Chapter 9 Chapter 8 Name

In the dark she led Manan back through the winding tunnels, and left him to dig his grave in the darkness of the tomb.The grave had to be dug there, to prove to Ke Xiu that the thief had indeed been punished.It was late, and she went straight back to the cabin for bed.She woke up suddenly during the night, remembering that her cloak was left in the painting room.Then he stayed in that clammy subterranean cave with nothing to keep him warm but his short cloak: and there were no beds but dusty rocks.Her mind echoed miserably: "Cold tomb, cold tomb..." But she was too tired to fully wake up, fell asleep soon, and began to dream.She dreamed of the ghosts on the walls of the painting room, those figures that looked like large birds but had human limbs and faces, squatting on the dust in the dark room.They can't fly, they are hungry for dirt and thirsty for dust.They are the ghosts of the unregenerate, the ancients and blasphemers devoured by the nameless for ages.They crouched in the shadows around her, occasionally chirping slightly.One of them got up and approached her.She was terrified at first, trying to back away but unable to move.The approaching ghost had no face but a bird's face, with golden hair, and it called softly, softly, in a woman's voice, "Tenar, Tenar."

She woke up with a mouth full of dirt.She was lying in a stone tomb under the ground, her arms and legs bound by a shroud, unable to move or speak. Her desperation grew to the point of bursting through her chest, and in an instant like a firebird smashing rocks, she rushed into the skylight—the skylight, the faint skylight in her windowless room. This time she really woke up, she sat up, very tired due to countless nightmares all night, and her mind was also in a daze.Dressed, she went to the cistern in the walled courtyard, and dipped her arms and her whole head in the icy water until her blood ran with the cold and jumped to her feet.Then, brushing back her wet hair, she stood up straight and looked up at the morning sky.

It was a clear winter day, just before sunrise, and the yellowish sky was very clear. A bird that might be an eagle or a desert eagle was circling high in the sky. It flew higher and higher against the sun, burning like a small piece of gold in the sky. "My name is Tenar," she said quietly, standing under the open, sunlit sky, her body shaking with cold and terror and joy. "I've got my name back. My name is Tenar!" The little piece of gold turned westward toward the mountains and disappeared.The eaves of the hut are gilded by the sun.The jingle of sheep bells came from the sheepfolds below the hillside, and the smell of wood smoke and buckwheat porridge came from the kitchen chimney and floated in the fresh and wonderful breeze.

"I'm so hungry... how does he know? How does he know my name?... Oh, I have to get something to eat, I'm so hungry..." She pulled up her hood and ran to breakfast. After three days of half-fasting, the food she had just eaten laid a cornerstone in her heart, and she became much more stable, and she was no longer panicked, excited, or afraid.After breakfast, she felt quite sure that she could handle Ke Xiu. On the way out of the dining room of the big house, she chased to the tall and fat figure, and said in a low voice, "I've dealt with that robber... The weather is really nice today!"

A pair of cold gray eyes squinted at her from the black hood. "I thought the first priestess had to fast for three days for every life sacrificed." This is true, Arha forgot.There was a forgetful expression on her face. "He's not dead yet," she had to say, and tried to put on the casual tone just now: "He was buried alive in a coffin at the bottom of the mausoleum. The coffin was made of wood and was not sealed. There was some air in it." , he will die slowly. When I know that he is indeed dead, I will start fasting." "How do you know he's dead?"

Panicked and embarrassed, she hesitated again: "I will know. That... my mistress will tell me." "So it is. Where is the grave?" "In the tomb. I asked Manan to dig the grave under the 'smooth stone' tombstone." She really didn't have to answer so quickly, and she used the awkward tone that wanted to comfort people.Talk to Ke Xiu, she should keep her dignity. "Buried alive in a wooden coffin. Mistress, this is a dangerous way to execute a warlock. Did you actually gag him so that he couldn't cast spells? Did you tie his hands? Even if his tongue was cut Come on, they can make spells with just one finger."

"This sorcerer has nothing but bluffing." The girl raised her voice and said, "He's already buried, and my mistresses are waiting to receive his soul. The rest is none of your business, priestess!" This time she went too far, and everyone else could hear; Pan Si, Dolby, Priestess Maybeth, and the other two girls were all within hearing distance.The girls all stretched their ears, and Ke Xiu noticed. "Mistress, everything that happens here is related to me. Everything that happens in the realm of the God King is related to the Immortal God King, and I am his servant. Even if he has to enter the underground and people's hearts, he will still search and inspect. No one should have barred him from entering!"

"I will forbid it. No one can enter the tomb as long as the Nameless Ones forbid. The Nameless Ones existed before your god-king was born, and even if he dies one day, they will continue to exist. Priestess, mention the Nameless Ones Please be kind to those who don't, and don't make them come to seek revenge on you. Beware of them entering your dreams, entering the dark corners of your heart, and finally driving you crazy." The girl's eyes seemed to be burning, and Ke Xiu's face was shrunk into the shadow of the hood, while Pan Si and other girls watched timidly and puzzled.

