The language used by the elder in the house turned out to be that of Huaxia, although the intonations were strange, and many of the word pronunciations were not standard, Suming could barely understand.
As he lifted the door curtain, the heat wave hit him even before he stepped into the house, causing Suming to involuntarily frown.
On such a hot day, this relatively small wooden house was already quite stuffy, yet at this mont, in the middle of the house on the ground, a bonfire was lit, turning the whole house into a giant stear.
An old man dressed in white, his face surrounded by wrinkles, sat beside the bonfire, seemingly unaffected, and extending his withered hand, he beckoned Suming over.
Suming, with a brave face, walked into the house, followed by Ludmila, who also frowned.
"Welco, friends from the East, I am ilik A'laiyi of this generation of the Lure People. You may also call Clan Leader or High Priest. Welco to the holand of the Lure People. Young man from the East, there's no need to be so surprised; having lived for so long, one has ample ti to learn various languages. Since my youth, I have always been fascinated by the mysterious East. At the age of thirty-five, I even visited your capital. The flavor of zhajiang noodles is sothing I still find unforgettable to this day." The elder nodded slightly, signaling them to sit opposite the fire.
Suming had already begun to sweat from his forehead upon entering, but when the elder ntioned zhajiang noodles, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he took off his shirt, unscrewed the water bottle that was always attached to his waist, and sat down shirtless as far from the fire as possible, grinning and asking, "Alayi Priest, let's cut to the chase. What do you want to do by bringing here?"
"Cut to the chase..." Alayi probably didn't understand this idiom, but understood the latter part of the question, saying, "The Lure People are at a crossroads of destiny, and we need guidance from the divine. According to Basel, you are likely the emissary of the Fire God."
Upon hearing this, Ludmila sneered disdainfully, her face showing a disdainful look at a charlatan.
Suming didn't deny it imdiately but carefully probed, "Elder Alayi, I want to know, what if I am not the emissary you speak of?"
"Whether you are the emissary or not, it is not up to you to say, but the will of the gods!" Alayi said with a smile.
Suming really wanted to give him a slap! According to him, whether he confessed or denied it was useless; if their god said he was, then he was, and if their god said he wasn't, then he wasn't.
The problem was, the gods would not speak, so it was still the High Priest who had to make the decision!
Since that was the case, Suming decided to take a risk; he didn't want to follow the thoughts of these religious zealots. Following their logic would only put him at a disadvantage. Currently unable to grasp their intentions, the only thing Suming could be sure of was that he needed to follow his own logic and make them follow his thought process.
Being proactive versus reactive—these two approaches had completely different implications.
Being an emissary of the gods wasn't an easy role to play; if he rashly admitted it, they might be courteous to him at first, but if he were exposed, that would lead to big trouble.
Conversely, if he wasn't willing to admit it easily, at most it ant the other party had found the wrong person, and they wouldn't harbor an irreconcilable grudge. Since they had brought him here, they were already predisposed to believe he was the emissary; even if he denied it, they might not believe it in the short term, which would buy him ti for rescue.
With that in mind, Suming plainly stated, "I made it clear to Basel on the plane, I am just a businessman from the East, not even twenty-five years old, not the emissary you speak of." Before Alayi could counter, he wiped the beads of sweat from his head, flicked his hand, sprinkling water droplets onto the ground, and said, "If I was an emissary of the Fire God, why would I be so afraid of heat?"
Ludmila nodded in agreent beside him. She was so hot she was dripping sweat, which was even more profuse than Suming's, pouring down her camouflage uniform like water. If the emissary of the Fire God was so afraid of heat, how could she get along with the Fire God?
"Oh? But I've heard from Basel that you are not afraid of flas!" Alayi said.
"You fell for his nonsense. You know what kind of person Basel is better than I do; the guy doesn't even spare himself from burning, clearly sothing's wrong with his head," Suming countered while bringing his hand closer to the fire. He drew back his hand from a distance of over a dozen centiters from the flas, "See, I'm afraid of getting burnt, too."
Alayi watched Suming for a few seconds, and a hint of doubt flickered in his eyes.
"Can you co sit here? I would like to have a closer look at you." Alayi pointed to a spot opposite him, closer to where he was sitting.
Suming looked utterly bewildered. Was this old man genuinely interested in ? What a bizarre taste, given the presence of a great beauty like Ludmila who he never bothered to glance at. Instead, he's fixated on a man? Could it be that he's too old to perform?
Glancing at Ludmila, she nodded slightly to indicate that at this distance, she could ensure Suming's safety.
Only then did Suming sit down at the spot designated by Alayi, where there was a small cushion. He didn't know what material it was made of, but it felt soft when he sat on it.
"You see, in what way do I resemble an apostle of the Fire God? Old man, I think it would be better for us to leave. One of us is from Russia, and the other from Huaxia. We're both well-known in our countries. There's no need for you to offend two major Eastern powers over so illusory reason. We Huaxians may have a good temperant, but President Putin is not soone to be trifled with. If he sends a few squadrons of bombers to flatten this little village in minutes, there will be no need for a god to guide you anymore, right..."
As Suming spoke, Alayi kept looking at him with murky eyes, nodding frequently as if seriously considering Suming's words.
But as he was talking, Suming started to feel sothing wasn't quite right.
His buttocks were getting hotter and hotter!
The mont he realized this and was about to stand up, the 'cushion' underneath him suddenly burst into flas like an erupting volcano, sending flas shooting up high!
A blaze engulfed Suming all at once!
"Damn it!" Ludmila yelled out, completely taken aback. She could never have imagined that by asking Suming to sit there, Alayi had already set up a 'trap'. That seat cushion was made of a highly flammable material prid to combust on its own!
She instinctively tried to pat out the flas on Suming, but as soon as she touched the fire, it burned her and she retracted her hand quickly.
"I'll kill you!" Enraged, Ludmila pounced on Alayi like a she-bear.
Upon hearing the commotion inside the room, Amir and another soldier who were standing guard outside imdiately rushed into the cabin, their dark gun muzzles pointed at the back of Ludmila's head as they shouted, "Stop!"
Ludmila had her hands on Alayi's head and could have twisted his neck with rely a little effort.
But with two guns pointed at her, she could only release her grip resentfully.
"Damn Lure People, this is an outright senseless murder!" Ludmila growled angrily.
"Cough cough cough..." Alayi sat back up, coughing violently, but did not even glance at Ludmila, his gaze fixed exclusively on the flas.
The room was almost semi-enclosed without any windows, and the bonfire inside consud most of the oxygen. Since Suming was only wearing shorts and had little on him that could burn, the flas rose quickly and extinguished just as rapidly.
In about three or four seconds, the fire had burned out.
After the flas disappeared, Suming sat there, his face marked with astonishnt and open-mouthed shock.
His body was scorched smooth all over.
————Division————
Qidian has changed its layout again. I logged onto the website and nearly wet myself with fright.
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