"Great," the old man's dark eyes sparkled with joy, "and no one occupies my territory. This is the best place to look through the trees with a beautiful view of the side walls of the temple.

Come and sit down, don't worry, it's not cool at all, I assure you. And your companion, she is also welcome to sit down. She's a foreigner, I know, and therefore has different customs. She...... She can speak as much as she wants. ”

Abbas glared at him before sitting down.

Liu Chang understood that they would probably stay with the old man for a while, so he stretched out his hand and said, "My name is Nikolabsky, and my female companion's name is Pavarotti. Of course, he didn't say his real name, so Liu Chang said two names.

"Every man has his own ...... Or herself...... rules. The other party said in a generous tone, "My name is Thomas, and my home planet is Red Turkey Star, which is a big family, you must have heard of it." ”

"Thomas?" Liu Chang hesitated a little, to be honest, he only knew that the Centaur Arm, Orion Arm, Immortal Arm, and Swan Arm in the Galaxy Domain were inhabited by the four dominant clans of the Human Race, the Dragon Clan, the Feather Human Clan, and the Orc Clan. He didn't know at all, and he didn't want to know.

"You seem surprised." Thomas said, "Then I'm guessing you've only met people from the Elder Family. Names such as Tiankui, Tiangang, Tianji - all named after Tiangang. ”

"I must admit ......," Liu Chang said only half of his words.

"Hmm. Now let's meet the lower classes. We take our names from the characteristics of the land, and the creatures that grow on it, and they are more humane. ”

"Totally agree," Liu Chang said, "thank you again for helping me on the bus...... Issue. Although he had been very careful, Liu Chang's hat still had a leak---- the wig under the brim fell off, revealing half of his bald head, and his disguise would have been exposed if it had not been for the old man's reminder.

"Listen," said Thomas, "I've saved you a lot of trouble. If only a sister had seen you before me. She'll undoubtedly scream, and the brothers next to her will push you out of the car – maybe not even before it stops. ”

Abbas leaned forward in order to get his gaze past Liu Chang. "Why didn't you react that way?"

"Me?" The old man smiled kindly, "I have no prejudice against hairstyling lovers, I am a scholar. ”

"You're a scholar?"

"Of course," said the old man proudly, "I am the first of our clan to attend the Forbidden Star Art Academy entirely on my own, and I have good grades. I have studied all things ancient art, and I have been granted access to all of the libraries of the Forbidden Star, which contain film and traditional books of all races.

I can read any book I want, any traditional book or any e-book. We even have a computerized library that I can use. Doing so helps to open up the mind, and I don't mind seeing a little hair sticking out. I've seen many pictures of men with long hair, and women with shaved heads. He glanced at Liu Chang.

They had lunch in silence for a while, and then Liu Chang said, "I noticed that every brother who entered and left the temple wore a red shoulder strap on his body. ”

"Oh, that's right." "Hanging down from the left shoulder and wrapping around the right side of the waist, there's usually a very chic embroidery," Thomas says. ”

"Why is that?"

"It is called the 'heart band,' and it symbolizes the joy of entering the temple and the blood that is willing to be sprayed to protect it."

"Spraying blood?" Liu Chang frowned, feeling disgusted from the bottom of his heart for saying that a strip of cloth was so bloody.

"It's just a symbol, and I've never really heard of anyone splattering their blood on the temple. In addition, there is no joy here, mainly weeping, lamenting, or worshipping the 'lost world'. His voice lowered and softened, "It's stupid, it's just a strip of cloth." ”

Liu Chang said: "You are not a ...... A believer? ”

"I'm a scholar." Thomas said with obvious pride. As he grinned, his face crumpled, making his old age even more apparent. Liu Chang found himself curious about the man's age.

"How old are you?" Liu Chang blurted out unconsciously and asked.

Thomas didn't mind the question, and he didn't hesitate to answer. "Eighty-four."

