Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

Most of the ruins are buried under the yellow sand, and the exposed parts are the roofs of the buildings.In front of Violet is a high tower that should be buried in the ground, and the sculpture is the spire of the tower.

It was a statue of a warrior.

Although the wind and sand had worn away its edges, Violet could still tell that it was a mighty warrior.It holds a golden sword from the Western Regions, a white cloth cap on its head, and soft armor on its body.It was carved with runes, had lizard scales around its neck, and had sharp, reptilian eyes.

The warrior's name was "Purgatory Avenger Mokrit", and he was one of the gods of the Western Regions.He is the cursed god, the hunter of hell.When there are evil spirits escaping from hell, he will come to the world to catch them.However, he is also a ghost himself. In order to gain strength, he constantly eats the flesh and blood of evil ghosts.According to the Earth King Sutra of Lord Seven Colors, when Mokrit eats enough of three thousand evil spirits, he will become the biggest evil himself.At that time, the desert will be flooded, and the flood will purify him, and Mokrit will become a god again and continue his mission.

Violet looked at the statue of the god, wondering what age it was an antique.At this time, she saw that there was still half a doorway under the sculpture.There should be a pavilion under the spire, and only half of the door is exposed after the yellow sand is submerged.It was very windy outside, and Violet wanted to go inside to avoid the wind.Before the slave owner rings the bell, she can move around as she likes, as long as she can rush back within three rings.It wasn't far from here, and she had time to run back.

She walked into the doorway, which was so low that she had to bend down to get in.

It's so dark in here, she thought.

The space inside seems to be quite large, almost the size of a bedroom.But Violet didn't dare to go in, so she sat at the door to shelter from the wind.After sitting for a while, she felt a chill down her spine—there was a dark and unknown space behind her, and she always felt that something was watching her there.

She said to herself: Don't scare yourself, Violet, what can there be in this desert?The only thing... is death.

death.

She shivered.

I've got to get out, she thought, and there's nothing wrong with blowing some air.

However, just as she was about to leave, a faint sigh came from behind.

At that moment, Violet's scalp exploded, "Who?" She turned her head sharply, but only saw the darkness.Violet swallowed, thinking: Maybe it's just the wind.

But the wind was outside, but the sound came from inside.What's more...the sound was too much like a human sigh.

Is there a living person here?Someone alive has been staring at me from behind?Violet trembled all over, what did he want to do?

But after thinking about it, if the other party was hostile, he would have done it just now, and he wouldn't wait until now.

Perhaps he was a wrecked traveler?He didn't have the energy to speak, only sighed - if that's the case, then I can't just die.

Despite the difficult situation, Violet's conscience is still there.She thought to herself: I can bring him to the slave owner. As long as the traveler pays, the slave owner will be willing to save him.

Violet mustered up the courage to walk into the darkness, and she said as she walked, "Sir? Ma'am? Could you please say something? Are you in danger? I am a slave of the caravan, and I can save you."

Gradually, her eyes adjusted to the darkness.Vaguely, she saw a person sitting in the corner.

"Excellent, sir? Can you hear me?"

The other party didn't move or speak, as if he was dead.

Violet took another step closer and asked, "Sir? Ma'am? Are you still alive..." After she asked this, she felt the hairs all over her body stand on end—if it was a dead person, who was sighing just now? ?

At this time, there was the sound of bricks and stones breaking overhead.

I don't know if it was due to the strong wind, but a brick on the roof of the ruins cracked.The setting sun came in, and this ray of sunlight fell right on the man's face.

It was a shriveled face.

It was a mummified corpse.

sand three

sand three

The mummy had been dead for a long time, the skin was stuck to the bone like paper, and the eyes had become two black holes.Those two black holes stared ahead, watching Violet.

Violet's teeth were closed tightly in fright, and she couldn't breathe.She stepped back step by step, and when she reached the third step, her feet became disobedient.Her legs gave way, and she fell into the yellow sand with a plop.

The pupils of the mummy seemed to be staring at her, and the black holes seemed to have some kind of magical power. Violet was extremely frightened, but she couldn't move her eyes away.

Violet has heard those terrible legends, it is said that there will be blood-sucking mummies in the desert, and ghouls with sharp claws.Mummies don't have blood, so they drink blood; ghouls don't have hearts, so they crave human hearts and livers.The mummy in front of me has nothing, does it want to eat me up?

But the more she thought about it, the more her body couldn't control her.She just sat face to face with the mummy.There was only one thought in my mind: I was going to die.

But after waiting for a long time, the mummy did not move.

Gradually, Violet's fear disappeared.After all, the thing in front of her was just a corpse. Violet had seen many corpses, so she was not afraid of this thing.

So she walked up boldly.Violet has a habit, the more she fears something, the more she wants to know.If the unknown is kept forever, the fear will never go away.

