Sin

"Seeds need soil to grow, grace needs piety to be inherited."

The High Sparrow looked around, nodded, and then pointed to Faith Protectors, a man with a broken arm in the inner circle. "Look at brother Joseph."

"Three months ago, he had his hand cut off for stealing. The wound was infected, he had a high fever, and maggots laid eggs in the carrion. Even wild dogs didn't want to get close, so he could only lie down in the flea nest and wait to die."

"But he climbed two whole streets, came to God, prayed devoutly, accepted the seven God's Gift tests to wash away his sins, then drank the holy soup and applied the holy ointment."

"Now, he just lost an arm, but he got something more precious."

"--Listen to the seven gods Gospel, peaceful and clean soul!"

After the words fell, the man named Joseph puffed up his chest, raised his incomplete arms to the sky, and the smile on his face was so happy that it was almost twisted.

"Impossible."

Listening to this exaggerated narration, Corleone couldn't help but analyze. "Even I may not be able to cure a person whose wound has become infected and ulcerated and has started to have a fever, unless this guy is Jaime Lannister."

But then, the High Sparrow pointed to an old woman kneeling in the middle. "Sister Martha."

"She lay in bed coughing up blood for half a year. The Doctor said it was tuberculosis and there was no cure."

"But she didn't give up. She listened to the holy music and prayed every day, even though she was soaked by the rain and peeled by the sun, she didn't leave."

"Finally, the Seven Gods saw her piety, forgave her sins, and granted her the grace of recovery!"

Seeing the High Sparrow mentioning her, the old woman kowtowed excitedly and kept tapping her forehead on the stone slab.

But soon, Martha was helped up by others, crying and mumbling words of gratitude vaguely.

Then, the crowd burst into excited shouts, and many people spontaneously knelt down and began to pray loudly.

But Corleone narrowed his eyes slightly and noticed something was wrong.

The old woman's chest rose and fell very evenly, and there was no abnormality except for some shortness of breath. It was not at all like a patient suffering from tuberculosis.

There was a sickly flush on the face and the fingers were trembling slightly.

It looks like the medicine has taken effect.

It's a trustee...

Corleone immediately came to a conclusion, but I have to say that this woman's name is very good. If she were placed in a universe where muscular men wear underwear, just saying her name could prevent the destruction of the world.

"So... brothers, sisters."

Seeing that people's attention and expectations were full, the High Sparrow opened his arms and said in a contagious voice, "I want to ask why you were born poor, sick, and trampled on by others!"

"Ask yourself if you are pious, and ask if your heart is as pure as a glass candle before the Seven Gods."

"Suffering is the melting pot, piety is the Hammer. Only the soul that has been tempered thousands of times can be forged into a vessel for grace!"

"Tell me, can your faith stand the test?"

"Stand up!"

Under his encouragement, more people began to respond, crying, shouting, and praying mixed together.

A collective excitement began to spread, infecting everyone like a plague.

"This man should have his head cut off, his eyes and ears blinded, and his tongue cut out."

At this time, Yego beside him said coldly.

The Dothraki hated this kind of pretense.

They believe that if the evil caster keeps his head and facial features intact, his soul can take revenge with Magic after death.

But if the head is cut off, the eyes are gouged out, the deaf ears are poked, and the tongue is cut off, he will not be able to see, hear, or speak. Even his soul will be incomplete and he will no longer be able to harm others.

Listening to this simple and crude logic, Corleone just observed calmly and did not express an opinion.

As the atmosphere heated up, the High Sparrow nodded slightly to a certain Faith Protectors in the audience.

Then Faith Protectors turned around and pushed out a small wooden cart from behind the terrace. There were two large wooden barrels on the cart, and the mouths of the barrels were covered with cloth.

Although it was unclear what was inside, everyone's gazes instantly turned to it, and their hot gazes could almost burn holes in the barrel.

"Now."

At this time, the voice of the High Sparrow sounded again, "Prove your piety with actions, brothers and sisters."

"Read after me-

He raised "Seven-Pointed Star" and began to lead the chant.

"Born with sin, the world is a prison.

Suffering and trial temper my soul.

Piety atones for sins and cleanses away filth.

Doubt and betray, fall into the flames forever.

The seven gods lowered their eyes, and their grace was like rain.

Kneel down and accept it, and you will be liberated."

The crowd chanted along, and the voices gradually became more orderly, louder, and more fanatical than chaotic at the beginning.

Corleone watched this collective hypnosis with cold eyes, feeling completely unmoved and even wanting to laugh.

I don't know if this passage was made up by the High Sparrow himself, but the general meaning is that people are born with sin, the sufferings in this world are tests, those who are pious and atone for their sins will be rewarded, and those who doubt will fall into hell forever.

But how to say...

Not very professional and not fluent at all.

"It's so damn hard to speak." He sneered in a low voice, "I still pity the world. I have so many worries. At least my artistic conception is in place."

After reciting for about a quarter of an hour, the High Sparrow raised his hand and the chanting suddenly stopped.

"The Seven Gods have heard your voices." A smile appeared on the High Sparrow's face for the first time.

The smile was very light, with a hint of compassion, but it was indescribably weird. "Now, let us share the gifts of the Seven Gods together."

As the voice fell, the cover of the barrel was lifted.

