CH-001

Pastoral area Savoy.

Tomorrow, the Savoy pastoral area will usher in the big day of holding its first public Mass in 24 years.

To prepare for this day, the Elder of the pastoral area, Grandpa Jager, gathered his entire family of seven to give the church hall and facade one last cleaning.

Two twins under the age of five held damp cloths, sitting on the stone slabs wiping the door panels. Not long after they had started, the children’s mother busied herself coming over to help the two of them wring out the rags.

The twins watched while waiting, and after taking the rags back, their hands didn’t hold them steadily.

With a “splat,” the rag fell into the bucket. Instead of being upset, the two children became gleeful, as if they had seen an interesting performance.

The mother was clearly a bit irritable, but the little girls were having the time of their lives.

“Alright, alright, go play somewhere else.”

The mother gave up on letting the two children help.

Thus, the two took the opportunity to slip into the hall to play hide-and-seek, and the sound of joyful laughter instantly echoed through the cavernous church.

Elder Jager listened to the sound, distracted for a moment to look at his two little granddaughters, before turning his attention back toward the altar.

Standing there was their young priest, Alis, dressed in a white alb woven of white linen, his slender fingers tending to the delicate, pure white lilies.

Father Alis was a black-haired young man.

His appearance was slightly youthful, looking as if he had only recently reached adulthood, with a pale face and a thin frame. Even if he was born beautiful, because of this frail exterior, one always felt he couldn’t handle trouble or command the room.

He will definitely be bullied.

Elder Jager felt uneasy in his heart.

For a long time, the residents of the Savoy pastoral area were not very fond of participating in church activities, nor were they enthusiastic. The town was mostly filled with taverns, and across from the taverns were often tobacco shops; many people spent their days working and then going to drink and buy tobacco to get by.

They were not welcoming at all toward the new priest of the pastoral area, nor were they interested.

In fact, if it weren’t for Elder Jager constantly keeping watch over the hall, someone probably would have seized this “ownerless land” eight years ago to start raising or free-ranging black pigs.

However, Elder Jager had his own family business to run.

So, when the young Father Alis arrived, the interior of the church had not been cleaned for a long time.

The sanctuary lamp had long since gone out.

The church sacristy was covered in spider webs.

Even the curtain on the altar was covered in dust; despite its heavy base color, it looked as if it were coated in a layer of gray frost.

The most terrifying thing was that the Eucharist inside the tabernacle had been eaten by a bird that flew in through a window years ago, leaving only dried and hardened bird droppings inside the niche.

When Elder Jager saw this scene at the time, he nearly blacked out.

Instead, Father Alis was very calm. He took the unleavened bread he carried with him—no, it was the Eucharist—placed it back into the tabernacle, and knelt reverently on both knees. That day, he cleaned the altar, replenished the lamp oil, and the sanctuary lamp lit up again, allowing the entire hall to once more be filled with a warm and sacred radiance.

At that time, the light was like the loving hand of a deity stroking Father Alis’s features, and Elder Jager began to accept him in his heart.

However, facts are not defeated by sensibility.

Tomorrow is the first public Mass.

When the son and daughter-in-law of the family went out to promote it, they didn’t hear any indication that anyone would specifically come over.

And the new priest’s gentle appearance made him look like the one most easily bullied.

He feared that tomorrow, besides their family who would attend on time, there would be no one else. He didn’t know if this young Father who came from the capital could endure the psychological blow…

Elder Jager felt a bit at a loss.

Especially seeing Alis standing at the altar the whole time, arranging the decorative lilies and muttering in a low voice as if simulating the content of tomorrow’s preaching. He was preparing so diligently that Elder Jager really didn’t want to see this priest face a setback.

Alis, by the side of the altar, had no idea what Elder Jager was thinking. At this moment, he was contemplating the content of tonight’s dinner.

Yesterday was Wednesday.

Every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, priests within the church must follow a strict fast, where things like fish, eggs, and dairy products are not allowed.

