Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1136 Has He Grown Up?

Metien's words made the table quiet for a moment, and then everyone turned their eyes to the pink-haired girl who was excited and happy, even Lingge was no exception. He seemed to have not heard his sister's words clearly, and asked again: "Metien, did you just say... to preach to the Ash Guerrillas?"

"Ok!"

Metien nodded vigorously, her face flushed, proud of herself for coming up with such a good idea: "Since they have lost their faith in that god, why not try to get comfort from other gods? Moreover, the goddess is different from those false gods and evil gods. She will never abandon anyone. If they all come to believe in the goddess, they can not only find their spiritual home again, but also heal the scars in their souls, truly say goodbye to their past, and then greet the future with a brand new self."

"Everyone needs some kind of spiritual comfort, especially people like them who live in war and chaos and face death and fear at any time. When I was treating their injuries before, I noticed that their mental state is actually not stable. The psychological trauma may even be more serious than the physical trauma. If you don't find a way to treat them, even if the body can be healed, the spirit will soon collapse, right?"

The pink-haired girl said seriously, "The book says that psychotherapy is also an effective treatment method. Verbal comfort and guidance, soothing gestures and actions, or even just a caring look, can help patients regain hope in life and alleviate and eliminate physical symptoms. Naturally, faith is also one of the methods. It's not about asking them to put all their hopes on God, but to restore those long-forgotten and submerged emotions through faith."

For example, the piety and peace of mind when praying to God; when silently reciting God's teachings in one's heart, the body will unconsciously fulfill them; resonating with people with the same beliefs, encouraging and comforting each other...Metien witnessed these things with his own eyes, and even experienced them personally, when the Tianxin Church still stood at No. 13 Songshi Street in the Santa Croce District.

When Lingge was still a pastor, standing on the altar and looking down at those ragged believers, he might have thought that the greatest help that Tianxin Church provided to these poor people was nothing more than the milk and bread distributed during each seven-day service. However, Metien, who never stood on the altar but came into contact with them through close observation, can tell you with certainty that this is not the case.

More than once, she saw homeless people who participated in the seven-day ceremony generously sharing the bread and milk they had obtained after queuing for three hours in the cold winter with their companions who did not get a place. They often huddled in a corner of the street, wolfing down their food like they had not eaten for a week, completely ignoring their reserve and manners. But after eating the last bit of bread crumbs and licking the last trace of milk on their lips, they would salute the church with clumsy gestures and movements, and whisper praises to the name of the goddess. Occasionally, Metien would hear her own name and her brother's name.

She had seen more than once that her neighbors who also lived on Songshi Street would always take out worn-out quilts, old clothes that had been washed white, and some food that was of poor quality but not yet spoiled from their homes on the eve of the Seven Days Service. They said they were throwing away the garbage, but they placed it not far from the church so that the homeless or poor people who hurried here to line up in the middle of the night would not have to endure hunger and cold in the sub-zero wind. But every time Metien came to thank them and wanted to write down their names and donated materials in the registration book of Tianxin Church, they always waved their hands and refused, insisting that they did not do so. They were not like the deceased Mr. Yang Ke, who always had "extravagant kindness".

What kind of kindness is considered a luxury? Metien didn't know. She was still young and ignorant, but she felt a warm power from these hypocritical actions. She couldn't describe this power accurately in her own words, but after experiencing so many things, she suddenly understood that it was faith.

When his father was alive, he said that gaining comfort was faith; when he was in the Evangelical Convent, Ling told himself that harmony between spirit and matter was faith; and now, Metien told himself that creating an environment where everyone feels at ease and peaceful is faith. In this environment, everyone resonates with the people around them, and everyone can clearly perceive the emotions of others. At the same time, the barrier of understanding between people is also unconsciously dissolved, and they are equal and share hope together.

So, the homeless people who were supposed to be competitors would share food with each other. They didn’t know that it was faith, they just could feel each other’s cold and hunger. So, the neighbors who thought kindness was too extravagant were willing to share supplies with strangers. They didn’t know that it was faith, they just wanted to pass on the warmth that Mr. Yangke had brought them to the next person. So, Lingge standing on the altar couldn’t see all this. He also didn’t know that it was faith. Only the pink-haired little girl saw it and finally got the answer after a long thought.

“That’s faith.”

Metien clasped his hands together in front of his chest and looked at his brother seriously, his eyes clear and bright: "It can heal all their injuries."

Ling Ge also looked at his sister seriously, and saw that there was no hesitation or confusion in her eyes, which were as pure as an emerald gem. Difficulties sometimes frustrate people's confidence, but sometimes they sharpen their will. The young man couldn't help but smile with relief.

"Did you come up with all this on your own, Metien?" he asked quietly.

"Is that so?" Metien nodded firmly at first, but suddenly felt a little embarrassed and lowered his head awkwardly: "Some of them I read in books, and also, Sister Livia also shared some stories with me. She taught me that I should think about things from the perspective of a true believer."

Sister Livia shook her head when she heard this: "I am only speaking according to the teachings of Her Majesty the Goddess in the Canon, and these insights were gained by Metien herself. I am ashamed to say that I still don't understand what a true believer means."

After saying that, she looked at Metien deeply, with sincere praise and respect. She was probably thinking that she was indeed the Holy Spirit favored by the Goddess, and could understand Her teachings so thoroughly... or something like that. Anyway, the pink-haired girl felt embarrassed, and the blush on her face had spread to her neck.

From Sister Livia's answer, Lingge was once again certain that his sister had indeed grown up.

