radiothebook Chapter 154 Strange Fragrance
Chapter 154 Strange Fragrance
Chapter 154 Strange Fragrance
The night before last, Chris was raped by a 60-year-old green-eyed woman in the Patiko tribe.
But Chris was already used to it, and even somewhat enjoyed it.
He would also seize this opportunity to learn a few phrases from the other party.
Chris has now mastered the pronunciation and usage of words such as "faster" and "must hold back".
But that's still far from enough. He's a con artist; his tongue is his martial art, and his words are his weapons.
This is a life-or-death battle. The battlefield is treacherous, and the enemy is ruthless. To win and survive, he must hone his weapon to its sharpest edge.
As long as he can master the language and wield the sword, he is confident that he can turn the tide and reverse the decline.
Even now, Chris has not lost hope.
He was certain he would not die here; fate was still unfolding.
For some reason, the group of green-eyed men didn't kill Chris, but instead led him westward.
As long as he continues westward, it proves that his destiny has not deviated from its course and that he will not die easily.
Besides, fate had already accepted Chris's bribe: a left ear and countless seeds.
Once he escapes and breaks the current cycle, fate will surely lift him up to a height he never dared to imagine before!
Whenever I think about that moment, a smile involuntarily appears on my face.
However, although he could see the long term, he could not see the short term; he could not even predict his situation half a day later.
Chris had no idea why these people weren't killing him, or where they wanted to take him.
However, Chris could tell that these people were using him for profit.
Whenever he arrived at a tribe, he would be locked in a wooden cage.
Then, he allowed the people in the tribe to throw stones at him, spit on him, and even urinate on him.
Women were no exception, and whenever this happened, he would take the opportunity to curl up and shiver quietly, which was the only pastime he could find after being captured.
When Chris leaves the tribe with the group, he will find that they have more food, weapons, furs, and bone ornaments among their supplies.
Through these events, Chris also realized that the actions of the Easterners in the New World had long been hated by the Green-Eyed People.
They were willing to pay such a huge price simply for allowing the tribe members to vent their resentment and dissatisfaction on Chris.
This made Chris realize that it would be even more difficult to make a living by talking alone while facing ethnic hatred.
It was afternoon, and Chris's hands were bound with rope. A short, young man with green eyes was leading Chris forward. Although green-eyed people are generally not tall, this one was particularly short, probably less than five feet tall.
He was in the middle of the group, with the leader at the front and the elite fighters positioned in front of and behind Chris.
At the very back of the procession were a group of women and two drummers.
Having witnessed the strange powers these women used that day, Chris believed that the group of green-eyed women were undoubtedly the most dangerous and powerful beings.
The team has been traveling for two days straight, but has only had less than five hours of rest each day.
They seemed to be in a great hurry, but Chris couldn't tell whether they wanted to get to their destination as soon as possible, or if there was a reason they didn't want to linger on this journey.
Regardless of the reason, Chris is nearing his limit.
He received very little food each day, yet had to walk such a long distance; it was truly a torment for him.
But he had to keep going; if he stopped, the only reward he would receive was a beating.
Just then, Chris saw a man in front of him suddenly step out of the line and shout loudly at the crowd.
Chris understood three of the words: a forest hunter hurrying on his way, and flowers about to bloom because of the arrival of spring.
The great god Mildred brings death to those who do not listen to nature.
That's right, it's just three words.
At first, Chris also thought it should be a sentence, but later Chris realized that the long string of words could be spoken by different people without missing a single syllable, and he then realized that it might be words.
It was after discovering this characteristic that Chris's progress in learning Green Eyes' language greatly improved.
Based on this, he continued to summarize and generalize, and he finally realized that although the grammatical structure of Green Eyes' language seemed very simple, it contained many self-contradictions.
To overcome this problem, we must minimize the number of words in a sentence.
This results in the existence of many extremely long compound words in Green Eyes' language that express complex meanings.
To date, Chris has mastered seventy or eighty frequently heard super long compound words.
Based on the few words he understood, Chris had no way of knowing what had happened.
It is certain that the situation is quite urgent.
Chris didn't need to worry about that; he just needed to obediently be his prisoner and follow the group. However, Chris's gaze couldn't leave the man.
Around the man's neck hung an exquisite necklace adorned with the ears of various animals, including human ears.
Chris immediately spotted the blackened human ear and could tell that it was the newest one among them.
He thought that ear was really beautiful, while at the same time he felt a throbbing pain behind his left ear.
