Chapter 376: Field Work

Once a philosopher said, "Man is the sum of his experiences."

Like a grapevine and its trellis, unless one intends to crawl on the ground forever, as long as one grows upward, one will be shaped into a new form by the trajectory of one's experiences; the farther and higher one climbs, the more so.

Kup deeply agreed.

Years of serving as both attendant and assistant had turned him into a typical indoor creature, fond of bustling about at his desk, keeping himself scrupulously clean almost to the point of obsession, and especially hating going out and long journeys, which would leave him unable to read in peace for a long time.

Moreover, the outdoor experiences since following Kraft were truly hard to sum up in a few words; one had to choose between seeing blood or seeing ghosts, with very few normal endings, and in his memory, they were almost equivalent to periods of high trouble.

But just as the grapevine-and-trellis theory goes, when reaching a certain height, the trellis would suddenly make a ninety-degree turn, causing the mindset to swerve sharply in another direction.

Everything started with that post called "General Duty at the Abbey."

From a more positive angle, this was a very beneficial week; the progress he had made over several months might not have equaled that of this single week.

Presumably, the work of scheduling coordination, anesthesiology, surgical assistance, ward rounds recording, medical record writing, pharmacy cashiering, logistics management, material transport, hospital regulation supervision, and account reporting had trained him.

He quickly gained a preliminary understanding of the entire abbey-and-hospital's operational model, becoming a busy person, a useful person, and a person willing to go out.

Upon hearing there was a task to be done, he accepted it without hesitation, and relying on his familiarity with the abbey gained over these few days, he quickly took inventory and notified the personnel he deemed necessary.

A cultivator he had met while feeling for bones in the stream, the local noble Benny who had volunteered to help, Yvon who would certainly come along, and Kup himself.

Four people were enough. Some things were not better with more people, especially since they also had to guard against teammates who might suddenly go mad. Bringing the cultivator was purely to show they were from the abbey, which would save a lot of trouble.

Actually, having Field, the hospital abbot, go would have been a better option, but if it wasn't Kraft, it was not advisable to rashly challenge Lei Mengde's bottom line; it was better to leave this poor man with an assistant.

By the time Lei Mengde and Field discovered the work handover form left on the desk, the expedition team had already descended the mountain and arrived at the mason's door in the town.

"So, what does His Reverence the Abbot hope we find this time?" asked the cultivator who had been casually pulled along.

He might never know that his presence there was simply because the personnel list was sorted alphabetically, and the name "Canser" happened to be right next to "Kup."

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it's something like broken bones." Kup knocked on the door and soon received a response. "Ask him later what we are supposed to deliver to Dominic and Field."

"No problem."

The cultivator stepped forward and greeted the mason who came to open the door with a smile. "Good afternoon, brother. I convey greetings from Field and Brother Dominic."

"Oh, hello. I heard earlier that Brother Dominic was seriously ill. Is he well now?"

"Thanks to everyone's help in praying, he has recovered well. May the Heavenly Father bless him."

"By the way, please wait a moment." The mason slapped his forehead, voluntarily went back inside, and returned carrying something tightly wrapped in thick straw.

"This is the gratitude mentioned earlier. If possible, please help deliver it to Brother Dominic and Brother Field, or you can give it directly to the abbey."

"Here is the situation: originally, I mistakenly thought Old John had disturbed my father's resting place, but after being counseled by the two respected cultivators, we decided to let the past be the past."

"The feeling of forgiveness truly brings relief. Just a few days ago, we went together to repair the ancestors' graves, cleaning the tombstones, leveling the soil, and pulling out weeds and such, and then I found this."

The mason handed over what he was holding in his arms. Kup stepped forward diagonally to take the object from the cultivator; the considerable weight made both hands sink.

It seemed to be a square stone. He felt nothing strange on it, but that was no reason to be careless.

Kraft had explained to him how Dominic had walked step by step into the pit; anything appearing on the patient's activity route could not be taken lightly.

"What is this?"

"A decorative plaque, his proudest work. The inscribed scripture was handwritten and gifted by a priest who once resided at the abbey, thanking him for his contributions to the repair work." The mason explained. It seemed the old mason truly valued it, which was why his son still remembered it vividly.

"When he passed away, he did not receive the priest's blessing. He instructed me to place it on the coffin, hoping to obtain the Lord's protection. I once thought it had been stolen and lost, but I did not expect to find it again while leveling the grave soil, just beneath the shallow earth nearby."

"I think this might also be a kind of revelation; he also wanted his work to be reborn together with the abbey, rather than buried deep underground."

"But... didn't he hope this plaque would protect the coffin?" Brother Canser, not seeing Kup's fierce eye signals, still wanted to decline.

"It doesn't matter. The two cultivators have already helped perform prayers and blessings; he no longer needs a lifeless object to protect himself."

With things said to this extent, refusing further would seem like looking down on the person.

The group readily accepted the plaque, left the mason's house, unwrapped the extra-tightly bound straw, and examined the gift.

A decorative plaque that looked quite magnificent, made of light golden limestone, with an overall rectangular shape.

Obviously, the old mason had used this stone material in the most exquisite way he knew. Continuously winding grapevines formed the border, interspersed with finely carved rose petals and ivy leaves.

At regular intervals, miniature birds and beasts were hidden among the leaves, holding fruit-laden branches in their beaks or looking up and chirping.

The text surface was slightly polished, showing a metallic reflective texture; the scripture gifted by that priest was surely engraved upon it.

The content was brief, merely a few paragraphs, yet it was not about prayers or requests for protection; instead, it was a short story.

It told of an invincible knight. One day, someone told him that a dragon existed somewhere, so he set out, vowing to slay the dragon.

The knight searched through villages, crossed forests, and climbed Gaoshan, yet never saw the dragon's figure. Whenever he asked the people he met, they all said: We have seen it; it was here before, and today it is still here.

A prophet handed him a book. The book had no title and no chapters; it only had pages that could be turned backward one by one.

He read the first page and heard the dragon's voice, rolling like thunder, deafening.

He read the second page and saw the dragon's outline, massive as a mountain, unconquerable.

He read the third page and touched the dragon's scales, smooth as a mirror, reflecting his own face.

Yet with every page read, he forgot the previous one. The knight studied day and night without rest, page after page, until he had seen the entire dragon's appearance, yet he could not remember where the dragon came from, nor did he know where it had gone.

Long after, another knight arrived at this place and asked where the dragon was.

Everyone looked at the newcomer and said: We have all seen it. The dragon was here yesterday, and this morning it has transformed into the form of a knight.

"..."

The text was plain and unadorned, definitely in the style of the holy scriptures, and Kup had no reading difficulties with it.

Intuition proved this was just a normal stone; the carving was especially exquisite, with nothing that shouldn't appear in the present world, except for a slight strangeness brought by the text.

After all, he was not a theologian; he should consult a professional.

"What does it mean?"

"No, this is not a story from the holy scriptures, nor have I seen it in other texts, but it seems quite interesting..."

Brother Canser felt a bit ashamed of his lack of knowledge and reached out to take it for a closer study.

Kup dodged his hand, flipped the plaque over to avoid everyone's gaze, and rewrapped it in straw.

"Return the item to the abbey, wrap it well, and do not open it during the journey. As for us, continue searching; what Mr. Kraft wants is definitely more than just this."