Chapter 40 Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sikanciara placed a Dutch shirt, a pair of high boots, and necklaces in front of Atahualpa, then carefully pushed two wine glasses to the Inca's eyes. "Their captain, as they sometimes called him, the captain or the governor, presented me with these presents and said: 'Tell your master that I have been traveling day and night, with all my speed, in the hope of seeing him as soon as possible.'" The only king, Atahualpa, was sitting on a small bench, and Anamaya, despite her curiosity, hid like a shadow in a dark corner.Guyappa and Vera Omar stared at the presents on the table, but dared not reach out and touch them.Those two crystal clear cups were the most novel pottery products they had never seen before.Atahualpa stretched out his hand, first touched it with his fingertips, then picked up one of them, and looked carefully at the sun.

"And you?" he asked, "did you give them our present?" "Send it, the only king. They looked at the masks carved from the foundation stone of the castle, and said nothing, but asked some questions about the ducks full of woolen yarn. I told them that they would When they were ground into powder, they gave off a fragrant smell. As for the robes inlaid with gold and silver, they didn't ask a question. "Where did they say they came from?" "From the other side of the sea. They serve two kings, one of them rules the underworld, and the other is the emperor of heaven."

"These Tarlans claim to be amphibious creatures. Their upper body structure is similar to that of a human, and their lower body is like a llama. They often use the holy name of Viracocha..." Sikanshara laughed out loud. "A species from another world! I've heard the rumors too. Believe me, the one and only king, they are all human! It's just that they don't look like us because they have lighter skin and beards. Some of them did ride on sheep, because they can gallop across the steppe. But can you imagine these animals walking on the Inca road? My intelligence people have seen them, and they did climb Kargath! "

"It is said that they also carried a fire-breathing stick." "That's one of their amusements: they light a fire on a powder that's in those sticks, and it makes a deafening noise. It's always a shock to anyone who hears it for the first time." "Those sloping belts..." "Fitted some of the same weapons as ours, but a little lighter. I was actually taken aback seeing them demonstrate to me with those things, but the truth is, those weapons weren't as intimidating as they looked .” "How many are there in all?" "Less than two hundred people. Many of them looked very weak and appeared to be sick."

"Talk about their captain." "A tall man, but thin, and not young. His beard was as white as snow, and his eyes were sharp as a slingstone, but there was always a smile on his lips. The crew obeyed him Shun, with one exception, his brother, who was always trying to put on the same dignified look as he was. Unfortunately, his beard and eyes showed that he was just an old man, casually hitting with a mace, And I think he must be terrified of you, because he keeps professing his admiration for your name, and saying that he's only here to help you." Guapa interrupted suddenly.

"Me too. I have seen these weirdos. Although my experience of reading people is not as good as his, and it was not like he could observe them up close, but I do not agree with Ambassador Sikanshala." Atahualpa faces Guapa sideways. "Indeed, your life experience is really not as good as your courage, Guapa." "Those people are dangerous, the only king. In front of us, they always put on a smile and greet each other, and call us friends. However, in all the villages they passed, they held those Misunderstood by Sikanshala as a non-lethal weapon, massacring innocents. They said they would help you, but for others, they said they had promised to help that damn Huascar."

"He needs their help now," Sikanshara said with a sneer. "What do you suggest, Sikanshara?" "I propose to let them come." "That's crazy!" Guapa interjected. "We should annihilate them immediately. When I led the retreat from Kargath, I surrounded them. They were in my hands at the time. I waited anxiously for your order, the only king, but unfortunately the order did not come. .” Sikanshara smiled disapprovingly. "After the only king decides to promulgate the Holy Call, let's annihilate them." "You doubt me, Guappa?"

Before Guapa could answer, Vera Omar, who had been silent since the argument, suddenly spoke. "I, I suspect." Atahualpa raised his hand for silence.He fell into deep thought, and Ana Maya, who secretly looked up at him, happened to see the dilemma in the depths of his eyes. A dark cloud floated over the station.Atahualpa remained alone in the palace while Vera Omar and Ana Maya stepped out of the quad. Every inch of land in the Sifang Empire, the perfect structure and the peaceful atmosphere always make Anna Maya want to open her mouth to admire!Here, for example, she sees the Jialang house, adjoining grain storage barns on the edge of the first row of wheat and quinoa terraces, in Huaca, built against the wall of the Yinpogang mountain. under.There were still a few days to go before they reached Cajamar, where they could celebrate the victory of Atahualpa and the final unity of the empire.

