Section 26: The Past of the Village (2)
With the corresponding expertise, some information about the shrine was quickly speculated.
"This is dedicated to the god of agriculture and grain, and the people of the Land of the Moon believe that the fox is the embodiment of this god. Edge pointed to the two stone fox statues painted in white paste, but after saying that, he looked at Priest Alfonso next to him, both of whom frowned, and discussed further.
Although they knew Lamani, because they spoke too fast and the various vocabulary was more specialized than everyday language, Mira and Kaleva on the side were at a loss for understanding.
They rightfully turned their attention to the sage again, and while Henry simply checked the entrances and exits around him and whether there were any blind spots that could be hidden, he unsurprisingly gave the answer in a way that ordinary people could understand: "The worship is to the gods related to agriculture, or more accurately, to pray for the good harvest of grain." ”
"Although the shrines of this god, who is the main god of the Moon Country and one of the traditional mainstream beliefs of the Crescent Moon Continent, can be found all over the country, but think about it. The sage looked back at Galeva and Mira, "What did we have for dinner in the village before?"
"Uh......." Galeva froze in place, and the girl frowned, "Dried fish, potatoes, carrots?"
"Well, that's what it is. The sage nodded, and Mira pondered for a moment, then nodded in realization: "I see." The young porter was stunned again and said, "What's the matter?
"That is, there is no grain at all. The girl gave him a blank look: "Because this place is too far to the north, the climate is not suitable for growing grains at all." Isn't it strange to worship the gods who bless the harvest of grain without growing grain? ”
"But in empires and kingdoms, temples are everywhere in the north and south?" Galeva, who grew up in a strong monotheistic atmosphere, still did not turn the corner, and Mira, who was born in Avenella, understood it well, but it was extremely difficult to explain it to young people, and Lulu next to her pulled the corner of her clothes to know what she was talking about, so the girl directly chose to ignore the dumbfounded Galeva and ran to talk to Lulu.
"Did I do something to make her angry? Kaleva scratched her head and looked at the sage, who shrugged his shoulders with a slight amusement: "Who knows." With that, she beckoned him and began to check his surroundings, and Mira and Lulu began to do the same from the other side.
It's as we've said a million times that stupid and impulsive people don't deserve to be adventurers, or at least they don't live to be famous, and they're going to turn into cold corpses in some corner sooner.
The so-called adventurers, although they are indeed engaged in actions that seem extremely risky to ordinary people, always need to avoid danger with professional knowledge.
Taking what Henry and the others are doing right now, for example, when going to a new place that they are not yet familiar with, if there is enough time to prepare, our Sage will inevitably explore and investigate the surrounding area.
Check the entrances and exits and understand the surrounding terrain. This is not only to ensure that there is no potential danger, but also to allow the team to retreat in a more orderly manner and not become headless flies.
Although this behavior is occasionally performed by scout holders of a similar nature in the armies of the Rigal continent, it is more closely related to the mercenary and adventurer professions.
The reason for this has a lot to do with the nature of the mission - soldiers are more "single-minded" than adventurers. Their mission is usually either offensive or defensive, and although there are various tactical and tactical changes, they are still largely monolithic.
In contrast, as a listed mercenary of the union, the tasks accepted can be described as bizarre. Coupled with the fact that they often have to travel to various areas due to the location of the mission, the ability of adventurers to survive independently without logistical supplies is more important than that of the infantry staying in the station.
With such class characteristics and a myriad of mission types, adventurers often tend to be versatile.
Step on the spot in advance to eliminate danger, observe the entrances and exits, learn to hunt and gather food by yourself, and learn to treat wounds by yourself. It is even necessary to have a certain basic understanding of animals and plants, as well as various magical beasts and minerals, in order to identify the value and make a lot of money at certain moments. All in all, after being in the industry for so long, not to mention being deeply affected by the peers and the nature of the task, but also from the Luoan girl who was taught by Henry, a leading person, has now integrated this kind of thinking into her every move. The way he looks, when he speaks, and the various actions he makes, he has the demeanor of a first-class adventurer.
They quickly checked the environment around the shrine, and after basically understanding the terrain, they also communicated this information to the others to ensure that all team members were aware of the situation:
The shrine on the mountain is not located on the highest peak, as they have discovered since they climbed it. At the top of a long, steep, winding staircase, on the stone-paved ground, there are two statues of white foxes that have weathered so much that they have lost their detail. Immediately close to them are architectural structures made of red-painted wood, pronounced "Dolly".
According to Age's translation, "Dolly" is written in the language of the Moon Country and literally translates to "bird" in Lamani, but in restaurants in the Central Region, roast chicken is also pronounced as "Akidoli", so the word may be understood differently from the Lamanite language. The "to" in the back means to live/live here/dwelling - of course Aegie also talked at length about many things related to the religious history of the Moon Country, but because there were so many technical terms involved and a bit boring, no one but the other two missionaries listened to it.
All they know is that according to the customs of the country of the moon, crossing the "torii" means entering the place where the gods are, and they must learn to be careful in what they say and do.
But to the concern of Edge, the other two missionaries, and Henry, the dark red torii also had a straw weave hanging from it, and a thick rope of white paper was attached to it.
Grain is not grown in the nearby villages, so it is clear that it was brought from elsewhere. Coupled with the fact that it still doesn't look damaged and rotten, it must have been mounted by someone recently.
