Chapter 39 Chapter Thirty-eight

As soon as the night came, Sai Batian moved to Jia Boye's side, and the two of them slipped into the warm bed together, throwing away the hard work of traveling during the day. The torches on the wall were blazing, and the flames were still burning sporadically in several pots of charcoal fires in the corners of the house.Jia Boye was half asleep and half awake. "There are girls in the city," Sai Batian said. Jia Boye sat up from the bed. "What are you talking about?" "Do you remember that big house we lived in when we came into town? Well, it was a convent, and I tell you, there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of girls in it, some older, some older Some are light, some don’t look very good, and some..."

Jia Boye's drowsiness disappeared for a moment. "Then you want to..." "It's nothing, where are you thinking! How can we violate the regulations set by the governor and Captain Enando de Suto!" "I don't believe you, friend." "We happily downed a few beers they brewed with various supernatural elements. The taste of corn is not very delicious, but, heck, it warms the heart and lungs!" Sai Batian's black eyes showed excitement, which made Jia Boye grin. "Besides killing a few glasses of friendship wine, what else?" "Nothing happened, I tell ya, I promise ya! There's a way of talking to girls that you wild beasts of white people will never learn! We have a subtlety that you don't have, so we can ..."

"Cut it off, black person!" "You still tell me honestly what serious things you did while I was on an important diplomatic mission." Jia Boye sighed. "We listened to their chiefs rant to us." "It must be very poor, I think!" "Even Su Tuo, who has seen strong winds and waves, feels compassion." "Go on." "When we arrived in the country, there was a civil war in the country, caused by two brothers vying for the only throne. And our giant hakar made a wrong bet." "Someone got hanged?" "In addition to people being hanged, many people were killed. He said that his village was looted, the houses were destroyed, the villagers were massacred, and some people fled to the mountains... He said that the victorious king The army took all his children, and all the provisions of his house. What we saw was the camp of the victors: on hearing of our imminent arrival, they immediately withdrew to a place about two days away. Yet he trembled at the mere thought that they would return for revenge. His tears hid cruel memories that we cannot comprehend."

Sai Batian paused for a while and said: "What did Su Tuo say?" "He said it was good news." That pile of gold was pitifully small.A few pieces of gold bars, a few items, a few vases... Ju Haka was troubled by his inability to do his best.Sitting on a triangular chair under the acacia tree, he faced the big square; Su Tuo sat beside him, trying to put on a happy look.The crowd in the square was chaotic and noisy; several sentries were stationed on the pyramid platform called Yu Wu Xunu.Filipino kept translating, looking around, asking questions, and then turned to face the Spanish captain.

"He said he could give you other treasures." "What is it?" "Woman, I can wash rice and cook for you on the road. He hopes that you will reciprocate with kindness and is willing to learn Christian customs. He hopes to be your friend and get your protection." "Tell him that if he is not virtuous, we will treat him and his people kindly." Filipino faithfully translated.Ju Haka's usual haughty expression returned to his face, and even the tone of his speech revealed that he is a leader who is used to commanding others. "He suggested sending one of your confidantes and his entourage to the Temple of the Virgin, asking them to bring a group of girls to the square for you to choose carefully."

Su Tuo made a signal to Jia Boye, and several Spaniards approached immediately, trying to understand what happened and what he said. "Hurry up," Su Tuo muttered, "Go and bring them here, lest the virgins on our team get ahead..." Jia Boye dared not tell him that those "virgins" on the team had already visited that place.Only God knows how serious it is.He and Sai Batian exchanged a snickering look. When he and his entourage arrived at the Temple of the Virgin, it was in chaos.All the girls were gathered in the huge inner courtyard, the oldest gave orders, and the youngest even looked like a child.They are all dressed in white or red robes, and their gestures are very elegant.Older girls fasten a shawl-like thing over their shoulders with finely wrought gold or silver pins.Through the crack of the door, he glimpsed several looms inside the house, and there was a farm-like noise and bustle, occasionally mixed with a few sobs and embarrassed laughter.Juhaka's followers recited a few orders aloud, and there was no sound at all.

