The night before, after the possessed demon left and before everyone fell asleep, Jonah was so upset that he couldn't sleep due to the temporary memory loss again. He asked the tenants in room A51 a question they had been holding back for a long time: why do they live in Cherry?
Du? How long have you lived here?
Waiting to cross the river. I have been waiting for six months. Long Ji said.
Follow in her footsteps, ditto, says Elliot.
Don't know where to go. Three years and two months, Toba said.
I think life full of battles is very interesting. Fourteen months. Sibi said.
I hope to find clues about something from all kinds of people. Fourteen months... Everyone answered for Jekong who was watching outside, - if you ask the silent southerners themselves, it is impossible to get such a clear answer
s answer.
What about you? Long Ji asked Jonah.
Fate. Jonah thought about it and said. This answer was seriously despised by Sibi.
"Do you know what other rooms usually do to guys like you who are weak, weak, and poor enough to only live in A-class rooms? They will tie you to the bed, take away all your belongings, and only give you water every day.
Waiting for you to slowly starve to death, or die of thirst, it will be within 72 hours." Xibi said viciously, "You are lucky to be assigned to the room managed by the old farmer, the idiot, Mr. Nice Guy, if it hadn't been for the Pitchfork Team to accept you
, you won’t survive the first three days at all. It’s also ‘fate’, have you read too many knightly novels, brother?”
"Hey, hey, we want harmony, we want harmony..." The head of the room interfered feebly. In the hazy night, he saw him lying on the bed that was too small, with his head, arms and legs hanging under the bed, like a man lying on the cobblestones.
Giant octopus.
Jonah didn't have any bad feelings towards this fast-talking little girl. He knew that what she said was absolutely right and sighed.
Seeing that no one was talking back, the talkative Xibi muttered a few words and said, "Do you want to hear the story of the damned Southerners?"
"Jekong's story? I really want to hear it." Jonah replied, "But it's not good to let yourself hear it." He looked out the window. It was dark outside the narrow window and he couldn't see anything.
"It's okay, it's okay, he's so smart that he can't understand." Xibi jumped up excitedly, sat on the edge of the bed, and started to act like a storyteller.
"It's night, go to sleep. Let's talk when you have time." Long Ji suddenly said. Xibi, who had a basin of cold water poured on her face, even her hair shriveled a little. She didn't talk back and lay back muttering, pulling up the quilt.
, from the heel to the top of the head.
Yona smacked his lips, thought about the complicated interpersonal relationships in room A51 for a while, struggled with the prophecy and the devil in his mind for a while, and finally fell asleep. Strangely, the quality of his sleep was not bad.
"...In short, this is the overview of the mission. We and Mr. Jonah have signed. Time is tight. We will set off after lunch today." Jonah retracted his reverie. Elliot's briefing had just ended, and the Pitchfork Team
The members were sitting around on the stone floor, and there were still peeping figures looming in the gaps between the surrounding rooms. Jonah was basically used to the feeling of being peeped.
The mission itself is very simple: within three days, bring back the latest battle report on the war in the Kingdom of Bazeral from the Sucasa Canyon, including the detailed movements of the "Golden Hammer". This kind of mission is a common one among the routine official missions of Cherry Crossing.
Dad hired a team to conduct reconnaissance and intelligence work, which was somewhat dangerous and the difficulty level was medium to low M level. But today, with the half-heavy corpse of the Golden Earth Dragon ahead of them, this ordinary mission suddenly became something unusual.
. Everyone’s faces looked solemn.
"I've been thinking since just now, how could the 'iron hammer' be made of gold? Use gold to make an 'iron' hammer? Even the best blacksmith in Mushroom Farm can't do it." Mr. Xi said with a frown.
Bi jumped up and slapped him on the back of the head.
A map drawn by Elliot with a long sword is lightly carved on the stone floor. A straight line represents the other side of the Holy River, a circle represents the Cherry Crossing, a crooked line represents the post road to Bazelal, and the curve
The numerous short lines across the mountains represent the route. Sukasa Canyon is an unowned town, an information concentration point, and the only way for the Kingdom of Bazeral to advance northeast along the river bank. Dad guessed that there can be
Find out the reason why two golden land dragoons arrived without warning.
"By the way, dad is temporarily exempted from lighting work for three days, Mr. Astrologer." The Rose Knight said to Jonah, "We invite you to share the ride, otherwise your legs will not be able to cope with the seventy-mile mountain road."
Jonah tried to move his injured leg. It had healed well and now there was only a dull pain when walking, but traveling long distances was not the forte of a seventeen-year-old astrologer's apprentice. He nodded gratefully.
"So, let's go after lunch." Toba took out a huge food bag from somewhere, and took out six plates, six sets of knives and forks, six small pieces of dark red dried meat, six water bottles, and a bottle of salt.
A bottle of pepper, a large piece of hard bread, a bread knife, a handful of unknown wild fruits, and a bottle of butter were placed on the floor.
Jonah took the plate and looked at the black gold gopher meat inside with lingering fear.
"Eat it, this is a day's supply, don't worry." Long Ji said softly, as if holding back a smile.
Jonah blushed and stabbed the food on the plate hard with his fork.
After lunch, the Pitchfork team packed their bags and set off.
The sky was clear, and Yona, who was sitting on the back of the unicorn, looked at the surrounding scenery curiously. This was the first time he had left his father's sphere of influence after arriving at Cherry Crossing.
The team walked through a bottomless pit (Pit No. 6, the public excrement area of room A51 and surrounding guest rooms, and a peaceful area), and passed through a large area of dilapidated shacks (the residences of these powerless people are arranged in a circular shape along the invisible Cherry Crossing).
