Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1548 - 1089: Joy in This World, Life Without End

The sunset was fading, and the White Lake surrounded them. The golden afterglow fell on the Great Temple atop the mountains, casting a majestic and splendid reflection on the lake. Sincere prayers gathered into a humming murmur that echoed throughout the entire White Stone Capital City. In the prince's courtyard by the lake, the same sunset reflection fell, accompanied by the loud cries of eagles, as melodious as the distant mountains.

"Oh! Oh oh!"

A flying golden eagle swooped down from the high sky, then suddenly stopped, proudly dropping a half-meter-long big fish. It then folded its nearly three-meter wingspan, arrogantly lifting its head, waiting for the praise of its owners. Yet, it waited for quite a while without receiving the caresses or exclamations it anticipated.

"Squeak? Squeak squeak?..."

The golden eagle tilted its head quizzically, its sharp eagle eyes rounding to discern the overlapping figures of its two owners. The obnoxious male owner had caught the female owner's hand again and blocked her mouth, "completely shameless!"...

"Chirp! Chirp chirp!"

The golden eagle flapped its wings discontentedly, creating gusts of Jifeng. Even the blooming rose bushes by the lake were swept by the powerful wings, sending scarlet and light purple petals dancing in the air.

"Ah! Little Aviloztli! That's my favorite, the Safflower Rose and Blue Rose! ...Ah! ...Xiulote, wait a bit, hang on... ugh! You!..."

Seeing the cascading beautiful petals, Alisa widened her eyes and pushed hard against Xiulote, trying to rise from the large blanket. But just as she lifted herself, a large hand pulled her back, abruptly stopping her voice, leaving only indistinct nasal tones. After a while, she blushed, forcefully pushing her husband away, spitting a few times and angrily scolding.

"Huff, huff! ...Xiulote, you naughty monkey! It's not even dark yet! Why are you in such a rush? So cunning...Little Aviloztli, listen to me, go pounce on that scoundrel!!..."

"Uh! ...Little Aviloztli! It's me!..."

"Chirp! Chirp chirp!"

Xiulote, still catching his breath, barely sat steady before the majestic golden eagle Aviloztli pounced him back onto the carpet.

Not seen for years, Aviloztli was already ten years old, a large raptor in its prime. Its wingspan was nearly three meters, weighing about twenty pounds, stronger than the average male golden eagle. Its diet even included coyotes and jaguars in the jungle, and the entire sky above the Lake Capital City was its territory.

"Uh! ...Little Aviloztli! Stop pouncing, let me get up..."

"Oh oh! Oh!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

At this moment, amidst the conflicting orders from both owners, the golden eagle Aviloztli chose, without hesitation, the care of its female owner rather than the ignored male owner. However, it possessed the intelligence of a five-year-old child and recognized the male owner's visage. Thus, it retracted its sharp claws, persistently flapping its wings to prevent Xiulote from getting up.

"Hehe! Naughty monkey, serves you right for bullying me! Hee hee! Now you know how it feels to be pounced on...Alright, alright! Aviloztli, enough, let him get up... Uh, good child, come over! Come to my side..."

"Oh oh!"

Hearing the female owner's command, Aviloztli happily folded its wings, arrogantly lifted its head, and landed beside Alisa. Alisa lovingly extended her hand, thoroughly rubbing its round little head before hugging and kissing it.

"Oh! ...Squeak?"...

Aviloztli joyfully shook its little head, spinning in a 360-degree circle. But it soon widened its eyes, curiously nearing Alisa's face, using its unsensitive nasal cavity to cautiously sniff. Clearly it was hugged and kissed by the female owner, so why did it smell the male owner's scent?

"Cough cough! ...Little Aviloztli, you actually have so much strength..."

Xiulote stood up a bit awkwardly, brushing the eagle feathers off his body before draping a long robe over himself. Then, he walked to Alisa's side, gently touching his wife's puffed-up cheek, offering an apologetic smile, and then ruffled the little golden eagle's head.

"Little Aviloztli, you were so close to me when you were little, and now you're like this, it really breaks my heart...Huh!...Little Qing?!"...

"Hiss hiss!..."

"Chirp chirp!..."

Little Aviloztli's feathers fluffed up instantly; its head turned 270 degrees, glaring into the flowers by the lake side. A more than two-meter-long, arm-thick water snake lazily crawled out from the lake.

It first raised its cold eyes, stared at the majestic golden eagle for a moment, then turned its head, stealthily crawling closer. Half raising its serpentine head, it tentatively flicked its forked tongue, carefully sniffing the scent on Xiulote's body before suddenly leaping out of the grass and winding around its owner's leg.

"Oh Chief Divine! Little Qing, you've grown so big!..."

Xiulote extended his hand, feeling the cold, slippery touch on his body. He let the green snake climb from his leg to his arm, finally coiling around his shoulder, posing a joyful "▽". Unknowingly, a decade had passed, and Little Qing had grown from a tiny creature into a large lake serpent. Yet, compared to the rapid-growing little golden eagle, today its size seemed somewhat inadequate.

