Hearing this, Lorne slightly frowned.
"Old man, what do you mean by this? The people of Thebes do not like the wine god?"
"More than that! You cannot even mention his name!"
The old farmer stopped his steps and looked back at Lorne in surprise with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"You are a foreigner, right? No wonder you dared to sit under the tree and openly sing the sacred hymns related to the wine god cult."
Lorne nodded, took out two gold coins of Zeus from his pocket, handed them to this kind old farmer, put on a look of lingering fear and asked in a low voice.
"Old man, what exactly is going on? Can you explain in detail so that I, as a newcomer, do not accidentally violate some local taboo?"
"This taboo has nothing to do with us poor folks; it is the king's order.
For some reason, he really hates the wine god cult from outside, prohibiting any believers from preaching here, and even topics related to the wine god cult cannot be mentioned; otherwise, all are thrown into the big prison waiting for interrogation and heavy punishment."
The old farmer pointed to the distant city of Thebes and warned in a deep voice.
"Because of this, the city has already arrested many believers of the wine god cult, even the king's mother was thrown into prison because she participated in a wine god gathering. Young man, if you do not want to cause trouble, be more careful..."
While speaking, that old hand pushed back the two gold coins in his palm with an unhappy expression.
"I saved you because you are still young, not for these..."
Lorne quickly explained.
"I just caused some trouble, the situation outside is still unclear, how about you lend me this piece of land to hide for a few days and prepare some food, these can be considered as payment for your reward."
The old farmer nodded, and his face turned from cloudy to sunny accepted the gold coins and led this foreigner to the temporary shed he had built in the grape field.
And along the way through indirect inquiries, Lorne roughly understood the current situation in the city.
The current king of Thebes is named Pentheus.
He is the son of Echion, born from the earth and Agave.
In fact, Agave is in the bloodline, the daughter of the old king Cadmus, the biological sister of the Theban princess Semele.
That is to say, the one in the royal palace is considered his dear cousin of this wine god.
However, Pentheus himself has a violent and irritable personality extremely strong desire for control and thinks highly of himself cannot tolerate words of belittlement and criticism.
Only the main gods of Olympus can make him, during sacrifices, reluctantly lower his head and express some superficial respect.
But unfortunately, in recent years, a foreign sect called Wine God Cult has risen to fame in Thebes widely spread a large number of middle and lower class people have become followers of its doctrines, willingly worshiping that unknown wine god.
"Speaking of which, they are just preaching and have not done anything outrageous..."
On the road, the old farmer could not help but grumble a bit on behalf of those arrested wine god cult followers.
Because the main members of this foreign sect were basically all from the bottom of society, they understood the hardships of life and the difficulties of ordinary people better.
Therefore, the followers of the wine god cult often gave out bread and red wine for free or sent the rice flour grain, and oil they had collected inside the sect to widowed elderly people who needed help.
Sometimes they would also gather manpower to do voluntary labor and help families who had drawn a lucky lot with whatever they could manage.
According to them, this was called "the teachings of the wine god" and "spreading the benevolence of the god to benefit the world."
The old farmer's few acres of grape fields had also been visited by them.
The other side had not only bought that season's grapes at a fair price but had also weeded for him for free and tended the seedlings.
It was precisely because of his goodwill toward those wine god cult followers that the old man had taken the risk of pulling Lorne, who was singing by the roadside, into the field.
In fact, the wine god cult had always enjoyed a good reputation in Thebes. Many people from the lower class and even some from the middle and upper classes held similar goodwill toward the wine god cult followers.
When they explained the divine teachings, many men, women and children inside Thebes, even some respectable nobles, had come to follow and praise this newborn deity who brought joy to the world, even raising him to the same level as the gods of Olympus.
However, this had angered King Pentheus.
In his eyes, a wild god who had popped up from who knew where was simply not worthy of such admiration.
Especially when that wine god's status and prestige in Thebes had actually surpassed him, the real king.
