Chapter 8: The Round God Is Coming (II)

As we all know, the Knights Hospitaller's name has the word "hospital" in it, indicating that in addition to having many knights in armor and wielding swords, it also has its own charity hospital. The office of the Knights Hospitaller in the port of Marseille was no exception - in late medieval Europe, the Church was certainly corrupt, expropriated, and extravagant, but at the same time it was responsible for a considerable part of social welfare.

After the Black Death spread to the port of Marseille, in order to control the spread of the plague, this charitable hospital under the Knights Hospitaller has been receiving nearly 1,000 patients for 66 consecutive years, and they are cared for by the nuns and grandmothers who volunteered. Several other monasteries and churches are doing the same thing. But the contagion of the plague was obviously beyond people's expectations, and it didn't take long for hospitals to be filled with sick numbers one after another, and the remaining patients could only die wherever they loved.

Actually, there's nothing good about staying in a hospital, and there's nothing you can do at all except let the patient die together so that they're not too lonely.

-- In the face of the surging Black Death, doctors from all over Europe tried their best. Some people use bloodletting, enemas and other methods to extract "poison" from patients. An abscess was removed with a lancet and a warm compress was applied. Strange prescriptions were prescribed, ranging from red antler powder to rare spices and gold mixtures. There are also disgusting guys who give emetics to their patients and even tell them to bathe with urine...... These therapies are so varied and bizarre that they all have one thing in common: they can't cure the disease

Such nonsense of diagnosis and treatment makes people feel dizzy at first glance, and it is also a shame that doctors in these years have never borne any medical responsibility, otherwise they should have been beaten to death by the patient's family long ago -- in medieval Europe, God was the supreme authority, and the relationship between man and god and man was regulated. God is the all-powerful and omniscient supreme ruler, while mortals are born with "original sin" and the only purpose of living is to worship God and prepare for the "Last Judgment" to ascend to heaven. Therefore, the sick man survived because God blessed him and the angels blessed him, but if he did not survive, he was in great sin and called by the Lord...... If it weren't for that, with the same medical technology as the black African wizards in these years, I'm afraid that any doctor would have to lose his family and be in prison.

In response to the Black Death, the most scientific approach in European medicine at that time was to burn aromatic wood to purify the air, and spray rose perfume and vinegar on the ground, but these measures could only cover up the stench of rotting corpses and have a certain bactericidal effect, and could not really cure patients who had been infected with the plague.

But that doesn't mean we can blame medieval European doctors for their recklessness – in 1348, no matter how clever they were, they couldn't beat the Black Death. Because they don't have microscopes, they don't have antibiotics, they don't even know that there is something called bacteria in this world

Therefore, the best remedy for those who have already contracted the disease is to pray to God for their blessing that they will be able to overcome the disease with their own immunity and survive tenaciously - although the chances of survival are slim and there is a chance of relapse

Just like a cold, even if you successfully defeat the Black Death the first time, it doesn't mean that you can continue to defeat the disease a second or third time......

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After hastily inspecting the messy, wailing, rancid, purgatory-like intensive ward, Knight Levi, who covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, came to the small prayer room attached to the hospital, which was richly decorated thanks to the great wealth accumulated by the Oriental trade.

The sunlight that comes in through the narrow windows casts a colorful halo on the floor through the stained glass that is mosaiced together from the windows. The angels depicted on the edge of the ceiling are squinting slightly at a qiē in the room, as if they were looking at a mortal in the sky.

In the midst of this colorful light, the statue of Jesus tied to the cross is particularly eye-catching, and the light incense that permeates this confined space successfully creates a sacred and solemn atmosphere.

At this moment, the patients in the hospital who were mildly ill, barely able to move, and could speak, gathered here, led by several nuns wearing headscarves, whispered prayers to the small shrine in the corner.

“…… Glorified by the Lord and revealed by the Lord, may a radiance be to you, Father of Heaven...... Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and not in your own understanding. In all that you do, you must be sure of happiness, and it will guide you......

It is not that we love God, but that God loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God has loved us in this way, let us love one another our Father in heaven, and hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come. Walk in earth as well in heaven. Our daily bread is given to us today. To save us from burdens is as if we were free from the burdens of others. to turn us away from temptation and deliver us from suffering

Watching this scene, Knight Levi could not help but sigh with emotion - indeed, according to the materialist concept, the nuns' approach was nothing more than self-deception, providing the patient with a psychic anesthetic. But in fact, to be able to do this, the nuns have already taken a great risk, and almost every two or three days, some of them will catch the Black Death and die of festering due to frequent contact with the sick......

“… For all is yours the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Pray, Amen......"

