Afterlife Department

Chapter 312 - Conspiracy

"'Nan Chi'?" they muttered. They don't know if it was just their imagination, like last night, but they felt the temperature slightly dropped. However, they were engrossed in the story, so they haven't noticed.

"Why did they call her name?" Yang Jie asked.

"Not to mention a former priestess, but she's a goddess. Yet, they called her name." Huo Huainan spoke.

"A taboo?" they immediately realized.

"But, they are praying to her…" Rourou said when her voice trailed off after she realized something. "She has a title?" she asked.

Huo Huainan nodded. "It is a taboo to call a god's name, so the gods have their respective title." He explained. "She has one, too." He said.

"What is it?" they asked.

"'god of creation'." Huo Huainan answered.

"'god of creation'?"

Huo Huainan nodded. "Her altruism and selflessness made the gods appoint her as the god of creation." He explained.

"Right! We saw that she's very close to nature, that the plants would grow where she is!" Peng Qian said when he recalled the contents of the bas relief.

"That's how their tribe thrived." Huo Huainan said.

"Yet…" Rourou sighed in pity.

They killed the priestess. No one asked if the priestess could just have bluffed her giving birth as a part of her power as a god. They knew, because the priestess was pure when she was a mortal, and also have pure emotions, thus, the priestess couldn't lie when she was questioned.

She accepted her death. Although her body wasn't pure anymore, but her feelings remained as pure.

"The plants died, it was a devastation after they killed her." Peng Qian said.

"That's to be expected." Zhou Cheng said.

"What happened to her children?" Yang Jie curiously asked. After all, her children were still infants.

"Someone took them away." Huo Huainan answered.

"Who?" they asked.

"Their biological father." Huo Huainan answered.

They gasped. They almost forgot him! "He found out they were his children?!" they asked.

Contrary to their expectation, Huo Huainan shook his head. "No." he answered.

"Then, why…?" they asked.

"Because he was delirious, he didn't remember that something happened between him and the priestess." Huo Huainan said. "When he came to after his illness passed, he resumed his daily life. He actually dislikes their tribe being so religious, and he was long been planning to leave. That night, he decided to leave, and while walking near the river, he saw a basket where two infants lie inside. He felt pity towards them and he took them with him." He explained.

"It is fate…!" they said.

"Although he and the priestess aren't fated, but fate won't allow him to abandon their child!" Yang Jie said.

They nodded in agreement.

"How did you know this?" Zhou Cheng asked. Yesterday, they estimated that the mausoleum must be about eight hundred years old. But, they didn't learn about this mausoleum in the middle of the desert, and even the Naya tribe that Huo Huainan just mentioned.

Huo Huainan looked at him. "Family inheritance." He answered.

Zhou Cheng shut up. He didn't ask anything again. He knew Huo Huainan wouldn't share it with them. This information is provided by their family only to their family members. Naturally, this can't be disclosed to the public. They are actually fortunate that they could hear this piece of history.

"If these Naya tribesmen are here, why?" Zhang Jun asked as he looked at the statues.

The others also looked at them.

"That's right. Don't they hate the priestess? They even burned her!" Yang Jie spoke. "I guess, if they would have found her children, they would also kill them." He said.

"That's right." Huo Huainan spoke. "They would really kill them." He said.

They all looked at him in shock. They know that Yang Jie is just stating his guess, but it is definitely different if they heard a fact.

"They killed the priestess because she did something blasphemous." Huo Huianan said. "Naturally, the product of that blasphemous act is also blasphemous. Thus, they would really kill those infants." He explained.

Silence fell. They felt sympathy towards Nan Chi. They are grateful that fate brought the children to their biological father, albeit the biological father is ignorant that the two infants he picked up were his children.

"These Naya tribesmen entering the mausoleum…" Huo Zichu spoke. "It must be that they wanted to steal." She said.

Their eyes widened in shock.