As soon as they were back in the square, the Spaniards screamed and shouted; some did not even have time to accost, while others pulled the gold pins from their shawls.The scene was chaotic, beyond description. Suddenly, a cry rose above all the noise—a roar from the platform at the top of the pyramid.Two Spanish sentries supported a tall Indian on the platform.He was staring at the two sentinels with a look of incomparable arrogance.He was wearing a robe of delicate texture, with geometric patterns embroidered with gold and silver threads, and gold earrings that they had seen before—however, the size of the two earrings was really impressive .

"Stop!" Su Tuo shouted. The scene immediately returned to calm. "Let him go!" Su Tuo said to the two sentries. The Indian walked down the big steps in front of the pyramid lightly and walked steadily across the square.Afterwards, he stopped in front of Ju Haka, completely ignoring Su Tuo's existence, and said a few words to the former, looking very annoyed.Ju Haka hurriedly stood up, apologizing vaguely. Su Tuo signaled the Spaniard not to act rashly, and asked Jujaka to sit beside him.Then he turned to the interpreter Filibilo. However, it seemed that even the interpreter was confused by this uninvited guest and couldn't figure it out.

In the confusion, Sai Batian took the opportunity to sneak to Jia Boye's side. "He doesn't look easy to mess with, the guy with the big earrings," he whispered. At this moment, the Indian spoke to Filipino angrily. "He said," the interpreter began to translate, "we shall all be struck by lightning because you have desecrated the women who belonged to his master. He said that if any of you dared to touch him again, his army would will come and slaughter us all." "I fully believe that he is capable," Su Tuo replied calmly, "but he can't make us die twice! Who is his master?"

"It's the Inca king." "What's his name? Where is his master?" Filipino interpreted nervously to the nobleman, not daring to look at him at all.The other party replied calmly. "His name is Sikanshara, and he is the special ambassador of King Atahualpa, and his master is twenty miles away." Twenty miles... Jia Boye felt his heart was about to jump out.The bits and pieces of the journey flashed through my mind-the huge waves as high as the palace, the storm, hunger... But now, fortune or death depends on these twenty miles. "Tell him that our king, Charles V who rules all over the world, specially sent our captain, Mr. Francisco Pizarro, the Governor, to invite him to our country, and hope that he will appreciate it and accept our gifts and friendship. .Tell him that we greatly admire him, that we will never offend him, for we fear his Master, and we know that he is a mighty King, and that we are here to assist him in doing justice in war."

Filipino slowly interpreted word for word.His plump lips were trembling, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.Sikanshara listened intently, but his eyes wandered around, like a pair of peeping thieves' eyes, he aimed at the strange outfits of the soldiers, the horses they rode, the swords on their waists, and the armor on their chests.Filipino smiled now and then as he interpreted, clearly pleased with what he heard.Then he responded again. "He wants to see your king, and has important messages and valuable gifts to deliver to him." "Tell him that our king is in Sehan at the moment, about three days away from here, and I will escort him there and ensure his personal safety." Jia Boye stared at Xi Kanshala.He had never seen a face like it: if he had grown accustomed to the honey-colored skin and prominent cheekbones of Indians, he had never seen such blazing eyes.He took a quick look at his companions: no matter in expression, clothing or demeanor...Compared with him, they all had a bitter face. "The capital of the Inca is where he is now, twenty miles away?" Sikanshara seemed to find the question strange.He stared at each of the Spaniards in turn, as if wondering if they were all as ignorant as the man who was supposed to be their captain.Then he explained slowly. "Their capital," Filipino translated carefully, "is deep in the mountains, and you have to go through mountains and rivers to get there. It takes about a day to go around the city. People from all over the world live there. There are ancestors of the Inca in the city. The imperial palace, as well as many temples that support many priests, the most famous temple contains countless precious offerings..." The ground paved with silver blocks and the roof and walls inlaid with gold and silver came to everyone's minds, and the square was suddenly silent. Jia Boye was absent-minded. He turned his eyes to the distance, across the square, over the top of the pyramid, and even over the mountains overlooking the entire town.He searched for the high mountains in the distance, flew over the snow caps that never melted all year round and glistened in the sun, walked into those golden and silver palaces and temples, stepped into the garden of his dreams, and imagined that he was The first explorer to discover these structures, he embraced the world with open arms.He felt that he was no longer a human being inseparable from the ground, but a kind of animal—a big bird flying high, a kitten jumping, invincible; or a cloud, splashing down from a cliff, flowing through The turbulence of the ravine... He let his imagination run wild.At this moment, he heard Su Tuo's order to set off.