Chapter 640 Brother, do you want a wife or not? (Please vote for the second update)
In the early morning, the sun god Utu was awakened by his wife Serida, the goddess of dawn and fertility.
As usual, he stood up in his magnificent golden palace. His two children, the goddess of justice, Kitumu, and the god of order, Misharu, who were also his two subordinate gods, had already opened the door of his bedroom for him and prepared the sun chariot he needed for his trip.
As the Scorpion Guards opened the barrier of the Eastern Divine Realm on time, reflecting the majestic outline of Mount Mozhou, Wutu knew that it was time for him to set off.
He boarded the shining sun chariot outside the palace, crossed the vast sky, and went to the entrance of the underworld under Mount Mashu in the far west as usual. This was his work during the day. After that, when night fell, the two subordinate gods would also open the gate to the far west to welcome him and the sun chariot back. During this period, Utu had to drive his beloved chariot across a sea full of death before he could return to his own palace.
The sun's rays, like broken gold, penetrate the clouds and mist, and shine on every corner of the earth, bringing light and warmth to all things in the world, allowing grass and crops to grow, and illuminating the human heart.
When the sun illuminates the entire sky, Utu's divine authority will rise to its peak. He can supervise everything that happens during the day, examine the words and deeds of all things, and even what happens in the underworld cannot easily escape his eyes. Its brilliance makes all those who advocate evil tremble with fear, and it is like an omnipresent "law net".
Therefore, he is also called the god of truth, judgment and justice, the judge of heaven and earth, and holds the authority of justice and justice.
Fortunately, with the end of the last war between gods, gods and humans have entered a stage of rest and recuperation, and it is rare for evil deeds and disputes to attract the attention of him, the sun god.
As usual, the sun rises and sets.
As soon as he returned to the temple, Utu handed the reins to his two children, jumped off the sun chariot impatiently, and headed straight for the foot of Mount Maju.
There is a tavern run by the goddess of wisdom, Siduri, and the beer there is absolutely delicious.
After a busy day's work, nothing can better comfort you than drinking a glass of beer.
As usual, the pub was open for business.
Siduri, the incarnation of the boss, sat elegantly behind the counter, calculating today's turnover on a clay tablet.
She was wearing a pure white linen robe, with lapis lazuli Sumerian patterns embroidered on the lapels and cuffs, and a braided gold rope tied around her waist. Her long black and purple hair fell to her waist like a waterfall, and her hair was adorned with a star-moon headdress made of gold and glass. Her face was dignified and gentle, her light golden eyes seemed to have accumulated thousands of years of wisdom, and a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye added to her divinity. Her hands were always crossed in front of her, her slender fingers were stroking the clay tablet that recorded the text, and the lapis lazuli bracelet on her wrist rang lightly with her movements, which was refreshing.
As the afterglow of the setting sun shines into the tavern, her standing figure casts a slender shadow on the ground, and the edge of her white robe glows with a honey-colored halo, forming an aesthetic composition with an epic feel.
Wutu, who entered the room, shook his head and secretly withdrew his admiring gaze.
Although she was a very nice woman with a good personality, her standards were too high. He had kindly introduced several good men to her, but none of them caught her eye.
Therefore, the ale lady seems to be still single.
Tsk, a common problem among smart women.
At this moment, Siduri looked up as if she had sensed something, with a gentle professional smile on her face:
"You're here? Will you take the southeast corner window seat as usual?"
"Um."
"Then please take a seat. I will go to the kitchen and prepare the best beer and snacks for you."
"Two servings, please."
Wutu added at the end.
Siduri smiled and nodded, and soon brought two servings of beer and food, one in front of Utu and one opposite him, apparently prepared for a guest who had not yet arrived.
And when the last ray of sunset sank into the horizon, a slender figure stepped into the tavern on time.
He was very young, like a young boy who had not experienced much of the world. He was handsome, with soft features, and always had a faint smile on his face, which made people unconsciously like him. He was wearing a Sumerian short shirt that was easy to move in. The cheap fabric was stained with some grass and dirt, and it seemed that his life was not rich.
As usual, he patted himself before entering the door to make sure that he would not pollute the environment of the pub before stepping into the house.
This subtle action made Siduri behind the counter feel that her labor was respected, and she was in a good mood.
