Chapter 1 preamble
In the quiet valley of ignorance, people live happily.
The Eternal Mountains meander in all directions, east, west, north, south.
The stream of knowledge flows slowly along the deep and broken valleys.
It originated from the barren hills of the past.
It disappears into the swamp of the future.
This creek is not as turbulent as a river, but it is more than enough for the villagers with shallow needs.
In the evening, after drinking the livestock and filling the barrels, the villagers sat down contentedly and enjoyed the family happiness.
valley of ignorance
The conservative old people were helped out, and they spent the whole day in a shady corner, thinking hard about a mysterious ancient book.
They babble strange words to their children and grandchildren, but the children are thinking about playing with the beautiful stones brought from afar.
The meaning of these words is often vague.
However, they were written a thousand years ago by a tribe that is no longer known, and are therefore sacred and inviolable.
In the valley of ignorance the old is always revered.
Whoever denies the wisdom of the ancestors will be neglected by the honest and gentlemen.
So, everyone gets along well.
Fear is always with people.What should anyone do if he does not receive his due share of the fruits of the garden?
Late at night, in the narrow streets of the town, people whispered vague stories of the past, of men and women who dared to ask questions.
These men and women then went away and never came back.
Others have attempted to scale the rocky walls that block the sun.
But they lay dead at the foot of the stone cliff, with many bones.
Days and months pass by, year after year.
In the quiet valley of ignorance, people live happily.
It was pitch black outside, and a man was crawling. The nails on his hands were frayed. His feet were wrapped in rags, soaked with blood from the long journey. He stumbled to a nearby thatched cottage and knocked on the door. Then he passed out.By the light of a fluttering candle, he was carried into a hammock. By morning, the whole village knew: "He's back." Neighbors stood around him, shaking their heads.They understand that such an ending is doomed. For those who dare to leave the foot of the mountain, what awaits him is surrender and failure. In a corner of the village, the conservative old people shook their heads and poured out vicious words in a low voice.
lone wanderer
They are not cruel by nature, but the law is the law.He violated the wishes of the conservative old man and committed a heinous crime.
Once his wounds are healed, he must stand trial.
The conservative old man wanted to be lenient.
They did not forget his mother's strange shining eyes, and recalled the tragedy of his father's disappearance in the desert thirty years ago.
However, the law is the law after all and must be obeyed.
Old-fashioned old men are its enforcers.
The old-fashioned old man carried the wanderer to the market area, and people stood around respectfully, in silence. The rover was still weak from hunger and thirst.The old man asked him to sit down. He refused. They ordered him to shut up. But he insisted on talking. He turned his back to the old man, and his eyes searched for the like-minded people who had not so long ago been like-minded.
new home
"Listen to me," he pleaded, "listen to me, cheer up, all! I have just come from the other side of the mountain, and my feet have set foot in fresh soil, and my hands have felt the touch of other peoples , my eyes saw a wonderful sight.
"As a child, my world was just my father's garden.
"Already at the creation of the world, the boundaries of the garden were established on the east, south, west, and north.
"Whenever I asked what was hidden beyond the border, people shook their heads and booed. But I wanted to find out, so they took me to this rock and showed me the bones of those who dared to defy God. .
"'Liar! God loves the brave!' I cried. Then the old old men came up and read to me their holy books. They said that God's will has determined the destiny of all things in heaven and earth. The valley is our Yes, we are in charge, and the beasts and flowers, the fruit and the fish are ours, and we do what we will. But the mountain is God's, and we shall know nothing of what lies beyond it until the end of the world.
"They are lying. They have deceived me as much as they have deceived you.
"There are pastures on the hills over there, the pastures are equally fertile, men and women have the same flesh and blood, and the city has been carefully crafted by skillful craftsmen for a thousand years, and it is dazzling.
"I have found a road to a better home, I have seen the dawn of a happy life. Come with me, I will lead you there. God's smile is not only here, but also elsewhere."
He stopped, and there was a terrible roar from the crowd. "Profanity, this is blasphemy against the sacred." The conservative old man shouted. "Give him the punishment he deserves for his crimes! He has lost his mind and dared to mock the laws laid down a thousand years ago. He deserves to die!" People lifted heavy stones. People killed this rover. People threw his body at the foot of the cliff as a warning to those who dare to doubt the wisdom of their ancestors and kill them as an example.
Not long after, a catastrophic drought broke out.The babbling brook of knowledge dries up, the cattle die of thirst, the grain withers in the fields, and the valley of ignorance is full of hunger. However, the conservative old people did not lose heart.They prophesied that all would turn out to be safe, or at least the holiest pages were written that way. Besides, they are so old that a little food is enough.
Winter has come. The village was empty and sparsely populated. More than half of the people have passed away due to hunger and cold. Those who are alive place their only hope on the other side of the mountains.
terrible winter
But the law says, "No!"
The law must be obeyed.
