Chapter 15
Winster was awakened by the slight sound of his brother getting up, but he did not get up with him. He had an inexplicable headache, but ignored the discomfort and kept his eyes open, trying to recall the information in his dream.
Probably because he listened to some stories about gods told by Grandpa Kevin yesterday, he dreamed of those extraordinary beings last night - the God of Creation who controls the power of time and space, and the nine main gods who control light, darkness, gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind and thunder respectively.
Winster couldn't remember how the gods were born or what they looked like. The clearest impression in his mind was that among the main gods, secondary gods and their subordinate races, there was no god of wealth...
"Did I wake you up? Go to sleep a little longer. I'll go to Uncle Tony's house and buy breakfast and call you when I come back."
Winster came to his senses and asked, "Can I go with my brother?" He wanted to help carry the basket and not let his brother get too tired.
As for the content of the dream...it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or false. What’s important is not what god I believe in, but that I have a little secret with my brother.
Later, when Samuel reappeared and received new memories and ideas, he was disgusted with himself for having lost all his memories - fortunately, he was born with knowledge and did not have a foolish childhood, otherwise he would have been deceived to death by some hypocritical guys.
Elphis was very comfortable raising his child. Winster was well-behaved and quiet, smart and steady. He never annoyed him and learned quickly whatever he was taught. This made him feel a sense of accomplishment. Even at the age of eleven, he felt relieved that his career had a successor.
Winster's life was fulfilling and busy every day. Except for the fact that he felt a little uncomfortable when listening to Grandpa Kevin telling stories every day, everything else was good.
Especially when he was with his brother, he was happy no matter what he did. He had never thought before that he could have no worries about food and clothing and walk upright on the street among the crowds of people.
It was spring, and the available resources in the forest gradually became abundant. Elphis would take the child to the forest in the morning to pick wild fruits and mushrooms, and teach him to identify which ones were edible.
He would teach Winster how to make traps, practice archery with him, and teach him how to ride a horse.
Since his child doesn’t like to play with other children of the same age, he just keeps him around and teaches him some survival skills and common sense.
Winster takes everything he learns very seriously. He always feels that the more he knows, the better he can protect himself. Some people are naturally strong-willed and find it difficult to gain a sense of security from others. They are only willing to rely on themselves.
Winster trusts his brother but is unwilling to rely on him. He hopes that he can become strong as soon as possible and become dependent on his brother. To this end, he is willing to do everything and even learned the strange movements that Elphis does every morning and evening.
Although he didn't understand the purpose of these slow movements, what his brother did must be meaningful.
Elphis was very happy that Winster was willing to practice Tai Chi with him. The child's behavior of not understanding but still quietly accompanying him was really comforting.
In addition to teaching, Elphis also took Winster on a careful tour of the town and told him what kind of business was going on here.
"These days, everyone who has free time has started to weave cool mats. Uncle Will buys them from them at the price of thirty copper coins each, and then stores them and sells them in the city when the weather gets warmer."
"For those who don't have the patience to weave, they can just dry some bamboo shoots and mushrooms in the hot sun. They can also dry some dried flowers and fruit slices and sell them for soaking in water."
These things were to be sent to the specialty shop in Raphael City, which was bought by Elphis and Uncle Will at a high price.
Uncle Will was responsible for dealing with the townspeople to buy the goods, then packing them and shipping them to the city. Elphis and him shared the cost, then increased the price and sold them, splitting the profits equally.
Elphis would check the accounts every few days, and he was not afraid that his employees would take advantage of their absence.
Elphis is in charge of the brainpower part, and Uncle Will is in charge of purchasing and transportation, and they work together quite happily.
However, I didn’t tell Winster about the specific business model because the child is too young to understand it.
"If you also want to make money, you can dry some things and sell them to Uncle Will like them, but be sure not to mix in flowers and fruits you don't recognize. If they are poisonous, it will be troublesome."
Winster didn't know that his brother had become a small boss who could command others with just his mouth and did basically no other hard work except housework.
He only knew that his pastor grandfather did not do any work to earn money and was using the money he had saved when he was young.
While I stayed in the church to attend classes in the afternoon, my brother often went out (actually he went out to inspect the work of the townspeople). He must have done hard labor in other people's homes. Every few days he had to deliver goods to the city from afar (mainly to get the money). It was so hard for my brother to support the family alone!
Winster quickly learned a lot of things and helped Elphis share almost all the housework. He even didn't play around after class. He quietly made straw and bamboo weaving and dried some goods to sell to Uncle Will.
The child was so well-behaved that Elphis felt distressed, and he felt worried every day when he saw Winster doing things quietly.
Alas, his child is good in every way except that he doesn’t like to interact with anyone except him, including Grandpa Kevin who lives under the same roof with him. After living with him for a while, he has never seen the child smile at his grandfather.
