hunting light

"It's all my fault." Standing in the study of the Duke of Oran, Ian was full of guilt.

"I should have stopped them strongly in advance," he said. "I didn't expect the children to be so impulsive. And in the end, once the gentleman's challenge was launched, there was nothing I could do."

The young priest was anxious: "The game is nothing. It's the bet..."

"Kent lost, and he's going to get out too," Leon said.

"Shut up!" the Duke of Oran said harshly, "Stand firm!"

Leon rolled his eyes, and stood upright by the piano in the study, with his hands behind his back and a hardcover thick-shell book on his head.Every time the book fell off, he had to stand for an extra half an hour.

This level of corporal punishment was still within the range that Ian could tolerate, so he didn't say anything.

Ian worried: "Kent is five years older than Leon. He is an Alpha who has been awakened and has received systematic intensive training. Yes, I know that Leon is also a kid who is far stronger than his peers, but no matter in terms of physical fitness or experience On the other hand, compared to Kent, he is at a disadvantage."

"I know my son, Father." The Duke said indifferently, "If he thinks he can win, then let him fight. Besides, this is a gentleman's challenge. Even if I am present, I will not allow Leon to fight." withdrawn."

"However, Leon has only worked hard to make up half of the summer vacation, just to be admitted to Huadu Public School." Ian said, "As far as the previous mock exams are concerned, as long as he performs normally, he can reach the score line. I am confident that he will be admitted this time—through his own efforts, he will be admitted."

"So what?" the Duke said indifferently, "If he loses a chance to study because he lost, then he will learn his lesson and won't make similar stupid mistakes in the future. Right, kid?"

Leon held the book against his head, gritted his teeth and said, "I won't lose, father!"

"Did you hear that, Father?" The Duke looked arrogantly, sipping his wine.It's not even lunch time yet, but he's already hooked his glass.

Ian had a headache: "Excuse me, my lord. I think adults have the obligation to guide children, and they can't let children try recklessly and without clues. In this way, they will waste a lot of precious things. opportunities, and lives will be changed.”

"Your preaching is all theoretical, Father." The Duke shrugged. "For Leon, no matter how strict the dogma is, he can't stop him from challenging the limit. Only the most extreme methods can be used to let him learn the lesson."

"But reading is too important for children. I believe that the children in Kent also..."

"General Hughes will agree with me." The Duke said, "We all raise Alpha sons, and we respect the children's vows and their independent personalities."

"What about the consequences?" Ian asked, "Let the child bear it by himself?"

The Duke smiled at him, full of charm: "We'll find out when the time comes."

Ian was speechless.

"Now, please forgive my excuse." The Duke put down his wine glass and smiled at the priest again with that dazzlingly handsome smile, "I know you still have a lot to say to me, priest..."

"It's not too much..." Ian remained expressionless.

"...But I still have some business to deal with." The Duke said, "You can take this kid down, and punish him as you like. But please be sure to stay for dinner, the Duchess specifically told me to keep guests. "

Ian and Leon were just swept out of the study by the Duke.

"Look, I told you, father must have this attitude." Leon tossed the book for fun, "Father also dislikes the Kent Hughes family, I wish I could find a chance to teach him a lesson on that boy Kent. "

One is a former prince who was exiled to a remote planet, and the other is the commander-in-chief of the local garrison. The relationship between the two must be under the superficial humility, and there is an undercurrent of mutual wariness and rejection.

Ian still knew from Bishop Carroll that Commander-in-Chief Hughes had sent a team of plainclothes agents to lurk around the Duke, monitoring the former prince's every move.

"He is loyal to the emperor and keeps an eye on the Duke of Oran for the emperor." Carol said, "The Duke of Oran is a rough man. He may have discovered that there are spies around him, but he never cared about it. The life of their family is also very transparent. Simple and simple, there is nothing to make the imperial capital attach importance to it."

"But the crux of the conflict is not the relationship between your family and the commander-in-chief's family." Ian said helplessly, "Leon, you are not innocent of today's incident, and you provoked the dispute."

"How did it become my fault?" Leon stopped abruptly, staring at Ian.

"Isn't it?" Ian said, "It's clear that you can explain things clearly, but you insist on exacerbating the conflict with fierce language. I used to always feel that you had to resist because of provocation, but after getting along these days, I think you are innocent, but you are also deliberately creating enemies for yourself."

Leon said angrily: "It was Kent who slandered me!"

"But you also used extremely irrational language to intensify the conflict." Ian said seriously, "If you can't calm down when things happen, and use more tactful and smart ways to solve them, but only go to extremes, then you will end up on your own. Eat the fruit."

Leon's face turned purple, and he didn't know how to refute for a while, so he turned his head angrily and walked towards the stables in the backyard.

"Leon!" Ian chased after the boy, "I know these words are not easy to hear, but I hope you can listen to them. There are countless ways to solve conflicts, and head-on is always the stupidest. You are the smartest I know Child, if you can realize this flaw in yourself, then you can do far more than that..."

