Chapter 251: Here They Come!

After all, Ye Buqun was recovering from a serious injury, and after talking for a while, his spirit gradually became a little tired, and seeing that he couldn't support it, Xiao Lei sighed and let him rest in peace, and then he withdrew from the room.

According to Ye Buqun's account, the next thing is relatively simple, he was sentenced to death, and naturally escaped in a hurry, since he is the chief paladin, he was originally able to do it, and he found Konstantin for help, so he came to China.

Xiao Lei came out of the room, found the good apprentice Xiaobai again, and asked him to go in and inject another tranquilizer for Ye Buqun.

Xiao Bai hadn't seen Xiao Lei for three years, and today this master suddenly came back, and he had something to do, how could he be very energetic? Anyway, curing diseases and saving people, that was his specialty, and after being busy, he ran to check on Konstantin, and then he was busy with the things in hand and opened to look for Xiao Lei.

I know a little bit about my temper, and since he said he wants to teach himself skills, he will definitely teach it. I didn't dare to say anything more at the moment, and left happily.

Seeing Xiao Bai leaving, Xiao Lei's relaxed smile retracted and left, revealing a little melancholy between his eyebrows. He sighed, thought about it, and went to find Miao Yan and Yuehua.

Originally, Yuehua was still in the temple on the outskirts of the eastern part of the city, and was told by Bao'er to tell Xiao Lei to go home, so he naturally couldn't wait to run back, but Xiao Lei was found out by Konstantin again, and after some twists and turns, he brought back the injured two foreigners.

The poor husband and wife have been separated for three years, and when they just came back, Xiao Lei encountered Ye Buqun's incident again, and Zhang Luoren was busy treating Ye Buqun and Konstantin. He stayed in Ye Buqun's room for several hours, not leaving an inch.

The women knew that Xiao Lei had something important to do. Anyway, I've been waiting for three years, and I don't care about waiting for a little longer. Besides, now that Xiao Lei has gone home, his heart has settled down a lot. After Xiao Lei and Ye Buqun had a long talk, they discussed with Miao Yan, and happened to meet Yuehua and Miao Yan in the same room.

Yuehua and Miao Yan also seemed to be discussing something, and when they saw Xiao Lei coming in, they stopped talking at the same time. Xiao Lei didn't notice that the expressions on the faces of the two women seemed to be different. just smiled: "It just so happens that you are all here, there is a difficult matter, I will say it, let's think about it together." ”

Miao Yan smiled slightly and said, "We also have something to talk about...... Lei Roar and Ruhua came just now, and they seemed to have found an old man outside the temple in the eastern suburbs, but today it seems that there is no one at home. ”

Xiao Lei was full of Ye Buqun's affairs at the moment, and he didn't care about it when he heard it, and said casually: "Oh." What old man?"

Yuehua and Miao Yan glanced at each other, and the two girls seemed to have the same thoughts, and said with a smile: "Let's not talk about this first." Lei roared and said to wait for his news. ”

Xiao Lei nodded, sat between the two women, lowered his head and thought about it, and said, "Do you remember what happened in Europe last time?" As soon as he said this, Yuehua's face was suddenly flushed, her eyes were a little shy, and she smiled: "Then how can you forget?" Thinking back to the top of the snow-capped mountains in the past, the wind and snow were combined, and the two of them were in a desperate situation, relying on each other under the glacier, bursting out with love, thinking about it at this moment, I still can't help but blush and feel hot.

Xiao Lei is so smart, as soon as he saw Yuehua's expression, he immediately guessed her mind, held her soft slightly, and there was a lot of tenderness in his eyes, and suddenly sighed: "Speaking of which, I was able to find you back then, thanks to that Ye Buqun's help." ”

The two girls had already seen that Xiao Lei had something on his mind between his eyebrows, and asked, Xiao Lei reined in his mind and said in detail the long sigh he had with Ye Buqun just now.

Among the three, Xiao Lei was born in China, and Miao Yan is a flower demon of cultivation at all, but it is Yuehua, who has studied in Europe, and has a far above Xiao Lei and Miao Yan in terms of European religious culture, especially the history and understanding of the church. When she heard what Xiao Lei said, she couldn't help but be surprised, and changed color: "These are all real?"