Chris shifted his gaze from the ear back to the man's face, secretly vowing that if he could break free from this cycle, he would cut off the man's ear as well.
Just then, Chris felt a stinging pain in his right eye and couldn't help but squint.
After a while, he realized that it was because the sunlight was penetrating the tree canopy.
After spring arrived, the New World seemed to be cursed with overcast skies, and Chris couldn't remember the last time he had seen the sun.
Looks like the damn gloomy weather is finally over.
However, Chris heard many sighs in his ear, the voices trembling as if from fear.
He looked at the green-eyed people, each of them with an expression of fear and unease.
The man wearing the necklace then spoke a long string of words, waving his arms incessantly.
Chris only understood one word, which many of the older men had said to him: "Faster!"
Then, the group's pace suddenly quickened, and Chris had to jog to keep up.
He was starving, but reason told him that now was not the time to worry about hunger.
Just then, Chris smelled a fragrance.
It smells like morning glory, and is also similar to gardenia; the fragrance is rich yet refreshing.
However, the fragrance grew stronger and stronger, gradually becoming a bit pungent and even suffocating. Chris wasn't allergic to pollen, but at that moment he started coughing.
He lowered his gaze and then noticed that flowers were blooming in the places where the sunlight shone.
Just moments before, it was just bare soil.
The flowers are pale blue, with four petals and long stamens extending from the center.
Chris couldn't understand how these flowers could sprout, grow stems, and then bloom instantly from a single seed, even if they were blooming because they absorbed the energy of the sun.
This whole thing was eerie, and Chris had a bad feeling about it.
The sunlight grew stronger, and more and more land was exposed to it.
Chris was only distracted for a moment, and when he came to his senses, the ground was covered with flowers.
The person wearing the necklace hurriedly shouted, and all those responsible for combat drew their weapons and began clearing away the nearby flowers.
And the women started drumming and dancing again.
Chris saw dark green miasma begin to gather around the women, and this miasma coalesced into a specific shape.
It transformed into a sickle, sweeping horizontally along the ground and instantly severing a field of flowers.
However, there were simply too many flowers.
Chris happened to see a flower suddenly break off its stem without any external interference, allowing its corolla to float into the air.
The flower crown spun around, flew high, and slowly drifted toward the group of women.
The women seemed to be focused on tending to the flowers on the ground, with no time to notice what was happening above them.
Chris noticed that the petals of the corolla seemed to be fluttering autonomously, as if they were controlling their flight direction.
And coincidentally, it landed precisely in the middle of that group of women.
Chris suddenly realized that these flowers might be more than just simple plants.
They possess consciousness!
At that moment, the women finally noticed the flower crown, and Chris saw the look of horror on their faces.
Before they could react, the flower crown suddenly exploded.
A cloud of blue-green dust bloomed and, in an instant, swallowed the three women within it.
The green miasma summoned by the woman through her bizarre dance collapsed and dissipated in an instant.
As the dust settled, the figures of the three women reappeared.
Those who stood motionless in place had their exposed skin stained a pale blue.
A gentle breeze blew by, and the pale blue color on their skin was slowly peeled away and carried away like dust.
However, no matter how much is blown away, beneath the blue cover, there remains blue, until—
The women's entire heads were swept away by the gentle caress of the breeze, their long hair left adrift.
They also danced in the wind.
Chris felt a chill run down his spine; he suddenly understood what these green-eyed people had been worried about.
Just then, the warriors were also attacked by the flowers, and many men turned into blue dust.
These flowers will indiscriminately take the lives of everyone nearby.
Chris instinctively looked around; the pale blue flowers had already surrounded them.
The land he was standing on was like a lone reef surrounded by the sea, and he had nowhere to escape.
In this situation, he could only hope that the green-eyed man who had cut off his ear to adorn his necklace would lead the other warriors and pave a path to survival for everyone.
But the moment Chris spotted the man, a cloud of bluish-green dust burst forth from there.
The man's head was exposed above the dust, but his body was swallowed up, including the exquisite necklace.
Chris saw that the man's face initially contorted into a menacing grin, but soon his expression froze.
After the dust settled, the man's body immediately turned into bluish dust, leaving only his head rolling on the ground.
If even this man dies, and even those women with strange powers are powerless, Chris panicked, wondering what else could save him.
At this moment, a dozen or so fluttering flower crowns were slowly approaching him from the air. Chris's eyes trembled uncontrollably, and the fear in his blood was so intense that he was almost scared to death.
He couldn't think of any way to save himself. Chris was almost in despair. "I'm doomed to die here."
But if this is his end, then fate is too ridiculous!
