Chapter 34: The World in the Dream (4)
In order to demonstrate reverence and sanctity, the entire temple was constructed with exquisite craftsmanship. Even in this beastfolk world where productivity was insufficient, even crude—one could say—every corner here was magnificent, the workmanship delicate and refined enough to rival precision machinery from the modern world. What was even more peculiar was that a kind of mystical energy seemed to flow around, pale white halos drifting across the architecture, making it appear as though it were a single entity.
However, Qi An frowned, shifting his gaze from the marble temple to the surroundings. The pillars surrounding the temple were constructed somewhat differently.
Setting aside the strange carvings beneath each one, there were many of them, but they were not arranged neatly in rows. Instead, they were peculiarly disordered, with several pillars in each circle protruding outward, forming a strange pattern.
This strange and dense arrangement would seem chaotic at first glance, but the longer one looked, the more a sense of "it should be this way" would emerge in the heart. The formed shape was complex yet wouldn't agitate the mind. Qi An tried to imagine viewing this temple from above. The patterns formed by each circle of pillars kept layering on top of one another, and a circular formation gradually took shape in his mind.
It somewhat resembled...
A formation.
Qi An raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanged, only smiling at the priest who had come out. "Of course."
The priest's clothing was the same as during the ritual. As he walked out from the temple's center, a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes. "What made you want to come to the temple? I thought you would go watch the beastfolk's sparring."
His tone at the end became somewhat peculiar.
The reason for wanting to watch the martial exhibition was, of course, because of Evan.
Thinking of the dramatic relationship between himself and those two people as described by Caini, Qi An couldn't help but twitch his eyelid.
According to the setting given in this dream, because of the priest, he had never entered the temple. His arrival this time might have broken a certain relationship, or symbolized a transformation in his emotions. Remembering the beastfolk's pleased gazes from before, Qi An maintained his harmless expression. "I wanted to offer some prayers to the Beast God."
"Pray to the Beast God?" The priest repeated these words. Though his expression remained gentle, Qi An sensed a deeper meaning behind his words.
The priest's voice carried a cool detachment, which might have been caused by his status. But precisely because of this, even though he deliberately lowered his stance, his tone still carried a subtle sense of superiority. "Of course, let's go inside."
The problem was that from this moment on, Qi An could hear a hint of amusement and pleasure.
Qi An pressed this confusion to the bottom of his heart, then turned his head to look at the surrounding pillars. Apart from the arrangement pattern, there was another peculiarity—the pillars themselves. They were also made of marble, but at the ends of the pillars, some strange flowers had been carved.
Ordinary temple pillars would also have carvings, but they were usually carved directly into the pillar itself. Yet the patterns on these pillars had been given an additional layer of something resembling paint.
They were two types of flowers—one white, one black.
The two flowers were beautiful, yet their designs were completely different. The white one stood proud and upright, perhaps because of its color, it appeared utterly sacred. Its blooming petals faced directly upward, as if chasing the sun that symbolized light. The black flower, however, was like a vine-like existence. It seemed to despise sunlight, the entire flower slightly drooping downward, yet clinging to the white flower, as if trying to drag the white one into the abyss together, encircling it tightly.
One flower sacred, one flower dark.
These two stylistically contrasting flowers intertwined, creating a peculiar sense of haunting beauty.
Moreover, these two flowers possessed a strange harmony, as if they had become one.
Qi An's prolonged gaze drew the priest's attention. He turned his body back around, directly looking at where Qi An was staring, then smiled gently. "These two flowers are very beautiful, aren't they?"
"Yes." Qi An nodded, and after a moment of silence,试探道, "I seem to have never truly seen them in the real world."
"You naturally wouldn't have seen them. These flowers do not exist in this world." The priest seemed amused. "These flowers are the legendary sacred flowers."
Qi An frowned, his gaze once again falling on the two flowers. Since they were sacred flowers, why had he never heard of them from those around him? And when he had deliberately inquired for information, he had received no news about them at all.
"However, people no longer worship these flowers now. It's only because this temple is the oldest in the beastfolk world that such carvings are still preserved. In other temples, they should have been replaced long ago." The priest smiled lightly, his gaze shifting away, with no intention of elaborating.
"Why?" Qi An met the priest's gaze directly.
Under the weight of Qi An's ink-dark pupils staring at him, the priest's expression subtly shifted. Having no intention of saying more, his eye color deepened, yet he still spoke. "Because of the Beast God's Prohibition."