The thick rope that was hung up with such a lot of effort obviously had some special significance, but the four people who saw this chose to remain silent and did not bring it up, because there were already some emotions in the team that had experienced before, and it was obviously harmful to throw out things that were not sure whether they were true or not.
Age, who was timid and impulsive before, seems to have changed a little after O'Neill's death, perhaps it was the actual death that gave him a real sense of crisis and realized that his panic was useless, maybe he was forcing himself. Other people don't know about it right now, or even if they do, they don't have a good way to deal with it.
In short, after the torii, you will enter the road with smooth stone slabs and stone carved lampstands on both sides. At the end of this short road is a chest in front of it, and there is only one floor, which is very different from the glorious temple of the Rigales.
The part that extends from both sides of the shrine is not very wide, and the fact that the four Henry, who walked to both sides to inspect each other, confirmed the fact that the side was quite steep. In other words, there are generally no unexpected visitors from here.
After that, the group walked forward and saw a pond that was not very large, and there was some cultivated land around it, but it was not a vegetable garden, but a garden area of the shrine, which was only for aesthetics, but it looked a little unkempt.
Further on, there is an unpaved mountain road that leads higher up in the dark blue coniferous forest.
Because it is a simple and clear one-way street, the speed of checking the danger area is also very fast, but after the inspection, the Luo An girl noticed a strange point: "It seems that there is no place for people to live here?"
"Well, the shrine is a place dedicated to the gods, and the clergy don't live here. The sage nodded, and Kaleva next to him spoke, "There is no cemetery either. ”
"And people believe that it is blasphemy to bury the dead in the realm of the gods. Lulu, who had been asking Mira for help in interpreting, opened her mouth to say this, and when she returned to the front and shared the information with the three missionaries, they began to discuss some things again.
"People can't enter shrines, so how can I say it, although it is not the same system as the church, as a religious person, I still want to respect ...... as much as possible" Aiji is torn by the peculiarity of the traditional beliefs of the land of the moon - the shrine is a place for them to worship the gods on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is also considered to be the abode of the gods.
Therefore, the entry of mortals is a blasphemy, and although six of the seven people in the team are foreigners, and Lulu is also a minority who does not believe in the gods of the Moon Country, Aiji still seems a little entangled.
This is because he is still young and immature, compared to the indecisive Age, after weighing the pros and cons to have a deeper understanding of the situation to avoid falling into passivity, the older priest Alfonso, who has decision-making powers, glanced at the sage and decided to enter the building.
"Please forgive me for the suddenness of the situation and the last resort. "Before entering, they did as much as they could, follow the local method, and then opened the door with great care.
But what was behind the door was beyond most people's expectations, and even if there was a thought that there might be a written answer here, no one expected that it would be placed directly on the ground like this.
"It looks like I was evacuated in a hurry because of something. Henry glanced at the scene inside and quickly came to a conclusion. The ink blocks and paperweights used for writing were left untouched on the small table beside them, but the bamboo pen holder and ink tray were overturned, and the brush rolled down on the straw mat, and the ink stained a lot of the paper and deeply sank into the texture of the mat.
Densely packed with papers with various messages scattered all over the place, it looked like they had fallen in a hurry. The sage looked at it, then turned around and picked up a small cylindrical object from a corner.
"It's a fire fold. He lifted it out into the sunlight, and Priest Alfonso, who was beside him, spoke.
"It looks like someone was packing up their things, scattered everything on the ground in a panic, and then planned to set fire to the shrine to destroy the evidence, but unfortunately extinguished it. Mira pondered, "But in that case, why was the door so well shut?"
"Someone else has been here after the fact. The sage crouched down and began to examine the marks on the ground, which were easier to see if you looked closely inside than the hard frozen ground outside: "But I didn't come in, because I saw it inside." ”
That is to say, it is not these instruments that are being found, and there is no interest in destroying them, or at least not the highest priority...... Priest Alfonso said thoughtfully, "Anyway, let's sort out these things first and make sure they are of sufficient informational value." ”
"Well, okay. Edge and the other missionary nodded, and Galeva, who seemed to understand whether he understood anything else, did the same, but in exchange for a roll of Mira's eyes.
"Teacher, I always think this thing is a bit weird, will we run headlong into the muddy water again. She leaned closer to the sage and spoke, and Henry shrugged, "Again?"
"Well, again. Mira sighed.
"Nine times out of ten. The sage shrugged his shoulders again, and as soon as he finished speaking, Aggie, who was checking the paperwork on the other side, let out a "wow".
"This, this, this. He was a little speechless, and the sage stepped up and snatched the paper from Age's hand and read it quickly.
"All of us with lofty ideals have gathered here, and the time has come, and the Ming Jun that our country desires has been waiting for so far. This is the trend of the great road of the world, the hope of all the people, may the light of the full moon shine on the earth forever. The gods of hypocrisy and their spokesmen will be discredited in the world, and they will never recover. ”
The Chinese language of the moon written in classical terms was very good at reading by the sages, which made Alfonso and others cast strange glances at Henry, but these details were not as strong as the content of the document - after Henry's translation, there was a temporary silence inside the shrine, and after a while, the girl of Luo An said with a little hesitation:
"This is, a letter from a rebel?"
"Looks like most likely yes. Henry shrugged helplessly.
"We seem to know something we shouldn't know. ”