Liu Chang had to get to the bottom of it: "I heard that your people believe that in the very early times, everyone can live for centuries. ”

Thomas looked at Liu Chang with a strange expression: "How do you know?" There must be people who are unobstructed...... But that's true, and there is such a belief. Only naïve people believe, but the elders encourage this belief because it reveals its superiority.

In fact, our average life expectancy is higher than elsewhere because we eat more nutritious, but very few live to a century. ”

"I guess you don't think the feathers are superior." Liu Chang said.

Thomas said: "There's nothing wrong with the feathered people, and they're certainly not clumsy. However, I think all people are equal – even women. As he added, he glanced in Abbas's direction.

"And I don't think," Liu Chang said, "that there aren't too many of your people who agree with that." ”

"Your people won't agree too much." Thomas replied with a hint of resentment, "But I'm convinced of that—a scholar should be." I have read all the great works of literature of foreigners through projections and even with the naked eye. I know your culture and have written about it.

Being able to prolong one's own life has become the desire of almost all races. No one realizes that the extension of life will bring catastrophe to their own race. ”

"This statement is very novel, even the peddlers and pawns expect to live a long life, in your mouth, how did it become a disaster?" Abbas, who had been silent, couldn't help but speak.

The old man glanced at Abbas, seemingly unhappy with his interjection, but, as a scholar, he maintained his demeanor, explaining, "Death ---- is the last justice of this world. As if he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to go on.

Abbas sensed the old man's displeasure, and although he didn't know what he had said or done wrong, he politely chose to shut up.

Liu Chang said slightly abruptly: "Listening to your tone, it seems that you are proud to know all kinds of people of all ethnic groups. Have you ever traveled to other planets beyond the Forbidden Star? Since the old man was reluctant to say it, Liu Chang was not easy to ask, so he had to continue the previous topic.

Thomas seemed a little embarrassed, but he said, "No." ”

"Why not? That way you will know more about the world. Liu Chang asked.

The old man seemed to be very resistant to this question, because his next words were: "Why should I know about the world? The world is full of prejudice and arrogance, and all our words and deeds must be regulated by others, and some tribes have even set up a 'hairstyle department'. I would feel wrong, I had to wear a wig, and I was ashamed. ”

Liu Chang said: "Why do you wear a wig? You can go barehead. ”

"No," said Thomas, "I wouldn't be so stupid, or I'd be bullied by all the people who had hair." ”

"Bullying? Why? Liu Chang said, "Whether it is in all corners of the forbidden star, or in any other world, you can see many natural bald people everywhere. "I'm really embarrassed to say, in fact, I am a bald lover.

"My father is quite bald," the old man sighed, "and I think in the next few decades I will be bald too." My hair isn't very thick right now. ”

Thomas went on to say, "You've got a ring of hair around you, and it's on the top of your eyes, and it's in your nostrils. I mean bare – completely hairless. ”

"Don't you have it all over?" Liu Chang was very interested, because he was bare, hairless at all, and had the feeling of finding a close friend.

This time Thomas seemed really angry, and he didn't say anything.

Liu Chang was anxious to bring the topic back, and he said, "Tell me, Thomas, can everyone enter the temple as spectators?" ”

Thomas shook his head violently, "Absolutely not, its doors are only open for the Daughter of Light." ”

"The Daughter of Light?" Liu Chang was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed, he was the chosen son, and there was a 'daughter of light', what is the daughter of light, is it his senior sister or his junior sister?

Thomas said disapprehantly, "Well, you're foreigners. Only on certain days and hours can followers of the Daughter of Light enter. That's the rule, and I didn't say I agree with it. If it were up to me, I would say, 'Go in there and have fun.'" In fact, I can only follow the Daughter of Light, and I am the last. ”

"Have you ever seen the Lady of Light?" Liu Chang asked eagerly.

