Under the Ice Wall
Meng Qi is often surrounded by an aura of divine compassion, and during conversations, he gives people a feeling of being kept at a distance.
The person is clearly right in front of you, but you never feel that he is within reach.
She said calmly, "Of course, as long as I can answer it."
Ding Can considered carefully before speaking, "Do you sometimes feel that you're not in the real world? Or, in other words, has your identity as a priest ever caused you any troubles that you could never fathom?"
Such inquiries might be a bit over the line, and might even make Meng Qi think that she was mentally ill and saying something strange, but if she wanted to know the truth, she had no choice.
Meng Qi did not answer directly when he heard this, but frowned slightly, as if wondering why she asked that.
Seeing that she seemed to be lost in her memories, no one urged her at this time. Even if they felt something was slightly wrong, it might help them understand more about the system's internal affairs.
Even if Meng Qi is just an image formed by a piece of data, he may have some memory of the process of his creation due to his special identity as a priest.
"Indeed, I can understand more than ordinary tribesmen, and it took me a long time to accept it at first."
Having been a priest for nearly twenty years, Meng Qi had long been accustomed to everything that this noble status brought him, to the point that he had almost forgotten all the initial panic and insecurity.
Priests have always kept their duties and the inheritance of their traditions secret.
But that is for the members of the Bingxi tribe. They must always maintain a sense of mystery, so that they can gain everyone's trust and have more say before making certain major decisions.
Therefore, everything that exists in Meng Qi's mind can only exist in his own mind, and he cannot reveal a single word to his tribe members.
For many days and nights, when she occasionally felt confused, she had long been accustomed to bearing it silently.
But the situation now is completely different. The bodies of the young people in front of him have not changed, but their souls no longer belong to the Bingxi tribe.
Without the constraints of customs and responsibilities, we can talk to them freely.
But there were too many things in her heart, and when the moment came for her to confess everything, she actually felt a sense of unreality.
Ding Can noticed a rare change in Meng Qi's expression. He noticed that her chest rose and fell noticeably for a moment. She took a deep breath and then began to tell her story.
"The Bingxi tribe has been passed down for thousands of years. While every priest takes protecting the entire tribe as their duty, they also have a lifelong mission that they must fulfill from the moment they become a priest."
The day after being chosen, Meng Qi, who was still very young at the time, looked at Yin Jiu's sleeping face reluctantly, and then quietly pushed open the door and left.
Starting from today, she will enter the temple with the old priest to receive a month-long inheritance.
The temple is where priests pray and live. When you walk through the main entrance, the first thing you see is a long table dedicated to the gods.
The Bingxi tribe has a long history, but their depictions of gods have long been simple and monotonous.
The tribesmen regard the ice wall as the incarnation of God, and believe that every piece of ice and snow covering the vast continent is under the gaze of God.
On the bronze tripod in the middle of the long table, there were some simple ice cubes piled up, which came from the Holy Gate.
Meng Qi knelt on the round cushion in front of the altar, raised his hands, and was about to take the scepter from the old priest's door.
It is said that this scepter was cut down from an ancient tree that has grown for nearly a thousand years. To some extent, this statement is very credible.
Because the environment in which the Bingxi tribe lives is no longer suitable for the growth of vegetation, this scepter must have been around for a long time.
"Once you decide to take it, you will take on the responsibility of protecting the entire clan. Are you ready?"
The arrow was on the string, and Meng Qi had no chance to refuse. She closed her eyes and said in a voice without any fluctuation: "Yes."
After exchanging the identities of the scepter's owners, both people in the temple will change.
All the customs and traditions inherited by the Bingxi tribe over the past hundred years will enter Meng Qi's mind in the form of knowledge as the beginning of the inheritance ceremony.
The old priest will gradually lose certain memories that are inconvenient to pass on, and return to his normal life.
After being carried for many years, the surface of the scepter had a distinct luster. When Meng Qi took it, his first feeling was that it did not have the coldness of the wood, but instead had a faint warmth.
If it weren't for the fact that it had once been held by the old priest, the entire scepter would have been abnormally warm.
Before he had time to wonder more, many images that did not belong to his previous life experiences appeared in Meng Qi's mind.
Her brain was taking in so much unfamiliar knowledge all at once, and the feeling of discomfort caused a sudden headache. She covered her head with one hand and almost collapsed to the ground.
The unprecedented experience made her feel panic. Meng Qi wanted to seek help from the old priest, but found that the other party's condition was not much better than hers.
Perhaps it was because his memory was slipping away, the old priest's eyes revealed a dull look, so much so that when he called out to him several times, he received no response.
A few minutes later, he stood up with a dazed look on his face, turned around, pushed open the door of the church with steady steps, and left.
