"This is a huge secret that no one would ever imagine."
Xilan shook his head,
"No, in Heaven."
The Dwarf Prison Warden was taken aback once again, then his beard trembled as he roared angrily:
"Are you mocking ?! Damn you!"
But Xilan looked helpless,
"You asked, so I answered, just as if you begged, I would give."
The Dwarf Prison Warden slamd the table. He was so furious he stood straight from his chair and pointed at Xilan, shouting:
"Just you wait and see, wait and see, we will make you confess!
Sneaky humans, always full of tricks, let’s see how long you can last!
Guards, take him to the cell over there, lock him up with the others!"
Xilan slowly stood up from the table, seemingly unconcerned with the Warden’s arrangents, and kindly looked at the Dwarf Prison Warden, speaking gently:
"You are so devoted to your duty, only your thods are too harsh.
But being duty-bound is not always a good thing; sotis it can bring disasters, and that’s when your wisdom needs to co into play."
These words sounded so casually uttered, without a hint of tension or panic, which further infuriated the Dwarf Prison Warden, who raged impotently:
"Are you advising ? Are you really advising ?!
Am I the prison warden, or are you the prison warden?!"
Xilan earnestly replied:
"Of course, it’s you."
.....................
For so reason, the Dwarf Prison Warden felt that talking to this man was absolutely torturous.
No matter his posture, emotion, or the threats he made, this man always handled it with ease, his eyes appearing to foresee everything with calm intelligence.
The Prison Warden believed that re interrogation was not enough for this trickster; it was ti for torture.
But torture was not sothing to be taken lightly; it required experienced prison guards to achieve the greatest results. Unfortunately, those guards had gone out to revel the night before, celebrating a battle, and had not yet returned.
Therefore, the Dwarf Prison Warden decided to temporarily throw Xilan into jail until the guards returned to start harsher interrogation thods.
Once inside the cell, Xilan found a corner and casually sat down.
The other prisoners eyed this newcor, with one of them asking:
"Are you a seasoned prisoner? You look like you’ve been here quite a few tis."
Xilan scanned the people present and smiled slightly,
"I’ve indeed been to such places.
The places I’ve been were even smaller and filthier."
Several prisoners looked at him curiously.
The criminals here were not serious offenders, as serious criminals had separate cells. Most here were jailed for petty theft, adultery, or brawls, and so were first-ti offenders; there were hardly any seasoned prisoners.
"That was the prison of the Three-eyed Ape People. They didn’t understand architecture and forging like the Dwarves do, so their cells were small and low, nowhere near as spacious as here..."
Xilan narrated the prisons of Ajia Land in great detail. He told the story of how he was caught and thrown into the cells of Ajia Royal City during his escape, then he vividly described the persecution and abuse he endured there, explaining to everyone how the Three-eyed Ape People ruthlessly pulled out nails with pliers, and how the iron spike whips, scorched by fire, lashed.
Initially, the prisoners were srized, interjecting with questions at tis. But as Xilan described the putrid, rotting flesh, the blood-drenched fingers, and the maggots feeding on the flesh, the prisoners fell silent, finding the descriptions painful and uncomfortable to listen to.
What stunned them the most was the utterly indifferent tone of Xilan’s voice; there was no hint of grievance or resentnt.
"Are you lying? Or did you make all this up? You look completely unscathed."
A Dwarf prisoner couldn’t help but ask.
Xilan shook his head and said,
"I’m not lying, I swear by the na of God, my well-being is due to His rcy."
Xilan’s voice was so sincere, it seed to possess a magical power.
The doubts of the prisoners in the cell were instantly dispelled, and they couldn’t help but express,
"It’s hard to imagine that such pain has happened to you."
At this mont, the prisoners couldn’t help but show their sympathy and compassion. There was no extrely wicked person in this cell; they were all there for minor mistakes, with the longest sentence being a Dwarf who was to be imprisoned for six years.
Xilan’s recounting of his past touched the softer side of these prisoners’ hearts, and one of the prisoners even voluntarily pushed over his pile of straw to offer Xilan a place to sit.
Xilan did not refuse, he took the straw from the prisoner’s hand and sat down on it.
Facing everyone’s sympathy and compassion, Xilan spoke softly,
"Previously, I was sensitive and cowardly, thinking myself perceptive and wise, struggling through my hardships,
but when the light ca,
I realized all pain is just hearsay."
This statent fell to the ground, and the prisoners instinctively perked up their ears, not knowing why they did so, but still, they listened very seriously to every word Xilan said, as if by not listening, they would miss sothing important.
"I know you, you have made mistakes and fallen here, but what’s the big deal of mistakes? You are still alive, just and them, and know that even if you have sinned, you can still try your best to repay.
Many people examine their past, speculate about their fate after death, and then they give up, doing nothing, drifting aimlessly like duckweed. They neither do good nor evil; they neither commit to virtue nor vice. They refuse all effort and quietly await the arrival of the afterlife.
I tell you, that behavior is not reprehensible, but still, it’s better to strive in this world, because God not only examines man’s actions but also his heart.
Soone once asked , when facing God, whether he should recount every good deed he had done, and I told him it’s better not to do so. Doing good is not a bargain, but the duty one must fulfill to enter Heaven, and I believe the sa principle applies to the Gods’ Netherworld......"
The prisoners in attendance, like attentive apprentices,
were so captivated that, without realizing it, they supported their leaning bodies with their hands pressed against the ground.
They still didn’t know this man’s na,
only that he was like a Hermit, specially dispatched by God to do hard tasks on earth,
his past hardships were his wisdom, God’s guidance was his walking stick, and the current prison was his chapel.
Each of his words, like spoonfuls of clear water, were poured upon the spirit of man, and they would never see the ti of drying.
The prisoners didn’t know, but Xilan had lived in Heaven for many thousands of years, and now, the words of his sermons were but a grain of sand in the ocean to him.
.........
Ti passed, and the night unknowingly fell.
The prisoners were either lying on straw piles or on the warm tiles of the floor, snoring soundly in their sleep.
Xilan leaned against the corner of the wall, gazing at the moonlight outside the window, as if waiting for sothing.
Having been in Kaelonde’s Royal City for so long, it was about ti, he thought.
Xilan felt, watching over the Divine of Kaelonde closely, it was about ti they discovered his presence.
"However, they won’t know that I am Xilan, disciple of Prophet Noen. And that is the power of the Hermit’s path."
Xilan muttered to himself.
The Gods would only know that an enigmatic, uninvited guest had stepped onto the Divine chessboard.
The night grew darker by the minute, and all of Kaelonde seed to quiet down at this mont.
Xilan, sensing sothing, slowly closed his eyes.
After that,
the Dream God, Laren, invaded Xilan’s dreams.
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