CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 122: THE BRIGHTEST FUTURE

The wind carrying the scents of feces, flowers, and fish passed through the torch in the dungeon, and in the gloomy darkness, droplets of water fell drop by drop.

Moss climbed up the original stone floor, and wooden clogs made a clattering sound as they struck it.

Three robed figures followed a lantern-bearing guard to a prison cell.

This cell was much better than the others; there was not only a desk and a soft bed but also no rats or cockroaches on the floor.

On the soft bed lay a person, dry and thin, like a branch sprawled across a dead tree.

Catherine gently tapped the iron bars with her finger, but the figure remained completely motionless.

She tapped twice more, and still, the figure did not move.

"Get up, old man!"

Catherine kicked the railing hard, causing it to clatter noisily, finally startling the person who rolled over from the bed.

"Can’t you see someone is sleeping?" The white-haired old priest scolded angrily, still grumpy from waking up.

"Teacher, we’ve come to rescue you."

"Why are you causing such a racket in the middle of the night; do you have any manners?" The man seemed oblivious, still venting irritably.

Seeing the white-haired old priest on the bed lay down as if to continue sleeping, Catherine anxiously pounded the wall: "Teacher, it’s me, I’m here to rescue you."

"And you are?"

Catherine felt a surge of hot blood rushing to her head; she could even hear her heart pounding.

Her fist hardened.

Her blood pressure rose.

Every time she communicated with Juanuo, she could feel her lifespan shortening by years.

"Oh, Minamoto no Yoshiie, it’s you." Juanuo picked up a pair of crystal spectacles from the cabinet, putting them on to stare wide-eyed at Catherine who was wearing glasses, staring back fiercely.

"Can’t sleep again? Ahem, I heard singing coming from..."

"I don’t need a lullaby, you old bag of bones, just how old do you think I am?"

"Not listening to a lullaby? Then I can’t give you cookies; you’ll get cavities."

"You damned old goat, I’m thirty! I’m not here for your cookies!"

Without paying any heed to her words, still bent over with his butt sticking out, Juanuo rummaged and mumbled through the cabinet, driving Catherine to fury and boldness.

She reached through the iron bars and caught hold of Juanuo’s robe, forcefully pulling him over.

"Want a cookie?" Juanuo handed a box of cookies to Catherine’s face through the bars.

Looking up at Juanuo’s smiling face and then down at the cookie box, Catherine angrily grabbed a handful and shoved them into her mouth.

"Do you know what the situation is right now? Tomorrow is the Inquisition." With a mouthful of cookies, Catherine mumbled incoherently.

"We’ll win, surely." Juanuo said seriously.

"You’re kidding! Do you know who those jurors are? The trial is chaired by Constans!"

The disputes between Juanuo and Constans had been long-standing, not merely because Juanuo demanded that priests not return to secular life while also secularizing church properties.

It also included appointing Thousand River Valley people as bishops, among other conditions unacceptable to Thousand River Valley monks.

Tomorrow’s Inquisition involved local priests and monks, most of whom were Juanuo’s enemies.

The reason was simple, Juanuo was a notorious informer.

He sent nearly a hundred open letters to the Church each year, reporting unlawful behaviors of priests.

He even compiled his letters into a famous pamphlet called "Stories of One Hundred Bishops and Eight Prostitutes."

It recorded many bizarre anecdotes about the bishops.

For instance, Bishop Sinewino, a child prodigy who was seven when he became Bishop of Oak Flower Village; Juanuo earnestly defended him in the book:

The seven-year-old bishop was a born prodigy. While other children spoke at two, he spoke for the first time when he became a bishop; what else but a prodigy?

His role as a bishop solely relied on his efforts, having nothing to do with his noble Falan Clan lineage, the Blue Bull family.

Another example was Resite, of the Fuka Clan, who was Bishop of White Water Castle for 30 years, having presided over zero masses.

He gambled away his bishop’s attire and staff, running naked back from the gambling den.

Juanuo acclaimed him as the closest to Saint Father Baine, because he was both naked and illiterate, a new era Adam.

In this book, Archbishop Constans was honored for hosting a technical girls’ school at home and charging protection fees while enjoying free services.

This earned Constans the nickname ’Archbishop Feiliu Bao’ from Juanuo.

Virtually all levels of monks and priests in the Thousand River Valley had been reported and exposed by Juanuo.

"Those trash, just watch me refute them one by one tomorrow, leaving them speechless."

"Who told you to debate with the judges in court?!"

Taking a deep breath, Catherine suppressed her rising blood pressure, and gravely and earnestly said:

"Teacher, I found out some news; they’ve discovered a crucial piece of evidence that might be used against you tomorrow."

"What evidence?"

"Did you happen to give someone a ruler with Elvin inscribed saying ’it drives away alcohol well, love from Blago’?"

"That item is indeed mine, I love giving things while preaching; I even carry cookies with me now."

Catherine grabbed Juanuo’s dry hand: "Anyway, just don’t admit you gave it, that’s all."