Leon whistled towards the stable, and a glossy black stallion ran out happily, rubbing the boy's face affectionately.It is Leon's favorite ride "Poseidon".

"You didn't even ask me how I did in the exam." The boy whispered, stroking the horse.

Ian stopped, his viscera felt sour, and guilt welled up.

"How was the test?"

Leon glanced sideways at Ian: "I think I can get 9.8 points. The 0.2 is not because I can't do it, but I think I should maintain a little humility. You taught me: a gentleman never shows off his erudition .”

"You are still far from being erudite." Yi'an raised his forehead, "You are now at the stage where you should strive for even 0.01 points, young master!"

"Anyway, the exam is over!" Leon blew a cheerful whistle, stepped on the stirrups, and jumped on the horse's back.

"Come on, little teacher." The boy's face was facing the sun, his eyes were like crystal blue ice, "Maybe in the study, you are my teacher. But I bet on the grass field, you can learn from me." too much."

Ian chuckled: "Do you think so?"

The groom brought a snow-white horse to the priest, and this beautiful horse had blue eyes that looked exactly like Leon.

Ian is wearing casual clothes today and doesn't need to change clothes.He took the reins, without using the groom to support him, he turned on the horse neatly.

"I grew up in the Montreal area of ​​the Holy See in Xilin, my young master." Ian lovingly stroked the white horse's neck, comforting it, and getting familiar with each other.

"So what?" Leon was at a loss.

Montreal, seems to be a brand of super high-end dairy products...

"You will know soon." Ian clamped the horse's belly, without urging him with a whip, the white horse was ejected like a frost-condensed bullet, and rushed into the gently rolling hills and grasslands.

"Waiting for you at the Sun Goddess—"

"Wait!" Leon hurriedly swung his whip, chasing after Ian's laughter.

The sunshine in early autumn is as bright and clear as the eyes of a lover, and the wind from the ocean gently combs the green grass on the hillside.The summer flowers are beginning to wither, while the autumn flowers are holding heavy buds on the branches, waiting for a cool autumn rain.

The black horse chases the white horse, galloping across the green field like two strong winds.

They walked through the Phoenix tree forest in the Parthenon Manor, stepped on the scarlet and blood-like Phoenix flowers, let their horses rein, and galloped towards the sea. .

The briar roses that were in full bloom bowed behind the horseshoes to pay tribute, and scattered petals and fragrance all over the ground.The jacaranda flowers in full bloom are like clusters of blue-purple clouds floating in the low valleys.

Passing through patches of wild pear forests, we rushed up a high hillside in one breath.Ian reined in his horse on the hill, overlooking the front.

The field of vision is unobstructed, an open area, the blue sea is sunny, and the stormy waves beat the shore.The sea is like a gigantic beast, struggling and rolling, roaring mightily from the abyss.

"You are good at riding, Father." Leon chased after him, stopped the horse, and looked at the sea side by side with Ian. "When you were in Montreal, you must have ridden a horse to herd sheep in the mountains and plains."

"Every missionary school has its own ranch to manage, and the output is for the students to eat and drink." Ian smiled. "Not only that, I am also a member of the school's polo team and served as the captain for one term."

"The captain of an Omega polo team." The blond boy sighed, "Your polo team will stop to look at the scenery in the middle of the game?"

"It would be a pity if we missed the scenery along the way for the sake of the competition." Ian smiled.

The young priest's black hair was blown flutteringly by the sea breeze, sticking to his handsome fair face, his gentle dark eyes also reflected the color of the sky and ocean at this moment.

"Look." Ian pointed at the distant cliff with his horsewhip.

It is extremely steep, but it is a gathering place for seabirds.Thousands of pure white gray-backed red-billed seagulls perch on the cliffs, hunt in the sea, and reproduce from generation to generation.

"Strong sea wind, turbulent waves, and the body of the seagull is so light and small, but it can survive in the dangerous environment." Ian looked at Leon.

"Because they know how to use the laws of wind and waves, they don't just fight and fight, but adapt to, use, and integrate with the powerful forces of the other side, turning them into a part of themselves."

Two seagulls twittered and flew over their heads, one behind the other, plunging towards the blue sea below.

"Continue?" Leon tugged on the rein and turned around, "After finishing the game, it's not too late to give me a lecture."

This time, Leon took the lead and swooped down the hill.Ian smiled, riding his horse followed closely behind.

The Sun God Statue is an ancient sacrificial altar located on the east corner of Lambei Bay in the Parthenon Manor. The first generation of pioneers once erected a statue here to worship the Holy Lord.

At that time, the Holy Ming Sect had just sprouted, and they were all gods of light, so people would confuse the Holy Lord with the sun god in ancient earth mythology.Later, with the development of the Holy Ming Sect, a formal church was built in the local area, and the altar was abandoned.

