The sea breeze was blowing vigorously, and the hair was messy and floating. Neither of the two people in front of the campfire spoke.
Chihuaco, the old militiaman, lowered his head, trapped in those memories that he thought he had forgotten. And the tattooed Chippawa gritted his teeth like a wolf and clawed at the dirt with his hands. He had just learned of his mother's death and his sister's life. He had already expected a lot, and the current answer was far better than his worst estimate. But at this moment, he still roared lowly and shed painful tears.
"Ah!... Damn the royal family of Tarasco! Damn the Mexica!"
After a long time, the tattooed Chippawa wiped away his tears and lowered his head in silence. Then he took out a sharp obsidian dagger, cut off half of his hair, and threw it into the fire. In the pungent smell of burnt lake, he whispered, like a warrior in the wilderness, calling softly.
"Divine heaven and earth! Please accept my request! I beg you, the great one, to lead my grandmother's soul into the womb of the Mother Goddess of the Earth. She will be pregnant again there and start over... And if she doesn't want to , just let her rest there..."
"The womb of Mother Earth..."
The old militiaman Chihuaco pursed his lips and watched his son pray. He had never seen similar ceremonies or heard similar prayers in the Lake Patzcuaro area. There is no doubt that this is a heritage from the wasteland. And his son has been deeply imprinted on the wasteland from body to soul.
"The faith of the northern wasteland..."
The old militiaman watched all this quietly. After his son finished praying, he looked at him again and asked.
"Dad! Why are you here? Or are you driving a Mexican ship?"
"I...I'll talk about it later..."
The old militiaman opened his mouth to speak, but for a moment he didn't know where to start. In the end, he could only pull his hair and ask his son.
"Tell me about you first!..."
"Me? Let me think about it... Back then, I was conscripted to the southern front line. In those sleepy fortresses, facing the sky full of flames and stones, and a steady stream of Mexica warriors... I thought I was dead. Like most of the militiamen, they died in a burning, stone-filled corner, stacked with countless corpses..."
】
Recalling the southern battlefield that year, Chippawa, who was already a wilderness warrior, couldn't help but shudder. Such a cruel battle, even if he thinks about it now, is a nightmare that makes him tremble, even more unforgettable than the fire in Palms Valley.
"Tarasco's army collapsed...I was escorted by several defeated soldiers to flee...They used me as a reserve of food, the kind that could walk on my own...Then, I met the powerful Battalion Commander Zukata...He killed him and dispersed After defeating the defeated army, he took me and a few others along the way, staying day and night, with almost no detours... He ran smoothly to the northern wilderness and joined the Guakili tribe with whom he was familiar... the Red Monkey tribe..."
"Zukata? Stick?"
Upon hearing this name, the old militiaman Chihuaco's eyes moved and he looked confused.
"He is... from the royal family of Tarasco?"
"The battalion commander is..."
Chippawa, the wasteland warrior, hesitated for a moment, but when he thought that things had changed and all his previous plans were meaningless, he sighed and spoke.
"Hey! The battalion commander is the commander-in-chief of the southern route army, a trusted guard of Prince Kuius, and may even be the captain of the guard. Before the collapse of the royal army, the prince entrusted the prince to him and asked him to take him to flee to the north... However, he finally escaped to In the north, the prince died on the road. And the reason why he came to save me... It is said, it is said that... I look like the dead prince..."
"Ah? This! You...you can survive...what a fate..."
The old militiaman was silent for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Then what?"
"Then…"
The wasteland warrior Chippawa narrowed his eyes, recalling another unforgettable fight, and recounted it in a low and trembling voice.
"We first joined the Red Monkey Tribe... then the tribes were defeated and fled... and then joined the Red Dog Tribe of Chief Chichika... and then were defeated and fled again... gathered by the Red Crow Chief... fled all the way east... until this prophecy The fertile soil, the Huastec land of the east!…”
"The Red Crow Tribe established itself here, conquering the south and the north, becoming more and more powerful day by day! I also followed Sister Alan and conquered the tribes everywhere. The chief sat in the south and plundered the Huastec tribes. Sister Alan conquered the north and conquered the wasteland. The canine descendants of each tribe established a new nest for the Red Crow Tribe! She carved the pattern of the wasteland on all her loyal followers, including me!..."
