Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

"That……"

"My lord, do you still want to ask?" He interrupted Hai Wen.

Haiwen hesitated for a moment, "If it's not convenient for you to say, I don't have to ask."

"My lord, if you want to say who is the most mysterious in this town, I'm afraid it's not me, it's you." Fassnut said while putting on clothes, "You suddenly changed your personality, and then changed Mustang Town in just one month. For days, people are making myths about you, saying that you are possessed by the gods, or that you are the incarnation of the gods who save the world. In comparison, I am just a little policeman with stronger strength and weirder appearance."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I want to say that although you are mysterious, everyone still trusts you." He put on the last clothes, "So I also want to keep a little mystery, my lord. The fewer people who know about me, the better, because it is different from It is related to the disaster that the people of the Gulf most fear."

Haiwen has never experienced the so-called catastrophe, and he doesn't have any knowledge about it in his mind. He couldn't help asking, "What exactly is the catastrophe?"

Fassnut sat on the chair, with an inexplicable sadness in his eyes.The look in Fassnut's eyes made Haiwen inexplicably feel that this little guy is about sixty years old, and he is an old man who has experienced vicissitudes of life.This illusion disappeared as Fasnat opened his mouth, because his voice still had a green feeling that had just changed.

Fassnut said: "The so-called catastrophe is caused by the devil from the second era. My lord, have you read "Reincarnation and Destruction"?"

He first heard the name yesterday at Great Charles'. "No," he said.

"Then let me start from the beginning." Fasnat stood up and walked to the French window, facing the dusk outside the window.The setting sun was blood red, shining on the young man's pale face, reflected in his icy blue eyes, red, white and blue interlaced in the cold, like an oil painting drawn by a sad painter.

"According to scholars, there was a great and brilliant civilization tens of thousands of years ago. Let's call him a demon. Everyone in this civilization has supernatural powers, and even children can use all kinds of magic. It is said that they are no longer Confused by basic necessities of life, their material life has been absolutely satisfied, and everyone is living in heaven."

"But I know they are destroyed." Haven said.

Fassnut nodded sadly, as if he was a demon refiner, "Yes, it was destroyed. Why was it destroyed? Scholars have put forward various reasons, such as war, conflict of beliefs, and divine punishment , or all kinds of natural and man-made disasters... Ha!" He sneered disdainfully, "It's all nonsense. Will a civilization that has no worries about food and clothing become extinct in this way?"

"Maybe, maybe a certain mage slipped his hand and pressed the switch of the Great Forbidden Curse, and a big fireball blew up the whole world." Haiwen recalled the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, "A powerful civilization wants to destroy something, that is Easy."

Fassnut nodded thoughtfully, and said: "Your statement is also very reasonable, but I think Master Dara Kasha's inference is the most correct."

"Who is that?"

"A crazy scholar with stitches on his face, the high priest of the ancient god sect." Fasnat continued, "Master Dalakasha said that refining demons is destroyed by the loss of faith."

"What? Lost faith?"

"Yes." Fassnat said, "The material is satisfied, but the spirit is empty. The philosophy of refining demons has entered a dead end, and people have begun to lose themselves. Fools are addicted to drugs, and wise people continue to think of a way out, but in the end they find that they have no way out. , everything is absurd and nothingness, there is no difference between searching for the stars in the universe and searching for hot sauce 20 years ago, so the desperate alchemists destroyed themselves. They burned the fire of nothingness and swallowed the whole world."

Haiwen didn't know what kind of civilization this was, but he couldn't help imagining the era of demon refining following Fasnat's words—it must be an era of advanced technology and a high degree of human civilization. They eliminated all disputes, After solving the material contradictions, there will be enough time and thinking about the meaning of existence.Just as the Three Questions of Philosophy were bothering Haven Ambside, the great demonic civilization has also fallen into this endless abyss.exist?Why does it exist?What is the point of everything?He didn't know what answer the great philosophers of refining demons finally gave, but the answer must be nothingness and despair.Desperate like a black hole in the deepest part of the universe, desperate like a water molecule in the dark deep sea, desperate like a white dwarf star that burns out billions of light-years away...Desperation is enough to destroy an incomparably great Civilization, let them kill themselves.