Yuehua had a shocked look in her eyes, her breathing was a little short, and she blurted out: "If this thing is true, then once it is revealed, it will be a disaster for the foundation of the church!"

Miao Yan was puzzled, frowned, and said, "Why is this?"

Yuehua thought for a while and said, "Sister Miao Yan, you don't understand Western culture, so you don't know." Naturally, Christianity dominates the Western religious world...... Hmm......" Yuehua thought for a moment when she said this, and said with a smile: "But Xiao Lei...... It seems that you have a wrong understanding of the church...... At least, the Vatican, although it is now a holy place and the residence of the pope, is not representative of Christianity. I think that if you want to understand Ye Buqun's words correctly, you must first figure out what the current church structure is. ”

Xiao Lei smiled: "I can't figure out these things in the first place, since you know, then let's listen to them." ”

Yuehua smiled and said, "I naturally don't know much about the specifics, but when I studied in France, I naturally learned these things." ”

After a pause, Yuehua smiled and said, "First of all, your first mistake is that you confuse the two concepts of Catholicism and Christianity. The founder of Christendo was Jesus, of course, and to put it simply, those who believe in God today can be counted as Christians in a broad sense...... But now there is no Christian argument, to be precise, Christianity has been divided. Ancient Christianity was divided into Catholic and Orthodox Christianity during the Roman Empire. In fact, this is also related to the division of the Roman Empire. At that time, Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire called itself Orthodox, while the Western Roman Emperor called itself Catholicism. And now the Vatican. The core of Roman Catholicism, to be exact, and not the core of Christianity in the world, at least, for the Orthodox people. The status of the Vatican is not recognized. ”

To use the simplest analogy, Christianity is the mother, and then Christianity split and became Catholic and Orthodox, just like two sons born of one mother, who both believed in God, but had differences in doctrine and did not rule over each other. If I were to say it, it would be as if there is also Zen Buddhism in Buddhism. Pure Land sect and other branches. It's probably the same thing. ”

"For now, Catholicism reigns. There are nearly a billion believers in the world, and with the destruction of the historical Eastern Roman Empire by the Ottoman land, which was an Islamic country, the Orthodox Church gradually weakened, and in terms of strength, it was far more powerful than the non-Catholic Church. Until the modern era, Catholicism has almost become the mainstream of Christianity. The Vatican is regarded as the core of Christianity, which is a misunderstanding that the Vatican is only the core of Catholic power. Other branches of Christianity, such as Orthodox Christianity and Protestantism, are not well recognized. However, there is nothing to be done about this phenomenon. ”

Xiao Lei smiled: "I understand, the so-called big fist is the boss." It's as if a gang is split. It was divided into several small gangs, but the Catholic Church was the strongest, so it was natural to pretend to be authentic. The other small gangs are dissatisfied, but they can't do anything about it, right?"

Yuehua pursed her lips and smiled, "Although your words are a little rough, that's probably what they mean." However, when it comes to the dominance of the Vatican, it does not mean that they do not have legitimacy, at least in ancient history, when the Western Roman Empire was facing a crisis, the Orthodox Church once bowed to Catholicism, recognizing the Roman Catholic pope in the Vatican as the 'living representative of Christ'. However, it was a contract signed at a critical juncture, and it was signed as a last resort, which can be regarded as an 'alliance under the city', and it was just forced. Therefore, to this day, the Pope of the Vatican, through that contract, is recognized as a saint of Christians all over the world, and there is a certain reason, because of the contract of that year, so the Orthodox Church cannot deny this. ”

Xiao Lei nodded: "So to put it simply, hasn't the Pope of the Vatican become the leader of Christians all over the world?" At least nominally, no matter what Catholicism or Orthodoxy, in short, because of their strength, as well as the 'alliance under the city' you mentioned back then, they have also established the dominance of Catholicism." ”

"So to speak. Yuehua smiled.

Miao Yan said: "So, what do those things that Ye Buqun said have to do with this?"

"There are a lot of relationships!" Yuehua sorted out her thoughts and said slowly: "Xiao Lei, let me ask you, what is the indispensable thing for any religion?"

"It's a sense of mystery!" Xiao Lei sighed: "It is the myth of religion and then the religious system that has become an unattainable myth in people's hearts! Only by using this sense of mystery can people be in awe! This is true of any religion in the world!"

