"What? She reserved the divine position of the Stranger?" Tyrion was startled again. "When did that happen?"
"On the eve of the Battle of Winterfell, Bran personally brought her to pledge herself to me," Dany said calmly.
"Why?" Tyrion could not understand. "Once Arya becomes a divine servant of the Stranger, she loses her chance at transcendence. Just like Wukong, she'll live like a pitiful dog under someone else's control. What's good about that?"
"In truth, Wukong's story has an earlier chapter," Dany said slowly. "My talent is impressive enough, right?
But before I inherited the legacy of the Valyrian archmages, even those insignificant warlocks of Qarth dared to scheme against me.
Talent needs inheritance and guidance to become true strength.
Wukong could become the God of Battle because from the moment he was born, he was protected by the chief god, Tathagata.
From a nameless little spirit to Wukong, who learned the 'Tathagata Meditation Method,' how many benefits did he receive from Tathagata?"
Tyrion looked toward Arya in the forest and muttered, "She really is receiving many benefits from the Stranger now."
"But Wukong also had a brother. His talent was just as great, and his luck even seemed better because he wasn't targeted by Tathagata.
Yet the world does not contain only one chief god. Tathagata is at least a righteous deity. There are countless evil gods in existence, and they didn't even give Wukong's brother the chance to be born before occupying his unborn body."
"What did they want with his body?" Tyrion asked in confusion.
"Do you know why R'hllor and Sheep Egg targeted me?" Dany asked.
"They wanted to seize your bloodline and talent." Tyrion seemed to understand.
"Different methods, same goal." Dany nodded and continued, "The evil gods used soul possession to take over Wukong's brother's body, bloodline, and extraordinary aptitude."
"Ah, that's horrible." The dwarf cried out, his face turning pale. "He suffered even worse than you. Wukong's brother never even got to be born. He was only a fetus and had no chance to resist at all!"
"Evil gods are terrifying. Fate is truly unfair," he sighed.
Dany said, "Fate still had a trace of fairness. Right after the evil god occupied that exceptionally gifted body, retribution arrived.
A hypocrite named Hong Yi Meng Shenji came and killed the evil god, then took over Wukong's brother's body himself.
In the end, with the help of that extraordinary body, Hong Yi truly surpassed the chief god Tathagata and ascended to become a Creator God."
"This..." The dwarf's expression twisted. "How is that fair? Wukong's brother died such a miserable death!"
"Not miserable. Hong Yi avenged him, then received his body as compensation."
"Hong Yi is a hypocrite."
"A hypocritical gentleman is still a gentleman. Far better than an evil god."
"But something still feels wrong." The dwarf frowned in thought. "Wukong was manipulated by Tathagata from birth, living without freedom like a dog.
Wukong's brother gained complete freedom, yet lost even the chance to be born.
Isn't a world like that far too cruel?"
"Do you know why I'm telling you all this?" Dany asked in return.
"Aren't we just chatting? What purpose could there be?" Tyrion asked blankly.
"You're going to Yi Ti to slay demons and monsters. I want you to understand the rules of the supernatural world so you can change the way you used to think," Dany said.
Tyrion was silent for a while, then seemed to gain some understanding. He sighed emotionally, "I think I finally understand the ecology of the supernatural world. The hierarchy is strict, the strong devour the weak, good and evil are blurred, and only利益 is eternal.
It's even crueler and more hopeless than the game of power between kings and nobles."
"You've gained quite the enlightenment. Choosing you as Saint Matthew's 'disciple Wukong' truly wasn't a mistake." Buddha Dany smiled with satisfaction.
"I'm Wukong? Am I even qualified?" the dwarf said bitterly.
"Your wisdom combined with Arya's martial skill barely makes a bootleg version of Wukong. The demons and monsters of Yi Ti aren't as terrifying as the evil gods encountered by the scripture-seeking group anyway. A bootleg Wukong is good enough." Dany smiled reassuringly.
"I'm supposed to work with Tyrion?"
Arya had already cleaned up the undead and now walked over carrying her enormous scythe. Her cold gray eyes examined the dwarf with scrutiny.
Tyrion also carefully observed the younger Stark girl. At fourteen years old, she was just over five feet tall. Compared to those voluptuous noble girls, she appeared somewhat small and thin, perhaps weighing less than eighty pounds. Her chest was barely noticeable, only slightly outlined by the tight leather armor, but her limbs were long and her proportions perfectly balanced, giving her a sense of strength and agility.
The dwarf felt that the second daughter of House Stark resembled his younger sister in one respect.
She possessed that unique charm and confidence belonging to powerful and beautiful women.
Indeed, Arya was not a beauty in the traditional sense. Compared to her sister Sansa, she even seemed somewhat ordinary, with a long horse-like face and rough skin. But as she grew older, her appearance carried the vivid beauty of a flower bud beginning to bloom, somewhat like...
Tyrion's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He realized Arya looked very much like Lyanna. It was not only her appearance, but more importantly her feminine temperament.
That was it, the "wolf blood" of House Stark.
"Why are you staring at me?" Arya frowned.
"I realized you look a bit like your aunt Lyanna." Tyrion rubbed his nose awkwardly and laughed sheepishly.
