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    Chapter 66: The Three Rules of Dissecting Rabbits

    Grett glared at the pastors.

    The pastors glared back at him.

    A dozen or so of them stood below, their voices a cacophony of disagreement. One stood above, fists clenched, waving his arms. Ignoring the numbers, just focusing on the atmosphere, it was like a leopard perched on a tree, surrounded by wolves at its base, howling and wanting to tear it to shreds.

    …Ah, still a young leopard.

    Not strong enough to fight.

    Grett compared his own strength to theirs and sadly reached a conclusion.

    “Ahem, everyone, quiet down.” Elder Elvin had been watching the commotion unfold, finally tapping his wooden staff and speaking to stop them. He was the oldest, and also the highest-ranking pastor, so everyone gave him face and fell silent, backing away. Elvin beckoned to Grett, his expression gentle as he said, “Little Grett, I’ve only been teaching you for a few days, and there are some details I haven’t had time to tell you. —We are servants of the Natural God, revering nature, protecting nature, being friends with nature, with plants, and with animals. To harm innocent animals is to violate our faith.”

    What?

    Is there really a rule about that?

    The Natural God never told me that!

    …Oh, right, I’m a fake divine envoy…

    Grett broke out in a cold sweat. He tried to think carefully and cautiously raised a finger, offering a suggestion.

    “Then…if we can’t catch wild rabbits, can you guys raise your own?”

    “Grett!!!”

    Elder Elvin growled. This kid was relentless! If he was so eager to cut up rabbits, he should go to the necromancers!

    He tried to look fierce, but Grett was unmoved, his hands outstretched.

    “Catching wild ones is no good, and raising them yourselves is also no good… So there’s only one solution. Elder, can you get me a few hundred corpses? I’ll take on a few dozen myself, and I’ll probably be pretty skilled after that…”

    “Gre-tt!”

    Why did I take him on as a disciple? He’s so obsessed with dissecting corpses, he’s clearly a great necromancer!

    Elder Elvin gritted his teeth in frustration. However, this back and forth had allowed Grett to develop his own full theory, and he looked at the elder without fear.

    “You protect nature, right? The natural ecology, right? —On the grassland, too many sheep eat all the grass, then the wolves have more sheep to eat. When the sheep get fewer and the wolves starve to death, new grassland grows and nourishes more sheep, that’s the balance, right?”

    This logic…was correct. Ecological balance, simple and clear, indeed summarized the thing they revered and sought to protect. But there was a trap somewhere… Elder Elvin frowned.

    “What are you trying to say?”

    “Human-raised flocks of sheep, human-raised rabbits, rarely affect the natural ecology!” Grett countered confidently.

    “Even if we raise a few more, or kill a few more, the impact on nature is much smaller than wild animals. To study healing techniques, killing a few for practice, how does that violate the principles of protecting nature, how does that violate your faith?”

    “But…”

    Most people still looked hesitant. The pastor named William, who had earlier asked about practicing bone-setting, asked loudly, “Even so, does that mean we can just hurt animals at will?”

    “Of course not!” Grett answered confidently. Before William could object, he asked first, “Can servants of the Natural God kill animals?”

    “They can.” Elder Elvin picked up the thread. He leaned on his wooden staff and walked forward, his silver beard sparkling in the campfire’s glow. “To eat, to hunt for fur to wear, to protect the people and remove threats, we can kill animals. Such actions are justified.

    —But, for the purpose of showing off strength, for pleasure, for any unnecessary reasons, killing animals, cutting down trees or bushes, destroying nature, such people will surely lose the power granted by the Natural God.”

    He paused slightly. Grett immediately followed up with his question.

    “So do you think it’s necessary to harm animals in order to practice healing techniques?”

    The Elder hesitated for a moment. Grett didn’t give him a chance, continuing his argument.

    “I think it’s necessary. First, healers must go through this kind of practice to develop their skills; second, we’re not doing this for our own selfish gain; finally, the harm we do to these animals is not indiscriminate, but follows strict rules—”

    He took a step forward, stepping onto the edge of the stone, and raised one hand. He spread out his fingers, then curled the first one under his palm for all to see.

    “The first rule, substitution. Use rabbit legs instead of live rabbits, use rabbits instead of sheep, use sheep instead of monkeys — in short, use inanimate materials to replace living animals, use smaller animals to replace larger ones.”

    Under the firelight, Grett was animated, his face glowing with enthusiasm. He continued to curl his second finger, speaking eloquently.

    “The second rule, reduction. Try to use fewer animals to gain the same amount of practice, or use the same amount of animals to gain more practice. In this way, while we can’t reduce the total number of injuries, we can at least harm fewer animals.”

    “It seems to make sense…” The servants of the Natural God murmured to each other. A few tried to object, but faced with such rigorous, systematic principles, they couldn’t find anything to say for the moment. Grett looked solemn as he curled his final finger.

    “The third rule, optimization. Treat them as kindly as possible, avoid or minimize the pain inflicted on them, such as administering anesthesia before breaking their bones — or, provide appropriate living conditions for the animals so they can live as well as possible.”

    “It all boils down to, you still want to hurt them!” The beautiful pastor Joanna stepped forward and retorted loudly. With a cry of an eagle, she raised her arm high, and a falcon flew down and landed on her arm. Joanna stroked the falcon’s feathers, her expression softening for a moment, then becoming sharp again.

    “So many reasons, so many rules, just so you can make yourself feel better!”

    “You’re right.” Grett nodded solemnly. He stared into Joanna’s fiery eyes and admitted slowly, “We break their bones, cut open their bellies, pull out their spines — not for torture, not for cruelty. We know clearly that these animals are taking the place of suffering for us humans, taking the place of suffering for the patients we are treating. We are grateful for their sacrifice, we remember their kindness…”

    Joanna’s face slowly softened. On her arm, the falcon chirped softly and rubbed its beak against her cheek.

    Grett lowered his arm. He stood up straight, bowed deeply to the audience below, and also to the animals who would be dissected by them.

    “Finally, to avoid waste, after dissection, we can eat them, leaving nothing behind.”

    Joanna was taken aback. A ripple of laughter arose from the crowd, and even the falcon on her arm seemed to chuckle, flapping its wings. On the stone not far away, the young man straightened up and raised his voice.

    “The questions you asked are all too complex! It’s late tonight, let’s talk about some simple, life-saving tips!”

    Just finish it in an hour!

    I don’t want to be locked up here for seven years, teaching you all day!

    Thanks to cutonshary for donating 100 starting coins.

    Second day on the list.

    Yesterday’s subscription increase was right on the edge of qualifying, so please continue to support me today, check in every day, don’t ignore it… the reading data is very important!

    Please subscribe, please recommend, please review… please anything… if you haven’t thrown out your monthly ticket, please throw it to me!

    It’s said that these data can help me qualify, but the most important one is still reading…

    (End of chapter)

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