Embers Ad Infinitum

Seeing Means' actions and hearing his blessing, Jiang Baimian's first reaction was to turn around and look at the corner of the rock wall.

Sure enough, the Jeep rushed over with a whine and stopped a few meters away.

Then, Shang Jianyao opened the driver's door and jumped out.

In Pong's voice, he, also wearing a gray camouflage uniform, walked quickly to Means and asked eagerly:

"Which sect do you belong to, and who do you believe in?"

This reaction and attitude were just like meeting a half-brother... Although Jiang Baimian was mentally prepared, she still felt that Shang Jianyao's performance made her have the urge to raise her hands to cover her face.

At this time, she missed Hongshiji's mask life very much.

Means was startled. After seeing Shang Jianyao's appearance clearly, he politely replied:

"We are members of the Melting Pot Sect, and we believe in the Searing Gate, which represents August."

"Gate of Searing"... This executive seems to be relatively low-key and not very famous in the north... Jiang Baimian recalled what he knew, the information given by the company and Bai Chen's story, and nodded slightly.

Shang Jian Yao asked:

"Is your salute just now a dance?"

Means didn't understand why this pretty good-looking young man was struggling with this matter, but he still said honestly:

"Dance is a way for us to please the gods. The way of saluting set by the sect is a special dance, which symbolizes everyone's instinctive reaction in front of the emperor."

Have you been burned by the "Scorching Door"? Jiang Baimian and Long Yuehong couldn't help but sneered.

Of course, on the surface, Jiang Baimian would not be so rude, and agreed with a smile:

"I have read some old world books, which say that in ancient times, humans also used various dances to please and communicate with gods. This is the source of many current sacrificial rituals."

Seeing that the team that easily defeated the "Mountain Fox" bandit group was acting very friendly, Means relaxed a little, looked at his companions and said:

"We don't know much about these things. We chose dance because it and fire please Zhi Sui the most.

“The greatest respect and best blessing we can give a person is to say ‘may the breath of the gods bathe you’ or ‘dance for you’ while saluting.

"If you say the last sentence, you will often follow it with a short dance choreographed by yourself."

It's quite interesting. Isn't it too strange for an old man like you, who has a lot of gray hair, to dance such an intense dance? Jiang Baimian had a profound memory of the scene just now.

"Oh." Shang Jianyao responded with bright eyes.

The next second, he twitched his body, simulating being burned.

After a few actions, he said seriously:

"Dancing for you."

After saying that, he performed another strange dance that he didn't know where he learned it from.

Means and others looked a little confused at first, and then asked in surprise:

"Are you also from our sect?"

"I think so, but it has not been approved by your bishop." Shang Jianyao answered calmly.

Ha, don’t ask what the Holy Communion is this time? Is the charm of dance so great? Wearing an exoskeleton device and responsible for guarding the surroundings, Long Yuehong was surprised and amused.

"You, think you do?" Means couldn't understand what Shang Jianyao meant for the moment.

After a few seconds, he smiled and said with understanding:

“You want to join our sect?

"Haha, we don't have a bishop. Those in charge of a parish are 'devotees', those who preach daily are 'praisers', and ordinary believers like us are collectively called 'grateful people'."

Jiang Baimian matched these three terms with the ranks of other sects and asked before Shang Jianyao:

"What's above that? What's above the 'devotee'?"

"It's the 'Scorching One' and the messenger and spokesperson of the Year - the 'Divine Dancer'." Means didn't hide it, this was no secret.

"'Divine Dancer'...then is he very good at dancing?" Shang Jianyao's focus suddenly shifted.

He looked like he wanted to dance with the other party.

"I have never seen His Majesty the 'God Dancer.'" Talking about this, Means consciously assumed the responsibility of preaching, "The 'Scorching Gate' we believe in is the incarnation of the gate of the new world. Only Only with His approval and blessing can we humans pass through the gate, get rid of the dust, and gain new life.

"On the one hand, you can gain divine grace by pleasing Him and praising Him for a long time, be guided, and enter the new world directly. You can also believe in and find the door to the new world in reality in the ruins of a certain city in the dust. At that time , every believer who comes to the 'Scorching Door' will be saved."

Having said this, Means twitched his body again as if he was burning, and then prayed:

"Praise be to the door of the new world!"

This is a sect that better combines Zhi Sui's beliefs with New World legends... Well, it's mainly due to the word 'men' in this Zhi Sui's title... Jiang Baimian listened to the rice with great interest Enns narrated, rapidly evaluating and analyzing in his mind.

This is her hobby.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and finally raised the question:

“What is your sacrament?”

