After a while, Qingmu finally understood that Mrs. Larry Alice had rowed away on their own, but inexplicably rowed in the wrong direction. After landing, they happened to encounter a group of Huracan People were out gathering food. Alice shot and killed two savages, but was quickly subdued by the other savages and taken back to the tribe.
They had expected to be eaten, but instead, they were used as sacrificial offerings by the Itza People. Fortunately, Mrs. Larry understood their language and negotiated with the priests. In the end, she successfully persuaded three priests to release them and agree to continue negotiations.
Three priests came over and mumbled something.
Qingmu vaguely understood that they were explaining what had happened. He found it somewhat amusing; Alice had clearly killed their people, yet now it seemed as if they had killed Alice. Judging from their expressions, they were genuinely tempted by the beautiful life on Earth.
Negotiations were able to continue.
The Itza People also brought some simple food, which they distributed to everyone. Then they found a dry clearing in the woods to sit down and eat and talk.
Compared to the last negotiation, this time there were three more women and a cat, including Mrs. Larry and Alice, who were ordinary people. Through Mrs. Larry's narration, the priests became even more convinced of the beauty and abundance of the earth.
When talking about those wonderful scenes of life, Kubota's face lit up with a smile, and his deep wrinkles twisted together like a mountain ridge after an earthquake.
Batus said to Situ, "If you can truly lead us to the world of Unabu, I will have my people carve your image on the stone wall, so that we may worship you for generations to come."
Finally, Bigwendi generously stated that he would not pursue the matter of Alice killing two of his people, and that their souls would be elevated because of the good life his people would enjoy in the future.
The negotiations finally came to a successful conclusion, and the three priests reaffirmed that Qingmu, Situ, and Duwa were messengers of God, sent by the great Sangqi, Manti Stone, and Huracan, who would lead them back to the beautiful world created by Unabu.
The priests knelt down and bowed before the three men, begging the gods not to abandon their people.
Qingmu sat there, looking at Kubota, who was kneeling before him, but he didn't feel like a god at all, and couldn't help feeling a little strange.
Moreover, things were going very smoothly, and everything seemed to be going well; the Itza People would lead them into the altar. Yet, he always felt that something was missing, as if something bad was about to happen.
The Itza People led them toward the Huracan Tribe.
Qingmu then used the Soul of Wood to communicate with Kubota, asking, "How did you manage to create that Mental Power Formation?"
Kubota said, "In God's prophecy, the son of the devil will impersonate the son of God and steal our Sacred Staff. At that time, we will be unable to resist Gaia's invasion. God left behind a secret method, passed down through generations by the priests of the Itza tribes. In the final moments, they can rely on the altar to form an array. As long as the whole tribe is of one mind and without any distractions, they can obtain power from God to resist the devil."
Qingmu guessed that this was the advanced method of Group Dream that Situ had been researching, but he still couldn't understand how Group Dream obtained divine power. Could there be another spiritual channel or another Mental Power Field within the altar?
Just as he was about to ask what the Kubota Mystic Arts were, a chilling sound came from ahead, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
Ta-da!
Qingmu recognized the sound as that of a machine gun firing. However, because the firing chain was manually turned, the rate of fire was not as fast as that driven by an electric motor.
Anderson and his Itza People must have clashed with the Itsa!
Qingmu surveyed the terrain and direction. Having been here before, he knew that they were actually quite close to Huracan village, located to the side of the village, near the altar, with a straight-line distance of no more than one kilometer. That's why the cannon fire was so clear. However, there was a cliff in front of them, which they couldn't simply climb over. To reach Huracan village, they had to go around to the other side, then cross a small hill to reach the river in front of the village.
Da da, da da, da da da da, da da da da, da da da da...
The sound of cannon fire began to ring out rhythmically and continuously.
The Itza priests, bewildered by the sound, stood there blankly. Kubota, having seen the automatic weapons Petru had brought, quickly recognized the difference between the machine gun and the AK-47, and roared at the other two priests with terror in his eyes.
The three priests looked at Qingmu and Situ simultaneously, their faces filled with anger and doubt.
Qingmu finally remembered what he felt he hadn't thought things through earlier. Once those guys with the machine guns arrived at their position and didn't see Mrs. Larry and Alice, they would definitely assume they were dead. Given Anderson's feelings for Alice and Petru's feelings for Mrs. Larry, they would inevitably open fire. Plus, Boris was a scoundrel, and with only Ivan left, even if he remained calm, he couldn't stop the situation from escalating.
Unfortunately, none of the three priests were there at that moment, so even if the Itza People managed to form Mental Power Formation, it would be very fragile.
"Go and stop them!" Qingmu cried to the Crow.
He blamed himself for not thinking of this earlier; he should have sent the Boss Coal to inform them sooner. Once the cannon fire started, who knew what would happen to the favorable situation they had just negotiated?
The Crow darted away in a flash, and the others followed suit like arrows released from a bow.
The three Itza priests ran in the lead, shouting something as they ran, probably calling for their people. They moved as nimbly as monkeys, and even the oldest, Kubota, was no slower than Qingmu and Situ.
Qingmu then believed that the old man had been hiding his strength; he was not as old as he appeared, and that he was helpless without the Sacred Staff.
The clattering of cannons continued.
They turned the hillside in front of them, and the river flowing through the valley came into view. On the other side of the river were the houses of the Huracan Tribe, and the dark figure of the altar could be seen in the distance.
With the rattling of machine guns, grayish-white smoke rose from the ground in front of the altar—dust and mist kicked up by high-explosive shells.
Da da da da, da da da da.
Whether they ran out of bullets or the Crow stopped them, the machine gun fired its last few shots and then abruptly ceased.
The valley became quiet; the runners could hear their own rapid breathing and strong heartbeats.
The smoke in front of the altar turned into a thin cloud, drifting upwards, like the gathered souls of people, swaying in the wind, gently heading towards the Sun in the sky.
The Crow flew back, cawing mournfully Guagua Qingmu's head.
"Too late! They're all dead! They're all dead! Guagua!"