Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty Nine

Anna Maya couldn't help sweating when she saw such a splendid Vico palace building standing on a rock protruding from the sky.She clearly remembered what happened last time. There was no one in the castle, and then she was attacked by Guyappa, and then imprisoned. She was threatened by Gonzalo, and even pressed his cold dagger against her skin.Jia Boye seemed to have imagined her fear, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, giving her warmth and strength. "Don't tell me to leave you again," he had whispered to her once.For so many days, his words have been branded in her heart, and they have always echoed in her heart. Even when a certain terrifying image kept haunting her, these words appeared in her heart again and again.The corpse of Juli Okoro in the basket was about the size of a baby, and looked as if it had been dried and trampled on, but its face was still intact despite being drifted for so long.A beautiful face was placed on top of a trampled corpse, no matter how cruel and vile it was.

They carried the horrifying corpse onto a sedan chair made of reed grass and branches, and then set off for Vico, taking a few soldiers with them. What happened to make Manco's most beloved woman die like this?Who had this horrifying idea, was it absurd or punishment to let her drift with the water?Why did the man think her body would be found and brought back to Manco? Manco!Anamaya could not help but writhe with grief at the thought of how much pain he would suffer.No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't protect the young Inca girl from this catastrophe, and she still couldn't predict what happened next.

Despite the difficulty of moving forward in the forest, they still kept vigil every night and offered sacrifices to comfort Juli Okoro's soul in the other world.They burned coca leaves and begged Mama Kira to protect her soul and escort her through the arduous journey to another world.Once Anna Maya was surprised to find that Jia Boye put his hands together, closed his eyes, and raised his head to face the forest like a canopy covering the sky. "What are u doing?" "I'm praying to a God I don't believe in." "If you pray to him, doesn't that mean you believe in him?"

"I pray for her, may her soul rest in peace." Ana Maya didn't ask any more questions, but in the agony, it dawned on her like an epiphany: She and the cougar would never be separated again, neither war nor gods would separate them. At this time, they had already reached the wall of the palace with fifteen white marble beams as the entrance. Anna Maya caught a glimpse of some soldiers coming forward, holding spears in their hands. When these soldiers recognized Anna Maya, they immediately respected her. approached to salute. They passed through the narrow gate leading to the top of the hill, where a unique quadrangular compound was built, consisting of a royal palace and fifteen surrounding buildings.The soldiers looked serious and led them silently to the inner courtyard in front of the palace, where Manco was standing.

When entering the palace, Anna Maya subconsciously tightened Jia Boye's hand. "Where have you been?" Manco's voice pierced through the fragrant orchids of the inner courtyard.In a large alcove there is a mountain lion captured from the forest and locked in a bamboo cage to fight the beast. Manco ignored the porter who placed the basket at his feet.He stared at Anna Maya and Jia Boye with sunken eyeballs.All the servants, soldiers, generals and concubines bowed their heads in silence.An atmosphere of fear even passed through the stone. "We've been staying at the confluence of the Vilca Mayo and Vilca Bamba rivers," Ana Maya replied.

There was a certain unending calm in her voice that made Manco uneasy.He turned his eyes away and looked at the basket at his feet. "What did you bring?" he asked. Anamaya approached stoopingly, with the admiration everyone should pay to the One and Only King.When she opened the wicker basket, she was silent. Manco's eyes suddenly froze.The mouth is slightly opened, as if the breath in the chest is rushing out.Then he sank to the ground, then knelt down and grabbed the edge of the basket. A roar pierced the sky and went straight to the sky. It didn't sound like a human roar.There were no words in the shouts.It was a wounded animal, howling with pain that pierced its heart.Everyone in the inner courtyard couldn't help but shrink back, trying to make themselves disappear.During these wandering days they were often frightened by the wrath and sorrow of the only King.However, what they hear today far exceeds what they see these days.

As Manco gradually regained his breath, his body shook.He held Juli Okoro's face in his arms and held it high in front of him as he walked along, dragging her limp body along with it, dragging away their past nightly pleasure.He still roared endlessly. Ana Maya reached out to him, trying to soothe his neck, which was tensed and bent from howling with rage.But when her fingers were about to touch his skin, he snapped away, as if her fingers were going to burn him. "Manco..." She called out in a low voice, as if she was speaking to herself, and she didn't expect the other party to hear it.