Seeing Knight Levi break in, the middle-aged nun who presided over the prayer hurriedly turned the Gospel in her hand to the last page, hurriedly ended the prayer, and then turned around and walked down the altar, reporting the recent epidemic to Knight Levi with a sad face:

“…… Although we have prayed to God with the greatest devotion, the condition of the sick is getting worse day by day, and we have tried every way we can think of it, but we still cannot cure this terrible plague. Yesterday 12 more patients died, and the day before yesterday 20 died. The gravediggers we hired were too late to dig the grave, so they had to find an abandoned trench, fill in the corpses, and cover them with a layer of earth. As a result, it was dug out by wild dogs within a few days, and those damned dogs gnawed at the corpses every day, and their eyes were red from gnawing, as if they were possessed by the devil......"

The middle-aged nun said as she made a cross on her chest, "...... Last month aside, in this month alone, five sisters have contracted the plague, three of whom have died. And Sister Marisa from Sardinia, perhaps frightened by the situation in this place, gave up her duty, and ran away quietly last night with some clothes and food, Alas, may God forgive her sins......"

“…… Alas, the fear of death is, after all, human nature, not a big sin. And, she's done enough these days. Levi scratched his head and sighed, "...... In any case, you are risking your lives to give end-of-life care to these patients whom you don't know. In contrast, many indifferent people abandon even their sick parents and children......"

“…… As a servant of God, we should have the consciousness of dedicating ourselves to the world, which naturally includes our lives."

The middle-aged nun said with a sad face, "...... In fact, we are able to make it this far, thanks to your help in providing us with gauze masks, letting us wipe our hands and faces with spirits, and spraying vinegar mixed with water on the ground. Compared to other hospitals, we are already doing quite well. I heard that one hospital in the city was devoid of living people, and that the nuns and doctors of the other hospital had fled, leaving only a group of patients waiting to die...... May God save their souls......" At this point, she drew another cross on her chest.

“…… Well, by the way, Mama, is there enough food here? Do you need me to transfer a batch of food? ”

Feeling such a heavy atmosphere, Levi rolled his eyes a little uncomfortably, trying to divert the topic.

“…… Thank you for your concern, sir, we had plenty of food. Because the sick can't eat much, and the dead don't need food. There are also many well-wishers who are willing to provide alms to the hospital, from coins to food to clothes and blankets......"

The middle-aged nun replied, "...... Ten days ago, when I went to the bakery to buy food, the owner actually gave me all the bread, cakes and pastries in the store, because his father, mother, wife and three children were all sick, and he himself felt that something was not right in his body, but he was afraid that he would not live for a few days, so he simply donated all the goods in the store to us, which was the last good deed in his life......

And at the moment we have no shortage of fresh meat, for the farmers in the nearby villages are now almost dead, and the cows, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, and dogs are running around in the fields, and with the most rudimentary weapons, even sticks and ropes, we can easily bring back a few chickens or sheep and feed everyone in the hospital.

At present, the only food we lack is fresh marine fish, because few people are willing to go out to sea to catch it...... Sister Brienne, who had just fallen ill yesterday, wanted to drink another bowl of Provencal-style fish soup before going to heaven, and in order to satisfy the poor girl's little wish, I sent Mama Teresa to the fish market at the pier in the morning, but for some reason, she has not returned until now......"

Just as the talkative middle-aged nun was babbling on and on, there was a sudden commotion and panicked screams outside. The middle-aged nun had to stop chattering for a while, and followed Lord Levi to the courtyard outside.

Then they saw a large number of people gathered in a circle, pointing and pointing at a stretcher in the open space in the middle, and then squinted to see that on this stretcher lay a nun suffering from the Black Death. I saw that her eyes were red, her head was scattered, and from time to time she spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm with blood, and her nun's clothes had become filthy, and her face was swollen, as if it would burst at any time, and her appearance was even more terrifying than that of a demon.

“…… Oh God, it's Mother Teresa, she's okay in the morning," the middle-aged nun couldn't help but cover her mouth and shout.

And Levi couldn't help frowning at first, then took out a handkerchief dipped in water and pinched his nose, leaned over to take a closer look, shook his head helplessly, and then silently drew a cross, "...... No, dark spots are already starting to appear on her skin, and it won't be long before her whole body turns a terrifying black-purple color...... Now the only thing we can do is to pray to God for her, may Allah bless Amen."

Hearing this, all the nuns in the hospital sobbed quietly, and Knight Levi's mood was unusually heavy.

-- Another familiar person is dying, and I don't know how long I can live......

In this nightmarish world that is as precarious as Resident Evil, how can mere mortals survive?

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In the dead of night, although the wife beside the bed was already asleep, Knight Levi was in a state of confusion, tossing and turning, and could not sleep for a long time.

