Surrounded by a jade belt and surrounded by mountains and waves, seven long-sail boats sailed slowly against the rapids of late summer toward the tidal flats several miles away.
The long ship at the head has two masts, front and rear. The flag of the sun hummingbird is hung on the top of the fore mast, and the feathers of the Quetzal bird are adhered to the top of the mizzen mast. The mountain wind blows, and the bright feathers sway in the wind.
Like birds circling in the sky.
Under the flying birds, a group of crew members were gathering together, staring at somewhere on the deck. There, lying on the deck was a naked boy with disheveled hair. His eyes were closed tightly, the left side of his face was bruised, and there was vomit on the side of his mouth.
A puddle of water looked miserable.
"...Old Pu, were those few slaps you just slapped too hard?"
Chihuaco squatted on the deck, looking at the boy with a bruised nose and swollen face who had just been fished out of the river, and felt a pain in the left side of his face.
"Huh? If you don't hit him harder, how can you get the water monster out of his stomach?"
Puap stretched out his hand, looked at his red palm, and rubbed it painfully.
"This is the method taught to me by the three gods...ah, the old priest. First hit the stomach hard, then hit the face hard. As long as water can be drawn out, the person will be saved!"
"..."
Chihuaco was speechless for a while. He looked at the young man's disheveled hair and naked upper body, but couldn't find anything identifying him.
"Where did this child come from?"
"They must be the prisoners of Tlaxcala who went south! They fell into the water and were knocked unconscious. They floated for a while before they met us. It probably didn't take long. Maybe they were the ones on the boat that just passed by.
.”
Puap narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then he curled his lips, glared at the mountain bird Cavado, and scolded.
"The battle upstream was so fierce that many people drowned. The prisoners in Tlaxcala were not worth much. Is it worth wasting the time to save them? The fleet itself has to rush for time!"
"Ahem, cough. Old Pu, this convenient matter won't be delayed for long. Isn't the ship always sailing? Cavado is also kind-hearted. He saves someone, and the Lord God will bless him!"
Chihuaco, an old militiaman, smiled and patted Old Pu on the shoulder. After all, it was Cavado who gave him permission to dive into the water to save others.
"...It doesn't cost anything, so why watch people drown..."
Chihuaco muttered, and then checked the boy's body. He first looked at the other person's palm, only to see the newly ground callus marks, and frowned. Then, he looked at the other person's teeth.
, no obvious wear and tear, even a bit white.
"..."
Seeing this, Chihuaco and Puap looked at each other and had some thoughts. The old militiaman immediately waved his hands and shouted to the gathered crew members.
"Go, go, go, why are you all gathering here? We are going to dock in a minute, so hurry up and get ready!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Soon, the crew members dispersed upon the order and started busy in various parts of the longship. Chihuaco raised his brows and squatted down. This time, he carefully inspected every inch.
"Huh? Got a tattoo?"
"Is this a snake?"
Puap's eyes widened and he looked at the lower armpit on the inner side of the boy's left arm. There was a small black snake there, hidden under the black armpit hair, which was very inconspicuous.
"Old man Qi, I seem to remember that the Tlaxcala nobles like to call themselves snake descendants?"
"...How do I know these things?"
The two looked at each other, their eyes a little subtle.
"Cough, cough!"
At this moment, the young man on the deck coughed in pain. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw two huge faces looking at him with bright eyes.
The young man was stunned, and the young men gradually gathered together, and finally saw that the two men were dressed in dark green battle clothes.
"Ah!...No, don't kill me! No!..."
The sharp shouts shocked the old militiaman and made him dizzy. Puap's eyes were sharp, and he stretched out his hand and slapped him.
"Snapped!..."
"Ah, no!..."
"Snapped!..."
After a while, the deck became quiet. The young man, with a bruised nose and face, was cautious, not daring to make a sound as he looked at the ferocious dust warriors.
The old militiaman winked and asked Puap to take a few steps back. Then he smiled kindly.
"Ahem! Don't be afraid, child. We don't mean any harm, we saved you."
"...?"
The young man's face was full of confusion. Only then did Chihuaco remember and spoke in Nahua language again.
"We saved you, don't be afraid!"
"..."
The young man pursed his lips and his expression changed slightly, but he was still vigilant.
"Child, who are you and what is your name?"
"..."
"Son, where are you from? Are you from Tlaxcala?"
"..."
"Old man Qi, why are you talking so much? Once you reach the shore, just hand him over to the Mexican warriors stationed there!"
Puap looked impatient and shouted loudly in proficient Nahua language.
"No matter how we deal with it when it is in the hands of the Mexica warriors, it has nothing to do with us!"
Hearing this, the young man trembled all over and showed deep fear. He finally spoke and begged in a low voice.
"No, please don't, leave me to the Mexica warriors!... You... who are you, and why are you wearing Mexica uniforms?"
Hearing this, the corners of Chihuaco's mouth turned up, and his smile became more kind.
"We are Prepecha people, from the Kingdom of the Lake, and we work for the alliance. What about you?"
"I...I am an Atrisco, from the Four Kingdoms Alliance."
The young man was uneasy and replied weakly.
"Please, please don't, hand me over to the Mexicans."
"Atlisco? Where is that?"
Chihuaco was a little confused. He looked at Puap, who also shook his head in confusion. The old militiaman thought about it and said with a smile.
"Blessed by the gods! You were rescued from the water, and you are obviously loved by the rain god. We always obey the gods' omens and will not harm your life... Well, my name is Chihuaco, what about you?"
"..."
The young man hesitated for a long time. He opened his eyes wide, looked at Chihuaco's amiable old face, and finally answered in a low voice.
"I...my name is Dark Snake."
"Dark snake? It's named after a snake, could it be..."
Upon hearing this, Puap's eyes flashed. He looked at the young man on the deck again, as if looking at a valuable sacrifice, and couldn't help but stretch out his hand.
"Snapped!"
Chihuaco raised his eyebrows and struck Puap's hand with the spear in his hand.
"Old man Qi? You!..."
"Lao Pu, shut up! Put your thoughts away!"
The old militiaman's eyes widened, and Puap became speechless and stopped his voice. Then, the old militiaman's eyes flashed, and he looked at the young Dark Snake for a long time, until the boy's hair went crazy.
"Eighteen or nineteen years old... If Chippawa hadn't died, he would have been this age... No, he has to be older..."
Chihuaco murmured, not knowing what he was talking about. After a while, he sighed and spoke gently.
"Dark Snake, there are no idlers on this ship. Can you paddle?"
"..."
The young dark snake was at a loss and said nothing.
"Can you cook?"
"..."
"Don't you know it? It doesn't matter. If you don't know it, you can learn from it. It will be quick. Well... you can first follow Shantiao and be a deck apprentice, starting from the simplest cleaning of the deck..."
Chihuaco smiled with a gentle expression. He looked at the mountain bird beside him and was about to make arrangements.
Hearing the words of the old militiaman and looking at the other's gentle expression, the young man An She pursed his lips and suddenly became unconvinced. He thought for a while, and by some strange coincidence, he answered.
"I...I know numbers and calendars, I can look at the stars in the sky, and I can also draw!"
