"It's delicious, crispy and fragrant, and sure enough, trees are different from trees, and if you want to eat such delicious and authentic walnuts, you have to come here." I chewed it and said vaguely.

"So, you're really just here to eat walnuts?"

The abbot stared at the innocent eyes, and the old folds were piled up in layers, and it was really unbearable for him to be cute at his age.

"Crossing barren canyons and steep mountains just to eat a few walnuts? Lord Duke, I am old, deaf and dizzy, and have a poor memory, but my brain is not confused, you must know that the older a person is, the less he depends on the external senses to observe, the eyes are here, and the ears are here. He pointed to his chest and spoke slowly but clearly.

I sighed and said that I could not escape the old dean's discernment: "I have just returned from the Vatican, your Excellency, the new pope has ascended the throne, and the outside world has changed. ”

"Oh? Tell me, which lucky one was chosen by God to ascend the throne of St. Peter? He asked with a smile.

"Bishop Odoxes, of course, he is now called His Holiness the Heir of St. Peter, the head of the universal Church, His Holiness John XVII." I said as I put the old dean's cross back in his hand.

"May God bless the new owner of the Vatican, and I will pray day and night for his health."

The abbot stroked the smooth lines of the cross, unimpressed by the news I had brought. “

Since the former dean...... Oh no, it was the last abbot who stopped attending the Council of Cardinals of the Holy See, and the Vatican must have wished that we would disappear completely.

The last time I went down the mountain was at the invitation of the Swabian Duchess to assist in the dispersal of Duke Hermann I, after all, the old duke has always taken good care of us, and thanks to him we have been able to avoid the local lords who have bad intentions in the name of the Holy See, so what about you just returning from the Vatican? ”

"As I said, the outside world has changed."

I leaned over eagerly to bring myself closer to the abbot: "It's time for the feud between Montibas and the Vatican to be ended, should we let each other continue to hate each other like this forever?" You know better than I do that Swabian is now unprotected and has no protector, and Montibas is like a pack of fat sheep without a shepherd dog to guard it, and there are countless wolves circling around you! ”

Speaking of the heat, I couldn't help but splash my droplets, and the old dean gracefully avoided it, though I doubted that he could see it clearly, but only to show some kind of absent-mindedness.

"What are you going to rely on to be left alone? Is it dangerous to rely on the solitary peak of this monastery? Then you really think wrongly, in terms of space, Montibas may laugh at all helpless enemies, but you will eventually lose to time, like the ancestors who chose to fight with the Vatican, look around you, up and down Montibas! ”

The abbot didn't move, but I knew he understood: "Old man, old man, old man!" Montibas's faith has no tomorrow, it is the doomsday sunset of old age, following the trajectory of setdown, darkness, and destruction! You, your brothers, the monastery, and the first hammer of St. Varna in your mouth, I am afraid that this canonization has not been certified and approved by the Vatican, and you will all sink into the nest of history, and in less than ten years, Montibas will become a paradise for chipmunks! ”

The old dean is quiet like a marble sculpture in a realistic style, the only thing left on his face by the years is wisdom and kindness, and aging is nothing more than a footnote that embellishes the blank, playing a wonderful effect of icing on the cake.

"You have made a very successful lobbying, Lord Duke, you have arguments, arguments, and quite impressive, but you have forgotten the most important point, what is the source of Montibas's faith."

He clenched his fist with loose skin, and the blue-blue veins were clearly visible: "We are monks who serve God devoutly, and we are more afraid of losing our original intention and becoming a ...... than destruction." Oh, God, forgive me for my gaffes and being like the Vatican! ”

Stubborn old fellow! Stubborn like a stubborn stupid cow!

I cursed viciously in my heart, but my face still pretended to be ignorant of the clouds and mountains and fog, business is not benevolent and righteous, I have always adhered to such a principle, talk about it and hit it off, talk about it and let everyone disperse, save yourself from complaining.

"Be glad, Lord Duke, everybody is looking at us."

The old abbot reminded in a low voice, his smile warm as if nothing had happened, and he nodded to each guest decently, and the noisy hall immediately fell silent, and even the rudest knights sat up straight and waited to hear the abbot's instructions.

