Chapter 60

Mei Yi dismounted, casually tossing the black iron reins to the nearby soldier; the soldier, helpless, could only take them while holding his sword, muttered a curse, sheathed his sword, and led the horse away, as if Mei Yi's identity had instantly shifted from enemy to unwelcome guest.

Soros, tell us what you know, Sansa and Bran.

The two names pressed on her like stones; if her earlier worries were occasional whiffs of a strange odor, now the feeling was like standing beside a corpse that had been hanging for days, the stench thick enough to make her nauseous.

The two of them? No, you have four siblings; I just don't know their names, and I wouldn't ask the lady about such a thing. If you're willing, you can tell me now.

Qiongen, Rickon. "Is this a prophecy? If so, I'd rather not say."

"I'm not sure what that is," said the red-robed monk. "At Rahlo's gambling table, too many players have already gathered, influencing each other; no one knows what will happen in the end."

So, what you saw isn't a prophecy?

He spread his hands, "Rahlo wants me to see what he wants me to see; what I see is what I see, I never define it. After experiencing so many stories, the only thing I've learned is humility and obedience."

Mei Yi would never pin her hopes on these charlatans; she has seen too many religions and too many rituals on the Eastern Continent, their means of survival either being harsh environments or miraculous methods beyond common understanding.

Earl of Bei Li

Are humility and obedience irrelevant to me? I have no interest in your god, nor any fondness; I'm just telling you or your god that if you provoke me, I'll chop your god into pieces and feed it to the dogs. You'd better mention that when you pray to it, so it does more good.

If there truly is a god in this world, it is merely the Heavenly Way, silent and never making a sound.

Gods that fly into a rage, or punish or accept offerings in exchange, are merely another kind of pest or parasite.

In some respects, Mei Yi considers her way of thinking, including her views, to be in agreement with the scholars.

Scholars revere logic, liking to derive from known facts through logical deduction, continually inferring to reach more complex and exquisite conclusions. This habit has earned them considerable achievement in fields such as mathematics.

Lahelo

Once the matter involves magic or mystical power, scholars find themselves unable to make any progress.

Or perhaps they are not making no progress at all; rather, they are convinced that this path is full of temptation, leading researchers to corruption, so they deliberately avoid practicing it.

Mei Yi knows without thinking that it cannot be blocked; there will inevitably be some scholars secretly studying it. For as long as there exists an objective, obvious problem, it will always attract those with greater curiosity and bolder courage who risk learning and understanding it, and in order to protect their research findings, they may even appropriate the results, causing even graver 'corruption.'

Hejian

On the surface, scholars may wear the Valyrian steel chain representing magic and mysticism, but this does not mean they master magic; rather, it indicates their cognizance of the logic of magical studies, roughly equivalent to the history, philology, classification, and statistics of the magical community.

Yaxiala Dai'en

As for some of the red-robed monks, their so-called practice of magic is merely a pretense to attract congregants; Mei Yi knows it is full of deceit. She herself once witnessed a red-robed priest's performance in Valyris. In the performance, they skillfully employed knowledge of chemistry, physics, and biology—this world possesses countless marvelous species and special substances, and as long as they can be effectively utilized, with careful arrangement the goal can always be achieved.

But such petty tricks cannot escape her eyes.

Moreover, some followers, in order to spread the religion, did not hesitate to learn sorcery, and they displayed the effects of sorcery and proclaimed them as miracles. The believers were thoroughly familiar with this missionary method.

As for sorcery, Mei Yi vaguely sensed that its essence was transaction. Basically, one can judge a spellcaster's level by how deeply they study the exchange mechanism.

The most foolish thing is to trade without understanding the exchange mechanism: selling oneself will surely lead to heavy loss; yet believing that by being generous with others' wealth one can gain satisfaction is also mostly a delusion—for example, the Countess of Qiyan City.

"If you keep saying such blasphemous things here, you will be despised," the red-robed monk laughed, revealing a mouthful of dirty teeth, looking like an old beggar.

"You never preached when you were in Junlin, yet you start here? You must understand that I didn't bring troops to exterminate you solely because of old acquaintance and a slight connection."

"What you think you can do, even Demon Mountain cannot—how dare you?" The red-robed monk's filthy gray beard trembled, making him look far older than when he was in Junlin, though it had only been a few years.

"Can Demon Mountain reach this place?"

"What screw is loose, to compare with that foolish Demon Mountain?"

"He won't."

"Enough talk about Demon Mountain; tell me other news, and I will decide how to treat you based on its value," Mei Yi said harshly, putting on an arrogant air as if she had come to persuade them to surrender their weapons, which succeeded in making several members angry.

"Your skin is as thick as when you first arrived in Junlin; how could Lord Edd have a daughter like you?"

They descended the hill, and here Mei Yi saw the heart tree in its entirety. It was not notably different from other weirwoods, but its face was carved facing southwest, whereas every other heart tree Mei Yi had seen had its face carved facing due south.

This slight difference alone made her feel uneasy.

"Edd's daughter certainly wouldn't, but my mother's daughter might not be so sure."

"Speaking of your mother, do you know the servant of Lord Baelish?" He looked at her with brown eyes. "His name is Eddrick Dane, and after the Baelish count died, he returned to Starfall City."