"What does this have to do with the catastrophe?"

"Yes." Fassnut sighed.At this moment, the setting sun had already set, and the last afterglow swept over his face, which could no longer hide the desolation and paleness on his face. "Not all the members of the refining demon committed suicide. They also left behind a very small number of warriors with firm beliefs to complete their last will."

Haiwen asked: "What is the legacy of a civilization that attributes everything to absurdity?"

Fassnut said: "There is no will, but there are instincts. Human beings have to eat when they are hungry, sleep when they are sleepy, and have sexual desires to mate when they are old; this has nothing to do with thoughts and feelings. And alchemy has a The second instinct is the convergence of beliefs and the spread of ideas. In the eyes of demon refiners, this kind of thing is the same as the breeding of races, because they believe that the breeding of races is not bounded by blood, and as long as the thoughts converge, then this person becomes a 'Refining demons'. It is said that this "convergence of belief" is deeply rooted in their souls, and has become the same instinct as eating and sleeping. Relying on this instinct, they left behind warriors with firm beliefs, and let these people avoid Other civilizations go their way - that's where the catastrophe comes from."

"You mean..." Haiwen was terrified by the thought that popped up in his mind, "The devil wants to spread the idea of ​​destruction and absurdity to us? So there is..."

"A catastrophe." Fasnat said looking at the darkness outside the window, "The remaining demon warriors are sleeping underground. When new civilizations emerge, they will wake up from the ground and spread the idea of ​​demon refining to these civilizations— — Absurdity, nothingness, destruction.”

Hearing this, Haiwen couldn't help asking: "I heard that the catastrophe is when the devil comes out of the ground to kill people—so the method of spreading demons is killing?"

Fassnut said: "That's not the case, it's just that their thoughts have deteriorated. Most of the warriors with noble thoughts died in previous battles. These last warriors have experienced the two eras of tree elves and water men, and now there are very few. Most of the remaining refining demons have gone mad in the darkness for tens of thousands of years and have become real devils."

Hearing this, Haiwen asked, "Why do you know so much about a civilization that has been destroyed for tens of thousands of years?"

"It's because of this terrible disaster." Fassnet pointed out an oil lamp and held it in his hand, "My lord, it's getting dark, do you still want to ask?"

"Since I've already said this, then you can finish it-by the way, go to my house and tell me, I just entertained you. You have worked hard, but I haven't thanked you properly yet."

Fassnut pondered a little, "It's better to be respectful than obedience, my lord. As I said in advance, I don't drink alcohol. I'm only 15 years old and I'm underage."

Haiwen froze for a moment, "Okay, okay." He nodded repeatedly.

They left the Yizheng Hall, locked the door, and walked on the path in the evening.At this moment, people on both sides lit up the lamps, and the smoke filled the air, and the smell of toast filled the air, as if waving to them; there were bursts of shouting and laughing in the tavern, and the sound of drinking and having fun seemed to reach the sky.Haiwen couldn't help but think: How beautiful this life is, why does alchemy destroy everything?I, an ancient person, really don't understand.

As they walked, Fasnat said: "The civilization of refining demons is the most developed among the four epochs, far superior to the barbaric Sheng Gu, stupid water men and mediocre tree elves. After they existed, they were full of interest. 100 years ago, some scholars lobbied the nobles and raised funds to form a religion of alchemy worship. This is the ancient god sect that my father and I believed in. Later, the ancient god sect began to study disasters and refining demons. Fundamentalist believers in ancient gods worshiped refining demons as gods and communicated with them in a peaceful manner to gain knowledge; The research method of the blood faction is also very simple, simple and rude." Speaking of this, the young man stopped, wondering what he was thinking about.

However, Haiwen couldn't help asking: "What method?"

The young man looked up into his eyes and said in a deep voice, "It is to capture the devil and then torture him to see what he can say."

