Chapter 343: Unsolvable Problem
The Great Shaman's words were clever in that he didn't oppose Wang Yang from beginning to end, nor did he question his identity. Instead, he stood on the position of maintaining the Divine Envoy and respecting Pan Wang, which not only avoided the fire of challenging Wang Yang's authority but also justified throwing out the question of the Divine Envoy's true or false, leaving the little shaman with no way to refute, so he could only barely say:
"Shaman Master's words are correct, but the Sacred Assembly—"
The Great Shaman smiled faintly:
"Don't worry, I have dreamed of it all."
A few short words were like pebbles thrown into a lake, causing ripples in the crowd. Many barbarian people showed a sudden realization. It turned out that today's events had been predicted long ago. No wonder the Great Shaman walked out of the sacrificial cave to say these words. It turned out that this was a destined arrangement!
The little shaman also froze in place. The Great Shaman often dreamed of things that had not happened. Since he had dreamed of it all, what was the use of his blocking? Could it be that the interruption of the Sacred Assembly today was inevitable? What else happened later? The little shaman wanted to ask, but was worried that the Great Shaman would take the opportunity to make trouble. At a loss, he had to look back at Wang Yang.
The Great Shaman ignored the little shaman, raised his hand, and three assistant shamans held three ancient wooden long boxes forward, holding them high.
The wooden box was dark in color, and ancient patterns that no one could recognize were carved on the surface. As soon as it appeared, it attracted everyone's attention.
The Great Shaman said loudly:
"This box contains three 'unsolvable problems' left by the wise barbarian Wu Qi, the holy teacher. That year, our tribe adhered to the Pan Wang Dao, moved out of Wuling, traveled thousands of miles, and moved to Yidu. At that time, the forest was not open, and jackals and tigers were surrounding. It was a time when everyone was of one heart and struggling to survive. But there were a few treacherous people who harbored ulterior motives, claiming to be Divine Envoys, bewitching the hearts of the people. In just two months, there were five people who claimed to be Divine Envoys, fighting for power, all saying they had obtained Pan Wang's true transmission. As a result, the tribe fought with swords and soldiers, fathers and brothers, each for their own master, killing each other, and the corpses blocked the stream! It almost destroyed the foundation of our Yidu tribe!
Fortunately, the holy teacher Wu Qi communicated with heaven and earth, received divine revelation, and set up three 'unsolvable problems' to test the truth. The so-called unsolvable means that ordinary people cannot answer, and only the Divine Envoy who has obtained Pan Wang's protection can see through the mystery. Where could those fake treacherous people solve it? Either they couldn't speak, or they answered randomly, full of loopholes, and revealed their true colors in an instant. The tribe people then knew they were deceived, and killed these fake Divine Envoys with swords, and the disaster of internal fighting was settled since then.
The holy teacher Wu Qi sealed these three problems in a wooden box, ordered the shaman to pass it down from generation to generation, and said that in the future, if a true Divine Envoy descends, he will surely be able to solve this problem; if there are fake Divine Envoys making trouble again, then use this as a test, and you can know its falsity immediately. Fortunately, for hundreds of years, no one has dared to impersonate the Divine Envoy, so this box has been sealed until now. Now, the true Divine Envoy has descended to our tribe, and this thing is useless. The Divine Envoy has even passed down a clear decree, saying that there is only one Divine Envoy. Apart from the Divine Envoy, anyone who claims to be a Divine Envoy or claims to have obtained Pan Wang's divine decree is a blasphemous fake believer. Then this thing is even more useless.
But in the future, if there are big treacherous and cunning people who don't know where they heard about this, and want to control the Yidu tribe by solving the problem. Then they are glib-tongued, playing the banner of Pan Wang, making up some new and clever treacherous lies like 'Pan Wang has an order, sending a new envoy again' or 'The Divine Envoy is busy, Pan Wang has a new order for one person, temporarily acting as the Divine Envoy,' maybe there will really be stupid people who are confused for a while and deceived by them.
At that time, they will ask to solve the problem to verify the truth. If we take out this box to verify it again, isn't it a distrust of the Divine Envoy's decree? After all, the Divine Envoy has said that anyone who claims to be a Divine Envoy in the future is a fake believer, so how can it be worth verifying again? But if we don't verify it, it is the dereliction of duty of the shaman, failing the ancestors' instructions, and failing the mission of the generations of shamans to pass on the fire."
