Chapter 501: Missing?

Lun Meng's miserable state made all the onlookers around him believe it without doubt.

God is watching here at this moment! Those successive retributions are certainly not accidental!

For a moment, a low murmur of prayers rose from the alley entrance; people either closed their eyes or looked upward, their reverence evident in their words.

As for Jesus?

No one would attribute this "Divine Punishment" to a twelve‑year‑old child; everything was naturally taken as God's own judgment.

Amid the pervasive reverent prayers, Jesus stepped forward and reached the filthy, collapsed Lun Meng on the ground.

He showed no hint of disgust, merely bent, extended his hand, and steadily lifted Lun Meng from the ground.

"You must repent sincerely," Jesus transmitted into Lun Meng's ear:

"Not only out of fear of punishment, but also to understand that lies and slanders are like poisonous sores, first corroding your own heart."

"God gave you life not for you to use it to deceive and harm your neighbors."

"Wash your body, and also cleanse your heart; from now on, treat others with honesty and kindness, for that is what pleases God."

Lun Meng stared blankly at Jesus, seeing his own filthy reflection in those clear eyes, then lowered his head to look at the hand Jesus was using to support his arm.

The hand that had been clean was now stained with the mud and foul odor from his own body.

An indescribable surge of complex emotions rose in his heart, mingling shame and shock.................

His lips moved, yet he could say nothing.

Jesus saw him frozen, said nothing further, gently released his hand, turned, and walked toward the inn's main gate.

He seemed as if he had just performed an utterly ordinary act.

Until his figure completely vanished behind the gate.

"Get out!"

Feili's angry voice snapped Lun Meng out of his daze:

"If you do such immoral deeds again, beware that the outcome will be worse than today!"

Having said that, Feili no longer gave him a glance, and together with Yuese, Mary and others, lifted the parcels on the ground and hurried into the inn.

Their figures also disappeared inside the gate.

The protagonist exited, and only then did the onlookers cease their prayers, scattering hurriedly and departing.

Besides reverence for the "Divine Miracle", the nauseating stench on Lun Meng was also a powerful motivator.

Even the patrol soldiers who had intended to take him back for interrogation merely glared at him from afar with extreme disgust, muttered "deserving fool", covered their noses, and withdrew.

The farce hastily concluded.

The alley returned to emptiness, leaving only Lun Meng; after a long sigh, he turned and left.

………

Time slipped by silently as night fell.

Yu Lin's figure appeared silently on the cool street a short distance away, moonlight stretching his and the White Fox's shadows.

Tu Shan Zhi lifted her petite head:

"Master, look at his methods today........... and that Jesus who, even after being betrayed, tortured, and nailed to the cross, did not bring down punishment on anyone, but instead prayed for their forgiveness.........."

"It seems different."

"Hmm." Yu Lin nodded, murmuring, "Hmm, it is indeed different."

"But no rush, let's watch further."

As the words fell, his figure together with the White Fox in his arms slowly faded again, until they vanished completely.

………

The next day, the sun rose as usual, dispelling the night's chill.

Yuese's family and Feili's family rose early, and the inn's courtyard began to bustle.

Yesterday's turmoil seemed to have left few shadows, at least on the surface.

Passover is an important festival, requiring many preparations: cleaning houses, preparing unleavened bread, slaughtering lamb, preparing bitter herbs and other specific foods.

The air was filled with a pre‑festival bustle and a faint solemn atmosphere.

The children were also assigned simple tasks.

Jesus helped wipe the vessels, his expression no different from usual.

Liliya occasionally glanced at him secretly, her gaze complex, both full of gratitude for being rescued yesterday and seemingly tinged with a subtle, hard‑to‑detect reverence.

After all, although yesterday's "Divine Punishment" was ascribed to God, Jesus's descending demeanor and handling of everything had already left a deep imprint on her heart.

Everyone was of child's age, and a Jesus‑type suddenly appearing................ hmm.

Liliya could not describe it, only felt that the two's friendship had been pulled farther apart.

At dusk, they sat together, sharing roasted lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs, reciting passages commemorating ancestors' escape from Egypt and gaining freedom.

The festival night ended in prayer and contemplation.

At early dawn the next day, as the sky just lightened, the two families packed their simple Travel Packs and merged into the stream of people also setting out from Jerusalem to return to their hometowns.

The streets bustled with crowds.

Yuese carefully protected Mary, Feili also looked after his wife and children, and they walked slowly toward the city's outskirts with the crowd.

At the city gate, since the two families did not live in the same place, they could only bid each other farewell and each set out on their own way home.

At first, everything was as usual.

Yuese occasionally looked back and could still see Jesus quietly a few steps behind Mary.

However, as they left the gate onto a relatively open yet still crowded road, the crowd's density and speed changed.

Sometimes they had to squeeze through narrow passes, other times they paused briefly due to carriage congestion.

And so they walked for a day.

When the sky was about to darken and the group stopped to rest.

Yuese habitually turned his head to glance back, and that glance made his eyes widen instantly—

Jesus was gone!

Yuese immediately halted, anxiously looking left and right, his gaze urgently searching among the surrounding unfamiliar and familiar faces.

No! Jesus vanished into the endless crowd!

"Mary!" Yuese seized his wife's arm, his face turning pale:

"Where is Jesus? Where did Jesus go?! Did you see him?"

Mary was lowering her head to tidy her squeezed‑warped headscarf; hearing the words, she jerked her head up, the blood color in her face fading instantly.

"What?!" she hurriedly turned, saw Jesus's figure disappear, and immediately shouted:

"Jesus, Jesus, where are you?"

"Big guy, my child is missing; please help me look for him!"