Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 970: Is this the real Xia Toto?

The two most difficult things in the world are keeping a secret and revealing the truth, especially when you are dealing with a girl of fifteen or sixteen. Girls of this age are neither as gullible as young children who believe in others and are convinced of issues that concern themselves, nor as mature adults who know when to stop and know that there are no secrets in the world that they must get to the bottom of. She is easily aroused by a sentence and then persistently asks until she is satisfied.

Therefore, when confessing to her, Linger had to carefully consider every word, thinking over and over again, trying not to let this cruel truth hurt the girl's heart that had not yet fully grown up. To be honest, he even felt that this was more difficult than communicating with Alice.

What surprised Ling was that during his narration, Songtaya's expression remained very calm. Even when she heard key words such as summoning ceremony, refining magic and conceiving gods, there was no change in her expression. At most, when she heard that she was actually the so-called core of the ritual and contained the power of faith from other tribesmen in her body, a thoughtful look emerged on her face.

After finishing his speech, seeing that she had not expressed her opinion, Ling Ge could not help but ask: "Don't you have anything to ask, Songtaya?"

"Hmm." Songtaya looked a little embarrassed: "Even if you say so, you have explained it clearly enough, Mr. Lingge, I should have nothing to ask, right?"

"That's it." Since she said so, Ling Ge did not insist and changed the subject: "So what were you thinking about just now?"

"I was thinking, I actually have this identity. No wonder the adults have treated me differently since I was a child."

Songtaya propped her chin up with both hands and rested her hands on her knees, her calves swaying. "Even though I was very naughty when I was a child, no one ever dared to hit or scold me. They were all very nice to me and often brought me toys. I said I wanted a wooden bow, and Uncle Kage, who was in charge of the warehouse, made one for me the next day. I said I wanted to have a pet, so the hunting team caught one for me, but it ended up in Uncle Zack's pot after just a few days, hahaha. Well, Uncle Zack was also very nice to me, and often secretly gave me extra meals. It seemed like only my dad was the strictest with me."

"But they also have their bad points." Songtaya added, remembering something, "They were too nice to me, which made other children in the tribe jealous of me. Because the adults kept emphasizing it, they didn't dare to play with me, fearing that I would get hurt and they would be punished. From childhood to adulthood, no matter what I did, I was alone, and no one played with me. Later, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ran to ask my dad if I could join the hunting team. In fact, I didn't have much hope, but he agreed. From then on, I became the youngest member of the hunting team, and then it was like that. The adults took good care of me and didn't let me participate in hunting activities that were too dangerous. I felt that I couldn't grow up like this, so I applied to my dad and Grandma Aina again and became the outpost of the hunting team. I acted alone and was responsible for exploring the terrain, recovering traps, ensuring road safety, etc."

She talked a lot, and it was obvious that her mood was not as calm as it seemed. After all, she was just a teenage girl. Linger listened patiently and felt that he seemed to understand her mood.

Children are always innocent and have not yet been baptized by society. They care more about their own feelings than preferential treatment. That is why Songtaya has been trying to prove herself in various ways, wanting to tell those adults that she does not need so much preferential treatment, just like other children is enough.

Unfortunately, the only person who could understand this feeling seemed to be her father.

"Well, now you can change this situation." Ling Ge said to her, "As long as you are willing to leave here, you can have a different future. I can't guarantee that it will be better than your current life, but at least you don't have to worry about being treated like... a god anymore."

The people of the Wusu tribe treated Songtaya as if she were a god, carefully and meticulously, caring for her but keeping a distance from her. While being cautious, they seemed to have a subtle fear hidden in them. Perhaps this was not their original intention, but when the nature of the matter began to involve gods and faith, the change in attitude was a matter of course.

In fact, what the young man originally wanted to say was that there was no need to worry about being told the truth one day, becoming the core of a ceremony to invite gods, and offering one's life for the coming of gods.

But he was worried that this statement would be too cruel to a girl of fifteen or sixteen, and would easily undermine Songtaya's faith in the mountain father and lead to the collapse of her world view and values, so he tried to use a more euphemistic statement.

But Songtaya seemed to understand his implication. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, "Is this what Dad and Grandma Ayi Na meant?"

Lingge hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth: "I'm not sure, but at least on this matter, Lord Wilhelm and Elder Aina should agree. Otherwise, there would be no need to come to me."

"Is that so?" The two shaking legs slowly stopped, and Songtaya's voice became a little deeper: "But why? At the beginning, they clearly chose me, thinking that I could become Lord Mountain Father's messenger and contribute to the tribe. Why did they suddenly change their minds now? Is it because they think I don't have that qualification or ability?"

"It's not that they suddenly changed their minds. I think they may have had this intention for a long time, but they just couldn't find the right opportunity. As for the reason why they chose you in the first place, it is very likely that they didn't value your qualifications and abilities, but simply because... they had no choice."

"Is it because of a last resort?" Songtaya tilted her head, looking a little confused. Lingge was about to explain to her what the tradition of the Xiatoto people was, but she blurted out: "Is it because of... our tradition?"

Ling Ge was quite surprised: "You know?"

"It's just a feeling." Songtaya said, "When I was very young, Grandma Aina told me that although the Xiatoto people are the unrestrained snow-chasing people in the Great Snow Mountain, sometimes they are also restricted by certain rules. Those rules are traditions, so they cannot be easily changed. I was very surprised at that time, because she only said this to me..."