"Just think." Huo Zichu looked at them. "Their tribe is a small one, while the priestess is living in a grand temple. Even if she has given up her comfortable life, but she still ended living very comfortably while her people are struggling with their life." She said. "Won't you feel envious?" she asked them.

Zhang Jun and Yang Jie didn't react while Zhou Cheng, Peng Qian, Rourou and Lian Xiang fell silent. How can they not understand Huo Zichu's meaning? Weren't they also envious of Huo Ling before?

"They might even feel resentful." Huo Huainan spoke. "Why is she so fortunate… when she was still a mortal, she is the chief's daughter. When she became a god, everyone has to give her offerings." He explained.

Huo Zichu nodded. "I guess they are just looking for an excuse to kill her so they could rob her." She said as she looked at the statues of the Naya tribespeople. "Just think. They just killed her, so her residence should be ominous. Not to mention she's a god. Aren't they afraid she would curse them after they killed her?" she asked. "But, they still daringly entered her residence." she said. "They are really determined to steal her treasures." She shook her head.

They all looked at each other before they looked at the statues with their gaze filled with disgust and disappointment. Then, they resumed walking.

"Is it true?" Huo Ling asked Yi Bing as he floated behind the group, following them.

Yi Bing walked on the walls and ceiling to avoid the statues before he resumed walking on the floor. "Yes." He answered. "Their presence here is a fact. They are here to steal from the priestess." He explained.

"So shameless!" Huo Ling exclaimed in anger. "They are so evil! They killed her just to steal from her! Such a dark conspiracy!" he said.

"Sometimes, it is more of a curse than a blessing to be able to see through the heart of the people." Yi Bing said.

"Huh?" Huo Ling looked at him.

"Mortals, no matter under any situation, if they could live in comfort, they would go seek it." Yi Bing said. "People steal so they could live a more comfortable life. That's why these Naya tribesmen would kill the priestess and then steal her treasures. But, the priestess could live in comfort when she was a mortal. Yet, why did she give it up?" he asked.

"Because she's noble?" Huo Ling asked.

"Even a saint would have a flaw. Even a god would make a mistake." Yi Bing said. "As for a mortal? They have a flaw so they make a mistake. There's no noble among the mortals." He said.

Huo Ling frowned. "Then, why did she give up her comfortable life?" he asked.

Yi Bing stared at him. "Because she could see through the heart of her people." He answered.

"Huh?"

"She wanted to escape." Yi Bing added.

"…" Huo Ling couldn't follow Yi Bing's thoughts. He didn't hear Yi Bing speak again, so he could only ruminate on what Yi Bing said. After a while, his eyes widened in shock. "Ah!" he exclaimed.

Yi Bing looked at him. "Guessed now?" he asked, the corner of his lips pulled up.

"Yes!" Huo Ling nodded, his mouth formed an 'o' by what he found out.

Yi Bing chuckled. "It's better to live alone, than live with others who can harm you." He said.

Huo Ling nodded, his shoulders sinking. Nan Chi, having a pure heart, could feel the people with a black heart. In short, she could feel that the tribespeople aren't good people. And so, she found a reason to avoid them – becoming a priestess who will live in the mountain alone for all of her life, praying to the gods. But, she never expected for fate to play a trick on her. She met a man and bore children. That gave her tribespeople a reason to kill her.

Did she regret she gave birth? No. What she regretted is that she could see through clearly the heart of the people. If she didn't, she might still be alive and is living in ignorance. As they say, ignorance is a bliss.

"What happened to her children, and their biological father?" Huo Ling asked.

"Don't worry." Yi Bing said. He knows what Huo Ling is concerned about. "If that man isn't good, do you think she'd allow him to touch her? It's because she knew he is good, that she didn't harm her. In fact – " he stopped and looked at Huo Ling. " – she must also be regretting that she's going to waste her life living alone, so she did that with that man. It is just fortunate that this regret of hers wasn't wasted." He said. "Not only did she meet a good person for the first time in her life, but she also produced two new life with that person."