rune hunter

Chapter 23 Tiana's Plan
As the God of Agriculture, the temple of Xue Ensi does not have a luxurious atmosphere, but looks simple and elegant, which is soothing to the mind.His image in the mortal world is a kind old man, and the material of the statue is not rock, but fired from clay, showing respect for the land.

The development of agriculture requires the warmth of the sun, the irrigation of water and the nourishment of the earth, so the shrines of Xuenes have always been open to believers of these gods.Ordinary believers will receive free gifts of water and bread, while devout believers will be blessed by divine grace.

The old priest in a burlap robe walked down from the high platform, slowly singing holy prayers.He stretched out his hands to hold the air empty, with a focused expression, as if he was holding a holy grail.As his chanting became louder and louder, the light falling from the skylight of the temple gradually gathered and condensed into crystal dew in his hands.The vines entangled on the high platform of the temple moved without wind, gently swaying their leaves, and seeped a trace of blue into the dew.

The girl knelt on the ground, her moon-white long hair hanging down to the ground.Ugly black and red scars lay like spiders on her delicate and beautiful face.She raised her face slightly, allowing the cyan liquid condensed in the hands of the old priest to drip onto her face.

As soon as the cyan liquid meets the scar, it will automatically seep in. It can be clearly seen that the color of the scar gradually becomes lighter, and the black blood is squeezed out.The nun standing beside her took out a clean handkerchief and wiped it carefully for the girl.

Tiana stretched out her hand, caught part of the cyan liquid, and carefully rubbed her fingers repeatedly until the liquid turned completely black.She flicked her slender fingers and quickly combined some complicated gestures.Noticing that the dexterity of her fingers and the sense of touch between her fingers had fully recovered, the girl nodded in satisfaction.

Maybe it was too late for the treatment, the scars on the hands still haven't disappeared, but the color has changed from black to red, it is conceivable that the scars on the face have not healed either.This result was already expected by Tiana. The damage caused by magic can be healed, but it will always leave a mark. This involves the problem of elemental residues, which is very troublesome.The scars left by many magicians will accompany them for a lifetime.

The old priest sighed and shook his head, and ended the ritual of healing magic: "I can only do this with my ability. Little girl favored by Pelor, only the high-level magic of the Temple of Life can restore you to your original state."

"Praise the kindness of Xue Ensi, what you have done for me is enough." Tiana stood up, thanked the nun who helped her, walked to the statue, and expressed her gratitude to the god according to the most perfect etiquette.Her pious attitude made the old priest smile with satisfaction, and the people of the Sun God sincerely thanked Xue Ensi, which made him also feel honored.

What a holy girl, the old priest sighed in his heart.He is over half a hundred years old, and he is already able to see the essence of people through appearances.He could feel that the magic power in the girl's body had already broken through the limit. Seeing that she was able to step over that threshold at such a young age, her achievements in the future must be limitless.

More importantly, he saw the pure and bright light in the girl's heart.Only after experiencing real wind and rain can it be so refined and solid.She is the favored elect, and the blessing of the sun god protects her soul from all evil.

"Master Sacrifice, I bring sad news from the north."

Tiana turned around and said solemnly.The old priest nodded and motioned everyone around him to leave.He could tell from the girl's expression that this matter was very important.

"The plague swept across the northern counties, devouring all life. As far as I can see, fifteen cities have been reduced to dead ruins. The grace of Xue Ensi has disappeared in the north, and none of his messengers and believers survived."

Hearing the girl's words, the old priest did not show any surprise. He said in a deep voice: "The eyes of the gods can see everything. There is no one to cultivate the fertile land in the northern counties. The candles of faith have been extinguished one after another. My lord has discovered and sent God This matter has already attracted the attention of the temples, and just a few days ago, the holy nun Maryvian of the Temple of Life arrived in Istaron, and she came here specifically to stop the epidemic."

"The Temple of Life?" Tiana smiled wryly and shook her head: "If Anastasza comes in person, there is still a chance, no matter how many her priests come, it will be a drop in the bucket. This is not a problem that can be solved by magic alone. I personally saw I have seen cities with tens of thousands of people wiped out overnight, and I have seen countless clergymen who died of exhaustion without sleep. They all had the same mentality as you, but the horror of this natural disaster is beyond anyone's imagination."

The old priest bowed his head and pondered for a while, but still did not express his agreement.He didn't doubt what the girl said, but he was still cautiously optimistic about it.