"Haha! Since little Aviloztli brought a fish, let's have fish for dinner tonight! ...Alisa, let me personally roast two fragrant, crispy grilled fish for you!..."

The sunset submerged below the lake's surface, and the campfire rose in the courtyard, wafting the aroma of grilled fish. The Texcoco lake wind blew from the east, carrying a faint salty smell, much like the wind from the sea.

These salty, damp winds came not only from the eastern salt lake sectioned off by embankments but also from the natural salt pools in the southeastern Lake Region. Lake salt and well salt were important outputs of the Texcoco Lake District, also key trade goods of the Mexica Alliance. Naturally, tonight's grilled fish was also seasoned with the fine, white Texcoco lake salt refined by Xiulote's improved filtration.

"Hiss hiss!..."

"Chirp chirp!..."

The golden eagle and the green snake, one on the left and one on the right, settled with their share of sashimi, enjoying a rare moment of quiet coexistence. Meanwhile, Xiulote and Alisa nestled between the golden eagle and the green snake, leaning against the fragrant water cedar tree. They snuggled up to each other, sharing the crispy, slightly spicy grilled fish bite by bite, breathing in the familiar and reassuring scent from each other.

At this moment, they leaned on each other's shoulders, watching the last trace of sunset gradually be stained by the black night sky. Their cheeks pressed together, listening to the cicadas in the evening breeze as if hearing heartbeats. When their hearts beat fast, they felt close, and when leaning together, the beats slowed and intertwined, becoming perfect as if flowing with different melodies yet perfectly harmonious.

"Xiulote, do you know?... Over these years, I've always missed you... I've wanted so much, wished to accompany you like this, always stay with you... until..."

"Ah?!..."

Listening to Alisa's whispers, Xiulote's once-hardened heart suddenly softened and fluttered. He turned around and tightly hugged his fragrant, mature wife to his chest. Then, he gazed into Alisa's eyes and seriously asked.

"Until... what?..."

"Hmm... until... the sun sets, the sky turns very dark. And we... like our ancestors, become stars in the sky, forever leaning on each other!"

"Hmm? Become stars in the sky?"

Xiulote blinked, looking past Alisa's lifted hair strands at the Central American night sky, with its expansive Milky Way. The stars were so vibrant, densely clustered together over countless millennia until today.

"Alisa, the stars in the sky look very close, but actually they're very far apart..."

"Ah? Stars are far apart?... Then, are our ancestors far apart too?..."

"Hmm..."

Xiulote just gazed at the starry sky for a moment before discovering something more enchanting than the stars, which was his wife's eyes right before him. Those eyes seemed to carry a river of stars, shining brightly at him. And in that bright river, only his image was reflected, making him deeply intoxicated, yearning for an endless exploration...

"Alisa, my wife, I too wish to accompany you... just like the highest Great Pyramid, with its most sacred Twin Temples... standing side by side at the highest point under the heavens!... until..."

"Ah! The highest point, the Twin Temples?... Hmm... until what?"

"Until the sea dries up, turning into fields. Mountains crack open, becoming rivers. Heaven and Earth unite."

"Stop!"

Excitedly flashing her eyes, Alisa felt her husband's heartbeat and looked into his profound eyes. She wanted to see through that ocean-like mist into Xiulote's deep heart, to see that soul once etched in her heart, incomparably clear.

"Chief Divine witness! Xiulote, I'm listening to your heart! No empty words!"

"Uh..."

Upon hearing this, Xiulote pursed his lips, thought for a while, and then spoke again. This time, he was incredibly serious and utterly honest. In this world, perhaps only Alisa could make him feel so honest now...

"Chief Divine witness! I will stay with you until we die, until we're both buried... buried in the Holy City's Moon Pyramid..."

"Huh? After death, buried in the Moon Pyramid? Hmm, not buried in the Royal Family's Great Temple?"

"Yes... the Moon Pyramid, that's where I was born and where I will return..."

Under the splendid river of stars, Xiulote sincerely nodded. He grasped his wife's hand tightly, softly promising eternal death.

"Alisa, after I die, I will be buried in the Moon Pyramid. And if you die, you must also be buried with me, buried there... Do you remember?"

"Ah! Let us be buried together in the Moon Pyramid after death... Okay! Xiulote, I remember!"

Upon hearing Xiulote's words, Alisa was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously. She repeated her lover's words, mysteriously warming up, her eyes misting over. Then, she lifted her moist eyes, leaned toward Xiulote's ear, gently licked it, and whispered.

"Xiulote, it's dark..."

"Huh? It's dark?"

"Hmm... It's dark... The moon should come home... The stars want to be mischievous..."

"Ah!..."

A bright full moon rose from the East, slowly descending into the deep night sky. And the stars in the night sky blinked, lost within a vast sea of stars.

"Yoo-yoo!"

The golden eagle Aviloztli let out a melodious cry, soaring into the sky. The sky is its domain, the place it yearns to conquer.

"Hiss-hiss!"

The green serpent Xiaoqing slithered its long body, gently sinking to the depths of the lake. The lake bottom is its home, where it loves to sleep.

The night is long, home is far away. Journeymen on long roads, lovers beside them...