This time she took a stone in advance, and if the mummy really made any moves, she would use this to smash the head of the corpse.Zombies are slow and stupid, and their dehydrated bodies are actually fragile.Violet thinks she can handle it.

Violet approached the thing, first hitting it several times with small stones.The mummy remained motionless, and Violet became more courageous, and she came to the mummy.

She said, "No offense intended, sir, but you are dead. You must have arrived at the sanctuary of Lord Seven Colors, so why are you frightening me?"

The corpse wouldn't answer her, of course, but Violet already had some sort of answer from him.

There is a book under the right hand of the corpse. The book is open, and his index finger is placed on the book.

It was a scripture book made of special papyrus paper, which was expensive and would rot when exposed to water, but it could be preserved for a long time in the dry desert.

The place where the index finger is pointing is a scripture. Violet doesn't know many characters from the Western Regions, but she happens to be able to understand this sentence.

"The Lord of Seven Colors chose me."

I?

She went to get the book and wanted to take a closer look at the words on it.But when she picked up the book, the pages instantly turned into dust.Then she saw a dagger crouched under the book.

Violet picked up the dagger and looked at it.That is no ordinary dagger, it is a sacrificial vessel used in religious ceremonies.It's sharp, strong, and has beautiful magical runes.This thing looks like it could be worth a lot of money.

Shall I hand him over to the slave master?She thought to herself, it is a sin for a slave to keep it private, and if the slave master finds this knife on me, then I will be in trouble.

Just as she was hesitating, a voice came from behind.

"Ma'am, what are you doing?"

It was Ariheth, the boy with the blue eyes.

"I'm relieved." She made an excuse.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see anything!" The boy was still a little ashamed, and turned around quickly.

Violet took this opportunity to hide the knife in her robe, which she fastened with a belt.Then she went out the door and said, "Turn around, it's all right."

The young man said embarrassingly: "I didn't expect you to... have some manners. I see those people are showing their bodies in the open, and they don't have any shame."

Maybe you will be like this in a few days, Violet thought.

The blue-eyed Ariheth paused for a moment, then said, "Ma'am, shall we run away?"

"What did you say?" Violet narrowed her eyes, "Don't let the grown-ups hear this, or it won't be as simple as eating a whip."

The welts on the boy's face were still bright red, and the wounds had not yet healed.

"I think this is an opportunity, you see, we have no shackles."

Yes, a few days ago, the slave master took off the shackles of the slaves, Violet thought to herself, because some people were worn out by the shackles, and the wounds were inflamed and festered.The slaves are going to be sold soon, so they have to look good, otherwise they won't be sold at a good price.

However, the slave owners were not worried about their escape, because these people had been starved for several days before taking off the shackles.Their rations were halved and then halved, and everyone was so hungry that they couldn't stand up—if they didn't have the strength of a camel, they couldn't survive in this desert.

"We can't outrun a camel," said Violet. "And there's no place to hide here. We'll have neither water nor food, and we'll starve to death in the daytime."

The clever boy said to her, "We can take a camel. There is water and dry food in the camel's saddlebags, enough for both of us to eat and drink. We ran until the oasis—"

"Then he will be caught as a slave by others." Violet pointed to the tattoo on her face.

"Ah..." The young man also touched his tattoo, he was silent for a while and then began to cry, saying, "Is there no other way?"

Violet shook her head.

"Maybe we can run north..."

"Don't the Northerners take slaves?" Unless we can make it to Mustang in the Baylands, but what are we going to do all the way?We have no supplies, so we can't get out of the desert at all.

"us……"

At this time, the slave owner began to ring the bell, and the slaves must gather within three rings, otherwise they would be treated as escapes.Violet and Ariheth hurried to the ringtone.As soon as Violet left, she heard a loud noise from behind, shaking the sand under her feet.She ran and turned her head, only to see that the ruins she had just lived in had collapsed, and the statue of Mocrete, the Purgatory Avenger, was also shattered into stones and sunk into the sand.

Violet froze for a moment, feeling an indescribable strange feeling in her heart.

The second the bell rang, they ran.

Fortunately, they were not far away, and they just arrived when the third bell rang.The slave owner nodded and said: "As long as you are obedient, you can be sold for a good price. Then you can meet a good master and start a happy life..." Then it was the same old rhetoric.What about buying yourself, becoming a free man, buying land and getting married... In the end, the slave owner himself felt boring, so he stopped talking after a few curses.

The slaves were then asked to kneel around the fire and sing together the opening hymns of the Earth King Sutra and Heaven King Sutra.An old coachman took the lead in singing, and the others followed.Singing and singing, they sang that sentence.

"The Lord of Seven Colors has chosen you."

chose you?Violet was a little confused, but what I read in that book was clearly: Lord Seven Colors chose me.

Lord Seven Colors... chose me.

I?

