This Temple of Light is located in the northeastern neighborhood of Anke City. It is in a remote location and the place is not big. The main hall is just a slightly larger room. There is a small courtyard in front of the hall with seven or eight trees planted, and there are three or four trees on the side. There are three rooms, one of which is the office and bedroom of the head monk Riddle. The furnishings are very simple, with plaster-painted walls and two square windows with half-rusty iron branches. There is only a table and a cabinet in the room. It's just a bed, a few wooden chairs and a washstand.
Mingna "automatically" followed Riddle into his office, and then "automatically" sat down. Her eyes almost burst out with fire, but Riddle himself didn't seem to be aware of it. Her teeth itched at the sight: "Father , I really don’t need to trouble you, my parents are nearby, I can go find them by myself, really.”
"Then tell me, what are your parents' names and where are they now? I'll call someone to notify them right away, okay?" Riddle blinked.
Ming Na bit her lip, of course she couldn't say it, her parents were in East.
Riddle showed that terrible smile again: "Children shouldn't lie. In fact, your parents are not in Anchor City, right? You kid, couldn't you have left home privately? You are really ignorant, even in Shaonan, there is no guarantee of safety for a little girl like you walking alone on the street, let alone in Anchor City? Half of the land here belongs to Weisha, and bad guys who kidnap and traffic children are everywhere. You are left alone on the street. , you will be targeted soon, and I cannot let you fall into such danger. Although you have some magic power, it may not be able to save you when the bad guy comes with a knife. "
He opened the scroll in his hand: "First tell me your name and where your home is. Ivan said someone left you behind. What happened?"
Mingna hesitated for a long time before she reluctantly told part of the truth: "I didn't run away from home on my own, I was abducted... But I escaped! Someone had promised to take me with him, but suddenly this morning He regretted it, left me outside the temple, and gave me money. He said... He told me to find a way to get home on my own. If I need help..." She raised her eyes and glanced at Riddle: "You can find someone here." If I had known earlier. For such a scary guy, she must stay far away. You will never walk in stupidly on your own!
Riddle frowned. The smile looked scarier than the smile just now: "How irresponsible! How can you just leave the child alone?!" Then he said to Ming Na: "Since you are living outside now, just stay here for the time being. Just in time, All the girls here left last month, and now I have an empty bed for you. By the way. What's your name?"
Minna stared at him and said slowly: "My name...my name is Sarah." She borrowed the name of the little princess Sarah, but when she thought that she and Perdica had left her alone, Minna became extremely depressed.
"Okay, Sarah. You can stay here for the time being. Tell me your home address and your parents' names. There are often caravans here going to other places. If I have the opportunity, I will have someone send a message to your home to ask them to come. Pick you up.”
Minna didn't hear what Riddle said clearly. Her attention was completely attracted by the other party's actions: "Father, you...what are you doing?! Why did you collect my money?!"
Riddle put the bag containing Mingna's money into the cabinet behind him and locked it. He turned around and said, "To prevent you from trying to escape secretly, please leave the money with me for the time being. When your parents pick you up and leave, .I will return the land to you one piece at a time."
"You, you are robbing!" Ming Na was so angry that her face turned red. "I don't believe you! You are just like those thieves, you all want my money!"
Riddle's men paused. Reaching out and touching Ming Na's head, Ming Na dodged and wanted to rush to the cabinet to get back her money, but found herself being stopped by Riddle again. She only heard the other party say: "Although I need money very much, but I won’t be greedy for you. I know you want to use the money to hire a boat or a car and go home alone, but that is too dangerous. Who knows what will happen to you on the road? So, you’d better wait for the adults to pick you up. .Now, go back outside and play with the other kids."
Minna stared at Riddle, but her body walked out "automatically and consciously". When she got outside the door, her limbs obeyed her command again. At this time, the priest's voice came from behind: "Child, don't be willful, you should Learn to trust adults.”
Ming Na looked at him hatefully and secretly stamped her feet. Do you believe adults? It was because she trusted adults too much that she was betrayed and suffered so much! Just this morning, she had climbed on Perdicca's horse because she trusted him, only to be left behind by him. Adults are unreliable, so she shouldn't trust them!
Whether she wanted it or not, she settled into this temple for the time being. She lives in the small courtyard behind the main hall. There are two huts there, one is the kitchen, and the other is where the girls used to live. Now she is the only one. Her life here cannot be said to be very comfortable, but she is guaranteed two meals a day, the quality of the food is not bad, and the bed and clothes are simple but very clean.
