"Nope! That kingdom of heaven is the one that exists! The ascetic cried out, "The kingdom of the earth is only dung, but the kingdom of heaven is the truth!" There is God and angels, and there is a city of light, and the foundation of that city is precious stones, and the streets are pure gold, and there is no night, and there is no pain, and in it we will be together forever and ever, and the dead will be raised, and we will all be there, blorifying our Lord. ”

He glared at the bishop angrily: "Do you want to deny this kingdom of heaven, and you want to deny the destiny of your mother?" Do you want to say that the miracle of the resurrection does not exist, and that your mother is dead forever, for the sake of the present, for the sake of this disgusting earthly world? You unfilial son! Where do you deny the kingdom of heaven, and where do you want your mother to rest? Sue me that you are just confused and fooled by the devil! ”

"If there is a so-called kingdom of heaven, the bishops and archbishops of the nations, and those in the Eternal City, why will they not loosen their grip on this disgusting dung-like earthly world? They collected the church donation, and the plow donation, and the firstfruits, and the Peter's tax on silver coins, and they ran more diligently than the bees to collect the dung, but the people here did not preach to them for many years. Why are they so busy collecting dung that they don't care about the Lamb of God? Will anyone go into the treasury and go back with parcels and baskets full of stones instead of gold and precious stones? Why do they always want others to fill their parcels and baskets with heavy stones like donkeys, without looking at gold and precious stones, while they themselves want to burst their bellies with gold and precious stones? In order to prevent the servants from stealing it, the merchants would say that the honey hidden in the cupboard was poison, but they themselves ate and drank it. Those who often terrorize others with the flames of hell. But he keeps doing things that will lead to hell. Think about it, my dear cousin. Think about it with your heart – not the ones that others have instilled in you – and look at them. Look at what they do, look at what they are after, whether it is the gorgeous kingdom of heaven that they boast of, or the gold and silver of the world they claim to be dung! ”

"Those who ask for dung will end up with dung, but how can you question God and the kingdom of heaven that God has promised?" The ascetic replied, "Once upon a time there was a priest's son who was deceived by the devil. Did not God punish the sacrificial flesh and fornicate with the women who were waiting at the door of the tabernacle of meeting? In the end, the priesthood did not fall to the priest's son, but to the young man who served God faithfully. When the people devoutly offered sacrifices, and the sacrifices were taken and eaten by them, did not God know? God gives them time to repent, just as He gave you. How can you question God because of this, and the kingdom of God because of what people do? ”

"What if that's not God?"

"What do you want to say? - No! Stop it. Don't say such blasphemous words! ”

"I have learned the languages and scripts of the Gentiles," said the bishop, "the name of God to whom we call...... It was wrong from the start, and we always have been. Calling all ...... Wrong. ”

After a terrible silence, the ascetic shook his head violently: "You have been deceived by a stranger!" They are used to deceiving people! How can you listen to their deceitful words? They are allied with the devil, they are rejected by God! ”

"I didn't believe it at first. But it's true, I've asked people in many places......"

"Nope. No, don't say such blasphemous words. You...... Why do you measure God again and again with the mind of a mortal? God is immeasurable! You can't question him! What you should do is faith, that is, faith. It is written, "He who asks not by faith, but by works, will stumble, and you are sinking!" How can you question your God because of the crooked paradoxes of this world, that you should use the lies of the Gentiles as evidence of your doubts? The kingdom of heaven is indeed there, and in that highest place, without blemish, we will all end up there - you deny the existence of this kingdom of heaven, deny that your mother will be resurrected, that she will be there, and think that everything will return to nothingness, so why do you live so alone in this world? ”

“……”

"Convert, son of Pious Margaret, and do not let the cunning of the devil blind your heart, and do not believe the words of the Gentiles, so that I will remain your dear brother, and in those days we will be reunited in that happy kingdom of heaven. If you believe in wisdom and pride in helping the needy, but do not believe in your heart, then your mother will be masked in heaven, and you and I will no longer be brothers—you know my determination! You could have them bind me up and punish me for my sins, just as the ancient empires did for the sins of the preachers, but the demon that possessed you did not want to convert me! No matter how much you try to deceive with gentle and loving words, or whatever other evidence you may have, I will never change my faith! ”

The ascetic waited for the demon possessed by the bishop to order the guards to bind him, but he did not hear any orders, so he continued, "You cannot change my faith, demon, do not think that you can coax people with fancy words, with the riches and worldly joys of this world, as you do with others, I will not be deceived by you, I only think about the kingdom of heaven, I do not think about the things of the world. Even though my body is dead, my faith is firm and not weak. You did not put me to death, but God put me to death, so that I might have true life from God. ”

When he had thus strengthened his confidence, he regained his composure, and looked back from the ceiling to look at the bishop, but the bishop did not respond to him, and he fell silently to the ground.

