Chapter 77
Chapter 77
It is common knowledge that every can of Insecticide comes with a safety warning: Keep away from open flames.
The microscopic mist particles in Insecticide spray will burn or even explode when they encounter fire.
Qin Ying stood by the box, clutching a can of Insecticide in one hand and a lighter in the other.
She was prepared to be a pyromaniac who might just burn the house down.
She watched as Han Lie grabbed Aman and sprinted toward the Divine Shrine.
Aman was covered in burns, and his physical condition lagged far behind Han Lie’s. He couldn’t keep up with the pace and stumbled, nearly falling.
Seeing this, Han Lie reached out a powerful arm and hoisted Aman onto his shoulder, never breaking stride as he raced toward the Divine Shrine.
“My thanks, Squad Leader Han.”
Aman was not short, and his long limbs dangled over Han Lie’s shoulder. He had barely spoken a few words when he felt half the sky go dark.
The unique sulfurous and putrid stench of the Yong Bird surged toward them, accompanied by a wave of heat.
Black wings gathered in the air like storm clouds. This was the first time Qin Ying had clearly seen the Monstrous Beast known as the Envoy of the Hanba.
They looked like crows but were much larger, roughly the size of a small dog.
They had black feathers, but their beaks and talons were as white as jade, etched with faint, flame-like patterns.
Each one had four eyes with double pupils. As they flew through the air, the sight of those dense, shifting eyeballs made Qin Ying’s skin crawl with trypophobia.
She bit her lip and asked Han Lie, “Have you reached the spot yet?”
Han Lie was sprinting with Aman on his back. With a long stride, he leaped over a protruding rock like a hunting leopard.
The flock of Yong Birds gradually blotted out the sun. Their double pupils quivered as they spotted Han Lie racing across the white jade disc.
Amidst a chorus of raspy shrieks, several Yong Birds tucked their wings and dove toward the ground in a predatory stance.
Their beaks were fused with their skulls, and their sharp talons were like daggers, capable of easily piercing a human skull to gouge out the eyes.
Aman lay helplessly on Han Lie’s shoulder, watching the flock dive. In a gesture of loyalty, he threw his arms wide, trying to shield Han Lie’s back.
Just then, he felt a sudden jolt as Han Lie leaped, landing atop the two-man-high stone steps in front of the Divine Shrine.
Aman heard Han Lie reply, “We’re here!”
Here? Before Aman could process the thought, a wave of heat hit him, accompanied by a pungent fragrance.
The sky, which had been completely obscured by the black wings of the Yong Bird flock, was suddenly torn apart by a brilliant crimson hue.
It was fire!
Aman stared blankly at the sky as the cloth strips covering his face began to give off a scorched smell.
In the air, the flock of Yong Birds was ripped apart by heavenly fire descending from above.
The aggressive birds turned into individual fireballs, tumbling from the sky.
The heat stung Aman’s face, and his heart hammered against his ribs as he saw the heavenly fire rushing straight toward him.
Just as he thought his life was over, the air cleared. The sight of the raging inferno vanished, replaced by the sight of shimmering white stone pillars.
At the critical moment, Han Lie had carried him behind the stone pillars of the Divine Shrine.
The flames swept past them, leaving a layer of black soot on the white stone.
Aman’s throat felt parched, and he swallowed hard several times.
Han Lie set him on the ground. Aman gasped for air for a few moments before offering his thanks with a slight sob in his voice.
Compared to Aman, whose soul was deeply shaken by the miraculous sight of fire tearing through the heavens, Han Lie was in better shape. He had been focused solely on escaping, so he was merely physically exhausted.
He reached out a hand to pull Aman up, asking with concern, “Are you alright?”
“I-I’m fine!” Aman was panting harder than Han Lie, even though he hadn’t run far. “Divine fire… the Supreme Deity has sent down divine fire.”
He raised his arm and sniffed himself, suddenly becoming excited. “The divine fire even has a fragrance. The Supreme Deity is truly refined.”
Even if the scent was a bit pungent.
Qin Ying looked at the lemon-scented Insecticide in her hand and remained silent for a moment.
Han Lie took Aman’s words seriously and leaned in to sniff him.
However, all he could smell was the stench of Aman’s sweat.