Speaking of this, Xiao Lei's heart moved, and he smiled: "I understand what you mean, good Yuehua, you are really smart!" Xiao Lei hugged Yuehua, kissed her on the face, and said with a smile: "The truth that Ye Buqun brought is just to prove that some of the thirteen disciples were once blood clans...... Originally, it wasn't a big deal. In any case, they Christians claim that God is loving and merciful. However, precisely because there is evidence that some of the thirteen disciples were of the blood family, it happens to be completely contrary to what the Bible says! In this case, does it mean that what the Bible says is a lie? This is worth it! The Bible is the foundation of Christianity! If even the Bible is untenable, then the foundation of the religion is not stable!

The Bible explains that the son of Adam and Eve, Cain, was the first blood family, a sinner forsaken by God, never forgiven by God, forever punished by God!!always an enemy of God!!

It's a joke!!

That alone has hit the Bible in the sore spot!

What does it mean? Is it a lie in the Bible?!

This kind of thing must not be allowed to happen by the church!!

Yuehua sighed slightly and said in a low voice: "When I was in Europe. I even came close to Catholicism at one point, because my classmates had a lot of devout believers, and admittedly, many of their teachings were very plausible. So. I just did some study on the history of the church. ”

"Well, since that's the case, then the church definitely can't let the truth that Ye Buqun has mastered be released...... This is a matter related to the foundation of their church, and I am afraid that even if they pay a big price, they must kill Ye Buqun! This kind of thing is no longer negotiable. That's why I'm worried, and then, I'm afraid that our place is the goal of the church. Xiao Lei smiled and said, "What are the seven great paladins...... Well. Now there are only six left. And the seven archangels, I'm afraid they're all coming to us for trouble. ”

Miao Yan raised her eyebrows. said lightly: "Come on, let's come, we're still afraid that they won't succeed." ”

Yuehua frowned, as if she was thinking about something, and she suddenly said, "Xiao Lei...... It's not that simple, I always feel that there are other problems that we haven't understood, haven't seen through!"

She glanced at Xiao Lei. "It's the Pyrenees, the things under the glaciers! I always think there's something connected!"

Xiao Lei also nodded: "Yes, at least, in that Zeus Temple, the place recorded by Promethean "Twilight of the Gods", we have all seen the ground." Speaking of which, the rise and fall of Western religions have been from generation to generation. It's the same as our ancient feudal dynasties in China, where the new dynasty destroys the old dynasty and then staggers the replacement ......"

Yuehua smiled: "The three of us think slowly. Let's get a clue about things first. ”

"Hehe, this thing is actually nothing, whether it's an angel or a paladin, let's kill one if one comes, and we'll kill a pair if we come two. Anyway, there is the world's number one fairy here, and the dignified fairy Miao Yan, the top of the five-party master list, is here, are you still afraid of those barbarian clowns?" Xiao Lei grinned.

Miao Yan glanced at Xiao Lei charmingly, pursed her lips and smiled: "Husband, you are making fun of me again." What is the name of the first fairy place of the concubine, which is the intention of Brother Qinglingzi. It's the husband, now you are the closed disciple of the Bodhi Patriarch, and the fellow disciple of the Monkey King, which is very remarkable!"

Xiao Lei smiled bitterly and said: "Good Miaoyan, don't make me happy, you know, my apprentice is very wronged, fortunately, that old guy can't go out of the mountain to arrest me in person, otherwise, hehe...... Anyway, now, if you call him Master, you will just shout so-so, and the rest will not be mentioned again. ”

"Alright, you two don't make fun of each other, let's get things done. Yuehua smiled and interjected,

"Okay. Xiao Lei sighed, took a cup from the table, put it in front of him, and said, "We have all seen the content of "Dusk of the Land of the Gods" in the Temple of Zeus. First of all, before Christianity, the Western religious world, with its Greek system of gods, was dominant, right?"

"Well, that's good. Yuehua Miaoyan nodded at the same time, and Guo Yuehua added: "Actually, it's not true, before Christianity, there was Judaism, which also believed in God." It's just that because the ancient Greek civilization occupied the pinnacle of the civilized world at that time, it is natural that the ancient Greek gods were the orthodoxy of the religion of the Western civilized world at that time. ”

"Well, I remember that there were some things mentioned in "Twilight of the Gods", such as some winged guys, they were allies of the Greek gods, and they once instigated war against the East. It was a war of religions, civilizations, cultures, all aspects of the East and the West. But then it was the ancient Greeks who were defeated. Yuehua, do you remember how it was written in "Twilight of the Gods"?"

