Chapter 249: Temples
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Anfey did not think this world was too fun. There was a huge difference in development between this world and his world. A few people’s wonderful ideas could not make up the huge difference in those two worlds. No matter how unique the pubs in this world, they were no comparison with the modern clubs. The stories told by bards were not as interesting as television and movies. Anfey’s eyes only lingered on sprites with pointed ears and slender bodies.
The so-called shopping was to constantly look for items people were interested in and purchase them with affordable prices. Punk City was not their home. Shopping maniac Niya had to give up a lot of stuff she liked and only bought small stuff that she could carry with her.
There were fewer pedestrians on the street than before. It was getting dark when Anfey and his group walked out of a clothing store. Niya kept looking back and did not want to leave. Anfey had told them this was their last stop for shopping, but Niya had not gotten enough of it yet.
At the end of the street, suddenly there were many lights. Many people with torches slowly walked toward them as women chanted old folk rhymes. Anfey was shocked and immediately held his arm out to block Niya.
There was heavy breathing behind them. The owner of the clothing store, a middle-aged women, tried very hard to drag a one-yard long trunk and slowly moved to the door. It was strange that two kids who worked for her were just standing there and watching her dragging that heavy trunk. They did not go and help her.
“Let me help you.” Christian offered help to the woman with the heavy trunk, but the woman looked panicked and kept shaking her head. She had been good at convincing and bargaining before, but now she was so quiet.
“Master!” One of the kids immediately stopped Christian and tried to explain with a smile. “She has to do her business on her own. Thank you for the help though.”
“Ok.” Christian shrugged and slowed retreated to the group.
The doors of shops on both sides of the street opened one after another and handfuls of pedals were tossed in the air. The pedals looked like rain drops in the air. That middle-aged woman finally dragged the trunk to the door and opened it. The trunk was filled with wet pedals. She sincerely held the pedals in her hands and tossed them to the street.
“Huh, today is the Sabbath,” Christian suddenly realized.
“What is Sabbath?” Anfey asked.
Christian looked around before he pulled Anfey to the side. He said in a low voice, “Sabbath is the day the Goddess of Nature died. I did not know this city had so many followers of the Goddess of Nature.”
“Followers of the Goddess of Nature?” Anfey hesitated for a second and asked in a low pitch, “Are they similar to church goers?”
“Yes, as faithful and maniac as them,” Christian said.
“Wouldn’t churches interfere with them?” Anfey asked.
“They could not.” Christian lowered his voice even more. “All the countries seemed to get along with churches, but they secretly helped other religions. They did not want their throne being threatened. Although popes in different times tried to unite the religions, they failed because it was not realistic to hope they could do so. First of all, they had to make all the kings believe God of Light on their own, and then they could start to talk about wiping out other religions.”
“Why was Bruzuryano with the priests? Shouldn’t Druids believe in the Goddess of Nature?” Anfey asked.
“The church’s strategies had changed a lot. They treated other religions as their enemies, but became allied with some religions to fight with others. Right now church is ally with Druids. Of course, it is for the time being.” Christian turned to look at people on the street. “We have to be careful in front of maniac believers.”
There was strong flower fragrance in the air. With the chanting, it did feel holy in some sense. Finally people had walked close to them. Under the light of torches, they could see the sincere and serious look on people’s faces. Today was not a festival for the believers of the Goddess of Nature. Easter in the spring was.
People still kept tossing petals in the air while the petals fell on people’s heads and bodies. None of them looked around. They were all quietly showered under the petals. They kept walking and passed Anfey and his group.
Some shops had finished tossing petals, while others repeated that one action of tossing petals in the air. Anfey turned half way to look into that woman’s trunk. It was still full of wet pedals. She only tossed out less than one tenth of it. It would take her a while to toss the whole trunk. The middle-aged woman looked happy with what she was doing. She seemed to enjoy it.
“Anfey, do you want to see the temple?” Christian asked.
