"The warriors of Hidden Demon City are here!"
"The sacred contract is about to be fulfilled. Everyone, come out and welcome them!"
Walking in the underground city of the mezzanine area, Xia Fan and the others were warmly welcomed like an emperor. The Glimmer Clan was overjoyed, surrounding Xia Fan and the others, cheering the slogan "Long live the Demon Subduing Army".
"Do you have to be so excited? I haven't taken a bath for several days." Fo You lowered his head and rubbed his armpits.
The three of them were in a sorry state. Not only did they not take a bath, but they also reeked of seawater and corpses. Even their clothes had long been torn, making them look like three ragged beggars.
Ni Cai's space ring contained some good quality perfume. She originally planned to use the perfume to alleviate the embarrassing smell, but Xia Fan stopped her, lest the fragrance attracted the strange species all over the mezzanine area.
"They … they are so enthusiastic," Ni Cai said, a little embarrassed.
Although the appearance of the Glimmering Light Clan was strange, they were very gentlemanly. The children clustered around Ni Cai and picked the most beautiful fresh flowers. They tied them up with simple straw ropes and respectfully handed them over to Ni Cai. Not long after, Ni Cai was surrounded by beautiful flowers, and there were hundreds of small flowers in her arms.
"Is the contract finally going to be fulfilled? Can we really leave the underground and live in a place with sunlight? "The thin little girl hugged Ni Cai's thigh and asked with excitement in her eyes.
Contract?
Ni Cai was puzzled. She did not know about the contract between the Demon Subduing Army and the Glimmer Clan. She only knew that the survival manual said that the Glimmer Clan was an ally of the mezzanine area. If they encountered danger, they could try to ask them for help.
"That's so rude. Quickly apologize to this big sister." The little girl's mother hurriedly helped Ni Cai out.
"I'm sorry. I just want to see the real sunlight, the wide land, the undulating mountains, and the sea and the whales in the sea. I even dream about it." The little girl lowered her head and whispered. Then she was pulled aside by her mother with an apologetic smile on her face.
To be honest, her mother's smile was not beautiful, but it was very warm. The corners of her mouth were raised, revealing a row of sharp teeth. It was like having a docile golden retriever. When you returned home after a long day of work, the golden retriever would be excited from the bottom of his heart.
In fact, there was a very simple way to observe whether a person was pure or not, and that was to look into their eyes. A truly brilliant smile was not only the curve of the mouth, but also the expression of kindness released from the eyes.
The scourges were all experienced in the pugilistic world. They were outstanding people who ran amok in the underworld of Cang Yue. They taught Xia Fan how to read people's expressions so that he wouldn't be tricked by others in the future. That would make them lose face. Although they hoped that Xia Fan would be a good person, they didn't want him to be bullied by bad people.
"I think I understand what you mean." Xia Fan said to Sedrolai, "The Glimmers look ugly and scary, but they're actually kind and innocent. Their children don't know how to lie, and neither do their eyes. They really want the Demon Vanquishing Army to come here, but I still don't understand. What is the contract they're talking about? Could it be that they had some sort of agreement with the Demon Vanquishing Army? "
"That's a sad story." Sedrolai sighed in Xia Fan's mind. "Forget it. I'll take a break. It's best if the Glimmer Tribe tells you themselves."
.....
Water was the source of life. There were shallow ditches on both sides of all the streets in Spring City. After the spring water gushed out, it flowed along the ditches to every household. People used the spring water in their yards to wash their clothes, cook their meals, and water their flowers and trees.
"I didn't expect that the most imposing building in this city is actually the school. I thought it would be a meeting hall for the elders or a vault for storing wealth."
Fo You muttered. They were invited to a classroom. It was said that this was the highest etiquette of the Glimmer Tribe. For them, children were their hope, and the place where children studied was the most sacred place in the city. No building could exceed the height of the school. Even the temple of God had to be shorter than the school.
Xia Fan liked the philosophy of the Glimmer Tribe. They always put children and their education first. It was said that they were inviting the city lord of this city, and the city lord was the principal of the school.
The supreme leader of the Glimmer Tribe was a teacher. He did not have any martial arts and was only responsible for teaching children. This was unimaginable in a world where martial arts were respected.
It seemed to be a classroom for high school students. The tables and chairs were relatively wide and could accommodate adults. Even people like Fo You, who were slightly overweight, could sit comfortably. There were neatly arranged textbooks on the table, and the teacher's lesson preparation was on the podium. The floor, tables and chairs were clean.
Nicai curiously found a seat and opened the children's textbooks to see what they were learning. A few minutes later, Xia Fan saw Nicai's eyes were slightly red, and her hands holding the textbooks were trembling slightly.
"See for yourselves."
Nicai pushed the opened textbooks to Xia Fan and Fo You. The two of them looked down and saw that it was a very special lesson. The content of the lesson was generally like this.
First, it emphasized that the contract was sacred and inviolable. Then, it talked about many years ago, when an expedition team from Hidden Demon City came here. At that time, the team was chased by the evil dragon. They were exhausted and dying. It was this city and the magical spring that protected them.
