Carrouz's singing gradually calmed down the noisy atmosphere of the tavern. Although it is somewhat out of place to sing the praises of God here. But the slightly upbeat carols still resonate with everyone and make everyone sit back and enjoy the silence of the moment.

In the middle of the hymn, the door to the bar was quietly pushed open. John glanced at it with his peripheral eyes, and then all his attention was pulled away.

It was a shriveled old man on olive wood crutches. His gray cloth linen cloak had many patches or broken holes, and he looked rather poor. Such a person is not like a drinker, nor is he like a person who can afford to pay for alcohol. But when he entered, the barmaid, who was sitting by the campfire, got up and welcomed him in.

Judging by the clothes, the old man may be the same as the pilgrim in the corner, and he is probably also a frequent customer of this bar. The old man didn't need to say anything, and the bartenders were naturally busy at the bar. And the old man, too, paced towards the corner.

Carlujie's singing ended with a round of whistles and applause, and after bowing to the missionaries, she gladly accepted the tip of a few silver coins. Inadvertently, she lightly opened her red lips and asked the missionary, as if unintentionally, "This is a ditty that was popular in Bohemia for a while, and I happened to pass by the small church of Kachimi and listen to a priest sing it." I don't know if you've ever heard of it. ”

"My little girl, it's a little way from Prague. You must have suffered a lot when you wandered here in a caravan. The old monk who had just come in stuffed an extra bag of broken money into the palm of Kalujie's hand, "Your singing voice is very good. But I don't often have time to sit and listen to a rogue arrangement. This is the first time that such a natural sound has been heard. It was the first time I had seen such a beautiful girl. ”

The old monk didn't seem to care about Carrujie's race, status, or dress. Just made the most respectable evaluation of the mature gypsy beauty.

"It's not much suffering. I left my clan and bought a small house in the village of Biyes with the savings I had saved from begging and selling my craft, and I had my own job in the tavern with a decent income. Although there are some regrets left, this kind of life is enough to be satisfying. Kalujie smiled and put the money bag in her arms, and there was some truth in what she said, but the old monk seemed to be convinced.

"You might as well tell me, an old man, what regrets do you have."

"Although I settled in the village of Bies, I ...... I haven't been baptized yet. The church in Biyes has been busy repairing, and people can only go to the small chapel on the outskirts of the village if they want to worship. But the pastor there didn't want to baptize me...... He also said that the uncleanness of my body could even affect the purity of the icons in the chapel. ”

Callujie's mournful and weeping appearance made John also impressed by her acting skills, if it was an outsider, I am afraid that he would believe her words, but John knew that under the dual influence of the religion of the empire, the immigration law and the church policy of Sextus, no priest in Epirus would probably not discriminate against the pagans who wanted to convert, and it should be the honor of every priest to wash away the sins of the infidels. Such a small trick, if it were a local priest, I am afraid that it would immediately doubt Kalujie's identity.

However, the other pilgrims did not seem to care much about Kalujie's experience, but the old priest still smiled and asked, "Although I am not an ecumenical patriarch or a bishop of any region, I can still accomplish simple baptism." ”

"Ah...... Watch you hurry by from afar, and stop here...... Were you also a clergy in the Roman Empire? ”

"The old priest, though not a priest of the Empire, administers the sacraments and consecrates the Eucharist for the devout believers of the Orthodox Church, and the country does not matter, my dear girl. We came from Jerusalem to Jerusalem and preached the gospel along the way. Churches and state affairs, such worldly distractions, will hinder our steps. Beside the old priest, a young-sounding man spoke. When he mentioned the word priest, the eyes of the whole tavern shifted once again to this small corner.

"It looks like the missionaries ......," John shook his head regretfully, drinking the mead, "and listening to them, they must be members of the Pan-Jacobite Order." After the fall of Jerusalem, some of the priests led by the apostle James wandered around and preached the gospel of God. Although they are one of the most orthodox denominations recognized by the universal Church, they are not much better off than the Gypsies. Not many believers will provide funding for such a church that does not even have a church, and their source of income may only be to administer temporary sacraments. ”

John's views were not recognized by Sophia, and the little girl looked at the old priest's pious expression and showed strong distrust: "Brother, don't easily believe in the disguise of the priesthood. The clergy who had nowhere else to go because of the fall of the patriarchate were not only disciples of their apostle James. The Empire settled the problem of the placement of these clergy hundreds of years ago. It is true that there will be a very small number of people who will abandon the aid of the empire and choose to adhere to the doctrine, asceticism and purification, but how can such a devout clergy not know the great universality and inclusiveness of the Orthodox Church? Isn't it doubtful that they can believe such flaws in Kalujie's words? ”

"It seems that after you pretend to 'convert', it is still somewhat useful for His Majesty the Patriarch to ask someone to make up for you."

After listening to the young priest's words, the smile on Kalujie's face became brighter: "Okay, you wait a while, I'll go change the wine for the guests over there, and we'll talk about it later!" ”

……

"Little master, you heard those people clearly." Kalujie smiled as she approached John.

"Of course." John also smiled and gave two gold ducats, "But you see, I still have some scraps of money here...... Well, it's a total of five gold ducats. I'm going to ask you another question, and the better you answer, the more money you'll get in the reward. If you answer the best answer, I will also give you a long-term job so that you can earn so much money every month. ”

So again, in front of Sophia, Carlujie's legs went limp, and the whole person fell on John.

"Little Master, may you ask. With this money, you can already buy many young girls in this hotel. ”

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