In the middle of the night, the wind suddenly rose on the sea, and the dark clouds covered the moonlight, and everywhere was dark and dreary, and from a distance, the monastery of St. Sebalon, which stood on the top of the Green Ridge Mountain, was majestic, like a huge beast lying in ambush in the darkness.

The cold wind blows from the sea, penetrates the craggy reef crevices on the shore, and whistles go high and low, accompanied by the sound of waves crashing against the reef, making the already inaccessible coast even more eerie.

This is a stretch of coast on the edge of the Green Ridge, with straight cliffs like a sword plunging into the Sudecht Sea, and the back wall of the Monastery of St. Sebarong follows the mountain, and the high walls of the huge stone walls are integrated with the craggy cliffs, which have been well protected since its construction.

But tonight was destined for something, several figures appeared on the edge of the cliff that should not have been visited, and in the sound of the cold wind and waves that could not stop howling, one person dragged the other by the cliff.

Behind him, another man hobbled behind, occasionally snorting as he tripped over a raised reef.

Suddenly, the man who was being dragged in front of him began to struggle, and at the same time a muffled cry came out of his mouth, which was so loud that it could be heard far away even on such a windy night.

"For God's sake, shut him up!" The man behind shouted in horror, and he ran up two steps to help his companion grab the rather obese looking figure, "He'll call everyone here." ”

"Not anymore!"

The man in front of him suddenly picked up a sharp stone from the ground, and in the night when he could barely see his fingers, you could vaguely see his hands holding the stone raised high, and then slammed down on the head of the person in front of him!

One time! Again! The arms keep going up and down!

The darkness of the night obscured the face of the murderer, and the howling wind and waves also obscured the sound of the victim's painful struggle.

Only a vague figure slid to the ground with the hands holding the stone, writhing and struggling, and finally there was no movement.

The murderer continued to raise the sharp stone and smash it at the man until he was stopped by his companions.

"He's dead," his companion grabbed the mad murderer hard, but because of his nervousness, the stone in the murderer's hand slashed his arm, and he couldn't help but curse in pain, "You murderer, look at the good deeds you have done, you will go to hell." ”

The murderer finally stopped, his eyes surprisingly bright in the darkness of the night.

"If we go to hell in the future, I think it's also the two of us together, we're complicit, aren't we?" He questioned menacingly, his eyes fixed on his companion, "You're going to do it, right, you should know what to do next." ”

"Of course I know what to do," the companion muttered under his breath against his scratched arm, as if looking for an excuse, "and there is no other way to do it." ”

"My lord, if you know what to do," the murderer sarcastically grabbed his companion's shoulder, "don't make a mistake then, don't forget that you have no way out, come and help me now, this fool is really heavy." ”

Two vague figures began to scramble beside the cliff, and both men on the cliff seemed relieved when a long strip of linen wrapped in sackcloth tumbled down the cliff into the tumbling sea, and was swallowed up by the waves.

"It's over, the sea will erase everything for us, and then we just do what we said before, and we'll be okay again."

"I hope it ...... as you say"

The two murderers whispered, and then, under the cover of night and wind, quietly disappeared into the darkness as they came.

Only one after another the waves rose high and fell heavily on the reef that smashed on the shore, splashing thousands of snow-white foam, and then venting into the sea.

Suddenly, a large splash swelled on the surface of the water below the cliff, and as a black shadow burst out of the water, a long wrapped sackcloth bag was dragged up from the water!

"Let's see what this is," said the man, who had emerged from the water, pulled the cloth bag up a hollow beach beneath the cliff, and then laboriously cut the tightly bound rope with the knife he carried with him.

At this time, a ray of moonlight fell through the dark clouds.

The silver moonlight illuminated both a bloody blur and another face that was unexpectedly horrified.

"My God, it's Deacon Molodi!"

Giannini whispered.

As "Dong" stepped on it heavily, the wood, which looked like a mess, couldn't bear the force and snapped.

Giannini looked at the broken shaft on the ground, and his already gloomy face darkened.

Jonini felt that he had been unlucky lately, or that since he had rescued the Greek kid half a month ago, good luck had said goodbye to him.

First the dock tax collector troubled him, and then his fishing boat was damaged in a storm a few days ago and had to be overhauled.

Because of this, he owed a lot of debt, and had to send a buddy.

To make matters worse, the owners of several well-connected fishing shops have declared that they want to deal with other fishing boats because of the delay in delivery.

This made Giannini think that all the bad luck was brought about by the Greek kid.

To make matters worse, the incident he had encountered the night before had made Giannini feel that he might have been cursed, and the thought of Modillo's almost unrecognizable fat face reinforced his belief that the Greek boy was a mischievous.

"Look, that's what happens to being a good man," Jonini cried angrily, grabbing the bottle and pouring it into his mouth, "I should have let him die in the sea, and see what bad luck has happened to me now." ”

"Daddy," the rest of the fellow hesitated but still made up his mind, "I won't be here tomorrow, Brother Vantoni asked me to be a helper yesterday, so ......"