Yuehua's face was solemn, and she said, "Of course I remember! Those things, once you see them, you will never forget them for the rest of your life." ”

"First of all, the so-called gods are actually human beings...... According to the above records, there were prehistoric civilizations on the earth before the emergence of modern civilization. What we now call gods are actually prehistoric humans, but they have more powerful abilities than modern humans. Yuehua's face was solemn, and she slowly read in a solemn tone: "That huge fireball has fallen, and it has hit our earth, and the fire has burned the sky, and the smoke has blocked the sun...... Well, that's what it says. I will never forget those sentences for the rest of my life!"

Xiao Lei said: "Not bad...... The so-called earth's fireball fell from the sky and hit the earth, and I guess it was mostly an asteroid hitting the earth. Triggering a global catastrophic species extinction...... With that catastrophe, prehistoric civilizations were extinct, and some prehistoric humans hid underground to survive. Then, after an unknown number of years, the prehistoric humans left behind in the underground returned to the surface, only to find that some new humans had risen on the ground. That's the human race now. ”

Yuehua said: "Because of prehistoric humans, they had more powerful power than modern humans, and as a result, ancient humans worshipped them as gods...... The Greek gods, that's how they came about, are actually the so-called Greek gods. It's just a bunch of prehistoric human descendants. ”

But what intrigued me the most was the description of angels in that account...... Yuehua. Do you remember? Hmmm......"

"Yes. Yuehua said slowly: "In the entire "Twilight of the Gods", there have been two records about their land, the first time was before the catastrophe of the destruction of prehistoric civilization, it was written, 'They are coming, they have white wings, and they can fly freely. They are our allies, and together we will fight against the powerful peoples of the East. Judging by this sentence. Obviously, it is the angels depicted, like the angelic legions of God in the Bible. Therefore, we can be sure that the angelic legions already existed in prehistoric civilizations. ”

Xiao Lei smiled: "It's hard for you to remember it so clearly...... But this sentence seems to me to say more than that! This sentence, at least it can be seen, in the time of prehistoric civilization. In that ancient era, there was already a distinction between the East and the West! And the East and the West coexisted, and there were wars with each other. ”

Yuehua smiled: "There's nothing strange about this. In the myths and legends of the East, such as Pangu opening the world and Nuwa mending the heavens and creating people, these are very old legends. It shows that the East has existed since the time when it was very ancient, so ancient that we didn't even know it. ”

Xiao Lei only felt as if there was a thought in his heart that moved faintly, but he couldn't grasp it for a while, and he couldn't figure it out, so he sighed and said, "Go on...... The first recorded appearance of angels was before the destruction of prehistoric civilizations. And the second time the depiction of angelic land appeared was in the later ancient Greek era, after the descendants of prehistoric humans have been revered as 'gods' by modern humans, the angelic legions appeared again, right?"

"It's the ground. Yuehua said slowly: "I clearly remember the record in "Twilight of the Gods", which said that the angelic legion bewitched Zeus and launched a war against the East, which caused ancient Greece to launch an eastward crusade...... Xiao Lei, that war is recorded in history. Alexander the Great, the emperor of the ancient Greek civilization, led his army to the east to defeat ancient India all the way! But in the end it failed! From a certain point of view, it can be seen as another war between the East and the West, and the West failed. It was also the defeat of the Greek gods! It was precisely because of this defeat that mankind doubted the belief in the gods, believing that the protection of the gods did not allow them to win the war, and the result was ......"

Xiao Lei sighed and interjected: "As a result, the angel took the opportunity to rise...... And then the Greek gods were destroyed, and the West became a world of believers in God, right? Christianity replaced the belief in the gods and became the master of a new religion. ”

Yuehua was worthy of being a highly talented student who had studied in Europe, and she immediately broadened her thinking a little and said: "It is this history that leaves a few questions! Xiao Lei, you think, first of all, Christianity has replaced the belief in the gods and has become the master of religion, and it is not surprising that any war and replacement of religion must have gone through a bloody struggle. The biggest suspicion here is Ye Buqun's discovery in the Pyrenees, under the glacier! The blood clan and other dark races actually united with the church and fought against the believers of the gods! That is, in this period of history, the dark race and the church used to be comrades-in-arms and fought side by side...... Or rather......"