What exactly is fate? Just then, he heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground.
Then, his nose caught a rich and unique fragrance.
It doesn't smell like flowers, nor like wine, nor like meat or a woman's body odor.
It was a unique, completely new scent that Chris had never smelled before.
If Chris had to describe it, the only word that comes to mind is "spicy"?
This fragrance is also far more pungent than floral scents.
Chris coughed incessantly and his eyes welled up with tears after just a slight sniff.
Just as he smelled the fragrance, he was surprised to find that the flower crowns that had been flying straight toward him suddenly seemed to have lost their direction and began to flutter haphazardly with the flow of air.
Before Chris could figure out what was happening, a shadow suddenly swept past him, bringing with it a strong gust of wind.
A moment later he could see clearly that there was a tall and strong man riding an equally large elk, galloping through the elm forest.
The natives of the New World were generally short, but this man was indeed a green-eyed person; Chris noticed his emerald-green eyes.
He seemed unafraid of the flowers that could easily kill, riding his deer and trampling them wantonly.
Chris noticed that he was holding a leather bag in one of his hands.
Whenever he approached a new patch of flowers, he would reach into his leather bag with his other hand and grab some of the powder.
It was sprinkled into the air.
The powder drifted in the wind, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight, as if it were gold dust itself.
Every time he sprinkled the powder, Chris would cough violently, which led Chris to discover the source of the pungent smell.
The moment the flowers were touched by the powder, they were like a lady being touched by a man for the first time, shyly and eagerly withdrawing her body, the whole flower quickly falling back to the ground.
It was only after witnessing this scene that Chris realized that those pale blue flowers were probably not plants after all.
But whatever that thing was, one thing was beyond doubt—he was saved!
Haha! This is fate! Chris grinned. I am walking on the right path of fate. Although I will encounter trials and tribulations, I will never die! I will eventually reach the ascent of destiny!
Meanwhile, Chris noticed that the short, green-eyed man who was holding his hand had somehow loosened the rope in his panic.
Fortune and misfortune are unpredictable; fate is fickle.
Chris had no way to escape from the group of green-eyed people, but he was also certain that this perilous situation would bring him some kind of opportunity, such as—...
He turned his head and saw the head of the man who had cut off his ear.
Chris's eyes instantly turned red. With his wrists tied together, he ran madly toward the head, picked up the weapon on the ground, and cut off the man's left ear.
He smiled.
My revenge has been achieved!
But the remaining green-eyed people won't let him keep that ear!
Soon, several more people riding deer arrived, and the situation finally calmed down completely.
After some discussion, Chris's identity as a prisoner was confirmed once again.
The short, green-eyed man from before walked over and kicked Chris hard as punishment for running around recklessly. Then, he pulled on the rope binding Chris's wrists again.
Therefore, he was forced to continue following along the way.
The accident just now resulted in the death of half of the group, but fortunately, these green-eyed people riding deer joined the group.
With them escorting him, Chris felt much more at ease.
Not long after nightfall, the group seemed to have finally reached their destination, and Chris once again entered a completely new tribe.
Chris immediately noticed that this tribe was different from others.
There are three or four times more wooden houses here than in the tribes Chris had visited before.
Therefore, Chris also guessed that the tribe's population was quite large.
So this might be a metropolis for the Green-Eyed People?
Chris even suspected that this might be a tribe directly under the leadership of the Green-Eyed People.
If the man with the necklace had intended to bring Chris here from the beginning, Chris could understand his motives. There must be someone or something in this tribe that needed to use Chris.
But he didn't care. He had been traveling for several days and had only received a little food. He just wanted to rest.
And he had to hurry, because another old man might come looking for him tonight, and then he wouldn't get any rest.
However, since he entered this tribe, they have neither locked him in a cage nor restrained him.
Simply keeping Chris locked up with some cattle and sheep doesn't seem to worry Chris about escaping by climbing over the fence. Chris guesses that there are probably guards stationed somewhere he can't see.
Although the stench was unbearable, Chris was already used to it.
The only thing that puzzled Chris was that this place, which looked like a square or something, was being used to build livestock sheds. It seemed like they were not making good use of the space and location.
But these are, after all, green-eyed people; perhaps this is their custom, or it is related to their beliefs.
Chris didn't think too much about it, lay down on the ground, and quickly fell asleep.
But not long after, he was awakened by a bright light.
He then noticed that a tall bonfire had suddenly been lit not far in front of the fence.
Beneath the campfire, a man wearing a feathered crown and a cloak stood holding something that looked like a vine, talking incessantly.
