Dow and Carbon-Based Monkey Breeding Guidelines

Chapter 406 Wishing the King Long Live

"That's a ridiculous statement," said the man with the gold ring. "Babies, they're just primitive beasts. How can you call him crazy? He doesn't know himself? Crying all the time? Pissing shit? That's just a baby The way it is. Every baby is crazy, as you say."

"There was something else about the baby, sir. When he was born, he didn't cry or struggle. He stared into corners of the roof with his eyes open, and sometimes he smiled as if he saw something, but was soon lost in the gaze. He never made a sound, did not eat or drink, and needed little attention. All experienced midwives, nurses, and doctors tried in every way, and could not know what disease he had. The child was cursed by a demon and was doomed. Not long--so they asserted. Of all men, only the child's mother knew his secret. She sympathized with him and feared him, and hid him in a corner where no one would see him."

"so……"

"Son of the demigod," said the old man, "when he was born, the two stars began to intersect, and dreams replaced his mortal life, so that all he knew and felt was surrounded by dreams. Dreams became his reality, so his mind could not He also doesn’t understand what’s going on outside. Day after day, his mother locks him in a secret hut in the corner of the garden, keeping everything outside from him and making sure his dreams won’t be disturbed.”

"what does that mean?"

"His dreams will change reality once he realizes that reality exists."

The man with the gold ring twitched his cheek."That sounds ridiculous," he said half-sarcastically.

"It's always been the story, sir."

"That means he can make anything happen, doesn't it? Women, money, crowns... everything in one thought."

"True. But I don't think any of that will be useful to a baby living in a dream."

The man started scratching his lips with those golden rings again.He squinted his eyes, and a cold light flickered in his pupils.

"Then tell me something a baby is interested in," said the man, "and if, suddenly, he takes an interest in the sky of that kingdom—like an imp smashing the windows of a ruined house for fun—then what happens next ?”

"The sky will be a broken window."

"Everyone dies?"

"No, I think the boy will die."

The man wearing the gold ring silently pursed his lower lip.He motioned for the old man to continue talking.

"That country is protected by a powerful spell," said the old man, "and all the mountain people are obliged to keep that spell running. They cover it up in the depths of history and language, portraying it as some kind of ancient and There is something natural, a cleverly disguised lie, and the end is guarded by successive leaders they call 'The Master.' They believe that when the final time comes, the magic spell will keep them from the abyss. , to keep the last spark, and they will do anything for it. Whenever the spell needs to be adjusted, the leader among them will choose a suitable successor, and then fill himself in. There have been times when the spell has been threatened, and they have taken the best Harsh means to get rid of it... ah, a moral theory presented to mortals, but in fact it is just a shell for that huge lie."

"The dreaming child is a threat."

"If he dreamed that the sky was broken, I think it's inevitable."

The night above the willows grew redder.The peasant girl raised her head, looking up at the light of the hellfire above the sea of ​​stars.She imagined that the sea filled with spiritual energy would be evaporated by the fire of hell, when day and night would no longer exist, and the sky would disappear.Though she imagined this, she had no fear in her heart, for she knew that the light of creation was enough to restore everything.When she takes back all her brilliance and returns to her original owner, the disaster of hellfire will be eliminated.

"Looks like he'd better be locked up in that room forever," said the man with the gold ring.

"His mother planned this. And Zouyi, although he didn't understand the meaning of it, finally obeyed his wife's decision. So the child grew up in dead silence and darkness, never communicating with the outside world, only his parents came occasionally Visit. If outsiders saw him at that time, they would only regard him as a statue of his mother when she was young. A dead thing like a puppet, unable to move, with a broken mind and never uttering a single meaningful word. Year after year He was lying in the deepest corner of the room, deep in endless wild dreams—but suddenly one day, he woke up."

The flames flickered on the pyre.A few sparks jumped out of it and fell among the dead weeds.The peasant girl glanced there.She saw that the dry blade of grass had been ignited, but it became black again in the blink of an eye.The shadows of the weeds swayed in the wind, as if they had a consciousness of their own.

