Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1405: The Story of the Sky-reaching Bridge and the Foolish Big Guy’s Past

Chapter 1405: Chapter 1405: The Story of the Sky-reaching Bridge and the Foolish Big Guy’s Past

Although I was initially slightly suspected by the Old Master when we first met, now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, I’ve discovered the Old Village Chief is quite talkative and friendly. He was first very curious about my travels around the world, and I didn’t dare to make up too much. Then he asked Bingdisi about witchcraft, and Bingdisi also didn’t dare to make up too much. Finally, the Old Village Chief started asking how I usually take care of the children (referring to the Pandora Sisters), which I am good at, but before I could make up much, the Old Master stopped asking...

Eventually, the conversation returned to the Dark Moon War and the topic of "the world is about to change." It was evident that the old man named Keto in front of me, despite not having much insight, had a deep emotional connection to this village. He knew that once the Dark Moon War started, his village could no longer remain peaceful, but he was powerless now and just hoped that day would come later—this is also why he was suspicious of strangers in the village, which boils down to the old man’s nervousness.

Because Bingdisi and I had already learned a lot of historical knowledge from Ron, now when talking about Dark Moon and mythology with the Old Village Chief, we could converse smoothly. As sympathetic outsiders, we expressed our sorrow over the war’s devastation on ordinary people. The Old Master couldn’t help but look up at the majestic mountain range in front of the village: "Once this battle starts, I don’t know if the village can be preserved. I heard the Imperial City has already moved the National Knights to the border, and they will surely station them at those two fortresses at the northern and southern ends of the Long Bridge Mountain, with our village sandwiched between the two. When the recruitment soldiers come, the peaceful days of Pine Forest Village will be over."

I suddenly noticed something, namely that the two major human kingdoms, the Hasad Duchy and the Gandor Empire, were both stockpiling their armies on both sides of the Long Bridge Mountain Range: the Western Hasad Duchy already had part of their vanguard in position, and the Eastern Gandor Empire had also mobilized its large army. The two countries are separated by a mountain range, with the ridge line serving as the border, so it seems like they are preparing for war by stockpiling troops at the border, but I know this is to deal with the Dark Moon (at least as people generally acknowledge), so what exactly is this Long Bridge Mountain Range?

Long Bridge Mountain Range... Long Bridge... the Long Bridge connecting Earth and the Moon... could it mean that?

"The Long Bridge Mountain Range is the front line of the Dark Moon War," I probed, trying to find out what the Long Bridge Mountain Range had to do with the ’Long Bridge’ that connects the Earth and the Moon in mythological stories, "By the way, does anyone know how the Dark Moon People came to the surface?"

"All we know is that they came over from the Sky-reaching Bridge, which has been cut off, but no one knows how they activated that bridge," the Old Village Chief stroked his beard, "The Sky-reaching Bridge used to connect Earth and the Moon, but after the Goddess slashed it, only two broken stubbles remain on the Earth side, one at each end of the Long Bridge Mountain Range—You know our Empire has two fortresses on the border line to the north and south, those two fortresses are far off monitoring those broken stubbles. Whenever people from the Dark Moon come down, those broken stubbles are the largest transmission points. There are also smaller Dark Moon transmission stations elsewhere on the surface, but I’ve heard from the elders that all Dark Moon Teleportation Gates are energized by those two broken stubbles, and as long as the north and south fortresses can hold on a bit longer, the Dark Moon Army will have no energy to open too many gates, and we can hold out until the Goddess arrives."

The Long Bridge Mountain Range is indeed the remains of the "Long Bridge" from those days! I imagined it to be a huge long bridge pier...

But it’s quite puzzling what exactly the so-called "Long Bridge connecting the Earth and Moon" was in those years. Knowing the origin of that "Goddess," it’s hard to believe that the Goddess created this world, or that she created the Earth-Moon connecting bridge. That thing was likely a relic from the civilization of the last era of these two planets: such events are not uncommon. Initially, I thought it was a long-lasting space elevator, because a space elevator indeed fits the characteristics of a "bridge," easy to be accepted as an image by the locals, but according to the Old Village Chief’s description, it now seems more like an interplanetary transmission device.

I suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Bingdisi, who nodded slightly and said in a spiritual connection, "I have already sent the two Louse Spirits to scout both ends of the mountain range, but they can’t use Teleportation Skills yet, so they have limited flying speed, and now have to return from the inland... they might arrive around midday tomorrow."

I nodded, thinking that the Silly Fox finally served some purpose: these Louse Spirits she ’hatched’ are really quite useful as intelligent probes, and they even have evolution functions, plus from what I’ve seen, if you put them in a cloth bag, they can still provide illumination...

Qianqian’s eyes rolled as she suddenly asked: "By the way, Old Master, you mentioned the Dark Moon War has been fought five times, with each interval spanning hundreds of years, why hasn’t anyone resolved the two bridge piers... oh, I mean broken stubbles on the surface?"

"Things made by the Goddess aren’t that easy to dismantle," the Old Village Chief slapped his thigh, "Don’t even mention dismantling them, before the Barrier opens, we surface people can’t even access the interior of that thing. And on several occasions when the Goddess came to seal the Dark Moon, she didn’t completely destroy the Sky-reaching Bridge, indicating that the two broken stubbles are the foundations of our world and must never be destroyed—at least that’s what the doctrine says."

Upon hearing that, I realized even if I asked why the Goddess doesn’t completely eradicate the Dark Moon People, why doesn’t she completely repair this world’s defects, or why doesn’t she seal off the Dark Moon more strictly, the Old Village Chief would surely reply with "at least that’s what the doctrine says," so I simply didn’t ask those sharp questions and instead chatted about trivial matters. Just then, the silhouette of the Foolish Big Guy came into my view from a distance (his immense strength was helping move furniture), and I pointed: "That big guy is really strong! He can kill a Bear Monster with a single punch."

Talking about the Foolish Big Guy brought a smile to the Old Village Chief’s face: "That’s why we say he might be a reincarnated Mountain Barbarian—but please don’t tell anyone this, it’s just a joke..."

I know that Mountain Barbarians are one of the Dark Moon races now, and were the "Original Sinners" who once launched the world war. With their divine power and innate witchcraft, it’s no wonder the Foolish Big Guy’s immense strength is teased as a reincarnation of Mountain Barbarians, though during these troubled times, any topic related to Dark Moon People is taboo. The Old Village Chief, realising his slip, quickly remedied it: the Old Master is rather cautious.

I waved my hand, unconcerned, since Foolish Big Guy is just an ordinary person, even if he truly were a reincarnated Mountain Barbarian, so what? With the lack of awareness he has, does he look like someone who can destroy the world?

Talking about that honest and simple big guy and his Spiritual God Cat, Qianqian couldn’t resist a topic: "If only he could come to our place. We have a group of Atlantians there, each one standing tall and firm, the Foolish Big Guy might barely pass the disability line among them, and his cat, that cat is a True God, this morning I even saw her sweeping and wiping tables."

"Atlantis? Maybe it’s some place name in the south, never heard of it," the Old Village Chief scratched his head, "But Foolish Big Guy and his cat are well-known in the village. When they first arrived here a few years ago, there was a beast disaster here, with wild beasts from the forest lacking food for the winter, coming to steal livestock and cured meat from villagers, and injuring a few people. Then Foolish Big Guy, passing through, hadn’t even asked the village’s name but had heard about this problem, directly rushed into the forest to ’negotiate’ with those wild beasts. He found a pack of black wolves, and instead of fighting them, pinned them down one by one and reasoned with them, saying it’s fine to come for food, but they can’t ruin people’s courtyards or harm them—Animals can’t understand, right? But the black wolves couldn’t bite or scratch him effectively, and he patiently pinned all those black wolves down individually. The wolves couldn’t escape: Foolish Big Guy was faster than the wind, and his arms and legs quicker. After two whole days and nights of this, the largest wolf pack in the forest was frightened dead by him by thirty percent, tired to death by thirty percent, and the remaining forty percent have turned vegetarian now. That ’negotiation’ arrangement was described by Little Black to the people around after Foolish Big Guy returned: that cat talks faster than me, and the ’negotiation’ idea was also from that cat. They became famous and eventually settled in the village."