Xiao Lei's heart moved: "Or, they were originally a gang at all! Or, the dark race originally believed in God! Because among the thirteen disciples who founded Christianity, six of them were blood clans at all!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he sighed and said, "According to Ye Buqun's discovery, it should be like this...... But, but ...... Alas, although we know that this is the case, we have no evidence. After that, Xiao Lei's face was quite disappointed and frustrated.

Yuehua gently held Xiao Lei's hand. In order to show comfort, he said softly: "Xiao Lei, if there is no evidence, there is no evidence, anyway, we don't really want to do anything with the Western church...... You want to. Even if we have evidence, what can we do? Can we really subvert the church? With our strength, we can overthrow the church that has stood for thousands of years?"

When Xiao Lei heard this, he couldn't help but pat his forehead and said with a smile: "Not bad! I'm always thinking about how to prove that it's true...... But what if it did, I have no interest in doing anything to overthrow the great cause of the Church...... I'm not interested in that kind of huge thing, and I'm too lazy to do it. ”

Yuehua saw that Xiao Lei had figured it out and smiled slightly.

Miao Yan next to her didn't speak, hanging her head as if thinking about something, and it took a long time. Miao Yan suddenly spoke: "No...... Husband, I don't think there's something right......"

"What's wrong?"

Miao Yan glanced at Yuehua. Said: "Good sister, can you tell me the description of the first appearance of the Angel Legion?"

Yuehua didn't know what Miao Yan meant, but she still recited it, she was originally smart, and this thing was so shocking, she read it a few times. I almost memorized it. Hearing Yuehua back: "They are coming, they have white wings and can fly freely. They are our allies, and together we will fight against the powerful peoples of the East...... Well, that's it, this is the first time in "Twilight of the Gods" that an angel is mentioned. ”

Miao Yan's face was a little complicated, she took a deep breath and glanced at Yuehua: "Yuehua, are you sure." Is this the first time it has been written? Is it written in the original text? Not a word can be wrong?"

Yuehua thought for a while, and said, "Absolutely can't be wrong!" I put a lot of effort into studying Greek, and I was surprised when I read that thing. So I memorized it carefully at the time. I must be very impressed by such an important secret, even if it is another ten years, I will never forget it!!"

Miao Yan sighed, glanced at Xiao Lei, and said, "Husband, that's it, there's a problem!"

Without waiting for Xiao Lei to ask, Miao Yan said slowly, word by word: "What does the first sentence 'they are here' mean? Why do you say 'they are coming'......?

Xiao Lei's heart was beating wildly at the moment, and the thought that had been faintly flashed in his heart before, but he had never grasped the ground, suddenly became clear, and blurted out: "Yes, they are here! Where did they come from...... The Angel Legion didn't exist all the time in prehistoric civilization......s! Later, at a certain time, they suddenly appeared!!In other words, the angelic legions, they, are outsiders! They do not belong to a prehistoric civilization!!"

In prehistoric civilizations, the East and the West coexisted with each other and fought each other. And the Angel Legion suddenly appeared, expressing its willingness to help the West......

The phrase "they are coming" is simply too subtle!

"Twilight of the Gods" is sprinkled with hundreds of words in front of it, describing the appearance of prehistoric civilization, but there is not a single word mentioning the existence of the Angel Legion, but here, suddenly with a "They are coming, a simple introduction to the appearance of the Angel Legion!"

"They're outsiders!" shouted Ray!

Now that the first bottleneck has been broken, the next train of thought is immediately much clearer, Xiao Lei shouted in a row: "There is still behind! behind!! Prehistoric civilization was destroyed by disaster, and some remnants of prehistoric civilization in the West have gone underground to survive, I don't know how many centuries and how many years have passed...... But in the middle, there is no mention of the existence of angels! This shows that angels did not go underground with the humans of prehistoric civilizations! So where did the angels go in that dark age?

Yuehua couldn't help but interject, and said tentatively: "Maybe they 'go back', since they can 'come', then naturally they can also 'go back', right?" Her tone was a little hesitant, a little confused, and a little unsure.