She smiled and pointed to the southeast corner.
The boy, or rather the disguised Lorne, nodded slightly, came to the window and sat down, and took the initiative to greet
"How are you, Lord Shamash? I'm sorry to have cost you money again."
Several months had passed since they had set out from Nineveh to Mount Moju to investigate the whereabouts of the goddess Ishtar.
The mistress of the sky was just as Semiramis had said, a dragon that could only be seen from head to tail.
Therefore, Loen waited near the Tavern of the Gods at the foot of the mountain many times, but failed to meet Ishtar.
However, one may gain something in one's absence.
Although he did not catch Ishtar, he happened to meet a person closely related to the target during his surveillance - the middle-aged man in front of him who called himself "Shamash" and had a kind face.
Shamash, which originated from the Akkadian language, is actually another name for the sun god Utu by the Babylonians in this region, emphasizing that he brought law and justice to mankind. The famous Hammurabi Code Pillar is carved with a relief of King Hammurabi standing in front of Shamash, accepting the symbol of royal power and the code.
However, Hammurabi had just ascended the throne in Babylon, so the famous relief had not yet been completed, and Utu's nickname, Shamash, had not been widely known. In the eyes of outsiders, he was just an amiable elder who liked to visit taverns and taste beer.
At this moment, Wutu, the sun god who thought he was hiding well, pretended to be angry and said:
"What's the point of talking about whether it's expensive or not! To drink wine to your heart's content, it depends not only on the quality but also on who you drink with. I can't help but feel happy that you can drink with an old man like me every day and talk to relieve my boredom. So, shouldn't I pay you a commission?"
"Okay, okay, I won't mention it, and I won't take advantage of you. From now on, these drinks and food will be your commission to me."
Loen smiled awkwardly, picked up the wine glass and took the initiative to toast the other party.
After taking a sip of the refreshing beer with a sweet aftertaste, Wutu showed a satisfied smile and asked:
"Speaking of which, do you have an answer to the question I asked you to think about last time?"
"You mean the one about 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'? I think the content is in line with the concept of [fairness], but the implementation may need some flexibility."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, if my neighbor accidentally kills my sheep, according to the rule of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', I have the right to kill one of his sheep as compensation. But in this way, we both lose a sheep. You know, the price of a live sheep and a dead sheep in the market is not the same. So the consequence of this treatment can only be that both sides lose."
"That makes sense. So how do you think we should deal with this?"
"Leave more room for choice, allow the perpetrator to pay equivalent money, lambs, or other tangible and intangible things as a substitute, and let the victim choose which one to use as compensation."
"Good idea, you really didn't disappoint me!"
Wutu laughed and patted the boy's shoulder, his tone full of appreciation and joy.
As the god of justice and righteousness, it took him a long time to understand one truth:
The law does not pursue absolute justice, but relative balance in order to establish a stable order.
Therefore, revenge of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth should not be the ultimate goal of justice, but a deterrent and a means to achieve the goal.
I didn't expect that the answer that took me a long time to come up with was figured out by the boy opposite me in just a few days and nights.
I have to say that this is a good seedling with wisdom and ideas.
Seeing Wutu drinking happily for this, Loen couldn't help but be speechless.
His encounter with the Babylonian sun god was purely accidental, caused by an unexpected table sharing and some casual chat.
When they casually talked about some issues related to social system and justice, the two people's views were surprisingly consistent and many of their ideas coincided.
Therefore, Wutu, who was delighted to see the prey, took him as his close friend and often invited him to the Tavern of the Gods to drink as a drinking buddy.
Loen was worried that he had no legitimate reason to stay in the Tavern of the Gods longer to increase the chance of meeting Ishtar, so he readily agreed.
More importantly, the sun god Utu is also the nominal brother of the Venus goddess Ishtar.
If you build a good relationship with him, maybe you can follow the clues to find the goddess of heaven.
As Loen deliberately tried to please him, the atmosphere of the conversation between the two sides became more harmonious, and they inadvertently mentioned Hammurabi, the new king of Babylon.
He seems to have recently been compiling a code of law and plans to build a temple for Utu, the god of the sun, justice, and justice, in the center of the city to represent the fairness of the code and the divine granting of power.