"Welcome friends from afar again, please forgive us for our poor hospitality of wine and vegetarian dishes, if friends eat well, my brother Father Antici will arrange a room for everyone to rest, but as you can see, Montibas is carved in the rock, the place is very narrow, and it is impossible to guarantee the proper placement of everyone, I am afraid that some friends will have to spend the night in this hall, I am very sorry!"

He pushed away his chair and slowly got up, and I bowed slightly, which marked the end of the banquet, and everyone left their seats, and there was a noise of tables and chairs colliding.

"If you can't sleep, you can look up at the starry sky, it's so close to heaven that maybe anyone can hear the tired snoring of angels, may God bless you, my friend, good day!"

"Amen!"

It was again a neat return salute and a messy movement of crossing on the chest, and the old dean left the officiating priest to take care of the aftermath and led me to take the lead.

Walking out of the hall half embedded in the rock and half exposed outside, the sunny courtyard is flat and tidy, the irregular stone slabs are spliced together, leaving no gaps, and even the weeds are cleaned up, because the windows of the hall are open very high, coupled with the opaque ground glass of rough craftsmanship in this era, I thought it was dark after a meal, and I found that the sun was falling on the top of the mountain, just past the midday time.

"The glass in your window is not very bright, Nijmegen produces a very pure transparent glass, waiting for me to send someone."

Pointing to the large and small windows on the rocks, I said to the old dean:

"I was in a hurry last time, and I really regretted that I couldn't enjoy this amazing building."

As you climb the stone steps between the two houses, your vision widens, and at the end of the horizon there is a glittering jade ribbon that looks like a necklace made of silver.

"It was a great river that flowed into Lake Brienz, and the wild rapids from the peaks flowed gently in the valley of the Hasri after a few turns, and near the mouth of the river was a small town called Inchenbach, almost on the edge of our world, and the brothers of the abbey sometimes exchanged the surplus for things that were not found in the mountains, such as parchment for copying, flour, and animal fat for candles—the most consumed treasures of Montibas."

The old dean told me a lot like a guide, and although he knew that I was not interested in them, he still chattered so as not to embarrass each other.

"Ah, that must be the convent's garden, can I take a closer look?"

I screamed in fuss and pushed the door into the courtyard next to it with the permission of the old dean.

"Turnips, cabbage, carrots, onions, lettuce, fennel, green beans...... Ah, it's sage, right? ”

I squatted down, pinched the blue-purple flocculent petals, and asked with interest, "It's amazing that it can still grow in the alpine mountains!" ”

The abbot tore off the sage duck's palm-shaped leaves and put them in his mouth and chewed: "The greatness of God lies in the fact that God has taught us how to make the most of our strengths, and that if we can grow summer vegetables in the middle of winter by renovating the hot springs that do not dry all year round and diverting the water to the fields, the wisdom of our ancestors is infinite." ”

He raised his eyes to look at the monks working in the distance, and said with a hazy look in his eyes.

"This is your country, or rather, the heaven that God has given you, not necessarily rich in food and clothing, but enough to live and work in peace and contentment, if it were me, I would have been hiding here for a long time, and I would definitely not want to leave, after all, people are animals who are greedy for stability." I couldn't stand the peculiar fishy smell of sage, so I clapped my hands and stood up.

The old dean hooked the corners of his mouth: "You still haven't given up the idea of convincing me, Lord Duke, your cunning is like a clever fox." ”

"It's a pity that I met a crow that was only unmoved." I shook my head and spread my hands.

"You covet the fat in my mouth, but I only have this piece, of course I have to be careful." He tapped his forehead playfully, and we both laughed tacitly.

As soon as the sun set, the temperature immediately dropped, and even the words were white and hazy. The scattered houses gradually turned on the lights, and the monk carried the lantern and lit the candles in the stone niche on the roadside unhurriedly, and the orange halos cast on the ground, warming the night when it was cold below freezing.

"Your room is next to the prayer room, where the candles are lit day and night, and it's much warmer than anywhere else."