Apart from Riddle, the only clergy in the temple was an old monk who was responsible for taking care of the flower garden, and then there were the boys in the shelter. The boys all lived in the house in the front yard. They got up very early every day, followed Riddle to pray and had breakfast. Then some of them went out to find odd jobs or served as apprentices in shops. When they had land, they stayed in the temple to help out. They did some chores until dinner in the evening, when they were free to move around. After dinner, there was about two hours of study time, with Riddle personally teaching them how to write, and then they turned off the lights and went to bed. The daily routine is very regular.
When Ming Na knew that the children had free time for most of the day every day, she immediately made plans. Although she didn't quite remember the way to Xiao's Trading Company, it would be easy to find out about such a famous store. She just had to wait quietly for the opportunity to go out the next day.
However, the opposite happened. I don't know if it was because her desire to escape was too strong. Father Riddle was worried that she would leave on her own and be in danger, so she was prohibited from going out during her free time. She could only stay within the temple grounds, doing cleaning work, and reading books if she was interested.
After Ming Na heard what Riddle said, she was so angry that she jumped up and down. Unfortunately, the opponent's confinement technique was too powerful. As soon as she made any unusual move, she would be immobilized immediately, and then her hands and feet would automatically act according to the opponent's wishes. She had tried to work her magic out of this predicament. Unfortunately it never worked again.
Priests of the Light Cult like Riddle usually learn light magic, which is mostly healing or restorative. There is no effective attack method. It is said that during the war hundreds of years ago. Many clergymen had lost their lives at the hands of the enemy because of this. Therefore, a senior monk in the Central Holy See at that time developed this kind of confinement magic, which could restrict the actions of others to a certain extent. It became the unique means of self-protection for the monks of the Light Religion.
However, the use of this kind of magic is very strict and is never taught to non-clergy. There are also restrictions on the objects it can be applied to. Therefore, Minna is very angry that Riddle "abuses" this kind of magic. It's a pity that the people in the other temple in Encore City never expressed their opinions on this. The old monk in the same hall was also half-deaf. I only care about the flowers and plants every day and don't care about anything else. Minna had no choice but to continue to endure Riddle's confinement. To be honest, her life here was not comfortable. In addition to being unable to leave or contact others, the boys in the temple seemed to be ostracizing her from time to time. Playing little pranks or something made her feel even more depressed.
These boys. Some of them were originally street children, thieves or beggars. There is still a part of the land that was taken in by Riddle. She was in a similar situation to Ming Na, who was trafficked by slave traders to Anke or surrounding areas. When Father Riddle was preaching nearby, he encountered such children and always tried his best to buy them and bring them back to the temple for placement. The lucky ones among them will be reunited with their families, and for those who have nowhere to go, Riddle will teach them how to read, learn a skill, and then ask someone to find them a job so that they can make a living on their own.
These children were all saved by Riddle, so they respected and loved him very much. Mingna has never been very polite to Riddle, and they naturally don't have a good face towards her. However, she doesn't dare to do anything in front of Riddle, but they never stop making little moves behind her back.
In fact, Mingna was a little moved after knowing what Riddle had done. She wondered if she had misunderstood him. Maybe he was just scary-looking but had a good heart? But she soon overturned her idea.
Grandpa clearly said that he was not a good person. If he was, wouldn't it mean that Grandpa was wrong? Although she often resented her grandfather for leaving her alone and returning to her own world, she was able to escape now thanks to her grandfather's teachings. Moreover, her grandfather's powerful image was deeply ingrained in her heart and would never be changed so easily.
On the surface, everyone praises and praises the good people, but secretly he is full of evil. She has seen this in the past two years, so she should not put too much faith in Riddle.
Thinking like this, Ming Na decided not to tell the truth to Riddle, but to find a way to go out and find someone from the Xiao family business.
Thus, the battle between sneaking and counter-stealing began.
Minna tried every means to leave the temple, but Riddle was worried that she would be abducted and refused to allow her to leave. He even asked the boys to help monitor her. Minna waited for three full days before she got a good opportunity.
This afternoon, the weather was a little gloomy, and it had just rained. Ming Na came to the backyard and saw that there was no one around, and she smiled proudly.
Riddle was receiving guests in the office in the front yard; no one went to the main hall to pray on a rainy day; among the boys, Ivan left with his employer this morning, and the oldest, Albert, is still doing odd jobs in the store. Everyone else was reviewing their lessons in the dining hall; but the old monk who was guarding the flowers and plants in the backyard left to look for a shovel.