But the patron god of the city in the Babylonian region was Marduk, the king of kings. According to convention, Hammurabi needed to choose Marduk as his patron god and build a temple and offer sacrifices to him first.
Or it could be Enki, the well-known god of wisdom and earth, who is the father of Marduk and has sufficient status and divine authority.
However, Hammurabi abandoned the first two and chose Utu, the sun god of weaker status. This inevitably caused displeasure among the two great gods Marduk and Enki, and brought disaster upon himself. It was extremely irrational.
Wutu was also very troubled by this and didn't know what to do.
He drank the beer in his cup and couldn't help asking his drinking buddy:
"What do you think about this?"
"I heard from the Babylonians I met that the current King Hammurabi is a wise and prudent king, and his belief in Marduk, the King of Kings, is unquestionable. So, I think he knows what he is doing. Using the name of the sun god Utu to show that the king's power is divinely granted and inviolable is just to make the code more weighty and easier to implement. It doesn't mean that he wants to convert to the sun god. Because the existence of the sun is so obvious, it is manifested every day through the sunlight, just like law and justice are everywhere."
Loen gave his opinion in a gentle tone and did not forget to offer a few compliments.
After hearing this well-reasoned inference, Wutu's worries gradually subsided.
However, he still had some doubts:
"Hammurabi could have been a king who devoted himself to worshipping God, so why did he take such a risk?"
"Perhaps in his heart, justice is more important than royal power and divine authority. In order to achieve justice, even if the sky collapses and the earth breaks apart!"
Loen replied with emotion, sneaking his private goods in.
In order to achieve justice, even if the sky collapses and the earth breaks apart?
When Wutu heard this, he felt his heart tremble, and a feeling of shame and impulse surged in his heart.
A human king has such courage to practice justice, but as a god who holds justice and judicial power, he is actually timid and cowardly, which simply disgraces his identity and duty!
How can a mortal be allowed to take the spotlight in such a matter?
"It seems that I must go to Babylon!"
"Um?"
"Go meet King Hammurabi, the righteous man you are talking about."
Even if he could not fully practice justice and allow the Code to be successfully published and implemented, he could at least protect the king's life in secret.
But this unexpected arrangement inevitably disrupted Loen's original plan.
Originally, he wanted to get in touch with Ishtar through Utu, but he didn't expect that after some stimulation, the sun god would actually develop a public spirit to practice justice and judicial justice.
The matter was settled, and Luo En had no reason to stop it, so he could only ask:
"When do we leave?"
"The sooner the better. Let's do it tomorrow."
"Then this wine will be my farewell to you. I wish you a safe journey and all your wishes come true!"
Wutu nodded, took the wine glass and drank it all. He liked the handsome, gentle, wise and spiritual boy in front of him more and more.
On a whim, he suddenly raised his hand and hooked it around the boy's neck, with a mysterious smile on his old face:
"You're still single, right? Do you want a wife?"
"ah?"
"I have a younger sister who is still unmarried. She is beautiful, sensible, and has a good personality, but she has never met a good match. I think you are a good match, would you like to consider it?"
"Inanna, like me, is an Akkadian."
If this crazy woman was really as perfect as you say she is, would she have been single until now?
And he could even force the sun god to act as a matchmaker and choose a mortal as his husband?
As we all know, good things usually don't fall into your hands easily.
Luo En secretly complained in his heart, but nodded excitedly on the surface:
"Since she is your sister, she must be extraordinary. Even if I cannot marry her, I will definitely benefit a lot from getting to know her."
Although things were full of twists and turns, the development, process, and results were all beyond his expectations.
But after all, it is like searching for a needle in a haystack in the sky, but it finally comes to you without any effort.
Don’t worry about what kind of person that goddess of heaven is for now. Take this opportunity to find her.
"Just agree to it. She's in Mount Ebifu. I'll ask Siduri to help you guys meet her. It's a deal~!"
Having arranged the lifelong event for his unfortunate sister at home, Wutu was in a good mood. He officially ended the banquet tonight and waved goodbye to his current drinking buddy and future brother-in-law.
"I'm waiting for your good news, Dumuzi!"
Watching Utu walk into the night and his figure gradually disappearing, Loen took out the identity certificate forged by Semiramis from his arms, looked at the record on it - the shepherd Dumuzi, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
This bad fate is really his...
(End of this chapter)
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