Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

This meant a secret arrest was imminent, and the elders of Bubas village understood this.

So he immediately declared that he would be careful and would never let Habisa find out.

As the village head and a local strongman, the elder of Boubas Village was remarkably efficient in this regard—he only needed to ask two relatives to find out that Habisa had returned.

However, although Habisa did return, he did not go home, but wandered outside the village, and it is unknown where he lived.

Even when they do appear occasionally, they're either helping someone with work or chatting with someone.

"What's going on with this kid?"

Although quite puzzled by this behavior, the old man immediately reported the news to his servants.

This caused the servants to frown.

"He's already a priest, why would he come back specifically to do something like this?"

"What? You're saying he's already a priest?"

It was at this moment that the old man heard this earth-shattering news from his servants—his son hadn't even passed the apprentice priest exam and had been driven out of the holy city.

And now, that farmer's son has actually become a priest?

How is this possible?

"But now it seems... that kid was probably kicked out too."

This might be the only explanation that could offer the elderly person some psychological comfort.

But then, the servants told him something that left him speechless.

Habisa wasn't driven out; he abandoned his priesthood and left the holy city on his own.

This made the elderly man even more dizzy.

Although his son often said that he returned from the holy city of Heliopolis because he didn't want to be a priest, it was one thing for him to say it and another for others to say it—clearly, this boy named Habisa really did give up his priesthood and went back to his hometown to work for his fellow villagers.

"Has this kid gone mad?"

The old man was completely baffled; he had never encountered anything so strange in his life.

The servants felt the same way, especially when they heard that Habisa had come all the way back just to help other farmers—to abandon his noble priesthood and do something so degrading was completely incomprehensible to them.

You see, even these servants have long since stopped doing farm work. Only peasants do those arduous tasks. And while they are servants, they are servants of the esteemed Senette, people of status, and would never do such a thing.

But this Hapisa, who had already become a priest and a person of high status, actually...

"No wonder Madam Senette is so interested in this boy named Habisa."

At this moment, the servants also became curious, eager to know what was going on with this kid.

However, just as they were trying to find Habisa and ask him what he was thinking, they suddenly realized that Habisa seemed to be deliberately avoiding them. When they appeared in the fields with the local village chief, Habisa would not show up at all. Instead, when the peasants were working, Habisa would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"It seems our whereabouts have been discovered, and he doesn't want to see us."

The servants quickly made a judgment and even came up with a solution.

That is, they also went to work in the fields.

They took off their shiny clothes and put on the tattered cloth clothes of the peasants. Although their hands hadn't touched a hoe in a long time, they could still manage by imitating their manners.

They would stop at nothing to carry out Sennett's orders.

However, it was obvious that compared to the locals, their work was far too rough. They hadn't done much work all morning and had exhausted themselves. This made the servants frown even more. They really didn't know what that boy named Habisa was up to.

But just as these servants, disguised as farmers, were complaining bitterly, Habisa, weary from his journey, appeared before them.

Like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years, Habisa took the hoes from their hands with ease and worked hard for them, even striking up a conversation with them as if they were old friends.

"You were all saying that you were having a hard time, right?"

Habisa said this in front of several servants disguised as farmers.

"Have you ever gone to the Temple of the Sun to pray?"

The servants naturally nodded slightly; praying to the sun god was something everyone had to do, and they couldn't shake their heads at a time like this.

However, at this moment, Habisa spoke up again.

"Since you have already prayed to the sun god, why is your life still so miserable?"

"Does this mean the sun god did not respond to you?"

Chapter 178 The Bewitching Ancient Serpent

"Why is your life so bitter? Is it because the sun god has not responded to you?"

When Habisa uttered these words, the servants disguised as farmers could hardly believe what they were hearing—even though they weren't priests, having spent a long time in the Holy City, they knew very well that this was absolutely heresy that should not be heard.

They're actually questioning the sun god himself, actually asking whether the sun god responded...

"So did the sun god really respond?"

Even though they knew this was heresy that should not be heard, the servants still couldn't help but start thinking about the question after hearing these words.

After all, the answer is far too obvious.

If the sun god really responded, then they wouldn't just be servants anymore. Who wouldn't want to become a priest and wear that white robe that symbolizes holiness?

They weren't without fantasies about that kind of luxurious life, nor were they without secret prayers, but it was clear that the sun god, who shone upon all living beings, wouldn't care about such trivial matters, so they stopped thinking about it and accepted their fate, since such things were simply too unrealistic.

Yes, that's unrealistic.

What kind of being is the sun god? How could he possibly respond to such selfish desires?

"It's right that the sun god doesn't respond to us."

It was at this moment that one of the servants spoke up.

"The suffering in this world is nothing more than a test given to us by the sun god. We must go through these hardships to prove ourselves and to receive the sun god's blessings..."

After he finished speaking, the other servants nodded in agreement, as this explanation perfectly refuted the heretical doctrine.

If life is hard, it must be because the sun god is testing them, just like a priest's exam. You have to pass the test to get the result. If life is always hard, it means that you have never passed the sun god's test, and you can only keep repeating the same test. Isn't that normal?

Upon realizing this, the servants felt a great sense of relief, believing they had resisted the evil blasphemy and successfully maintained their faith in the sun god.