Chapter 90: Grandmaster

Chapter 90: Grandmaster

"Hahahaha..." Haiwen let out a dry laugh, he probably already guessed the follow-up plot.The catastrophe started 100 years ago, and it is estimated that it was also when these bullshit scholars started to catch the devil.This is obviously the death of human beings - the devil is living a good life, and you insist on arresting him for research.

"My lord, I guess you have guessed it." Fassnat smiled wryly, "This may be the first time someone dared to capture the missionary who practiced demons, which led to fierce resistance from the demons. The catastrophe 100 years ago, The dead bodies in the bay were piled up on the coast, and the bones were piled up into tall towers. The Fiend Sect is indispensable for this matter. Fortunately, the devils have lost most of their power after countless years of weariness. These once glorious refiners The magic warriors forgot about magic and most of their beliefs, and only had a strong body and a beast-like fighting style. So the four principalities joined forces and wiped out the disaster. It is said that the battle damage was as high as five hundred to one. In other words In other words, one demon warrior can slaughter five hundred soldiers."

Hai Wen sighed: "Kill five hundred people? I'm exhausted."

At this time they had already arrived at the gate of the house, Hai Wen asked the boy to go in, and then Hyacinth and Violet came up to greet them.Violet hung up Fassnut's coat, and then led him to the restaurant first.Haiwen said, "Fasnat, I'll come just to say hello to the housekeeper." After that, Hyacinth helped him change into home clothes, and he went to find the housekeeper.

When Delaire heard that Fassnut was coming, he said, "My lord, let me entertain him with you. I also want to hear his opinion."

Haiwen thought for a while, and then said to the butler, "Now this little guy only believes in me. If someone else is present, he may not necessarily tell the truth. Especially...you." He smiled wryly, "Dreyer, Mustang Most people in the town are wary of you. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Yes! There is no way! After all, I have done the most wicked things, and you have done all the good things."

Haiwen just laughed dryly, unable to speak.At this time, the butler continued: "How do you know that he only believes in you? My lord. The smiling face cat obeys you because he is a ranger, and he only obeys you when you do benevolent things; including the forest witch and those in the Yizheng Hall." , is to admire your talent—but you said this little thing, why is he? Anyway, I have lived for more than forty years, I can’t figure it out.”

Haven couldn't figure it out either, but his life was saved by Fassnut, and he didn't think Fassnet would conspire against him—at least at this stage, Fassnet needed his power to accomplish something , and vice versa. "Maybe we'll understand after this meal is over," he said to the housekeeper.

"Okay, it's up to you."

Afterwards, Haven had dinner with Fasnat, and as a show of courtesy, he invited Isrit to accompany him. "This is my wife." He and Fassnut introduced, "There is nothing to hide between us, so I invited her to come."

"I have seen Madam." Fasnat stood up and saluted.

Isrit hadn't spoken a few words to this young man before, and she was still very unfamiliar, so she panicked after seeing him salute like this for a while. "Ah... hello." She hesitated whether she should get up to return the salute, and what kind of salute, but at this time Fasnat had already sat down, and was asking the waiter next to him about the tableware and wine glasses.Estelle also sat down on her seat, as if she had completed her etiquette.

"How old is he? Is he older than me?" Isrit asked in a low voice.

Haven replied: "Just 15 years old."

"Ah." She whispered, "Then he is really..." When she said this, her expression suddenly froze, and then she glanced at Haiwen's expression, and then stopped talking.But Haven already guessed what she wanted to say.He suddenly felt a little inferior - I was a young man in his twenties before crossing over, not to mention how handsome he was, but now he was a 30-year-old bald man, alas!

Then the servants served wine and food, and the three of them prepared to eat first.Today's meal is mostly sweet, including honey cake, beet soup and the sweet roast chicken that Gerrit is looking forward to.Both Haven and Estherite had a general feeling for sweets, but the blue-eyed boy opposite him ate a lot.However, although he has been eating, he has always behaved gracefully. His father must have taught him the etiquette that a knight should have.