Frowning and listening, in the deep night, there was the howl of wild wolves from time to time, and the wailing and crying of nothing, like ghost crying.

At last, Knight Levi sat up from his bed and stared out the window at the dark night, as if he saw death come like a black tide

Will your family be devoured by the plague? Will this manor become a lair of the undead? What's next?

He didn't know the answer, and he didn't even know how to find it. I just felt like I was overwhelmed by boundless fear.

“…… In the past, I didn't know what a desperate feeling it was to watch the familiar world slowly ruin - but now I realize it."

Knight Levi first looked at the fields and forests shrouded in night, then raised his head to look at the moon hanging in the sky, and lamented miserably in the Chinese language that was hardly understood in France at this time.

Then he rolled out of bed, put on his wooden shoes and draped over his robe, and with the candlestick on the bedside table that had been shining all night, he pushed open a small door in the wall of his bedroom and entered the private prayer room attached to the bedroom.

The pale, cold moonlight, shining through the narrow window opening, illuminated the image of the crucifixion in the shrine, forming a speck of light on the ground. The rest of the prayer room was still shrouded in a thick darkness that seemed to be substantial.

As a time-traveler from the era of harmony in socialist countries, Li Wei's belief in religion and gods was originally very weak, and it can even be said that it was almost zero. Even these few years of medieval life did not make him much more religious.

Even with the sign of the Knights Hospitaller, a military monastery, he never prayed for the blessing of the non-existent God.

However, with the full outbreak and rapid deterioration of the Black Death, the people around him died one after another, and the panic atmosphere gradually intensified, even the most determined atheists could not help but feel the emptiness and helplessness in their hearts, and even couldn't help but want to pin their hopes on miracles.

In the pale moonlight, he stooped down and placed the cup-like candlestick in front of the shrine, allowing the candlelight to illuminate the countenance of Christ Jesus along with the moonlight.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, Levi finally folded his hands and knelt down in front of the shrine.

“…… God, I have never believed in you sincerely, and I still do not believe in your existence today. Maybe in your eyes, I'm guilty. However, in this plague age of darkness and death, please have mercy on the world and manifest your spirit."

Levi closed his eyes while muttering to himself, thinking about the tragedies he had seen these days, and he couldn't help but burst into tears, "...... Alas, although I have known for a long time, there is no way to count on such a thing as a god. But why can't you resist praying? ”

However, at this moment, he suddenly heard a chuckle in front of him, and then a bright bright light shot towards him

Oh my God, is it really God who has manifested his spirit?

No, this ray ...... It seems to be ...... Flashlight?

But how is this possible? Let's not forget that it's still 1348

“…… It's really strange Doraemon, why does this uncle kneel down when he sees us? ”

“…… There's nothing strange about it, when we went on an adventure in the Stone Age, didn't those primitive people treat us like this? ”

With the light of a flashlight and an unfamiliar accent, a group of people suddenly emerged from the dark corners of the prayer room, laughing and teasing.

The frightened Knight Levi quickly stood up, grabbed a dagger on the table, and squinted at the guests.

The next moment, his mind fell into a blank, and even the dagger fell to the ground with a "dang bang".

What did he see?

A spherical blue head, with blue round arms, white bulbous palms, and white flat feet...... A large white face, a white belly, a white belly bag, closed eyes, six cat whiskers, and finally a round red nose that is bubbling with bubbles

Huh? This、This、Isn't this a round machine qì cat, or Doraemon?

After half a ring, Comrade Li Wei raised his head with the corners of his mouth twitching, and then he saw the remaining four members of the Doraemon team, Nobita, Shizuka Minamoto, Koo Orukawa, and Fat Tiger, or Takeshi Gangda...... Well, as for Wang Qiu and Ma Tong standing behind, as well as the royal sisters Shizuka Jukawa and Nan Rika, they were gorgeously ignored by him: because the Doraemon Five-person group had completely attracted Levi's attention

As a result, Levi's originally unclear mind suddenly became more confused and confused.

In the midst of everyone's astonished eyes, he stumbled around and ran to the door of the prayer room, pulling his throat and shouting at his wife, "...... Wife, it's terrible, come and see God cough cough, no, it's a cat watching the machine."

“…… What God? Hmm, it looks like a round ......."

Next, a pregnant woman with a big belly came to the door of the prayer room, rubbed her eyes half-awake and half-dreaming, and muttered in Mandarin.

Hearing such an alternative evaluation, others may not have reacted, but Ma Tong couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Wang Qiu was slightly startled at first, and then looked at the pregnant woman's bulging belly, revealing an expression of "understood".

Immediately afterward, he coughed, smiled politely, and stretched out his hand to greet the frightened Levi.

“…… Ahem, hello, is this Mr. Levi? Thankfully, we've come from another world to help you......"

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