And every time he said a few words, the people surrounding him would shout in unison.
Due to the difference in light and shadow, Chris couldn't see the man's face clearly, but judging from his build, it should be the man who rode the reindeer that afternoon.
After all, a tall, green-eyed person like him is a very rare existence.
After an unknown amount of time, someone suddenly walked into the enclosure, led a sheep out, and brought it to the vicinity of the campfire.
Then, the drums sounded, and the green-eyed people began to shout in rhythm with the drumbeats.
Several more women wore strange costumes made of square-shaped fabric pieces, adorned with many bones...
Ornaments made of materials such as feathers, pearls, and shells danced gracefully under the campfire.
He also saw—
At first, Chris thought it was his imagination, but he soon realized it wasn't.
The outline of the flames began to change, gradually transforming into a humanoid shape, like the upper body of a fire giant.
The giant stretched out his fiery hand, which flowed with the wind, and seized the sheep.
The wool was instantly burned black, and the sheep cried out in pain.
But the sheep didn't move at all, as if it were bound by some strange force.
The flames engulfed the sheep's entire body until—it was completely burned dry.
The giant withdrew his hand, and the green-eyed man carried away the sheep's body, then led a cow out of the enclosure.
Then came the deer—
Seeing this, Chris took a deep breath, as if spring had regressed into winter.
He knew why he had been brought here, and he understood what kind of fate awaited him. In the eyes of these green-eyed people, he was no different from the sheep, cows, and deer.
What to do! What to do!
Green-eyed people guarded every direction of the fence.
They were all armed, while Chris was unarmed and unskilled in martial arts, not to mention he was missing an eye.
He has no chance of escaping by forcing his way in.
"I'm a con artist!" Chris thought. "A con artist's weapon is his tongue!"
But this damn green-eyed language is just too hard to learn!
Although he can already understand some common phrases and have simple conversations.
But this level of skill is completely unacceptable for fraud!
Oh shit!
Fuck!
Damn!
Chris thought bitterly, "I've tried so hard, why is this still the fate that awaits me?"
fate?
Fate, fate!
Yes! I won't die, Chris still held onto a sliver of hope. I came here following fate, and I've already paid the toll for my escape to rise to destiny!
Through that book, "The Guide to Destiny Interpretation," I learned how to interpret destiny, and I have completely mastered destiny!
He almost abandoned that book, but later he came into contact with it by chance.
It had been seized by slave traders, but later returned to his possession.
Even though the pirates stole it, he still got it back.
Despite the fact that the so-called eight leaders stared at Chris with suppressed laughter as if he were an idiot after seeing the book.
But in the end, they returned the book to Chris.
The books have now been stolen by the green-eyed men, and no one knows where they've hidden them, but Chris is confident that he can get them back.
The power in the book is real; his senses are not an illusion.
Chris believes that interpreting fate is a magical power, and that's what makes it extraordinary.
If there was anything that could save him at this moment, he felt it must be this power.
He took a deep breath.
He thought of that kid, the kid who always liked to take deep breaths.
Damn it! Why did I have to think about that damn kid! Chris clicked his tongue, "I should have killed him a long time ago!"
Chris felt much calmer, so he sat down on the ground again, gathered his strength, and tried to interpret fate.
He sensed the changing trends of the fate of everything around him, and he only needed to gather all these trends together and attribute them to his own perception.
He chose his own ear, even though a sound came from it:
"A clay pot—"
The message fate was giving him remained unchanged, but "here—"
Chris shuddered and suddenly opened his eyes.
here?!
So, I've already arrived near the signifier of fate?
Before he could recover from his joy, two people entered the enclosure and pulled him up from the ground.
Then I pushed and rubbed him near the campfire ahead.
Damn it! There's no time left!
Since the pointer of fate is nearby!
That must be his only chance to survive.
Earthenware pot! Earthenware pot!
Chris looked around quickly, where was the pottery jar?
Although the firelight reached the sky, it was still nighttime and visibility was limited.
He couldn't spot the pottery jar at first, but he was getting closer and closer to the fire giant beneath the campfire...
destiny!
Earthenware pot!
Damn! Where is it?!
As Chris suddenly turned around, he saw a pottery jar in front of the green-eyed people on the outside!
"Ha ha!"
Chris burst out laughing. He could sense that the green-eyed man behind him was definitely confused, not understanding why he was laughing.
Hmph! Of course they don't understand; how can mortals comprehend destiny!
Chris suddenly exerted his strength and ran straight toward the pottery jar.
