Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1707 - 1217: A Poetry Collection, a Secret Letter, a Divination
Shadow Dagger Qiewami lowered his eyes and quietly set down the loaded hand crossbow, carefully concealing the dagger at his waist, leaving no trace of danger. Then, clad in a black robe, he silently emerged from the corner, moving to the center of the grand tent. The Secret Guard on the other side saw him, gently nodded, and signaled with his eyes.
The two maintained their silence and together glanced at God King Avit, who seemed to be asleep. They remained silent for a moment, as if patiently waiting, before Shadow Dagger spoke.
"With the protection of the Ancestors, this is a peaceful night! Escort His Highness Xiulote to the adjacent royal tent to rest... Gently, do not disturb His Highness's sweet dreams!…"
The Secret Guard nodded but did not move. Shadow Dagger Qiewami also paused, only hearing the snores of the two kings. After a moment, the two standing exchanged a glance and then cautiously approached, softly lifting Xiulote, stepping to the edge of the bonfire and into the darkness outside the tent.
The night was silent, moonlight streaming through the tent top, indeed a serene and beautiful night. After a while, in the pale moonlight, Avit sat up silently, gazing at the deep darkness outside the tent, and sighed softly.
"Xiulote, my student... You are favored by Divine Revelation! So respectful and courteous, knowing when to advance and retreat, making no more mistakes, it indeed allows you to preserve this divinity…"
The God King murmured a few words in the moonlight, his face full of complex, changing expressions. Unnoticed, Shadow Dagger Qiewami had already returned alone and was kneeling in front of the God King.
"Your Majesty, His Highness has retired to rest."
Avit gently nodded, lowering his eyes without speaking. Shadow Dagger Qiewami remained in a kneeling position, awaiting further orders.
Time seemed frozen at that moment, silent and still on the tranquil moonlit night, everything waiting. Avit poured himself another cup of plum wine, tasted the sour flavor lightly, then woefully stood up. His steps swayed, walking to a corner of the tent, picking up a book and opening it. Then, holding the wine in one hand, the book in the other, he danced ceremoniously, chanting.
"Singing while drinking wine, how much time do we have in life? ... Life at fifty years is like a dream, like foam, reaching its end in a blink! ... Who in this world can see the first moon? The bright moon in this world, where will it shine? ... I see you but cannot hear your heart. I wish to possess the moon's divinity, illuminating your soul!…"
"Departed Ancestors! We were born of the same root, boiled beans are indeed delicious, but I cannot bear to eat them! … He is the rising sun, moving toward noon. I am the noon sun, destined to move towards dusk... This world is mine at this moment, but also his, ultimately for the descendants and future generations!"
Avit sang and danced, reciting popular poetry of the Capital City. At that moment, he resembled a High Priest dancing during sacrifices or an elder of a family reciting poems in celebrations. After a good quarter of an hour, he sat down with legs apart, with a flushed alcoholic face, leaning against the table. He tossed the poetry collection in his hand onto the table, unexpectedly dropping a slip of paper from the book. The name revealed on the poetry collection was the "Poems of Xiuxoke."
"The Poems of Xiuxoke… these poems rich with life insights, featuring different characters and completely different styles, who wrote these strange poems? … These poems, do they express your heartfelt intentions, or do they come from your Divine Revelation? How much of it is true, how much is false, and who is right or wrong?"
Avit rested his hand on the poetry collection, opening his eyes, seemingly asking someone else yet asking himself. At this moment, he was full of inner conflict, with fluctuating intent to kill, yet rarely in his life, felt fear, fearing a Divine Revelator whose life and death he held in his hands!
"Chief Divine! This is the true divinity… genuine and non-illusory, the divinity that can foretell the future!"
Avit murmured to himself, reaching for the slip of paper that had fallen out. He silently gazed at the words on the paper, even though he had seen them many times last night and this morning. Yet each time he saw them, he still felt a deep shock, like tumultuous waves, almost speechless with astonishment! This was a real Divine Revelation Prophecy, foretelling the events happening at this moment four years ago!
"Urgent Secret Guard report: A fleet from the Maya Lands has arrived at Golden Bay City. With them, they brought the head of an Evil Demon, white-skinned and long-bearded, with a hideous face never seen before. Golden Bay City was in an uproar, shaking people's hearts. The Priest, nobility, and Samurai all chant His Highness Xiulote's name, loudly proclaiming the prophecy and miracle, devoutly believing in the Divine!"
Avit, silent, clenched his palm tightly, even piercing the letter, his nails deeply embedding in his flesh. Light blood seeped out, staining the slip of paper reddish. This covert message, which arrived last night, was brought overland through narrow mountain paths by the Alliance Secret Guard entrenched in Golden Bay City, all the way from five hundred miles away to the siege camp at Divine Stone City. To make sure it arrived as quickly as possible, four teams of swift messengers were used, taking only eight days…
"The prophecy of Xiulote, the white-skinned Evil Demon, truly appeared on the distant Eastern Sea!… This unprecedented divination miracle, indeed fulfilled after four years! If the Demon's head is conveyed back to the Alliance's Capital City, then southward passed to the siege camps of Divine Stone City… then a new sun, a young elder, will rise in people's hearts!"
After a long silence, Avit's heart surged fiercely, and his face rarely showed bewilderment. The news brought more shock to him than the booming cannons, making him gasp, and his body covered in goosebumps!
