Normally, the bishop should already have been waiting here. Otherwise, a priest ought to have come to guide them or stop them.
Yet now the two of them stood before the altar, and the bishop was still nowhere to be seen.
What puzzled Cui Jiuyang even more was that the altar and its surroundings were spotless, as clean as new. Why had the bishop said he needed help cleaning?
Just as Cui Jiuyang was about to turn back beyond the screen to see whether he could find another priest to ask, the door of an inconspicuous little room in a corner of the sanctuary opened from within.
The tall bishop slowly appeared in the doorway, dressed in a black liturgical robe.
When he saw Cui Jiuyang and Liu Jingtang, his previously calm eyes suddenly lit up. A kindly smile appeared on his face, and he stepped forward to greet them.
"I have been looking forward to your arrival," the bishop said, his voice as gentle as ever, with a strange penetrating quality. "Indeed, the merciful Lord heard my prayers and guided you to this holy altar."
Cui Jiuyang inwardly found this sort of talk quite distasteful.
He spoke evenly. "Your Excellency, I think you should understand."
"We came here because we previously promised to help you. This is us keeping our word, not some god's guidance."
The tall bishop's smile did not diminish in the slightest, as though Cui Jiuyang's disrespect did not trouble him at all. He waved a hand casually and said, "Yes, Mr. Cui. I have heard many people say what you just said."
"Many of them held axes and sickles aloft. Our patriarch believes they are a scourge from Heaven, incarnations of the Antichrist, destroyers of faith and the kingdom of Heaven."
Cui Jiuyang's brow furrowed