Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 913: The Righteous Ritualist
Narcissus Principality, Protagoras Territory, suburbs.

It was not until the evening of April 7 that Aiwas and his party finally returned to the manor villa rented by Master Chongbo.

After escaping from the ruins of the Tower of Babel, the first person to regain his vitality was Drifter.

He brushed off the ashes on his body, skillfully took off his shredded clothes and burned them, and then put on a spare leather vest in front of everyone. Then, as if nothing had happened, he invited others to go for a walk around the area, go to a nearby village to spend the night, and wait until tomorrow to return to Base Port to officially hold a celebration banquet.

It was as if the person who was cut in half by the Fallen Angels and resurrected just now was not him.

But the others tactfully rejected his proposal - after all, this trip was really tiring. And they had a lot of high-value items with them, so it was better to go to a truly safe place as soon as possible.

So, with the blessing of Aiwass, the group ran quickly towards the city.

Not everyone brought spare clothes and armor, so they could only slightly distribute their clothes and wear weird coats that didn't fit them and rushed through the crowd.

Every once in a while, they would stop and collectively check if their belongings were still there under the command of the wanderer - this was to prevent any important belongings from being lost or stolen on the road, and they didn't know when they were lost. Every time they would run again after confirming that everything was correct.

With great difficulty, I managed to run back to the villa before the sun set.

Kitty rushed into the bathroom to take a shower immediately. After Sine once again thanked Professor Bard earnestly, he hurriedly changed back into the spare robe he had placed in the villa and began to clean Professor Bard's robe with magic.

Master Chongbo disappeared immediately after entering the room. However, the monk Mu was still in good spirits. He and Baike went to cook some simple meals.

Monks are not vegetarians - even ascetics do not mean they have to starve and become emaciated.

They just have some special precepts. For example, don't lie, don't commit adultery, don't kill, don't steal, don't slander others behind their backs, don't be arrogant, don't be stingy and greedy, don't be hypocritical and jealous. But in terms of specific daily behavior, there are not many restrictions.

For example, when eating meat, monks can only eat meat that they "do not see", "do not hear", and "do not doubt", because the number of offerings is three - specifically, it means they have not seen the slaughter, have not heard the cries, and do not doubt that the animal died because of their motive of eating meat.

It seems that Mu was in charge of cooking in the original temple, so he had good cooking skills and worked skillfully and quickly.

He quickly prepared a table of simple, delicious and nutritionally balanced meals.

The craftsmanship of encyclopedias is more subtle.

As a dream monk who travels alone around the world, he usually acts alone. Therefore, he needs to at least take care of his daily life... and because the weather on Horus' side is too hot, they lack priests dedicated to the Way and doctors adapted to the Way, so even a minor illness like indigestion may trigger a chain reaction and easily take a person's life.

They prefer to make food into a paste that is easy to digest, eat it with a spoon, or spread it on hard bread. The temperature and humidity of Horus' environment are not suitable for the fermentation of dough, so they rarely eat leavened bread.

Zhu Tang closed his eyes and sat with Aiwass.

They sat side by side in the yard, facing the setting sun in the distance.

“…It feels like a lifetime ago.”

Zhu Tang closed his eyes tightly and sighed softly: "I never thought that I would be able to see and hear such things during this long journey away from home..."

He went to the ancient Parthia simply because he was bored at home and wanted to participate in the Dark Night Festival.

As a result, because he meddled in other people's business, he was forced to experience a thrilling adventure in Anxi, and was forced to flee westward to a place he had never been to. Although he was able to learn a language in a short period of time, it was also assisted by rituals, but more of it came from his intelligence.

"I have traveled west through so many countries, met so many friends and enemies, encountered wars, conspiracies, and rebellions. But never has it been more dangerous and shocking than this time... I am so moved to tears just by surviving." Zhu Tang made a solemn vow in Taichu language: "If one day I can return to my hometown safely and not be punished by Your Majesty... I will definitely record everything I have seen and heard along the way in a book. It would be a pity if these fantastic stories were lost."

"Then you'd better follow me closely, Mr. Zhu - by the way, do you like this kind of danger and excitement, or do you not like it?"

Aiwass asked casually while playing with the emerald green octagonal gem "Stone of Eden".

Zhu Tang thought about it for a moment, then shook his head helplessly and replied, "It's better than rotting at home. I've enjoyed all the glory and wealth in this life. I'd rather die in a big event than to wither and decay like a quiet tree in a remote countryside."

“In this life…”

Hearing this, Aiwass put away the Stone of Eden in his hand and asked with a smile: "Mr. Zhu, you don't even have grandchildren yet? At this age, you're going to end this life?"

"I have four children... the youngest is almost an adult."

When Zhu Tang talked about his family, his tone became gentle.

The homesickness is as mellow as sweet wine. Even though he was looking at the sunset and the cup was filled with water, his words were as erratic and intoxicated as if he had drunk wine: "My eldest son is much older than you, Your Holiness. He just had some trouble with me and stayed in the army and didn't come back. Of course, it may also be that I urged him to get married too hastily... But the other party is Her Royal Highness the Princess, how can I let her wait too long...

"Your Majesty always likes to be angry with me, but he is very good to my children. My second son is also an official in the court. He has the same upright character as me, but surprisingly he is not annoying. When I was exiled, they were all left in the capital. Only my daughter and youngest son came back with me...

"My youngest son likes reading very much, but he always likes to read books mechanically. I don't like his rigid way of thinking. At such a young age, he acts like an old-fashioned person, citing scriptures to teach me. So I took him to catch crickets, fish, and fly kites. At the beginning, he could still hold it together, reading seriously and pretending not to look at me. Later, he couldn't help it and failed, hahaha..."

Zhu Tang laughed so hard that he even shed a few tears.

He rubbed his eyes - and only then did Aiwass realize that there were wrinkles at the corners of Zhu Tang's eyes.

This old wizard should not be very old, but his aging is very obvious.

——The ritual actually has a price, and that price is life.

In other words, it was not a price... but the wear and tear on the body when performing the ritual. It was like carrying a heavy load that one could not bear, or being too hungry, too full, or too indulgent... Accepting a great power far beyond one's ability for a long time would naturally shorten one's lifespan.

But for the average ritualist, this problem is easy to solve.

Whether in Avalon, Star Antimony, or even the ancient Parthian Empire, there is a ritual of killing other lives to repair oneself. Even human lives are not required, only living, vigorous young animals are needed, such as calves or lambs.

——But Zhu Tang had never used such a ritual.

Rather than integrity... this is probably closer to "stubbornness".

He always kept his eyes closed, probably because the ritual engraved in his pupils was too life-shortening.

That's why, after he was resurrected by Aiwass, his steps were so relaxed... at least much lighter than when he left.

It was because after he came back to life, all the remaining problems were fixed by Aiwass!

It was precisely because his many physical pains were relieved and he suddenly relaxed that Zhu Tang missed home so much. If it were normal, he would probably have spent too much energy just to endure the pain and put on a smile.

(End of this chapter)