One night, a rebellion broke out. Disappointment gives courage to those who suffer through fear. The conservative old people struggled feebly. They were pushed aside, complaining about their fate, and cursing the ingratitude of their children.However, when the last carriage drove out of the village, they stopped the driver and forced him to take them away. In this way, the journey to the strange world begins.
Many years had passed since the wanderer returned, so it was not easy to find the path he had blazed. Thousands of people died, and people stepped on their bones before they found the first road sign piled up with stones. After that, the journey was a little less difficult. The careful pioneer had set fire to a wide avenue through the jungle and the endless wild rocks. It leads people step by step to the green pastures of the new world. Everyone looked at each other silently. "At the end of the day he was right," the people said. "He was right, the conservative old man was wrong... "He told the truth, the conservative old man lied... "His body is still rotting under the cliff, but the old-fashioned old man is sitting in our car, singing those old songs. "He saved us, and we killed him instead." "We do feel guilty about it, but if we had known then, of course..." Afterwards, people unharnessed the horses and cattle, drove the cattle and sheep into pastures, built their own houses, and planned their own land.For a long time after that, people lived happily again.
A few years later, a new mansion was erected as the home of the Wise Old Man, and the bones of the brave pioneers were to be buried in it. A solemn team returned to the deserted valley.However, the foot of the mountain was empty, and the corpses of the pioneers were gone. A hungry jackal had already dragged the corpse into its burrow.
commemorative stele
A small stone was placed at the end of the trail of the pioneers (which is now a road), and the name of the pioneer was engraved on the stone, the name of the man who first challenged the darkness and terror of the unknown world, and he led people to new freedom.
It is also written on the stone that it was built by the descendants who came to thank the court ceremony.
Such things have happened in the past, and they are happening now, but in the future (we hope) they will not happen again.
valley of ignorance
It was pitch black outside, and a man was crawling. The nails on his hands were frayed. His feet were wrapped in rags, soaked with blood from the long journey. He stumbled to a nearby thatched cottage and knocked on the door. Then he passed out.By the light of a fluttering candle, he was carried into a hammock. By morning, the whole village knew: "He's back." Neighbors stood around him, shaking their heads.They understand that such an ending is doomed. For those who dare to leave the foot of the mountain, what awaits him is surrender and failure. In a corner of the village, the conservative old people shook their heads and poured out vicious words in a low voice.
lone wanderer
The old-fashioned old man carried the wanderer to the market area, and people stood around respectfully, in silence. The rover was still weak from hunger and thirst.The old man asked him to sit down. He refused. They ordered him to shut up. But he insisted on talking. He turned his back to the old man, and his eyes searched for the like-minded people who had not so long ago been like-minded.
new home
He stopped, and there was a terrible roar from the crowd. "Profanity, this is blasphemy against the sacred." The conservative old man shouted. "Give him the punishment he deserves for his crimes! He has lost his mind and dared to mock the laws laid down a thousand years ago. He deserves to die!" People lifted heavy stones. People killed this rover. People threw his body at the foot of the cliff as a warning to those who dare to doubt the wisdom of their ancestors and kill them as an example.
Not long after, a catastrophic drought broke out.The babbling brook of knowledge dries up, the cattle die of thirst, the grain withers in the fields, and the valley of ignorance is full of hunger. However, the conservative old people did not lose heart.They prophesied that all would turn out to be safe, or at least the holiest pages were written that way. Besides, they are so old that a little food is enough.
Winter has come. The village was empty and sparsely populated. More than half of the people have passed away due to hunger and cold. Those who are alive place their only hope on the other side of the mountains.
terrible winter
One night, a rebellion broke out. Disappointment gives courage to those who suffer through fear. The conservative old people struggled feebly. They were pushed aside, complaining about their fate, and cursing the ingratitude of their children.However, when the last carriage drove out of the village, they stopped the driver and forced him to take them away. In this way, the journey to the strange world begins.
Many years had passed since the wanderer returned, so it was not easy to find the path he had blazed. Thousands of people died, and people stepped on their bones before they found the first road sign piled up with stones. After that, the journey was a little less difficult. The careful pioneer had set fire to a wide avenue through the jungle and the endless wild rocks. It leads people step by step to the green pastures of the new world. Everyone looked at each other silently. "At the end of the day he was right," the people said. "He was right, the conservative old man was wrong... "He told the truth, the conservative old man lied... "His body is still rotting under the cliff, but the old-fashioned old man is sitting in our car, singing those old songs. "He saved us, and we killed him instead." "We do feel guilty about it, but if we had known then, of course..." Afterwards, people unharnessed the horses and cattle, drove the cattle and sheep into pastures, built their own houses, and planned their own land.For a long time after that, people lived happily again.
A few years later, a new mansion was erected as the home of the Wise Old Man, and the bones of the brave pioneers were to be buried in it. A solemn team returned to the deserted valley.However, the foot of the mountain was empty, and the corpses of the pioneers were gone. A hungry jackal had already dragged the corpse into its burrow.
commemorative stele
Such things have happened in the past, and they are happening now, but in the future (we hope) they will not happen again.