Therefore, Pentheus strictly forbade the people from worshiping that wine god.
But because the influence of the wine god cult had already spread, the secret sacrifices and gatherings among the common folk continued, no matter how many times they were banned.
So in a fit of rage, Pentheus declared the wine god cult a heretical sect that bewitched people's hearts, launched a large-scale arrest of its followers, and threw them all into prison.
Even his own mother had been locked up together with them because she had joined a group of noble ladies in a private "joyful banquet" of the wine god cult.
Neither the warnings from the temple's blind diviner, Tiresias, nor the advice from the old king Cadmus had been able to change Pentheus's firm attitude of cracking down on the wine god cult.
So, as an ordinary person, the old farmer knew he was powerless to do more.
He could only grumble for a while and do whatever small good deeds were within his ability.
"Young man, hide here for a few days first. Wait until it is confirmed safe before you go out. I will go home and bring you something to eat."
After giving his shed in the field to the reckless foreigner in front of him the old farmer gave a few simple instructions turned around and walked toward his home in the village.
Watching the old man's departing back and the gloomy outline of distant Thebes city, Lorne, as the cult leader narrowed his eyes slightly.
~~
At night, inside the resplendent royal palace of Thebes.
The burly king Pentheus, whose face still carried a trace of youthful tenderness, sat on the golden throne, examining the new batch of wine god believers who had just been arrested.
Among them were old and young, even some nobles of divine blood.
Seeing this scene, Pentheus could not help but angrily rebuke them.
"What has made you all lose your minds, flocking in groups to follow a lowly false god? A bunch of cowardly fools and mad women! Have you forgotten the heroic blood flowing in your own veins?
Thebes is the land of the brave!
Our city walls were built on the great deed of dragon slaying and the bones of enemies!
And the false god you want to worship wears a grapevine wreath on his head, not a helmet, wears cumbersome robes, not armor, holds a ridiculous wine cup in his hand, not a sword. Do you expect to go onto the battlefield and drink the enemy to death?"
Hearing the barrage of rebukes, the people in the hall reacted calmly.
"Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, whether it was slaying the dragon or building the city, those were the achievements of your maternal grandfather, Cadmus, and he once advised you not to treat these innocent believers of the wine god cult harshly."
A low voice came from the crowd, making the young king on the throne flush red with anger.
Pentheus looked toward the voice and glared sinisterly at a certain blond-haired blue-eyed young man in the crowd.
"Damn thing, what is your name? Who are your parents? Where is your home? Why do you follow the new rites?"
The young man fearlessly shrugged his shoulders and calmly answered.
"My name is Polymnos, my hometown is on the island of Crete.
My parents are ordinary people with neither livestock nor land.
My father only taught me to fish at sea because that skill was his entire wealth.
Later, I learned to sail, became familiar with the stars, observed the wind directions, and knew where the best ports were. I became a sailor. Once, when the ship was heading to Delos in the Aegean Sea, a group of savage pirates boarded us.
I originally thought I was doomed, but unexpectedly, there was a god on the ship at that time.
The pirate captain probably saw his handsome appearance and tender skin, thought he was some prince, so he also captured him who was waiting for the ship on shore, planning to get a ransom.
But after that youth was brought onto the ship, the pirates guarded him with sharp knives and tied him with the thickest ropes, yet no matter what, they could not bind him; the ropes would slip off by themselves.
Even more miraculous during the voyage, grapevines suddenly grew on the sails, spread to both sides and bore many grapes.
There was also ivy that grew upward around the mast, and the edges of the ship were covered with ivy everywhere.
The deck was flowing with wine everywhere, its fragrance spreading.
And that youth also changed back to the form of a god.
He wore a headband made of grape leaves, held a thyrsus entwined with grapevines in his hand, and around him crouched tigers, lynxes and leopards. The sweet aroma of wine spread throughout the entire ship..."
