Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1507 - 1052: Buddha and Chief Divine, Kimchi and Spices

"Chief Divine bless! So you come from the Three Islands and Tribal Alliance, the Great Tribe Alliance closest to this peninsula!... Then, who sent you? The Great Leader of the Tribal Alliance, Great Chief? Or the Great Chief of a State? Or perhaps a Chieftain of some Tribe?..."

"Oh! You're two groups of people! One came from the Tribe Chief of the farthest north, another from the Capital City's... temples and shrines? What are temples and shrines?... Ah?! So it's the Capital City's temple! You're actually a priest of the Royal Capital Priest Group? A priest of a foreign faith?!"

"Hmm? You don't have a Royal Capital Priest Group, only independent temples each worshiping various divinities?... What? Worship the same gods, but have different sects? You don't fight each other? How strange!... And you're not a priest, you're from the Thousand-Hand Temple's temple guard? ... Speak! Who's the priest leading your group, where is he hiding?! Huh? No priest leading you? Just a single temple guard? The temple sending you here has nothing to do with the gods of your faith?..."

Night descended, and the weather grew colder. The campfires were lit, and the captives, with their hands freed from ropes, gathered by the fire to keep warm and cook. Since the "deer barbarians" weren't planning to kill the captives, the captives gave up hope of escaping. After all, in such icy and snowy seasons, without food and fuel, escaping empty-handed into the endless snowy plains, one couldn't survive more than two days!

Exploration Captain Zuwaro sat by the innermost campfire, still discussing with the Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi through writing, appearing somewhat excited. Watanabe glanced at Zuwaro puzzledly, having only mentioned the Miao Courtyard dispatching the Ocean Shielding Ship and his monk soldier status, unaware why the other's reaction was so intense.

"I am a monk soldier... sent under orders to bring the ship to the far north, trading precious goods urgently needed by the capital... We have always treated the far north tribes with sincerity and have never intended offense..."

"Temples and shrines are not shrines, they worship Buddhas, not local Witch Gods... Our Buddha is merciful, universally saves sentient beings, encourages goodness, and is unfettered by worldly affairs... The high monks in the temple are deeply cultivated, never leaving hastily, nor personally leading trade delegations... Uh?!"

Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi wrote a few more sentences, noticing Zuwaro's gaze becoming increasingly cold, even harboring a hint of murderous intent. He pursed his lips, quickly lowered his head, and erased those two lines on the snow. Then, cautiously, he wrote a new line of inquiry.

"What is your purpose from the East of the Sea?"

"Chief Divine bless! The Chief Divine's guidance, the Divine Revelation of His Majesty, brought us here to trade with the tribes of the Western Sea!..."

"Uh... Chief Divine? Divine Revelation?..."

Upon seeing these two words, Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi blinked, vaguely grasping something. Could this be a Great Tribe of the Eastern Sea that worships the Witch Gods? And what exactly is this Divine Revelation they speak of? ... Considering this, Watanabe hesitated for a moment, then wrote two more sentences.

"What is the Chief Divine? What is Divine Revelation?"

"The Chief Divine is the supreme and greatest, the master of all in the world, the one and only Chief Divine of heaven and earth!... Divine Revelation is the prophecy of His Majesty. He knows the details of the Western Sea, sent us across twenty thousand miles to acquire the various skills and products of the tribes of the Western Sea to resist the imminent white-skinned demons! ... Chief Divine's guidance, His Majesty's Divine Revelation! It's the will of the divine that we meet here!"

"Buddha! They... They've traveled twenty thousand miles west for the prophecy of a Great Sorcerer? This is... an extremely devout Witch God Tribe, just like the ancient Yin Dynasty of Tang Land?... And what of the Great Sorcerer's prophecy knowing about the distant Western Sea Lands?!..."

Seeing such a shocking response, seeing the fervent devotion on Zuwaro's face, Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi was silent, unsure of what to say. He vaguely understood the source of the other's previous murderous intent, feeling a faint unease in his heart.

Even though he was in a temple, the "high monks" there indulged in wine and meat, took wives, and never dared to spread Buddhist Law to impoverished rural areas, let alone to the distant far north! He had never encountered such devout Witch God followers, nor met a truly miraculous Divination Shaman!...

"This is the emblem of the Chief Divine!"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro muttered a few prayers, then took out a Chief God's Amulet made of gold. He pointed to the Sun Hummingbird emblem on the front, then turned it over, revealing on the back the Mexica-character for "god."

Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi widened his eyes, staring for a while before suddenly understanding. The pattern he previously found familiar was actually an alternate Chinese character for "god"! This special character had a "lightning" shorthand symbol on the left, a "flame" fire on the right, and a "sky" at the bottom!

"Ah! A deity holding lightning and flame above the sky!... Hiss! Thunder and fire? It sounds like our Thousand-Armed Guanyin, also inclined towards combat as a martial Divine Buddha!"

"Chief Divine bless! The light and power of the Chief Divine are beyond your imagination! When we return to the camp, I will show you the `Book of Ama Colley`, the Divine Revelation, and tell you the prophecy of His Majesty in detail. There's also a state letter from His Majesty for your Kingdom and the King of the Tribal Alliance..."

"Ah? Book of Ama Colley? State letter?!"

"Yes, the Chief Divine bears witness! You'll know when the time comes!"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro squinted his eyes, quickly assessing the scribe Watanabe Masumi with suspicion, then glanced around at the large group of campfire cooking captives from the Large Ship, silently making a decision!

"Blood oath... conversion!... The radiance of the Chief Divine will surely shine upon them!"

Once taking this group back to the southern port, he would immediately hold the ceremony of blood oath conversion, forcing them all to convert to the Chief Divine's faith! Regardless of their prior beliefs, being captives of the Kingdom meant they must change their faith! Otherwise, there would naturally be great terror awaiting them...

"Chief Divine bless! It's time to eat... Bald, what food do you have in your camp? What's in those bags of grains, and what are those vegetables marinated in the jars?"

"Uh..."

Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi stroked his bald head, fell silent for a moment, then wrote his answer.

"The staple grain in the bags is rice. The yellow grain is millet. The white grain is rice... Rice is expensive and scarce. Usually, we eat millet... Oh, and there are yellow soybeans and peas for feeding horses, which people can also eat..."

"Hmm? Rice and millet? Rice?... So these are indeed the new crops mentioned by His Majesty!"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro's mouth curved into a smile, showing joy. His decisive raid not only captured four-legged horses but also acquired new crops like rice, millet, soybeans, and peas! Once transported back to the far north coast's port, these would certainly mark meritorious achievements that His Majesty could acknowledge!... But, since these are new crops, they must be kept as seeds rather than eaten indiscriminately; they must be carefully preserved. Hmm, tonight we'll eat roast venison instead!...

"Furthermore, what's marinated in the jars are delicious pickles, there's pickled daikon, and kimchi favored by Korean sailors, which is also tasty..."

"Aha! Delicious pickles, kimchi?..."

Hearing this, Zuwaro grinned, slightly shaking his head. Then, scrutinizing the writings in the snow, he keenly caught a word.

"Korean sailors? Not from Wa Country?"

"Uh... Operating the Large Ship is difficult. Korean sailors assist in sailing and maintenance, and they are also servants of the temple..."

"Oh! So that's how it is!..."

Zuwaro's eyes flickered, nodding. It seemed the Korean sailors operating the ship were not of the same mind as these leaders of Wa Country, hence their swift surrender. That being the case, the propagation of the Chief Divine's faith could start with these lower-ranking servants. Since they revered gold, after the conversion ceremony, each could receive a Chief God's Amulet of gold, followed by teachings on the Chief Divine's doctrines!...

After some contemplation, Zuwaro roughly formed a missionary approach. Then he reached into his pocket, rummaging for a while, and presented a small bag of chili peppers and spices to Watanabe Masumi's nose. Watanabe Masumi sniffed, inhaling the exotic and indescribable aromatic scents, and his expression suddenly changed!

"Buddha! What is this? Uncommon spices? These spicy fragrances, I've never smelled before!"

"This... is what's truly delicious!... I eat this, sprinkle it on roast venison... you, enjoy kimchi, and drink vegetable soup... Haha!"

Zuwaro smirked, writing the last line in the snow. Then, bursting into laughter, he stood up, rallied several Warriors of the Kingdom, and busily prepared the celebratory dinner.

Soon, the aroma of roasted venison wafted along with curling smoke, accompanied by the songs of warriors and sailors, rising above the cold northern snowy plains! That singing initially brimmed with excitement and joy, then turned generous and fervent, followed by devout prayers. Finally, there was a low echo that drifted towards the faraway distance... that far-off homeland on the snowy plains that every unforeseen visitor found challenging to return to~