Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 359 The Priest and the Stick

Xia Nan certainly recognized the holy emblem before him.

His experiences in Caranford and Newme City led him to prioritize information about the gods of this world as much as possible when he was urgently studying otherworldly knowledge.

The "sacred emblem," as a visual link between mortals and deities, and a symbolic representation of the divine, is an essential element that must be mastered.

He may not be able to recite in full the evolution of each emblem, the specific symbolic meaning of its design, or the hidden stories behind it.

However, if one simply identifies the great being represented by the holy emblem, Xia Nan believes that he would not be mistaken about any of the mainstream gods on the continent of Aifara.

At present, the emblem on the surface of the church's tightly closed doors, depicting "a rosebud surrounded by the rising sun," is certainly within the scope of his knowledge.

—[Goddess of Agriculture] Sultria.

The areas of divine authority include: "agriculture", "crops", "gardeners", and "summer".

In different regions of mainland China, she is also known by various names such as "Mother Earth," "Guardian of the Wilderness," and "Goddess of Grains" due to local legends and customs.

He is a powerful deity with an extremely wide range of beliefs.

To some extent, from the frost-covered moss in the north to the islands in the south, as long as you still need to grow crops, any attempt to sow seeds inevitably involves the divine domain of this deity.

Almost all the farmers on the continent of Efala can be considered His believers.

After all, who wouldn't want their hard-earned land to yield a bountiful harvest next year?

Perhaps influenced by the nature of the divine profession, the personalities of the gods often correspond to the domains they govern to a certain extent.

Just like the lively, bright, and playful "Goddess of Luck" Tamora; and the enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic "Lord of the Dawn" Losanda.

Samtia, the goddess of agriculture who governs sowing and harvesting, whose domain includes "family" and "fireplace," is a great deity whom believers refer to as "mother."

His own personality, in the few instances of divine manifestation, tended towards benevolence and tranquility.

She is commonly seen in various folk tales and epics, and her widely circulated image is that of a kind, gentle, and virtuous middle-aged woman with a wealth of life experience.

In this context, the practices of His denominations and the actions of the priests who believe in this deity are often like that of the "Great Mother" they worship: patient, willing to give selflessly to the land, and to help the sowers.

In some remote areas, pastors of small churches will even work in the fields alongside farmers from nearby villages, using their magical abilities to help crops grow and increase yields, or teaching farmers more efficient farming techniques and crop knowledge they have learned in the church free of charge.

The reputation is very good.

Xia Nan, who possessed this knowledge, breathed a sigh of relief after realizing the identity of the deity represented by the church in Yangjiao Town.

Although it's unclear why such malevolent items as pastel gems, which clearly possess a bewitching effect, could circulate so widely in the town, especially with a church and priests present.

But in any case, since the town's priest is a believer in the agricultural goddess "Santia," things shouldn't get any worse.

Perhaps I can even get some help from the other party.

He certainly had considered some more extreme possibilities, and had even prepared for the worst.

But before things get to that point, Xia Nan felt he needed to get more information about the town and the gems that were currently circulating there.

His gaze swept over the tightly closed church doors, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Just then, the sound of several peasant women chatting by the square drifted into my ears on the wind.

A thought suddenly occurred to me: I wanted to ask them for some information.

He recalled the idea that "intimidation" might be more effective than "lobbying."

His body paused, and his aura instantly darkened. Combined with his fully armed, dark-colored armor and his already sharp and cold facial features, he truly gave people a suffocating feeling of intense pressure.

But after taking just one step, looking at the simple, honest farm women chatting and laughing in front of him, Xia Nan couldn't help but hesitate a bit.

In the end, he silently withdrew the aura he had been exuding.

"Forget it, let's go back to the streets and see if there are any thugs or gangsters, and then try 'intimidation' or 'physical persuasion'."

Xia Nan stood still, adjusted his breathing, and tried his best to appear less aggressive, as if he were just an ordinary adventurer passing by.

