Chapter 25 This Priest
Most families in Guangmingli have a statue of Guanyin on the sacred table. When it comes to the birthday of any Bodhisattva, someone will always take the lead and pay to invite several monks from Hongde Temple to chant sutras and hold a large-scale ceremony. celebration.
But the connection between people and Buddhism only goes so far. Those monks who are active in Kowloon Tong every day disdain to come to the slums.
You can't get enough incense here, and you will inevitably encounter thieves, so you rarely see monks here, except for those who set up stalls to tell fortunes.
In comparison, the church where Father Benjamin is located seems much more friendly to the people.
It is said to be a church, but in fact it is just a dilapidated small tenement building. It has been simply decorated, with the walls whitewashed, a cross placed on the top, and a row of flowers planted at the door.
Even the tables, chairs and benches used in the church are mostly donated by believers. They are neither regular nor elegant, but they are functional.
The residents in Guangming were originally not interested in this foreign monk who was short, had a crew cut, and a full head of white hair, and grinned widely when meeting people. They always subconsciously associated him with the goldfish man who kidnapped children.
Therefore, for a period of time, the church became a place where strangers should not approach, almost like a haunted house.
But Benjamin still has a way after all.
On Sundays, as long as you go to church and listen to this foreign monk chattering for a long time, you can receive a small bag of flour. On the day when my grandfather ascends to heaven, and on Sister Maria's birthday, he will also distribute some fruits.
He distributed gifts every now and then, and also treated children's headaches and fever.
The children had a fever that could not be cured by pricking their fingers or scraping. They were taken to the church. Father Benjamin muttered in front of the statue of grandpa and gave the children a sip of holy water. The fever subsided the same day they returned.
Because of this little magical power, gradually more and more people went to his place.
It turned out that the people who were just there to receive things later became his followers. The number of believers in this church gradually increased, and the small auditorium was packed to the brim during Sunday services.
Until he stood in front of the church door, Uncle Ming turned around and warned him uneasily: "Be careful, that Death Stick is full of lies, just listen to it, don't take it seriously, otherwise you won't even know he has deceived you."
As soon as Yin Xiu nodded, the church door was pushed open from the inside, and Benjamin walked out.
"Oh, dear Uncle Ming! I'm so happy! Did grandpa send you to me? Praise grandpa!"
"Dear priest! I am also very happy. It is all thanks to Taoist Master Sanqing! Wish you all the best, Taoist Sanqing!"
The two hugged each other exaggeratedly and patted each other on the back, looking like a pair of brothers reunited after a long separation.
Benjamin seemed to be so excited that he couldn't breathe for a moment. He stroked his chest to calm his breathing before continuing: "Uncle Ming, have you read the Bible I gave you last time?"
"Yes! I read some before going to bed every night, but I don't understand some parts. I'll bring it over to you for guidance next time."
"Always waiting! Always waiting!"
[It turns out that the small book used to prop up the table legs was a Bible. I asked why it was so thick. 】
Yin Xiu pouted and followed Uncle Ming into the church. Benjamin also noticed him under the light.
"Who is this?"
"Yin Xiu." Uncle Ming pointed casually, "He is my apprentice."
Benjamin smiled at Yin Xiu again and greeted him in that fluent but weird Mandarin.
"Brother Yin, I see that you are a talented person. Follow Uncle Ming and you will be successful. I will bless you."
As he spoke, he raised the cross around his neck to imprint it on Yin Xiu's forehead to bless Ming quickly stopped him, smiled and said very kindly: "I won't bother you, priest. Our ancestor is watching over this kid."
Seeing this, Benjamin took back the cross angrily and looked Yin Xiu up and down again, making his skin crawl all over.
Suddenly, as if he had discovered a new world, he said to Yin Xiu: "Brother Yin, I think you seem to be injured?"
"It's... just a small injury, nothing important."
Although the wounds had scabbed over and he had changed his clothes to get rid of the smell of blood, the scars still looked very scary. No wonder the priest noticed it at a glance.
"Injuries should not be taken lightly. If the thing that scratched you has rust or bacteria on it, it can easily lead to tetanus."
"What's tetanus? It's called evil wind entering the body." Uncle Ming muttered in a low voice.
Benjamin didn't seem to hear it. He turned around and took out a bowl of water from the altar dedicated to his grandfather. He dipped his fingers in the water and sprinkled it on Yin Xiu's wound.
"This is the holy water blessed by Grandpa. Sprinkle it and you will be cured."
"How can this wound get wet? It doesn't matter if the young man has a small injury. I'll just wait until I get back to apply some glutinous rice on him to force the evil poison out of the body."
As he spoke, Uncle Ming took out a handful of glutinous rice from his pocket. Before he could show it, Benjamin quickly thrust the bowl of holy water into Yin Xiu's hand.
At the same time, he looked at him with a very concerned expression, "Brother Yin, please drink all this water. This will make your injury heal faster!"
Yin Xiu took the bowl in his hand and felt in a dilemma.
He turned to look at Benjamin, who kept urging him with kind eyes.
He turned to look at Uncle Ming again, who stared at him with fire in his eyes.
[You two old men who are over 100 years old together, why are you arguing? Don’t involve me in a religious war...]
After a stalemate for a while, Uncle Ming sighed, waved to Yin Xiu and said, "Since this priest gave it to you, just drink it. Don't let down his good intentions."
"Don't be formal, Brother Yin." Benjamin extended his hand to signal, "Please drink it without leaving any drop."
Yin Xiu had no choice but to bring the bowl to her mouth and glance inside cautiously.
At the bottom of the bowl, there seemed to be some gray powder precipitated. I don’t know if it was the paint peeling off Grandpa’s plaster statue or the dust on the roof. Anyway, it didn’t look very clean.
Not allowing him to think too much, Yin Xiu drank the water in the bowl in one gulp. A familiar bitter taste faintly emerged from the base of his tongue, like the taste of the medicinal powder he drank when he was sick as a child.
After he finished drinking, Uncle Ming started talking about business.
"Priest, how much do you know about the local werewolves?"
"Werewolves?" Benjamin frowned, lowered his head and made the sign of the cross on his chest, "May I forgive their souls."
After completing the ceremony, he raised his head with a solemn expression, pointed to the bench beside him, and motioned for Uncle Ming and Yin Xiu to sit down.
"I have heard some rumors about the local werewolves. Although it is not appropriate for me as my subject to spread such news, if it can help you, Uncle Ming, I don't think my grandfather will object."
"You two, please listen to me..."
(End of this chapter)