He didn't cry, just like a storm howling and thundering at night, shaking everyone's heart. "no no!" The first word he uttered did not ease his pain, soothe his sorrow.His words were like beasts howling from his mouth. "no no!" Until now, all he expressed was resistance, resistance to submission, resistance to loss, resistance to being forced into a desperate situation, resistance to giving in, and resistance to experiencing this cruel moment; but the resistance again and again only turned him into a group of hungry beasts. His prey, but his life is like a mace, with extreme anger and arrogance tied to the spinning end.

Manco's men left the inner courtyard one by one, timidly hoping not to be caught by Manco.They hid quietly in the corner, their indifferent faces sweating coldly with fear. Only Ana Maya stayed where she was, squatting facing him, watching him roar endlessly, only a little softer than before. Jia Boye touched Anna Maya lightly, and she responded with gentle eyes, after which Jia Boye also backed away.Anna Maya turned her attention to Manco again. "Manco," she called softly again. She looks at Manco.The young Inca king now looked like an old man—his body and face had grown older and tired, even more so than that of King Vanya Capac, who had accompanied her.And at that time, King Vanya Kapac already knew the secrets of the Empire, but Manco knew nothing and did not want to know.His eyes were sunken deep into his face as if he had been beaten, and the deep wrinkles were trembling.Dull skin was a dusty patch.

"Manco..." He elbowed himself up slightly, then stopped still. "I don't...I can't..." But only in front of Anna Maya, he was willing to let the bitter and helpless tears he had accumulated due to failure and despair pour out of his eyes. At night, the inner courtyard was crowded with people again.Although the rain began to fall, Manco still did not move half a step.He let Ana Maya dress him in the most beautiful clothes, and on his head was the feather that symbolized the king, swaying faintly in the mist.A beautiful concubine brought a silver plate full of food to him, waiting for the king's unspoken order.