He stepped forward with a polite smile on his face.

"Good day, ladies." He stopped a few steps away and nodded slightly to them. "The weather is really cool and comfortable today."

The women looked up at the black-haired adventurer who had suddenly come over to talk to them. A hint of scrutiny flashed in their eyes as they looked at the stranger, but seeing his friendly attitude, they relaxed a little.

The older one, whose face bore the marks of time, took the initiative to respond:
"Good day, sir."

"You're right. After all, this place is protected by the goddess. Not only are the crops very productive every year, but there are also very few dangers like monsters around."

"That's why we can sit here so leisurely."

"Praise be to the merciful Lady Santia."

Seeing that the other party seemed quite talkative, Xia Nan sat down on the stone steps not far from them, maintaining an appropriate distance.

"Are you a follower of the goddess of agriculture?"

Based on his previous two failed attempts to persuade her, he wisely refrained from mentioning any information that might be related to the gemstone, and instead asked questions casually, following the other person's lead.

“Of course!” When the topic of faith came up, a slightly younger woman next to her, whose expression had been somewhat stiff because a stranger had struck up a conversation with her, became lively and nodded repeatedly.

"Thanks to Grandpa Moen's guidance, otherwise we probably would never have realized how generous and kind the goddess is in our lifetime."

"Grandpa Moen?" Xia Nan appropriately showed a little confusion.

"Oh, he's the only priest in our Gieshorn town."

Xia Nan's heart stirred slightly, and he subconsciously glanced in the direction of the church, then asked with feigned curiosity, "Judging from your tone, this pastor... must be a beloved elder, right?"

Upon hearing this, the older, middle-aged peasant woman's face revealed a genuine and unfeigned respect:
"Yes! Pastor Moen has been in our town for almost forty years. Many of us grew up under his care. He is a truly kind and wise man, like a patriarch to each of us."

“In years when the harvest wasn’t good, he organized everyone to help each other and distributed the church’s stored food to everyone,” the young woman added, her voice filled with gratitude. “Without Grandpa Moen, many people probably wouldn’t have made it through that winter.”

Xia Nan possessed exceptional perception; he could clearly sense that the two women's sincere praise of the old pastor was not a forced or insincere gesture. It seemed this devout pastor, a follower of the Chantia faith, held considerable prestige in the town.

Therefore, if one wants to gain a deeper understanding of information related to gemstones, this person is definitely someone one cannot bypass.

But would he be aware of the circulation of pastel gemstones and their alluring effects? Or would he also be kept in the dark?

Or...

Xia Nan felt that she should make contact with the other party.

Then, the conversation naturally steered towards the church itself.

He looked up, pointed vaguely in the direction of the church with his left hand, and asked in a casual tone:
"Having such a pastor is indeed a good thing for the town."

"But I noticed that the church next to your square is closed. I was thinking of going in to pray."

Somewhat surprisingly, the question was only about the church and had nothing to do with gems.

But when Xia Nan mentioned that "the church doors were closed," the two peasant women who had just been chatting enthusiastically with him immediately showed an instinctive resistance and aversion very similar to that of the tavern owner and the blacksmith before.

The young woman, who had just begun to shed her shy and reserved demeanor as the conversation deepened, unconsciously lowered her head, clutched the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, and kept her mouth shut.

The older one's eyes darted around, avoiding Xia Nan's gaze, and he spoke quickly in a dry, stiff tone, as if reciting a memorized text:

"The church... the church needs renovation and maintenance recently, and Pastor Moen has instructed that it will not be open to the public for the time being. Yes, that's it."

Xia Nan naturally noticed the awkwardness between the two.

Their respect for the old pastor was genuine, as was their avoidance of the reason for the church's closure.

He may not be able to glean any crucial information from the town's residents' reactions or from the further details he discovers.

But at this moment, the similar behavior of the two women to that of the blacksmith and the innkeeper gave him some ideas.

