Chapter 868 Ancestral Instructions
“What do you want to say?”
After regaining the gem that she had sworn to protect until death, Carion Blackpi did not let go. She didn't seem to feel any joy even if she took a breath. On the contrary, the eyes of the patriarch lady, which were originally filled with resentment and a hint of expectation, suddenly became panic-stricken at this moment, overflowing with fear and despair.
That was the look when he discovered that the life-saving straw he had finally grasped was actually Wugenzhiping.
“I think you’ve guessed it.”
Mo Tan stood up and said softly: "We are not the culprits that caused the disappearance of your nephew, and we are not here to threaten you with the safety of the young man, although we are indeed entrusted by the Archaeologists Association to I will get the key to the ruins in your hand, but I will never use such despicable means to achieve my goal."
Carion glared at the two of them with sharp eyes, clenched the big gold chain in her hand and gritted her teeth. Said: "I don't trust you, foreigners. After knowing that your purpose is the 'key stone', every word in your mouth is unsaid."
"Face the reality, Ms. Patriarch, Your nephew has been missing for a whole day and night, and we don’t have much time.”
Mo Tan, who was always polite, interrupted Jialion in a deep voice, looking into the latter’s eyes fiercely: "Indeed, under the current situation, our 'words' may not be very convincing, but I should have proved my position to you with actions just now."
"That's it"
Jialiang wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Ji Xiaoge's soft voice.
"Ms. Patriarch, please calm down."
The girl flapped her wings twice, creating a cool breeze around Mo Tan and Jialion, and used her sweet voice to Xian Xuan Sheng analyzed: "Assuming that the 'Key Stone' you just gave to Mo is true, then we can leave immediately after getting the things. Do you think you and the two guards outside the door can stop us? "
"."
Carion was silent.
"Well, to take a step back, even now, as long as we are willing, we can definitely snatch the key stone from your hands."
Ji Xiaoge sighed and continued: "We want to follow You just discuss how to find the child quickly. As long as you are willing to continue chatting with us calmly, you will find out. Now we don’t have any unreasonable thoughts at all.”
“I”
Carion opened her mouth and was silent for a long time before her voice came out after she couldn’t find any defensible reason. Hoarsely said: "I don't want to believe you."
"You mean 'don't want'?"
Ji Xiaoge blinked and asked curiously: "Rather than really not believing us?"
Carion nodded slightly: "Yes, I don't want to believe you."
"Why ”
“Because if we are telling the truth, it means that Hog Blackpipe was probably secretly captured by us. He was not used as a bargaining chip or a hostage. In other words, he really disappeared."
Mo Tan interrupted Ji Xiaoge's question and looked down at Jialion's face, which was filled with uneasiness. ’s big face: “Under this premise, that child may encounter many real dangers that may be neither intimidation nor coercion.”
Carion was silent.
“So.”
Mo Tan showed a kind and kind smile, and asked Carion softly: “For the sake of your important nephew, can we have a good chat now? ”
“Let me ask a question first”
Carion neither nodded nor shook her head, she just raised her head calmly. Di and Mo Tan's eyes met: "If you are not lying or teasing me, then why did you do it to this extent? In conclusion, I can tell you now that I just handed the key stone into your hands. I have used up all my courage and impulse. This will never happen again, even if you risk Hogg’s life.”
"I've told you the reason before."
Mo Tan shook his head, and he and Ji Xiaoge looked at each other and smiled.
"We can't just sit idly by and ignore this kind of thing. ”
Five minutes later
The patriarch’s house, living room
"Our kobold tribe is very exclusive."
Jia Liang took a sip of the light brown tea and said solemnly to Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge who were sitting in front of her: " I think you know this, but there are actually two reasons for this situation."
Although he didn't know why the other party didn't get to the point, Mo Tan still nodded in cooperation: " All ears.”