The Glimmer Tribe treated this group of strangers as the most distinguished guests. They ate and wore the best food and clothing. Finally, they helped this group of soldiers, who were like stray dogs, recover their vitality. Before leaving, the soldiers declared that they would come back sooner or later. They hoped that the Glimmer Tribe could help them spy for information about the mezzanine area. In return, they would accept the Glimmer Tribe as a member of Hidden Demon City, allowing them to leave the cold underground and live on the sunny continent with lush flora and fauna.
It was probably just a casual remark. Just like a dying person, if someone claimed that they could save his life, he would agree to all conditions, such as betrothing his daughter and giving away all his family property. Anyway, as long as he could survive, they dared to promise anything.
However, if this person really survived and asked them to give away their daughter and family property, then he would definitely not agree to it as readily as he did in the beginning. In the survival manual that Xia Fan saw, there was only a small line about the Glimmer Tribe's description. If they encountered danger, they could try to ask Holy Spring City for help. That was all.
However, the naive Glimmer Tribe believed it was true. They even wrote this agreement with the Demon Subduing Legion into the children's textbooks. Xia Fan finally understood why the Glimmer Tribe was so excited to see humans coming here. Many people even shed tears of excitement, and the children danced as if it was the world's grandest festival.
Because they really believed that humans would keep their promises and take great risks to open up a path through the mezzanine area. They would take these poor people living underground to the place where spring was in full bloom.
"So that's how it is …" Fo You scratched his head. "It feels very awkward. I guess the Demon Subduing City didn't take this seriously. Otherwise, why have we never heard of it?"
"Moreover, it's too difficult to bring so many people out of the mezzanine area. When we came here, we passed through the Sky Dragon's nest. Fortunately, the three of us were strong enough, and Xia Fan was fast enough, so we escaped. This city is full of orphans and widows. How can we bring them to the surface? I'm afraid it would take hundreds of guys like Xia Fan. "
"Speaking of which, the Glimmer Tribe doesn't seem to have any adult men. Eighty to ninety percent of them are women and children, or uncles and aunties who are too old to walk. Where are the adults here?"
Xia Fan frowned. "At the outer edge of the city, near the moat, there is a large cemetery. Do you still remember?"
"I remember. The cemetery of the Glimmer Tribe is very special. The tombstones of each deceased are pyramid-shaped. It seems that the ground is full of nails. At first, I thought it was some kind of defense mechanism," Fo You said.
Xia Fan nodded. "I noticed the words on the tombstones. That is the place where the scouts are buried. All the inscriptions are engraved with the same content. The scout was killed when he entered a certain area to investigate."
"When the Demon Subduing Legion withdrew, they told the Glimmer Tribe that you live in the mezzanine area. If there is a chance, help us keep an eye on the major tribes here. When we come back again, we will repay you and take you away from here to the continent full of flowers."
Silence.
There was dead silence.
No one spoke for a few minutes.
"So, the Glimmer Tribe believed it? They sent the strong young men of the tribe to be scouts for the Demon Subduing City. As more and more scouts died, there were finally only old people and children left in the Holy Spring City. For the sake of a promise, they sacrificed almost all the young people? "Fo You's voice was a little hoarse.
"Well, it seems so," Xia Fan said. "I guess one or two of the soldiers who left the Holy Spring City that year may have returned to the Demon Subduing City successfully and told the City Lords about it."
"The City Lords did not take this matter too seriously according to the habitual thinking of humans. After all, the Demon Subduing City did not know the Glimmer Tribe, and they did not believe that the Glimmer Tribe would desperately spy for the Demon Subduing City."
"As for taking the Glimmer Tribe away, it was completely impossible. It required a large number of troops to make a huge sacrifice and kill a way out of the mezzanine area."
"As time passed, the Demon Subduing Legion gradually forgot about this matter. So, when the survival manual mentioned the Holy Spring City, it used the word 'try' to ask for help from the Holy Spring City. No one can be sure whether the Glimmer Tribe still remembered the agreement with the Demon Subduing Legion."
"Damn it!" Fo You hammered his thigh hard. "This is great. The Demon Subduing City did not take it seriously, but the Glimmer Tribe thought it was a sacred contract. Almost all of their young people died because of a stupid sentence."
"The three of us walked into the Holy Spring City like defeated dogs and were surrounded by the Glimmer Tribe. They thought we were here to complete the contract, but they did not know that we did not have the ability to take them away. Like the previous batch of soldiers, we were also here to escape. Not only could we not help them, but we also needed them to help us again."
Fo You's face darkened. Although he did not make the promise, his heart sank to the bottom at this moment.
So many innocent children surrounded you, thinking that you were their hope, and that you were going to take them away from the dark and cold underground to a paradise flowing with milk and honey. You looked at them and accepted their hospitality and cheers, but you knew in your heart that you were just a stray dog and could do nothing.
For the next few days, you'll have to shamelessly eat and drink from them. Then, you'll leave and tell a bunch of lies before you leave. "You'll have to be patient and continue to wait. I'll be back to pick you up soon."
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