Listening to the magnetic voice, the crowd was instantly enchanted by that strange scene, their emotions rising and falling with the story.
"Wait, this story seems familiar?"
"Yes, it is the 'Hymn to Dionysus'!"
"Uh-huh, that's right, I remember now the author is that blind poet Homer!"
Some of the thoughtful believers on the field, after a moment, looked at this somewhat unfamiliar fellow believer brother in the crowd with shock and envy on their faces.
Obviously, this one was probably the personal experiencer of that story, a living saint!
To have actually received the favor of the great wine god and sailed on the same ship, what a tremendous honor.
At this moment, hearing the discussions from the crowd, Pentheus was furious.
"A pack of lies! A mere false thing from who knows where dares to call itself a god!"
Facing the young king's rebuke, the blond, blue-eyed narrator smiled slightly.
"Your Majesty, coincidentally, those pirates did not believe at first either. Then guess what happened?"
He paused, then continued.
"The pirates first rushed forward with knives, but the wine god turned into a huge lion standing on the bow, tearing the swords to pieces.
But the pirates refused to give up, drew their bows, and shot arrows. The wine god turned into a giant bear, bouncing the arrows off with its fur while protecting me.
In the end, the pirates had no choice.
In a fit of anger, they chose to scuttle the ship and jump into the sea to escape.
But the moment they touched the water, the pirate captain, who had grabbed the wine god onto the ship, found his lips and nose joined together, turning into a fish's mouth.
The other pirates did not even have time to scream before suffering the same fate.
Blue skin grew on their bodies, their backs bent, their arms shrank into fins, and their feet had already become tails.
I recognize that fish. It is called a dolphin.
In this way, all the pirates who went into the water were stripped of their human form and turned into this.
At that time, there were twenty people on the ship. Only I remained unharmed. Just when I felt afraid, the wine god came to my side.
He said: Do not be afraid, my friend. You did not harm me. You are a righteous person.
If you are willing, just send me to the island of Crete. When we arrive there, you can become my disciple and proclaim the teachings to the world.
Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous. Let the filthy continue to be filthy. Let the righteous continue to be righteous. Let the holy continue to be holy. Because the god will punish the evildoers and protect the doers of good.
And the god is also merciful. Even for the worst pirates, he gives those sinners three chances to repent."
....
In the silence, the "disciple" looked up at Pentheus's young and vigorous face and murmured quietly.
"So what is your choice, Your Majesty?"
"Enough, I am tired of listening to your nonsense!"
"It is never too late to turn back from the wrong path..."
"Just with you, a lowly commoner pretending to be a god, you dare to lecture me? Shut up!"
On the throne, Pentheus's gaze was cold as he angrily stood up from his seat and waved his hand.
"Come arrest him, make him suffer a thousand kinds of tortures, then throw him into the dungeon!"
The soldiers in the hall heard the order, immediately picked up ropes and torture instruments and advanced, preparing to tie up the arrogant young man in the crowd.
However, a strong wind blew through, and the soldiers rushing into the crowd became dizzy.
When they came to their senses, they found that the criminal who needed to be arrested had disappeared.
At the same time, a murmur came from the dark night sky.
"First time..."
Pentheus looked at the palace doors blown open by the strong wind and the empty square outside the windows.
His expression was uncertain as he burst into an angry roar at the group of bewildered soldiers.
"Chase him! Do not you catch that pretending to be a god bastard for me!"
The soldiers, jolted under the king's scolding, hurriedly rushed out to search everywhere for the escaped criminal.
And the believers who had witnessed this scene with their own eyes were excited beyond control.
Saint! It really is the saint!
It must be that the wine god knows we have been treated unjustly and has specially sent someone to rescue us!
At this moment, the believers who had felt a trace of wavering and fear under the strong power had their faith become extremely firm again.
One after another, they clasped their hands together and prayed excitedly to that merciful and just deity.
(End of chapter)