Chapter 484: Meeting Again

"I'm sorry, Jesus! From now on... from now on I'll look out for you! Whoever bullies you, I'll beat them up!"

The tall boy shouted that at Jesus, then quickly brushed his eyes with the back of his hand, and to cover his slip he barked loudly at the surrounding kids who hadn't yet dispersed and were watching the spectacle with relish:

"What are you looking at?! Everyone disperse, disperse! My mother told me to go home for dinner! You all hurry back too!"

Having said that, he dared not look at Jesus or Yu Lin again, turned without looking back and ran toward his own home, his steps hurried, his back bearing a hint of a hasty retreat.

His shout snapped the other children out of their reverie; they glanced at each other, let out a burst of incomprehensible laughter or muttering, and then scattered like startled birds, vanishing in a flash.

The once bustling open space was, in an instant, left with only a mess of footprints and, in the center, a tall one and a short one staring at each other.

Yu Lin lowered his head and looked at the little Jesus who reached only to his own waist.

Jesus tilted his head back, his clear, large eyes fixed unblinking on Yu Lin.

Neither of them spoke.

Sunlight fell on them, casting a long and short shadow on the ground.

A peculiar stillness hung in the air, as if the brief clash and dispersal had never occurred.

A passerby, seeing them like that, couldn't help muttering under his breath, "What are these two doing? Standing there like wooden stakes... they must both have something wrong with their heads..."

He shook his head, quickened his pace, and walked away.

Yu Lin: "........"

The corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly, he gave a light cough, breaking the slightly eerie silence.

Then he bent slightly forward, extended his right hand toward Jesus, and introduced himself, "Hello, I'm Yu Lin."

In this era, whether in Youtaidi or the broader Roman world, the handshake greeting common in later ages had not yet taken shape.

However, Jesus, seeing Yu Lin's outstretched hand, showed no surprise or hesitation; he naturally extended his own small hand and gently clasped Yu Lin's.

"Hello, Yu Lin, I'm Jesus."

A handshake, then a release.

Yu Lin straightened up, looking with keen interest at the unusually precocious child before him, and asked, "The things you just said to that tall boy and the other kids—be friendly, love one another, avoid fighting—did your parents teach you that?"

"Or did someone else tell you that?"

Jesus first shook his head, then gave a gentle nod, answering earnestly, "It's not entirely what they taught."

"They told me to be good to others, to obey the law... but there are also words that the Lord told me."

"Lord?" Yu Lin raised an eyebrow slightly.

As previously thought, Yuese's family went south to Egypt and then north back to Nazareth; during several pivotal divine revelations and protections, Yu Lin was secretly involved behind the scenes.

But he could confirm that he had never directly manifested to Jesus or conveyed any specific doctrinal information.

Even now, he sensed no divine, independent, powerful holy aura fluctuations around the child.

So the source of the "Lord told me" that Jesus mentioned is worth pondering.

There are several possibilities: First, Jesus is essentially the same as God, so he naturally knows God's will, or his subconscious or spiritual depths already contain these ideas;

Second, God guides him in a manner currently imperceptible to Yu Lin, more hidden;

Third, the child is exceptionally gifted, able to spontaneously distill from the scriptures of Judaism, the surrounding religious atmosphere, and his parents' piety a understanding beyond his age, imbued with universal love, and attribute it to the Lord's revelation;

Fourth... the true God may be playing some higher-level "game" or scheme that Yu Lin does not comprehend.

Who knows? The thoughts of that existence are often harder to gauge than the deepest sea.

Yu Lin didn't dwell on it, simply followed Jesus's words, nodded, and showed approval: "Hmm, that's good, that's good. Remembering the Lord's teaching and being willing to practice is rare."

He raised his hand toward a relatively tidy little building not far from the open space and said, "I stay there for now."

"Remember this place."

"Later, if... hmm, if you encounter something you feel you can't solve on your own or even with your parents, or if there's a particular question you can't understand, you can try coming here to find me."

The words sounded a bit abrupt.