She touched the dagger at her waist, and a thought surged in her heart like a poisonous snake.

sand four

sand four

They camped at the ruins at night.The slaves slept outside after sweeping the caravan, for the master master had to sleep in a compartment for himself.There he would make a soft bed, lie on high pillows, and sleep until dawn.

Violet, these slaves are going to sleep outside.That night, the starry sky was bright and the evening breeze was cool.The sandstorm did not come to them, but the north wind blew the clouds away, exposing the light of the stars and the moon.

People always have a lot of thoughts when they look at the sky, and violets are no exception.She thought of the days when she was at Sister Amilo, and she thought of the old Sister's big rough hands and gentle smile.

"You must live well, child, if you die, Mammy will be sad." Mammy once said to her, "Lord Seven Colors is kind, you are such a good person, you will not suffer forever."

I must live.

Since Sister Amilo left, Violet has strengthened her belief.She doesn't live for herself, but also for Mammy.If she ended her life hastily, Mammy would be sad.

So what should I do?

She remembered the words in the Earth King Sutra: Lord Seven Colors chose me.

She clenched the dagger at her waist, she thought to herself, I have a knife in my hand, the slave owner is not on guard against me, I can find a chance to...

But what opportunity am I looking for?

Just a knife is not enough, I need to bide my time.

Time passed day by day, and nothing changed.Endure the hot sun and endless wind and sand during the day, and the cold ground at night, eat dry food like stones, and drink water mixed with sand.A slave died yesterday. The man was not sick, but died suddenly.Everyone thought he was asleep at first, and no one called him. It was not until dinner at night that people found him dead.

It was a thin, skeleton-like woman, about 30 years old.Ariehus was ordered to carry her body out of the car.After carrying the corpse, the young man said to Violet that the woman weighed only a few catties with her bones, and they were as painful as firewood on her back.

This evening, they camped again at a campsite.But this time was different from usual, the coachman leading the way and the slave owner were arguing with a map.Violet heard a few words, as if they had gone the wrong way.The slave owner insisted on going west, while the coachman said it should go north.Later the mercenary captain joins the fray, saying that the convoy is going in circles.

"We must have been cursed by the devil." The old mercenary leader said, "Walking around, we will eventually return to this dune."

Violet didn't understand such things—even if she did, she wouldn't be able to get in the way.That's when the blue-eyed Ariheth came up to her and whispered to her, "Ma'am, something terrible may have happened to us."

Violet nodded and said, "We may be lost."

"It's worse than getting lost." The young man swallowed forcefully, and then coughed out a few grains of blood-stained sand. "We have encountered a living sand dune."

"What is a living sand dune?"

The young man said in a low voice: "I heard my father talk about this kind of thing. It is said that it is the devil in the desert. Aren't we running around the sand dunes? Actually, it's not that we went the wrong way, but the sand dunes are following you. "

Violet was very surprised and asked, "Why did Sand Dune follow me?"

The boy quietly pointed to the sand dune and said, "Because there is a devil bug under the sand dune. This bug is as big as the legendary whale. Have you ever heard of a whale? It is a big fish that only lives in the sea. It's like a castle. This worm is as big as it is, as big as a castle! It crawls underground on a load of sand dunes, covering itself with sand. It will keep chasing you, making you think you are going in circles. In this way, You will doubt your own direction and start to really circle in the desert. When you are exhausted and exhausted, the bugs will crawl out and swallow you up..."

Violet shook her head and said: "This is too stupid. No matter how big a bug is, it can't move the entire sand dune, and if it really crawls underground, it should form a raised track. It's just like a fish swimming in shallow water. More What's more, this barren land doesn't have much food, and it can't accommodate such big bugs to survive. The reason why whales are huge is because there is plenty of food in the ocean. Although the desert is like an ocean, it is not an ocean after all."

"You know a lot." The boy sighed.

"I know very little, I only know the surface. If I really know as much as a scholar, then I will take us out of this ghost place."

The boy nodded and asked, "Then tell me why Sha Dun followed us?"

Violet looked at the dune, she thought for a moment, and said: "I think the dune is not moving, we are lost, and something underground is interfering with the compass. At this time, we can only rely on the sun and the moon to tell the direction; the second possibility is, The dunes are really moving again, but not because of the bugs, but…”

what is it then?Violet thought about this question.

Yellow sand was flying all over the sky, and the hard wind slapped the sand on her face.As long as she doesn't move for a while, her hair will be filled with sand.

"The wind," she said, "this wind is weird, it keeps turning around us..." Violet looked up at the sand dunes, thinking, could it be the wind?

Violet looked up at the sky and saw the clouds forming a strange swirl-like shape.She had never seen a cloud like this.Could it be that the wind is circling around us?Because the wind has been following us, so wherever we go, where does the sand pile up?

She regretted that she didn't let his wife teach her some things like sky observation. Forest witches are good at this kind of thing. They can tell when it's raining by looking at the clouds, and when it's sunny by blowing the wind.