Corleone Only then could he see clearly that in one bucket was black bread, cut into pieces of different sizes, and in the other bucket was a dark brown medicinal soup, steaming, and you knew what it was without even thinking about it.

Under people's hot eyes, the distribution began.

Faith Protectors maintained order, and people lined up and came forward one by one.

When everyone comes to the stage, they must first bow to the High Sparrow and say "Thank you to the Seven Gods for their grace." Then, after asking Faith Protectors, his Deputy will decide how much "gift" to give.

Everyone gets a piece of bread, whether pious or not.

But whether they worked hard when they prayed and chanted scriptures earlier determined the size of the bread.

When some people set their sights on the wooden barrels containing the decoction, they will be immediately scolded and driven away, and it is bluntly stated that only those who "devote themselves to atone for their sins" can receive the gift.

The first person to receive the "gift" was the old woman named Martha.

She almost grabbed the wooden bowl and drank the brown medicinal soup in one gulp.

After a few seconds, the anxious look on his face began to relax, and a blank, empty smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Then he staggered back to the crowd, his eyes unfocused, as if he had left this world of suffering and truly received "atonement."

Then slowly, one after another.

Corleone Count, analyze and evaluate silently.

The frequency of people receiving the decoction is much lower than what Rorge reported before.

Maybe these guys are short of raw materials, maybe they are out of money?

The team continues to move forward.

Then, it was a woman's turn.

She was about thirty years old, with a haggard face but she could still tell that she was very beautiful.

He held a little girl about five or six years old in his arms. The child looked pale and must have been seriously ill.

The woman did not wait impatiently to receive the bread like the others. Instead, she knelt down in front of the High Sparrow with her child in her arms.

"Please save my daughter, Master Monk. She has had a fever for three days. Several bachelors looked at it and were helpless. I heard that Emissary of the Seven Gods is here for people...

"I'm not an adult, sister."

The High Sparrow interrupted her cry and slowly opened her half-closed eyes.

But he did not treat the girl immediately. Instead, he carefully looked at the woman in front of him, and then his eyes fell on her clothes.

"The clothes you are wearing are of good quality."

"The poor sisters of Flea Bottom cannot afford to wear such clothes."

As soon as these words came out, the woman's body froze and she looked up at him helplessly, but the High Sparrow just continued to say calmly, "You must be a prostitute."

The tone was not a question at all, but a statement of facts with certainty.

Everyone's attention was attracted, and many women showed disdain in their eyes, but there was also a hint of hidden envy for the clothes she was wearing.

Some men looked at her with unscrupulous eyes, not interested in the fabric at all, but seemed to want to tear it off to see what was inside.

Sympathy?

Almost none.

Under people's gaze, the woman trembled, finally lowered her head and bit her lip and replied, "... Yes!"

"Shame!"

At this time, the armrest next to the High Sparrow loudly rebuked without warning. "Exchange your body for Gold Dragon, and use God's Gift's organs to commit blasphemy."

"Every time you trade, you are accumulating sins!"

"Shame!"

"Bitch!"

"Get out of here!"

Under his leadership, the crowd suddenly erupted in chaotic denunciations.

People seemed to have found an outlet for their sufferings and unscrupulously vented their emotions on this unclean prostitute.

"I... I need money!"

Under the criticism, the woman panicked and tried to defend herself. "My man is dead, and my daughter needs food!"

"So you feed her sin?"

Deputy's voice suddenly rose, pointing to the girl in her arms. "Look at her!"

"This is retribution. The Seven Gods will not bless a child raised with dirty money!"

His words seemed to make sense, and the crowd suddenly burst into even more fierce accusations.

People seem to have finally found a "reasonable" explanation for the girl's illness, which all stems from the mother's "sin."

Only Corleone silently observed the little girl's symptoms.

Shortness of breath with intercostal depression is typical of severe respiratory tract infection and may have developed into pneumonia.

In a world without antibiotics, the mortality rate would exceed 60%.

But at this time, no one tried to think rationally. They firmly believed that the behavior of the prostitute's mother was punished by God.

"Get out!"

"No bitches here!"

"Your sins have polluted her soul!"

They were cursing and shouting, their eyes were bloodshot, and their expressions were extremely excited.

The woman began to cry and her shoulders shook violently.

But she didn't argue, she just buried her head and hugged the child tighter. It was the only clean thing in her, but now it was also pronounced as a product of "pollution".

"The Seven... are merciful!"

But just when the people's crusade almost reached its climax, the voice of the High Sparrow suddenly sounded.

The scene suddenly fell into silence. Everyone stopped talking and listened quietly to how this incarnation of the Seven Gods judged O.

I saw him walking slowly in front of the woman, reaching out and stroking the top of her head. The expression on his face was extremely pious, as if he could not eat the fireworks of this world.

"Disease is just a symptom. The real disease lies in your depravity and the filth flowing in her blood."

"But... as long as you sincerely repent and accept purification, the gift may still come."

Hearing this, the woman suddenly raised her head, a glimmer of hope ignited in her eyes, and she couldn't wait to say loudly, "I repent!"

"I'm willing to do anything as long as my Little Lisa can get better...

As soon as these words came out, the corners of Deputy's mouth next to the High Sparrow rose slightly. It was almost impossible to detect, but someone captured this very clearly.

"Then, prove your piety."

The High Sparrow patted her head. "Confess your sins in front of the Seven Gods and all your brothers and sisters."

"Totally... without reservation."