No one knew whether Tang Sanzang's chanting had any magical power, but Saint Matthew's chanting truly had miraculous effects.
It was not some evil magic that distorted the mind. When the divine compassion was invoked to recite scriptures, there was only one effect: the chanter's inner heart was completely revealed to the listeners, achieving a heart-to-heart transmission of doctrine.
If Saint Matthew were being insincere toward Stannis, merely putting on a show to "convert" him, then no one listening to his chanting would feel even the slightest sincerity, and thus no one would be moved.
If Saint Matthew genuinely felt Stannis's suffering and compassionately reached out to pull him out of misery, then everyone around, including Stannis himself, could sense the true sincerity within the scriptures.
Stannis felt Matthew's pity and understood the teachings of the Seven, but his mind remained clear. His stubborn nature and his current circumstances made it impossible for him to accept the compassion of a mere monk.
He felt anger and humiliation.
Then the Red Woman made her move. Her powerful spiritual force blocked Saint Matthew's interference with Stannis.
So Matthew shifted his focus to her.
The Mother is compassionate and saves all beings. Both humans and demons can be redeemed, and naturally, the Red Woman was also within the scope of salvation.
"The belief you have held onto for so long has become illusory and shattered, leaving you lost. When you see the suffering of those around you, you feel pity just as I do, and you wish to help him find release. But you do not know the path out of suffering."
"In truth, Priestess, you possess great insight. If you would only turn back and look once toward the light of the Seven, you would see a different landscape.
If you are willing, I can personally guide you onto the radiant path of the Seven," Saint Matthew said sincerely.
Melisandre immediately felt uneasy.
She had a sudden realization that those "shifty" eyes of his seemed to see straight through her heart, even laying bare her past.
And just like with Stannis, Saint Matthew's pity and concern toward her were so obvious that she could fully feel them. Yet in her heart, there was only humiliation and anger.
Your "Holy Mother" Daenerys would not dare speak to me like this. Who do you think you are, to pity me?
Your age barely amounts to a fraction of mine, yet like a fool, you have worshipped wooden idols for decades as a false monk, and now you dare to act superior before me, arrogantly trying to convert me to the Seven.
The Red Woman had cultivated herself for hundreds of years and almost never lost her temper. But this time, she lost control.
Pointing at the old monk, who wore a compassionate expression while reciting the Seven-Pointed Star, she shouted, "Throw him out!"
Hearing that he was about to be beaten, Saint Matthew's smile only grew more benevolent.
At least it is better than being stabbed in the heart or mutilated by Euron. Perhaps today I truly can convert the Red Heart Demon. Even if I cannot make them immediately turn to the righteous path, I must at least let them feel the greatness of the Seven's teachings.
With that thought, he simply sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and continued chanting the scriptures with compassionate divinity, ignoring everything else.
At first, the Knights of the Flaming Heart did not truly beat him. They merely carried him out of the tent and threw him onto the ground outside.
Saint Matthew did not leave. Instead, he sat at the entrance and continued chanting loudly.
Stannis and Melisandre initially thought: if we ignore him, he will grow bored and leave on his own.
But half an hour later, Saint Matthew's voice was still clear and resonant. The compassion and teachings of the Seven-Pointed Star spread far across the camp, reaching the ears of Stannis and Melisandre inside the tent and drawing more and more attention.
The dull thuds of fists and kicks striking flesh, mixed with the muffled chanting of the monk, drifted into the tent. Stannis paced back and forth in the cramped space, growing increasingly agitated.
"Even after being beaten like this, he refuses to leave. If I have him thrown out of the camp, he will probably stand by the road and continue chanting loudly, which would be even worse.
Would it be better to expose Daenerys's true nature to him?" he asked the equally restless Red Woman beside him.
"It's useless. He won't believe it. What Daenerys has created even surpasses most true divine miracles: resurrecting the dead, worldwide holy healing, indulgences, rumors of heaven, the descent of the Holy Mother…
If I did not know the truth, I would also firmly believe the Seven are real.
At this point, even if we put in great effort to expose how Daenerys usurped the Seven, it would be meaningless.
Because the miracles are real, the teachings are real, and the actions of the 'Seven' have always aligned with the doctrines they preach."
At this, the Red Woman could not help but smile bitterly and shake her head. "Just the increasingly mature priesthood alone has already allowed the Faith of the Seven to surpass all other religious organizations in the world.
If the Seven are fake, then who would still dare to claim they are real?"
"What kind of logic is that? If false gods are more real than true gods, then who is false? What is real?" Stannis's expression darkened, his voice filled with deep exhaustion and faint despair.
The Red Woman suddenly lifted her head and stared at the man opposite her. "Do not doubt it. The prophecy of Asshai is real. The Lord of Light, R'hllor, is real. Your identity as the savior is also real."
"What difference does it make whether it is real or not? Daenerys may be false, but she does better than a true god.
Before she usurped the position of the Seven, the so-called saints of the Faith were people like Baelor or the Sparrows, extremists in temperament.
More like madmen than saints.
But after she became the Holy Mother, she instead cultivated true saints who grieve for the world and fear no sacrifice. Even I can feel his sincerity and compassion," Stannis sighed.
"You have been influenced by his divine speech. Matthew is a demigod," Melisandre said.
Stannis pointed toward the tent entrance. "Perhaps I have been influenced. But even without listening to his chanting, just look at what is happening outside.