"They are too old," Ke Xiu's voice was not loud, like a breath blowing from the depths of the hood: "They are too old, everyone has long forgotten to worship them, and only this place is left with proper etiquette. They The power of the lord is gone and is now nothing but shadows. Don't try to scare me, the devoured, they have long since lost their power. You are the first priestess, does that mean you will be the last?  … You can't fool me , I see through your heart. The darkness can't hide anything from me. Take care, Arha!" After speaking, Ke Xiu turned around and left, his heavy feet wearing leather lace-up shoes stepped calmly on the frosty weeds, and walked all the way to the Temple of the White Pillar House.

The girl's thin and dark figure stood in the front yard of the big house, as if frozen in the ground.Nobody moves, nothing moves.Looking around, there are hills, desert plains, mountains, temples, courtyards, and only Ke Xiu walking around in the vast expanse. "May the Dark and Nameless eat your soul, Koshun!" she screamed, like the cry of an eagle.Ke Xiu had already stepped up the steps of the Temple of God, but the girl still swung her arm vigorously, grabbing the "curse" and throwing it towards Ke Xiu's heavy back.Ke Xiu shook, but didn't stop, didn't turn around, and continued to climb up the steps and stepped into the gate of the Temple of God.

During that whole day, Arha sat blankly on the bottom step of the empty throne.She didn't dare to go into the Great Labyrinth, and she didn't want to stay with other priestesses. The weight in her heart kept her sitting in the cold darkness of the great hall, as hours passed by.She gazed at the pair of thick white pillars that stretched to the dark end of the hall, she gazed at the rays of light slanting in from the holes in the roof, and she gazed at the curling green smoke from the bronze tripod cup near the throne.She bowed her head in the shape of a rat's thin bone-row on the marble steps.Her mind was active, but it seemed very dull. "Who am I?" she asked herself, but there was no answer. Manan walked over with drooping steps between the double rows of columns.It had been a long time since the sky had stopped slanting in, and the darkness and coldness in the hall had intensified.Manan's pale face was very sad.He stood some distance from her, his large hands drooping, the frayed hems of his old cloak hanging over his heels. "Little mistress." "What's the matter, Manan?" She looked at him with faint emotion. "Little man, let me do what you said earlier...I have done what you told me to do. He must die, little man. He seduced you, and Ke Xiu will have revenge. She is old and cruel , you are too young to have enough strength." "She can't hurt me." "If she kills you in public, no one in the empire would dare to punish her, because she is the high priestess of the god king, and the current ruler of the empire is the god king. But she will not kill you in public, she will do it secretly, Poison at night." "I will be born again." Manan's two big hands twisted together, and he whispered, "Maybe she won't kill you." "How to say?" "She could keep you in some room—underneath...just like you did with that prisoner. You might live on from year to year. Year after year, and in the end, because you didn't die, neither There would be no new Priestess rebirth. The Mausoleum would be without a First Priestess, and the Black Moon Dance would no longer be danced. No sacrifices offered, no blood spilled, and the worship of the Dark Nameless may forever be Forget. Ke Xiu and her god-king would love that outcome." "They'll set me free, Manan." "Little mistress, when they are still angry with you, they won't let you go free." Ma Nan sighed. "angry?" "For his sake . . . there is no payment for sacrilege. Oh, little ones, little ones! They are unforgiving!" She sat in the dust on the bottom step, with her head down, her eyes fixed on the little thing in her palm, a small mouse skull.The owls on the rafters above the throne stirred a little, and it grew darker with the evening. "Don't go down to the Great Labyrinth tonight," Manan said slowly, "Go back to your hut and sleep. Find Ke Xiu tomorrow morning and tell her that you have removed the curse from her. That's all. You don't have to worry , I will let her see the evidence." "evidence?" "It's the evidence that the warlock is dead." She sat still, but slowly closing her palms together, the fragile skull crunched and crumbled.When he opened his palm again, only bone fragments remained in his palm. "No." She said, patting away the shattered layers of her palm. "He must die. He cast a spell on you, and made you lost, Arha!" "He didn't cast any spells on me. Manan, you're young and daring, and you're terrified by old women. What on earth do you think, that you're going to find him and kill him for 'evidence'? Last night you followed me in the dark, did you figure out the way to the big treasure room? You counted the number of turns, walked the stairs, passed the huge pit, and reached the door? Can you unlock the door? ?... Ah, poor old Manan, you're out of your head. She really frightened you. Now you go back to the cabin and forget about these things, and never bother me with death talk... I'll Just come. Go, go, old fool, old fool." She got up and nudged Manan's broad chest, patting and pushing him to go. "Good night!" Even though he had a premonition of what Arha wanted to do, despite all his reluctance, Manan still turned his heavy body obediently.Broken roofs and great pillars loomed high as he staggered across the long hall.She watches him go. After not seeing Manan's back for a long time, she turned around the throne platform and disappeared into the darkness behind.