"Foolish Big Guy isn’t a local?" I asked somewhat surprised.

The Old Village Chief stroked his beard and shook his head slightly: "No, he came from the south, apparently his home is in Cloud Mist Country, have you been there? The people there are quite tall and often become Travelers, because some places in Cloud Mist Country still have the tradition of traveling for ten years before returning home as adults, though now with the Dark Moon War looming, who knows if this tradition will pause. I’ve heard Foolish Big Guy’s family is gone, and he started wandering before adulthood, and he found that cat while on the road. When he helped with the village crisis back then, we all encouraged him to settle down, and that’s how he ended up living here. But now he’s considered a villager, and a notable figure here."

"Oh—" Qianqian lay on the table watching Visca and Pandora making a puzzle with bone pieces, then she stretched her voice, "That Foolish Big Guy isn’t his real name, is it? Does he really have no name?"

"Hey, he just calls himself Foolish Big Guy and only acknowledges that name," the Old Village Chief waved his hand, "He’s a poor kid. I heard his parents died early, leaving nothing behind at home. Back in his hometown, the neighbors took turns feeding him irregularly. The kid is a bit simple; when his parents died, he couldn’t even remember his own name. As time passed, people around saw him being exceptionally big and strong but a bit simple-minded, so they straightforwardly called him Foolish Big Guy, and he ran around with that name everywhere. But it doesn’t matter much; a cheap life is easy to sustain. In our rural place, we don’t fuss about these chaotic things, as long as everyone knows who is who."

We all nodded repeatedly, and it gave us a deeper understanding of our newly met big friend. After chatting idly with the Old Village Chief for a while, it was getting late. This gathering started in the morning and unconsciously lasted half a day; now it was around two or three in the afternoon. The people on the square had long scattered, with only a few kids and some dog-like animals running around on the land. Foolish Big Guy helped tidy up the other tables and chairs before coming to ours, carrying the Spiritual God Cat on his shoulder and greeting the Old Village Chief in a muffled voice, "Village Chief, I’ve tidied the tables. Is this table yours?"

I, along with Bingdisi and others, quickly stood up and moved aside. Visca looked pitifully at her bone-piece puzzle: she was almost done assembling a 1024×768 Qingming River Painting, while Pandora added hundreds of armed aliens preparing to invade the Da Song alongside the Qingming River Painting—these two naughty kids simply defied the heavens! I accidentally recalled the time they tried to build a snowman for the first time, only to end up constructing a New Swan Castle...

But eventually, Visca obediently swept down the bone pieces to let Foolish Big Guy take the table away, and we couldn’t help but sigh in frustration beside her: another child prodigy was stifled.

Most of the day had gone by, and in the afternoon, we spent time in Foolish Big Guy’s yard at a "reception" to pass the time. This small rural village had a slow-paced lifestyle, and coupled with Foolish Big Guy’s "strong contribution," the hunters of the village took a day off. The idle yet curious villagers flocked to Foolish Big Guy’s house, wanting to hear about the outside world from the "knowledgeable scholar family." After two days of interaction, the locals realized that our family was quite easygoing. Bingdisi and I happened to have a ton of things we wanted to learn from the locals, so we welcomed everyone. At first, I struggled with the idea of pretending to be a worldly scholar, but gradually I discovered one thing: the people here merely sought some novelty, like the curious gaze of mountain dwellers looking at city folks. They didn’t probe whether the whimsical tales were true, nor did they have the opportunity to verify them: in fact, most people here wouldn’t step outside the radius of Pine Forest Village in their lifetimes. So even if you say the most bizarre things, as long as you explain that it comes from a mysterious faraway land, they would contentedly accept it: after all, they just sought entertainment, even if you were fabricating stories for them, as long as they were happy listening, they wouldn’t mind.