The ascetic stepped forward and grabbed the bishop's body, shook it twice but did not respond, and was about to call out to the others when his ring-wearing hand flicked and grabbed his arm, causing him to turn his attention back from the doorway.

"What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? The ascetic asked eagerly, a reaction that he had not anticipated in his plans, and he drew a cross to the bishop.

The bishop's eyes opened only slightly, then closed again, and he groaned in his cousin's arms, "That'...... Go to the Holy Land! Go to the Holy Land! ”

"What?"

"To that...... That holy place, that Eastern holy place with three churches, each with three minarets......"

"Where is that?"

"Across the sea and the mountains, through a thousand miles, two thousand miles, three thousand miles, to the holy place of the Orient, where there are three churches, each with three minarets...... Eastern...... Place your staff, Jeffrey's cane, on the altar of the center, middle church...... The golden altar inlaid with garnets...... An altar with the headscarf of the Holy Mother...... Put the cane on the turban...... Belch...... And then...... Then come back and use this staff to cast out the spirit that possessed me......"

"You?"

“…… Uh......" the Bishop let out another groan of pain, his voice sounding very faint and childlike, "this is the only way to save me, it...... The spirit is back! Oh! Oh God! ”

His body twitched, and when the ascetic shook him again, the bishop quickly sat up and spoke to his cousin in the same tone as usual, "Did you hear anything strange just now?" ”

"Uh...... No. ”

"Really, not? Sometimes I would fall asleep because I was tired from the vigil, and I would say strange things -- just dreams, and everyone here knew them, and I told them not to take what I said in my dreams seriously, because dreams were not true. "It's just that you quarreled with me as soon as you came, so I didn't tell you about it." ”

"No, you didn't say anything in your dreams."

"Every time I fall asleep in the midday sun, I talk in my sleep, didn't I this time?" "Don't hear what you don't hear," said the bishop, "and don't take to heart what you hear—I didn't know it at first, but I sometimes used to accuse people in my dreams for no reason, and to grieve them, and not to tell me, and then I learned about it, so I told them not to take my dream seriously, for it was probably not my words, but some evil spirits of the air, pretending to speak while I was asleep." ”

"No, if you talk in your dreams every time, then you either didn't say it this time, or I didn't hear it because it was too soft." The ascetic replied, "Thou art the glorious Bishop of Turnnest, the light of St. Aubrey is always at your side, and you are a child of the day, and should not be troubled by the evil spirits of darkness, and I advise you, I beseech you, return as soon as possible, and do not go any further, for that is the way to hell." ”

"Hmph, you stubborn man, do you have to let me bind you - what is the right path, don't I know more than an ordinary monk like you? I have a lot of other important things to do today, and I have been delayed by you for a long time, so you better go back to your room and think about it first, and if you don't get through later, I will send you to the abbey of Alban, and let the abbot open you and let you out. ”

When he had said that, he lifted his robe and left on his own, his eyes still glancing at his cousin who had been left in the room.

The priest was more revered in Tournest than in other cities, and it was the end of the Feast of Light, and it was almost time for the pilgrims who had come to worship on the occasion of the festival to return to their homeland, and without much effort, the ascetic found a ship willing to carry him away from Tournest, and he immediately went aboard the ship, and began to pray in the cabin that he would be successful in his journey, and that he might save his cousin from the hands of the unknown and powerful demon.

"At last he is gone, even if there really is such a holy place in the far East, go and come back, at least three ......years on the way," at the same time, receiving the news that his cousin, who had been told that he had acted, had embarked on a ship bound for the East, the bishop thought to himself, "in the meantime, you would not have thought of death, alas, if you had not been my brother, if you had not been my only relative in the world—if it had not been for the fact that I still loved you—I would have thrown you into the sea in a ready-made sarcophagus, and would have never suffered again!" (To be continued......)