After eating for a while, Haiwen asked, "Fasnat, now we know about the catastrophe, demon refining, and the ancient god sect. I am very grateful that you can tell me so much."

"I just said some things in the books, but that's all I know." He put down his knife and fork, "My lord, do you know about the catastrophe three years ago?"

"There was a catastrophe three years ago?" Haiwen's eyes widened.But at this time, Estherite said: "Well, I know, there was one time in the sewers of Thunder Castle in the Gulf three years ago. But I heard that it was suppressed soon, and not many people died."

"Yes, not many people died." Fassnet raised his head with a half-smile, his expression made people uncomfortable, "About sixteen died, and my father was among them." Hearing this, Yi Sriter exclaimed and apologized to Fasnat, but Fasnat just shook his head lightly, expressing that he didn't mind.

"My father was injured. He developed a high fever after returning home and died. And then..." He looked at Haven, "That's the matter of me joining the town guard. All I know is here, my lord .”

Haiwen also roughly figured out the context of the matter, he stopped asking, and then talked about other things with Fassnut.They then chatted about farmers' associations, production, and various agricultural policies.Fassnut had read a lot of books in the past, and he had traveled around the entire Gulf with his father, so he was well-informed.They didn't know how to talk about the water witch doctor. Fassnut said to him: "Master Grando was rescued by members of our sect back then, and he also received the favor of my father, so I can talk to him." He can talk. Didn't we talk about the hospital before? As long as you can keep him, I can invite him. "

"What does it mean to keep him?" Hai Wen asked, "Did this old witch doctor offend someone?"

Fassnet nodded and said, "Yes."

"Who offended?"

"Offended the Earl of Pinewood - Lauren Schild."

count?How could an old witch doctor offend the count? "How did he offend?" Haven asked.

Fassnut raised his eyelids and said, "He killed the son of the Earl of Childe."

Chapter 91: Many Difficulties

Chapter 91: Many Difficulties

Haven and Estherite looked at each other, and then asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know the specifics. I only know that Master Grando was a well-known miracle doctor ten years ago. Later, he went to see a doctor for the earl's son and said that he had killed the man. The earl accused him of murdering the son of a nobleman. He issued a wanted warrant against Master Grando in name. Our people helped him when he was hunted down. Since then, Master has remained anonymous and rarely comes out to see patients."

Haiwen thought about this matter, and thought to himself: Doctor Water Witch is indeed miraculous. If he can be invited, the people of Mustang Town will be blessed.And if I can let him open the door to accept disciples, then I will have many water witch doctors, which is of great significance.

Haven said: "We can give him a new look, and it's been so long, I think...the limelight won't be so tight."

Fassnut's face was serious, "My lord, you should think about it. Earl Lauren only has one son, and the pain of losing a son may not disappear after ten years."

"But I can't let a miracle doctor who can bring the dead back to life live in seclusion in the mountains because of this kind of thing. He should come out to save the lives of the poor. I also want him to train students for me and save more lives." Haiwen pointed his finger He knocked on the table and murmured, "I can make him change his face, or sit behind the curtain to see the doctor. If something really happens, I will send him back to the mountain. If anyone asks about the crime, I will say that I don't know anything about it."

"That's fine." Fassnut stirred the cooled beet soup with a spoon, and said, "It's getting late, my lord, I should go."

Before leaving, Hai Wen told Fassnut that he planned to invite him to live in the house. He showed Fassnut a look at the house. The boy nodded and said, "I have no relatives and no reason. It's the same wherever I live. I'll move over tomorrow to salute."

After sending Fasnat away, Haven and Isrit returned to the room.Haven told her about Fasnat's affairs before, and she said after hearing it: "I have to wait for Master Gerrit to come back and ask her about it. In the Gulf, everyone shouts and beats them. These people are the chief culprits of the disaster!" She raised her voice, "Mr. Gerrit told me more than once that the Blood Sect of the Fiend is a plague in the Gulf. !"

Haven said: "But Fasnat has nothing to do with that sect."