Later, I felt even pulling out a phone to check the time wouldn’t pose a problem. To most people in Pine Forest Village, the crystal ball of Imperial City Mages or a Nokia in Earthlings’ hands made little difference; ultimately, neither was understandable...

So I went on to describe the daily lives in Atlantis and Avalon, the farther and more mystical, the better: such topics were easier to expand upon, and these were precisely what the villagers wanted to hear.

After half a day’s interaction, we finally dug up all the information theoretically obtainable in this village, down to who’s wife beat the kids and which husband was afraid of his wife: Qianqian was mainly responsible for communicating these sorts of concerns, and I never quite understood her perspective of interest...

"Everyone in our village is pretty nice, huh?" Foolish Big Guy laughed heartily as we sent off the last batch of lazy men and women who came for a "lecture," closing the courtyard door. We sat on a row of stone blocks in the backyard, sipping on "tea" brewed from some unknown wild flowers and herbs Foolish Big Guy had foraged, nodding vigorously. Meanwhile, the Spiritual God Cat hopped around the courtyard wall chasing a little flying bug, only to jump down after the miscellaneous guests left her "territory," grumbling, "My afternoon nap was disturbed; nothing good comes when you arrive."

Foolish Big Guy bent down and plucked up the little cat, "Little Black, be polite to the guests."

"It’s okay, it’s okay," Qianqian waved her hand eagerly, her eyes gleaming as she looked at the little black cat, "Can I hold her?"

The Spiritual God Cat had already experienced Qianqian’s might and understood that in front of her was a real boss-level feline creature. Instantly, her fur stood on end,, arching her back while baring her teeth in Foolish Big Guy’s grasp, "You stupid human, don’t come over here! If you do, I’ll scratch you!"

Everyone around watched these two feline species with laughter: I always felt Qianqian was like a cat, similar to Miss, except Miss was like a pampered cat brought up in a villa area, often exuding a sharp aura, yet possessing three to five percent wildness and mischievousness. Whereas Qianqian belonged to the kind of Chinese village cat that started darting around alleys as soon as she learned to run, with the greatest advantage being her ability to climb and jump extraordinarily. Anyway, whether it’s one or the other, they both have more fighting spirit than Little Black, who can only speak: Qianqian’s quick tongue is no less formidable...

The cat-like girl and the girl-like cat faced off for a while, before Qianqian’s attention was suddenly diverted by two pieces of beast skin placed in the corner. Little Black jumped to the ground, breathing out a sigh, swinging her tail in the air to draw a circle, then looking up at me, "How do you come up with all those stories you just told? They sound like they could really be true..."

Bingdisi and I froze instantly, taken aback by the unexpected statement from this black cat: she actually discerned the stories of "faraway lands" were fabricated!

Only Foolish Big Guy remained clueless, scratching his head as he looked around, "Like they’re true, huh? Is there anything fake about what Elder Scholar said just now?"

"Not entirely true," I smiled awkwardly, sneaking a glance at the little black cat out of the corner of my eye, only to find her observing me as well. Despite being a cat, her bright green eyes seemed to flicker with a similarly complex human expression, yet luckily I was seasoned enough to ignore that creepy gaze, "Some parts indeed come from distant observations, but others are purely myths, gathered from traveling around various places. Ancient kingdoms lost over thousands or tens of thousands of years, mysterious isolated islands shrouded in dense fog, city-states buried by sulfur after volcanic eruptions, there are plenty of such stories. Technically (at this point, I felt a bit guilty saying this), someone knowledgeable shouldn’t deceive people with these things, but if I recount actual investigation records from our journey, the villagers wouldn’t be keen to listen—wouldn’t you agree?"

Saying all this, I had to admire myself, for I could spontaneously concoct a plausible reasoning like this, which shows that on the path to transitioning to a stationary scholar, I had already achieved at least half success...

Little Black nodded together with Foolish Big Guy, the latter probably still hadn’t comprehended, but the former did reveal several approving expressions: this cat was truly divine, theoretically speaking, she should be more intelligent than Foolish Big Guy! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), whether it’s recommendation or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)