"The White Lion family has received the news, and the patriarch will make corresponding countermeasures in the near future. Istaron has experienced floods, animal swarms, cold disasters, and of course plagues for 300 years. The city is still standing here today. Children, I can understand your sadness and disappointment, but this is Istaron, every one of us living here loves this city sincerely and is willing to fight for it, even if the enemy is an invisible plague. "

At this point, Tiana knew that it would be useless for her to say more, but she still asked unwillingly: "Master Priest, I want to know how to meet the head of the White Lion Clan? At least I can persuade him to carry out preventive work now."

"I'm afraid it will be difficult." The old priest shook his head and said, "The new patriarch of the White Lion family is underage, and he has never appeared in public for safety. Son, I know that you must have a lot of experience to help Istar when you come back from the north. Ren resists the plague. If you don’t mind, you can settle down in the temple first, and I will find an opportunity to introduce you to the top of the White Lion family.”

"Thank you for your kindness, but forgive me for not waiting patiently. I don't know when the footsteps of the plague will step onto the King's Road. Now every day is extremely precious." Tiana declined with some disappointment.

"I don't have many practical suggestions for you. In fact, what needs to be done most now is to clean up the sewers and kill rats. However, the cost of this work is too high, and almost no lord will adopt it."

"Please announce to the believers and residents in the diocese that you must never drink unboiled water, and must boil the water. Immediately clean up the household sanitation, and report the dead rats immediately. This is a sign of the plague."

"Please gather all pastors, teach the knowledge of epidemic prevention in a unified way, and arrange the rotation schedule reasonably. In the early stage of the outbreak, many inexperienced pastors would be physically exhausted in order to treat patients, because they lost their protection due to overwork and were infected."

"To burn the corpse, you must arrange an escape plan in advance, and you cannot rely on the protection of God's grace in the temple church. I have seen many nobles starve to death with their priests..."

Tiana took the trouble to narrate all her experiences and knowledge one by one, and the old priest has been listening carefully, taking out a pen to record from time to time.Each of these experiences is summed up with the lives of thousands of people and must be taught to everyone as much as possible.

But Tiana is also very clear that in this era, both nobles and commoners are generally ignorant, and they are proud of it.If they hadn't seen that kind of human tragedy with their own eyes, they would never have taken these earnest teachings to heart.In every city she's been to, people have dismissed these as mere gossip.

People yearn for peace and tranquility, and in order to obtain peace, they are even stubborn enough to refuse to believe any potential danger around them.

Is there a plague coming?how is this possible?What does it have to do with me?The lord will protect us, the gods will protect us!As for that witch who spread dangerous words?At first glance, he is not a good person!She must be spreading rumors!

Most of the memories she opened were scenes that she didn't want to recall. After walking out of the temple, Tiana still had those distorted faces in her mind.She watched them sneer at her, disdain, panic, despair until death.

What's the point of saving these ignorant ants?Tiana questioned herself in her heart more than once.But just like every time, she couldn't convince herself of her paranoia, and there were still some reasons in her heart to support her belief to move on.

Touching the hard bread in his arms, this food is enough to last him for two to three days.After receiving the free magical treatment from the old priest, the girl was naturally embarrassed to ask for more.Time is running out, and she needs to find a way to meet the lord of Istaron as soon as possible.It's not just the plague problem on the surface, but the curse sect hidden behind is the real danger.

Tiana has been following the traces of the Cursed Sect for three months, and after repeated vicious battles, she has already faintly speculated about their true intentions.But that guess was too terrifying, she could only hide it deeply in her heart, and dared not confide a single bit to anyone.

Standing by the fountain in the city square, the girl looked up at the sky.Today is a fine day, the sky is as blue as the sea, and the white clouds leisurely transform into various shapes.The warm sunshine shone on her face, but she couldn't feel any warmth.Tiana looked to the north, and at the end of the horizon outside the city wall, an ominous black figure was about to move.

Several children who were playing and playing ran past the girl, suddenly saw the ugly face under the girl's worn cloak, and screamed in fright.But children's curiosity is always greater than their fear. When they saw that the girl didn't respond, a few boys bravely ran up to her and made faces.

"Ugly! Ugly! There's an ugly here!"

Tiana looked away and glanced at the children, who immediately ran away screaming.Given their age, they may not be malicious, but their shouts startled the pedestrians around.

Sensing the gazes from all around, Tiana smiled self-deprecatingly.In order to conceal her identity, when she walked out of the temple, she used illusion to change her signature moon-white long hair into a dry and burnt yellow color. Combined with the blood-red spider scars on her face, this image was simply a witch who was fleeing.

Although she said she didn't care, the girl has always been habitually paying attention to her appearance.Now that her image was completely destroyed, she suddenly found that she seemed to have gotten rid of another layer of shackles.Since there is no image to speak of, what do you care about?

She blinked, then turned around suddenly.The child who sneaked over from behind sat down on the ground and cried out with a whoosh.

(End of this chapter)