Estherite said earnestly: "If people think he has something to do with the blood of the ogre, then it's over. I have seen three times of 'suppressing ogres' in 17 years, and people used wooden sticks to impale 'evil cultists' Nail them to the ground—who knows what sect they belong to? As long as people recognize him as a monster, he is a monster. My lord, you must be careful about this."

"I will. Today's affairs must be kept secret, Isrit."

"Yes, my lord."

On this day, Hai Wen went out to practice, go to work, and arrange various government affairs as usual. In the afternoon, he went to the school of the Sea God Temple with the old Ramon, and popularized various knowledge to people.When get out of class was over, he conducted a surprise test to examine the learning status of these people.Of course, the result was terrible. There were less than 100 people in the whole class who came to learn agricultural knowledge, and only a dozen of them could pass.A group of people came to complain to Haiwen, saying that the things they learned were too difficult to remember.

Haiwen felt quite helpless, these people were basically illiterate, how easy is it to teach them knowledge?However, among them there are a few with excellent grades, and Hai Wen singled out these people.Among them is Steve Johnson, whose daughters were sick and owed a lot of debt.His grades are the best, if the hundred points system, he can get ninety points and above.So Haven appointed him as a teaching assistant for old Ramon, and asked him to teach him some knowledge. It was already December, and Haven wanted to finish his work this winter.

In the evening, when he returned to the Council Hall, Jon and others came to report to him, saying that the first batch of laborers had been organized to go up the mountain to cut firewood, and the other orders had been sent down, and the serfs had moved into the collective dormitories one after another.Hai Wen said some words of praise, and then decided to go to the collective dormitory of the peasant association in a few days to take a look.Later, little Ramon came to him again and told him that some people from Linzhen and the surrounding countryside came here these days, and he selected some literate and clever people to use.Now the number of clerks in the Yizheng Hall has increased to 40, which is enough for the time being.

After a day of hard work, he returned home and had to accompany his wife and children again. After dinner, he went to chat with Master Cat to help him relieve his mood.However, as soon as he arrived at the door, he heard someone talking inside. He saw through the crack of the door that Little Mill was sitting on Mr. Cat's bed to shave him. The two joked from time to time, and the little girl would giggle for a long time.So Haiwen didn't go in, but gently closed the door and left.I think this daughter is really right, he thought to himself, with Mirsalu by his side, the smiles on Master Cat's face also increased.

When he returned to the house, he saw Isrit, Hyacinth, and Violet were all there. Isrit was sitting on a chair in loose pajamas with loose hair, talking to Violet about girls; She was dressed by a maid, but she took off her head scarf and gloves, and also took off the pair of pinched leather shoes, and sat near the stove to warm her feet; Hyacinth wore the same style of pajamas as Islet, she Lying on the bed with her calves up and down, she is currently reading a certain novel with concentration.Beside her was a bowl of candied fruit snacks, and the maid dress she had just replaced was piled up on the floor. The shoes were placed one after the other, with blackened white socks stuffed inside.

The stove was burning blazingly, driving away the cold air, and the laughter made the atmosphere even warmer; there was a sweet and greasy smell in the room, and there was a faint smell of girls' sweat.

They've made it their home.Hewen felt extremely relieved, he had always wanted this way, he hoped that Hyacinth and Violet could let go of the past, treat this place as their own home, and live a comfortable and casual life; he hoped that Estelle would treat these girls and sisters , treat each other as girlfriends, not masters and slaves.

He walked in, and Islet greeted him, and Hyacinth yelled indifferently: "My lord, you are back." Violet looked very embarrassed, and hurriedly hid her bare feet under her skirt, and then went to put on gloves Wear a headscarf.Haiwen hurriedly said to her: "It's okay, Violet. Just treat this place as your own home."

"But I..." She hesitated, at this time Essraet also came to comfort her, and Hyacinth jumped out of the bed and said, "It's okay! Even if I roll around on the ground, adults won't say anything about me." Listen At this point, Haiwen glared at her, and she stuck out her tongue mischievously at Haiwen, and then laughed.

