Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1162: Salt Corrosion Punishment
"…Petrified?"

Guide Anar understood this sentence, but wished she didn't.

She was a little panicked - because she could really understand what was going on.

Many extraordinary people in the Dusk Path have the ability to petrify, and some ancient ruins also have curses that turn people into stone. This is actually not uncommon... and more importantly, she has heard similar stories before.

At this moment, Zhu Tang realized something and frowned slightly.

"Let me ask."

It was the old ritualist Iben who spoke.

He sighed, stepped forward and began to communicate quickly with the snake priestess in fluent Parthian.

Although Aiwass could understand some of the Parthian language, the priestess Dongya had been communicating with them in the standard and slow Astral language, which sounded like a foreign language... However, such an important matter could be ambiguous even after one translation.

For example, the word "Shanzhu" is the result of translation from Xingti language, and its original meaning is closer to "merciful, kind, noble and holy master/sir".

The word "Master" that Anar called Aiwas was part of this word. It was also a more intimate and less serious title of "master" when slaves called their masters. Therefore, it was translated as "Master" - this was the intimate title that Xingtan's servants used to address their nobles, which was closer than titles such as "Sir", "Your Excellency" and "Mr.".

However, the former loses the meaning of humility, obedience and fear in translation, while the latter also loses the implication of "master-servant relationship" in translation. This is the information loss caused by translation.

Dongya was obviously relieved to see that Ibn, a Parthian, could help with translation.

She was obviously worried that she might say something wrong and send the wrong message. Ibn was obviously dressed like a ritualist, so he could understand some professional terms.

Amid the rapid, vague discussions that were clearly mixed with dialect, there were also a few uneasy and fearful whispers and questions from Anar.

Ibn soon understood the situation and returned to Aiwass to repeat it in a low voice.

——This happened not long ago.

Just two days ago, a powerful petrifying curse suddenly erupted from the center of Rock Cellar City - it was the attack effect caused by some irresistible ritual spell.

The snake priestess Dongya was not nearby at the time because she had already taken shelter. But later she tried to go to the Rock Cellar City to remove the curse, but found that the rituals and magic she mastered were completely ineffective. In fact, the curse was like a virus that infected her.

On the day when she failed to remove the curse, she only found that a scale on her waist had become a little rough. But when she woke up the next day, she felt a clear stinging pain.

It was a feeling like being pricked by needles - a bit like bone hyperplasia. At that time, Dong Ya found that the rough scale had completely turned into a gray-white brittle stone shell. After she broke the petrified scale with force, she found that the muscles inside had also been petrified.

So Dongya used a scimitar to completely dig out the petrified flesh and blood after blessing it. Then he used a healing ritual to restore his damaged body - the snake priests were not masters of the divine arts of the Eternal Church system, so they did not know illumination and fire worship.

But Dongya is already a third-level transcendent. No matter if it is Avalon, Xingti or Iris, they are all serious bishop-level divine spellcasters. This level of spellcasters still have this level of healing ability... Even a wizard has the ability to heal some minor injuries.

But before even the night was over, Dongya felt an increasingly intense and even more unbearable dry itch than pain.

It is said that it is a kind of pain "comparable to the punishment of salt corrosion" -

The punishment of salt corrosion is a torture unique to Parthia. It is only used on people of a certain status and is also the most common torture. It is usually used to punish those who dare to disrespect the good master because they have a little money or a little power - such as merchants, priests, ritualists or doctors. However, the latter people occasionally use simplified punishments to punish their slaves to imitate the authority of the good master. The most common situation is that a private ritualist or doctor has an affair with the good master's female slave. Or the merchants of the slave-catching team did not meet the good master's order, or lost, killed, or maimed the important slaves that the good master specifically requested.

This punishment involves stripping the person naked, locking them in a cage, and soaking them in thick, warm brine, a highly concentrated salt water that may also contain minerals such as sulfur and saltpeter.

Dongya received this kind of punishment because she refused the touch of the good master.

Although it sounds like just a hot spring bath, the high concentration of salt water can cause severe dehydration of the body - according to Dongya's own description, in the first few seconds, it felt like thousands of ice needles piercing the gaps between the scales.

Then, a stinging sensation will spread along the nerves, and a burning sensation like holding a flame will flow upstream along the ice needle. The originally smooth blue-gray scales faded, dried, and peeled off, revealing the pink tender flesh underneath. The exposed white skin also turned white and wrinkled at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a dead tree that has been drained of moisture.

The servant of the good master scooped up the brine with a long-handled copper spoon and poured it specifically on her waist, which refused to be touched, as a kind of "cleansing".

Different people were punished differently by the punishment of salt erosion. The good master was not too dissatisfied with her, so it was enough to bring it up to this extent.

It is said that if you continue to soak, your skin will tear and roll up. Then your whole body will be severely dehydrated, and you may even be marinated alive and turned into salted meat while screaming.

——This is also the privilege of the good Lord.

Because all water belongs to the good Lord, including the water in everyone's body. For the insignificant untouchables, the punishment was usually to hang them to dry, or to hang them upside down and bleed to death.

But for people of higher status, this would seem too long, not intuitive or quick enough. Moreover, the crimes they committed do not necessarily require the death penalty. Therefore, the salt erosion punishment, which "can be brought up at any time based on one's mood", "can completely lead to death", and "has a certain degree of reversibility", is the best choice.

And it can also serve as a constant reminder to everyone that the Good Lord controls all the water in the desert, and that people are able to survive only by the grace of the Good Lord. They can give people life, and they can also take it back.

This torture lasted until nightfall, and even Dongya herself could not help but tear off her own scales, and the itching finally ended - petrification spread from under the scales like a plague, and this time it obviously spread to the surroundings.

Originally, there was only a scale the size of a thumbnail, but now it has spread to the size of a palm. The pain has reduced the itching a lot, so much so that I can barely fall asleep.

As a result, her bedtime prayer was unexpectedly answered - in fact, for most pastors and priests, it is normal for prayers to go unanswered.

The result was the miracle of the apostles’ coming.

However, Jacob did not remove the curse from her because he said "it was not necessary".

Because as long as she can complete her task, the curse will naturally be lifted; if she cannot complete it, then she is naturally not qualified to discuss this matter.

——The mission is to bring Aiwas who will arrive at the temple today.

"But why did this curse appear?"

Aiwas frowned, "Did the Dongya priest say anything?"

"Yes," Old Iben nodded, "It was an extortion, a robbery... a kidnapping."

(End of this chapter)