The old man's eyes turned to her, gentle and loving, just like a grandfather looks at his granddaughter.He said: "What a beautiful day it was... One morning in the depths of winter, in the huge garden owned by that famous family, all the plants grew wildly and bloomed overnight, climbing up every fake stone and beam. pillars, the sound of the wind turned into music as it passed through the corridor, and the frozen lake water was as warm as spring... All these signs were regarded by the family as some kind of auspicious hints, and they were attributed to a mountain person who came to teach. When the team When he left the house in great strength and went to meet the teacher, the door in the garden that had never been opened from the inside was knocked open. The child, who was ten years old at the time, staggered as if he had never learned to walk. Stumbled away from his long dream of eternal darkness, into another strange world. He wandered alone in the flower garden, no adult was present, only the gardener's granddaughter found him. So he learned from the girl Language, and running, shouting, eating... When the grown-ups came back from outside, he was playing in the garden, and he looked like an ordinary child."

"surface?"

"Did you ever dream that you were something else, sir?" said the old man, "in dreams you would return to your childhood, or become a bird, a fish...but you would still be you, in all forms of dreaming Above, that is the lie you tell yourself. When the child of the dream enters reality, as we enter dreamland. The reality he sees is always slower than ordinary people, and the things he remembers cannot last long, but the knowledge of dreams does not Hidden in the heart. Even so, if you see some kind of horror in your dream, such as falling from a height, that dream will wake up. What he needs to maintain is a hazy and safe sanity, so as not to fall back into the dream again middle."

The man with the gold ring tilted his head to listen.He was thinking aimlessly, knocking on the golden rings in his hand, and took one off and threw it into the fire.The restless appearance made others dare not speak.After a while he stood up abruptly, leaning on the long handle of the machete in his right hand.

"It's a curious story, old man," he said.

"I'm not finished, sir."

"No, no, that's not necessary. I've heard enough. I appreciate the details you've given, but most of them are made up. I've never liked to dream, understand?"

The man's tone became severe.The eyes stood out in the firelight, looking cruel and fierce.The old man had no choice but to stop talking, and carefully reminded: "You promised not to hurt us."

"You fool," said the man, "I promise the gods—but where are the gods? You told lies about the kingdom, and now I'll tell you what lies. Gods! Either they come from Didn't exist, or the most vicious beast, whore, plague ghost... I have seen through you. Whoever you are, what king you served, now you are just a worthless old thing, make up some Ridiculous lies to fool the world. But I will show you some kindness, old man, and I will tell you, so that you will know at the hands of whom you died."

He picked up the machete and turned it over.On the other side of the shiny blade is engraved with gorgeous runes, which are three clusters of blooming sanjay orchids, and engraved with three prayers of praise on the outside, resembling the wings of a horse eagle.The man put the exquisite blade on the old man's neck, and said: "Can you see this knife? It has been handed down to me from my ancestors, and it is said to be protected by the Valkyries. My father used it to fight against barbarians and protect All the temples of Mulunen. But when the great earthquake happened that day, and the priests screamed about the collapse of the pillar of the world, I saw his head was thrown on a pile of horse dung and burned...Where is Mirada riding the eagle Or Enshania? Yemenno? Or the never-appearing Veroel? Those priests have told how they fought with us for generations, and now I see the temple collapsed, the plague is rampant, and the fire is coming soon Burn us all. We, barbarians, everything in this world, you dare to mention the gods before me! Now I have decided to throw your head to the wolves, and your granddaughter will be our entertainment , until she dies! Do you think the gods will come to rescue you?"

"How sad," said the old man.

The man looked at them with pleasure.The beastliness in her eyes made the peasant girl unforgettable.He raised his hand holding the knife, ready to swing it towards the old man's neck.Then the fire jumped up and his whole arm fell from his shoulder.

(End of this chapter)