"Brother Vantoni?" Jonini was furious, "The two brothers who robbed me of my business, the ungrateful brothers, they forgot who helped them in the first place." ”

As he spoke, he stepped on the broken paddle on the ground a few more times, and then he waved his hand helplessly: "Forget it, let's go, I'm bankrupt and have no money to hire you, no one treats old Giannini as a character anymore, the Caripo people are all ungrateful devils." ”

The guy wanted to say something, but finally shook his head and turned away, and after walking far away, he could hear Jonini complaining loudly: "Hey, this is what happens when you are a good person." ”

Giannini kept complaining to himself in front of the half-dragged tattered fishing boat on the shore until he saw a man walking towards him along the shore.

The man was dressed in a fat gray robe, wrapped tightly in a low-brimmed traveling cloth hat that obscured most of his face, and was so ordinary that it would not attract attention even in a small place like Calibo.

When he got closer, Giannini saw that the man was about forty years old, and the few strands of hair peeking out of the brim of his hat had turned slightly gray, and the years of running had left many wrinkles on his face, which made his otherwise slightly tough face look much softer.

"What's the matter with you, friend?" Giannini looked at the man, there was no one else nearby, so he naturally came to him, "First of all, my boat has been overhauled, and now it is as strong as when it was first built, so if you want to buy my fish, don't expect to lower the price." ”

"I can see that this is a good boat," the man reached out and patted the boatman, while ignoring the broken oars on the ground, "If I hire your boat to go to sea, what will it cost?" ”

"You're going to sea?" Giannini squinted his eyes and seemed to smell an unusual smell, the weather is bad in this season, it is not necessary, people prefer to stay on shore rather than go to the sea full of dangers and unpredictable changes, "It depends on what you offer, don't worry, I have a very strict mouth." ”

The man nodded indifferently, took out a small money bag from his robe and threw it over: "I believe this, that's why I looked for you, your ship should not leave just waiting for the news, maybe we will go to sea soon." ”

Tearing open the slightly pressing money bag cloth rope, seeing a few small things shining with golden light inside, Giannini's mouth cracked open to reveal two withered yellow front teeth, and a smile finally appeared on his gloomy face for a few days: "Listen to your orders, master." ”

The middle-aged man said a few more words and turned to leave.

Behind him, the smile on Giannini's face slowly faded, and he looked at the back with a puzzled look.

When he walked into the dean's room with a plate, Ding Mu saw that the dean was kneeling in front of the cross on the wall with his back to the door, praying, and the afternoon sun shone in through the high window, casting on the top of the dean's head with his hair cut off, looking like a halo.

Although he has heard too many legends about the various luxuries and extravagances of the Church in this era, he cannot but admit that the monastery of Saint Sebarong is not tainted with that kind of depravity.

The entire monastery has always regarded the strict and impoverished Benedict as the highest standard, even the abbot is willing to accept it, and as for Modillo, who became a complete idiot due to a stroke at a young age, he is not seriously a monk of the monastery.

Although he was sent to San Sebaron, like many of the monks here, he did not become a monk, but became a deacon of the monastery, which not only allowed him not to follow the same tedious and harsh admonitions as the other monks, but also to go out as he pleased, such as tithes for the monastery and the purchase of various necessities.

It's just that Mordillo went crazy, no one went to the city anymore, and the life of the monastery was even more miserable.

As usual, he had placed the plate with the food on a small table by the door, and was just about to leave, when the abbot spoke unexpectedly: "Alexander." ”

Ding Mu was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he was calling him.

"Lord Dean," learning the habits of this era, Ding Mu tried his best to make himself appear flattering, no way, the whip that admonished the monk was not vegetarian, "What do you command?" ”

Looking at the plate in the distance, the abbot said with a little tiredness, "Bring the plate to me, child." “

Ding Mu obeyed the order, and when he put the plate in front of the dean, he noticed that the dean's arm seemed to be a little inconvenient when he reached out to pick up the wine glass.

"How long have you been in Saint Sebaron," the dean asked suddenly.

"Twenty-three days, Dean."

Ding Mu blurted out, and then saw the dean's eyes looking at him with a little playfulness.

"I remember very clearly," said the dean slowly, "that you want to leave here so strongly, it makes me a little unhappy. ”

Ding Mu opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of any words to explain.

At the same time, the dean's mental acuity also made him feel a little uneasy.

People in this era may not be as knowledgeable as him, but they are by no means stupid.

This taught Ding Mu a deep lesson, and he reminded himself that he must be cautious in the future, and he must not get carried away because he thinks he has more common sense than hundreds of years.

Maybe the next time he is negligent, what awaits him may be a sudden danger.

"Son, I know that you have suffered a lot before, and it must have been very difficult for you to escape from the East, and you must have seen too many misfortunes. But it's all in the past, and you're safe here," the dean looked at Ding Mu, "What I'm asking is that you've thought about what you're going to do in the future?" ”

Ding Mu was stunned, of course he had thought about what he would do in the future, and even kept thinking about how to return to his own era.

It was just that the abbot suddenly asked him this question, which made him instinctively vigilant.

Here, it is necessary to remember at all times that you are a "foreigner".

"I want to find my family."