So Alis was carefully planning to have a good meal for dinner, to save himself from breaking the fast due to cravings on Friday and Saturday.

“Should we have roast meat tonight?”

Alis noticed that Elder Jager had been staring at him for a while and instinctively made a suggestion.

Elder Jager was momentarily dazed, “…What did you say?”

Alis smiled, “I mean, I’m treating you all to dinner.”

Before the Elder could agree, the twins heard about food and scurried out from under the chairs, tightly surrounding Alis, “Great! Great! We’re having delicious food!”

Alis is a reincarnated person and has currently lived in this Western fantasy continent for a month.

The reincarnation happened quite suddenly, because Alis was staying up late during his university years to take the civil service exam for a government position.

Alis was originally named Shu Li, studying the ace major of a prestigious university in the North City—Psychology.

Since junior high school, he had developed a strong interest in psychology and watched countless related film and television works. In high school, he was even more determined to apply for the college with the strongest psychology major in the country. In the end, after fighting his way out of thousands of applicants, a senior student gave him one sentence during the opening of school.

“It’s hard to find a job with an undergraduate degree in psychology. Either take the civil service exam or take the postgraduate entrance exam; make preparations for both early on.”

At the time, Shu Li didn’t care; he just wanted to study well.

Until graduation, with an uncertain future, he really worked himself to death looking for a job.

Literally “worked to death.”

When he opened his eyes again, he was already Alis, a minor priest heading toward a northern town.

On the way there, the carriage driver was only willing to drop him off at the forest crossroads on the outskirts of the Savoy pastoral area.

The driver told him that either Shu Li could leave with him, or he would only be dropped at the crossroads, letting him walk half a day’s journey to the church by himself.

“Savoy district either has demons appearing, or it’s cursed.”

“For several months in a row, animals have had their organs dug out and thrown by the roadside. Last month, an old lady was just taking a nap at home during the day when she was brutally dismembered by a demon, with bl00d all over the floor and walls. What’s even more terrifying is that before nightfall, another old person in the house also died a tragic death on the spot, without even a chance to call for help. We people from outside towns won’t go there, for fear of catching a curse or being haunted by a demon and bringing it home.”

“I wouldn’t dare go!”

Shu Li had no real sense of “demons” and simply said: “But I have to go there for work.”

Shu Li had a permanent position there, and the major matched the job. Currently, he still had to adapt to his new identity, so he definitely had to go and investigate.

Not to mention he didn’t believe there were demons in this world at all.

The driver waved his hand heartlessly, “Then go on, I won’t see you off.”

This had a double meaning.

He left, leaving Shu Li to drag his luggage for a long walk.

Along the way, Shu Li thought repeatedly about whether there was a connection between the murder case and his being dispatched to be a priest.

But after all, coming from a society ruled by law, and with Shu Li’s internship units being mostly top-tier hospitals, he hadn’t truly encountered a psychopathic person. Coupled with the fact that he was always broad-minded, he was still not particularly sensitive to this matter.

Not to mention, the scenery along the way was great.

He was still full of expectations for the future.

Although it was said to be a northern town, the climate was not a polar one; at most, it was temperate. Perhaps for the whole country, this was indeed the coldest place. But because Shu Li lived in the North City, he was very adapted to the climate, and his mind even thought of what North City foods were available here.

If there was really one eerie thing to mention, it was that right near the crossroads, Shu Li saw a child wearing pajamas standing next to the carcass of a cat.

The child was thin and weak; it was hard to tell exactly how old he was—maybe eight, maybe ten. He squatted by the cat’s carcass, his hand reached into the cat’s belly, and noticing Shu Li approaching, he had no extra reaction.

After locking eyes for a good while, the child suddenly said: “It’s warm inside the body.” After saying this, a cold smile appeared on his face, and his eyes were hollow and indifferent.

Shu Li followed his gaze downward; the cat’s carcass was opened from the middle, and the bl00d vessels and organs inside were cut to pieces. The child’s hand was soaked in the minced meat and bl00d clots, merging as one.

