Yulian turned 20 years old. From the time he invented the paddle sailboat until now, four years have passed in the pixel world.
The leader, Yuzou, sitting across from him, had a floating ghost symbol above his head, indicating that the old man’s life was coming to an end.
“I want to open it,” Yulian insisted.
Old Yuzou remained silent for a long time before replying, “That is the divine ‘gift’.”
“Those who blaspheme the gods will be struck down by heavenly lightning.”
“…”
A light bulb appeared above Yulian’s head. “Then can I secretly remove a few pages?”
“Blaspheming is blaspheming! Removing even one page is still blasphemy!”
The old leader angrily exclaimed, “Do you think you can negotiate with the gods!?”
“Then I’ll just remove them all.”
Yulian’s response not only surprised the old man but also surprised Lu Yao, who was watching the screen.
Lu Yao had always been afraid of being struck by lightning by Yulian because all of his energy was focused on building ships, and he rarely worshipped the gods.
Because of this, Yulian felt very guilty and often suspected that the gods might find a time to strike him with lightning.
However, at this moment, Yulian showed great determination.
He explained to the old leader, “Leader Sahang once wrote the first book, ‘Tribal History.’ But it required a lot of sheepskin, and there were not many words that could be written, making it thick and heavy.”
“But this book, gifted by the gods, is thin and clear, and can hold many words.”
“The gods must know that we cannot understand their divine language. Even the wisest leader, Senjian, cannot understand it at all. The material of this book may be the treasure bestowed upon the tribe by the gods.”
The young man persuasively said, “I have smelled it. The book smells a bit like dry animal dung and also like the scent of grass and wood ash. And it is not indestructible; it looks thin and fragile.”
“If we soak them in water, we can see their original appearance.”
“I think it’s either made of dry dung or grass and tree bark…”
The old leader interrupted the young man, “But what if it’s not? What if you are wrong, and the will of the gods is not like that? What do you think will happen?”
A exclamation mark appeared above Yulian’s head, and then his body trembled, as if he had thought of the consequences of being struck by lightning.
However, his words were different from his physical reaction, “If I’m wrong, I’m willing to accept the punishment from the gods. I did all of these things on my own.”
“You will be killed by lightning and turned into ashes on the ground,” the old leader emphasized.
“I know.”
“Even so, do you still want to open the divine book?”
“Yes!”
Yulian showed the stubbornness and spirit of a young person, “This book is of great significance to the tribe. If we can obtain the technology to make this kind of book, we can spread it to every place the tribe has been, just like the paddle sailboat.”
“It will be a more important tool than the paddle sailboat.”
“The knowledge and skills possessed by the tribe can be passed down through a book like this. Unlike oral transmission, there will always be omissions and incompleteness. It is a monument that everyone can have!”
The old leader said, “You cannot do this.”
“You are too young. Just destroying the divine gift alone is enough to make it impossible for you to live in the tribe. Even if the gods forgive you, your fellow tribesmen will not forgive you. Every time they encounter a disaster in the future, they will attribute it to you.”
“…”
Yulian’s head showed a pained expression.
“So.”
The old leader said, “I will do this.”
Yulian’s head had an exclamation mark.
“You are still young. You have created an amazing paddle sailboat. We all know that in the future, you will become an outstanding leader and lead the tribe forward.”
“However, this kind of thing is still too early for you. This dangerous task that no one has ever done before, I will do it.”
“I once arrogantly pursued and killed cave monsters, causing the deaths of hunters and being cursed and opposed by everyone… I am no longer afraid of these exceptional circumstances.”
“I don’t have much time left to live. If the gods blame me, then let them punish me with lightning.”
“For someone whose life is coming to an end, the people of the tribe will be more forgiving.”
Yulian said, “But…”
“It’s settled! I will remove it, and then you tell me what to do, and I will do it. I hope you can bring new paddle sailboats to the tribe.”
Finally, Yulian bowed to the old man.
“Thank you, leader.”
The old man walked into the temple and had a private conversation with the astrologer, Sahang, inside. He took the green-skinned book from the “gift” slot.
He walked to the monument while holding the book. Other pixel people saw this and followed, quickly gathering a large crowd.
“Everyone in the tribe, listen to me.”
The white-haired leader said, “This is the divine gift and the hope for the future of the tribe.”
“But we have all been mistaken before.”
“The gods do not want us to understand the divine language on it. That is a power we cannot comprehend and cannot touch the boundless wisdom of the gods.”
“The book that records the divine text is the treasure bestowed upon us by the gods.”
“…So, I will open this book and restore the true appearance of each white sheet inside! Of course, before this, I have already asked Sahang to transcribe all the words on the divine book.”
Upon hearing the announcement from leader Yuzou, the Garlic Tribe erupted in chaos.
“Oppose, oppose!”
“The divine gift is sacred and cannot be destroyed!”
“Leader Yuzou, you are blaspheming! Do you want to be punished by the gods’ lightning? Do you want the entire tribe to be punished by the gods?”
“Dangerous, extremely dangerous!”
“Leader, are you crazy? It’s terrifying, too terrifying.”
Even the respected hero, Yuzou, faced overwhelming questioning and opposition from the tribe members when he announced that he would open the divine gift.
At this critical moment, the cave-dwelling wizard, Senjian, stepped forward to support Yuzou.
“Quiet, quiet.”
The wizard, holding a bone staff and wearing a stone mask, said, “The gods are omnipotent. I believe no one will question this, right?”
The crowd fell silent.”Given that gods are omnipotent and omniscient, the great and merciful God Yao must know that we, insignificant and ignorant as we are, cannot comprehend the profound divine text in the scripture.”
“So, why would God Yao bestow upon us this profound treasure?”
With a few simple sentences, the wizard had taken control of the conversation.
He continued, “We cultivate crops with water and soil, cut down trees to build houses, and shear wool to weave clothes.”
“We ride camels into forests and deserts, we build ships to travel on water, we have accomplished things our ancestors could not even imagine.”
“All of these are due to God’s love for mankind, God Yao blesses each and every one of us.”
“God Yao knows us better than we know ourselves.”
“He understands our weakness and ignorance, sees through our fears and hopes, and witnesses our diligence and failures.”
“This scripture is God Yao’s reward and test for us.”
“In the past, our tribe was punished by torrential rains and hurricanes, you all remember that, don’t you? God Yao despises laziness and complacency, he always hopes that we, his people, can thrive like a dense forest, unafraid of storms.”
“If we just put this scripture in the temple and it can’t serve any purpose, how is that different from being complacent?”
“Complacency and arrogance will only bring down God Yao’s wrath of thunder!”
The cave-dwelling wizard looked around at the crowd, “So, is there anyone who still thinks that we should not take action and make good use of the grace of God?”
The pixelated people of the Garlic Tribe fell silent.
Even Lu Yao in front of the screen couldn’t help but sigh.
What a brilliant sermon.
The wizard Senjian, who had led the cave-dwelling monsters for many years, truly made good use of his Level 4 wisdom.
In terms of wisdom, Yuzou was a bit lacking.
But Yuzou’s daring to try and the courage to pioneer were something that previous tribal leaders had never had.