They probably didn't expect Chris to run towards the crowd, and the two green-eyed men couldn't stop him in time.
Fate is either cyclical or ascending.
He had already arrived in front of the pottery jar.
I am now inevitably caught in the cycle of fate...
The flames beneath the earthenware pot licked greedily into his eyes.
All I need to do is break the cycle to welcome the rising Chris kicking out with his right foot and overturning the pot.
"Haha! Hahaha—"
Chris laughed heartily. After so many hardships, he had finally done it!
But nothing happened.
"Haha...ha—" Chris's jaw gradually closed. "Ha...hmm?"
The jar was indeed broken, but it was an ordinary earthenware pot, and the stew inside had spilled onto the ground.
Chris froze in the night wind, his mind blank.
Suddenly, a violent force came from behind, and Chris fell forward.
Only when his face was pressed to the ground did he realize that the two green-eyed men from before had caught up with him.
To prevent him from escaping further, they immediately pinned him down.
The soup was scalding hot, but he had no mind to care about the pain. Why—Chris wondered—"I have already broken the cycle of fate!"
But fate remained on its original trajectory—
The green-eyed man was speaking in a language Chris couldn't understand, as if he were scolding, ordering, or threatening him.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
He paid no attention to it; the light in his eyes was gradually fading.
The rich soup moistened the corners of his mouth, and its aroma filled his nostrils.
Chris subconsciously licked his lips.
Well, this is just ordinary soup; it can't give him any special powers.
But it's also no ordinary soup; it's far too—
So delicious!
Chris's eyes lit up again, and he couldn't help but suck on the ground twice more.
Yes, it's delicious!
He had never tasted such delicious soup before!
Not just the soup, but nothing he had ever tasted could compare to it!
But so what? A delicious meal before death.
Even though he was thinking this, Chris couldn't stop licking the ground with his tongue.
Perhaps because the commotion was too great, the man wearing the feathered crown had already walked up to Chris.
Chris sipped the soup from the floor while glancing at the man's face.
Yes, this is the man riding the deer this afternoon.
Those beautiful, clear, emerald-green eyes were fixed on Chris.
Chris asked in his green-eyed voice, which he knew little about:
"What is this?"
Seemingly because he heard his own language from Chris, a strange glint appeared in the green-eyed man's eyes.
"Food," the other person replied.
"Okay, why?" Chris gestured as he spoke, "Okay, food, why?"
The man seemed to understand, for he waved his hand, and then another person brought over three smaller earthenware jars.
The person who was holding Chris down released his grip, allowing Chris to sit up.
They opened the jar in front of Chris, letting him peek inside.
It contained small, dark-colored granules that were difficult to distinguish in the firelight; it must have been some kind of crop.
However, the moment Chris brought his face close, a rich and fragrant aroma wafted into his nostrils.
It went straight to the depths of Chris's forehead.
The first can of crop smelled the same pungent aroma that Chris had noticed that afternoon.
Therefore, he guessed that the powder that the green-eyed man sprinkled in the afternoon must have been made from these small particles.
Chris immediately understood that this was the source of the deliciousness of the food in the clay pot!
His eyes widened, and he hurriedly asked:
"What are these things?"
The green-eyed person said:
"Kemaia, Gutguha, Rusethobo."
Chris didn't understand the meaning of these words, but guessed they were proper nouns.
So these things in front of us must be products unique to the New World.
That's true. Easterners only thought about transplanting their crops to the New World in order to establish settlements.
However, they never considered what kind of crops the area had.
Chris keenly sensed that these new crops would surely bring him enormous and astonishing wealth.
At the same time, he realized that this might be the true sign of fate, the only thing that allowed him to live and lead him to a higher destiny!
Chris stood up, pointed at the things, and shouted:
"Friends, together, in peace, guides sent by the moon goddess to the lake, lay down your stone axes and save nature—"
Chris used his limited vocabulary of green eyes to try and express his inner thoughts.
Upon hearing this, the green-eyed people exchanged glances, seemingly unable to accurately understand Chris's meaning.
But as long as they are willing to listen and communicate, that's enough for Chris.
Fate does indeed exist.
Fate is either cyclical or ascending!
A confident smile appeared on Chris's face.
I have broken the cycle; now it's time to embrace the ascent!
First of all, as the first Easterner to discover this crop, he felt that he alone was qualified to give it an Eastern name.
Chris paused for a moment, then extended his right hand, pointed to the first small jar, and called out the name he had given to the green-eyed person in front of him:
"black pepper!"