Father Yang's cheeks tightened, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously pursed into a straight line. Under the table, the hands that were holding his knees had blue veins bulging because of the force.
Is it finally coming?
Although he had a hunch before deciding to go to the United States, he couldn't help but be shocked when he heard the proposal to activate the seal.
Not only him, but several other gray-robed men were also clearly affected by the spiritual impact. They exchanged complicated looks with each other.
Fortunately, those present were all very cultured people, and they were full of unwavering faith in the Father. If it were ordinary people, they would have whispered to each other.
Father Yang was delayed because of some private matters. He was the last to arrive, and he didn't have time to change his clothes. He seemed a bit different among the gray-robed men, but he and they didn't care. Clothes were just a formality. The most important thing was the faith in their hearts, and the cross hidden under the suit shirt or swaying on the chest of the gray robe.
They came from all over the world, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Sweden, South Africa, and China. The oldest had always lived in San Francisco. This was not distinguished by their nationality, but by the place they were responsible for preaching. After joining, they were all brothers regardless of nationality.
They rarely got together like this, but thanks to modern technology, they would have regular video conferences, so they were not strangers to each other.
On the other hand, since they were together today, it meant that the situation had become serious to a certain extent.
The elder gray-robed man expected that this proposal would definitely cause everyone to be shocked, so after he finished speaking, he had been standing without sitting down, his hands folded in front of his lower abdomen.
After a while, when everyone had digested some of the spiritual impact, he said again, "I know that holy objects should not be touched lightly, but the current situation is contrary to the logic of nature. Animals are panicking. Coyotes, who would not normally take the initiative to attack people, have repeatedly injured people. If we continue to sit back and watch, the situation will deteriorate to an unmanageable point."
Another gray-robed man said, "But we can't confirm that these incidents are related to supernatural evil forces. If we rashly use the holy object, the Vatican …"
The elder gray-robed man interrupted, "If we cared about the Vatican's opinion, we wouldn't be sitting here today, would we?"
This rhetorical question, which was obviously filled with contempt, did not surprise anyone present.
"Next, let's listen to Chris's opinion. He has experienced similar incidents before. Perhaps his opinion can be an important reference for us." The old man in gray nodded at Father Yang.
Father Yang stood up. "Not long ago, there was also an abnormal animal incident in Binhai City, China. Some of you have heard about it, while others have not. In short, the incident originated from cat abuse, and it spread to the whole of China in an unusual trend. Many people claimed that they were bewitched by a suspicious bronze cat statue and had the urge to abuse cats … That was strange enough. What was even stranger was that the incident went to another extreme — the abused stray cats seemed to have formed some kind of alliance and joined forces to fight against the cat abusers. "
The grey-robed men were calm even when they heard the accusations against the Vatican, but their expressions changed drastically when they heard this. They exclaimed, "The bronze cat statue, could it be … No! This was impossible! We've already used the power of the saints and holy artifacts to expel it 800 years ago. Why … "
Father Yang nodded heavily. "Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, a series of signs show that our old enemy has returned. It has reincarnated in another Holy Cat statue and is once again wreaking havoc in modern society 800 years later."
A few other grey-robed men who knew the details said, "This was the reason why you proposed to use the holy artifacts? But why did you stop the plan in the end? "
Father Yang's determined eyes suddenly showed confusion. "Because … the Holy Cat statue, as well as the series of vicious events that it caused, stopped abruptly just as it was about to reach an unmanageable stage, and it completely disappeared. I still don't understand the reason behind this …
The grey-robed men were silent.
After a long time, someone said, "Maybe, it was something else that stopped it. You know, although we believe in God wholeheartedly, there are all kinds of other believers in this world, and they also have their own holy artifacts …"
"Hmph! It's just a heretical belief! "
"A heretical belief is still a belief. If it weren't for the fact that the Germans from 800 years ago believed in heresy, how could the Holy Cat statue come to life?"
The grey-robed men each had their own opinions, and they argued endlessly.
The old grey-robed man slammed the table. "Everyone, let's put the past aside for now. Today, we are discussing whether or not to remove the seal of the holy artifact here. Let the light of the saints bathe in this cursed city, and let the holy faith purify all the evil here."
Someone suggested, "Let's vote."
The old grey-robed man nodded and raised a hand. "I think it's time. This city is no longer worthy of its holy name. There are tramps and beggars everywhere. Bewitched animals are doing evil everywhere. Those in power do nothing, and the criminals are getting more and more rampant. It's time to end all of this."
Some of the grey-robed men raised their hands, some were still hesitant, and some thought that the time was not right.
Four of the eight grey-robed men raised their hands.
Everyone's eyes fell on Father Yang. Although he wasn't wearing a grey robe, he was still one of them.
Father Yang slowly and firmly raised his hand.
"Good, more than half of the votes." The old grey-robed man let out a long sigh of relief. Those who didn't raise their hands weren't against it, but they were inclined to be cautious. However, the time was fleeting, and blindly being cautious was not advisable — at least, that was what he thought.
He pressed a hidden button under the table. With a creak, the wall on one side of the round table slid left and right along the slide, revealing a dark room.
Everyone stood up, pressed the crosses in front of their chests, and bowed their heads in the direction of the dark room.
The stale air escaped from the dark room.
There was nothing else in the dark room, only one … no, two statues. One was a man, and the other was an animal.
The man was wearing a simple robe, barefoot, and looked down at the animal lovingly. He placed his hand on its head, and his lips were slightly open, as if he was preaching to it.
As for the animal, or more accurately, the beast, it seemed to have been influenced by the man. Its eyes lost the violence of the beast, and it looked up at the man with pious eyes. It pricked up its ears, as if it was listening attentively.
The man and the beast looked so lifelike, which showed the exquisite craftsmanship of the carving.
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