Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1230 Old Iben’s Past
It was not until Aiwas and his party entered the city gate that Aiwas in the carriage put down the book "Rest" in his hand and looked at Old Ibn with some doubts: "Does this really work?"

This was something that old Ibn had stuffed into his hand when they were just approaching the oasis.

Old Eben had Aiwass read the lines from the first chapter here - Aiwass felt this was somewhat embarrassing, so he slightly changed the lines to make it more natural.

Of course he knew what it was. It was like a religious scripture, except that there was no religion in the desert that believed in the savior in "Rest"...

But this is normal, Aiwas thought. After all, there are real gods in this world. Compared with the illusory savior of the future, it is more worthy of belief in real gods who can grant power.

“It seems to be working well for me.”

Haina complained: "They are all curled up on the ground like maggots, and they can't wait to kowtow."

When Haina found out that the "cake maker" who brought her such great excitement was the ritualist raised by the benevolent master of Qingquan City, she felt a great disgust towards his colleagues.

Even though I couldn't hate them because I was a stranger to them, I already knew in my heart what a twisted bunch of scum they were. I would never have the slightest bit of sympathy or leniency towards them.

“You have no idea how much we value ‘Rest in Peace’.”

Old Ibn laughed, and said with some regret and nostalgia: "For those families who can teach their children to read, the words they learn must come from "Parba". For all families, including slaves, except for fathers, mothers and masters, the first sentence they learn is basically "The sky bursts, and the Indigo King spews fire and descends from the sandstorm."

"Every true Parthian has mixed feelings about the desert. It has nurtured us, imprisoned us, and tortured us. Even though everyone believes in the afterlife to some extent, no one does not long for the coming of the savior who will lead us out of the desert. Precisely because of the twelve outrageous prophecies that have come true and are almost impossible to achieve, many people firmly believe that the first and thirteenth prophecy will eventually come true.

"Perhaps only those secret believers who follow the example of Horus and pursue Mithra...will not believe in the coming of the savior."

The old man sighed softly and exhaled a breath of foul air.

His cloudy and dim pupils stared at the people kneeling outside.

Like the wind blowing down the wheat waves, people also fell down and kowtowed before them.

This is where old Iben once walked.

He used to work here and study in the library.

He almost became a member of the "Water Crow Guards". If one of his senior brothers had not secretly advised him and asked him to swear the Pure Sect Oath... he would have become a member of the Thirst Stone Maker.

Haina looked a little reluctant and whispered, "Isn't this a bit bad..."

"You don't know, we, the people of Anxi, are such mean people, Lord Dane."

Old Iben liked to call Haina by her surname.

Although Haena was born a commoner, she was already a member of the Arbitration Hall. Although the Kingdom of Avalon no longer exists, Old Ibn still treats Aiwas and Haena the same way he treated the old queen when he served her—the lover of the little princess and the knight of the arbitrator.

The old man raised his lips slightly, like a bitter smile, a sneer, or a sarcasm: "The better you treat us, the more greedy we become and the more likely we are to become dissatisfied; the more harshly you discipline us, the more loyal and honest we become."

"This……"

Haina frowned and was speechless.

Old Iben looked out the window, and the scene of his past betrayal seemed to be reflected in his pupils.

His words became more and more indifferent, as if he didn't care about anything and that this was how things should be. However, just listening to his words made Aiwas feel pain in his heart:
"That's how slaves are. How can the master be at ease unless they are trained like dogs?
"If people can think, they become people. But good masters do not need so many people. Most people are chickens, cattle, sheep, livestock, and ants. They are the hot soup in the pot, the filth in the street, the bloodstone on the altar, and the burning embers at the bottom of the pit..."

Old Iben, who was almost at the end of his life, squinted his eyes slightly, as if he was asleep or in a dream.

After a long time, he opened his eyes as if awakened, and muttered two meaningless words, his voice getting louder again: "It's only when you can bite people that you feel at ease. It's only when you're not so smart that the master is willing to reward you with two bones.

"There are also smart people. Anxi has the best craftsman in the world, who can write 5,800 words on a finger bone - that is the number of words in "Anxi"; but if he can't do it, or if he damages the finger bone, his whole family will be buried with him." Among the Anxi people, there are unparalleled singers - forgive me for being frank, even the great singer of irises can't sing such a magnificent and sacred voice alone. And such singers, as long as the benevolent master wants, can cut off her tongue as a memorial at will. Or he can cut open her chest and abdomen to see if her lungs are larger than those of ordinary people.

“No one thought there was anything wrong with it. Or maybe there was, except they died.

"My Lord... You said that the good masters were originally only there to protect the remains of our ancestors. They also have a sacred mission, just like the night watchmen holding torches."

The old man said softly, "But do the night watchmen really hope that the sun will rise again? When the sun is not shining, they are the only light. When the sun rises, the flames in their hands will be like children's jokes.

"I don't know what divine mission is, nor do I know what the good Lord has given me to rest in peace. I only know that if I don't smash all of this to pieces, there will be no dawn in this world.

"You don't know how many fools wish the sun would never come out again. Just because they have gotten used to this kind of life, just because they have been given such a ridiculous amount of light and fire. Just because they have it and others don't...so they hate a brighter world.

"If you want to smash all this, you must not be gentle. Without the most fierce scolding and the most poisonous whipping, people will not stand up at all.

"——And the prophecy of "Rest" is the best whip. It wakes people up and makes them look up in a trance... to see if the sky has finally brightened.

"...see if the day has finally come."

Old Iben repeated the last sentence.

His eyes flickered, as if he saw some illusion, or as if there were tears in his eyes.

He looked at those people kneeling on the ground, as if he saw his past self and his companions.

——His senior brother, the person he once admired, was betrayed by his junior fellow brother... Ibn's nephew.

"...Aziz bin Abdul."

Ibn said slowly, "The reason why that man was able to enter the Great Library to study ritual magic was because of my recommendation. He was a slave who was exiled here from a city where his good master was killed and exterminated. My sister took pity on the child and adopted him."

In order to move up a level, he reported Old Ibn and his senior brother one by one - because their act of secretly helping slaves escape was considered "stealing the property of a good master."

"At the time, I had no idea that the person who reported them was my nephew, my sister's adopted son..."

Old Ibn said sarcastically: “After we were expelled from the society, we lived in my sister’s house with our companions, and we planned how to secretly rescue the innocent and righteous people who were chosen as the materials for the thirst stone and replace them with those sinners.

"We were not even planning to rebel against the Good Lord."

Because they all knew what would happen if Qingquan City lost its good master.

“But perhaps in order to advance to a higher level, or perhaps because he was jealous of my and my talents… Aziz bin Abdul, who was still an apprentice, secretly collected evidence and brought the Raven Guards to capture us on the spot.

“They fought hard to get me out.

“And they were hanged on this road. Because they would rather die than hand over my whereabouts.

“My sister, Aziz’s adoptive mother… was also tortured to death by the Good Lord for taking us in.”

Hearing this, Zhu Tang also remained silent.

His brows were slightly furrowed, and only his pursed lips and clenched fists could explain his boiling emotions at the moment.

And Aiwass slowly opened his eyes.

"If so," Aiwass said, "then let this prophecy come true."

(End of this chapter)