"When I was younger, my parents used to take me there. But—" he shook his head, "there were only a few people in it who gazed at the books, and they read the verses thereof, and sighed and wept for the old days. It's a very dreary atmosphere, you can't talk to people, you can't laugh out loud, you can't even look at people. Your heart must be completely placed in the lost world, completely. He waved his hand, unable to agree. I don't eat this. I'm a scholar, and I want the whole world to be open to me. ”

"Well said," Liu Chang found that the opportunity had finally appeared, "we feel the same way." Both of us are scholars, him and I. ”

"I know." Thomas said.

"You know? How do you know? ”

"You must be. Foreigners allowed to enter the Forbidden Star were limited to officials of all races, diplomatic envoys, and important merchants, in addition to scholars. And it seems to me that you have the looks of scholars. That's why I'm interested in you. He smiled heartily.

"You guessed it right. I'm a mathematician, I'm a brilliant writer, he's a historian. "Liu Chang was in a hurry, and he also gave himself the identity of a scholar, as long as he could enter the temple and see this mysterious 'Daughter of Light', Liu Chang decided to give it a try." My specialty is literature. I've read all the great literary works: sweet potatoes, divine light, poplar forest, and ...... Kimpsey" These names are not Liu Changxin's nonsense, he has heard of it, and he doesn't know what it does. Anyway, it's a celebrity.,Celebrity.,It's famous.,Which person?。。。 Regardless of him, in order to increase his persuasiveness, Liu Chang continued to shake off his cheeks, "We have read the great works of your people. For example, I have read your book, an account of a lost world. The name "Lost World" was what he had just heard from the old man's mouth, and he said it out of his mouth.

Sure enough, Thomas's eyes widened in surprise, and his olive skin seemed to fade slightly. "Have you read it? How so? Where is it? ”

"At our university, we have some copies. We can read it as long as we have permission. ”

"A copy of the tome?"

"That's right."

"I doubt the elders know about this?"

Liu Chang said: "I have also read the records about machine servants. The flickering worked, and he was overjoyed, and Liu Chang increased the intensity and difficulty of bragging.

"Servant?" As an old literary youth, Thomas obviously did not understand the meaning of this term.

"Yes. That's why I want to go into the temple, and I want to see the servant. Liu Chang kicked Abbas in the ankle, but he ignored it.

Thomas said uneasily, "I don't believe in such a thing, not even the learned. But he looked around, as if he was afraid that someone would eavesdrop.

Liu Chang said: "I read a record that there was a servant who was still in the temple. ”

"I don't want to discuss this nonsense," Thomas said. ”

Liu Chang did not relax: "If it is in the temple, where will it be?" ”

"Even if there's one in there, I can't tell you anything, I've only been in it when I was a kid."

"Do you know if there's a special place in there, a secret place?"

"There's an elders' pavilion that only elders can go to, but there's nothing there."

"Have you been there?"

"No, of course not."

"And how do you know?"

"I don't know there's no pomegranate tree there, I don't know there's no laser organ there, I don't know there's a million things there. I don't know if they don't exist, does that mean they all exist? ”

For a moment, Liu Chang was speechless and said that ---- cowhide was blown up?!

A flickering smile flashed across Thomas's worried face. "That's the way scholars argue," he said, "and you see, I'm not an easy person to deal with. In any case, I suggest you don't try to go up to the Elders' Cabinet. If they find a foreigner inside, I don't think you will like that kind of consequence. Alright, may the Goddess of Light be with you. ”

He got up suddenly—without warning—and hurried away.

Liu Chang looked at his back and felt quite surprised in his heart: "What scared him so much that he ran away?" ”

"I think," said Abbas, "because somebody is coming." ”

Someone did come. The man was tall, but an orc, dressed in a delicate white robe, with a more delicate and faint red shoulder strap hanging diagonally. He approached them with a solemn step, a look of undoubted authority and even more unmistakable displeasure on his face.

As soon as the man approached, Liu Chang stood up. He had no idea whether it was appropriate to be polite, but he knew very well that there was no harm in doing so. Abbas followed him to his feet, carefully keeping his gaze drooping.

