The savages spoke in a cacophony of three different tones, sounding like the croaking of frogs on a summer evening—a stone frog, a field frog, and a toad.
After serving as a god to the Sangqi Tribe for some time, Qingmu had mastered the Sangqi Tribe's language through consciousness communication, and he could also communicate directly with the Soul of Wood and Kubota's consciousness. However, he couldn't understand what the other two were saying. Fortunately, Situ and Duwa each dealt with one of them, and the three of them together were able to roughly understand what the Itza priests meant.
What puzzled him was how the three priests communicated. Their languages were clearly different, with significant differences in pronunciation. Mrs. Larry described this difference as being like Korean and Japanese, both originating from Chinese, but after a long period of differentiation and evolution, their pronunciations have become completely different.
Kubota was old and looked mature and composed. He didn't talk much, often only saying one sentence after others had spoken several. Batus, the priest of the Manti Stone Tribe, was the most talkative. He was shouting at Situ while pointing towards the distant lake.
Even without Situ's retelling, Qingmu knew he was talking about the Swordfish frigate. They had never seen such a large ship before; in their eyes, it wasn't a ship at all, but a den of devils.
The priest of the Huracan Tribe Bigwendi, or perhaps Biguwedi. Qingmu listened for a long time and distinguished it from their pronunciation. He asked Duwa, but Duwa wasn't quite sure either.
Bigwendi said that the demons lurked in the shadows beyond the thick fog, and God told them to always be wary of them. So whenever the fog rose, they would arm themselves fully and drive away any invaders, even those who looked like their own kind, because demons could disguise themselves as humans or gods.
After a long period of communication, involving both verbal exchanges and telepathic communication, Qingmu and his companions finally convinced the savage priests that the Swordfish was a ship. However, the priests still believed that demons lived on board and were therefore unwilling to board for a discussion.
But that doesn't matter, since the focus isn't on the ship, but on what's happening inside the altar. The savages don't know what will happen after activating the altar; they're simply faithfully carrying out the divine decree, following the oral traditions and legends passed down through generations. They forbid anyone from entering the altar, especially not with the Sacred Staff. Otherwise, the gods will surely punish them.
Situ asked how God would punish him.
Batus said that disaster would strike from heaven, causing their descendants to live in misery and hardship.
Situ asked, "Have you ever seen a more terrifying disaster than the Sun burning down your village?"
He had heard about what Qingmu others had experienced in the Sangqi Tribe, so he said, "Have you ever seen a more terrifying disaster than the arrival of a giant moon, the floating of all things in the air, and a great flood descending from the sky?"
He then pointed to the sky and said, "There are three Sun in the sky now. Do you think this is a good omen?"
His words were relayed to the other two priests through Qingmu and Duwa.
The three priests looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. Bigwendi said that this was all a disaster brought by demons from the Shadowlands, and the three Sun now were also because of the appearance of that great ship here.
Situ asked, "So, when the devil is not around, what wonderful days do you live? And what hope does your god bring you?"
Batus said that when the demons are not around, we have plenty of food and clothing. There are endless wild fruits to pick on the mountains and fish to catch in the rivers. We also grow grains and vegetables, and raise sheep and unicorns.
Kubota said we build houses with stone and wood, make pottery from clay, and weave clothes from animal hides and silk spun by a certain insect. We are not afraid of the cold in winter or the heat in summer, and we live freely.
Bigwendi added that, according to ancestral legends, during the longest season when demons never came, our houses were higher than mountains, with white clouds outside our windows. People did not have to work, and as soon as the birds sang in the morning, messengers of God would cross the rainbow across the great lake to bring us food.
The priests' expressions brightened, as if they had experienced these things firsthand.
Situ said, "What if we could bring your tribe, your people, a better life than this?"
The priests clearly didn't believe in such things; what life could be better than the ancient legends?
Then, they saw the most incredible sights they had ever witnessed in their lives. These images appeared in their consciousness in ways they had never imagined before, not even in their dreams.
They saw people dressed in gorgeous clothes, towering houses stretching into the clouds, bridges more magnificent and beautiful than rainbows spanning rivers, lakes and seas, many square boxes carrying people speeding along wide roads, and people sitting neatly inside the bellies of large birds with outstretched wings, flying over the blue sea and sky.
People no longer needed to hunt; herds of animals, some they could name and some they couldn't, were kept in large, more spacious and comfortable houses than their own wooden huts, fattened up, and then turned into food for their tables.
People don't need to plant anything. Some strangely shaped, seemingly strong things till the fields, making a rumbling sound, easily separating the grain from the stalks, removing the husks, grinding it into powder, turning it into soft strips, which, when rolled in hot water, release an enticing aroma.
People no longer need to go through the tedious process of striking flint or drilling wood to start a fire. In places where food is processed, a simple press will ignite large blue flames in the empty air where there is no firewood.
People were not afraid of the scorching heat; cool breezes would blow from things hanging on the roof or walls. It was so hot outside that bird eggs could be cooked, but people inside slept under thick blankets.
People are not afraid of the cold; instead, they play in the snow and ice during the coldest season and sculpt all sorts of beautiful things from ice.
People were not afraid of the darkness, as if all the stars had been plucked from the sky and shone on the roads, windows, and rooms at night.
The entire world is as dazzling as the starry sky.
" Unabu!"
The three Itza priests uttered the word simultaneously, their bodies slowly prostrating themselves on the ground.
Qingmu knew that Unabu was the creator god of the Itza People. On that starry night, they prayed and sang all night, beseeching the god's son to return. Now, seeing the bustling lights of the human world, they mistakenly believed that it was Unabu's descent and that the entire starry sky belonged to the human world.
He simply presented some normal scenes of Earth through dreams, and that completely captivated the Itza priests.
Their civilization is thousands of years behind Earth's current level of civilization. It's like bringing a Stone Age person into the 21st century; how could they not think they've arrived in God's heaven!
Situ told them that if they were allowed to enter the altar, they could take their people to the other world.
The priests fell silent.
But their faith remained steadfast. Even when the Sacred Staff and dreams were used to interfere with their consciousness, they could not be made to accept the matter immediately. It was as if there was some hidden force in the shadows that made them stubbornly guard the rules passed down through generations.
Qingmu recalled the spiritual array they had formed at the altar. Where did the power that had suddenly united the three conflicting tribes, setting aside their past grievances, severing the tentacles of consciousness extending from the Sacred Staff, and clearing away all distractions to concentrate their will and spirit, forming an unprecedented Group Dream, come from?
After a moment of silence, the priests began to speak in hushed tones, which then erupted into a heated argument. Finally, they decided to return and inform their people, and then consult the oracle, letting the gods decide their fate.
Although things weren't going smoothly, they were generally moving in a positive direction. They believed that the Itza priest had been moved, and the power of the generational gap in civilization was irresistible.