forgotten. But you must remember: our predecessors established parishes in these woods decades ago. You should find their legacy in the church outposts of most settlements.” Dominic was utterly confident on this point.

As a member of the Knightly Order, even if they couldn’t borrow the books, he was certain most fellow believers would gladly allow them to read.

In short, the task wasn’t difficult; the greatest hassle would simply be personally visiting every nearby settlement with a church, spending considerable time collecting and organizing relevant records.

But now, time was the one thing they had in abundance; they wouldn’t be needed at the manor until the Blessing Festival. As long as they left enough time before each outing to submit their reports, four or five days would suffice for round trips between neighboring settlements.

“Does this count as deserting our post?” Dominic still felt some unease after envisioning the entire plan.

“No. According to Mr. Kraft, this is called exercising initiative and managing time wisely.” Field extended his hand and slapped his companion’s palm. “Our brilliant report will surely not disappoint him!”