"Almost... all of it."
The old priest shrugged, "The scope of influenza infection in the past few years was quite wide. Except for normal human blood, all Romulans were infected. Infected people showed signs of high fever, vomiting and skin whitening. , but it got better after a few days. I also discovered by chance that the virus had not been extinguished."
Ye Qingxuan was horrified: "You didn't report such a big thing?"
"Reported."
The old priest said seriously: "All countries also attach great importance to this matter."
"Then why didn't you see any action from them?"
"Yes, didn't you see it before entering the city?"
The old priest pointed in the direction of the gate of the gathering place and said seriously: "Many countries have contributed money and efforts to build such a high wall here. It costs a lot of money."
“…”
Ye Qingxuan fell into silence. After a long time, he asked bitterly: "You mean, let these people fend for themselves, right? Do they know about this?"
"No one else knew about it," the old priest said. "I only informed their elders, that is..."
Before he finished speaking, a hoarse laugh sounded from outside the door, and a rough voice shouted: "Doctor? Is the doctor here? I'm here to see you! I heard that the Holy City has sent a new doctor? Hurry up! Come out and give me a look!"
As soon as he heard that voice, the old priest's expression suddenly became extremely tangled.
"-it's him."
…
…
There were few officials among the Romulian refugees, and there was no government in this settlement. Only the clan system serves as a constraint.
The most noble among them is undoubtedly the "elder" who is elected by the masses and has the most wisdom and long-term vision.
In fact, this elder who is over fifty years old looks... how should I put it, particularly Romulus-like. In other words, like a bum.
This is the first time Ye Qingxuan has seen such enthusiastic Romulus people.
As soon as he went out, he saw the dark and thin old man rushing towards him like a monkey. He was hunched over, his face was smeared with weird paint, and he was wearing a tattered robe. And it looks like he's not wearing anything underneath...
The elder grabbed him, looked him up and down, and asked about his welfare. He was as happy and enthusiastic as if he were seeing his own son. Apart from the weird smell of spices and charcoal on his body, Ye Qingxuan could still barely accept it.
"... So you are the new doctor?"
The elder grabbed Ye Qingxuan and said with emotion: "We Romulus like friends the most. Since you are a doctor sent by the religious order, you are also our friend... Well, do you want something good?"
He paused, mysteriously took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, picked out a handful of powder, threw it into the tobacco, and then skillfully rolled it into two pieces.
One for you and one for me.
"Please don't refuse! This is the custom of us Romulans!"
Ye Qingxuan held the one in his hand and watched the elder puffing away happily, but he could faintly smell many familiar smells on the tip of his nose, making him feel faintly dizzy...
Well, datura, white orange leaves, purple leaves and white mugwort... are still familiar ingredients and familiar formulas.
Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt the urge to vomit blood.
Where is the good stuff here? ! This is obviously a psychedelic incense that is addicted to countless banned drugs and stimulants! This friend dragged me to take drugs together when we first met. What a mess!
Is it the custom of you Romulus people to gather together to take drugs
If this is placed in Angru, it will be punished!
Ye Qingxuan's expression was strange. He didn't care about it. He could only put away the cigarette and planned to throw it away after going out.
Just when he was about to say goodbye, he was intercepted again!
"Come on, come on, I heard that you just came last night." The elder took his hand eagerly: "I will take you to visit Auschwitz. This is such a good place. You must not have realized it, right?"
"No, no, no, I have fully understood."
Ye Qingxuan was about to decline, but was forcibly taken away. The old priest was helpless and wished him good luck, which made him extremely sad.
In the chaotic streets of the gathering area, Ye Qingxuan staggered behind the elder, opening his mouth to speak.
"Elder..."
"Call my name, Caligula."
The elder turned back and glanced at him with a smile: "This is the name of my ancestor, and it is also mine."
"Ahem, Mr. Caligula, where are you taking me?"
Ye Qingxuan was on edge, fearing that the elder would take him into an alley, and then eight hundred Romulus youths would rush out and cut him into pieces on the spot.
"Do you even need to ask?"
The elder whistled: "Of course it's my home."
"But I still have a stall to confiscate."
"I've asked someone to keep an eye on you. Anyway, there's no sound. It's early in the morning and a foreigner is selling swords here. Do you know how many people have come to me to show you, a foreigner, some color? "
"Well… "
Ye Qingxuan was speechless. On the contrary, the elder didn't care, but praised: "Your accent is not bad, where did you learn it?"
"I am an ancient scholar, and my teacher is a master of ancient languages and history."
Ye Qingxuan scratched his head: "I learned a little bit on the way here, but I didn't learn it well. The locals don't seem to like my accent."
"No, they just hate you."
The elder went straight to the point with an unabashed move, which made Ye Qingxuan extremely stunned.
"The Romulans no longer know how to speak their own national language, they only have an accent. If you use this accent to speak the common language, it will only make them feel ashamed."
