Talking and Somehow Getting Led Along

In the evening, after a rest in the afternoon, everyone felt refreshed. These representatives of prominent families, wealthy merchants, and political figures generously expressed their reverence and piety towards the gods.

One by one, gold-plated Goldware were delivered into the temple under the watchful eyes of believers who held divine tablets and participated in the celebrations up close. Of course, some people donated money directly. If the gods like gold so much, they must also like money, right?! Certainly, you can see from the undisguised smile on the High Priest's face that the gods really like money, and not only money, but also checks.

"Tell the High Priest that this is my way of showing respect to the gods!" Lin Qi, wearing Bone Gold-Thread Divine Tablet, handed a check to a clergyman, placing it inside a wooden box that could be opened and closed.

Whether it's money or checks, the donors put them in wooden boxes to prevent others from knowing how much money they donated and to protect the donors' privacy.

Donors often face a somewhat awkward question: how much should they donate?

Donating a lot of money doesn't necessarily bring good returns. People will discuss the source of the money and why someone would donate so much, which complicates a simple matter.

If people donate less, they will gossip more, especially those in positions of power. If they donate less than others, they will be labeled as "stingy".

To protect people's privacy and prevent embarrassing moments for some donors, the temple has adopted a very interesting method to avoid such embarrassment: wooden boxes.

The advantage of doing this is that, apart from the chief officiant, no one knows how much money each donor has donated. Without comparison or criticism, people will maintain a respectful attitude towards the donors.

The priest carrying the wooden box quickly approached the High Priest High Priest whispered something in his ear. The High Priest then opened the box and glanced at it.

When he saw the check signed by Lin Qi, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. In Nagaril, foreign currency from any country was more valuable and useful than Nagaril's own Galil.

Looking at the many zeros, the High Priest was in a good mood. He thought of his youngest son, who was preparing to study abroad, and these Federal Sol could be used by his youngest son.

As for whether this money is donated to the gods? The gods don't care about such vulgar things. What they care about is piety and respect, understand?

After closing the wooden box, the High Priest looked at Lin Qi. Their eyes met from a great distance. The High Priest nodded slightly to show that he felt Lin Qi's faith in them, his fervor and respect for the gods, and also felt the reward he had received for giving Lin Qi the Bone Gold-Thread Divine Tablet.

After the donations were completed, the High Priest gave his final address for the day's festival activities and then disappeared into the temple.

Some clergy, including Divine Official and officials, began to dance around the bonfire in the temple. They wore strange costumes, their skin covered with various patterns, some disgusting, some creepy. Each of them was as stiff as a puppet! Yes, at this moment they were puppets, marionettes in the hands of the gods, singing and dancing according to the gods' will.

The lowly Divine Servant began to serve the participants in the celebration with exquisite food, various kinds of roasted meat, fruits, and some low-alcohol, slightly sour fruit wine. People ate the food, watched the dances, and sang local songs praising the gods.

"The High Priest wants to talk to you..."

As Lin Qi was enjoying his meal, a priest approached him. Lin Qi glanced at him, straightened his clothes, and followed him to the back of the temple.

The High Priest had already presided over the day's activities, and there were no more important events to follow, so he returned to the back of the temple early to rest.

In a very empty room, Lin Qi met the High Priest.

The room was about three or four hundred square meters in size and was rectangular. In the very center of the room was a high platform with a stone chair on it, where the High Priest sat.

The room was somewhat stuffy, probably due to concerns about keeping warm in winter. There was no noticeable airflow, and many braziers were placed there for lighting, which illuminated the room but also made the temperature inside significantly higher than outside.

"Mr. Lin Qi ..." The High Priest's smile became more natural. "I have heard other people's opinions about you, and they have also shared your views on our faith."

"I must say you are a unique foreigner, at least on matters of faith, you behave differently from others!"

In this rapidly changing era, advanced technology is breaking down the ignorance of the past. But it is precisely this fierce confrontation and conflict between science and superstition that naturally separates people with faith from those without.

People of faith become more faithful and devout than ever before; they never doubt what they believe in, and at the same time reject other kinds of faiths.

No matter what you say, people without faith will not believe that there are any strange things in this world; they can always explain mysterious phenomena through various scientific methods.