Of course, that wasn't enough. They had to leave immediately. That damned Habisa, that damned peasant, was spreading such dangerous heresies... They had to report this to the priests right away and have them send someone to kill him!

However, it was at this very moment.

The Hapisa in front of them even nodded along with them.

"Indeed, your argument does make sense."

Habisa nodded repeatedly.

"If we follow your logic, only by passing the Sun God's tests can one receive the Sun God's blessings... then the priests in the Holy City must have undergone many tests, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the servants immediately stopped in their tracks.

If they were just ordinary farmers, then this kind of question wouldn't really matter to them—after all, in the farmers' understanding, priests had to study hard to read and write, recite prayers day and night, and even risk their lives to pass the exams. In a sense, this was indeed a more arduous test than farming, since farmers themselves would find it difficult to do so.

However, in the eyes of these servants from the holy cities, things were not like that at all.

They've seen far too many people become priests without undergoing trials. Take Habisa, for example—although in a sense, Habisa has passed another level of "trial," it's more of a reward than a test.

There are far too many instances of receiving blessings without suffering; in the Holy City, this kind of thing happens almost every day.

After all, the reason why a gift is called a gift is because it appears out of the blue. Just like those important figures, or to put it more directly, the Matriarch Senette whom they served, she never suffered any hardship because she was born into the High Priest's family.

When did the Sun God ever test her?

A certain inexplicable emotion, like wild grass, was swelling wildly in the hearts of these servants.

For a servant, such disloyalty to their master is absolutely unacceptable. If they wanted to continue working, they all knew that it was best not to have such thoughts—but at this moment, under the influence of that heretical doctrine, they couldn't even control their own thoughts.

Even though they all knew in their hearts that everything they were thinking was wrong, meaningless, and might even lead to their deaths, they couldn't help but keep thinking about it.

"You, what you said is wrong..."

Amidst this endless entanglement, some servants ultimately tried to struggle.

"The reason they don't have to undergo trials is ultimately because their ancestors underwent even greater trials... That's a legacy left to future generations... It's a gift from the sun god..."

"Oh, that's what you think?"

Upon hearing that a servant had said this, Habisa nodded once again.

"According to your explanation, that does make sense... But have you ever thought about what this so-called 'remaining blessing,' this 'gift from the sun god,' actually is?"

"Of course..."

Once this was mentioned, the other servants had a chance to chime in.

They described everything they had seen: gold and silver, power and status, social connections, a life of luxury, and even everything that Mistress Sennet possessed—in their eyes, this was the gift of the sun god, a reward that had been tested.

That's what they've always dreamed of.

"No, none of them are right."

To the surprise of the servants, Habisa shook his head this time.

"What you're saying is all superficial; it may seem right, but it's actually wrong."

"Then tell me, what exactly is it?"

One of the servants immediately became displeased; he wanted to see what this heretic was trying to say.

However, at that very moment, these servants heard a sentence that they deeply regretted.

"If there is such a thing as a gift, then the greatest gift is actually you."

"It is because you have been tested and suffered again and again that they do not have to suffer and have so many good days to live."

Upon hearing this, several servants immediately felt dizzy.

Chapter 179: Words of Blasphemy from the Evil Ancient Serpent

By the time the servants came to their senses, they were already following behind Habisa.

It was already dark when they followed Habisa to his dwelling, a makeshift shack in the mountains with absolutely no amenities. Even the cats that Madam Sennet kept lived in much better conditions.

But Habisa didn't care at all, and even helped them build shacks.

This made the servants even more eager to escape.

Even as servants, they had never slept in such a shabby hut. What difference was there between this and lying in the middle of nowhere? If they were to lie there for one night, the snakes, insects, and rodents covering their bodies would probably kill them.

As for dinner, it was even simpler, consisting of only a few flatbreads and some grilled fish.

Habisa got the bread from the village. Habisa often helped people with chores and didn't accept any money. Those who received his help couldn't really enjoy it all without feeling guilty—although they couldn't afford expensive things, they could still afford three or five hard breads as provisions.

As for the fish, Habisa caught them from a nearby stream. Since the stream couldn't raise any big fish, and Habisa didn't have any seasonings with him, he simply grilled the two small fish over an open flame without even adding salt.

The servants naturally had no interest in such a meal.

But Habiza ate with great relish.

"There are flatbreads, meat, and boiled stream water. Isn't this a feast?"

Compared to his mournful servants, Habisa looked radiant.

"This is rare meat, aren't you going to eat it?"

They definitely wouldn't eat it, since the food was far too coarse. As I said before, even if they were just servants, they were still Mistress Senette's servants, and their daily food, clothing, and other necessities were far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

In the present village of Bubas, perhaps only the local village chief can be compared to them. However, even the village chief of Bubas is far inferior to them in terms of vision.

"Then it seems you really aren't farmers."

It was at this moment that they heard something they absolutely did not want to hear.

"You're not from here, are you?"

"..."

Faced with this question that almost directly revealed their identities, the servants remained silent.

Now that their identities have been exposed, they naturally have nothing else to say. They are just wondering where they went wrong in their act.

They've already changed into tattered clothes and gone to the fields to wield hoes. Don't they look just like those peasants?