Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 141 The Doctors of the Jewish Province

"You eat first... then do this..."

Inside the mud house, a young man who looked to be under thirty was patiently instructing the patient in front of him. He was a typical Jewish farmer, dressed in rough clothes, with strong and powerful arms, clearly skilled in farm work. However, in front of the much younger man, he appeared unusually timid and submissive.

The reason was simple: there was a large, festering, oozing patch on his bare calf, covered with layers of scabs from repeated scratching, indicating it wasn't a recent occurrence. For him, it was a good thing that a doctor was willing to address the ailment that kept him up at night, so how could he dare to be disrespectful?

After the young man finished speaking, the burly Jewish farmer in front of him seemed inexplicably reserved and whispered:

"Doctor, I have no money... what should I do?"

No money? The young man was taken aback for a moment, but then smiled and said:
"It's alright, just give me a small bag of barley."

In those days, many ordinary people at the bottom of society had never even seen metal currency; they usually bartered. So, the young people weren't surprised by what the farmers said.

"thanks, thanks……"

Amid the excited gazes of the Jewish farmers, the young man simply smiled. After applying the medicine and receiving his payment, he shouldered his large and small bags, mounted his donkey, and set off again to help other patients.

……

Night had fallen in the countryside.

Beside the bright campfire, the young man sat in darkness, with only the crackling flames in front of him. He would occasionally add firewood to keep the fire burning, while the tethered donkey brayed nearby.

While it was still light, the young man visited several patients. Some were family members who had heard of his reputation and came specifically to ask him to treat their seriously ill parents, children, and brothers. Others were patients he treated on his way. Regardless of the severity of their illnesses, he always did his best to treat them. But because of this, he was delayed and was unable to return to the city before dark.

However, these things were commonplace when he traveled to practice medicine, so he didn't think much of it.

Gazing at the night sky above, filled with countless glittering stars, the vastness and tranquility inspired awe. In this chaotic world, only occasionally looking up at the stars could bring this young man a sense of peace.

People say that gods live in the starry sky, but if gods really exist, why would they fill the world with so much suffering?

The young man remained silent, the scenes he had witnessed during the day flooding his mind: those who had lost limbs in accidents, those who were disabled by wild animal attacks, those who suffered greatly from illness—all these things filled him with sorrow. As a doctor, he had seen countless lives come and go, but each time he witnessed death, he still felt a complex mix of emotions.

"Why...why must people die?"

A host of questions lingered in his mind, questions that even contemporary scholars pondered deeply, let alone a mere doctor like himself.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared beside him, and before he could react, several people jumped out from the bushes.

"stop!"

With this shout, the doctor, who was about to get up, froze, because right beside him... several people wielding swords had already surrounded him.

The leader was a burly man with brown hair and a scar on his cheek. He looked at the young man with a gloomy expression and pressed his long sword against the young man's throat. The cold blade grazed the young man's skin, its sharp edge barely perceptible, causing the young man's muscles to stiffen, and he dared not move at all.

"Hand over the items, and I'll spare your life."

He spoke in a deep voice, while someone beside him was already rummaging through the young man's bag to see what was inside.

We've encountered robbers...

The young man's heart was in his throat, he secretly groaned, his palms were sweating, but he dared not move, and could only stammer out what he was saying.

"I...I'm a doctor, there's nothing for me to steal..."

“Boss, here are a few small bags of barley, some garlic, and some dinars.” But just then, a man called out, and the burly man in front of him looked at the young man with a gloomy expression.

it's over...

The young man sighed inwardly, but just then...

"Hanna? You are Hanna?"

A surprised and doubtful young voice rang out, and then a thin man stepped out from among the group, carefully examining the young man in front of him, and said with delight.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar to the young man, and as he looked at the face before him, old memories began to surface... However, in his mind, it was a shy young man, completely different from the image of a bandit wielding a sword at this moment. He hesitated and said.

"Lieber?"

"Yes! It's me."

"Excitedly," the thin man exclaimed, then hurriedly explained to the burly man beside him.

“This is Hamna, Hamna of Nazareth. He was a physician who once saved my father’s and my lives.”

Then, the thin man turned his head and looked at Hanna in front of him, and he couldn't help but say something.

"God, I actually pointed a sword at my benefactor..."

……

The campfire continued to burn, but this time, there were several more people around it, and Hanna, who had been alone, now had someone to talk to: Lieber.

"...Life has become increasingly difficult ever since Pilate became governor."

As he spoke to Hanna, Berle shook his head.

The Roman Empire had a vast territory, but this also made it difficult to manage local affairs. So, although many places were nominally within the Roman Empire, they were actually still governed by the local kings. These kingdoms existed in a form similar to vassal states. The Kingdom of Judah, located near the border of the Parthian Empire, was ruled by King Aryd, who had Jewish royal lineage.

However, around the time of Hamna's birth, Caesar's adopted son Octavian, as emperor of the empire, weakened the Kingdom of Judah, consolidating most of the territory into the province of Judah, and only retaining the fiefdom of Galilee for King Aerys. Pilate was appointed governor of the province of Judah by Tiberius, the second emperor after Octavian's death.

This imperial governor, a Roman-born citizen, held a deep sense of superiority even over Roman citizens in the Roman heartland and the Italian provinces, let alone those in the far less developed border provinces. Since becoming governor of Judah, he had sought to strengthen the local cult of Caesar. Jews disliked idolatry and opposed the erection of statues, yet he insisted on placing statues of Caesar everywhere, provoking resentment among the Jewish community and leading to repeated religious conflicts.

Hamna's residence, Nazareth, was an insignificant small town in the Kingdom of Judah, belonging to Galilee under King Aryd's territory, and not under Pilate's jurisdiction. Little was known about it.

During the conversation, Hannah learned that they were all dissatisfied with and resisted Pilate's rule, which led to Pilate's violent suppression and forced them to flee their original homes. They gathered together and made a living by robbing passersby.

"And what about your father?"

As he spoke, Hanna casually asked, but he immediately realized he had asked the wrong question. In front of him, Liber's face darkened, and he did not speak again, but just shook his head bitterly.

He looked at the picture again, and finally let out a silent sigh.

Life is full of hardships, and what could he do to blame them? In an era where human life is as cheap as grass, everyone is just a floating duckweed, helpless and powerless.

Nothing more was said that night.

After daybreak, Liberty, along with a few companions, escorted Hannah to a spot not far outside the city of Nazareth. Only after Hannah had gone some distance did he look back, and in the distance, the shy young man, now barely a black dot, seemed to be waving to him…

(End of this chapter)