Shu Li scanned the surroundings privately and found nothing, nor were there any other person’s footprints around. He instinctively asked in a gentle voice: “Have you ever attended school?”

The pajama child froze for a moment and did not respond.

Has his intellect not opened yet?

Thus, Shu Li said softly: “The body temperature of a recently deceased corpse is indeed close to the body temperature before death, so it is warm. However, it will cool down before long. Remember to wash your hands; bacteria on corpses can easily cause infection. It’s very important to wash them clean.”

The pajama child still stood there blankly, appearing as if he didn’t understand Shu Li’s words.

Shu Li felt a bit of sourness in his heart.

He squatted down, gently reached out his hand, and lightly patted the child’s shoulder, signaling him to follow.

Shu Li took out a water bottle and medicated soap from his backpack and said softly: “Come with me, I’ll help you wash your hands.” He led the child to the edge of the grass.

At this moment, the sunlight was just right, and the warm light made this moment seem exceptionally peaceful.

“Washing your hands is very important,” Shu Li demonstrated as he spoke, “Look, first use running water to wet your hands, then apply soap and scrub vigorously.” He lowered himself beside the child, guiding him carefully.

“The back of the hands and wrists must be cleaned, and the gaps between fingers and nails cannot be missed. Finally, rinse them clean with water.” Shu Li’s voice was soft and patient, hoping the pajama child could understand some health knowledge.

However, Shu Li noticed the child’s hands had no reaction, the fingers remained stiff, so he didn’t use too much force to scrub.

Shu Li sighed slightly, reached out his fingers, and gently helped the child wash away the dirt between the finger gaps. This simple action seemed to bring a trace of comfort to the child.

Because the child’s gaze changed slightly, becoming less indifferent than before.

After washing the hands, Shu Li stood up and continued to watch the change in the child at that moment, seeing a bit of clarity rise in his eyes.

Shu Li said softly: “Alright, now you can go home. Get some rest early.”

The child didn’t say much, only nodded silently. Although his attitude was still cold, it wasn’t as hollow as before.

Watching the child’s receding back, Shu Li felt a mix of complex emotions surging in his heart. He shook his head slightly, looked up, and began to organize his map, preparing to continue toward the church.

The following days remained busy with Mass preparations and church cleaning. Shu Li gradually pushed the demon rumors and the matter of the child to the back of his mind.

After the final cleaning was done, the time had reached dusk.

After Shu Li locked up the church hall for the last time, he went with the Jager family to a small restaurant near the church.

Figures flickered on the road.

The two twins each grabbed one of Shu Li’s hands, walking like little rabbits hopping and jumping, occasionally bumping into Shu Li, making Elder Jager tremble with fear.

But Shu Li didn’t mind.

They were passing a crossroads. Suddenly, a stone flew over. Shu Li instinctively stepped in front to block, only to see several children chasing after another child.

“Don’t you run, you demon!”

“Everyone kill him together! Let’s see if he dares to show up again?!”

As soon as the words fell, the chased child stopped his pace and coldly turned his head to look at them.

The children who were originally chasing him instantly felt fear and didn’t dare move forward. After a few seconds of silent confrontation, the child standing at the very front didn’t want to show weakness and said with a shaking voice: “I saw you kill the cat. It must have been you who killed the Grandpa and Grandma of the Ander family. Leslie, you deserve to die.”

“…So what if it was?” the child answered quickly, with an incredible calmness and rationality.

Shu Li recognized that the child speaking was exactly the pajama child he had encountered in the woods before.

The child paused, a ruthlessness undetectable in his peers appearing on his expression.

His voice had no ripples as he asked back calmly: “And so what if it wasn’t? Just based on you, you want to decide my life and death?”

Shu Li originally felt he should step forward to mediate this absurd scene. However, he now felt this scene was familiar, as if he had read it in some revenge novel.

The protagonist of that novel seemed to be named Leslie too?