But Anna Maya found that this dark cloud was always lingering, and there was no hope of clearing the clouds. "What's the matter with you, Vera Omar?" "Going to Cusco weighs on me, little girl." "What's the meaning?" "The words I heard this morning made me feel uncomfortable. Although Sikanshala is a loyal officer, I doubt his ability; Guapa is heroic, but unfortunately he is too impulsive." Anna Maya said nothing. "Atahuallpa thinks that he will set off a Pashaguti, an earth-shaking reform, create a new world, and call himself a king, but unfortunately he doesn't know how to observe the will of heaven and follow the hearts of the people..."

"If it's because someone lied to him or didn't see the truth, it's not all his fault." Vera Omar shook her head, expressing her disapproval. "Also, I worry about the fate of Cusco." "Why? Isn't Charles-Gusimer the mayor of the city?" Vera Omar smiled wryly: "Looks like madness is the only mayor of the city. I was the first person, myself included, to encourage the Atahualpa uprising to overthrow Huascar and his mad henchmen..." "This move is necessary." Anna Maya said affirmatively. "Perhaps! But since then, hatred has become a deranged plant! Atahualpa is as vengeful as his brother Huascar's absurdity. He wants me to manage Huascar's desire to do anything in Cuzco The religious question of the Reformation, but I did not do it alone. I was accompanied by General Gucci Youbanji, who used some methods of extermination: any supporters of the usurper Huascar were shot and killed, even their wives and sons. Only virgins who had never had contact with men were retained to be concubines to the only king. He even threatened to spare even his own brothers and sisters. In this way, like our former king Wanya All tribes will be annihilated. I don't like this, Ana Maya. This is not the traditional culture of the empire. It is not the behavior of the noble Incas and the sun-worshiping peoples. This is a Blood for blood, tooth for tooth for the villainous deeds of the vile chief..."