Setting aside the two fools hiding behind the pillars and making up their own little dramas, the ground outside the White Stone Divine Shrine was covered in the charred remains of Yong Birds.
The vast majority of the flock had been incinerated by that wave of fire. Even the few that hadn’t been burned to death had their feathers singed off, falling to their deaths on the ground.
Once the black smoke finally dissipated, Han Lie and Aman poked their heads out to look. The sight of the charred corpses carpeting the ground made their skin crawl.
After offering their thanks to the Supreme Deity, the two men headed into the Divine Shrine.
From her perspective, Qin Ying could only see the white stone roof of the Divine Shrine. She felt a pang of regret and wanted to forcefully pry it open, but after poking it twice with her Barbecue Tongs, she realized the shrine was made of a single, solid piece of stone that was incredibly sturdy.
With no other choice, she could only listen to Han Lie’s verbal broadcast.
Stepping inside the Divine Shrine, Han Lie and Aman first saw a long Stone Path. This path showed no seams at all; it was paved from a single, massive slab of stone. It looked like a ritual imperial way, but it was far too wide to be intended for ordinary people.
On either side of the Stone Path stood several Giant Cauldrons carved from the same white stone. Each Giant Cauldron was nearly four men tall.
Han Lie’s expression shifted slightly as he walked up to one of them. Outside the Divine Shrine, there had been some Sandstone Lines drawn in the shape of a beak-like mouth. Han Lie had torn a piece of his sleeve to wrap some of the material up; now, comparing it to the Giant Cauldron, he felt his suspicions confirmed.
He reported to Qin Ying, “Supreme Deity, the Sandstone Lines on the ground outside are made of the same material as the Divine Shrine and the Giant Cauldrons within it.”
Turning to Aman, he said, “Aman, give me a boost.”
Aman interlaced his fingers in front of his stomach. Han Lie stepped into his hands, using the momentum to leap high and grab the rim of the Giant Cauldron.
After seeing what was inside, Han Lie’s breathing hitched.
Outside the box, Qin Ying grew anxious when she didn’t hear him speak. “What’s in there?”
She wished she could just stick her head inside to see for herself.
Hearing her question, Han Lie answered in a dry, raspy voice, “Inside the cauldron is… a person. One of the Giant Species.”
The white stone cauldron was like a circular Coffin. Inside sat a mummified corpse with long limbs and deathly white, waxy skin, huddled with its knees drawn up. Judging by the size of the skull alone, the corpse was massive-nearly twice Han Lie’s height-with horn-like protrusions on its forehead.
“These giants… they are sacrifices.”
The ritual of Cauldron Sacrificial Burning had been practiced in Great Xia for ages. Han Lie recognized it instantly; this ritual of cooking people in cauldrons was a form of sacrifice. However, it differed from what he knew; the sacrifices sitting in these cauldrons were far rarer and more precious.
Han Lie climbed up to check the cauldrons one by one. Every single one contained a member of the Giant Species. If one looked closely, the marks of slaughter and tanning were clearly visible on the white, waxy skin of these giants. They were all posed the same way: sitting cross-legged, facing west, and looking up at the sky. They had been deliberately placed this way after death.
Han Lie didn’t touch the giants. After returning to the ground, he mimicked the posture of the sacrifices, turning west and looking up at the ceiling.
Aman, who was standing guard nearby, didn’t understand what he was doing, but he didn’t lose focus or interrupt Han Lie with questions.
A moment later, he heard Han Lie say in a strained voice, “These sacrifices… they are also looking up at the Deity.”
Hearing this, Aman looked up as well.
His breath caught instantly.
The ceiling of the Divine Shrine was composed of countless square stones of varying sizes. Only when they looked west and upward, just like the sacrifices in the cauldrons, could they see the pattern formed by the stones on the ceiling.
It was a pair of eyes pieced together from giant stones.
They were the clear, rounded eyes of a Child’s Eye, with a tiny red mole at the corner of the right eye. The uneven black and white stones made those massive eyes at the top of the Divine Shrine look like those of a real person amidst the shifting light and shadows.
“Is the Deity… crying?”
Aman’s mouth moved numbly as he spoke his most direct impression.
The young Deity looking down from the heavens was weeping as she watched the mortal world.