Chapter Seventy-Four: The Leaping Spirit
The figure in the fog moves very fast. It was hard to imagine that this figure had been summoned by Atta to lead several people out of the mist, because she was so fast, moving on her own, without thinking about whether the others could keep up with her. And, as several people followed her image, they gradually realized that the shadow was not flying or running, but that she was moving quickly while doing a dance that no one had ever seen.
When the fog is relatively thin, the dancer's figure is clearer, and it is certain that the figure does have the physical characteristics of a woman, and that she is by no means human. Because there are no humans, they can glow with a pale yellow stamen all over their bodies, and leave a clear humanoid image in the air as they move. Cheese and his companions quickly confirmed one thing, they were chasing a goblin. Because only goblins can appear so unreasonable, and only they can dance like that.
In fact, if you think about it, this is also normal. Since this mist was planted by the goblins, it is indeed they who can lead those caught in it out. When there is no doubt about the identity of the leader, there are only two questions before him: first, whether they can keep up with the dancers, and second, whether the people who framed them in this place will let them go.
The first problem is not actually a problem, although the dancer is fast, her route is not straight. It seemed that she was more focused on her dancing than she had come out of the fog earlier, and several people would often see her zigzag forward when chasing her, and sometimes even spinning around them. But even when the two sides are so close that they seem to be able to reach out, the details of the dancer's body are still impossible to see. Although they are both goblins, dancers and yew people have a completely different feel.
As for the second question, Cheese glanced behind him, and their movement must not be able to hide it. Without Breath of Dawn, there would be no light in the fog, and both the Skinners and Yews would have noticed. It's just that it's hard to say whether they will put down their respective opponents and chase a few people. Judging from the fact that the Yew people gave up continuing to attack the new entrants as soon as they appeared, it is unlikely that they will catch up. Cheese could feel that the goblins weren't in a hurry, and they would meet again. Therefore, he was most worried about the Skinner, and the mage had no doubt that the Skinning Man would be able to track their tracks in the fog and catch up, the monster's foot strength could not be measured by the standards of ordinary creatures. So what he hoped for most was that the yew people would be able to hold back the cowhide thing and buy them time to get out of the fog.
"Moo!" a scalp-pounding roar came from the depths of the mist, a cry full of anger and unwillingness. Thanks to this, Cheese knew they were safe. Sure enough, the next moment, as if out of a long pitch-black tunnel, the whole world suddenly opened up, and the sky, clouds, and sun, and smoke rose from outside the tribal tent in the distance. Looking back at the fog somewhere, the Yew Man and the Skinned Man were as unreal as a dream. But everyone knows that what they are experiencing is not a dream.
"Poof. Wu Qi struggled out of Batu's support, knelt down in front of the figure still dancing on the grassland, he raised his hands high, and then his whole body fell down, throwing himself to the ground. And the dancer didn't stop because of this, she just danced, danced, and gradually faded away from people's vision. After a long time, the shaman stood up from the ground, but his expression was still agitated. He repeated a phrase in the native language of the steppe, the meaning of which was to praise the spirit of the earth.
"I don't understand, that dancing figure is the spirit of the earth? I thought the spirit of the earth should be more... Stable. Lothar took his tomahawk and said to Cheese, he was unfamiliar with the faith in the spirits of the steppe people. But according to his knowledge of the gods, especially the gods with images, the gods in charge of the earth will not appear as dancers.
The mage spread his hands, and he was equally unable to answer the Count's question. What he knew, however, was that it was not uncommon for goblins to be considered gods, especially in a pantheistic belief like spirits, and it was not uncommon for a particular goblin or a particular elf to be witnessed by the locals and incorporated into their mythological system. And the gods of each place, even if they seem to control or symbolize the same thing, can show different faces depending on the situation of different regions. Of course, to know how the dancer and the earth are connected, this question should still be asked to Wu Qi.
The shaman actually heard Lothar's words, but he was still in a kind of ecstasy, and when Cheese and even Batu and Atta all looked at him, the witch wizard spoke slowly, but instead of giving a direct answer, he asked a question, "What does the world look like in your opinion? I mean, what is its nature?"
People look at each other, and the question is too cumbersome and destined not to have only one answer. So they waited, for the shaman to tell them what he understood the world to look like, "To me and my people, the world is the grassland. I mean, of course, the world is bigger than all the grasslands combined, and there are mountains and lakes and what you call the sea. But for us, it's actually a prairie. All life in the world is like grass on the grassland, growing here. And that's not set in stone. Grass grows, it withers, and so does life. Livestock eat pasture, and we eat livestock, just as strong and weak. But that's not the point, the point is, we're shepherds, we're going to chase the cattle after the rich pasture, and the pasture won't be in one fixed place, so we have to keep moving, getting acquainted with it, and then leaving. It's like life, like the soul beating from one body to another. ”
Wu Qi's explanation didn't immediately make everyone understand, but they all showed thoughtful expressions. Cheese simply stood still, his gaze looking at where the dancer had disappeared. He understood the shaman's words, and in his eyes, the world was changing, nature changing, life changing, psychology changing, politics changing, just like the change of the pasture. That's why they think that the spirit of the earth is a dancer, she dances constantly, on the grass stems, in the rivers, in the crevices of the mountains. The world does not stop changing, and we live in a dynamic world.
But, if that's the case. What about the truth? Where is the ultimate constant pursued by all spellcasters, wizards, mages? If everything is changing, is the knowledge they have infallible? But he wants to think about it, he needs to think about it. He had a hunch that it was going to be very important.