Violet nodded, then let go of the restraints on her body, and sat back to her original position.At this time, Haiwen sat by the bed, took a dried fruit from Hyacinth's fruit bowl, and ate it, and then told the girls about what he saw Mirsalu in the cat's house just now.Esriette told him that Mirsalu always went to Smiley Cat's to play recently, and they all encouraged her to go.

"It's good." Haiwen told them, "I'm afraid that Master Cat will have a heart attack if he lies on the bed for a long time. With Little Mir, there will be no problem."

Then they said some trivia.Hyacinth and Haven complained that the shoes were too crowded and wanted to change to cloth shoes. She said to show Hewen her red toes and ankles that were squeezed by the shoes; then she said that the room below was too cold , the old woman who does the laundry is always red with cold hands, and said that there are always homeless children begging at the door of the house. She wants to give away some leftovers, but it is far from enough...

Haiwen listened patiently to her complaints, and he felt that Hyacinth really wanted to do something hard.Although she is still fiddly, she is really working hard.

Later, Violet told him about the school, saying that the children were very smart and willing to learn, but the parents in their family felt that studying was useless, so it was better to go home and farm.Today, Violet had a fight with a stubborn parent, who was an alcoholic, and wanted to let the child go to work to earn him some money for drinking. "I almost got into a fight with him, but the police were alerted before the scene was stopped." Violet still looked sullen when she said this, "What a bastard dad! If you want to drink, you can ask for it yourself, why bother my students. "

The idea that reading is useless is common even in modern society, let alone this barbaric age?Haiwen said to Violet: "You did the right thing. When I come back, I will send you two more policemen to maintain order in the school for you."

Later, Haven talked to Yisruite about the pests and diseases of rice in the south. "Gerette said that her poison has nothing to do with those little beetles." Haiwen said helplessly, "The rice in the paddy field is a vital part of production, and we still have to figure out a way."

Estherite thought for a while and said, "Sir, we have brought back samples of this kind of worm, and a small part of it is kept in the pool on the first floor. Would you like to have a look?"

"This..." Haiwen thought to himself that he didn't study this matter. He didn't understand biology or agriculture, so it was useless to read.But he thought about it again, if he had no idea, let alone rely on others.So he said, "I'll take a look tomorrow, maybe I can get some ideas."

After talking about this, it was getting late, and everyone dispersed, and each went to wash and rest.The next morning, He Wen still got up early, and he went to the pool alone to look at the small crustacean that Essraet had mentioned, and found that it was not an insect, but a kind of snail.He vaguely felt that he had seen this thing before, but he couldn't remember it for a while-oh, this is also a troublesome thing!

After that, he went to drill the police as usual, and when he opened the door, he saw three people wandering around the door.One of these three people is an old man in his 60s with a face of vitiligo; An overalls full of pockets, with a panicked face.

Isn't this his three carpenters who repaired the overturned car?Haiwen was taken aback, and asked, "What did the three of you do here early in the morning? Could it be that the car overturning has been fixed?"

The old man was alright, the two younger ones exclaimed when they heard Hai Wen's words, and the younger one almost knelt down in fright.Then I saw that the old man bowed, then lowered his head with bitterness on his face, and said:

"My lord, this overturned car, we... probably... can't get it out!"

Chapter 92: Please Artisans

Chapter 92: Please Artisans

Hearing this, Haiwen's mood immediately fell to the bottom - this is really an embarrassment early in the morning.

That car rollover is very important to him, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the lifeblood of the northern countryside.There is no shortage of small rivers and brooks around the farms in the north. The problem is that the water cannot be diverted, and it is too late to dig canals. Moreover, many fields are built at high places, and the canals alone cannot attract water. This can only be done by overturning cars.

"What went wrong?" Haven asked the three craftsmen.

The three of them looked at each other, no one said anything, and they all shrank back.Haiwen said with a straight face: "You!" He pointed at the big man, "It's alright for the elderly and children to be afraid of me, but your tall and burly man shrinks back, what do you mean?"

The man was provoked by Hai Wen, his face became tense, and he shouted: "Who said he was afraid of you? It's just... we don't know what to say about this."