“On the one hand, it’s because our family has been deceived by many outsiders in the past, and even now, even if we exchange things like ores for daily necessities such as food, it’s still a waste. The prices will be pushed down to very low prices by outside merchants. It’s not that those people are targeting us, it’s just that the long-term isolation makes it difficult for us to bargain with those shrewd guys.”
Jia Liang gave up helplessly. Cup, raised his hand to interrupt Ji Xiaoge who was hesitating to speak, and said calmly: "I know what you want to say, but we can't and don't want to integrate into the outside world. This is the second reason I want to say. , our tribe actually has a mission, and this mission prevents us from leaving this land.”
"Is it something like some kind of magical contract?"
Mo Tan frowned slightly, subconsciously thinking of a more supernatural contract in which the consequences would be tragic if the rules were violated.
"No, actually it's a mission. In the final analysis, it's just an ancestral precept passed down from generation to generation. It has no binding force."
Carion shrugged and drank again. Taking a sip of tea exuding a strong medicinal aroma: "But this The ancestral precepts passed down from generation to generation are still adhered to by every tribe member today, and those of us with black skin surnames play a relatively more important role."
" Is it the role of the patriarch? ”
Ji Xiaoge asked as he swayed restlessly on the seat, then took a sip of the tea from Mo Tan, and was immediately inspired by this drink that looked very much like 'medicinal tea'.
“Yes, the patriarch of each generation can only be a member of the Heipi family. If you encounter a child who has no future, you will call in some older people with a calmer personality to support you, but no matter what, , the patriarch must have the surname Heipi, which is also part of the ancestral precepts."
Jia Liang nodded slightly, and after a moment of silence, he continued: "In fact, for us. , the other identity gained when inheriting the position of patriarch is the most important."
"Another identity?"
Mo Tan was stunned for a moment, and then looked at that person subconsciously. A large gold chain was put back on Carion's neck.
His intuition told him that the so-called other identity should be somewhat related to the key stone that was said to be able to open the entrance to the ruins.
But it turns out that his intuition is quite reliable.
"Administrator."
Carion gently touched the big gold chain around her neck and said in a deep voice: "When the new patriarch inherits the position, he will also be managed. The title of "member" and the "keystone" will be passed on after the next clan leader takes office."
"What exactly does "administrator" mean?"
Ji Xiaoge tilted her head and asked curiously: "Are you trying to manage something?"
Jia Liang pondered for a long time this time before she raised her head and said seriously: "I don't know."
"Eh?" "Huh?"
Then Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge were both stunned.
"I just don't know."
Carion smiled weakly, spread her hands and said: "Because whether it is the 'administrator' or this key stone, it has been passed down by our ancestors for a long time. It was passed down a long time ago, so it is said to be the clan leader, administrator, etc., but in fact, even our Heipi lineage does not know what missions we and other clan members have to complete, we just blindly follow the rules. "< br>
Although the matriarch said it easily, Mo Tan still heard a little helplessness and unwillingness in her words. This is not difficult to understand. After all, even a Buddhist person would never I like being bound by a 'mission' that I don't even know the specific content of, and living in this kind of place for decades.
Even if it is a paradise, it will be boring, let alone this place is far from a paradise.
“Why don’t you give up this mission and integrate into the outside world? Since it was an ancestral precept from a long time ago, and you don’t even know the specific content.”
In line with the principle of asking if you don't understand, Mo Tan directly asked what was in his mind.
“Perhaps it’s because our family has done pretty well in the past few hundred years and is still loved by everyone. In addition, after living like this for too long, we have become less interested in the outside world. Although people occasionally leave and never return, most of them stay."
Carion had a complicated expression. He muttered, then raised his finger and pointed at himself: "As for those of us with the surname Heipi, who are qualified to be 'administrators', we can't leave here."
"Can't leave?"
Mo Tan’s eyes widened and he said in surprise: “Didn’t you just say that?”
"For the vast majority of the tribe, there is indeed no such thing as a magic contract."
