Before leaving Stone City, Hao Ren curiously asked Gezer, “Do you know about the ruins?”
Since Gezer came to the ruins to perform the ritual, he deduced that this ancient city should have a special significance for the indigenous people in this world. Since the city and the people were here, he could not fathom why the tribe of Gezer had given up this majestic and sturdy city and chosen to live a nomadic life. Perhaps the climate change had forced them to be nomads. But he wanted to hear what Gezer had to say.
The question surprised Gezer. “The Goddess should know everything. Why do you ask about the ancient city?” Gezer said.
It looks like Gezer still believed that Vivian was the Goddess who created everything and knew everything. That was why he thought Hao Ren’s question was puzzling. The Goddess here should already know everything!
It was a tricky situation. If not careful, Hao Ren could screw up the trust he had built with Gezer. Fortunately, Vivian saved the day. “The way Goddess observes this world is different from yours. Just tell us about the changes in the world according to your understanding,” she said.
Her words seemed deep but at the same time, transcendent. Hao Ren could not help but glance at her. He whispered in Hollettan. “Good acting! Where did you get that catchy phrase?”
Vivian smiled softly. “From who do you think I learned that? Those old coots back home have been babbling like that for the past ten thousand years!”
Gezer was convinced. He felt the great wisdom of the Goddess in her word. He began to explain as he pointed to the collapsed megalithic buildings around him. “This is the ancient sacred city of Dorasil. Before the end of the Sun Dynasty, this great city enshrined the Holy Spirit of the Goddess. And, until now the Holy Spirit is still echoing in the shadow of Dorasil. Is Goddess coming today to check on the Holy Spirit?”
“You’re baffling me,” Vivian waved her hand instinctively and then hemmed twice. “I mean you shouldn’t speculate on what Goddess thinks. As I said, the way I observe the world is different from yours. Look, I even have an avatar.”
Vivian dragged Hessiana before her, made her nodding her head with her hands as if that would be convincing enough.
“Why is this city abandoned?” Hao Ren asked curiously. “What happened to the Sun Dynasty?”
“After the heaven closed, the Sun Dynasty ended following the teachings of the Goddess,” Gezer said as if he was reciting from the text. He had studied these phrases for many years. “Now is the Year of Jade, the greatest and the most peaceful era.”
“The close of the heaven… the Year of Jade…” Hao Ren looked up thoughtfully at the dark ‘crust’ behind the clouds. The natives of this world roughly knew that it was the First Born who used the canopy to cover the planet, but that history had become a myth, the growth of the First Born had turned into that of the Goddess performing a miracle to close the heaven. Hao Ren felt he would not be able to get the real picture from the Gezer. “Do you know what is out there on the heaven?”
Gezer’s face suddenly turned solemn and fearful. “A place where the Goddess exiles the sinners. No one has ever dared to go there.”
“The heaven is a sinful place?” Hessiana was surprised. “What about the underground?”
Gezer said with an honest look. “The underground is the glory of the Goddess.”
Hessiana pursed her mouth and said, “The myths and legends of this planet are bizarre, but they quite suit the worldview of the Blood Clan. I don’t like skylight either. I feel comfortable in the cave.”
Vivian looked away in embarrassment. “It was all because I was poor back then that we had to live the cave. That affected the kids mentally.”
“Ahem. Judging from the situation on the upper crust, I would have agreed with Gezer.” Hao Ren interrupted Vivian from babbling about her troubled past. He then noticed everyone had stepped out of the wall of the ancient city of Dorasil. The vast expanse of the prairie stretched out in front of his eyes. But he did not see any tribal settlements nor means of transport. “Gezer, where is the tribe settlement that you mentioned?”
“Over there,” Gezer said, pointing to Heaven’s Pillar at the end of the horizon. “At the foot of the Pillar of Eternity, my people are there. We are waiting for the coming of the second windy month, and under the divine guidance of the wind, we will jointly perform a praying ritual with other tribes.”
Hao Ren glanced at the magnificent black pillar that towering through the clouds. “Then how did you come here? By horse?”
“On foot,” Gezer said, his face covered in the painted lines blooming in a smile. “It took me several days. The messenger who carries out incense ritual must not ride on any animals into Dorasil. We have to come on foot. Otherwise, the ancestors will not respond to the call even if I burn the incense.”
Hao Ren needed a while to understand the religious terms Gezer mentioned. The scented incense must be the spices that Gezer burned on the stone platform, and this warrior was here today to do the ‘unsealing’ or some preparation work for another more important religious ritual. People in this world followed a set of strict religious practices, though it was not clear how they interpreted the existence of the “Goddess of Creation,” they were highly religious.
Even if the world turned upside down, also if they became a refugee in space debris of a different world, their faith in the Goddess would never fade.
“It would take not days but weeks to go there,” Hao Ren said, looking into the distance. “So the only taboo is that you must not ride any animal into the city, but not when you return to your tribe, right?”
Gezer nodded puzzledly.
Then, Hao Ren brought his private ride out of the dimensional pocket. “Then, let’s get on board!”
Seeing Hao Ren took the car out of thin air, Gezer was rooted to the spot. He then decided that what he just saw was a miracle.
Notwithstanding the appearance of the car, its performance was no need of introduction; except transforming into Heaven’s Pillar, it was omnipotent. He was looking out at the scenery outside as they drove on the prairie. They had arrived at the foot of the Heaven’s Pillar in no time. Hao Ren nosed the car up on a hill near the Heaven’s Pillar, where it was part of the roots of the giant tree. From here, he got a bird’s-eye view of the tribal settlement.
A small river ran through the bottom of the valley between two mountain ridges. The river flowed out from the roots of the giant tree and out into the open grasslands. On the banks of the river, there were many little dwellings, all in elliptical shapes like a tent, covered with straw mats and animal fur. Blue and green decorative ribbons were on the wooden poles surrounding the houses. It looked simple but felt harmonious and beautiful. Such was the settlement of the Hanuk Tribe of West Wind, which was said to be one of the largest tribes in this world.
However, judging from the size and number of houses, the population of this ‘largest tribe’ might not exceed two thousand. To Hao Ren, this was almost a bad sign. Just how many humans are in this world?
But Gezer’s tribe could care less about such distant issues. The settlement in the valley was peaceful. Men, women, and children walking between the houses all looked contented. And, in the lower reaches of the river, many weird animals were drinking in the river. These animals were the valuable property of the settlement. The probes that Hao Ren sent out had also found similar wild animals on the other part of the grasslands, but those were not domesticated.
Lily gazed at the quiet and peaceful nomadic tribe in the valley and fell into deep thought. After a while, she suddenly looked up at the solid black dome behind the clouds as if she did not do that; she would have forgotten where she was.
Gezer had now come out of the sensation of speed; he patted his face trying to make sense of how he could arrive so quickly. He looked at Hao Ren and Vivian with excitement and uneasiness at the same time. “I don’t know how to tell the elders about the coming of the Goddess… What should I say?”
Vivian had only learned a few fudging words from her ancient friends. She was now at a loss what to say. So she poked Hao Ren’s arm instinctively. “It’s your turn to say something. After all, you’re a pope.”
Hao Ren looked at Vivian, and then Hessiana, before nodding to Gezer. “Just tell them that the Goddess has brought her mini avatar along, disguising as commoners.”
Then he looked at others. “Well, along with a working group.”
Lily quietly nudged Vivian and whispered, “Battie, what do you think? You think what Mr. Landlord make sense?”
Vivian bit her lips. “I am regretting it now!”