To a five-year-old stranger he had just met, even only helped once as a passerby, extending an invitation of "you can come to me if you have trouble."

To a normal person, it would seem rather odd, even suspicious, likely to raise the parents' wariness.

But Jesus was clearly not an ordinary person.

He listened to Yu Lin's words, his face showing no doubt or caution, seeming instinctively to sense that the man meant no harm, and... was quite special.

He nodded very decisively:

"Good! Thank you, Yu Lin!"

"May the Lord be with you!"

"Hmm... May the Lord be with you..." Yu Lin replied casually, but as the words reached his mouth, he added the latter half in his heart:

"Actually, I can't say that... after all, in a sense, you yourself are the 'Lord'."

He didn't voice it, merely waved at the little Jesus, then turned, his steps light as he merged into the sparse afternoon crowd of Nazareth, disappearing quickly around a street corner.

"Goodbye."

Jesus stood where he was, watching Yu Lin's silhouette vanish before withdrawing his gaze.

He silently recorded the location and features of the little building Yu Lin had pointed out, scratched his small cheek, then turned and walked toward his own home.

At the doorway, Yuese sat in the shade beneath the eaves, chisel and wood in hand, intently carving the leg of a low stool, sawdust forming a thin layer at his feet.

Mary was on the adjacent open space, hanging the freshly washed linen garments to dry.

Seeing Jesus return, Yuese paused his work, waved at him, and a gentle smile appeared on his face: "Jesus, come over quickly."

"The weather's nice today, perfect for starting to teach you some simple carpentry tasks."

"Come, watch how I turn this piece of wood into a sturdy little table leg."

Jesus, hearing this, obediently walked over, sat on the small wooden block beside Yuese, his gaze fixed on his father's tools and wood, ready to begin his lesson as a carpenter's son.

Mary, after hanging the last piece of clothing, wiped her hands and came over to see her son.

She immediately noticed that the hem and cuffs of Jesus's old robe were still stained with some sand that hadn't been fully brushed off, and her brow involuntarily furrowed slightly.

"Jesus," Mary crouched down, patting dust off him while asking with a worried tone:

"Did you just have a conflict with other children and get bullied? Why is there so much dirt on you?"

Jesus shook his head and replied, "Mother, I wasn't bullied."

"I just didn't want to see them fighting, so I went to persuade them to stop."

He paused, then added, "Lun Li got a bit impatient with what I said, pushed me once, but I'm fine."

"And... they later apologized to me."

Mary listened, and instead of being fully reassured, she sighed.

She looked at her son's overly pure, seemingly naive eyes, and earnestly admonished, "Jesus, my child, you have a kind heart, and that's good."

"But you must remember, before caring for and helping others, you must first protect yourself."

"This world doesn't always make sense; what if you later encounter those who are tyrannical, unreasonable, and ferocious? They won't stop to listen to you, nor will they spare you just because you're kind."

She recalled the terrifying events years ago in Bo Li Heng and the hardships of fleeing to Egypt, her voice growing deeper: "Just like... just like that dead Xi Lv Wang! He could only hear the fear and desire in his own heart, ignored all counsel, and only thought of eliminating threats by the most cruel means!"

"My child, your reasoning is useless against such people."

Jesus listened quietly to his mother's admonition, not rushing to rebut or argue like an ordinary child.

He simply nodded seriously, indicating he heard: "Alright, mother, I remember, I will listen to you."

He wouldn't deliberately confront or refute Mary's concern and worry, because he knows his mother speaks out of love and protection.

Yet deep in his heart, that belief in loving everyone equally was not shaken at all by his mother's admonition.

He would still try to love the world as he understands, even if the other is the Lun Li who pushed him, or the "unreasonable, ferocious, brutal" people his mother mentioned.

Only, perhaps he would begin to consider how to practice this love while better protecting himself, so his parents wouldn't worry excessively.

Thinking of this.

In his mind, for some reason, Yu Lin's face appeared.

Perhaps he was sent by the Lord to help him?