Fishing Company is 20 years old. Four years have passed in the pixelated world since he invented the paddle-sailer.
Across from him, the leader, Fishwalker, had the ghost symbol hovering above his head, signalling the end of the old man’s life.
“I want to take it apart.” Fishing Company insisted.
The elderly Fishwalker was silent for a long time before replying, “That is a [gift] from the gods.”
“Those who blaspheme will be executed by lightning from the sky.”
“……”
A light bulb popped up on top of Fishing Company’s head, “Can we secretly tear down a few pages then?”
“Blasphemy is blasphemy! Tearing down a page is also blasphemy!”
The old leader stormed out, “You think the gods can bargain!?”
“Then it’s better to tear it all down.”
Not only was the old man surprised by Fishing Company’s reply, Lu Yao, who was in front of the screen, was also surprised.
This young man had always been afraid of being struck by Lu Yao’s lightning, the reason being that all his energy was on shipbuilding and he rarely worshipped the gods.
For this reason, Yu Lian was very weak, and he often suspected that the gods might find time to electrocute him.
At this time, however, Yuelian acted very resolutely.
He explained to the old leader, “Leader Shahan once wrote the first book, A Brief History of the Tribe. But that required a lot of sheepskin, and the words that could be written were few, thick and heavy.”
“But this book, which the gods have graced us with, is light and clear, and many words can be written on it.”
“The gods must have known that we could not understand the gods’ writing, and that the smartest Moromi leaders could not read it at all. It is the material of such a book that may be the treasure given to the tribe by the gods.”
The youth actively lobbied, “I’ve smelled it. The smell of the divine book is a bit like the dried dung of grazing animals, and it smells like grass ash. And it’s not indestructible, it looks thin and fragile.”
“If you soak them in water, you’ll be able to see what they looked like in the first place.”
“I think that either they are made of dried dung or grass and bark ……”
The old leader interrupted the young man, “What if it isn’t? If you think wrong, the gods willed it otherwise. What do you think will happen?”
An exclamation mark popped up on top of Fishing Company’s head, followed by his body trembling, as if he thought about what would happen if he was struck by lightning.
However, his speech was different from his body’s reaction, “If it’s wrong, I’m willing to accept the gods’ punishment. I did all these things alone.”
“You will be killed by lightning and turned into a field of black ash.” The old leader emphasised.
“I know.”
“Even so, do you still want to unwrap the Book of God?”
“Yes!”
Fishing Company showed the stubbornness and intent of youth, “This book means a lot to the tribe. If we can acquire the technology to make such a book, we will be able to spread the book into every place the tribe has travelled, just like the paddle sailing ships.”
“It would be an even more important tool than the paddle-sailer.”
“All the knowledge and skills the tribe has acquired can be passed on through a book like this. Unlike oral accounts, there will always be omissions and mutilations. It is a monument that everyone can have!”
The old leader said, “This is something that you cannot do.”
“You are too young, and just destroying the Divine Gift is enough to prevent you from living in the tribe. Even if the gods forgive, your fellow tribesmen will not forgive you, and they will blame you for every disaster that befalls them in the future.”
“……”
A saddened look surfaced on the top of Fishing Company’s head.
“So.”
The old leader said, “I’ll do this.”
Exclamation marks appeared on Fishing Company’s head.
“You’re young, you make marvellous paddle sailing ships. All of us know that in the future you will be an outstanding leader and carry the tribe on.”
“But it is too soon for you to do such things. It is better for me to do such dangerous things that have never been done before.”
“I have arrogantly gone after cave monsters, resulting in the deaths of headhunters and hunters, and I have admitted cave monsters and been cursed by all who opposed …… these breakthroughs, and I am no longer afraid.”
“I shall not live long; if the gods blame me, let them punish me with thunder and lightning.”
“The tribesmen will be far more forgiving to a man whose life is about to end.”
The fishing company said, “But ……”
“It’s settled! I’ll dismantle it, and then I’ll do whatever you say. I hope you can bring the tribe a new paddle sailing boat.”
Finally, the fishing company bowed to the old man.
“Thank you, Leader.”
The old man made his way into the temple, had a private conversation with the astrologer inside, Shahan, and took the green book in the [boon] slot.
He took the book all the way to the monument. Seeing this, the other pixelated villains followed, and soon a large crowd gathered.
“Everyone of the tribe, listen to me.”
The white-haired leader said, “This is a gift from the gods and the hope for the future of the tribe.”
“But we all thought wrong before.”
“The gods are not asking us to understand the words of the gods above, that is a power we cannot possibly recognise, nor can we touch the boundless wisdom of the gods.”
“This book that records the divine text is the treasure that the gods have bestowed upon us.”
“…… So, I’m going to disassemble this book and restore every page of the white flakes inside to their true colours! Of course, before that, I have already asked Shahan to transcribe all the words above the divine book.”
Hearing Leader Fishwalker’s announcement, the Garlic Tribe exploded.
“Objection, objection!”
“The gods’ gifts are sacred and cannot be destroyed!”
“Leader Fishing Walk, you are blaspheming the gods! Do you want to be punished by the gods’ lightning! Do you want the entire tribe to be punished by the gods!”
“Danger danger, extreme danger!”
“Leader have you gone mad? Terrible, too terrible.”
Even the highly respected hero, Fishing Away, who spoke out about dismantling the divine gifts was met with one-sided questions and opposition from the tribe members.
At such a critical moment, the caveman sorcerer Moromi stood out and supported Fishing Walk.
“Be quiet, be quiet.”
The sorcerer holding a bone staff and wearing a stone mask said, “The gods are omnipotent. I’m sure that no one will question that, right?”
The crowd fell silent.
“In that case. Gods are omnipotent and omniscient, then the great and merciful Yao God must know that we, who are small and foolish, are unable to comprehend those profound divine words in the divine books.”
“So why did God Yao bestow this profound treasure upon us?”
In a few simple words, the sorcerer grasped the power of speech.
He continued, “We cultivate food with water and clay, cut down wood to build houses, and harvest wool to weave clothes.”
“We ride camels into forests and deserts, we build boats to walk on the water, and we do what our ancestors could not imagine in the past.”
“All of this stems from the fact that God loves the world, and that God Yao blesses each and every one of us.”
“God Yao knows us better than we know ourselves.”
“He is well aware of our weakness and ignorance, insights into our fears and expectations, and witnesses our diligence and failures.”
“This divine book is God Yao’s commendation and test for us.”
“In the past, the tribe was once punished by torrential rains and hurricanes, you shouldn’t have forgotten that, right? God Yao detests laziness and slackness, and God Yao has always hoped that we, the people, could flourish like a dense forest and not be afraid of the wind and rain.”
“If we place this divine book in the temple and it can’t serve any purpose, what’s the difference between that and slacking?”
“Slacking and arrogance is what will cause God Yao to send down his thunderous wrath!”
The Cave Shaman looked at the surrounding populace, “So, who else thinks that we shouldn’t act and make good use of the gods’ gifts?”
The pixelated little people of the Garlic Tribe were silent.
Even Lu Yao in front of the screen couldn’t help but sigh.
A wonderful sermon.
Sorcerer Moromi was worthy of leading the cave monsters for many years, and his LV4 wisdom was indeed of great use.
In terms of wisdom, Fishing Walk was a bit worse.
However, Fishing Walk’s boldness to try and the courage to set a precedent was something that previous tribal leaders had never had.