The other stood in front of the two of them. He was also an old man, but he was less likely to see his age than Thomas.

The years seemed to have made his still handsome face look more noble. His bald head was round and beautiful, and his eyes were a striking blue that contrasted with the red straps that were almost fiery.

The man said, "I can see that you are foreigners. His voice was more high-pitched than Liu Chang expected, but he spoke slowly, as if realizing that every word he spit out was authoritative.

"We do." Liu Chang saw that he was actually naked and showed people with a bald head, and said in a polite and firm tone. He didn't see any reason why he shouldn't respect the other party, but he didn't intend to wronged himself.

"Your names?" The visitor took out a recorder and asked coldly, without even lifting his eyelids.

"I'm Nikolabsky from Urs, and my companion is Pavalotti from Planet Summer. What about you, sir? ”

Unexpectedly, Liu Chang would ask rhetorically, the man narrowed his eyes unhappily, but the moment he made eye contact with Liu Chang, he also felt the other party's majestic attitude.

"I'm Wen Erlang," he raised his head a little higher to cover up the momentary gaffe just now, "one of the elders of the temple. Who are you, a foreigner? ”

"We," Liu Chang deliberately emphasized this pronoun, "we are scholars from Xia University, I am a mathematician, my companion is a psychologist, and we have come to study the customs and customs of the forbidden star." ”

"With whose permission?" The people who came were still cold, with a businesslike posture.

"With Louis XIV's permission, he personally greeted us when we arrived." Abbas followed up on Liu Chang's topic and reported the name of the mind of the Forbidden Star Reception Administration, which on some occasions was more effective than the Governor.

Bunji fell silent for a moment, and then a slight smile appeared on his face, and his attitude almost became amiable. He said, "O patriarch, I know him very well. ”

"That's right," Liu Chang said in a gentle tone, "Is there anything else, Elder?" ”

"Yes." The elder tried his best to regain his advantage, "Who was with you just now, who left in a hurry when I approached?" ”

Liu Chang shook his head. "We had never seen him before, Elder, and knew nothing about him. We met him purely by coincidence, just to ask him about the temple. ”

"What do you ask him?"

"Two questions, Elder. We asked if the building was a temple and if it was open to outsiders. His answer to the first question was yes, and the second was no. ”

"Quite right. What else are you interested in about the temple? ”

"Your Excellency, we are here to study the customs and customs of the Forbidden Star. Is the temple a forbidden place for the forbidden stars? ”

"It's entirely ours, reserved exclusively for us."

"What if an elder or a senator allows us to enter because of our learning?"

"Do you really have permission from the patriarch?"

Liu Chang hesitated for a moment, raised his eyes, and quickly glanced at him from the side. He decided that he couldn't tell such a big lie, so he said, "No, not yet." ”

"Or never." The elder said, "Although you have permission to ban the stars, even the highest authorities cannot control the people absolutely. We cherish our Temple—the presence of an alien anywhere in the forbidden planet can easily cause excitement among the masses, especially near the Temple. All it takes is an impulsive person who shouts 'Aggression!' I am not exaggerating to say that a peaceful crowd like this will turn into a group of beasts that will have to break you to pieces. Even if the patriarch treats you very kindly, for your own good, you should go. Immediately! ”

"But the temple ......," Liu Chang continued to say stubbornly, but Abbas was tugging at his clothes.

"What is it about the temple that piques your interest?" The elder said, "Now that you've seen it, there's nothing in it worth seeing." ”

"There's a servant." Liu Chang said.

The elder glared at Liu Chang in horror. Then he bent down, put his mouth to Liu Chang's ear, and whispered sternly: "Leave immediately, otherwise I will shout that 'aggression!'" If it weren't for the patriarch's sake, I wouldn't have even given you this opportunity. ”

At this time, Abbas showed amazing strength and pulled Liu Chang away in a hurry, almost making him unsteady on his feet. dragged him all the way forward until Liu Chang regained his balance and followed him quickly.