The shovel had been hidden by Mingna for a long time, and it was estimated that the old monk would not be able to find it for a while. Ming Na secretly told herself that she must seize this opportunity.
After looking around to make sure there was no one around, Ming Na quickly climbed up the big tree next to the wall, jumped onto the wall on a thick branch, and looked outside. There was no one in the aisle behind the wall, and there was a small ditch two or three meters away. As it flows by, the ground on the side is filled with dirt, with a few clumps of grass growing there. It has just rained, so the surface should be very soft. Ming Na nodded slightly and was about to jump down.
"What are you doing?!" A shout came from the courtyard. Minna was startled. Her feet were in the air and she was about to fall. She eagerly grabbed a few branches to steady her body. She turned around and saw Father Riddle. She ran over in shock, shouting: "Are you okay? You didn't fall, did you? What are you going to do? Come down quickly?!" She couldn't help feeling frustrated: Failed!
Ming Na secretly hated her, but she could only climb down from the tree obediently. No matter how unwilling she was, she knew that if she didn't come down, the result would be the same.
Riddle rushed up, his eyes wide open, and his eyeballs turned bright red: "Sarah, why are you so disobedient?! Don't you know that is dangerous?! What if you fall?!"
Minna lowered her head, looking like she was being taught, but Riddle knew that this was just an illusion and couldn't help but feel a headache. At this time, the two guests who came to the backyard with him suddenly spoke: "Is this child the Sarah you mentioned?"
"Yes, that's her." Riddle returned to a gentle and respectful tone and replied.
Ming Na glanced at the two luxuriously dressed guests with some curiosity, wondering why they mentioned her.
One of the older ones nodded to Mingna: "Is your name Sarah? Did you escape from the slave traders? Is it the aggressive oasis thirteen kilometers northwest of Anchor City? Is it the first few days? Did you escape when the Sky Oasis caught fire?"
Ming Na looked at the other party suspiciously and said cautiously: "I don't know the name of that oasis, but I did escape from the oasis near Anchor City. It was on fire at the time."
Riddle frowned slightly and said to the guest: "How do you know when this child escaped?"
The other party smiled and did not answer, but continued to ask Ming Na: "Are you really called Sarah? I heard that she is a very beautiful little girl."
Ming Na lowered her head guiltily and said nothing. Seeing this, the man was about to ask more questions, but Riddle interrupted: "This child has suffered a lot to become so thin. She was originally a very cute girl. Children. In fact, there are many children like her. The situation of child trafficking has become more and more serious in recent years. Originally, only orphans or children from poor families were abducted. Now, even children from wealthy families cannot escape being abducted. It’s dangerous to leave. God of Light, they are really pitiful. Although our ability is limited, we hope to help them as much as possible, don’t you think?”
"Huh? Ah, yes." The guest cleared his throat uncomfortably, looked at Minna a few more times, and then forced a smile to Riddle: "We are also very uneasy about this situation, but all countries have already taken action. I believe it won’t be long before there will be no more children suffering this fate.” After talking for a few more words, he dropped a bag of money and left. Before leaving, his companion glanced at Ming Na again. Eye.
Ming Na was confused by what they saw, but when she thought about her situation, she felt a little uneasy. She prayed in her heart that Riddle would not ask her to copy the Divine Record of Light again. She had already owed the debt ten times.
Riddle didn't say anything, he just looked at her quietly, which made her feel scared: "Father, you..."
"Is your name really Sarah?"
Ming Na's heart skipped a beat: "Yes...yes."
Riddle was silent for a moment and suddenly said: "I plan to go to the oasis in the west to preach in two days. Now I have to go out to raise funds. Don't you really want to go out? Do you want to come with me?"
Ming Na opened her mouth in surprise. This was the first time he allowed himself to go out.
"If you're going to go, get yourself cleaned up quickly or I'm going to call someone else."
"I want to go!" Mingna quickly ran back to the room, washed her hands and face, combed her hair, and carefully wiped off the muddy water on her clothes before returning to Riddle.
Riddle was already dressed. He looked Mingna up and down, nodded slightly, and motioned for her to follow him. Ming Na followed him to the street where she had not seen him for a long time, and she couldn't help but feel excited.
Riddle greeted people all the way, and it was obvious that he was well respected here. He walked all the way to Xicheng District, without stopping on the way, and went directly to a large store. When Ming Na saw the shop, she immediately held her breath.
That was the Xiao Family Trading Company.