The Great Shaman's voice paused, his brows frowned slightly, as if thinking of a way. Then his eyes flashed, as if he had suddenly realized, and his words turned:
"Then why don't we let the Divine Envoy solve these three problems in public? This not only truly responds to the divine revelation left by the holy teacher Wu Qi, making the Yidu tribe see that our Divine Envoy's talent is extraordinary and the divine traces are obvious! It can also cut off the greed and greed of the treacherous and evil people to 'solve the problem and become a Divine Envoy.' From now on, anyone who dares to claim to be a Divine Envoy again must be a treacherous and blasphemous person! Kill them directly, no need to verify again!"
The Great Shaman waved his black sleeves, showing a decisive majesty. Then he restrained his sternness, turned to the sacrificial platform, and bowed to Wang Yang, his tone turning respectful:
"Of course, if the Divine Envoy is unwilling to solve these three problems, then I will take the wooden box back to the sacrificial cave immediately. What to do, it is all up to the Divine Envoy."
The Great Shaman's words were half true and half false.
Wu Qi was indeed a real person, the first Great Shaman after the Yidu tribe moved from Changsha Wuling to Jingzhou Yidu, and was called the "Wise Barbarian" together with the holy barbarian Ba Dan. He once used three "unsolvable problems" to calm the chaos of the Divine Envoy's coexistence, which was also a fact. But there was no such thing as ordering the generations of shamans to pass it down to verify the truth of the Divine Envoy. This was purely the Great Shaman mixing falsity with truth and using history to weigh himself.
After killing the fake Divine Envoy and calming the internal chaos, the Yidu tribe's vitality was greatly damaged. On the one hand, the three patriarchs, under the intentional promotion of Wu Qi, divided the power and formed a subtle balance. Any self-proclaimed Divine Envoy would become a common enemy of the three families; on the other hand, Wu Qi also claimed that the Divine Envoy would not descend for the time being, and at the same time established cruel punishments and strict rules, unifying the creed and instilling divine will. Coupled with the bloody memory of the fake Divine Envoy's chaos and the gradual solidification of Pan Wang's faith, no one dared to impersonate the Divine Envoy.
Therefore, Wu Qi would never let the succeeding shamans take those three problems to verify the truth of each Divine Envoy, because what he wanted was not the absolute of the "method of verifying God," but the stability of "no God to verify." Under his operation, not only were there no fake Divine Envoys, but even if a true Divine Envoy appeared, under the joint spearhead of the three patriarchs and shamans, he would not dare to show his head.
Who dares to say that he is a Divine Envoy, who stands outside the four strongest powers of the Yidu tribe. Over time, there was no one who dared to say that he was a Divine Envoy. And those three "unsolvable problems" that could verify the truth of the Divine Envoy were buried in the long river of time under the intentional concealment of the four powers including Wu Qi.
Therefore, for hundreds of years, although the barbarian tribe has been circulating the story of Wu Qi's wisdom in breaking the fake Divine Envoy and solving the internal fighting, no one has heard of any "unsolvable problems." However, after the Great Shaman finished speaking, there were not many people who doubted it, because the Great Shaman was in charge of sacrifice and history, so this secret matter was told by him, which was logical. (In ancient times, the Han dynasty also had shamanism and history, so even if shamanism and history were separated in the Han dynasty, Sima Qian still said "literature, history, astronomy, and calendar are close to divination and blessing," which is the legacy of ancient shamanism.) Not to mention that the Great Shaman brought the physical objects.
This physical object was turned out by the Great Shaman from the sacrificial cave collection. He had seen the questions in advance and was sure that no one could answer them, so he took them to make things difficult for Wang Yang. He said it was all up to Wang Yang, but if Wang Yang refused, wasn't it a clear proof of his guilty conscience?
Several patriarchs saw this joint, and most of the barbarian people did not doubt it, but looked forward to seeing the problems of the wise barbarian Wu Qi and the extraordinary wisdom shown by the Divine Envoy; a few people who had doubts about Wang Yang's Divine Envoy identity in their hearts were wrapped in the general trend and dared not express it, so they took this opportunity to see what Wang Yang was really a Divine Envoy.
As for Bao Yue, she thought about how to completely eliminate the Great Shaman's lineage after the change.