After thousands of years of sea wind blowing and rain erosion, most of the gods on the altar turned into shapeless stones in the grass.Only the most central statue of the sun god is still standing on the high cliff, with mottled face, blurred facial features, and broken arms, but it still looks up to the east and welcomes the sunrise on the sea every day.

Poseidon ran up to the altar one step ahead.Leon laughed and reached out to touch the sun god's head.

"Don't be disrespectful to God." Ian arrived afterward, panting.

"Unfortunately, I forgot to bet with you this time." Leon was triumphant.

Ian got off his horse, stood in front of the statue of the sun, bowed his head and prayed to it, pointed his fingers between his eyebrows, and then tapped on the chest of the statue.

The autumn sun danced on the young priest's black hair and sweat-soaked white shirt.After strenuous exercise, Yi'an's pure white cheeks were glowing with an intoxicating blush, and his soft lips seemed to be smeared with bright rouge.

Leon stood aside, quietly watching the priest pray.

Ian put his fair fingers against his rosy lips, and lowered his head.From this angle, the beautiful silhouette on the side can be seen at a glance, and it looks so docile, humble, and harmless.Like a bird with its wings curled up, waiting for someone to touch him gently.

"Did someone say you look like the Holy Lord?"

Ian raised his head in surprise.

Leon turned sideways and patted Poseidon's neck.

"Some angles." The boy whispered, "It's a bit like the Holy Lord in the image."

Ian kissed the rice cross stand and stood up: "Everyone who serves God devoutly and bathes in the holy light probably has a certain resemblance. But please keep the fact that you watched that video a secret from me. Holy Lord's Appearance should not be seen by people outside the Holy See."

"Why?" Leon asked, "Isn't it better to let the world know what the god they worship looks like? I don't want to kowtow to a cloud of air."

"It's not because of this." Ian pulled Leon and sat on a stone pillar in the grass, facing the sea under the sun.

"God has never had a concrete face. Believers can conceive the face of God according to their own preferences. God will not restrain the souls of believers, but only guide them, comfort them, and let them find strength from their beliefs."

Leon was thoughtful, and suddenly asked after a while: "Father, have you ever seen the Holy Lord appear with your own eyes?"

Without waiting for Ian's answer, Leon continued: "At least I haven't seen it, and no one around me has seen it. Father hasn't seen it either, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed on this broken planet. But priest, you But I grew up in the Holy See. The Holy Lord must have manifested his spirit to make you believe in him so hard, right?"

"That's not what you said." Ian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"How did the Holy Lord appear?" Leon went to the bottom of the matter, "Did a ray of light come and the patient be healed, or a gust of wind and the destroyed house be restored? The scriptures say that you priests I was given power by him, so Father, can you use your spiritual power? For example... just restore this altar first, how about it? Put two arms on this poor sun idol."

"Leon!" Ian raised his voice, "Stop messing around, young master. Don't make fun of the Lord, it's disrespectful."

"I just want to understand." The boy tilted his head innocently and looked at the priest. "It's you who have been persuading me to be devout and believe in God."

Ian rubbed Leon's soft blond hair, and said: "The power of the Holy Lord is not to satisfy our whims. People in this world are meant to experience suffering, and the Holy Lord never interferes with human's own practice. And the Holy Lord only It will appear in the most dangerous and desperate times, when human beings can no longer save themselves by their own strength, and save us from fire and water. At that time, only the prayers of the most devout believers can be heard by it. "

"So," Leon said disappointedly, "you haven't seen the Holy Lord appear."

"Yes, I haven't seen it." Ian said, "But I hope I don't have to see it in my life. Because, this means that we live in a peaceful and happy world."

"But is he really capable of apparition?" Leon became interested again, "Is there a video recording the apparition of the Holy Lord in your study? Can I have a look?"

"Leon..." Ian couldn't help but want to pinch the boy's face.

At this moment, a buzzer requesting communication suddenly sounded on Ian's bracelet, and he was rescued from the boy's serial questioning.

It was the deacon in Ian's church who was also his secretary who sent the communication.

"Father," said the thin middle-aged man with a pale complexion, but his eyes were hot and bright, unnaturally excited, "Bishop Carroll's secretary asked me to inform you, please go to the bishop's mansion as soon as possible."

"Right now?" Ian immediately stood up and gestured to Leon, indicating that he was ready to go home.

"Yes, the sooner the better." The deacon said, "I have asked Mrs. Cameron to get your car ready, waiting for you to come back from the Parthenon."

"What's the matter?" Ian glanced at Leon who was going to lead the horse, and asked the deacon in a low voice.

The deacon was so excited that his breath was unsteady, and he said in a fanatical and thin voice: "The war is on, Father!"

Ian's heart clenched tightly.

"The Holy See has sent troops to the Atlanta Federation! The Holy Lord issued an order from the Holy Spirit Tower, let our pious soldiers teach those heretics who betrayed the Holy Light! Long live the Holy Lord!"