Could it be that... there is some connection between churches and jewels?

Just as he was about to take advantage of the fact that the two of them hadn't fully reacted, change the subject, and let the atmosphere of their conversation return to the relaxed state they had been in before, and then find an opportunity to find more information, he was about to...

Suddenly, a noisy argument broke out in the square not far away.

Three children, around six or seven years old, were gathered together, pushing and shoving each other around a straight wooden stick.

“I saw it first!”

"But I was the first to pick it up from the ground!"

"No way! This stick belongs to me!"

Children often make noise, and Xia Nan noticed very carefully that the stick was indeed long and slender without any extra branches. In his childhood, it would have been worth fighting with his friends over it, so he didn't intend to pay much attention to it.

But just then, an elderly figure who had heard the sound and was walking over caught his attention.

Like an old tree growing in the shade, he was an elderly man with white hair, a straight back, and a steady gait.

His thick white hair was neatly combed, stubbornly covering his head, and his beard was also carefully trimmed, without the slightest hint of messiness; his skin was rough, coated with a bronze color from years of outdoor labor, and his face was filled with the wrinkles of time.

Compared to the old man's appearance, which seemed to reflect years of hard work in the fields and the demeanor of a diligent farmer, his attire gave off a completely different sense of solemnity and sanctity.

He wore a clean, spotless brown-green linen robe, its loose fit completely covering his aged and thin body.

He held a finely textured, warm-textured ash wood staff in his right hand, and a dagger seemed to be tied to his waist. The warm and delicate caramel-colored orange wood handle was exposed, while the blade was hidden in a leather sheath and could not be clearly seen.

The most eye-catching thing about him was the orange wooden emblem he had strung securely with leather straps and hung on his chest, swaying from side to side with each step. The emblem's design was exactly the same as the one above the church door, depicting a rosebud surrounded by the rising sun.

"Children, sharing the gifts of the Mother of All Things under her watchful gaze is far more enriching to the soul than possessing them all."

The old man's words contained no hint of reprimand; his tone was gentle as he slowly squatted down, bringing his light brown eyes level with those of the children.

“Look.” He stretched out his large, calloused hand, his fingertips lightly touching the wooden sticks the children were fighting over, while at the same time, the staff in his right hand lifted slightly off the ground.

hum-

A soft, emerald-green light, guided by the staff, burst forth from its fingertips, rippled through the air, and seeped into the wooden stick.

Visibly, new buds sprouted from the brownish-red sticks, gradually regaining their vitality.

"The gifts bestowed by the earth, if held tightly in the palm of one's hand, will only cause pain."

"But if you bury it in fertile soil and water it carefully, it may nurture an unexpected green space, at which time everyone can share the shade."

The old man's words seemed simple, but upon closer examination, they contained the teachings of the goddess Samantha.

The six- or seven-year-old children, of course, couldn't understand and looked completely bewildered.

But the old man's voice seemed to have some kind of magic, making them unconsciously quiet down, and the anger that had been on their faces due to the argument quickly dissipated.

Children's curiosity often comes and goes quickly.

In fact, the three children's attention was immediately drawn to the moment the old man's fingertips emitted a green glow, without the other party needing to say anything.

They stopped fighting over it, looked at each other, and seemed to genuinely believe that if they stuck the revitalized stick into the ground, it would grow into a towering tree bearing sweet fruit the following year. They bowed respectfully to the old man, then ran off laughing and holding the stick.

The slightly cloudy eyes reflected the children's backs as the white-haired old man slowly stood up, his gaze naturally falling on Xia Nan, who was watching quietly to the side.

A deeper smile, formed by wrinkles, blossomed on his deeply lined face.
"A completely unfamiliar face."

"May the nourishment of the Mother of All Things be with you, my friend from afar."

“I am Moen, a devout follower of the goddess Chantia, and the only priest in this town.”

"You... seem to be harboring some doubts?"

(End of this chapter)