Chapter 14 Conversation, Memory, and the Beginning

At first, Xiulote was somewhat hesitant about the arrival of Ahuizotl.

But soon, Ahuizotl produced the Jade Token of the High Priest. This token had always been closely guarded by his grandfather, representing significant trust.

"Your grandfather entrusted me to take care of you. From now on, I am your teacher!" Ahuizotl said with a smile. His smile was like the refreshing fragrance of pines and cypresses, making one feel a sense of kinship unconsciously.

"Now, I'll help you adapt here. In the future, we share the same goals," Ahuizotl said with a smile that suggested deeper meaning. His smile was like a warm spring breeze but also carried a chilling seriousness.

Within a few days, under Ahuizotl's gentle instruction and considerate care, Xiulote accepted this wise teacher and also considered him a close friend. Ahuizotl cared deeply for the boy's well-being, attending to his every need with meticulous care. He always smiled sincerely and chatted with him, resonating with the boy's thoughts and dispelling his loneliness.

One day, Ahuizotl called the young man to watch the sunset together. They watched as the brilliant red hues filled the sky, even the treetops flickered with colorful, shimmering light.

Ahuizotl took out a small flask, took a hearty swig, and then passed it to Xiulote. The boy also drank heartily; the flask contained tequila flavored with honey and spices. The alcohol was delicious, seemingly purified, but its proof was masked by the sweetness of the honey and the strong fragrance of the spices, making it very pleasant to drink.

Xiulote, while enjoying the magnificent scenery, chatted with his teacher, and, without realizing it, drank more than intended.

Looking at the boy's flushed face and feeling his slightly swaying body, Ahuizotl smiled faintly. He skillfully deepened the conversation. Under the influence of the delightful intoxication, the alcohol's effect, and an unknown potion's encouragement, Xiulote no longer held back. He finally spoke his heart.

"Are you saying that the sun is a big fireball, and the ground beneath our feet is a big ball of earth, and this big earth ball is constantly rotating around the big fireball day and night?!" Ahuizotl looked at Xiulote in shock.

"Yes, yes. Ahuizotl, you're so clever; you understood it as soon as I explained," Xiulote said with excitement, patting Ahuizotl's shoulder. "The earth beneath our feet is also constantly spinning on its own. It's because of the rotation around the sun that we have the change of seasons. It's precisely because of the earth's own rotation that we have day and night!"

Ahuizotl looked seriously at Xiulote's face, only to see sincerity, drunken redness, and the excitement of finding a kindred spirit. Thus, he fell silent. Even with his ability, he could not tell if Xiulote was truly foolish with drink, or feigning foolishness.

"You truly are different from ordinary people," was all Ahuizotl could say in the end.

"My grandfather said the same," Xiulote replied. The young man laughed heartily. No one had ever listened so patiently to his scientific knowledge from a previous life or to his explanations of natural phenomena. He had discussed a different understanding of the world with his grandfather and father. His father had scoffed at these ideas, while his grandfather was delighted that he was different from ordinary people. Neither cared about the content of his words.

Drunk words are sober thoughts, and the barely detectable potion also brought a strong sense of trust. Xiulote's emotions were highly agitated. He couldn't help but express some of the thoughts hidden in his heart, releasing some of the continuous pressure from living in an era with vastly different values from his own.

"When I was very young, there were different memories in my mind, or rather some visions," Xiulote gesticulated as he described. Alcohol affected his movements, and it also influenced his thinking.

"What memories?" Ahuizotl asked with a renewed, sincere smile.

"In that memory, I lived in an era fundamentally at peace, having never ended another person's life... There wasn't this much bloodshed and murder in the world," Xiulote said somewhat nostalgically, with a touch of lament.

Even though equality wasn't truly realized in his past life, the idea of it still existed. Unlike now, the concept of hierarchy was deeply ingrained, like a divine will, and killing among different levels was common.

"In my past understanding, life was precious. One's life should not be taken at will; the taking comes abruptly, as though it's justified and completely irresistible!"

Since arriving in this era and witnessing more bloodshed than he ever would have in his previous life, Xiulote constantly felt a strong sense of insecurity. Even though born into a privileged family, he still couldn't ensure the longevity of his own safety.

In this era, the end of life was all too arbitrary, with the lives of commoners falling like weeds. Nobles and priests still died on the cruel battlefields and in secretive assassinations. In truth, he had narrowly escaped death on several occasions. The fear of when the Western colonizers would arrive, unknown to him, was deeply buried in his heart, unspeakable.

"Ahuizotl, tell me, by what right does the King stand highest, directing my life and the lives of others? Nobles inherit their status generation after generation, higher than others, controlling almost all wealth, and my family is the same. Commoners toil hard all year, yet struggle to feed themselves, unable to sustain their children and the elderly. Slaves have no future at all. They either die in the mines or in the fields, or become sacrifices...

If given the same education, how much of a gap would there be between their wisdom and abilities and those of the respected ones? How can the respected ones have the right to crush others? Should we perhaps try to change something, pursue some degree of tolerance and equality?"

Xiulote shook his head, his past memories swirling in his mind, longing for "home." There lay the values of his youth, the progressive ideas passed down over the years, and the way he was before the era changed him.

In this era, what also disturbed him was the strict social hierarchy. Divine authority was supreme, ruling over society. Royal authority suppressed the nobility, the nobility controlled the warriors, and the warriors decided the life and death of commoners. The life of a king was spent preemptively eliminating threatening factions, nobles harshly executed disobedient commoners, and warriors indifferently slew uncivilized tribes; life was as transient as duckweed.