It was only for his brother's sake that Winster listened patiently to the old man telling him about the various good deeds of the Holy See, including being able to praise the gods against their will day after day. It was also because Elphis was there with him that the words of praise he said were actually for his brother in his heart.
Pastor Kevin did not realize how close Winster was to them. He just thought that Winster had suffered a lot outside before being adopted by them, and had a lot of things in his heart, which made him so taciturn. However, he was very hardworking, and there is no old person who doesn't like a hardworking child.
One day at dinner, Pastor Kavan said with emotion: "In the past, Al liked to sell things in the small yard. Now it is little Winster's turn to work here. He has started to earn money to support the family at a young age. You are all sensible and good children. It is grandpa's luck to adopt you."
Elphis smiled and said, "Grandpa raised me with great difficulty, and was willing to take in Winster, teach so many children, and tell them about the outside world. It is our duty to take care of you. Good people will be rewarded."
"No, no, no, I didn't do anything for you two. The God of Light must have seen your beautiful and tenacious souls and couldn't bear to see you suffer, so he guided you to my side. Now you have a place to live. Thank God."
Elphis/Winster: "..." As long as you are happy.
After a while, Winster sold what he had made and received his first salary in his life.
The child was unusually excited, and he smiled and gave a silver coin - all his wages - to his brother.
Alphis was immediately moved and hugged the child, touched the back of his head, and thought that his eldest son was so filial!
"Dad...brother doesn't want your money." Fortunately, I stopped myself in time.
Elphis joked with the child: "If you need anything, just tell your brother. You can save the money you earn as capital for your wife." It is not a bad idea to cultivate the awareness of saving money early.
"What is Wifebook?"
The young boy gently pinched the child's chubby cheeks and said, "Well... it's for marrying a wife. Our Winster is so handsome, he won't have trouble finding a wife in the future."
Winster had no interest in getting married and insisted on giving the money to his brother. However, Elphis didn't have the nerve to take a silver coin that the boy had worked so hard to earn, so he coaxed the kid to keep it for himself.
Winster was a little disappointed, but he soon came to his senses and decided to work hard to save money so that he could support his brother one day!
Elphis gave Winster a clay sculpture of the God of Wealth that he had been making for a while. The sculpture was about the same size as their heads.
He made a rough outline based on his memory, then used a knife to carefully carve out the details. After drying, he painted it with paint, which looked quite festive. "Here, God of Wealth, may you make money smoothly and live a good life without worries about food and clothing."
Winster took the clay sculpture, which was a kind-looking old grandfather wearing a golden and red robe, a strange hat, a slightly fat figure, black hair, black eyes, and a long black beard. He held a real gold coin in his hand, which was much more pleasing to the eye than the statue of the God of Light in the church.
"Thank you, brother."
Winster thought that his brother had painted the eyes and hair of the clay sculpture black to please him, so he treasured it and placed it in their room.
Elphis: Every day when I wake up I can see the God of Wealth smiling at me, I am so happy!
——
When Elphis was not at home, Winster was always busy finding things to do.
Later, he couldn't stand Pastor Kevin's slow nagging anymore, so he asked the old man to give him extra lessons and continue teaching him to read. He worked so hard, not only because he wanted to become excellent quickly so that he could help his brother, but also because he had a deep desire to become strong.
It was often only after Elphis went home that the tired Pastor Kaven would breathe a sigh of relief.
Elphis soon discovered that Winster could finish reading a book smoothly, and the number of times the child asked him about new words during bedtime reading decreased rapidly.
After living with him for just over a month, Winster's learning progress has caught up with the other children who have been attending half-day classes every day for a long time.
This memory can no longer be described as good, I'm afraid it's like having a photographic memory.
Elphis is now in the mentality of an old father. He is pleased that his child is sensible and loves to study, but he is also worried about his child's social skills.
Before going to bed one day, Elphis gently advised: "Childhood is short, it doesn't matter if you play for a few more years. It would be best if you can make one or two friends. You don't have to work so hard to earn money at such a young age. Your brother can support you."
The child who was reading a book at the wooden table looked up at the other person, then buried his head and whispered as if he was a little embarrassed: "Grandpa said that I was like my brother when he was a child. I didn't like to play with my peers and liked to busy myself with my own things. I, I don't want to play. I want to work hard like my brother..."
Elphis choked: "..." He is different. It is normal for him, an adult, not to be able to play with children!
Forget it, a forced melon is not sweet. He thinks Winster is just cold and slow to warm up, not timid and unwilling to interact with others. He shouldn't have to worry about being bullied when he is released in the future.
Life went on plainly and smoothly. Compared to the days before he met his brother, Winster now felt like he was living in a dream - no, dreams cannot be compared, Winster did not like his dreams.
Before he left the mountain village where he was born, he would have strange dreams every now and then. However, because he had a shallow sleep, he never slept well. After waking up, he had almost no memory of what happened in the dream, but there was still a sense of déjà vu - but this feeling disappeared after he was completely awake.