Ding Mu cautiously said that when he first arrived in St. Sebalong, in order not to make people suspicious, Ding Mu got inspiration from the Jira, who also came from the East, and made up a set of life experiences that were not easy to be recognized.

According to him, he was an Eastern Roman, who fled from Crete to Europe with his parents to escape war and paganism, and was separated from his relatives because of a shipwreck.

As early as more than half a century ago, as the Ottoman Empire's iron cavalry swept away the last remaining strongholds of the Eastern Roman Empire, and then approached Constantinople, many Romans who realized that the empire was about to come to an end began to flee to the European continent across the Mediterranean.

This wave of fugitives has continued for many years, so Ding Mu has no difficulty in describing himself as such a fugitive.

Moreover, it is not easy to figure out the origin of a person in this era, when the whole of Europe is like a huge vortex of turmoil, where war and turmoil can sweep every inch of land at any time, and Italy is almost at the center of this vortex.

Therefore, Ding Mu believes that as long as he is cautious, he will not be exposed.

Ding Mu's answer didn't seem to surprise the dean, he nodded: "Find your parents, of course, I believe God will guide you." Speaking of this, the abbot looked at Ding Mu seriously, "Speaking of which, I think there is someone who can help you, do you remember the person you met in the courtyard before?" ”

Seeing Ding Mu nodding, the dean said again: "That man is a businessman, a devout believer, he has traveled to many places and met many people, if he is willing to help you, maybe there is a chance for you to see your parents again." ”

Ding Mu was secretly stunned in his heart, he didn't understand why the abbot suddenly became enthusiastic, although he was accepted, Ding Mu didn't think that the abbot was a generous and benevolent person.

Thinking of the dispute between the two people he overheard before, Ding Mu felt that things might not be as simple as the dean said.

"You can be a servant for him, he will be a generous and just master," the dean still tried to impress Ding Mu, "If you are willing to go with him, I have something here that you need to do." ”

"Listen to your commands, Lord Dean." Ding Mu replied cautiously, and before he knew the dean's purpose, he decided to improvise.

"A letter," the abbot said, picking up a tightly sealed envelope from his desk with what appeared to be an intricate coat of arms, "to deliver this letter to the Bishop of Palermo, for Modillo should do it, but the poor boy is now unable to take care of himself, and God bless him." ”

Seeing that the abbot habitually drew a cross on his chest, Ding Mu hesitated for a moment before reluctantly following the gesture.

"I'd like to send you a letter, Dean."

Ding Mu finally made up his mind, as long as he could get out of this cage-like place, Ding Mu was still willing to take a risk.

"Oh," said the abbot, holding the envelope, shook slightly, as if he had heard some good news, but he paused when he handed it out, "but there is one thing that may be a problem, and this is a letter addressed to the Bishop of Palermo, which according to the canon must be served by even a person. ”

Although he didn't know what the teachings were, as long as he heard the name, he knew that it was very lofty, Ding Mu couldn't help but be stunned, and the thought even flashed in his mind: 'Could it be that this old monk wants to trick himself into becoming a monk with him'.

But then he realized that this was a bit ridiculous, after all, he was important enough to make an abbot go to such great lengths.

"You can borrow the name of Brother Modillo, and I am sure that if he knew about it, he would be willing to help you," the abbot finally said the purpose that had been brewing for a long time, "You don't have to worry about being punished, for you can travel in your own name, as long as you arrive in Palermo, and send this letter to the Bishop in the capacity of Deacon of the Church of San Sebalon." ”

"Then my lord," Ding Mu seemed a little tempted, "can I travel with that merchant to find my parents?" ”

"Of course, you can make your own decisions then, and this is the reward for sending you a letter."

The dean took out two slightly mixed florins from the drawer of the table and handed them to Ding Mu.

Just as he was taking the gold coin, Ding Mu was sure to hear the abbot muttering to himself in a language he didn't understand: "Come from the dust, go to the dust." ”

"Go find your parents and family, trust God to show you the way you should go," waving to Ding Mu, who had bowed at the door, and when the door was closed, the abbot slowly lifted his sleeve, revealing a red and swollen arm cut by a sharp weapon.

In the early morning of March 13, 1496, Ding Mu walked out of the monastery of St. Sebalon.

Looking at the middle-aged man standing at the gate of the monastery far away, a lingering cloud of doubt rose in Ding Mu's heart.

He didn't believe that the man named Kunto was really a businessman, and he even doubted the authenticity of the name Kunto.

But now he was going to travel with this man.

Under the pretext that no personal belongings were allowed in the monastery, the abbot ordered the confiscation of the pitiful things on Ding Mu's body, and he could only leave in the original monk's robes of Mordillo.

When the figures of Ding Mu and Kun Tuo completely disappeared into the morning mist, the abbot, who was standing in front of the window and watching them go away, opened the thick journal and wrote on it a passage that would be quoted by countless people many years later:

"On March 13, 1496, one of our brothers, Giorgio Modiglo, following God's revelation to him, left the Mentor who had nurtured him since his birth and who had protected him, and his destination was the Episcopal Palace of Palermo, and I knew that it was by no means his end."