"Say it," he said. Overcoming his stomach-churning fears, the dwarf tried to reassure himself that his life had been taken from the moment the great King Vanya Kapac found him in a pile of blankets. "Two women from my lodgings in Ukai reported something to me, and the only thing you must know, king." "Then what are you waiting for?" "One and only king, I fear this secret is too heavy for you." The dwarf's serious tone spoke forcefully and frailly.Everyone present was afraid that Manco would be furious again when he heard what the dwarf said, but all they heard was a long sigh from his thin lips. "Now tell me!" He pointed to the basket and said, "You are not the only one who knows your secret." "Governor Pizarro has received your request for peace, and sent you back a horse, a black servant, and other precious gifts. It just so happened that your general intercepted the messenger who was escorting the gift, And thought it was good for you, and killed the horse, the black servant, and the other servants. Those who escaped ran back to the Governor General to complain, and the Governor was very angry." Anna Maya felt sweat dripping from her neck and Anakori's skin like raindrops.But she dared not act rashly like everyone else. "He took Juli Oquero, and let his brother Gonzalo, and then his ministers, and other Spanish soldiers, and even Indians allied with them rape her. When her thighs were stained They gave up blood and semen. Then they ordered her to be executed." Hearing these words from the dwarf, Jia Boye felt terrified and felt cold from the bottom of his heart.He still remembered what the Governor had said, and he put his hands on his shoulders, acting so emotionally—all the days he had been so close to the Governor made him feel nauseous. Manco didn't look at the dwarf, or anyone.He looked at the night that had come, at the snow on the high mountains in the distance, and at Mount Apu, which could no longer protect him. "Juli Okoro distributed her jewels and possessions to the Inca women who were by her side. She had no anger or resentment. All she asked was that when she died, they would put her in a basket and let her float with the river. And flow back to you." A quiet silence reigned in the inner courtyard, save for the deep voice of the dwarf. "She herself had a cloth band over her eyes, given to her by one of my women; Juli Okoro hugged her and thanked her. When they were about to execute her, she said these words—hereafter I say May my heart be eaten alive by a cougar if there is any falsehood in her words. She said, 'Take your wrath on a woman! A woman like me! What else can you do? Come quickly, lest you starve Thirst unsatisfied!' some said, and some even the Spaniards heard it, and some wept. Then the Canari Indians, shooting arrows and spears through her quickly, left her dying without uttered a cry or groan. Then they set fire to a great tree trunk to burn her, but Andy would not allow them to do so, though in the flames her body remained unscathed. At night my woman burned her In the basket as she requested, in the hope that she can come back to you." At this time, Kadari got into the crowd, slipped to Jaboye's side, quietly approached his arm, and whispered to him: "We have to go!" Anna Maya turned to look at them, asking with her eyes. "And then?" Manco asked. "Vera Omar the Wise was there too, because he was caught in Kant-Suyu and they brought him to Ukai. Although the Wise was chained and powerless to resist, he cursed them, Call them pigs and dogs, and treat a woman like this. Then he was burned alive..." When they heard the tragic death of Juli Okelo, everyone was silent and did not dare to make a sound; but when they heard that the wise man was tortured, they couldn't help moaning and insulting.Manco gestured for silence. "While the flames were licking at his feet, the wise man, aided by divine power, called out the name of King Vanya Capac and all the Inca kings, such as King Chaku Zima, King Atahualpa, etc." "Did he call my name?" For the first time the little man did not hesitate, and lowered his voice and said: "The only king, no one heard your name. But it must be that he died too soon to call out the names of all the Inca kings. After that, they burned General Tizoc..." Kadari pulled Jia Boye, and Anna Maya watched the two of them disappear into the crowd in the inner courtyard.When everyone heard the dwarf slowly uttering the names of the killed generals one after another, they didn't notice the movements of Kadari and Jia Boye. "They also burned General Taipi, General Donchi Varpa, and Generals Ork Hualangca and Atul Shuki, among others." Manco's expression remained indifferent, looking at the sky where the night had come.When everyone heard the torture suffered by the general, they felt the same, as if he had been punched in the abdomen, but Manco was only immersed in his own thoughts, as if he disappeared in the crowd.Ana Maya saw him clenching his fists.She didn't know where Kadari had taken Jia Boye, but she was glad that Jia Boye wasn't there. "...and General Ozkirk and General Juli Ayto," continued the little man, adding to the panic as the stars in the sky dimmed one by one, leaving the world shrouded in endless darkness inside. "Vera Omar was right," Manco said at last. "We must kill those scum before they destroy us. King Chaku Zima said the same thing. In the past When they weren't so good, we didn't take our chances...we believed in visions, false omens, celestial phenomena, even cougars..." Manco didn't look at Anna Maya, but the resentment and despair hidden in the words were obvious and ready to come out. "You all go down." Manco looked down at them and said, "Leave me alone." All came out of the inner courtyard, with the tinkling of spears and lances and shields, the clattering of shoes and the rising and falling of whispers. Only Anna Maya remained in place. "You go down too," Manco said. "I'll never leave you, you know that." "In the past, I believed that you were with me, that you could help me establish the Quartet Empire, and expand the empire's territory to an unprecedented area. I used to believe what