When she was in the Gospel Convent, she had proposed to Lingge to rebuild the Tianxin Church, and even wanted to preach to the aliens and magicians who were persecuted by the church. But at that time, she made this decision only to inherit her adoptive father's career and not let his life's work go to waste because of a mere "Religious Decree". As for what she really wanted to do, she had never thought about it seriously, so she was speechless when facing her brother's questioning.

As for her today, she is qualified to call herself a true believer.

Just as Rochelle recognized Lingge as a "true believer", Lingge also recognized Metien, although he didn't know whether he was qualified to recognize others, and in whose name should he recognize others. His own name? Mr. Yang Ke's name? Or the name of the goddess? His existence was too insignificant, perhaps no one could represent him.

In the end, the one who has not grown is yourself.

Lingge laughed at himself, and then said to his sister: "Now, you are the heir of Tianxin Church, do as you think. However, you must pay attention to the scale of preaching, do not cross the bottom line of others; do not have too high expectations for the results, this matter is more difficult than you think, just do your best." After experiencing the breakup with the original God of Night, Carson Borg's distrust of the gods is visible to the naked eye, and he probably only maintains superficial respect. This can be seen from the fact that he repeatedly praised the goddess Lingge served, and his tone was full of awe, but he never asked any details about this church, from its origin to doctrine, from history to inheritance, he was indifferent to all of them.

Those abandoned by God also abandoned God, and those abandoned by faith also abandoned faith. Carson Borg is the leader and spiritual pillar of the Ash Guerrillas, and enjoys high prestige in the hearts of these resistance fighters. Those who are willing to follow him all agree with his ideas and do not care about his identity as a god-abandoner. It is even possible that these people were also believers abandoned by the original Night God in the past. They gathered together for warmth and built an alien fortress in this land where gods and faith grow wildly.

It is not easy to break through this fortress from the outside. Metien has an advantage in this matter. She is not only a pastor of Tianxin Church, but also a doctor. She has selflessly extended a helping hand to the Ash Guerrillas, which has won their favor. Even if the missionary work is unsuccessful, at least it will not cause the other party's disgust. But at the same time, she also has a disadvantage of age. If Lingge came forward to preach, perhaps most of them, even if they don't like gods, will patiently listen to his teachings, just like the Eagle of Gray Hill. But in the face of the missionary work of a 14 or 15-year-old girl, who would take her words full of piety and sincerity seriously?

In addition, the most important point that cannot be ignored is that the current Holy Goddess Church can actually promise nothing.

The goddess standing on the altar has long been unable to respond to the voices of her believers.

The original Night God was expelled for disobeying the expectations of his believers. If a new god still cannot hear his prayers and requests, then what difference does it make whether he believes in God or not? The more silent the god is, the more the Ash Guerrillas believe that power can only come from their own hands, and that the gods cannot be expected.

We cannot make a hasty judgment as to whether this idea is right or wrong, however, it is indeed an obstacle to the pink-haired girl's missionary journey.

Metien was too young to think of this, so Linger had prepared her in advance to prevent her from having too high expectations and being hit by a blow when things didn't go as planned. In addition to verbal reminders, he also specifically told Sister Livia to take good care of Metien and use her experience to assist and guide her, so that the girl wouldn't make a mistake and get stuck.

But Metien refused Sister Livia's help.

"I want to try it myself!"

The pink-haired girl clenched her fists, her face serious and solemn: "Since you, Lingge, have acknowledged that I am the heir of Tianxin Church, then I must not embarrass my father! As the heir of Tianxin Church, this is a test I should go through. If I always rely on you and Sister Livia, wouldn't it be equivalent to not growing up at all?"

Her words were so righteous that Lingge didn't know how to react for a moment.

Whether it's relief or worry, there seems to be a little bit of both.

Gloria, who was standing next to him, rolled her eyes when she heard this, and I don't know what she was thinking. Two other friends came over nervously when they heard what Metien said, saying that we are close friends and must work together!

"I can help you preach, Metien!" Shemi patted his chest and promised solemnly: "I am a traveler elf, the friendliest elf race. As long as I stay with you, they will be willing to believe you!"

"I can help you too, Metien!" Xiemi was not willing to be outdone, but she was not a traveler fairy. The reputation of the blood race in the East Continent seemed to be as subtle as their reputation in the West Continent, so she rolled her eyes and came up with a plan: "I am very rich... No, my grandma is very rich, so I have money too! If you want to hold that seven-day ceremony, no matter how much milk and bread, I will help you!"

She is wealthy and powerful. An old vampire grandmother whose gold coins were exploded had a complicated expression on her face. She had probably already thought about how to teach this spendthrift granddaughter a lesson tonight.

After much thought, Metien couldn't resist their gossip... I mean, I couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the two friends, so he agreed to it. Maybe he felt that these two people were different from Sister Livia. Sister Livia was once the Holy Son of the True Spirit Sect and had a lot of missionary experience. If she came to help him, it would be equivalent to cheating, and the test would be meaningless; and if Shemi and Metien came to help him... it seemed that there was not much difference, it was the same as if they had it or not.

Maybe they are also part of the test?
After figuring this out, she immediately felt at ease.

"Leave it to me, Lingge!"

She said to her brother confidently: "I will definitely convey the grace of the goddess to their hearts and cheer everyone up again!"

At this time, the girl no longer said things like "inheriting her father's will" or "reviving Tianxin Church."

Because she has deeply realized the true meaning of faith.

Give me some meow