Chapter 1241
The Shepherd’s Legacy
The place was already piled high with thick, strip-like ash, as if the fan of a computer case that hadn’t been cleaned in years. Zhu Tang formed a hand seal, and a visible green breeze billowed up, sweeping and cleaning it away. As the wind blew, a golden-red radiance began to illuminate the tunnel. It was not fire, but a red gem, like an ember with a gray edge, that burned intensely. Old Ibn nodded slightly at Zhu Tang and walked in.
“What happened after that?” Haina’s curiosity was unbearable—she was eager to know the rest of the story. Becoming a Ritualist or a Curse Master… what happened next? Was the killer found? Was revenge achieved?
“If you know the effect of the Gut-wrenching Curse, you can easily guess… it must have been someone’s curse that made Ibn’s father afraid to seek a way to remove it.” Eivass patted Haina’s shoulder and said softly, “It was the Lord himself. Clearly, the Lord did not execute him directly, which means he had no evidence. This was likely an Anonymous Accusation. The Lord suspected him but didn’t want to kill him outright, so he tortured him with the curse, intending to observe his reaction. If Ibn’s father were truly ‘innocent,’ his reaction would have been like Ibn’s as a child, believing that the person who assassinated him was an Assassin from the Rebel Army. Then, by seeing how many rebels he killed, they would know how he truly felt about the matter.”
“…And if he showed mercy even while cursed, it would mean he was likely guilty, right?” Being from Avalon, Haina immediately understood the Lord’s method. But she also instantly realized the problem: “But if he endured the curse until death, wouldn’t that be the same as—” This was undoubtedly equivalent to admitting the Lord’s interrogation and attempting to turn this trial into a ‘punishment.’ — “I’m already dead, so let’s end it here.”
“Yes…” Old Ibn said slowly, “My father was indeed a valiant warrior, but he was also ignorant of politics. Or rather, he valued his own life too much.”
“That’s practically confessing. How could the Emperor stop investigating the rebels just because you chose to commit suicide?” Zhu Tang sighed, “Warriors are like this… they think too simply. Those slaves… those well-trained slaves, must have been the spies.”
“No doubt.” Ibn nodded, “When I learned the effect of the Gut-wrenching Curse, I immediately guessed the truth.” He, who was only in his teens at the time, figured this out, while his father, who rose to the position of Guard Leader, never did… this shows that studying is indeed useful.
“Mother must have also guessed the truth. So one day, without even leaving a suicide note, she secretly fled with some belongings. She never returned after that. Perhaps because Mother abandoned us, the Lord considered my sister and me uninvolved. Then he recalled those slaves. I was already living at the Academy then and rarely returned home… Perhaps because I showed exceptional talent in rituals, the Lord treated me generously. He often sent people to publicly praise me, giving me expensive ritual materials…”
Old Ibn laughed self-deprecatingly, “This was clearly a method to separate me from my friends. But I must admit, it was effective. At that time, I couldn’t tell if any of the friends who came to support me were the Lord’s spies, or if they approached me seeking the Lord’s praise. Those classmates who sympathized with the slaves were almost all separated from me… All the ritual teams at that time respected and feared me… but also distanced themselves from me and scorned me. Later…”
Old Ibn seemed to fall into a trance, “I also joined the Sand Throat sect. It was not easy.”
“Sand Throat…” Zhu Tang murmured, “I’ve heard that name before… from my friend from Anxi.”
“After all, Sand Throat has a much better reputation than the Red.” Old Ibn nodded, “The Sand Throat sect believes that if we are to overthrow the Lord’s rule, we must train ourselves to not need water. The sect meticulously grinds cactus spines and mixes them with honey to make a special drink. If one consumes this drink, scales will grow inside the throat, similar to Snake People, thereby effectively resisting thirst. The price is that one’s voice will become hoarse… They give this drink to the slaves to reduce their craving for water. The sect believes that only those who truly do not desire water can have the determination to assassinate the Lord.”
“…It’s just not being thirsty?” Protino, who was knowledgeable, felt something was wrong, “But this sounds… like it doesn’t alleviate dehydration. People die from dehydration, but it only solves the feeling of thirst.”
“Precisely.” Old Ibn nodded, admitting, “The sect cannot make people not need water, nor can they provide water. They can only offer a way to not feel thirsty… Once you accept the Sand Throat drink, you will no longer feel thirsty from dehydration. You might even die of thirst without realizing you are dehydrated. These rebels in Anxi have more or less some issues… and this is the best they could do.”
“I think this drink…” Eivass said softly, “is probably irreversible.”
“…Yes.” Old Ibn remained silent for a moment, then nodded, “After consuming the Sand Throat drink, one can no longer judge their degree of dehydration. Therefore, it is easy to die. It also contains ingredients like scorpion venom that excite and numb pain. Its meaning is to allow people to endure pain for a short period… and thus possess the will to assassinate others. The Sand Throat sect is, in reality, a sect that incites slaves to assassinate Free People or even the Lord. They also research other things, mostly to enhance the combat power of slaves, or to improve their living experience. And without exception… they are all poisons that overdraft the human body. For example, a spell that can transform human lungs into sponge-like organs—allowing them to extract moisture from the air and prevent water loss through respiration. This is the Sand Throat sect’s most prideful technology, and also the reason the Lord wants to eradicate them…”
Saying this, Old Ibn walked to the end of the secret tunnel. Unexpectedly, there was no treasure room. There was only a table, two chairs, a clothes rack, and a wooden chest. Light dimly seeped through the gaps in the wooden planks overhead, indicating that the ground level was not far. Rather than storing treasures, its primary purpose was likely for escape.
Old Ibn picked up a notebook from the table and flipped through it. “This is not a family heirloom, as my ancestors were not Ritualists. My family has been hunters for generations; I am the first to begin studying. Old Ibn said slowly, “This is the last remnant of the Sand Throat sect. Fortunately… although we were reported, my friends were still willing to believe me and kept this treasure with me.”
“What is this?” Eivass asked. Upon seeing this, Eivass suddenly froze. Because it was an ancient hand-drawn card, looking like a Tarot Card. Eivass was very familiar with the image on the card—it was the Tarot Card of the [Sun]. However, the facial part of the card was blank. The faces of the sun, the child, and the white horse seemed to have been scraped off with a small knife.
“This is an artifact left by someone who was executed by ‘White Punishment’ in history,” Old Ibn handed the card to Protino and said slowly, “A relic of ‘The Shepherd’.”
