This is an almost closed room with a door but no windows. The walls are made of rough logs, and the little light in the room comes from two oil lamps.
Ji Yijun sat on a wooden chair, looking across the table at the depressed middle-aged man opposite him. This was the last of several ancient god believers that Ji Yijun had interrogated. The first few guys were just some fools who spontaneously preached like Kara. But this man was very different.
The man had dark brown skin and gray hair. He was not tall, but very strong, with a body as thick as a wall and arms as thick as the average person's calves. Ji Yijun had read his profile and found out that he was a blacksmith, and his years of working as a blacksmith had given him a lot of strength.
But now his condition was not good. He was injured, and his right arm, chest and waist were all wrapped in gauze, with a lot of dried blood on them.
The man lowered his head and coughed from time to time, and he couldn't stop coughing, as if he was going to cough out his lungs.
Ji Yijun clasped his hands in front of his chest, leaned his back against the chair, and observed him quietly, watching the saliva and blood spray onto the table.
This man who looked like he was about to fall was a fierce murderer who had hacked and killed two followers of the Temple of Nature in Camp No. 1 a few days ago. The two men were preaching the teachings of the Temple of Nature in the camp and trying to develop followers in the camp, but somehow they had offended this killing god. Then one night, they were blocked in an alley and attacked by this man.
It is said that the battle was so intense that both sides used their fighting spirit and even half of a nearby warehouse collapsed. As a result, two people were killed and one was seriously injured.
Afterwards, both Luo Ling and Camp No. 1 were in a state of chaos for quite a while. There were actually three Dou Qi masters hidden among the recruited slaves, and each of them had a religious background. This really made the camp management dizzy for a long time. In the past few days, a large number of mercenaries and guards have been re-checking the details of the camp residents.
However, there was no progress in the investigation of this man. He had been too weak to speak in the past few days and was unable to get out of bed until yesterday, so Ji Yijun became the first person to have the opportunity to interrogate him.
"Rod, I'm a blacksmith. I was reduced to a slave because of my debts. It seems that this identity is very problematic. How can a blacksmith kill two spies from the Temple of Nature by himself? And can he knock down a thick wall with one hammer? Rod, is that your real name?"
The man stopped coughing and glanced at Ji Yijun with a look of indifference in his eyes.
"My real name." His voice was hoarse, not just because of my birth or because of my injury. "I've had this name since I was little, but later I changed it. Later, hum, I felt that the name my parents gave me was better."
"Someone heard you shouting 'The God of War is invincible!' during the battle. So, it's not wrong to regard you as a follower of the God of War, right?"
Rhode smiled, his smile was full of self-mockery and sadness. He shook his head slowly and said, "If you had asked me this in the past, I would have answered 'yes'. Now, I don't know. However, I think people who doubt their own beliefs cannot be considered believers. Ahem, as for 'Invincible God of War', that... is just a habit."
Seeing Rhodes talking so much, Ji Yijun was a little excited. He thought that this kind of warrior should be cold and taciturn, silent as a stone. Unexpectedly, Rhodes was not very resistant to the question. He sat up straight, propped his elbows on the table, pretended to listen carefully, and then asked: "Was your surname Wu or Zhan?"
Rhode stared at Ji Yijun and said in surprise: "I didn't expect you to know so much about the Battle Temple. Ahem, my last name was 'Wu' before. As for my name, it's meaningless to mention it now."
"It seems that you were originally a warrior of the Temple of War?"
"Centurion, holy warrior, hey, 'holy' warrior, you can say he's a samurai. But I haven't fought for the Temple of War for a long time."
Ji Yijun flipped through the papers on the table and said, "This is what I find strange. You have been working peacefully as a blacksmith for a long time, and you don't look like a madman who would kill people at the slightest disagreement. Your neighbors even say that you are kind-hearted and helpful. So why did you attack those two people from the Temple of Nature?"
Rhode took a deep breath and slowly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the top of Ji Yijun's head, as if he was recalling something. He stared at the wooden roof for a long time before he uttered two deep laughs and said, "Revenge."
This answer was not unexpected by Ji Yijun. He had seen the glint in his eyes a long time ago. There must be some sad memories that made this thick man lose control. Rhodes stared at the ceiling for a long time until a cough forced him to bend down again.
Ji Yijun took out a handkerchief and placed it in front of him. He took the handkerchief and wiped his mouth indifferently, leaving a bright red streak.
