Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"This should have been built by you; I, who embarked on this path, am merely safeguarding it."

"........I see."

Novia listened attentively to Peter's words, then bent down and let Peter put the 'keys of the kingdom' that the former Savior Jesus had given him on his wrist.

Like the 'walking staff' Martha gave him, Novia had never given it any thought, because these things held immense significance for them. But Peter, just like Martha that day, looked at him with genuine eyes—

Believe and be proud of it.

It was an expression that was completely genuine and natural.

This always made Novia's throat a little dry, so she couldn't give a reason to refuse.

The discussion concluded with a silent round of applause from the audience. Afterward, the group decided to first compile the New Testament that Novia had suggested before heading to the chosen province to oversee the development of Christianity in the region.

The edited New Testament is about a century earlier than the original historical version, but the content is not significantly different: four Gospels, one history book, and twenty-one epistles.

The only difference is that in the twenty-first volume, Paul's letter mentions "Tius of Rome is the saint after Martha of Bethany," and the book of prophecy written by the Apostle John on the island of Patmos in 90 AD is missing—Revelation.

However, during the editing of the New Testament, Novia finally found Locusta, whom she had asked Narubalek to find.

When Novia learned why she hadn't been able to find this mushroom girl for so long, she was both amused and delighted. It turned out that a few years ago, Locusta had joined the city's church because being a Christian meant getting food and not being ostracized, and he had even changed his name for it.

051: Saints of the First Century and an Old Man on the Verge of Death

That day was an unforgettable one for Locusta.

The green-haired girl, who had to live in the forest because of some mental abnormality, heard that a cult had opened in the city, and that as long as she joined, she could get food other than mushrooms.

People in the city always give the impression of being angry and hungry, and to be honest, Locusta doesn't like going into the city.

When she was seven years old, after her parents said those things, she went with a stranger.

They said, "Go with them, you can get the money."

So she went with that person because her parents looked so scary when they were angry, though they seemed to be smiling as she left.

In the end, Locusta was sold, but he ran away a few days later and returned home to find it empty.

With nowhere to go, she could only wander along the road, eating food abandoned by others when she was hungry, or simply grass or mushrooms, and drinking water when she was thirsty.

In summer, I walk barefoot on the scorching hot road; in winter, I wear tattered clothes, shivering, and walk through that long passageway.

She felt that as long as she could get the money, nothing else mattered, but the people in the city were always quick to anger and always looked down on her only specialty, mushroom soup.

They said she was crazy, that she smelled bad and was disgusting, so she didn't like going into the city.

Although that's what she thought, when she came to her senses she found herself in the city. The people around her kept looking at her with their usual 'disdainful' eyes, which made her lower her head involuntarily. The embarrassment of being barefoot and the awkwardness of being covered in dirt once again came to mind.

“Friends,” said the old man sitting at the front of the church, “I know what makes you ashamed, but you are straying from the right path, making mistakes, and you should always be upright. As Lord Novia said, you should help the grieving as much as you can. When a person’s heart is filled with darkness, evil grows there.”

"But he's a completely irrational madman! You can't reason with him."

"Perhaps God wants me to be this child's shepherd?"

"She might kill you."

“Kill an old man? What good would that do? And what other arguments could there be? Don’t speak of baseless things in this tone.” The old man continued, “Just as a doctor has patients, I have patients whom they call patients, and secondly, I have patients whom I call unfortunate people. That’s why the church doors should always be open.”

The elderly Christian man tapped Locusta on the shoulder, who was bowing her head, with a serious yet gentle expression, and said to her:

"Please come in and sit down, warm yourself by the fire. We'll have dinner in a little while, and your bed will be ready while you eat."

As the old man spoke, Locusta unconsciously walked into the church and waited patiently. After a while, as darkness fell, the old man came in.

"Aren't you going to take a shower?"

“…” Locusta timidly raised his head, “If I don’t listen, I’ll get scolded.”

A touch of sadness choked the old man's throat, and he could only sigh and pat Locusta's head.

"...I'm not a madman without reason, I'm not that disgusting..."

Words flowed from his mouth involuntarily, and Locusta cried, not in silent sobs, but in a wail like he had when he was a child.

