I reached an agreement with Monkey Dajue, he promised to save Tiantian back, I didn't ask in detail, however, some things can be deduced from the side details, Monkey Dajue must know the gate space, and also know the way to bring the dead back to life like Zhang Momo. Monkey Dajue has a high status and power in Zhangxiong, and he can use a lot of resources to quickly transport the corpses of Tiantian to Ta'er Lake or Danmeng Basin.

Probably to reassure me, Monkey Dajue told me that after being rescued every day, he would place her in an ancestral land where the Zhangxiong people originated. The location of that ancestral land was a mystery, no one knew, it would be safe to be there every day, and when it was time for her to wake up, she would wake up.

I don't doubt Monkey Dajue's words, no matter what Monkey Dajue is, he will not be a man of his word.

The monkey got up from the ground, walked to the door of the secret room, and clapped his hands gently. In the seemingly unguarded corridor, a figure immediately flashed. The monkey whispered for a while, and the figure flashed by, it should be to deal with the affairs of the day.

My heart fell into my stomach for a while, and there was only so much I could do for each day in this time and space. Fortunately, for her, this is already the best ending.

"Is there any wine?" I asked the monkey, "I want to drink a little." ”

Soon, someone brought the wine and retreated. Monkey Dajue personally poured me a bowl, Zhangxiong's liquor is made from barley, they have not yet mastered the distillation technology, the alcohol has a low degree, and the liquor is turbid, drinking it is like drinking a bowl of sake without sweetness.

I drank two bowls in a row, and the monkey poured a third bowl of wine for me, and said, "Now it's time to talk about us." ”

"Say, I won't break my word." I picked up the bowl: "I promised to be your helper, and I will do it." ”

"You're not an easily deceived person, and you don't easily trust agreements made with strangers." Monkey Dajue's deep eyes looked at me, as if to see me clearly from head to toe and inside out: "You may be suspicious in your heart, wondering why I want you to be my helper." ”

"It's so worry-free to deal with people who understand." I admired Monkey Dajue, and the question in my heart did not reveal the slightest, but he got to the point: "I am indeed very strange, there are so many elephant males, why do you choose a stranger from a foreign land to be your helper." I don't think it's a small thing to do, it's not an ordinary thing. The helper is not the right choice, can you rest assured? ”

"I didn't have a choice, I should have hidden it from you, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to."

"If you have anything to say, it's best to say it directly." I looked at the monkey and knew that he was going to say something substantial: "I'm barely a sensible person. ”

"Let me tell you a story, the story of our sheep." The monkey thought for a moment and said, "The story of the killer." ”

Like other ancient peoples, the Zhangxiong people have many legends and stories from a long time ago. These stories are often covered with a layer of mythology, but they are passed down orally by later generations, and everyone believes them to be true, thinking that these legends have really happened.

The ancestor of the sheep fan, according to legend, is a compassionate and powerful person, he was the first person on the plateau to learn to capture wild yaks, and domesticated wild yaks. He also created a lot of daily utensils, lived on water and grass, raised more and more livestock, later married and had children, and absorbed many wanderers scattered elsewhere, and gradually formed his own tribe.

The wife of the patriarch bore him a son, and for the next seven or eight years, no other children were born. The first father loved this son as much as his life. In ancient times, people revered nature and worshiped many gods, and the ancestors began to sacrifice to the gods in their production and life in order to seek the protection of the gods.

There is a wood-carved idol of the god in the tribe, which is the object of each of their sacrifices. The sacrificial vessels are not usually used, and they are stored in the yurt. Once, the son of the first ancestor burned the idol used to worship the god while playing, and as a result, natural and man-made disasters occurred one after another in the tribe.

Everyone thought that when the gods were angry, they would condemn the tribe. In the final analysis, the reason for the gods' wrath was that the sons of the first ancestors burned the gods.

At that time, in the tribe, there was already a rudimentary form of punishment, which was basically reciprocal punishment, for example, if someone cut off someone else's arm, then the ancestor would come forward to preside over and cut off the perpetrator's arm as a punishment. When the gods were burned, there were many opinions among the tribes, with a small number of people believing that the gods' anger had nothing to do with a child's prank, but most people still believed that the cause of all this was the son of the first seven or eight years old.