"Some say my mother is Miss Ashara Dayne; in Winterfell, that name is taboo. I don't know much. It's a pity I never had the chance to actually go to Dorne. Ah, Starfall City is too far. But go on, please—summarize the whole story in a single sentence if you can."

"Excuse me, the common tongue is not my native language," he said with a grin. "According to Eddrick, your mother might have been his wet nurse; sorry, I've forgotten the name."

"That's good news. Perhaps I should go to Dorne, find Starfall City in the mountains, then stand on the city walls and shout, asking who is Eddrick's wet nurse—hope that lad doesn't eat much, otherwise if all the women in the city step forward, that would be difficult."

"Oh, perhaps others still remember the name!" He burst out laughing.

"Really, make them remember a doll's wet nurse's name? You too, excuse me—when I reach Starfall City, I'll remember to lift their eyelids and pull out the one with violet eyes to call mother."

Mei Yi felt she was angry—what's there to hide?

"Oh, all right, what did you just ask me? Bran and that girl?"

They walked side by side away from the heart tree, down to a massive rock layer that was completely twisted and rolled; between the boulders, distorted cracks squeezed open, prying the ground apart to reveal an entrance to a cave.

The cave mouth hung with dense withered plants, concealing the entrance; one had to pull them aside to get inside.

She reached out and pushed aside the thatch; water droplets fell onto the back of her hand, carrying a hint of warmth.

Inside the cave, the smell of fire and smoke was strong, yet it felt colder than outside; the air was more lively, with a hint of lye.

"That somewhat mad girl was taken by the hounds; later I heard the hounds died somewhere in the Riverlands, and after that we never saw Arya again. I have seen her sister—oh, that sister, sweet and lovely, graceful and beautiful." He said with a laugh.

"There are other adjectives in the common tongue, aren't there? You could try adding a bit more," Mei Yi sneered.

"I haven't had much contact with her, so I can only see the surface." After saying that, the red-robed monk quickly pointed at the cave, "This is our secret base. The lady is also here."

Mei Yi paid no attention to his words.

Thinking about what the lady might be like, Mei Yi found it absurd and grew even more disgusted with the evil god's power.

If Frey's insult to her was one point, then the god who resurrected her insulted her nine points.

"I recall you saying I don't need to worry about Arya?"

"I don't know; in the fire she looks… fierce. Every time I, at the lady's request, watch the flames, she sits high atop a pile of corpses—rather than a victim, she seems…"

It was a stranger. "Your explanation fails spectacularly; anyone whose pure sister turns out like this would be worried."

"I think you won't." He paused, glanced at her, "The corpse pile you sit on is higher."

Inside the cave, it was quiet as if time had frozen; water droplets continually dripped from the rock ceiling, falling into the small pools and making a clear echo.

They tacitly avoided discussing the purpose of entering the cave, but each already understood.

"How high? Higher than your Flagless Brotherhood? How many of the seventy-plus Warrior Brigade have you slaughtered? I only killed a handful." She had killed only those who deserved death; if there truly were mountains of corpses and seas of blood, it would merely be cleansing the world's filth.

"Higher than the Iron Throne." He glanced at her, showing an indescribable expression, "The Warrior Brigade you killed seven; the remaining two, still alive, are being slowly eaten by wild dogs—this also goes on your account."

"Looks like you really have some skill. This happened this morning."

"So you should believe it; you ought to worry more about your other brothers and sisters."

The underground seems to be a series of interconnected caverns; in the faint firelight, the white roots of the Heart Tree can be seen twisting through the rock, extending downward, and it's unknown how far its root system spreads below.

"Does knowing it allow it to be saved?"

"Some can, some cannot. I've said before, many players are already standing at Lahero's gambling table..."

"If Lahero likes to talk like that, don't blame me for overturning its gambling table."

"What the hell is this charlatan's nasty habit?"

"It's precisely because of your attitude that it has sent people to deal with you." He stopped again, stepping in front of her, "It seems to already regard you as an enemy."

"Heh, you say this because you betrayed it? Frankly, you should have defected long ago—at Junlin you were drinking, whoring, gambling, colluding with King Laobo; honestly, I think because of you this country has become such a mess. Don't tell me the country's state is its arrangement."

If you become my enemy, I will exterminate you root and branch.

"This is too much to ask of someone. I've never earnestly prayed to it, yet it still wishes to respond to me, never holding a grudge. It either deeply loves me, or..."

"or it's just an idiot."

"Or it simply doesn't exist." Meiyi shoved him aside and continued forward, "What you see in the fire may merely be a fragment of spacetime distortion; let me ask you—does a single thought of yours change the image in the flames?"

He patted his robe, sighed, and hurried after her.

"Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't."

Meiyi felt bored. Actually she also didn't know whether she should try to understand what he saw; on one hand, the cause is unknown, which could lead to blindly joining the table without knowing the gambling rules; on the other hand, if the images in the fire truly are spacetime distortions aided by burning, their probability and causes could serve as reference.

As for his claim of multiple people betting at the table, that's merely interference produced by mixed factors.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

"Ah, ever since I've seen you, you've just been talking nonsense." Meiyi made up her mind, "Suoluosi, tell me what you know." That kind of thing seen in the fire.