“The temple for the Goddess of Nature?” Anfey asked.
“Yes,” Christian said.
“Is it ok to go there?” To be honest, Anfey did not want to deal with those believers because he thought the believers could turn tame sheep into vicious wolves. They blindly believed it without any reason.
“Anfey, let’s go check it out,” Niya said after hearing what Christian said. “Suzanna wanted to see it too.”
Niya was smart. She knew her words did not mean too much to Anfey, so she used Suzanna as an excuse.
“Didn’t you all see the temple of the Goddess of Nature before?” Anfey asked in surprise. He never saw it if only because he was not from this world. Niya and Suzanna were locals.
“No, we believed in Earth…” Suzanna said.
“Shhhhh!” Christian immediately put his finger on his lips to signal Suzanna to stop. “Suzanna, don’t say anything to offend them.”
Suzanna turned around to check that middle-aged woman. She was still diligently tossing the petals in the air and did not hear them talking. Suzanna stuck her tongue out and nodded to tell Christian she got it.
“Everybody, follow me.” Christian turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the people on the street.
“Christian, did you go the wrong way?” Anfey pointed with his finger. “They are going that way.”
“No, the temple is definitely that way. They are going to the field,” Christian said.
This was their first time to visit Punk City, but it was pretty easy for them to locate the temple. They only needed to follow the petals on the floor and walk straight ahead. It did not take long before they arrived in front of a not-so-grand building. Religion had contributed so much to the arts. Different religions with different beliefs needed different arts to accommodate them.
The Church of Light stressed light, so they always made their buildings bright and roomy. The temple in front of them had a totally different feeling. There were two ancient trees with their roots exposed along the ground and branches high up on the top. They could not tell the exact ages of the trees, but their age had to be counted in the hundreds. The door was not wide, and there was only one path to connect the inside of the temple. The only path should have been very smooth, since so many people had walked on it, but there was moss all over it. It looked like no one had walked on it for a long time. The walls were green. With the help of ever-lighting light, Anfey and his group found that there was ivy everywhere on the wall.
“Why are there no guards?” Anfey asked quietly.
“This place does not need guards,” Christian said and smiled.
Anfey gave Christian a suspicious look and slowly walked in. He was shocked by what he saw inside the temple. Countless branches and vines hung all over the whole building and covered all the walls. Anfey could not even see windows, not to mention a door. Anfey thought this whole building was a gigantic loaf of moldy bread. Of course, the mold was green.
“Where do we go in?” Niya looked around to find a door.
“We have Anfey, so we should be able to get in.” Christian smiled. “Anfey, you walk straight ahead of you.”
“Don’t fool with me,” Anfey said, frowning.
“No, I am not. Give it a try,” Christian said.
Trusting Christian, Anfey tested the ground and walked slowly forward. When he was only a few yards away from that gigantic green bread building, he suddenly stopped. He arched his back, like an alert leopard.
It moved! That gigantic green bread suddenly became alive. The branches were moving like crazy and created green waves in the air. The branches made a sound like they were talking in their dreams. Anfey had dumped the materialism ideology a long time ago when he was in Evil Abyss, but what he saw in front of him still made his hair stand up.
“They are welcoming you,” Christian said, standing next to Anfey.
“Bulls#*t!” Anfey was not in the mood for joking. “How do you know what they are doing?”
“Do you forget about your Heart of Nature?” Christian asked.
Anfey was shocked for a second and slowly held his hand out. Those branches seemed to be able to sense him and started to wag. A few vines even gently brushed against his palm. Anfey moved two steps forward. The branches in front of him rolled up like moving waves. A stone door with runes showed up.
“I was not wrong, was I?” Christian asked.
“Unfortunately, it was not my Heart of Nature,” Anfey said as he pushed the stone door. The stone door opened so easily that Anfey did not have to push with much strength. The palace inside the temple appeared in front of everyone.