However, Xiao Lei slapped his thigh and said loudly: "Yes! It should be like this!!They went back! Temporarily go back!!"

He quickly continued, "Then, when the new age comes, the descendants of prehistoric civilizations come out of the ground and return to the world, and as a result, they become the gods of this world and rule over the people of the new earth. And it was at that time. The angel has reappeared!!"

Xiao Lei stood up suddenly, he walked back and forth in the room twice, and his mind was spinning quickly: "Come, go back." And here it is!hey, hey, yes!!!

He suddenly stopped, looked at the two women, and said: "For the first time, the angels appeared, and they were willing to help the West deal with the East, and the result was ...... Before anything could really be done, disaster struck, and the world was temporarily destroyed. Species are extinct, prehistoric civilizations are extinct. The angel also 'went back' for the time being, waiting for the world to flourish again. A new era has arrived, and a new civilization has appeared on Earth. When the descendants of prehistoric civilizations ruled over mankind and became gods, the angels reappeared, and they came again! still claiming to be willing to help the West against the East......! They succeeded, provoked a war between the East and the West, and the result was ...... The West was defeated. The gods have lost their prestige and lost the faith of mankind......!

Yuehua and Miao Yan spoke at the same time: "As a result, the angels took the opportunity to take their place!

Xiao Lei was emotional, his eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice: "Conspiracy! Absolute conspiracy!!"

From prehistoric civilization to modern ancient civilization, how many years has this conspiracy passed, or rather, how many eras?

10,000 years, 100,000 years, 100,000 years?

What is the result?

As a result, God-believing human beings now occupy almost a quarter of the entire human land! Don't underestimate this quarter! This quarter is the most developed region in the world! The most developed country, the most developed region of mankind!

Almost the entire modern Western civilization has believed in God!!

Xiao Lei only felt that he was trembling with excitement. He felt his blood boiling, his heart beating wildly, and his mouth dry.

Deduce it down. Such a shocking result?!

Miao Yan didn't know much about the West, so her face didn't change, but Yuehua's complexion also changed drastically, looking at Xiao Lei, her eyes showed shock and horror!

She thought for a moment and said, "Little Lei...... If the Angel Legion is alien...... Where did they come from?"

Xiao Lei sighed: "Isn't this one already very clear in the Bible...... Heaven, heaven!hehe, heaven......" He raised his hand and pointed to the top of his head, his gaze wandering: "God...... Or it's not the sky, because we know that the sky is behind the clouds, and above the clouds...... It's the atmosphere...... What about beyond the atmosphere? It's space, it's the universe!"

What else is in the sky?

Stars!

Aren't the stars just another world, or rather, heaven?

What about the so-called kingdom of heaven, the so-called heaven, or just a certain star, some other universe, another civilization?

Xiao Lei looked up to the sky and laughed, and then his face became very solemn: "Okay! What a 'they're coming'!!"

They did come down from heaven, but they didn't come from heaven.

To be precise, they are from "out of the sky"!

Outer!

Xiao Lei suddenly remembered a wonderful comparison in his mind!

Historically, during the colonial era of the Western world, they brought their "religion" to the new continent and the new region with powerful force, and the first thing they did was to destroy the original religion, the original faith, and the original civilization in the new region! Then, they spread the glory of God all over the new region and let the area of God's rule expand!

So, judging from the book "Twilight of the Gods", isn't it the same with the emergence of the so-called angelic army?

When they came to Earth, they destroyed the original religion of the West, destroyed the original belief in the gods, conquered the original civilization......! The West has become a Christian world!

Religious colonization!!

Thinking of this, Xiao Lei suddenly had a thought in his mind again.

Even if I knew this, even if what I guessed was true...... So what?

Oh, yes...... Got it, that's ...... How?

Suddenly, all kinds of frustration and powerlessness welled up in his heart, and the excitement on Xiao Lei's face faded, and he slowly sat down.

The whole of Western civilization has been taken over by that religion, and a quarter of the world's human race believes in them...... What about yourself?

Even if that's true, so what? What can you do about it?

Even if I can go and raze the Vatican...... How can the billions of believers in the world be wiped out with their devotion to their religion?

Suddenly, Xiao Lei thought of the helpless expression on Ye Buqun's face and the sad and desperate gaze on his face when he was talking......