Chapter 561: Steps to Joining the Club
They walked to the oath-taking stage in front and stood still.
Barty also put away his usual playful smile and looked solemn.
On the red silk on the oath table, there is a scepter used for the initiation ceremony - made of pure gold and engraved with patterns. There is a huge sapphire on the top of the scepter, and a gold chalice filled with pure holy water. A pair of exquisite white gloves.
Barty picked up the pair of white gloves and carefully put the gloves on his hands.
Then he took up the Holy Grail in one hand and the scepter in the other.
Batty waved his scepter and said in a long tone: "The initiation - the ceremony officially begins -"
The seven people in the audience lowered their heads.
Then, Batty raised his right hand, pointed the scepter in his hand at Jiang Qilan's nose, then tapped somewhere on the carpet, and said, "Fang Wenjian, kneel down!"
Jiang Qilan took a step forward, walked to the place pointed by Batty, and knelt on the carpet obediently.
He crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his head.
The other six people surrounded Jiang Qilan in the middle.
Jiang Qilan noticed that he was kneeling in the middle of a six-pointed star.
The other six people stood at the sharp corners of the hexagram.
When everyone was in place, Batty swung his staff and shouted majestically: "Trample——!"
I saw the six people raising their feet at the same time and kicking Jiang Qilan who was kneeling on the ground -
In the Freemasonry, whether you are a senior member or a junior member, the first step in the initiation ceremony is "humiliation and trampling."
The difference is that senior members get better treatment, which means they get a few kicks.
The humiliation of lower-level members is even more humiliating: spitting, slapping, and stripping off their clothes - it is to let the new members be trampled on and humiliated.
Each of these six people kicked them and then withdrew their kicks.
And, although they looked like they were kicking fiercely, it didn't hurt when their feet landed on them.
It can be seen that they are holding back their strength - after all, they are all colleagues from now on, and no one wants to offend others.
Jiang Qilan didn't care.
While kneeling, he tried hard to listen to the breathing of the person hiding in the armor.
The man's breathing had been very steady.
Who is he?
Do Barty and the others know about this person's existence?
Those who can enter the temple must not be ordinary people, maybe they are high-ranking and powerful beings in the Heji Association - and Jiang Qilan is willing to bet that before they arrive at the temple, someone must have thoroughly searched the place, and they will never let outsiders in. Sneak in.
Jiang Qilan recalled that Cheng Ling once told him that he could roughly judge the gender of the other person by listening to his breathing——
Generally speaking, women take two to five more breaths per minute than men -
Jiang Qilan wears a watch and can tell the time.
Batty nodded with satisfaction and said with sincerity: "Since our establishment, our United Freemasonry has been misunderstood and misunderstood by outsiders, and even abused and insulted by them..."
While he was delivering a long speech, Jiang Qilan had been carefully counting the breaths in the armor.
The armor this man was hiding in was very close to them - and Jiang Qilan could now easily distinguish the sound of his breathing.
Because the armor and helmet were tightly closed, the man's breathing echoed.
Jiang Qilan pinched him for a full minute, and the man breathed 21 times.
Is it a woman?
Or a man with a smaller lung capacity?
Jiang Qilan speculated.
At this time, Barty had finished his speech. He soaked the gem of the scepter in the Holy Grail, sprinkled the water on Jiang Qilan's body: "Purify!"
"The Freemasonry will wash away your stigma and wash away the dust on your body! No matter what kind of quagmire you have struggled in, no matter what kind of insult you have been subjected to, we can purify it for you - you will Pure as the Son of Earth——"
Then, Batty waved his scepter vigorously again and ordered: "Hug!"
The six of them took a step forward, pulled Jiang Qilan up from the ground, hugged him one by one, and patted his back, as close as brothers.
Barty said in a powerful voice: "And - we have Masonic brothers. They will give us endless support and encouragement, comfort and help! We are not alone! We are a family!"
After the hug ended, the six people each stood back to their respective positions and stood still.
Jiang Qilan, who was pulled up from the ground by them, stood among the six people and looked at Barty.
Batty looked back at Jiang Qilan's eyes and asked kindly: "Fang Wenjian, who is standing below, are you willing to join our big family of the United Society?"
"I do!" Jiang Qilan put his right hand on his chest and paused.
Batty said: "Then please say your oath!"
Jiang Qilan kept stroking his chest with his right hand and said word by word:
"I, Fang Wenjian, voluntarily join the Union and solemnly swear that I will strictly abide by all the charters and regulations of the Union, fulfill my responsibilities and obligations, and conscientiously complete the work assigned to me by the Union. To contribute to the development of the Union, I am willing to contribute my strength, my connections, my wealth, and my knowledge to the Union!”
"Members of the Freemasonry will always be my family!"
"Mutual help, mutual benefit, control, subversion!"
“I will be with the Masons!”
"forever!"