But after living with a trustworthy brother in a stable and comfortable environment, his sleep will naturally be deeper, and Winster will have a deeper impression of the things in his dreams.
Although he only remembered scattered information after waking up, he was sure that every dream had nothing to do with beauty or ordinary.
Not only did he not have beautiful dreams, he also repeatedly dreamed of people in gorgeous clothes but with blurry faces, huge and ferocious beasts, splashing scarlet, an eternally dim and desolate land... and a black palace that seemed to be able to come alive at any time and swallow up any living thing that came close to it...
As the good days passed one by one, Winster should have adapted to the comfortable life and gradually forgotten the dark past, but the more these dreams he had, the more uneasy Winster became - was the demon possessing him about to wake up?
My brother said that if demons exist, there must be gods. He lives in a church protected by divine light. Isn’t that enough to suppress the demons?
He lives in the same house with his brother. Will he wake up one day and find that his brother has been killed by him, just like the village chief and his son...?
It didn't take long for Winster to enjoy a peaceful and carefree life before he returned to his previous vigilant state of mind. Because he resisted dreams, he had been half asleep and half awake when he fell asleep recently - he didn't want the monster's memories to invade his mind.
Elphis soon noticed the change in him.
For some reason, the child always looks listless recently, as if he didn’t get enough sleep.
I'm not that close to him anymore, and sometimes my smiles seem forced.
This doesn't seem like the behavior of a rebellious person... Elphis really couldn't guess what this child with a complicated life experience was thinking, so he asked directly.
Whenever Winster was unhappy, he would habitually bury his head and talk, "It's just that I've been having nightmares these past few days and haven't slept well. Don't worry, brother."
Elphis sighed. Frequent nightmares must be related to his past experiences. What a huge psychological trauma this has left...
This is when a child psychologist is needed, but unfortunately there is none, and Elphis is not good at counseling on psychological problems, so he can only try his best to be nice to the child.
More than two months after Winster was adopted——
That night, not long after the lights were turned off, Elphis, whose biological clock had basically been fixed, became conscious and he would probably meet Zhou Gong in the next moment.
Winster opened his eyes, looked at another bed not far away, and suddenly said: "Brother, if I become a demon, will you report me and let the priest kill me?"
The voice was very low, and it was unclear whether he was asking someone or talking to himself.
When Elphis heard the noise, he tried to open his eyelids and respond to his child.
Demon... The first thing that came into Elphis' mind was an image with horns and wings. "Well... why should I kill you? Winster will become very powerful. Brother will rely on you to protect him in the future. If you grow wings, can you take brother to fly in the sky?"
The voice was a little vague, but Winston still heard it. The panic in his heart suddenly disappeared by more than half, and he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth, "Yeah! It's okay!"
He thought his brother was still awake, so he wanted to talk to him to seek a sense of security. "Grandpa said that those who possess dark powers are evil by nature. Brother, aren't you afraid of demons?"
The other party did not move for a while. After his slow brain digested the question he heard, he slowly responded: "Existence is reasonable. There is no good or bad power. It all depends on the character of the person who controls the power."
"If magic power really exists, it would not be a good thing for light to dominate alone. It would also be good to have darkness to check and balance it."
"It is a natural law that everything that rises must fall. The Church will decline sooner or later. When the dark race gains power, they will probably say that the light race is hypocritical... Winster, just be yourself and don't let others define you as good or bad."
The deep voice paused for a moment, then muttered a few more words: "Light energy is the fundamental source of energy required for the life activities of organisms, but without darkness, plants cannot grow normally. Darkness also helps to relax and produce melatonin... Both light and darkness are important. Really, can't everyone use science... Those bastards in the Vatican are so afraid of darkness, why don't they invent electric lights to illuminate the streets at night..."
This is what Elphis wanted to say when he was taught by Pastor Kaven to be careful of dark magic and report the dark race since he was a child, but these scientific facts have no basis in this world, so he held back and didn't say it.
This was the first time I said this out loud, but I was not conscious and fell asleep before I could finish complaining.
Some words had not yet been created in the language of this world, so he used Chinese instead. Anyway, Winster didn't understand what he said in the last few sentences, but he understood the previous ones - even if he turned into a devil, his brother would not be afraid of him!
Winster relaxed a little and finally fell asleep.
When Samuel regained full consciousness again, he naturally received the new memories of this body during this period of time.
The child frowned slightly - he just unlocked some memory seals through dreams, why are you so flustered? Trash...
Samuel quickly realized that he was being scolded, and his expression suddenly became even uglier.
Even though he had forgotten all his memories, including common sense, and his mind was empty, Samuel's nature was hard to change. He didn't think he would be the type to panic about the unknown.
On the contrary, he will just find it interesting and be more proactive in pursuing the truth.
Thinking of the reason why Winster resisted his memory, Samuel slowly stood up and quietly... floated to the bed of Elphis, looking at this human kid surrounded by thick light elements with a little curiosity.
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