But Lin Qi was different. His words were ambiguous, seemingly pleasing neither side, but in reality, both believers and non-believers could accept his statements.

Needless to say, the former would tell Lin Qi that all the miracles performed outside were caused by the gods they believed in, and that they were the root and only source of their faith.

Those who lack faith will feel that Lin Qi is looking at these things in a relatively scientific and rational way, and that he only lacks the opportunity to see through them. Therefore, they do not mind having an in-depth conversation with Lin Qi so that he can grasp the key to seeing through all superstitions.

This is a clever way of putting it; even if it doesn't please everyone, it won't offend anyone.

This is completely different from other foreigners. Many foreigners, such as Simon whom Lin Qi knew, only have two attitudes towards the local religious beliefs.

The first type is atheists and non-believers, who firmly believe that there is no God and categorize faith as ignorance and superstition.

The second group believes that local beliefs are evil gods and heresies, and that only their own beliefs are the Orthodox God.

Regardless of whether any of these people later changed their attitudes or stances, they all had only these two attitudes when they first arrived. Lin Qi was very different, which immediately made him stand out.

Lin Qi bowed slightly. The High Priest thought of the patriarch of a diocese, whose status was extraordinary. "I come from the Bayer Federation, a country that values freedom. Our laws promote and protect religious freedom."

"We should all approach everything that happens around us with a tolerant attitude and a broader perspective, whether it's religion, politics, culture, customs or anything else. We respect it all, embrace it all, and accept it all."

The High Priest's eyes twitched slightly. "That sounds quite interesting..."

Lin Qi smiled slightly. "In the Federal, as long as you register your religious information with the Religious Affairs Bureau, anyone can start proselytizing. As long as the doctrine is not illegal or antisocial, no one will impose any restrictions."

"God's representative, do you know the Earth Mother Goddess Seat Church?"

"God... the agent?" the High Priest, somewhat confused. "Is this referring to me?"

Lin Qi nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course, High Priest, you are the Avatar of the gods walking among men, so you are the God's representative. You exercise the power bestowed upon you by the gods and bear the obligation of guiding the people toward good. Am I wrong?"

Seeing Lin Qi's somewhat surprised expression, the High Priest grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. He quickly pursed his lips; as the God's representative, it wasn't appropriate for him to show too much emotion. Nevertheless, he nodded, "No, you're right. That's the right word, God's representative..."

He paused, seemingly savoring the enjoyment the new word brought him, before finally realizing what he was saying. "What were you going to say? Go on!"

Lin Qi bowed slightly and continued, "The Throne of the Earth Mother Goddess, a religion you've never heard of, they advocate eating hot horse dung to cure diseases..."

Perhaps the two had a good conversation, the atmosphere was just right, or perhaps the zeros on the check Lin Qi donated to the gods were more than the High Priest had imagined, and his current mood was just right and he was very cooperative.

He even laughed out loud, almost exaggeratedly, "Eating hot horse dung can cure diseases?"

Lin Qi said with a serious expression, "Yes, the best is freshly made, steaming hot horse poop!"

The High Priest laughed again, laughing for a while. Perhaps finding it somewhat unbelievable, he couldn't help but ask a question, "I'm curious, does anyone believe in this religion and what they say?" The High Priest's laughter gradually stopped, and he frowned. "Eating horse dung can cure diseases."

"Why not?" Lin Qi countered. "In the Federal, we uphold freedom of religion. Eating horse manure may sound absurd, but it's neither antisocial nor does it make people do bad things. It's just eating some unhealthy but not fatal horse manure."

"And some people actually believe it; they supposedly had tens of thousands of followers at their peak..."

The High Priest chuckled after hearing this, "That's really stupid and foolish. I thought all foreigners were smart..."

He suddenly fell silent as he spoke. Even a religion that eats horse manure could survive in the Bayer Federation. Suddenly, a question popped into his mind: if his religion moved to the Federal, could it also survive? Would there be people willing to believe in his gods? As he thought of this, the High Priest's heart began to pound. This was the Bayer Federation, a wealthy country far surpassing Nagaril, where everyone was well-fed and clothed, and everyone was extremely rich, just like Mr. Lin Qi before him.