In the "past" twenty years, he had grown accustomed to the company of friends, maintaining an independent self. He wasn't ready yet to determine everything for others, nor did he want himself to be easily decided by others. Even if that person was the supreme King!

The contradictory thoughts clashed violently in his mind. Everyone around him was instilling in him another kind of pure jungle law, a cognitive system that better "adapted" to this era.

He was merging with the cruel times. It signified mutual compromise, the world, or himself, which couldn't be accomplished in a single day.

So he would occasionally go off the rails, making impulsive actions. Like showing pity to a girl when capturing prisoners, like recklessly dismantling his grandfather's divine armor, and like this "dangerous" conversation.

Aweit remained silent. He no longer needed to struggle with whether Xiulote was truly naive or just pretending. However, Xiulote's words still caused some ripples to surface in his cold and cruel heart. Facing such a simple youth, he finally revealed some of his ruthless inner thoughts.

"This world is inherently cold and cruel. Lions eat deer, deer eat grass, not eating means death, and death means being eaten. Priests, nobility, samurai, commoners, slaves. City-States people, foreigners, savages. What difference is there between a city-state and the jungle?"

"Sunlight is finite, if you don't pull out the weeds, corn can't grow. Look at the rainforest, the higher you stand, the more sunlight you get, the longer you live. Pines live for a hundred years, reeds live for ten years, mushrooms live for a season. Where is the sameness? Even in death, there is no sameness."

As he spoke, Aweit's words fluctuated, "So-called life, so-called the equality you talk about, are all just accessories to power. As long as you are strong enough, you can be free. Until you reach the highest point, that is absolute freedom."

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at the distant palanquin, and at the majestic King on it, and murmured to himself, "And I, am of divine lineage!" Suddenly becoming alert, he stopped speaking and turned his gaze to Xiulote.

Seeing Xiulote still drunkenly zoning out, Aweit let out a slight sigh of relief and changed to a smiling expression.

He patted Xiulote on the shoulder, steadied the unsteady youth, and said with a gentle smile, "Although I don't know what memories you are talking about, I can hear the contradiction and confusion in your heart. As a samurai or a noble, overthinking is meaningless."

As he spoke, he glanced again at Xiulote's Tengu Costume. "As a Priest, you should also devote more thought to divinity, for royalty, divinity is humanity. Understanding divinity is to avoid dying in vain."

Then, Aweit flashed another quick smile, "No, I'm wrong. You are just fine, very good! I will relay your understanding of the sun and earth to the King."

"That way, you can preserve your precious life and the equality you cherish..." Aweit thought with a faint smile. Of course, this unspoken sentiment was unknowable to Xiulote, who just leaned on Aweit's shoulder, drowsily falling asleep.

The gentle May, with its breezy drizzles, softened the summer. The warm wind carried the freshness of moisture, stealthily ushering in the rainy season.

After the Teotihuacan legions joined the coalition forces, the grand army went northwards, first veering northeast, intimidating the northern frontier bordering Tlaxcala and the Empire. King Tizoc and representatives from the city-state of Atotoztli met, continuing to flaunt their military strength while arranging defense against Tlaxcala.

Upon the suggestion of the "Female Snakes" officer corps, the King left two legions directly under his command here to strengthen the defense and to surveil the Tlaxcalans and various city-states.

Then, the grand army continued north for several days, reaching Mestitlan City which Xiulote once passed through. King Tizoc met with representatives of the Vastec people here, accepting another tribute. Then turning southwest, he received a city-state legion from Weyoplhethlan, reinstating twenty legions in size.

Finally, the forces went straight west, aiming for the latest large city-state of the Otomi, Xilotepec City, a mere two weeks' direct march from the capital.

Swiftly, the twenty legions encircled Xilotepec City, severing the city-state's supply of food, salt, and some of the water. The city stretched only four or five square kilometers. Eight core legions encamped on the east side, about ten thousand veteran warriors, twenty thousand capital warriors, and more than thirty thousand village warriors, stationed alongside the most convenient grain pathway, a tributary of the Tampen River, these were forces directly loyal to the King.

The remaining twelve city-state legions were evenly stationed on the west, south, and north sides, with more than thirty thousand on each flank, approximately forty percent city-state warriors and sixty percent village warriors. Xiuxoke then led the Teotihuacan city-state legion stationed on the west, where Otomi reinforcements were most likely to appear.

Father and son were distanced east to west, gazing at each other from afar. Since they parted at the Holy City, they hadn't seen each other again. Xiulote often looked westward, but it was only on one evening that he saw over eight thousand direct city-state warriors quietly disappearing into the forest outside the encampment.

The capital's provisions could be sent up north along Lake Texcoco, crossing Lake Haltocan, entering the main stream of the Tampen River, then twisting westward, all the way directly to the encampment by the riverbank. A canoe full of grain, completing the journey, took just over half a month.

King Tizoc's army morale was soaring, with no concern for the dearth of food. Aweit told Xiulote that, according to the latest scout reports, inside Xilotepec City there were only eight thousand city-state warriors, over ten thousand conscripted village soldiers, and tens of thousands of civilians. Morale was low, and anxiety pervaded.

If the two sides engaged in direct combat, the eight thousand veteran warriors could easily drive them into the Tampen River like scattering a troop of monkeys with just one charge.

Now, Xiulote stood outside the eastern gate. What appeared in his line of sight was a four or five meter high wall, a mix of earth and stone, manned by the defending army. The narrow top of the wall was filled with warriors' stone-throwing slings, throwing spears, simple bows and arrows, and piles of stones and wood were clearly visible.