The door opened and closed, and the room was briefly bright before the light dimmed again.
But Meng Qi had no time to care about these things now, because all her attention was passively attracted by the additional pictures.
The picture started out very blurry, and then began to spread out from the center like ripples, leaving only the surrounding areas with blurred images.
Then it gradually became clearer, and she recognized that this was the earlier history of the Bingmi tribe.
It was a tribe with even smaller population than the current one, and they were recuperating and living hard in the most primitive way.
They even still eat raw meat and don't know how to make more suitable tools. They only use stones or simple wood that can be found in nature.
What made Meng Qi feel most out of place was that the environment in which those people lived was an oasis.
The stream runs along the grassland, and many birds and animals that I have never seen before are playing around. The sun shines down softly, and some people are taking a nap leaning against the big tree, looking very comfortable.
The dwelling was a small shed built with trees, with ventilation on all sides, and the clothes worn were very thin.
Although there are fewer entertaining activities and there is not even a unified language for accurate information exchange, this place does feel like a paradise.
Human civilization developed rapidly, and the number of tribal people continued to increase as they reproduced and thrived.
It seemed like a good situation, but it didn't last long.
The accident happened one day. It was supposed to be the hottest time of the year, but snowflakes began to fall from the sky sporadically.
The tribesmen, who had never seen such climate change, ran to the open space and were very excited.
Some people are dancing with the snowflakes, showing a more primitive wildness.
But after the brief surprise, they soon stopped laughing because the snowfall was not accidental, and the same situation occurred every day.
Due to the sudden drop in temperature, the previously unsheltered wooden sheds are no longer suitable for survival, and more cold-resistant houses need to be built.
The changes in the soil environment made it impossible for crops to continue growing. Sprouting vegetables were directly frozen to death, and a small number of fruits and vegetables that were about to mature became inedible.
Animals that were previously active in the wild have not been seen for a long time. It is unclear whether they have found a place to hide or have frozen to death in some uninhabited corner.
Without sufficient reserves of warm clothing, the people in the tribe could no longer go out normally and could only shiver in their homes.
Some people kept comforting themselves that this was just a sudden change in the weather and that it wouldn't take long, perhaps a dozen days or even a few days, before they could return to their daily lives.
However, these primitive humans did not have the concept of "God", so they were also not aware of the form of praying to God.
But they cannot solve the problem themselves, so they hope that there will be something else to solve the current situation, which can be regarded as a prototype of prayer.
As expected, no one came to help.
The white snow quickly covered the entire continent. After many days, the blizzard showed no signs of melting, and the vast yellow-green land was replaced by thick ice.
The stored food was almost exhausted, and Bu Luo had to continue living under such harsh conditions.
The first thing to solve is the temperature problem, as some elderly and weak tribesmen have already died as a result.
They walked out of the house and found some dead animals that had unfortunately frozen to death nearby. They tore off their fur and wrapped themselves in it, thus making clothes that could keep out the cold.
Vegetation that cannot grow in low temperatures will rapidly inactivate in a short period of time, and the green leaves that can still be seen on the trees are just the last flicker of life.
The only thing to be thankful for is that the sea to the south has not yet frozen, and food can still be obtained from it.
Everyone gradually adapted and accepted living in such a world of ice and snow.
One day, someone noticed that two long ice walls began to form naturally where the ice gathered near the coastline.
And as snowfall and freezing rain continued to fall, the temperature began to rise continuously.
It is not in the shape of a hill, but rises directly from the ground with appropriate thickness. After the tribe discovered this wonder, some people went over to check it out out of curiosity.
Even if the ice wall is pushed down, it will quickly return to its original height and continue to grow. Later, it was no longer possible to destroy it, and since it did not affect daily life, people began to ignore it.
Although they accepted living in an extremely cold environment, everyone was still puzzled as to why such a situation could occur.
What exactly is the reason that the climate has suddenly changed so much that they have to suffer all this?
Amidst such doubts, a point of progress appeared one day.
It was as the ice wall grew higher that a man noticed that the two walls gradually began to have no edge, a few miles away from the coastline.
Not only are they gradually growing to both sides, but they also seem to be gradually converging towards each other.
At this time, the ice wall has grown to a height that cannot be confirmed by the naked eye. Occasionally, when you walk to the bottom of the wall, you will feel that the environment is closed.
The man became more certain of this fact after a few days of comparative measurements. He felt that he could not let it go on, so at noon one day, he took some tools and wanted to try to walk to the edge of the ice and completely break it.
After finding the right position, the man swung the hoe with too much force, causing his feet to slip and his forehead to fall towards the ice wall.
With a bang, blood gushed out and seeped into the ice wall.
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