".....woo...woo...woo,woo..."

"You must be in a lot of pain, hungry and thirsty. Just stay here and relax."

The old man sat beside her and gently pressed her hand.

From then on, Locusta stayed there with the old man and some of the children who were already there.

There's a plot of land behind the church, so the children here grow vegetables, and Locusta also grows mushrooms to eat.

The elderly man who adopted her would often take walks in the countryside or city, frequently visiting dilapidated homes to offer blessings and receive blessings in return.

The people here always point out his dwelling to anyone in need.

Because he had worn his clothes for so long and didn't want others to notice, he always had to put on a cotton robe, even in the hot summer.

For the elderly, January of the year is no different from any other day.

But for Locusta, this is not bad at all; it's already very good.

This went on for several years, until—

"Can I excuse you for a moment?"

There was a knock on the church door.

"Please come in."

The old man looked calmly at the person who pushed open the door and entered.

"Greetings, Lord Luca. I am Narubalek. I am here on the orders of Lord Novia to bring Losusta, whom you have taken in, to Rome."

Narubalek behaved with utmost respect, for in his eyes the old man before him was a believer worthy of praise.

Luke, who was originally a doctor, was humble and selfless. He did not flaunt his knowledge or try to attract attention. In fact, as a doctor, he could have made a name for himself in the secular world, but he chose to use his talents to promote the ministry of the gospel.

Luke frowned and looked at him, saying, "But I don't have anyone named Locusta here."

“…Um…I am…”

Locusta mustered her courage and raised her hand. In her opinion, if it was the Novia that everyone loved to talk about, he was definitely a good person, so there was no need to make any pointless attempts to hide it, as it would only cause trouble for everyone.

"Taskuro? Oh, it's the name backwards."

After joining this place, Locusta somehow decided to change his name, but because he didn't know much, he just reversed it.

“Alright,” Luke said. “It’s getting late, let’s have a good night’s sleep and set off tomorrow morning. By the way, Lord Narubalek, I was wondering if Paul of Antioch is in Rome, since he sent me a letter not long ago.”

"Yes, His Excellency Paul, along with Saint Martha and the eleven apostles, were invited by Lord Novia to Rome to draft a new covenant."

“No wonder.” Luke moved his lips seriously, like someone praying or talking to himself, then took two books out of his bag and handed them to Narubalek. “Paul asked me to give these to him. Since you’re here, you can take these with you.”

"Ok."

Narubalek held the two books in his right hand. Their worn appearance was evident from their cover, suggesting that they had taken more than a decade to write. As a devout believer, Narubalek naturally knew why the old man did not go to Rome to enjoy this honor himself. It was probably because he couldn't bear to leave the local people and the children in the church.

At dawn the following day, Narubalec returned to Rome with Locusta and the two books given to him by Luke.

Having learned about Losusta's situation, Novia naturally also learned about Luca from Narubalek.

In the original history, Luke was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts in the New Testament. He was revered as the patron saint of medical workers and hospitals, and because of the legend that he painted the image of the Virgin Mary, he was also revered as the patron saint of fine arts and artists.

This person once went to distant Jerusalem to examine the genealogical records of Jesus. Many of the life events and ministry experiences of Christ Jesus are only recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke contains as many as eighty-two accounts of Jesus and some of the parables he told, which are not found in other Gospels.

Luke may have learned about John's birth from Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, or from Mary, the mother of Jesus, about the details of Jesus' birth and early life. Perhaps the apostles Peter, James, or John told Luke about the miracle of the fishing.

But perhaps because Novia rewrote much of history, Luke did not follow Paul as before. Instead, he ran away from Antioch to a town in the province of Gaul and opened a small church. He also unexpectedly took in Locusta, who was supposed to wander in the forest and eventually be recruited by Agrippina to poison Emperor Claudius.

"Hello, Locusta, actually I'm looking for you because I just hope you can do me a favor."

Novia smiled and said to Locusta, without beating around the bush, that although the boy was not in good mental condition, he was still a good boy at heart.

"Okay, okay... I'll do my best, it's what I should do..."