"Atahualpa couldn't have done something like this." Vera Omar looked at Anna Maya very tenderly. "You yourself have seen what happened to the statue of Khadeji! The hatred for Huascar made him irrelevant, new hatred added to old hatred..." "Everyone has been looking at me suspiciously for answers these days, Vera Omar." "I know, little girl, but I still have faith in you. You know how long it took us to develop such a rapport, not only 100% trust but also indestructible. I took you into that mysterious city in the past, Today I reveal to you the secret of my heart: Atahuallpa will not be the savior to save the Quartet Empire!" "Then who is it?" Anna Maya asked loudly, startling a little shepherd boy who was about to drive a group of brown-haired llamas leisurely passing through the terraced fields to the temple square.She regained her composure and asked again: "Then who, wise man, will save the Empire?" "I don't know, little girl. All I know is that right now, you should be helping Atahualpa." "what?" "He only trusts you. You are the only one who 'saw' his deeds and rescued him from prison. If you really have the ability to predict, please tell him that for the peace of the empire, please let him go. Cuzcos—" She interrupted him rudely, but stopped raising her voice deliberately. "You want me to 'predict' things I can't foresee?" Vera Omar stared at her. "I'm asking you to stop a scuffle from happening." "I cannot tell a lie, wise man. I think that if I tell a lie, the Inca king Vanya Capac himself will return from the underworld to punish me." Vera Omar sighed and said: "You have to help us, Kamakenkea!" Vera Omar spoke excitedly, and her eyes were erratic. Except for those eyes that appeared on Vera Omar's face when the crown princes died on the way to Cusco, she had never seen it before. He's seen it. "Then help me, wise man," she murmured. "What did you say?" "Let my husband-in-law, the golden statue of twin brothers, come back to me!" "Impossible! He has found his home: in the Temple of the Primal, beside the mummy of the one and only King, Vanya Kapak." "If you want me to help you, wise man, send someone to fetch him to me." "Do you know what you are talking about? No one has ever dared to separate the idol of the twin brother from his king! If something happens to him, do you know what punishment we will suffer?" "I have to stay with him, Vera Omar! I can't lie. Because maybe through the power of my twin brothers, the one and only king, Wanya Kapac, can come to me, speak to me, and take me to another place. A world. It's the only way I can get back to my old self. Don't ask me why, but I'm sure..." At this time the sun illuminates the earth, and in the clean air, no power can disturb the peace. "As soon as I get to Cusco, I will send someone to escort him to you." "Should we tell Atahualpa about this?" "No! It's good that only the two of us know about it, little girl!" Anna Maya agrees.However, on the way back to the palace, her feet were weak: she thought to herself, when she grows up, she has to hide many heavy secrets in her heart and bear some unspeakable feelings alone. The night quietly covers the upper courtyard.Anna Maya went back to her room to rest alone, ignoring the noisy laughter in the street.Chicha kicks in: All soldiers know that these victorious celebrations will be held in conjunction with this year's Vanya Remy festival, and it will be one of the biggest and most memorable. A figure flashed in by the door.She immediately got out of the quilt and hid in a corner, almost knocking over a wine urn. "Don't be afraid!" It's Guyappa.He was wearing a plain white gown, only the waistband was embroidered with yellow, red and orange geometric patterns.His appearance was rough, which disturbed her. "Don't be afraid," he paused to repeat, "I'm not here to threaten you or show love to you..." His voice moved her with sentimentality, and she was at a loss.She hadn't known how to tell him that she knew how he felt, that she was flattered.Maybe more than that?The thought that he loved her dearly, the wife of the Inca kings, Kamacankeya, crossed her mind, but she put it away immediately. "They all say that I speak impulsively and without thinking. In fact, I think more clearly than Sikanshara. When I said that those foreigners are sinister, I didn't just say it casually. It's a pity that they didn't take it seriously..." "They've started celebrating the win." "They were wrong, and for many tribes, in many villages, the presence of these foreigners caused resentment...there were about two hundred of them, but the people who served them, cooked for them, and carried their luggage were Who? Who even took up arms and followed them here to fight for them? The Indians! I know we can of course use intimidation or diplomacy to bring them into submission, but they will eventually retaliate. Therefore It's best to turn a deaf ear to their lies, and it's best to stop dealing with them immediately, and don't let them go too far." "You say this to the only king, and he ignores you." "But he'll listen to you, you." "Forget it, Guappa." He stepped forward, only a palm away from her, and then raised his hand.She gasped. "Don't touch me," she whispered. "I didn't touch you." His hands were so close to her, so close to her body, so close that he could even feel the rising and falling breathing of his chest and the trembling of his hands.Then he moved his body forward and slowly slid down along the curve of her body, as if stroking her with endless tenderness.She felt her breathing becoming more and more rapid, and she tried hard to calm herself down, but she couldn't. When he walked over wearing straw sandals and touched one of her fingers lightly, she thought she would faint on the spot, because even her skin could feel his breath... "Guyappa!" He stood up abruptly from the ground. "I tried my best to forget you, but I just couldn't." He finished these few words quickly in one brain, the rough tone and the tenderness between the lines were completely out of tune.As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped out of the door and bumped into Anti Panla, who was coming to meet him. The latter looked at Anna Maya blankly. "What did he come to you for?" "he……" Anna Maya regained her composure and said, "He wants me to tell Atahualpa something." "Kneeling at your feet?" "He's begging me." Andy Panla pouted to express her disbelief.Anna Maya couldn't help but admire her beauty.She was wearing a piece of Anako tightly wrapped around her body. When other girls put it on, it looked like she was wearing a big cloth bag, but she showed her curves.Her long hair was divided into two thick strands held in place by two delicate blonde barrettes, one in the shape of a snake and the other in the shape of a hummingbird. "Perhaps he will be willing to follow your advice, you..." "why?" Annamaya was relieved that Antti Panla stopped pressing questions about Guapa's activities.In fact, she came to discuss with her specifically for other matters. "He's always been indifferent to me and hasn't touched me for a long time." "Because the Empire has encountered some difficult problems." "Then, why is he still free to spend spring evenings with Cory Chingpo or Goosey Mikay?" "He'll come back to you, Antti Panla, you're more beautiful than any other girl." Anna Maya said those words with all her heart.Antti Panla stretched her legs and invited her to sit with her on the mat. "You're my only friend now," she said, "I was so mean to you..." "You, fierce? I don't remember." Antti Panla laughed and put his arms around her neck. "Yes, very fierce, because I used to be jealous of you and thought you wanted to snatch him away from me." "I!" Anna Maya was dumbfounded.I thought to myself, how could a weak girl from the forest become a rival in love with a young woman as perfect and sexy as Andy Panla? "Come sit beside me." The king's concubine murmured. Although Anna Maya was a little taken aback, she still complied.The two girls lay down side by side.A breeze blew past the open windows of the quad, and the feather curtains that shut the doors fluttered with the wind. She stretched out an arm around the round shoulders of Antti Panla, forgetting for the first time in these days the never-ending pressure of conflict and tumultuous war. She touched her friend's cheek with a finger, and found a tear. In the darkness, she licked away the tear on her fingertips with her tongue, and said some gentle words incoherently, hoping to comfort her.

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