Under such circumstances, the first ancestor endured great pain and put his only son to death in exchange for the gods' forgiveness for the entire tribe.

After the death of the first ancestor's only son, the natural and man-made disasters that plagued the tribe disappeared, and the tribe multiplied more vigorously than in the past. It was only at this time that people realized how selfless and great the actions of the ancestors were.

The legend of the god is fair, after the death of the ancestor's only son, his wife gave birth to three sons in succession, and these three sons inherited their father's business, led the tribe to grow and grow, and finally formed the country of Yangtong.

It was from that time that the Zhangzhung people practiced a custom called "killing the son". That is, when a tribe or country encounters an inevitable and irreparable disaster, the responsibility must be borne by the supreme ruler. In order to avoid calamity and obtain the forgiveness of the gods, the supreme ruler generally followed the ancient custom of Zhangzhung to imitate their ancestors and sacrifice their own children to seek peace.

There is no basis for this custom, but as far as the males are concerned, they are convinced of it. Externally, the supreme ruler of Zhangzhung is the king of Zhangzhung, but all Zhangzhung people know that the lifeblood of the country is in the hands of each generation of Dajue. Therefore, when Zhangxiong encountered an unavoidable disaster, Dajue had to stand up and take the initiative to bear this.

After the monkey Dajue had finished explaining their customs, he looked at me silently, his gaze was calm, but it made me feel furious when he saw it.

"What do you want to do when you tell me about the custom of killing children?"

"My doom is not caused by me alone, but I have to bear it all, and according to our custom, I must kill my own son in exchange for the forgiveness of the gods."

"Yes, it's your custom."

"But I can't kill my son."

"No one wants to kill their son."

"No, that's not what I was trying to say." The monkey's gaze slowly shone out through the door of the secret room, outside the secret room was a long corridor, and there was no trace of sunlight, but he seemed to be able to see far, far away, he looked alone for a while, and then said: "My country, my people, are facing a catastrophe, not to mention my son, even me, in the face of the life and death of thousands of people, is like a floating dust, insignificant. If I had killed my son, I would have avoided this calamity, I willing. But after my son is gone, who will lead my people to continue their journey through the rough mire? ”

I understand what Monkey Dajue is trying to convey, the son of Monkey Dajue, is a leader who is deeply loved by the Zhangxiong people. If the son of Monkey Dajue dies, then the weak and incompetent King Zhangxiong will not be able to bear the heavy responsibility, and the surviving Zhangxiong people will be even more miserable.

"I understand your intentions, but I don't understand, what can I do?"

"You have an aura similar to that of my son." Monkey Dajue said bluntly: "When you were unconscious, I came to see you, and the first time I saw you, I noticed such an aura. ”

"You're going to kill me? Let me be your son's replacement? ”

"Nope." Monkey Dajue shook his head, although the secret room is very safe, and no one can approach it without his permission, but Monkey Dajue still seems to be uneasy, lest a third person hear his words: "I will not kill you, nor will I use you as a stand-in for my son." We sheep and people all believe in the legend of killing the son and asking the gods for forgiveness, but today I want to tell you a secret that all the Elephant Male people, including my son, do not know. ”

"What's the secret?"

"There are no gods in this world." The monkey's face covered with fine tan hair showed a complicated smile: "If there is no god, how can you forgive?" ”

I was really taken aback by the monkey's words. In my impression, until the final disappearance, the ancient Zhangxiong was still in a state of incomplete civilization, or the degree of civilization was not developed, whether in terms of scientific and technological level or humanistic thought, it could not be compared with the civilization in the interior of the Central Plains. But I never thought that Monkey Dajue had already developed such a mindset, he was an atheist.

This kind of thinking is very advanced, if it weren't for listening to Monkey Dajue say it himself, I dare not imagine that Monkey Dajue already had this mode of thinking more than ten centuries ago.

However, I am a little skeptical about returning to the actual problems we have to face until now. If Monkey Dajue didn't believe in the gods, then he definitely wouldn't believe in the custom of killing children and praying for blessings, so what did he want me to do?

"Let's get straight to the point." I drank another bowl of barley wine, which was as light as water, and asked, "What can I do?" ”

"The gate." The monkey said, "I'm going to find a gate, and you come with me." ”

"The ...... of the Gate"

"The gate also has a story, do you want to hear it?"