The elder patted him on the shoulder: "Don't do this again. Romulus people don't need this kind of pretentious intimacy, and they don't need mercy."
"… OK."
While they were talking, they were twisting and turning along the streets, only to find that they had unknowingly entered the heart of Auschwitz. Several narrow streets lead to a huge market.
Just in the bustling market, there are all kinds of goods on display.
The vendors were selling their goods enthusiastically, and the crowds were crowded. It was not as deserted as the outside.
"This is the real market. Only outsiders will go to the place where you set up a stall." The elder patted Ye Qingxuan on the shoulder: "If you really want to set up a stall, come here and tell me your name. Local people Won’t care.”
"Uh, thank you."
Ye Qingxuan smiled reluctantly, but his eyes couldn't help but look towards the center of the market.
Right in the middle of the circular venue, it was completely empty.
In the open space, there were several long black iron poles stretching straight into the sky, hanging corpses that had long since dried. When the breeze blows, the dried corpses sway like leaves, looking extremely ferocious and gloomy.
But who would erect such a thing in the center of their home gathering area
Ye Qingxuan couldn't understand.
"What are you looking at?"
The elder followed his gaze and suddenly realized: "Oh, those are the former elders, my colleagues. It's a pity that they were hanged for making mistakes."
"did wrong?"
Ye Qingxuan asked curiously: "What did they do?"
The elder raised his eyes and looked at him with an expression of great pity, as if he was looking at a mentally retarded person: "...if they knew what they did would make a mistake, then wouldn't they have to die?"
“…”
Ye Qingxuan was blocked for a moment: "Who did this...?"
"Of course it's me. Who else is qualified to judge them here except me?"
Caligula said calmly: "If you think about it carefully, it was all five or six years ago. They have been hanging on for so long. Don't tell me. If they don't hang on now, I won't be used to it."
"Why? Why are you hanging up? Everyone is already dead, right? Why is it necessary?"
Hearing Ye Qingxuan's question, the elder was also stumped.
"This..."
He scratched his messy hair and made gestures: "I wonder if there are such people out there. They are young and don't know anything, but they think they know everything. They want to change their destiny, but they have never seen it. What is the real world like... What are such people called? Angry, angry... "
"An angry young man." Ye Qingxuan added.
"Yes, that's right!"
The elder hammered his palm with satisfaction and sighed: "It is inevitable that young people will be stupid. There must be something to warn them. At least, this can make them calm down when they try to be stupid."
The elder paused and said calmly: "After all, the Romulans have no chance to be stupid, right?"
“…”
Ye Qingxuan was speechless and didn't know what to say.
There was nothing to say all the way. When passing by a stall, the elder took a pigeon for nothing, not knowing what he wanted to do. Soon, they arrived at the place.
"come in."
The elder opened the door and invited him to take a seat - but there were not many seats here. There were a few cushions on the worn carpet, and Ye Qingxuan chose one at random and sat on it.
After the elder put down the dove, he walked into the back room alone, grabbed two handfuls of spices and sawdust and sprinkled them on the stove in the room. Soon, the flames rose.
Caligula murmured a few prayers to the fire that had lasted from the time of his ancestors to this day. Romulus people attach great importance to their ancestors. Each Romulus family has its own set of etiquette for worshiping family fires and ancestors, and strictly abides by them. Caligula is no exception.
Soon, he finished his prayer and returned to the hall. Several servants brought several glasses of water and placed the prepared pigeons in front of the elder.
Now the poor pigeon had all its hair stripped off, its feet were tied, and it was cooing innocently.
Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and looked at the pigeon:
"This is… "
The elder smiled mysteriously and pulled out his dagger: "When you come from afar, let me divine for you. It turns out that I am the best fortune teller among the Romulus people."
Before Ye Qingxuan could react, the dagger in the elder's hand flashed and the pigeon was disemboweled with a snap.
In the scent of spices mixed with forbidden drugs and psychedelic incense, the elder held a dove and a short knife in his hands, danced, took a deep breath of white smoke, then his eyes turned white, and he stood up and danced wildly.
During the hoarse and weird humming, his body twitched, his eyes rolled white, he gasped violently, screamed, his whole body trembled, and he suddenly sat down on the ground.
Squeeze hard with your right hand, and the poor pigeon squeaked and was squashed.
The elder deftly used a short knife to pick out the pigeon's intestines, put aside a thin section, and stared at it intently. He muttered something in his mouth, but he couldn't understand it. He could only vaguely guess what ancient sayings it was.
After a long silence, Caligula put down the dagger and the bloody dove in his hand.
Someone brought a basin of water. After he calmly washed his hands, he sat back opposite Ye Qingxuan and stopped talking.
Seeing his serious look, the dull Ye Qingxuan finally came to his senses:
"What's the result of the divination?"
To be honest, seeing him doing it so seriously, Ye Qingxuan was really looking forward to it!