Wang Yang had already prepared a backup move to prevent the Great Shaman from making trouble. Although he didn't expect him to make such a move, it didn't matter. It's better to see what the questions are. Answering has the wonderfulness of answering, and not answering has the means of not answering.
Wang Yang is "highly skilled and bold," still standing with his hands behind his back, smiling:
"The Shaman Master is thoughtful and has good intentions. How could I refuse? Present the questions, I will solve them and then preach."
The Great Shaman's expression changed slightly.
He originally thought Wang Yang would find various excuses to shirk, and it was not impossible to turn his face in public, but he didn't expect Wang Yang to agree so readily! This once again interrupted the rhythm he had envisioned.
However, his response was also very fast, immediately requiring the three patriarchs and three shamans to go on stage to verify the relics of Wu Qi and prepare the items needed for the problems, and also pointed out six headmen and elders with prestige to witness, to prevent Wang Yang from finding excuses to play tricks after failing to solve the problems.
Wang Yang agreed to all of them.
After everything was ready, the two carried up a wooden table, on which a bronze round plate and a copper cup of the same texture were placed. The clear water in the plate was slightly rippling, and the copper cup was placed aside. The elder announced in a solemn voice according to the ancient slips in the wooden box, and the first question was called—"Full without pouring."
The question requires the answerer to transfer the clear water in the plate to the cup without tilting, moving the copper plate, or using external objects to scoop or absorb water. The people on and off the stage whispered. This requirement is too difficult! Can't pour, can't scoop, then how can the water get to the cup by itself? It is indeed an unsolvable problem!
Patriarch Tian thought to himself, it seems that Wang Yang's Divine Envoy position may not be stable, so he still has to wait and see.
Bao Yue felt that there were loopholes in the question. Without using external objects to scoop or absorb water, the cup is in the question, so it doesn't count as an external object. Can the cup be used to scoop? But after looking at it, she felt that the copper plate was too shallow and there was too little water, so she was afraid it couldn't be scooped up. The Great Shaman was calm on the surface, but proud in his heart: "Stunned, right..."
Wang Yang thought for a while and ordered the Sacred Guards to take some medium-sized, flat-topped stones.
He picked one and put it in the plate, the stone bottom soaked in the water, and most of it exposed to the water surface. Then he asked someone to take some oil paste used for sacrificial ceremonies, put it on the stone surface, lit it with fire, and when the flame burned big, he inverted the copper cup to cover the stone.
Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what it meant.
The Great Shaman was about to say something, when the patriarchs and headmen watching on the stage suddenly let out a low exclamation!
It turned out that the clear water in the plate was inexplicably decreasing, as if an invisible beast was absorbing water!
In fact, saying it is an invisible beast is not wrong. Combustion consumes oxygen, causing a pressure difference inside and outside the copper cup. This is the "air pressure beast"!
Patriarch Cheng was dumbfounded: "This... this is..."
Patriarch Tian immediately stood in line, and without waiting for the water to finish, he shouted frantically:
"Godly, godly! Really godly! The water has entered the cup, it has all entered the cup!!"
The barbarian people below stood on tiptoe and couldn't see clearly, but the shock and fanaticism had spread like a wildfire!
The people in the front row squeezed forward to see the miracle! The people in the back row stretched their necks to look! The whole scene was like a boiling pot!
Bao Yue was also dumbfounded. Regardless of how Wang Yang did it, she immediately seized the opportunity and shouted repeatedly: "Pan Wang's protection! The Divine Envoy is immortal!"
The rhythm was brought up, and the shouting sounded like a tsunami again, one wave higher than the other!
Wang Yang smiled and waved his hand to stop the sound wave, looking at the Great Shaman who was stunned:
"Second question, come."
The Great Shaman thought it was evil. He originally wanted to say that there was still a little water left in the plate, and it was not completely cleared, but he felt that since this method was feasible, Wang Yang would just repeat it. Besides, the reaction below was so enthusiastic, if he publicly picked thorns, wouldn't it be clear that he was against Wang Yang? So he had to say a few flattering words, determined to use the second question to give Wang Yang a head-on blow!
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Note: Chapter 218 "Two Foxes Fighting": "The Yidu barbarians are a branch of the Changsha Wuling barbarians. They only moved to Jingzhou during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and have long been using the Han language and characters..." ===== CHAPTER 344 =====
End of Chapter
