"Is it Serinda?" Xiao Chen looked at Li Jia seriously. This guy's eyes were flickering and it was obvious that he had something to hide.
"She didn't bring it up on her own initiative. I just wanted to ask for him," said Li Jia.
Xiao Chen stood there, his arms crossed in front of his chest, staring at Li Jia. Li Jia seemed to be suppressed by his gaze, her head lowered and her back bent more and more, as if she was carrying something heavy, and she was about to fall on the table.
He thought Xiao Chen would scold him harshly or make some sarcastic remarks, and he was prepared for these situations. But now, Xiao Chen said nothing and just stared at him, which made him feel uneasy.
After a while, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, as if the coolness of the autumn day was dispelled by Xiao Chen's surging anger.
"You... don't say anything about me?" Li Jiawei raised her eyebrows and glanced at Xiao Chen like a child who had done something wrong secretly looking at his teacher, and found that there was no emotion on the other's stiff face.
"Ah..." Xiao Chen sighed, and his tense face relaxed. "I wanted to scold you harshly. But then I thought, who are you? Li Jia! Don't you understand the truth? Will you give up on a woman? So, I didn't know what to say."
"I know, I know. Am I not hesitating as well? If you hadn't pulled me in and asked me three times, I might not have asked you for it." Li Jia raised his head half an inch again.
"Heh, I give you 99 points for your kick, and I'll deduct one point for your exaggerated performance."
"I know I'm wrong. First, the Sea of Consciousness Scroll is very important to us. It is our secret weapon for training mages and should not be known to outsiders. Second, the Temple of Nature and other interested parties may be eyeing the heir of the Seventh Tower. If they know this, we will be in big trouble. Third, a man is innocent until he is found guilty. If the news of this treasure is leaked, someone might come to snatch it. Fourth, it seems that there is no fourth."
Xiao Chen was so angry that he almost laughed. He lowered his voice and cursed: "It seems that your head is filled with hormones, isn't it?"
Li Jia's voice was extremely dry. He lowered his head and said, "I know all this, but I think Serinda can be trusted. Sooner or later, she will know a lot about us."
"Sooner or later? That means it's too early to talk about this now. It won't be too late to talk about it in ten or eight years." Xiao Chen couldn't help but push Li Jia's head, causing her to stagger. "Don't use my life and the lives of your schoolmates as a bet to test whether your woman is reliable! I really regret it now. I shouldn't have helped you make this happen from the beginning!"
"No, I didn't treat everyone as a bet! She will become my wife. If my wife is not trustworthy, who can we trust?" Li Jia argued, "Besides, I am not greedy for the power of the "Shadow Scroll of the Sea of Consciousness". I just think she is very pitiful. If you have seen Serinda practicing martial arts, you will know how hard she works. But her ideal is not to become a magic swordsman, but a magician. She has been learning magic in the magic tower in the royal capital since she was a child. However, due to her limited talent, she can only use some low-level magic. She has consulted several magicians and tried different meditation methods, but the effect is still very limited. But the inheritance of the Dream Tower is different, which may change her life! What's more, after she becomes the heir of the Dream Tower, she has no reason to betray us. This is getting on the same boat. This is better than her always guessing and spying on the source of my power."
Xiao Chen shook his head helplessly and said, "Have you ever thought that the Sea of Consciousness Scroll is ultimately a very dangerous thing? The lower the talent, the greater the danger. Maybe the moment she opens the book, you will lose her."
Li Jia raised her head, looked into Xiao Chen's eyes and said, "The final decision is in her hands. I think if you like someone, you should create opportunities for her to gain greater freedom, rather than being a miser guarding treasures."
"Even if there's a chance of losing her forever?"
"Yes. Because it's me who's suffering, not her."
Xiao Chen chuckled, "I was almost moved by you. However, the answer is still: 'No!' The reason is: 'She will die.' Master Ikasa told me that low- and mid-level mages who have successfully concentrated their minds will have their consciousness reshaped when they read the "Shadow Scroll of the Sea of Consciousness", which is simply suicide."
Li Jia's face fell immediately. He knew that Xiao Chen would never lie to him about such a thing. It seemed that there was really no hope. He stood up dejectedly and moved towards the door.
"Be patient... We are modern people. Just because they can't solve a problem doesn't mean we can't." Xiao Chen said behind him.
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“You are the master of nature and nature itself.
You are the creator and source of all things.
You are the vast sky, giving us air and sunshine.
You are the solid land that gives us food and shelter.
You are the endless river that gives us drinking water and wealth.
We are your people, as are all things.
We follow your path and coexist with the spiritual beings in the world..."
More than a dozen men and women in sackcloth camp work clothes stood in two rows in front of a big tree, reciting these words in a rhythmic tone. They were old and young, the oldest was over 40 years old, and the youngest were two children about seven or eight years old.
