novelraw Chapter 7 : The Old Priest
Chapter 7 : The Old Priest
Chapter 7: The Old Priest
Apollo knelt down, tears streaming from his eyes as he choked out:
“God! You do not need our offerings, nor do you need our faith. In your eyes, the tribe… perhaps holds nothing worth your remembrance.
“I am afraid… afraid that one day in the future, you will find this place dull and meaningless, and leave us completely, never to return…”
“I only wish for you to have even the slightest attachment to us… even just a trace would be enough…”
Huang Xing fell silent.
This was the first time he had so directly heard the vulnerability and attachment buried deep within Apollo’s heart.
This child he had chosen had long since regarded him as the entirety of his life’s meaning and destination.
“Apollo, then what do you want to do?” Huang Xing still softened.
Apollo wiped the tears from his face. In those golden eyes, an incomparably fervent, almost obsessive determination burst forth:
“I want to make the tribe even stronger!”
“I want more people to believe in you!”
“I want that even after I am gone, there will still be people guarding your divine statue!”
“A thousand years… ten thousand years… until eternity!”
He was already eighteen years old. In this primitive era where the average lifespan was short, he was already considered to have entered middle age.
He did not know how many more decades he had left, nor did he know when the god would descend again after this departure.
He feared that after his death, in the days when the god was absent, the tribe would forget the god.
Huang Xing did not tell Apollo that, bearing the power of “Leo,” his life essence was already different, and his lifespan was likely far longer than he imagined.
Because even Huang Xing himself could not determine how long Apollo could live.
But Huang Xing also knew that sooner or later, the end would come.
He gently stroked Apollo’s still-brilliant golden hair, his voice no longer as indifferent as before.
“Apollo, if this is what you want, then go and do it.”
“God!” Apollo’s tears flowed once more.
He knew the god was merciful. Even though his request was so selfish, the god had still granted it.
……
Apollo left the altar. A tribesman ran toward him in panic, panting heavily:
“Chieftain, the priest, he…”
Apollo’s heart skipped a beat as he asked anxiously:
“What happened to the priest?”
“The priest… he’s not going to make it!”
Boom!
Apollo felt his mind go completely blank in an instant.
Without thinking, he dashed toward the thatched hut where the old priest lived.
The old priest was too old. In this era of short lifespans, he was the longest-living person in the tribe.
He himself was a living history.
Every wrinkle on his face recorded the tribe’s rise and changes.
“Priest!”
Looking at the old priest lying on the bed, Apollo could not help but shed tears once more.
He respected the old priest deeply, because it was the priest who had chosen him back then, leading to the Apollo who had now been chosen by the god.
“Don’t leave…”
The old priest heard Apollo’s voice, but unfortunately, he could no longer see.
He knew he was about to die. But before death, the one he worried about most was Apollo.
His position as priest had been passed down from his teacher.
But his teacher, and his teacher’s teacher—generation after generation of priests—
They had devoutly conducted rituals, gazed up at the starry sky, yet had never heard even a single word from the god.
Sometimes, the old priest would wonder in confusion.
Was it because they were not devout enough that the god had never cast his gaze upon them?
Until, like his predecessors, he selected three youths—including Apollo—and conducted the ritual.
He had thought it would be the same as before: whoever was illuminated by the moonlight would be the one chosen by the god.
It had been so in the past, it was so now, and perhaps it would be so in the future.
But everything became different.
The god… truly descended!
The totem pole erupted with brilliant radiance, and even the starry sky swayed!
At that moment, he was excited…
Yet also lost.
In the days that followed, he watched Apollo gradually make the tribe better than before, listened as Apollo repeatedly spoke of his ideas.
But he began to feel fear.
Was this truly what the god thought?
Did the god truly care about the tribe?
Yet he did not dare to ask, because someone who had never been favored by the god his entire life—what right did he have to question someone chosen by the god?
Now, he had reached the moment of death. He did not know what awaited him after death—perhaps he would meet the god he had never seen.
Or perhaps… there would be nothing.
In the darkness, the old priest grasped Apollo’s hand and spoke his final words.
“Apollo, is that truly what the god thinks?”
At last, he voiced the question buried in his heart for a lifetime.
Yet he could no longer hear… that answer.
Apollo froze in place.
……
The old priest died. Apollo personally carried his body and buried him in a place with beautiful scenery.
He stood before the grave for a long time, letting the mountain wind brush through his hair, as the old priest’s final question echoed repeatedly in his mind:
“Is that truly what the god thinks?”
Why?
Why would the priest ask such a question at the very end?
Had he done something wrong?
……
The old priest had not designated a successor during his lifetime.
But according to tradition, the position of priest had to be chosen from among qualified youths.
Thus, the old priest’s two grandsons, along with the son of his prematurely deceased disciple, came before Apollo.
All of them longed to inherit the position of priest.
Because it was not only a position of honor second only to the chieftain, but also because the priest symbolized the privilege of communicating with the god!
They looked at Apollo’s golden hair shining under the sunlight, their eyes filled with greed and desire.
The old priest’s grandsons thought that if they inherited their grandfather’s position, perhaps they too could communicate with the god and receive divine blessings.
The son of the old priest’s disciple thought that since his father had been the priest’s disciple, and had passed away, he should rightfully inherit the position.
Soon, the three began arguing over the position of priest, even resorting to physical blows against one another!
Finally, Apollo’s face showed anger as he shouted:
“Look at yourselves!”
“For the position of priest, you fight like beasts tearing at prey!”
“Do you still remember the old priest’s teachings? Do you still remember the reverence you should have for the god?!”
The three were intimidated by Apollo’s fury and dropped to their knees, not daring to speak further, though their faces still showed unwillingness.
Apollo took a deep breath, preparing to choose a relatively suitable candidate among them to inherit the priesthood.
Suddenly, in his mind, echoed the old priest’s final question:
“Apollo, is that truly what the god thinks?”