201: This holy water is a magical medicine!

“I…as a servant of God, naturally, I must prioritize the food given by God to the most needy lambs.” Father Camille’s mind raced, finding a high-sounding reason for himself.

He forced himself to appear calm to cover his guilt, “My duty is to guide, to pray, and to endure spiritual suffering.”

“Oh, spiritual suffering?” Mo Yan repeated, his tone devoid of any emotion, “That truly is…great. I just don’t know if this suffering was bestowed by the divine, or manufactured by certain individuals?”

He no longer looked at Father Camille’s face, which was clearly filled with guilt.

He led Bai Lingyue and Gun Gun to the most dilapidated thatched hut on the edge of the village.

From inside the hut, a faint cough could be heard.

Creak—

He pushed open the wooden door and saw a scrawny woman holding an equally thin child, sitting blankly on a pile of straw.

The child’s lips were chapped, eyes tightly shut, breathing weak, and the black markings on his body were deeper than those on others.

Father Camille followed closely, and upon seeing this household, he warned, “The sins of this family are the most profound; they have long been abandoned by God! If you pray here, you will only defile your piety and invite an even more terrifying divine punishment!”

Mo Yan ignored him, squatted down, and looked at the dying child.

With a flick of his hand, a waterskin appeared in his grasp.

“What are you trying to do!” Father Camille shouted sharply.

Mo Yan ignored his shouts, unscrewed the waterskin, and a sweet, slightly Spiritual Qi-infused mist instantly permeated the air.

This water came from the Elf Spring in the Volcanic Area; let alone purifying the toxins of mere decaying moss, it would be more than enough to cleanse the marrow and tendons of ordinary people.

Now, using it as “holy water” was truly a bit of an overkill.

The woman, who had been lying blankly on the straw pile, showed a faint ripple of emotion in her numb eyes the moment she smelled this aura.

Her throat uncontrollably bobbed, a primal craving for water from her body.

“My method of prayer is rather special.” Mo Yan looked at the wary Father Camille, a playful smile on his face, “It requires holy water to wash away sins and purify the Soul.”

He handed the waterskin to the woman.

“holy water?” Father Camille’s pupils suddenly contracted, staring intently at the waterskin in Mo Yan’s hand, as if it were some monstrous flood, “What nonsense are you spouting! How dare you defile God’s Domain so casually!”

The woman stared blankly at the waterskin, then at Father Camille, whose face was ashen, and finally, her gaze fell upon the faintly breathing child in her arms.

Maternal instinct ultimately triumphed over the long-instilled fear.

She tremblingly reached out and took the waterskin.

“No! Don’t drink it!” Father Camille shrieked, his voice distorted by shock and anger, “That is the poison of heresy! It will anger the divine and doom you to eternal damnation!”

His reaction was too intense, almost losing control.

This abnormal behavior caused the seed of doubt in the woman’s heart, which had been wavering, to quietly sprout and grow.

She no longer hesitated, carefully brought the waterskin to the child’s lips, and fed him a small sip.

The sweet spring water slid down the child’s chapped lips into his throat.

A miracle occurred the very next second.

The child’s cheeks, which had been abnormally flushed from high fever, visibly lost their redness at a speed discernible to the naked eye, and his breathing, from weak and rapid, became steady and prolonged.

Those grotesque black markings on his body, though not gone, were noticeably lighter in color.

“Oh…my God…” The woman let out an incredulous moan, tears streaming down her face in excitement.

She, too, eagerly took a sip.

A cool, sweet, warm current instantly surged through her entire body.

The coldness, pain, and weakness that had plagued her body for years were completely washed away by this warm current!

She felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted, feeling lighter than ever before.

How could this be poison! This was clearly a divine medicine!

Outside the hut, the villagers, who had initially only been peeking, saw everything clearly.

“That child…he seems much better! His breathing is steady!”

“Could it be…Father has been lying to us all along?”

A man who had just been holding a wooden stick now lowered it, staring at the woman who had drunk the holy water, muttering, “It really…it really works…we don’t have to suffer anymore?”

The old man beside him grabbed his arm even more excitedly, his voice trembling: “Look! That child’s face…it’s rosy! This isn’t poison, it’s divine medicine!”

Whispers converged into an undercurrent, challenging the authority Father Camille had previously established.

Father Camille’s face was extremely grim.

He couldn’t understand why the ordinary clear water the other party produced had such a miraculous effect.

This completely exceeded his understanding!

The lie he had meticulously woven for decades seemed so vulnerable in the face of this water.

No, he absolutely couldn’t let the situation develop like this!

He had to regain control, he had to use a more powerful miracle to solidify his position and awe these wavering ignorant people!

“Enough!”

Father Camille stomped his staff forcefully, producing a loud thud that left a shallow pit in the ground.

His eyes gleamed with fanatic and sinister light as he retreated from the thatched hut and stood in the central clearing of the village.

He raised his staff high and, with a mournful yet majestic intonation, shouted to all the villagers:

“Oh, ignorant people! You have been blinded by the facade of heresy, and your wavering has completely enraged the divine!”

His voice carried a peculiar Gu-like allure, instantly silencing the villagers who had just been discussing, their faces showing fear.

“Now, you shall witness the divine wrath with your own eyes! That boundless pain shall once again descend upon you, punishing your betrayal!”

Father Camille’s voice grew increasingly high-pitched; he closed his eyes, as if communicating with the divine.

“But, God is merciful!” He suddenly opened his eyes, filled with compassion, “I, as God’s agent on Earth, will once again pray for you, and bear this divine punishment for you!”

“Let you remember who your only salvation is!”

As his words fell, the golden stone at the top of his staff suddenly glowed with an eerie black light.

An invisible ripple-like fluctuation spread out.

Instantly, all the villagers, including the mother and child who had just drunk the Spiritual Qi spring water, let out painful screams and collapsed to the ground.

The black markings on their bodies, which had faded, reappeared, and were even deeper and more grotesque than before!

The black markings writhed wildly beneath their skin like living things, bringing waves of excruciating pain that tore at their hearts and lungs.

“Ah—! It hurts so much! My bones…my bones are breaking!”

“Father! Save me! I was wrong!”

“Spare me…I won’t dare again! Please!”

In an instant, the entire village turned into a Hell of wailing.

Father Camille looked at the villagers rolling and wailing on the ground, a morbid smile on his face.

This was right, this was the scene he was familiar with.