Chapter 314 Steam and the Deep Sea Conclave
"We pray to Count Hughes, the god of steam and the deep sea. His mighty power will protect the believers and grant us full stomachs and good sleep."
"You are the lungs of the boiler, breathing the breath of sparks;"
"You are the tongue of the gears, the secret language that licks the engine oil."
"If our spines could be screwed into bolts,"
"I am willing to be anchored in the echo of your vibration,"
"Until flesh and blood rust like cast iron,"
"I vow to keep going back and forth with the piston!"
"Let us sing together——"
"Praise the great Count Hughes, praise the holy Castel, praise his kingdom of the sea!"
In a slightly dilapidated and shabby room, a group of people were prostrating themselves on the ground, praying loudly.
Right in front of this group of people were several hooded figures, and in front of them was a huge pot with steam rising from it.
"Okay, the ceremony is over, let's start distributing the holy water." A hooded man stepped forward and said. Although he tried to make his voice sound hoarse and low, it still couldn't hide the immaturity in it - he must be a young man.
The people who were prostrating themselves on the ground immediately stood up and lined up in an orderly manner. It was obvious that this was not the first time they had done this.
A group of ragged children timidly lined up at the end of the line and gathered together to discuss in a low voice.
"Gwen, do you think Castel really exists? I still can't believe that there really is a place where you will never go hungry, have a house to live in, and can earn money just by working."
"I don't believe it either."
"Ah?" The little boy was stunned, and looked at the thin girl in front of him in a daze, "Then, then why did we come here?"
The girl pointed to the front, where several people were holding bowls and the officiant in a hooded robe was pouring holy water for them.
The holy water was scooped out of the pot, with wisps of hot water, poured into bowls, and was immediately poured into the mouths of anxious believers.
They were not afraid of the heat, they slurped and swallowed the food, and refused to stop even if their tears came out due to the heat.
"What is that..." the boy asked subconsciously.
"I don't know. I only know that in the lower city, the followers of the Lord of Steam and the Deep Sea have the best complexion." The girl glanced at the people queuing up to receive holy water and whispered, "If they want to find a sacrifice, they probably won't give us such good food."
The woman in front twitched her ears and glanced at the group of children, her eyes lingering on Gwen's long white hair for a few seconds.
"Northerners?" she asked quietly.
"There are people from everywhere." Gwen looked up at the woman and said calmly, "But I am indeed from the North."
"I've been here for several months, and this is the first time I've seen people from the North. You didn't flee here by yourself, did you?" the woman said in surprise. Then she pulled off her headscarf, revealing her long, tied-up hair, which was also white.
When the line reached the woman, she hurriedly picked up the bowl. After the hooded man in front of her scooped a bowl of holy water for her, she thanked him and left.
Gwen followed suit and raised her bowl, but the hooded man paused.
"New faces, who are you?"
The children behind Gwen subconsciously took a step back, their eyes rolling around, looking at the open door not far away.
Gwen blinked and said innocently, "We have heard of the power of the God of Steam and the Deep Sea, and we want to offer our faith to Him."
After saying this, he raised the bowl in his hand.
But for some reason, the man's tone became more suspicious: "Have you heard of the power of God? Where did you hear it from?"
Gwen now looked around and prepared to run away: "From, from the dock, the people over there said that the holy water here tastes better."
"Of course!" The man's tone suddenly became higher. He happily scooped a spoonful of boiling holy water from the pot and poured it into Gwen's bowl: "The holy water here is the best!"
"Yes, there is nothing better than holy water!"
"The holy water brewed by the High Priest is the best to drink!"
"Yes, yes!"
Suddenly, a chorus of agreement came from the quiet crowd around, and the hooded figure waved to Gwen triumphantly: "Drink it while it's hot."
"Thank you, great Count Hughes," Gwen said quickly, looking up at the hooded man. He was still looking at her expectantly, so she quickly added in a low voice, "And the High Priest."
"Let's go." The chief priest waved his hand with satisfaction.
Gwen held the bowl carefully. It was so full of holy water that it was shaking and almost overflowing.
Gwen found a corner and sat down, then took a sip cautiously.
The spicy and hot, soft rice porridge rolled on the tip of her tongue. Just one sip made her whole body warm. She quickly opened her mouth and sipped a few times before she was able to swallow it.
The warm feeling slid from her mouth into her stomach and then flowed to her limbs. Gwen couldn't help but shiver.
Some of the other children had already eaten, while others were still queuing, looking at this place eagerly and swallowing their saliva desperately.
“Good, very delicious!”
"So nice! So hot! And still so nice!"
Gwen ignored the other children. In fact, after taking the first mouthful of rice porridge, there was no room for anything else in her mind. She took a sip and sucked it with her tongue a few times. Her face turned red due to the heat, but she still swallowed the porridge quickly.
The other homeless children soon stopped talking and for a while the room was filled with the sound of slurping porridge.
After they all finished drinking and lay crookedly in the room, one of the children rubbed his belly and said, "It's great."
"Yes, delicious porridge."
"What porridge? This is holy water!"
"Humph, where is the holy water made of rice porridge, Gwen, why did you kick me?"
The boy looked up in confusion and found that the hooded officiant had walked up to him and was looking down at him.
The hood blocked the sunlight, and the expression could not be seen clearly in the shadow.
The boy trembled and climbed up from the ground using his hands and feet.
"I ask you, what is holy water?" The priest's voice came from under the hood.
"Well"
“Holy water can dispel cold, relieve pain, cure diseases and save lives.”
The chief priest scooped some rice porridge from the pot and poured it into a bowl. "It really can't cure any illness, but at least it can fill our stomachs. The people here are all refugees from the northern border. All they need to survive is a bowl of hot porridge."
"This is holy water, Castel's holy water, the refugees' holy water."
The chief priest lifted his hood, revealing a young face in the sunlight. He was still a teenager, his face still had some childishness, but his eyes were already full of frost.
"My name is Josh, and I am the High Priest of the Secret Order of Steam and the Deep Sea."
(End of this chapter)
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