The Beast God's Prohibition.
The Beast God existed before the beastfolk appeared. Since worship had been permitted before, this meant the Beast God had tacitly allowed it.
Why would he have such a sudden change of heart?
And if these were truly ordinary flowers, the Beast God would not have issued such a specific prohibition. The only possibility was that these flowers symbolized some special meaning. And these meanings had greatly displeased the Beast God.
Qi An began searching through his mind for information about the Beast God. Descriptions of the Beast God were actually quite scarce, and most of the surviving ancient texts were merely praises of him.
The only thing recorded that could be considered a significant event was his battle with the Evil God long ago. What had happened back then was now impossible to explore. All that was known was that the Beast God had defeated the Evil God and sealed it away, and then... obtained the faith of all the beastfolk.
The Beast God valued reason; the Evil God valued force.
White flowers symbolized sanctity; black flowers symbolized evil.
They were both completely opposing existences. Thinking of the two flowers in the carvings that appeared as one, Qi An's expression shifted. Silently, he followed the priest into the temple.
When Qi An entered, he discovered that the temple's peculiarity was not only on the outside. The Beast God statue being worshiped was the same. Its form resembled the qilin described in legends, built to appear mighty and fierce, allowing one to see its clear musculature and explosive power.
But uniquely, the eyes had not been carved out.
Following the priest's guidance, Qi An completed the ritual actions of worship, then asked, "Why weren't the eyes carved?"
"Because no one knows what the Beast God's eyes look like." The priest gently helped Qi An rise from the cushion, then together they gazed at the Beast God's statue. "In fact, there are two rumors. One is that the Beast God was born without eyes. The other is..."
"The Beast God rarely uses his eyes to look at other things." The priest seemed to be recalling ancient texts he had read before. "...The Beast God only looks upon those he values."
Qi An blinked. The strangeness in his heart grew heavier. "The ancient texts say the Beast God is magnanimous, loving all the beastfolk in this world equally. If that is so, then according to the second说法, why would people not know what his eyes look like? Isn't that contradictory?"
"...They're just legends." The priest seemed to have not expected Qi An to say such a thing. His handsome features faltered momentarily, but the tone with which he spoke to Qi An remained as gentle as always. "Besides the Beast God himself, who could know what the truth actually is?"
Qi An looked at him in silence. After contemplating for a while, he bid farewell to the priest and returned to his cabin.
What he didn't know was that in the moment he turned and left.
A pair of eyes suddenly appeared where the eyes should have been carved on the statue—exactly the same eyes Qi An had seen in the recording from the system.
Unlike the cold statue, they were alive, full of vitality.
They stared fixedly at the departing young man, just as they had during the ritual.
The priest smiled warmly as he watched the young man leave. Only when the latter's figure had completely disappeared did his expression return to one of cold detachment. Strangely, he looked toward the direction of the statue as if he had long anticipated doing so.
Seeing those eyes, the priest smiled again, but it was completely different from the smile he had shown Qi An—a hollow smile with no emotion at all, the kind that didn't reach the eyes. "The Beast God's eyes will naturally only look upon whoever he wishes to see. As for others..."
He didn't continue speaking, but his eyes held the same cold indifference as the eyes on the statue.
The indifference that looked down upon all living beings.
"Unfortunately, I can't kill Evan." The priest's tone suddenly turned frigid and sinister. "I couldn't kill him then, and I still can't kill him now. How could he be so lucky, obtaining such a role that I had arranged for myself..."
"However, a storyline where he hopelessly loves the princess, goes through all sorts of hardships, and finally wins over the princess who loved someone else, successfully getting the beauty... seems quite spectacular too."
Throughout his journey back, Qi An didn't see any other beastfolk. Only when he returned to the wooden cabin did he see Caini hurrying over. The young man seemed to have something urgent to tell him.
"What's wrong?"
The young man glanced at the surroundings before leaning close to Qi An's ear and speaking softly. "I'm going to tell you a secret. During the sparring, a letter came from another tribe. The chieftain's face changed immediately on the spot. I was extremely curious, so I quietly went to where the chieftain was to take a look."
"And then I discovered..."
"It said that tribe had found the three people identified as outsiders. But they now dare not kill them, not only because those people are extremely powerful..."
"But also because they call themselves gods!"