You say he is a demigod, yet he allows mortal knights to beat and kick him while his compassion remains unchanged. Is that something an ordinary person can do?"
"Whether he is a saint or not has nothing to do with us," Melisandre replied.
He waved his hand weakly and pointed at the military map hanging on the wall. "How can it have nothing to do with us? I am about to attack King's Landing, and the city is full of followers of the Seven.
If a true saint appears, the believers will naturally gather around him.
Then after I take King's Landing, how am I supposed to govern it?
Am I to purge the Great Sept of Baelor and burn the statues of the Seven?
Even Cersei and Euron were not that insane."
"Matthew will lead the Sparrows and refugees away from King's Landing, and the Great Sept has already been turned into a fortress. It is obvious that Daenerys does not intend to fight you for the city."
After a pause, Melisandre lowered her voice. "And you are not without allies.
The Lord of Light has already sent divine commands to the red temples of the Free Cities. Countless Hands of the Sacred Fire and red priests will cross the sea to Westeros.
You are the chosen son of the Red God, the earthly representative of the Lord of Light. Priests from Myr, Pentos, Braavos, and even Volantis will follow your command."
Stannis was startled. "For that ten-thousand-supernatural-casters forbidden array?"
"To end the Long Night and for the battle of King's Landing under your command. The Cold God is the eternal enemy of the Lord of Light. Only R'hllor can save the world. Naturally, the red priests who serve Him will not stand by and do nothing while events unfold in Westeros," the Red Woman said righteously.
The truth was far less noble than Melisandre described.
It was true that R'hllor had called upon the red temples of the Free Cities to support King's Landing, but the real purpose was to cleanse the filth that the Dragon Queen had splashed upon Him and the red temples.
Daenerys's scheme of sending captured allied soldiers back to their homelands to spread black propaganda about R'hllor had been exposed. If He did not wish to lose humanity's faith, there was only one choice: prove through actions that the red priests were not like the despicable and weak nobles. They would fulfill the mission of ending the Long Night.
That meant crossing the Narrow Sea to Westeros to fight the Others.
At this moment, in Volantis, Benerro, having received the divine revelation, left the Black Wall and returned to the red temple outside it. As usual, he stood atop the tallest pillar and preached to the faithful:
"The nobles behind the Black Wall have abandoned the people of Volantis, but the Lord of Light has not.
I was deceived just like you.
Yes, on the day the sun was shattered, I publicly declared that it was temporary and that the sun would return.
That was a lie, a well-intentioned lie, because the Triarch promised me that he would use the lie to maintain order while secretly purchasing grain from other cities to relieve Volantis.
I sacrificed my own honor and that of the temple, but the Triarch did not fulfill his promise.
They did buy grain, but they hoarded it within the Black Wall for the nobles alone.
Now I declare that the nobles behind the Black Wall are the common enemy of both the people and the red temple. A cursed fate will surely befall them.
I will always stand with you. The Lord of Light will surely save His followers in this world.
But the temple has no grain, and the Lord of Light cannot conjure food out of nothing. The best way to save mankind is to end the Long Night and summon back the sun.
Now, I will lead the priests of the temple to Westeros to aid the savior Stannis in slaying the King of the Others and repelling the Cold God."
In short, the red priests abandoned the nobles and chose a greater source of faith: slaves and commoners.
In this way, the Dragon Queen's accusation that the red temples colluded with nobles and betrayed the faithful collapsed on its own.
Three days later, in the Queen Mother's Tower of the Red Keep.
Cersei asked routinely, "Is Saint Matthew still outside the city converting the Red Heart Demon?"
Septa Moelle shook her head regretfully. "Just as Saint Matthew was about to succeed, the Red Heart Demon and the Red Heart Witch fled."
"Fled?" Cersei was stunned. "Where did they go?"
"They likely returned to Rosby. Saint Matthew will leave King's Landing in two days, so he does not have time to search for them," Septa Moelle said with disappointment.
Cersei stamped her foot. "What a pity, such a pity! If they had been converted, King's Landing could have avoided a great disaster."
Whether he converted Stannis to the Seven or sent him to hell with the Holy Mother's divine palm, my Cersei dynasty would have been preserved.
She truly felt regret.
At the beginning, she had no hope in Saint Matthew's attempt to convert Stannis.
When she heard that he had been beaten and kicked by the Knights of the Flaming Heart, she even looked down on him.
But after one day passed, and then another, the news she heard from Septa Moelle grew more and more exaggerated.
For example, on a cold night, Saint Matthew persisted in chanting toward Stannis's tent. Stannis woke in the middle of the night and burst into tears.
Even Cersei understood that Stannis had truly been affected by Saint Matthew.
It was possible he might turn back from the wrong path and even take monastic vows.
Another example: because of his outburst of tears, Stannis became angry out of shame. The next morning, he gave Saint Matthew "special attention." He ordered his knights to whip the old monk's back and buttocks with thorny branches as thick as a wrist, tearing his clothes and lacerating his flesh.
Then a miracle appeared. Around Saint Matthew emerged a layer of the Holy Mother's golden form: a phantom golden statue of the Holy Mother, about the same size as Matthew, appeared and overlapped with his body.
It was as if he had gained an extra layer of a human-shaped golden bell shield.
(End of Chapter)
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