my father said, and what the wise man admitted, that you came from the beginning of all things. You are the symbol of the source of the world. You came to give us greater hope. But you are nothing. The silent prophecy you carry brings me nothing but humiliation and destruction. You go Bar!" "Manco, it's you who don't want to listen to the voice of wisdom and follow its path. You only listen to your own anger, exactly like the day you angered Guapa in vain and raged at him..." "And now, Guyappa is dead, Vera Omar is dead, Tizok is dead, and my beloved Juli Okoro is dead. They are all dead, and one day I will die too. Girl from another world, can you tell me that all your prophecies are to make me suffer?" "Your son Ditu Kuji is still alive, and there are more people who place their hopes on you..." "more people?" After drawing a circle in the air with Manco's arms, he put his hands on his forehead, and pulled hard to remove the hair tie around his head. "My power lies in this feathered hair ornament." He said as he shook the hair ornament in his hand nonchalantly. "A gust of wind can blow it in, and another gust of wind can blow it away." He laughed contemptuously, and his laughter was harsh. "Look what's left of my power..." Manco jumped up and jumped to the edge of the cage, where the young cougar fell asleep.He watched it silently.Then whispered: "You're going to grow up and help us, aren't you? You didn't find it by chance, and—who knew?—you're a sign..." He removed the wooden bars of the cage and grabbed the sleeping animal.He plunged the dagger into its heart, broke its spine, and twisted its neck. His anger seemed to come from a very deep place in his heart.He snapped off each of its claws, gouged out its eyes, and tore away its lifeless face, leaving only a pair of bloodstained hands. "Cougar friend, will you always be with me?" Anamaya was momentarily terrified, but she insisted: "I can't leave you. Yes, I will always be with you." "No!" Manco raised his bloody hand and pointed in one direction.There was nothing threatening in his actions, but it indicated that the two would go their separate ways and go their separate ways in the future.But Anna Maya stepped forward to hold the bloody hand despite feeling sick. "Since you want me to go, I will go, but you will remember that I have never left you. You will recall that since the day your father handed you over to me, I have always obeyed... " Manco didn't speak, and pulled back the hands that Annamaya clasped in both hands.She wondered if he, lost in his loneliness and anger, heard her words.His voice seemed to come from another world, and he repeated over and over again: "No!" Ana Maya finally walked out of the rain-drenched inner courtyard dripping with the blood of a puma. The blood stained the dust like a red mass. At this moment, she recalled Manco's life, the resistance from the past to the present, and finally ended up in this situation. There was only one word, the one he said coldly, and the one that came from the depths of his soul: No. Kadari and Jia Boye quickly walked through the deserted courtyard, avoiding the troops patrolling around the castle, and finally set foot on the road in the jungle. The two did not talk to each other.It was not until the two were finally safe under the cover of the night and the jungle that Jia Boye asked Kadari: "what do you want to say?" The stone god shook his black hair. "Your friend Bartholomew has been here three days. He was wise enough not to go to the castle, and sent me a message by two messengers. I have hid him in a sanctuary about It's an hour's journey. "Bartholomew..." "He was a man of wisdom and wisdom," continued Kadari. "We talked about the origin of the world, about the Creator and everything he made, and people..." "Don't tell me that he traveled all the way to talk to you!" "We talked about the past and the future." Jia Boye swept away the humor in his tone. "I know the monk. Although he has a deep friendship with you, he will definitely not come here without other reasons..." "He'll tell you." The sound of the rain drowned out the noise of the jungle in the evening. "What about Ana Maya?" "You must leave quickly, before Manco turns his wrath upon you. She will join us with the dwarves in a moment." The two men walked slowly; although the rain stopped, the whole forest was still very humid, and sometimes the water dripped on the back of their necks like sweat from the sky and the trees. There was a clearing in front of them, with a few quick-cut rocks left in the middle, like a wall around a rough log cabin built of rushes. As they approached the cabin, they immediately saw the figure of Bartolomeo standing at the entrance.Brother Bartholomew with gray eyes hugged Jia Boye for a long time.His whole body was hot and trembling. "Brother Bartholomew, you are not feeling well..." "Don't worry about me. I feel better seeing you. What about her?" He turned to Kadari.Kadari pointed to a certain direction in the forest and said: "Wait, when she can get away, she will come with the dwarf..." "Very well," said Bartolomeo, "I need her." The three men looked up at the sky above the clearing for a while. Colorful butterflies were flying freely in the clear sky after the rain; the sound of monkeys frolicking in the lush jungle, sometimes accompanied by birdsong, two of them A large South American parrot flaps its colorful wings and flies past through the lush branches and leaves. The monk looked deeply at Jia Boye: "Since I haven't seen you, you have experienced a lot of things... There is no anger on your face at all, and you no longer look like a man who is haunted by the devil..." "Has it been this bad before?" Bartholomew touched Jia Boye's forehead with his right hand connected with fingers. "My brother, love fills your heart—I mean the love that nourishes you, the love that burns you, the love that gives, the love that shares." In the brilliant twilight of the setting sun, the three men were sitting on a tree trunk in front of the cabin, chatting leisurely.Jia Boye was no longer restless.I just occasionally looked towards the bushes to see if