As she spoke, the girl gradually buried her head in her chest, showing a depressed mood for the first time since Lingge met her.

The young man didn't know how to comfort her. Perhaps it was not the right time to comfort her, so he decided to divert her attention and asked, "What are you going to do? Leave with us? Or..."

"Stay." The girl's voice was unexpectedly calm, and there was no hesitation: "I want to stay, Mr. Ling."

"..."

Strangely, Lingge didn't feel the slightest bit of surprise or disappointment, as if he knew from the beginning that this would be the outcome. But how did he know that? Was it because the girl had always been so calm that people suspected that she had already made up her mind? Or was it because of some kind of premonition in his heart? He couldn't tell, so he could only put it aside for the time being and asked again to confirm the girl's intention: "Are you sure, Songtaya? There's no need to rush to make a decision. You have plenty of time to think about it before we leave Mount Osor, and then give me an answer."

"I'm sure, Mr. Linger," the girl said softly, "even if I take a week, a month, or even a year to think about it, I think I will still give the same answer."

This sentence completely dispelled Linger's idea of ​​continuing to ask. He was a little surprised: "Can you tell me why, Songtaya? I don't doubt your decision, but I think it's better to be cautious when making a choice that involves life and future."

He did not use the phrases such as "I want you to do this" or "your father wants you to do this" because no one was qualified to make a decision for Songtaya in this matter. It was just that the girl made the decision too quickly, which made the young man doubt whether there was some impulsive emotion in it, so he persuaded her in this way.

"Well, there may be various factors."

The girl thought for a moment and said, "The tribe raised me and gave me many privileges. Since I have enjoyed these privileges, it is only natural for me to contribute my strength to the tribe, right? If I have this ability but don't do it, I am undoubtedly a coward. There is no coward among the mountain hunters. And, this is a tradition. Grandma Aina said that tradition is a rule that cannot be broken."

Hearing this, Lingge couldn't help but say, "I have discussed this with your father. If you go with us, it won't be considered as going against the traditions of the mountain people in a strict sense."

"That's not what I meant, Mr. Ling." Songtaya shook her head. "Another meaning of not breaking a tradition is that even if you don't care about it, there will be others who will maintain it for you. So, my leaving the tribe, or even leaving Mount Osor, doesn't mean that this matter is over. The Mountain Guard will choose the next person to replace me. Can I let others bear such a heavy responsibility for me just because I'm afraid?"

She raised her head and looked at Ling Ge with clear eyes: "Besides, I know Dad's character better than you. Since he made such a decision, it means that he has already thought about who will take that responsibility in my place, right? There is no more suitable candidate than himself."

"Although my father is very strict, he has always been very good to me, so I cannot accept this result."

She concluded calmly.

Lingge was speechless. He had not actually mentioned this to Songtaya, so the girl had guessed it with her own wisdom. Sometimes she seemed simple and straightforward, saying whatever she thought; but sometimes one had to admire her intuition and awareness, always able to detect some facts that people deliberately concealed.

Rather than being foolish and wise, Ling prefers to use the term "Fauvism" to describe this ability.

"What's wrong?" Songtaya asked curiously, "You look at me in a strange way, Mr. Ling?"

"Nothing." Linger shook his head and said, "It just feels like your intelligence level is erratic, just like Alice."

Hearing this, the girl puffed up her cheeks and complained angrily: "Please don't compare me with that guy!"

It's so pitiful, Alice, to be rejected by the little girl.

After a small joke, the atmosphere in the room relaxed a lot. When Lingge apologized to the innocent golden-haired maid in his heart, Songtaya said softly: "Thank you very much for your kindness, Mr. Lingge. Maybe my choice will disappoint you and my father, but I still have to do this. If not, I can't be considered a real Chattoto!"

She puffed out her chest with a look of confidence, even though perhaps even she herself didn't know what a "real Chattoto" was like.

Lingge looked at the young girl in front of him who was more sensible than many adults. He had no reason to persuade her to change her mind, so he said, "In this case, I will not say anything that may make you impatient. There is just one thing I hope you can remember, that is, never forget why you stay here. If you want to protect your people, you must remember your identity as a Xiatoto. If you can do this, even if the gods come, they will not be able to control your will."

Songtaya seemed to understand what was said. The topic of conceiving gods and the ritual of summoning gods was still a little too profound for her. All she could understand was that one day in the future, when the tribe was in danger, she, the messenger of God, would need to step forward and protect everyone, even at the cost of her life.

But Lingge had personally witnessed the coming of the Concept God, and had also witnessed the great disasters He had caused. For the Concept God, the most important thing was not the power of faith, but the wishes of the believers, which was the driving force that prompted them to create an ideal kingdom of God on earth. Rochelle's desire to unite with the cult to fight brought about a war that affected the lives of millions of people on the vast 30,000-mile plain. He did not want such a disaster to happen again.

If Songtaya, as the core of future rituals, could restrain her own desires and summon the imagined gods purely to protect her people, the harm caused would probably be smaller, right?

"Don't worry, Mr. Ling, I will definitely do it!"

Songtaya patted her chest and assured that, in fact, even if Lingge didn't say it, she would not forget it, because what made her most proud was her identity as a Xia Toto. How could she forget it?

The young man reached out and gently stroked her head as a compliment.

Give me some meow