Locusta was initially dejected, fearing that she had been discovered by important figures for entering the church solely to eat, and that this would implicate everyone and lead to punishment. However, upon hearing Novia's call, she suddenly raised her head, revealing a look of unwavering conviction, though she still lacked confidence.

"This is a poison recipe. Do you have a way to make an antidote?"

Novia took out the poison formula that Agrippina had given him earlier and placed it in Locusta's hands.

"Poison, poison... Let me see..."

Locusta was taken aback upon hearing this, but relaxed a little after learning that Novia was going to make the antidote.

Lady Novia must be trying to save someone, she thought to herself.

But the more Locusta looked at the poison recipe, the more he thought about it and felt terrified.

Because this poison is colorless and odorless after preparation, and is a slow-acting poison, drinking it when the illness begins can temporarily stop the symptoms, but the cost is that the symptoms will become increasingly severe...

Although it was troublesome, for Locusta, who had been self-taught and later educated by Luke, and who often enjoyed eating poisonous mushrooms and making soup by himself, it was something he could manage by spending time.

"Lord Novia, I should be able to finish in about half a year."

"Half a year? Actually, Locusta, the person I want to cure has been drinking this poison for more than ten years. That's the situation."

Upon hearing this, Locusta's eyes widened instantly.

More than ten years?

This has already reached the point where it's tainted to the bone marrow... What a pitiful person! Who could have given it to them for so many years? It's terrifying.

"Then, let's make it three years."

After a moment's thought, Locusta recovered from his surprise. In the end, it was just a poison with excessive toxicity. Spending more time researching it and avoiding drinking poison in the future wouldn't be that troublesome.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Locusta."

After receiving Locusta's promise, and given the mushroom girl's repeated requests for something else, Novia assigned her to be in charge of food safety in the palace, since she was an expert in that area.

Now, everything is going according to Novia's original plan. The spread of Christianity has undeniably swept across the entire Roman Empire. Now, only a few final steps remain: taking control of the Praetorian Guard and having the Roman Emperor declare Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. After that, the Church of Christ will be established in the world ahead of schedule and gradually perfected.

Novia had little hope of getting the old emperor Claudius to publicly declare Christianity the state religion, and planned to wait a few years until Nero made the announcement.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was October of the 54th year of the reign of Emperor Renzong. Despite Novia’s repeated assurances that there was no possibility of poisoning in the palace, the old emperor suddenly became unwell in early October and was in danger of dying at any moment.

It seems that regardless of whether poison was used or not, Claudius's death during this period was inevitable.

On October 12th, the ailing Emperor Claudius, perhaps experiencing a final burst of energy before death, requested that Novia be brought to the palace to discuss matters of the future.

Testimonials

Well, after a month, this book is finally going to be available.

To be honest, the book's initial performance wasn't very good. I remember on the first Monday after the trial run, I asked the editor and found out it only had a little over 400 followers. I thought there was no hope of advancing, and the more I read, the worse I felt my writing was. But thanks to the readers' support, the number of favorites gradually rose to second place, and we successfully advanced.

The reading progress increased by over a thousand on the second Monday, and by the third Monday, which was this Monday, it was over three thousand two hundred. Although it's just an average result on the platform, it's still quite good for me.

Let me talk about the subsequent plot arrangements. The story in Rome should end around 200,000 words. As for how the protagonist becomes the 'Holy Spirit' of the Trinity, you should be able to deduce it from the introduction... (The book still promotes the duality of Christianity).

As for Beast Nero, he won't be born before the protagonist dies. I also think Beast Nero with the Albion Dragon is pretty cool (Nero Obito face.jpg).

In modern times, Romania would naturally have that princess with her chest pressed against her back, making her appearance.

Next, it should be a choice between the timelines of the Huns and the Japanese.

The female protagonists of the Huns include Attila, Clynnside (who is not a married woman), and finally, the choice is between Amor (the Roman goddess of love) and Hebe.

In the Japanese setting, the female protagonists are Amaterasu and Yamata no Orochi.

But in the end, I still prefer the twisted and bloody taste!

I've said so much, so please, please give me a first subscription!

This is really important to me!

I don't think I'll ever forget that request in my life, and I really would do anything to make it happen.

052: The first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity

The wind howled, and Rome was colder and more desolate than ever before.