"And I also became the leader of an elite hundred-man team in the tribal fighting... There are twenty other centurions like me under Sister Alan! And other ordinary centurions, Even more than twenty..."
The tattooed Chippawa chattered a lot about the wilderness. Chihuaco, the veteran militiaman, listened patiently. Although he didn't understand much, he never interrupted. It wasn't until the night deepened and the bonfire was about to burn out that the tattooed Chippawa licked his dry lips and asked again.
"Dad, what about you? Why are you here?"
"Me? Me...that's a long time coming..."
Chihuaco, the old militiaman, rubbed his face and was silent for a while before speaking in a low voice. His story was written lightly, as if the past life and death were like clouds and smoke in the sky, dispersed by the wind.
"I was conscripted to the north. I first guarded the river mouth fortress, and then participated in a water battle and escaped back to the fortress... The fortress fell and we fled all the way. Only seven of the militiamen who were recruited from the village survived... We returned to the village, the village There is no one here anymore... Your mother is dead, you were conquered, and your sister was taken to the royal city by the warriors... We will return to the royal city..."
"I found your sister, she is still alive, just a little bit... I went out of the city to rescue the king's army. Then I watched the king's flag fall, the king was captured by the Mexica, and the king's reinforcements were defeated in the pursuit... We We fled back to the royal city, and met a Mexica scout in the middle... The Mexica army came, and we defended the city. The city could no longer be defended... We opened the door and led the Mexica people to the palace, and also The whole family took revenge!…”
"Then...it settled down...it lasted for two years, maybe...farming in the Lake District...your sister also got married, the Vezti in the village...yes! She was the one with the turban. He lost his mother-in-law and his child. I couldn't find them all. I thought he was okay and could live a good life, so I promised your sister to him... By the time I go back this time, they should have had a baby, right? "
Having said this, the old militiaman Chihuaco finally showed a smile on his face. He rubbed his hands, rubbed his face, and prayed sincerely.
“The Lord God bless you!…”
"Damn it! You're taking advantage of that guy Wezti! He's so old, so ugly, and he married my sister! If he dares to treat my sister badly, I'll run back from here and kill him with my own hands!"
In front of the bonfire, the wasteland warrior Chippawa cursed a few words in a low voice, but with a smile on his face. He added some wood to the bonfire, and the fire became much brighter. As a result, the light reflected in the eyes of the two people gradually became more moving.
"Dad, what else is there?"
"And..."
The old militiaman stretched out his hand and pulled his hair again. During the next two voyages of exploration, he had a lot to say and a lot of stories to tell. But in the end, only a few words came out of his mouth about these choppy, dangerous and unpredictable voyages of exploration.
"In the past few years, I was somehow chosen by His Majesty the Kingdom. He asked me to take the fleet to sea. I traveled to the West Sea and struggled for more than a year...I stayed home for less than a year, and was taken to sea again. Sent to the East China Sea to find the snake island in the East China Sea where Quetzalcoatl is transformed..."
"In the East China Sea, the snake island where Quetzalcoatl transformed?"
Hearing this, the wasteland warrior Chipawa also scratched his hair. He had only traveled on land, and the vast sea was a completely unknown place to him. No matter the difficulty of sailing or the distance at sea, I have no idea. In fact, most of the canine descendants in the wasteland were like him, close to the earth under their feet, but kept away from the sea.
"Dad, what is this Snake Island? Is it far away?"
"Yeah. It's a bit far."
"So, have you found it?"
"Yes. After some effort, I finally found it."
"So, you came back from Snake Island and passed by here?"
"Hmm... I guess so! We encountered a storm and drifted here... It was originally not a smooth journey."
"That's it!..."
The wasteland warrior Chipawa thought for a moment and didn't quite understand, but it didn't matter, as long as his father was here. Thinking of this, he patted his chest hard, looked at his father who had been separated for seven years, and persuaded him confidently.
"Dad! Just stay here and don't go back! I have people now, a lot of people, who can take care of you! Don't you like farming? I will get this village from Sister Alan. You! There are so many fields here, I will leave them to you to take care of! From now on, you will follow me and live a good life here with peace of mind!..."
