America: John Wick 1924

Chapter 29 This priest is not only skilled in combat, but also knowledgeable in music.
The next morning—

San Francisco, Maple Street, Jane's house, Li Yu's room—

Accompanied by the rustling sound of fabric, Li Yu slowly put on his priest's robe.

After putting on the cross necklace, he moved to the front of the full-length mirror next to him.

Looking at his neatly dressed self in the mirror, Li Yu couldn't help but mutter:

"Has this gone too smoothly...?"

He thought it would take him a lot of effort to find a place to live and a job in San Francisco.

Unexpectedly... both goals were successfully achieved in just one night!

Not only did he find comfortable accommodation, but he also got the job he wanted most at the moment (pastor).

And all of this was thanks to Jane's great help.

Perhaps this is what they mean by good deeds being rewarded.

It was because he saved Jane that everything went so smoothly for him today.

Thinking of this, Li Yu couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, a faint smile appearing on his face.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with his attire, he took two fully loaded M1911 pistols and stuffed them into the two side pockets of his trousers—under the cover of his priest's robe, no outsider would be able to tell that he was hiding guns.

Once everything was ready, he left the room and moved to the first floor.

In the entryway, he saw Jane waiting quietly with her hands folded in front of her.

"Priest, are you ready?"

Li Yu nodded.

Jane smiled:

"Then come with me, I'll take you to the church."

Led by Jeanne, they left the mansion one after the other and headed straight for the church (Stone Chamber Church).

Its location is not far; it's just a few dozen meters away.

The Stone Chamber Church—as its name suggests, is a church built of bricks and stones. It is neither tall nor large, and can only accommodate about fifty people at most.

After Jane opened the door of the stone chamber church, the interior unfolded before Li Yu's eyes.

There were no elaborate murals, no exquisite objects, just a cross and a few benches for parishioners to sit on... nothing more. A very typical Protestant style.

However, something placed in a corner of the church instantly caught Li Yu's attention.

"Oh? There's a piano..."

Li Yu's eyes lit up, and he rushed towards the piano in two strides.

It's normal to have a piano in a church. The piano is often used to accompany hymns sung by church members.

"Sister, may I try playing a tune?"

Jane looked surprised.

"Pastor, can you play the piano?"

"I can play, but I'm only at the level of an amateur."

Li Yu started learning piano at the age of 4.

The reason he started practicing piano from a young age is not complicated: his parents believed that "playing the piano can improve intelligence," so they spared no expense to buy him a good piano and hire famous teachers for him.

However, unlike those children who find practicing the piano like torture, Li Yu loves music very much and never thinks playing the piano is a chore; he always enjoys it.

Unfortunately, due to limited natural talent, his piano skills remained at the level of an "amateur enthusiast."

While they can't compare to professional performers, they are more than capable of playing beautiful pieces that would amaze even laymen.

After receiving Jane's permission, Li Yu sat down in front of the piano and eagerly opened the lid. He hadn't played the piano since he transmigrated... The long-awaited touch of the keys invigorated Li Yu.

He pressed a few buttons, and melodious music started playing.

"Well maintained," Li Yu thought to himself.

The next moment, his ten fingers danced gracefully, playing Beethoven's Minuet in G major.

This is a very famous piece of music, so famous that even if you haven't heard its name, you've most likely heard its melody.

The morning sun was shining brightly, and the pale golden rays of dawn shone through the window, bathing Jane in its warmth… This scene inspired Li Yu to unconsciously play this cheerful and comforting tune.

Watching Li Yu skillfully wield the piano keys, Jane blinked her beautiful eyes, her surprise deepening.

A moment later, after Li Yu struck the last note, she exclaimed in a joking tone:
"To be able to play Beethoven's Minuet in G major at this level is no ordinary amateur skill."

Jane was able to accurately name the piece of music... This piqued Li Yu's curiosity.

"Sister, do you understand music too?"

At this moment, Li Yu belatedly recalled what Jane had mentioned the night before: her adoptive mother was a well-known violinist.

Jane was taken aback, then chuckled dryly a few times:
"I only know a little bit. I once learned a little violin from my adoptive mother."

She seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further, changing the subject immediately after finishing her sentence:

“That’s great! This way, we’ll have piano accompaniment when we sing hymns in the future.”

It was obvious that Jane was unwilling... or rather, she was not yet willing to tell Li Yu about her past with her adoptive mother.

So Li Yu didn't say anything more. After chuckling a few times, he slowly closed the piano lid and then turned his head to look at the empty church where there was no one else except him and Jane.

"Sister, what's the work for today? It's my first day at work, and I really want to do my best."

“You can’t call ‘fulfilling pastoral duties’ ‘going to work’.”

Jane feigned displeasure, gave Li Yu a curt lecture, and then turned to look at the street outside the window.

"Today is not Sunday, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, no church members should be visiting."

"So... let's go clean the streets."

"There are too many fallen leaves on the street, it's time to clean them up properly!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu couldn't help but chuckle, muttering to himself:

"Doing volunteer work...it feels very much like being a pastor."

Many people cannot distinguish between "pastor" and "priest" and often confuse them.

In fact, the two are not the same thing at all.

To explain the difference between a "pastor" and a "priest," we must first start with the three major branches of Christianity.

In 392 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius I established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.

After the Roman Empire split into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, both sides believed that their Christianity was the orthodox faith, which led to conflict and sowed the seeds of future division.

In 1054, the Great Schism occurred, splitting the once unified Christian Church into the Western Church centered in Rome (i.e., Catholicism) and the Eastern Church centered in Constantinople (i.e., Eastern Orthodoxy).

In 1517, Martin Luther put forward the Ninety-Five Theses, launching the Reformation movement and causing a new denomination to split within Catholicism, namely Protestantism.

These are the three major branches of Christianity (Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism).

Priests are clergy members of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, while pastors are clergy members of the Protestant churches—this is the fundamental difference between the two.

Because pastors do not represent the Father in exercising power, they cannot be addressed as "Father".

The honorific title for a pastor is "The Rev." – for example, Li Yu is addressed as "The Rev. Lee".

(End of this chapter)