Carion sighed, stroking her chubby hands: "But if you have black skin, People with this surname are different. As long as we leave the village for more than fifteen miles, we will die of cardiac arrest due to inexplicable reasons. Death, not only that, even if you don't go that far, as long as you leave the village, even if you are just moving around, you may suddenly disappear, and you will never come back after you disappear."
Speaking of 'disappearance'. At the word '', Jialion suddenly clenched her hands tightly, and her slightly bloated figure began to tremble slightly.
After reacting, Ji Xiaoge suddenly raised his hand to cover his mouth, turned to look at Mo Tan, and received a friend message from the latter in the next second——
'I know, this may be the reason why the black-skinned boy Hog disappeared. ’
After sending the message, Mo Tan looked away, spoke faster and asked Jia Liang: "Can you tell me more carefully?"
"Nothing detailed, I have already said everything. "I said it."
Jia Liang shook his head with a dejected expression, and said with a trembling voice: "We don't know why, but those of us who are the so-called 'administrators' may behave strangely as long as we leave the village. Missing, and never seeing a person alive or dead, never coming back. Although the probability of this kind of thing is not very high, there have been ancestors who didn't care about this kind of thing at all and wandered outside all day long without losing it. But this kind of thing still happens occasionally. For example, the previous patriarch, my younger brother, Hogg’s father Balsion disappeared ten years ago and never came back. How many times did Hogg’s mother go to find him? However, during the last search, I accidentally strayed into the territory of the night viper. Only a scarf full of poisonous blood was left behind."
Carion could not say any more, she buried her face in her palms. Li sobbed softly.
The depressing atmosphere lasted for a long time.
In the end, Mo Tan was the first to break the silence and whispered: "So rather than that little brother Hogg accidentally running outside the village, do you prefer that he was kidnapped by those of us who were targeting the key stone? ?”
“Hogg is a good boy”
Carion blew her nose hard and said with red eyes: “And he is my only one. I don’t want to lose him in any way.”
Ji Xiaoge took a deep breath, gently patted the matriarch’s back with her white wings, and said with a smile: “I You also have a family that you cherish very much, so I understand how you feel. Leave that child to us to save.”
“You.”
At this point, Carion had basically given up her doubts about the two of them, but she still shook her head vigorously and said in a hoarse voice: "It's useless. If it were someone else, even if there was an accident, at least they would be found. Corpses, but only people of our black skin lineage will never come back as long as we don’t return to the village properly, even you”
“It’s always good to have more strength. "
Mo Tan interrupted Jia Liang categorically and said in a deep voice: "If possible, I hope to get one or several of Hogg's personal belongings. One of my partners has a very good sense of smell. , maybe we can find some clues.”
“But.”
“In any case, it’s better than doing nothing, isn’t it?”
"."
Five minutes later
Carion returned to the reception room holding a few pieces of dirty-looking clothes, handed them to Mo Tan, and said with a pale face : "Then, please."
"We will do our best."
Mo Tan did not boast about Haikou and make any guarantees, but calmly nodded after taking the things. nodded.
Probably because they wanted to ensure the 'original taste' as much as possible, some of the clothes that Carion brought did not smell like they had been washed. In addition, kobolds generally did not pay attention to hygiene, so the taste could be said to be quite bad, but no matter what Neither Mo Tan nor Ji Xiaoge frowned.
"Even if you can get Hogg back, I will not violate the ancestral teachings and give you the key stone."
Carion forced a smile.
“Hmm, can you provide us with some valuable reference advice?”
Ji Xiaoge, who had put his goggles back on, wrinkled his nose and looked cute. .
"We'll talk about it then. By the way, take this."
Carion shrugged, and then suddenly threw something like a potion bottle to Mo Tan, which contained a dark red liquid.
“This is.”
“Don’t ask, I don’t want to say it.”
“Okay, then we’ll leave first.”
"Well, thank you."
"You're welcome, bye, Madam Patriarch."
Pa—!
“!?”
“Ahem, I can’t help myself, I can’t help myself.”
Chapter 861: End
(End of this chapter)