Originally, given the personal vendetta between Constans and Juanuo, and Juanuo’s standing, Constans wouldn’t genuinely act against Juanuo to avoid suspicion.

However, due to the Old King Leia’s recent stroke, Leia Kingdom’s influence within the Church suddenly weakened.

The Thousand River Valley appeared restless, and the Church authorized Constans to be promoted to Cardinal, as long as he resolved the Thousand River Valley issues.

The ruler obtained from the short-haired people is the breakthrough.

It may not be enough to convict as evidence, but it’s barely sufficient for an explanation.

At this point, with both public and personal grievances converging, Constans taking a gamble is not impossible.

Catherine’s concern is precisely this, as keeping Juanuo alive is more important than anything else.

"If I know them, I know them; if I don’t, I don’t. That’s something I gave away, though I don’t remember to whom."

"You don’t even remember to whom, can that be considered knowing them?"

"You’re really hurting my feelings by saying that."

"It’s you who’s hurting their feelings, okay? It’s you who forgot them." Catherine patted the railing discontentedly, "Can’t you pretend not to know them?

Like how Constans says the technical institute was opened by servants, he’s just confused and didn’t realize."

"No, I can’t." Juanuo shook his head, "Constans can pretend to be senile and not take responsibility for his words, but I can’t."

"Why? You’re already 70, I think you’re really getting senile."

"I can’t let all the truths I’ve spoken be overshadowed." Juanuo rubbed his aching knees, "Those jurists and imperial civil servants can lie and judge arbitrarily.

But if I also lie, who will speak for the common people?"

"But..."

"Don’t worry, we’ll win. Constans always bullies the weak and fears the strong. With Moliat around, it’ll be fine."

Reaching through the railing, Juanuo gently ruffled Catherine’s hair, showing a fatherly smile.

Catherine, usually a strong woman, stood there obediently, letting his rough palm mess up her hair.

"Alright, go back now. It’s late at night, and the nanny will worry."

"I’m thirty years old! I don’t need to go to bed on time every day!"

"Calm down, calm down." Juanuo raised both hands, in a gesture of surrender, "No wonder you’re thirty; anger makes you age faster."

Catherine’s blood rushed to her head, and she leaped like a beast, growling as she went to grab Juanuo’s beard.

Juanuo was clearly prepared, taking a step back just enough to avoid Catherine’s grasp.

After flailing through the railing, Catherine turned around angrily, leaving quickly with a parting "See you, damn it".

Holding a lamp, Mitney didn’t leave immediately; he looked deeply at Juanuo, and Juanuo smiled and nodded at him.

Mitney bowed to Juanuo, then followed Catherine in leaving.

"What I’ve taught, I’ve already finished teaching." With only himself left in the cell, Juanuo spoke so softly it was unclear whom he was speaking to, "What I had to do is done; now it’s your turn."

Catherine vanished at the end of the dungeon, and the midnight bell had already rung. Juanuo stood for a while, then sat at his desk.

From underneath his robe, he pulled out a small palm-sized booklet, made of parchment and meticulously bound.

The booklet was already frayed at the edges, with a faint yellow hue.

Opening the first page, at the top it read "To let all believers under our rule have enough to eat. — Andro."

Andro was a friend of Juanuo in his youth; back then, they formed the Orthodox Society at Longbow City Charles University, with fifteen young priests joining.

Most of them came from the lowest farming class, the highest status among them being the poor armed farmers.

But unlike other priests, most of them were sponsored by the Ruo’an Faction; otherwise, they couldn’t afford to attend the university.

This was the record when they established the Orthodox Society, and what was written was what they wanted to achieve if they became bishops in the future.

So on the second page it read "Everyone should at least have a pair of shoes. — Gorbo."

The third page read, "The wealthy and nobility should pay more taxes, and farmers and townspeople should pay less. — Deva."

From the first page to the last, the fourteenth page, the fifteenth page remained blank.

Due to Juanuo’s procrastination, he dragged it on, alone, until now, when only he was left.

Taking up a pen, Juanuo thought for a moment before slowly writing the last line on the empty fifteenth page.

"The bell of dawn has already rung, I will light up the last night sky. — Juanuo."

Returning to lie on his small bed, Juanuo gazed at the ceiling above and suddenly hummed the lullaby he hadn’t finished singing.

"I hear the songs coming from afar,

The crisp laughter like the morning dew,

Wide roads filled with colorful flowers,

Children chasing butterflies, joyously cheering,

Ah, the brightest future!

The brightest future!

Please don’t be cold to me.

That is the road to walk for a lifetime."

......

In the Imperial Calendar year 1444, October 27th, clear.

The Abbot of Blago Monastery, the revered theologian, Juanuo Yost, was judged a heretic by Archbishop of Constans.

He was pierced through the clavicle by an iron hook, forcibly tied to a stake, and escorted to the city gate.

In front of tens of thousands of people, he was burned to ashes in the flames.

As this news spread, the restless provincial peasants and townspeople abruptly fell silent.

Deadly silent, like the stillness of midnight.