America: John Wick 1924

Chapter 39 "The Saintess of Maple Street"

Overall, Li Yu's first contact with the parishioners of the Sacred Heart Church (the neighbors of Maple Street) went relatively smoothly.

Initially, many people hesitated upon seeing Li Yu's Chinese appearance.

This scene was within Li Yu's expectations.

After all, in this era, "racial discrimination" is the politically correct thing to do, while "racial equality" is a minority idea. The Chinese Exclusion Act is a legitimate piece of American law at present.

Li Yu didn't expect all the church members at the Stone Chamber Church to like him—as long as they didn't bother him.

However, to Li Yu's utter surprise, Janel won over the neighbors with just a few words.

"Don't be afraid, everyone! Pastor Li is a good man!"

She didn't say anything special, only repeatedly emphasizing that "Pastor Li is a good person."

But then, a miraculous thing happened—the neighbors who were initially wary of Li Yu all relaxed after hearing what Jane said.

"Since even Sister Lovegood said so, he must be a good person!"

"Priest, from this day forward, you are the only able-bodied man on this street! You must protect our saintess!"

"Young man, with you here, the burden on the saintess's shoulders should be lightened considerably."

In this way, Janet's words greatly reduced the distance between Li Yu and his neighbors.

It is worth mentioning that Li Yu keenly noticed that there were an unusually large number of middle-aged women on this street.

Looking up, all you see are wrinkled, out-of-shape middle-aged women; you rarely see any men.

So, Li Yu seized the opportunity and quietly asked Jane the reason.

According to her, all the eligible men on this street had participated in the European war several years earlier—that is, World War I.

Unfortunately... they never returned, all sacrificing themselves on the battlefield, leaving behind only a pile of broken dog tags.

All the men of marriageable age have died out, so that the street is now only occupied by a group of women, most of whom are middle-aged women in their forties and fifties.

The few remaining men were all elderly.

Before Li Yu arrived after the war, this street was in an awkward state of "lacking able-bodied men".

After Li Yu arrived, this awkward situation was finally broken—now, he became the only able-bodied young man on this street!
Thinking of this, Li Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Perhaps because they hadn't been in contact with young men for a long time, after receiving Jane's endorsement that "Pastor Li is a good person," the middle-aged women on the street quickly displayed the "gossipy" nature often seen in middle-aged women in front of Li Yu.

"How did you meet the Holy Maiden?" they asked. "Are you married?" "What is your relationship with the Holy Maiden?"... The chattering was deafening, like being surrounded by ducks, making Li Yu's head feel like it was about to explode.

However, Li Yu did miss the feeling of being surrounded by all those aunts and uncles.

When he used to go back to his hometown in Chaoshan, he was always surrounded by relatives who asked him all sorts of questions.

After observing for a full day, Li Yu finally understood that Janet enjoyed unparalleled prestige on this street.

Everyone on the street—men and women, regardless of their accents—adored Jane.

The mere phrase "Pastor Li is a good man" caused a significant change in the neighbors' attitudes toward Li Yu... This speaks volumes about their respect and affection for Jane.

Many people even gave her the honorific title of "Holy Lady".

However, Jane didn't like the title.

Whenever someone calls her "Saintess", she immediately refutes them in a firm tone.

The above is what Li Yu experienced today.

After a busy day, he could finally rest... Just as Li Yu slumped on the sofa, silently recovering his strength, Jane walked over with a beaming smile:
"Pastor, thank you for your hard work today!"

"Thanks to you, the streets that were expected to take two days to clean were cleaned up in just one day!"

Li Yu smiled:

"It's hard work, but I quite enjoy it. I've always loved cleanliness, and cleaning up those 'dirty places' bit by bit gives me a great sense of accomplishment." And I even gain experience points, which makes it even more enjoyable. Li Yu thought to himself.

After sweeping the fallen leaves from Maple Street, a crisp "ding!" sounded in his mind:

[Ding! You have successfully volunteered in the parish as a pastor.]

[Priest progress: 2% → 3%]

[Ding! Spontaneously cleaning the streets. Successfully played the role of a "good Samaritan"]

[Progress of "Good Samaritans and Righteous Individuals": 30% → 31%]

For Li Yu, there's nothing better than being able to do good deeds and gain experience points at the same time.

"Pastor, you should rest well. I'll go make dinner now."

Jane took off her headscarf and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

Suddenly, Li Yu called out to her.

"...I'm sorry, nun."

Li Yu sat up straight and said to Janet in an apologetic tone:
"Because of me, you have witnessed a bloody scene again today."

Just as he dislikes non-smokers inhaling his secondhand smoke, Li Yu also dislikes innocent people being affected by his battles.

Jane was taken aback by Li Yu's sudden apology.

A moment later, she turned around, facing Li Yu, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, and smiled brightly:
"Don't worry, Janel Lovegood is a strong girl!"

"This level of gore isn't enough to scare me!"

After saying that, she deliberately tapped her chest, which was full of fat, to show a strong appearance.

Almost at the same moment she finished speaking—

Boom, boom, boom.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

In an instant, Li Yu reflexively pulled out the pistol from his pocket, quickly rolled over and hid behind the sofa, and with a swift movement, grabbed Jane's right arm, pulling her to his side, using the sofa as cover together.

"Sister, are we having any guests today?"

"No, no..."

“…Sister, you’d better hide.”

After saying that, Li Yu quickly and efficiently dashed back to his bedroom on the second floor.

Soon, he returned to the hall with Vajra and a lever-action rifle.

Following his instructions, Janel hid her entire body behind the sofa, only peeking out half of her head, cautiously watching the door.

Li Yu tightened his grip on the vajra in his right hand and the lever-action rifle in his left, then slowly moved to the door and asked in a deep voice:
"May I ask who this is?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a pleasant female voice came from outside the door:

"Good evening, I am the information broker Nekoyashiki. Please forgive my unannounced visit."

Li Yu and Jane were both taken aback.

—Intelligence broker?

This unusual self-introduction left Li Yu utterly astonished.

After a moment's thought, he slowly opened the door... and suddenly saw a beautiful woman in a kimono and a woman in a suit standing outside.

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(End of this chapter)