“Our communion is about fire,” Means began.

The better this powerful team's impression of the "Cult of the Crucible", the better the safety for him and his companions.

When it comes to the Holy Communion, Means, who has been exposed to many sects, is quite proud. Seeing that Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian and others were a little confused, he explained enthusiastically:

“Our communion was called ‘hot pot’ in the old world.”

Shang Jianyao's eyes brightened a little more.

Means smiled and continued:

“The flame is Zhi Sui’s favorite, and using it is to please Zhi Sui.

“There are many kinds of spices in the southern part of our ‘Linhai Alliance’, and we grow chili peppers, which can be used to make the base of hot pot.

"Once the fire is started with coal or charcoal and the hot pot is boiling, we can put the pre-cut meat slices, offal, potato slices, and green bamboo shoot slices to cook...

“The specific type depends on what ingredients are around you, how you eat it depends on the poor, and how you eat it when the rich eat it.

“Even if you have no base and are in the wilderness, as long as you can boil water, you can still enjoy the Holy Communion.”

As she listened, Long Yuehong beside her couldn't help but want to swallow a mouthful of saliva.

Fortunately, his dry mouth prevented him from succeeding.

The style of this "Melting Pot Sect" is different from other sects... Is this the Food Lovers Alliance? I'm a little excited... Well, it can be seen that within the "Linhai Alliance", the food supply is relatively sufficient... Jiang Baimian glanced sideways at Bai Chen and found that she was still monitoring the captives intently. robber.

After listening to Means' description, Shang Jianyao asked directly:

"So, how can I join your sect?"

Means became more and more delighted and said with a smile:

“As long as you can meet a ‘devotee’, uh, a ‘praiser’, you can become a ‘grateful person’ under his guidance.

"Well, the closest 'devotee' to here is in Tarnan."

Tarnan... isn't this our destination, the foreign trade point of "Machine Paradise"? Jiang Baimian asked in surprise:

"People in the 'Mechanical Paradise' also believe in the 'Scorching Gate'?"

Means shook his head:

"What we encountered in Tarnan are intelligent robots, and they are not religious at all.

"Your Excellency Li Zhe is in Tarnan to serve the merchants and hunters of the 'Linhai Alliance'. In addition to him, there are also clergy from other sects."

Speaking of which, Means explained:

"Our 'Linhai Alliance' and 'Machine Paradise' are close to each other and have long-term trade relations. At least half of the humans in Tarnan are from our 'Linhai Alliance'."

"You are also from Tarnan?" Jiang Baimian keenly grasped an important point.

"Yes." Means did not hide this.

He sighed and said:

“We’ve been in Tarnang for a while now, the deal is done and everyone can’t wait to get home.

"I thought that caravans were scarce in winter, and there were no longer many people going out in homeless settlements. The bandits would definitely reduce the frequency of their activities and spend the winter quietly, so I decided to take advantage of the recent cold weather to cross the Chiral Mountains. Return to 'Linhai Alliance'.

"Who knew that I would actually encounter the 'Mountain Fox' bandit group..."

He wanted to say that the "Mountain Fox" was a relatively famous and powerful bandit group in the Chilar Mountain area, but thinking of the one-sided battle before, he kept his mouth shut.

To the team in front of them, "Mountain Fox" was not worth mentioning at all.

After hearing Means' answer, Jiang Baimian laughed:

“Sometimes, reverse thinking is really effective, and doing the opposite is also a way.

"But the first thing is that you have to consider: if it doesn't develop as you expected, do you have the ability and preparation to withstand the unexpected?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Chen next to her asked:

"Why do you have to rush back to the 'Linhai Alliance'? Anyone who has ever experienced wandering in the dust knows that winter is the most difficult season."

Means hesitated for a moment.

He looked at his companions, considered it and said:

“I really don’t know what to say.

"The people in Tarnan's 'Mechanical Paradise' are all intelligent robots. They have no need for food and have never thought about farming. All the food that caravans and hunters eat is either brought here by themselves or organized teams to go around to get it. .There are also forces who take a fancy to this business opportunity and specially bring food to sell.

"But similar items are all portable, mainly cans and biscuits."

Means paused and said with a bitter look on his face:

"After eating canned food and biscuits for a month or two, everyone misses the food at home."

He originally thought that this kind of "hypocrisy" would be laughed at, but unexpectedly, in the powerful team in front of him, except for the person wearing the exoskeleton device who couldn't see his face, everyone else showed a sad expression.

"So, Tarnan is really not a good place." Jiang Baimian couldn't help but sigh.

Shang Jianyao sighed.