Only God-Chapter 574 - 491 A Good Person

In the lands of Ajia today, the True Believers no longer suffer persecution as they did thousands of years ago; on the contrary, the indigenous Three-eyed Ape People who have lived here for generations have warmly welcomed the arrival of one pilgrimage group after another. These hospitable Three-eyed Ape People either greatly benefited from the numerous pilgrimages or even became members of the True Religion.

Having received charity and become richer than before, the Sects enjoyed a warmth in Ajia Land second only to that found in the Holy Land.

Previously, due to their hurry to reach the Holy Land, the Sects did not linger long in Ajia Land, but now things were different. They had already visited the holy sites, and without any rush to return to Kaelonde, the Sects found the Three-eyed Ape People, whom the histories described as despising and persecuting the True Believers on a massive scale, to be surprisingly kind and friendly. The Sect members discovered that the people of Ajia Land were much more willing to listen to preaching and recite Scriptures than the Dwarves of Kaelonde. Those Three-eyed Ape People, friendly to the point of making the histories seem like pure fabrication, were no less knowledgeable about religious doctrines than some devoted True Believers.

"Before I came here, I thought those Three-eyed Ape People would be as fierce and aggressive towards us as described in the histories, baring their teeth and spouting madness," said Monk Gomu to Veldor in a low voice.

"Could it be because the King of Ajia Land is a human now?"

About three or four hundred years ago, Ajia Land fell into turmoil, and a human leader took advantage of this to lead his forces into Ajia and establish a foreign dynasty. When the Sect members first arrived at the border port of the Ajia Kingdom, they saw stone steles and sculptures depicting the current human King and Queen.

"No, even before that, as True Believers increased in number, the Royal Family, Nobles, and the prophetic Priests also became more enlightened," Veldor replied, based on his own observations:

"After all, so much time has passed, thousands of years indeed. The people of that era have turned to dust, and so has the hatred.

Moreover, Ajia Land of today has changed; it looks nothing like it did thousands of years ago. My Godfather once read in a book that back then, the entire land was dotted with flat-roofed mud houses, but now, look, there are pointed rooftops, and specially designed water pipes, a design that was first invented by humans.

Look over there; even the Stone Slaves can walk side by side with the pure-blooded Three-eyed Ape People."

Gomu nodded, seemingly in agreement with this view.

Compared to thousands of years ago, there were just too many changes in Ajia Land.

Although they were warmly welcomed in Ajia, the Sects ultimately had to return to Kaelonde, which for the majority of the Dwarves in the Sects, was home.

Thus, the Sects journeyed on, stopping here and there. Veldor, out of sheer boredom, decided to focus and took the time to document the local customs of Ajia Land and the people and events they encountered along the way, in addition to managing the accounts.

One day, the Sects arrived at a small town. As Veldor described in his manuscript, it was an unremarkable little town with a whiff of fishiness and vinegar.

Much of the town’s population was comprised of local hunters and farmers who lived their own lives in that corner of the world. Although travelers often sought lodging there, it did not disturb the tranquillity of the town.

The Sects made a brief stop in the town, where the residents hosted them, and in return, they performed some rituals for the residents, such as conducting funerals, performing soul-soothing ceremonies, and offering blessings to the farmlands, just as they had done before.

True Believers made up about one-third of the town’s population, which was one of the reasons why the Sects were hospitably received. Veldor inquired about the living conditions of several local True Believers and recorded the details in his manuscript.

Veldor found that although the local True Believers lived in this remote and peaceful place, they were surprisingly well-versed in the Scriptures and their understanding was accurate. Considering their inability to read or write, this was an incredibly rare and precious phenomenon.

So, Veldor asked them who had taught them all these things?

"A person who knows a lot."

The True Believers said,

"A good man, like a hermit, he lives just across the river, that is, at the end of the town."

Veldor continued to ask:

"How did you come to know him?"

One of the True Believers replied:

"He came several years ago, on a night, he knocked on the door of my house, asking if he might, in the name of God, borrow a place to stay for the night, so I shared some straw with him to make a bed on the floor.

You know, in such a poor place like ours, we always have chickens and ducks inside the house, and it’s common to be woken up a few times at night, sometimes it’s rather disruptive, but he slept soundly.

When he got up the next day, he wanted to repay us and asked what we would like. After discussing it among ourselves, we asked if he could paint, so he painted for us a picture, and settled down here. The painting was admired by the mayor who said it was as if it had a soul, depicting the story of Prophet Noen."

Upon hearing this, Veldor asked:

"Is he still here? We might like to meet him."

Another True Believer answered:

"Of course, he’s still here, most of the time, his place is quiet."

After hearing this, Veldor decided to ask the Sect Priest if possible, and they would like to pay a visit to that knowledgeable man.

When Veldor shared this idea with the Sect Priest, the latter gladly agreed, saying he would like to accompany Veldor for a visit.

The morning after prayer, the Sect Priest and Veldor made their visit, and they quickly came upon the man’s house, which looked dilapidated and long-neglected, and the man was there at the doorway, kneeling in prayer.

The Sect Priest and Veldor did not intend to disturb his prayer, so they stood at a distance and patiently waited. Due to the quietness of the early morning, carried by the light breeze, the man’s prayer also reached Veldor’s ears.

Veldor later recorded his feelings at the time in his book, describing it as a quaint, even somewhat pedantic prayer, with overly archaic words, so old it was absurd, and his movements were not quite proper; in the end, he did not even praise Prophet Solamus, the Prophet who blew the horn. Had he forgotten to praise him?

After the man finished praying, Veldor and the Sect Priest approached him. Since they were dressed in monk’s robes, the man quickly recognized their status.

He offered them a blessing, and they did the same for him. After a brief exchange of greetings,

At that moment, Veldor somewhat wanted to show off his knowledge. He spoke out:

"We just heard you praying to the Lord, how devout and reverent you are towards the Divine, you must be a monk too, it’s just that the only regret is those prayers and movements, they really don’t suit your stature."

Veldor described the situation like this: Though he had been through many dangers, he was not without his flaws; Veldor remained Veldor, he had just become kinder, that’s all, but that was enough.