Anna Maya appeared among the swaying shadows of the trees. There is a kind of peace among the three people. These three people also come from distant places, and they have also experienced the torment of war gnawing at their consciences. At this time, Anna Maya and the dwarf finally appeared at the end of the sunset.Kadari started to build a fire. Bartolomeo stared at Anna Maya with both admiration and respect. "You are here again at last." His gray eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and he said, "Looking at you two, I understand the greatness of your two nations, and I understand the mysterious way that unites you to each other. The meaning of being together, the pain you have tasted is worth it..." Anna Maya walked to Jia Boye's side and sat down beside him.The two lovers held hands silently, feeling the sanctity in Bartolomeo's words, and wondering where these words came from. "Jia Boye, do you remember that I once asked you to send a message back to Spain, telling them the real situation of this conquest war... Not long ago, I got the news, which seemed to be a good omen, but I didn't really understand the meaning... " A smile flashed across the monk's tired face, as if the simple and profound belief he had always believed in had now become an allegorical symbol for him. "Charles Canter the Great sent a resident judge to this country. His name was Vica de Casiro, and all I heard about him was that he was a good and just man. He may still be at sea at this moment, approaching Lima. Perhaps, for us, this is a great opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... We were going back to Spain, and now the Spanish came to us! " "Why are you so sure it's a good opportunity?" "Jia Boye, I just know. Oh! I can sense the mistrust and suspicion in your tone. But trust me, I'm just as suspicious and hesitant as you are. But there are some signs that can't be wrong: damn Enando is in Spain is already in prison for his crimes..." "But he is in prison, not for his crimes against the Indians, but for the assassination of Yalemagro!" "Despite this, the era of letting them do whatever they want is gone. All over the country, whether it is the Holy See or the Royal Palace, they are opposed to the method of high-handed conquest, and everyone's voice for justice for every nation is getting louder and louder!" Jia Boye sighed. "Brother Bartholomew, you have to have a strong faith like yourself to believe. For me..." "Never mind my faith in God, and even please forget how much I love Spain. Can't you share with me my trust in people? Can't you imagine the man in front of you and be able to hear others in the future Is there a voice? Can’t you hear other voices, but the two sides vowed to fight each other, and the burning, killing and looting for the remaining gold or silver in this land?” Jia Boye raised his hand to the sky and said: "I have no idea……" "listen!" Kadari's voice suddenly sounded, which startled Jia Boye. "King of stones, what do you want to say?" "I want to say that he's right. I want to say that we can't just hide in the forest all the time, like animals caught in a trap, scared at the slightest sign of trouble, enduring damp, disease, and being prey to a beast at any moment." This is the life Manco chose, but it shouldn't be ours." "Then Anna Maya, what do you say?" Jia Boye turned to his princess. "She will follow you," said Bartolomeo affirmatively, seeking Kadari's approval, "and she should go with you to witness that the Indian people are not untamed animals, but dignified human beings, who have commanded Precious cultural assets such as history, religion, tradition and way of life that people respect and need to be protected.” "What if she falls into their hands?" Jaboye continued, his voice trembling. "What if the new resident judge is not a wise man or a saint, but another Gon-Salo? If they do to her What about the same thing as Juli Okoro?" "There are risks," Ana Maya said calmly, "just as you could be arrested and imprisoned... But Bartolomeo and Kadari have a point: we have to try." "What about the twin brothers?" This time, it was Kadari who answered: "If Kamakenkeya agrees, I am willing to take charge of the twin brothers and start preparing for his journey..." Jia Boye looked at them one by one. "Except for Sai Batian, in this world, I trust the three of you more than myself. But where does my hesitation come from?" “We doubt it too,” Bartolomeo said. “What I’m saying is not that I doubt it, but that the chances of stabilizing the country may be slim.” "It's been more than a hundred days since you came here," Kadari recalled calmly, "unless you're blind, you don't know that foreigners are still here. Now is the time for you to seize the opportunity and let Future generations will have a face like yours, not the faces of those children who have been washed by war and plunder, with hateful faces..." "And what if we fail?" No one responded, but at last Jia Boye was heard agreeing in a gentle tone: "Okay, I'll go." He exhaled. He took Anna Maya's hand and held it tightly: "Let's go, since you think this is the way we should go. I will no longer listen to the voice in my heart that warns of danger. My friend, you must pray for us..." Bartholomew smiled. "You are always in my prayers, whether you want to or not." Jia Boye turned to Kadari and said: "God of Stone, you can't leave us..." "We can meet again soon." "How did we know we'd meet again?" Annamaya asked. Kadari took out a thin rope from Shusba's bag and tied it with his thick fingers.Then he gave the rope to Anna Maya and said: "Take this colorful knot," he said firmly, "when the time comes, it will tell you where I am. And the key of the stone will open another time and space for you. I am the same. Although we are separated, I still Connected to you; when you appear, I will hide; when you ascend, I descend. But we are all on the eternal road of Viracocha. Well, now go!" When Kadari walked towards Vico alone, without a sound, even without a torch, Bartolomeo, the dwarf, Annamaya, and Jaber also went into the forest, setting off for a hopeful but uncertain future.