The tree was so thick that it took three people to hug it. It had lush branches and leaves, and its crown could cover half of a football field. It was one of the tallest ancient trees around Camp No. 3.
The group of people offering sacrifices was led by a plump middle-aged woman. She stood at the front of the group, with her hands open and facing downward, palms facing forward, in a gesture similar to hugging, which was the etiquette of the Temple of Nature. The woman recited the prayer in a calm voice. The people behind her did the same gesture, repeating sentence by sentence.
Morey had already left by now, while Ji Yijun and Catalina hid behind a bush not far away, from where they could clearly hear the words of the praying people and see their movements.
Catalina held onto the branches and observed the people's behavior. After a while, she said, "They look normal. The one leading the prayer is Aunt Kara, who is in charge of cooking in the camp. There's nothing special about her except that she always likes to force people to lick the plates clean. The others also look ordinary. They belong to different camps. I know several of them, including hunters, fishermen, and elementary school children. They don't look like the people we are looking for."
"Hmph, children should stay in school. Don't these adults know how rare learning opportunities are in this world?" Ji Yijun was standing next to Katarina, also clinging to the branches and observing.
"For some people, worshipping the God of Nature is also very important. Besides, there are not enough teachers now, and they only have half-day classes."
"Tsk!" Ji Yijun was too lazy to dwell on this issue.
"Should we continue to wait? I think this is a very ordinary sacrifice."
"Wait a little longer." He took out a few chocolate beans from his pocket and threw them into his mouth, then threw two to Catalina. He chewed and said vaguely, "It's hard to find the right tree. At least I can watch this show in its entirety. Just treat it as a curiosity."
Catalina received the beans but did not eat them. Instead, she took out a piece of cloth, carefully wrapped them up, and put them close to her body inside her clothes.
"It will transform." Ji Yijun said.
Catalina blushed and took out the cloth bag and stuffed it into the bag hanging at her waist.
Ji Yijun snorted and laughed, "You really treat him as your brother, but I don't know if he appreciates it."
He took out the bag of chocolate beans, stuffed a few more into his mouth, and threw the rest to Katarina.
After everyone finished praying, Kara asked people to sit in a circle, then picked up a meter-long branch from the ground and held it in both hands like a sword.
Kara walked around the crowd, outside the circle where everyone was sitting. Her pace was uneven, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, and her body swayed slightly from side to side. This was a dance that followed a certain rhythm, like grass swaying in the wind, or a leopard pacing in the forest. Although she was just an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman, such a ceremony gave people a sense of sacredness.
After walking around a few times, she began to speak: "The God of Nature knows everything about the world! He is always watching our every move. Whenever we make a mistake, he already knows it. But he has mercy on us and does not punish us immediately. Instead, he gives us a chance to find the right path ourselves."
"The God of Nature knows the world well!" others echoed.
"It's Duke's turn to referee the crime today," Kara said.
A bearded man in his thirties sitting among the crowd nodded when he heard this.
"Let me start the discussion," Kara announced.
"I met more than 20 people who wasted food this week. I only corrected 10 of them. As for the rest, I failed to make them realize that wasting food is a blasphemy against the God of Nature." Kara was a little angry, not sure if it was directed at herself or those who didn't listen. "The God of Nature taught us that food is a sacrifice made by other creatures. Wasting food is a disrespect for the creation of the God of Nature, so I am as guilty as these foolish people. Duke, judge my crime."
"Ten." The man named Duke said very concisely.
"Do you think it's fair?" Kara asked.
"fair."
"Fair!" Others expressed their opinions one after another.
Kara handed the branch to a young woman next to her, then lifted her clothes to expose her back. The woman took the branch and began to whip Kara's back hard. Duke began to count: "One, two, three..."
Ji Yijun could clearly see that Kara had many old scars on her back. Although they were not deep, they were densely packed and shocking. It seemed that such punishment was common. He turned around and asked Katarina, "Are all believers of the God of Nature so perverted?"
Catalina was also surprised. She said, "These people are not ordinary believers of the God of Nature. They are probably members of the Ascetic Order of the Sons of Nature. I heard that most members of the Ascetic Order go through some painful rituals, using tree branches to punish themselves for deviating from the doctrine. This seems to be called 'Nature Teaching'. But many people from other sects don't like them and think they are asking for trouble."
Ji Yijun looked at the red marks on Kara caused by the branches and said coldly, "It seems that they have developed well. It has only been a few days and they have gathered such a group of masochists."
While the two were talking, the fight was over. The woman helped Kara pull down her clothes to cover her back which was beginning to bleed. Kara supported herself on the ground with both hands, panted for a while, then took the branch from the woman and said to everyone, "Next, Victor."