He glanced at the red color, threw his handkerchief on the table in annoyance, and said slowly: "These two people are not ordinary believers of nature, but members of the Shadow Group of the Temple of Nature. Call them spies or assassins, anyway, they are not the same kind of people as those idiots who preach."
Shadow Group? When Ji Yijun heard this word, he thought of the CIA, KGB, and various spy wars. It must be said that although these sneaky people are always associated with conspiracies and intrigues, most boys are not only not bored with these things, but also very interested in them. He stood up and poured a glass of water for Rhodes, and asked, "Are these people from the Shadow Group enemies with you? Are these people agents? Uh... I mean, anyway, they do secret reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, or killing people?"
"The Shadow Group solves any problems that are not suitable for the Elders to deal with openly - such as us believers of the ancient gods. The Temple of Nature pardoned us shortly after the end of the God War, and never publicly said that they would kill us all. But for thousands of years, we have been their secret targets. They don't care about ordinary people who spontaneously believe in the ancient gods because of hearsay, but they have always killed the true inheritance of the temple. One night many years ago, they raided the secluded village where I was born. My parents, wife, two sons, and nearly a hundred villagers are all dead." His eyes were lowered, his body was hunched, as if something heavy was pressing on his shoulders. He took a deep breath, tried his best to keep his tone calm, and repeated, "All dead."
Rhodes held the cup, took a sip of water, and held the cup for a long time with both hands. Ji Yijun could clearly see the water in the cup shaking with ripples. "I was serving in a temple at the time. After hearing the news, I immediately prepared to take revenge. But the high priest and the centurion of the temple kept stopping me. They were afraid that my actions would expose the location of the temple and attract more enemies. Coward! I sneaked away several times, but they stopped me. In the end, these guys even used the so-called will of God to prohibit me from leaving the temple! God of War! How could God of War retreat because of the enemy's strength! He taught us: 'In the face of real battle, cheap peace is worthless.' From then on, I understood that God of War might have really fallen a long time ago. He no longer protects us, so the oracle becomes a trick for the despicable to manipulate others. Can you imagine? One day you finally find out that the one you have regarded as the greatest and highest being in the world since childhood is actually dead."
Ji Yijun scratched his head and said, "When I found out that I was not picked up from the trash can by my parents, I was also very shocked."
Rhodes obviously didn't pay attention to what Ji Yijun said. He kept slapping the table, as if he was hitting the guys in the temple: "For thousands of years, we have failed too many times in front of the Temple of Nature. We have turned the last believers of the God of War into cowards. Yes. We are just a group of cowards gathered in the corner." As he said these words, he waved his injured arm and squeezed his fist until veins appeared, and the price was another round of unstoppable coughing.
"I guess you didn't give up later?" Ji Yijun asked.
"Yes. I found an opportunity and escaped at night. Then I left the Temple of War and started hunting down the members of the Shadow Group. These people hid very deeply. But I have my own way to pull them out of the crowd. This time I followed those two guys in. They have always been my prey. However, they are not slaves, and neither am I. It's just that you accepted too many people. It gave many people with their own purposes an opportunity to take advantage of it. Ahem, when this team came from Suero to Montenegro, the defense was like a sieve. Who would notice a few more people among the four thousand slaves?"
"You mean, more than just people from the Temple of Nature and the Temple of War have sneaked in?" Ji Yijun became serious.
"Ahem, this is not something I care about. I'm just a man who's hunting down my enemies. But just counting what I saw by the way, I found that there was something wrong with quite a few people."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ji Yijun slowly stood up and asked, supporting himself on the table with his hands.
Rhode had come out of his reminiscence, his tone and expression were much calmer. He pondered for a moment, then pointed at the bandages on his body and said, "There is no conflict between us. Although you locked me up for a few days, you also treated my injuries. If I were in the wild, I might not be able to survive. Since no one owes anyone anything, how about we make a deal? You reveal the murder, then provide me with shelter, and I will help you catch those little mice."
"In our world, killing is illegal! No matter what the reason for killing, it will not be easily forgiven." Ji Yijun said.
Rhode laughed, breathing heavily as he laughed. He said, "I don't know where you weirdos come from, but in this land, isn't the law nothing to the Lord? It's the same in the temple. The law is the will of God, the words of the high priest, the sword in our hands, and the axe on the neck of the common people. There are no laws in the world that cannot be negotiated, only people who are not qualified to manipulate the law."
Hearing the word "not qualified", Ji Yijun was a little annoyed. He didn't know why he hated what the other party said. However, when he looked into Rhodes' eyes, he only saw three words in his eyes: "I don't care".