The boundary surrounds the town), and the destructive power of the Golden Land Dragoons can be clearly seen: a violent passage appeared in the center of the shack area, and the remains of the shacks were mixed with blood and mud to form an arrow cluster-shaped trajectory.
Many powerless people gathered here to dig through the ruins for valuables. When the Pitchfork Team passed by, they disappeared like dewdrops on the heat, and gathered again behind Elliott's horse's hooves.
Jonah looked back. He was startled by this group of grotesque humans with missing organs. Several Ezians with human faces and animal bodies were mixed among them. One of them had a human face on the crotch of a giant buffalo, which looked unusual.
Weird.
"They rarely attack powerful tenants if no one hires them. Don't worry." The Rose Knight turned back to Jonah and said, "We can visit Mr. W on our return trip. He lives nearby."
"The King of the Night at Cherry Crossing? Is he a powerless person?" Yona asked in surprise, remembering Long Ji's introduction yesterday.
"He doesn't need daddy's protection," Elliot said briefly.
"It should be said that he is a pervert who likes dirty corners. Maggots flow in his veins. He enjoys living among the dead." Xibi, who was walking in front, commented without looking back.
"They know each other pretty well," Eli said more briefly.
"Shut up!" said Sibi.
The Rose Knight was silent.
The sun was shining brightly and there was a slight breeze. The team moved faster, and Jonah was a little drowsy sitting on the back of the unicorn. As it entered the mountainous area, the lush vegetation on the roadside quickly decreased, and bare black and gray rocks stood on both sides.
I saw where the stone house of Cherry Ferry was drawn from - there were no pedestrians on the post road, and during the three-hour journey, Jonah did not see any travelers.
"Not a good sign," Elliot said.
Jonah nodded, his eyes unfocused as he watched Toba's broad back swinging from side to side as he walked.
Xibi was obviously bored. She slowed down and walked alongside the Rose Knight, wiping the sweat from her head. Her short, wheat-colored hair was messy outside the silver collar. Her skin, which was not covered by the green hunting suit, was sweaty. Her small face was sweaty from the exercise.
And it radiates a healthy red light. Jonah looked at her and couldn't help but feel something sweet growing in his bone marrow.
He was startled, pinched his thigh flesh a little ashamed, and said, "Xibi, tell me a story."
"Damn. Brother, did you forget to call me sister?" Xibi blew out a stream of steaming murderous aura from his little nostrils.
"……younger sister."
"Okay brother~" Xibi smiled sweetly, "I promised you to tell you the story of Ye Kong. Sister Long Ji, you haven't heard of it either, right? Do you want to listen?"
"Okay." Long Ji also slowed down and walked side by side with them.
"Ahem." Xibi cleared his throat and breathed evenly: "Jekong is a die-hard southerner. Sister Long Ji and Eli have been to the south, but I have not been. If you hear something that is not correct, you are not allowed to correct it. I will take it.
The storyteller emphasizes that if you don't like hearing words, you are not allowed to speak. Then I will start.
It is said that there are two big countries in the southern continent: "Tochar" ruled by King Isaacios who believes in divine blessing and the fertility god "Luta", one of the seven main gods of the Anglican Church, and "Veda" who believes in the ancient religion of Buddhism
"The kingdom. The desert separates the two countries far away, and there are few wars between the two countries.
I start talking about this day, because from this day onwards, Jekong’s memory is blurry.
It is a spring afternoon, the sun has set in the west, and Ye Kong is hiding under the water, looking at the golden-red western sky through the swaying water surface. The water is ten feet deep, with a touch of green, and there are dense aquatic plants growing on the bottom of the water. Half of the water is in the mud.
There is a huge Buddha statue. The Buddha is naked and wearing a crown, with a flame on his back and compassion in his eyes.
In the ancient Vedic kingdom, the Buddha statue has been lodged by the real Buddha since the day it was sculpted. It has great magical power, is indestructible as a weapon, and will never be destroyed through time. If a mortal looks directly at it, he will shed tears. If he reaches out and touches it, he will die if he touches it.
Every year on December 3rd, the "Buddha Day", various temples will move the throne of the Buddha statue to the center of the street. Buddhists flock to the streets and circle the Buddha three times with their right shoulders. The classics say that circumambulating eighty Buddhas on that day has great merit.
Pious people look at the Buddha and shed tears until they become blind. Some believers touch the Buddha and die. This is liberation. This is how the Vedic people believe in the Buddha.
Ye Kong was hiding under the water, his long iron-colored clothes swaying with the current. He held a sword in his right hand and held water plants in his left hand to steady his body and hold his breath. Whenever he needed to breathe, he would approach the huge tilted Buddha statue and chant.
Sin, take a breath in the belly of the Buddha.
——This is a huge secret.
The Buddha statue cannot be touched, but the navel of the Buddha statue is the source of life, always exuding vigorous vitality for people to breathe.
Ironically, this secret came from the pagans. The pagans rose up from the eastern part of the Buddhist country and brought the war to the vicinity of the Vedic capital Maharaja. They claimed that their religion was the source of all religions.
The name "Da" comes from their classic book "Vedas". The Buddhas are the descendants of the true gods they worshiped. Many centuries ago, the monks, with the support of the king, distorted their teachings and created Buddhism, expelling them to
Along the Holy River in the Far East.
For many years, they quietly spread the teachings among the people, and got the support of several vassal kings in the east. Finally, they raised the Sanskrit flag and attacked the capital of Buddhism with 200,000 teaching soldiers and 150,000 private soldiers, hoping to overthrow the royal authority.
The new king established paganism as the state religion.
The evidence for all these statements is that the navel of all Buddha statues has an invisible umbilical cord connected to the thrones of the Vedic gods, conveying the wishes collected from believers.