The abbot nodded at the monk who gave us the door, and said as he went, "I have ordered the inside to be cleaned, a new bedding for the bed, and a stick of incense for Christmas Mass. ”

"If you are a coarse man, then am I not a savage who drinks the blood of Maoru? You are used to running around on horseback all year round, and it is good to have a place where you can put your body flat, how can there be any pretentious rules, you are too polite. ”

I gratefully talked to the old abbot, and walked through several stone corridors all the way, and met many monks who were quietly doing things, their calm movements and modest smiles, as if they were doing something sacred with gratitude, and their every move was orderly, and what was written on their faces was nothing but happiness.

"Does meditation really help you hear God's voice?"

The old dean stood still in front of a door, this should be the room where I lived, and he was just about to raise his hand to push the door, when I suddenly asked thoughtfully.

"Meditation? No, we never meditate, and that's a waste of precious time doing useless work. ”

He lowered the small lantern he was carrying, carefully illuminating the path under my feet.

"On the contrary, we do things, do things conscientiously, cherish the little bit of life given by God, and gain the experience of inner peace in labor, perhaps most of us will not be able to truly approach the kingdom of God in our lifetime, but we have fulfilled the confession of original sin by ourselves."

The furnishings of the room are simple and ordinary, but it is indeed as he said that incense is burned, and the fragrance that seems to be absent makes people involuntarily relax, and fatigue immediately controls the body and mind. A good night's sleep became the only desire.

"I'll see you tomorrow at morning prayer, Lord Duke, the cold night on the mountain is no joke, go to bed early."

The abbot patted the linen blanket full of fluff and grass: "If you can't sleep, you can walk around the courtyard and maybe you can really hear the angels dozing off, heaven is within reach of you, if your heart wills." ”

"Thank you, Dean."

I sincerely thank you: "Good night." ”

"We'll talk about other things tomorrow and get some rest tonight."

He lifted the lantern placed at the door, and the faint light dyed his beard indistinctly: "Good night." ”

Late at night, the noise of people in the hall gradually stopped, the sounds of nature became clear, and I wandered in a daze, half-asleep and half-awake, but my mind was not clearer than before.

"Is this the closest place to heaven? Then what I said to my lover, she must be able to hear it, right? ”

Thinking like this, Serena's gentle side face holding the child in the sun resurfaced in front of me, but every time I raised my hand to hug them, I found them sitting farther away, as if no matter how hard I tried, they were so untouchable.

I tossed and turned all night in bizarre dreams, and my eyes were swollen when I woke up in the morning.

"There must be dark circles under your eyes, I hate it."

I gently rubbed the corners of my eyes, and took a full breath of the fragrance of the flocculent grass in the linen blanket, and the morning sun brushed a small red spot on the opposite wall through the small window of the dome.

"This incense doesn't work at all, it's a fake, right?"

After a brief wash, the bell of the morning prayer rang outside, and I straightened my smock and walked down the long corridor into the hall where I had eaten yesterday, where many people had gathered one after another, and Owen and a few of them poured out of it, to my surprise.

"It seems that they serve God more diligently than I do......"

I laughed self-deprecatingly, and then frowned suspiciously:

"Why, am I jealous of God?"

When they found their place, the people were almost there, and the priest in charge of the prayer shook the bell in his hand, and the crowd soon fell silent.

"Thank you, God of all my heart, eternal Lord of body, mind and soul, for letting me spend the long night peacefully and usher in a new day with the light of the morning, and I pray that you will give me a new heart, a new wisdom, a new strength, a new ministry, a new testimony, a new joy, and a new peace in the new day. Make me feel that the Lord is by my side at all times today. Guide me before me, look after me behind me, support me around me, be with me everywhere. If you encounter difficulties and dangers, please encourage me and protect me; If I encounter temptation or temptation, guide me and help me. If I am in sorrow or pain, comfort me and sustain me, so that I will never leave you and be with you forever. In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen! ”

The monk's eloquent voice was like a mother who taught her children the human voice, and every word was so alive and deeply rooted in everyone's hearts that even I, a fearless atheist, reverently bowed my forehead and drew a cross on my chest.

This book was first published from 17K, the first time to see the genuine content!