Because cannons are merely siege weapons, Avit could see with his own eyes how cannons are cast, how gunpowder is manufactured, and how stone bullets are shot. But the mysterious and unpredictable divination was the authentic, non-illusory divinity, the realm of All Gods forever beyond his reach! This truly is the "divinity" that astonishes the Mexica people, leaving even the God King in awe!
"Chief Divine! An ordinary Chief God Priest, if able to predict rain and solar eclipses days in advance, could make countless tribespeople kneel, and even make Samurai bow their heads in devout servitude to the Priest. And a renowned Divine Revelator, now having predicted events four years in the future, unprecedented changes, is ultimately fulfilled like a miracle!…"
Avit clutched the letter, as if talking to himself, or perhaps venting emotions. Behind him stood Shadow Dagger, Qiewami, silently listening like a true shadow. They both knew that, as the most esteemed mysterious activity among the Mexica, the sacred prophecy and divination held significant meaning in the hearts of the people of the Alliance. Indeed, it was akin to the Shang Dynasty people, facing a truly miraculous grand divination...
Once the head of the Evil Demon arrives, the name Xiulote will not only hold prestige in the Seaside Lands, but also among the Mexica, almost like that of an elder, bringing divine reverence—almost directly deified! Such terrifying prestige, especially at the obscure level and among the tribespeople and samurai, grows increasingly enormous, rivaling or even surpassing the God King!... By that time, if Avit wants to take action against Xiulote, the political cost would be too high, perhaps even causing his own ruin... Even if he manages to kill Xiulote, the power Xiulote leaves behind, combined with the Great Nobility from various places, ambitious factions within the Royal Family, could unite, using the murder of the 'divine elder' as their rallying cry to stab Avit in the back...
"By that time... the situation will become uncontrollable... rule lies in the hearts... hearts influenced by divinity..."
The long night remained silent, and Avit sat there at his desk, head bowed, like a sculpture that breathes yet is frozen. Shadow Dagger Qiewami waited for a long time, until the moon hung in the west and the darkness of the tent deepened further, reaching that darkest hour before dawn... Only then did he speak softly, gently inquiring.
"God King Your Majesty?..."
"..."
Avit did not speak. He looked at Shadow Dagger for a while, knowing what he wanted to ask yet reluctant to answer, lacking even the strength to do so. After a long pause, he simply shook his head lightly and waved him away.
"Go down!..."
"... Yes!..."
Shadow Dagger Qiewami hesitated for a moment, bowed his head in salute, then quietly exited the tent. Inside, Avit's expression turned pensive, as though he had suddenly aged, as though he had relinquished a difficult choice.
"Xiulote, my student... I'm truly envious of you! Envious of your wisdom and Divine Revelation, envious of your youth and progeny... I trust your oath, even if you do not trust me... But I know you are trustworthy! As long as you remain rooted... Even if I betray everyone, as long as you do not betray me, I will not betray you!... After all, for the future of the Royal Family, for Alisa and Xiu Hua..."
"Praise Chief Divine Vizilobositli! Ancestor Huitzilíhuitl protects! You are my ancestor, and Xiulote's great ancestor, may you bear witness!..."
Avit whispered to himself, gazing into the profound darkness, reciting the names of the Chief Divine and ancestor. At this moment, he recalled the oath with Xiulote, expressing a rare sincerity.
After all, in this era akin to the Spring and Autumn of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, in the history of the Mexica, no one has ever broken wind on the Luo River; even wars are predetermined as "Flower Battles," sacred oaths and bloodline still bloom with final brilliance like sunlight in Spring and Autumn...
The first ray of dawn rose from the East, falling into the nearby Royal Tent. On the grass mat, Xiulote suddenly rose, eyes reflecting the early light. He gripped the dagger at his waist, with sweat dampening his back, eyes filled with confusion and vigilance. Had this long, sleepless night truly passed peacefully? But what exactly happened yesterday, with Avit saying so much, testing so many times, what was his real intention?...
The young King pondered silently for a moment, then quietly rose, heading to the Eight Trigrams Flag and altar. He lit the Divine Smoke silently, inhaling its relaxing fragrance, clutching the fifty strands of kui grass symbolizing Heaven's count. Slowly, he murmured, reciting the name of the Chief Divine, entrusting his thoughts, as it all began with the Moon pyramid.
"Chief Divine bless! The Moon pyramid above... let me divine my path, reveal my future!..."
With reverent sincerity, Xiulote conducted a complete divination of the Six Lines again. At this moment, he could only seek guidance from the Divine Spirit, whether miraculous or not, no matter where the Divine Spirit resides.
"First Line Minor Yin, Second Line Minor Yin, Third Line Shaoyang, Fourth Line Minor Yin, Fifth Line Minor Yin, Sixth Line Old Yin... Old Yin changing line turns to Shaoyang..."
With the lengthy and elaborate divination concluded, Xiulote paused, observing the familiar Hexagram Image, seemingly connecting with the previous divination. His face showed bewilderment, momentarily speechless. After some time, he finally murmured under the emerging sunrise, questioning the unresponsive Divine Spirit, contemplating the already answered Heaven's intention.
"The current hexagram, Earth above Mountain below, still the Hexagram of Humility like last time? And the changing hexagram, both Mountain above and below, the Gen hexagram? What was Gen Hexagram symbolizing, was it auspicious or ominous? Alas, I can't recall... The changing of the Top Six Line from Humility Hexagram to Gen Hexagram, what on earth does it mean?"
After a long, silent pause, Xiulote shook his head. Standing at the tent's entrance, gazing towards the Eastern sun, he saw the sunlight breaking through the darkness, with the world illuminated in splendid radiance.