Arya remained expressionless.
Dany said, "Besides you and Tyrion, there are two more companions. We're going to find them now."
The Great Sept of Baelor, rebuilt from the great bell tower into seven Holy Light Towers, lit up punctually every day. Though they could not dispel the darkness enveloping King's Landing, they still illuminated the nearby Visenya Hill in pale gray-white light.
At least there was light here, along with the protection of septons and the Mother. The people of King's Landing had begun gathering around Visenya Hill.
Fortunately, the great migration and the invasion of the Others had drastically reduced the city's population, otherwise the streets would have been packed solid.
At its peak, King's Landing once held as many as eight hundred thousand people. Now only two hundred thousand remained, including one hundred fifty thousand locals. The rest were merchants, soldiers from the Vale, mercenaries, and red-robed monks.
Much of the enormous city now lay empty, but Eel Alley on Visenya Hill was actually more prosperous than before the Long Night.
Partly because it was close to the Great Sept of Baelor, and partly because Silk Street had been destroyed by wildfire, all the surviving prostitutes and male courtesans had relocated to this slightly remote little alley.
The streets of King's Landing had always been planned in a fairly orderly way, with similar businesses often concentrated on the same street.
For example, Silk Street had been filled entirely with brothels. Flour Street was lined entirely with bakeries.
Eel Alley was the same.
Located on Visenya Hill, Eel Alley was somewhat remote, with narrow streets and little carriage traffic. Quiet and clean, it had once been known as an inn district.
But now, with the Long Night upon the world, commerce in King's Landing had nearly collapsed, leaving the inns without customers.
As it happened, Silk Street had burned down, so the brothel madams took over the abandoned inns and transformed them into a new Silk Street while still retaining the functions of inns.
Wherever there were people, brothels would never lack business.
This particular building was a two-story structure. Two luxurious gilt spherical lanterns decorated with dark red glass hung over the entrance.
In front of the lanterns extended a flagpole reaching out over the street. A red banner embroidered with golden thread bore the words: Chataya's Garden of Delights.
The first floor was built of stone, while the second was wooden. The building was square-shaped, with a round tower rising at each corner. The towers were taller, reaching four stories high.
From every floor came the sounds of men and women laughing and flirting.
Strangely, every window of the building had been covered with a thick layer of red copper plating, and all were tightly shut.
At that moment, a second-floor window opened, and a tall Summer Island woman with charcoal-black skin leaned over the balcony, her eyes dreamy as she gazed at the brilliantly glowing Holy Light Towers in the distance.
"If the High Sparrow were still alive, we'd never dare open a brothel right beside the Great Sept.
But now the septons are much easier to deal with. Not only do they no longer condemn prostitutes for blasphemy, they even allow us into the sept to pray."
"So what? In Slaver's Bay, the temples of the Seven even run brothels themselves!" said a deep, hoarse male voice behind her.
Judging by the voice, it belonged to a middle-aged man.
Then he complained, "It's freezing outside. Why are you opening the window?"
"Every day I look at the Holy Light Towers and feel the warmth of sunlight on my skin. It puts my heart at ease." As the dark-skinned middle-aged woman spoke, she tugged open the collar of her golden otter-fur coat, revealing much of her dark, smooth skin.
"Then why not just replace the window with glass?" the middle-aged man said.
"Where have you been these past few days? How could you say something so foolish?" the dark-skinned woman asked strangely.
"With the Others roaming everywhere in times like these, where else could I have gone?" the middle-aged man sighed.
"If you know how dangerous the Others are, then why suggest glass windows? Go out and look around. Whose doors and windows aren't thick and reinforced now?
Rich people are even wrapping layers of iron around their oak doors. I don't have that kind of money, so I can only afford one layer of copper."
The middle-aged man fell silent.
Then came the sound of leather boots walking across the floor.
The man slowly approached the window, revealing a plump head covered in a thick beard.
The fat man looked around. Sure enough, not a single household still used glass windows.
"Does this really work?" the fat man asked.
"Of course it works. On the night King's Landing fell, many people used wooden doors to block the attacks of the wights. If the doors are tightly shut, those monsters can't hurt you at all," the woman said.
"If wights are so easy to stop, then why did castles still fall?" the fat man asked skeptically.
"Didn't King's Landing fall too? Yet I'm still alive, and so many people in the city survived."
The fat man was speechless.
The dark-skinned woman continued, "A few days ago, septons from the sept went around handing out flyers and posting notices teaching us how to defend against wights.
For example, if someone dies at home, immediately tie their hands and feet and cremate them as soon as possible.
For example, don't go alone into remote alleys at night.
For example, when you have nothing to do, recite the Seven-Pointed Star often. The more devout the believers are, the stronger the Mother's power becomes, and the safer King's Landing will be.
For example, remove glass windows entirely and seal them up, or replace them with thick oak shutters.
That's what the septons said, so it must be right. Why didn't you know?"
"I've recently been trying to make contact with the red priests in the northern district," the fat man said.
The dark-skinned woman immediately understood.
King's Landing was laid out in a square. A diagonal line drawn from the Red Keep divided the city into two halves. The upper half was the northern district centered around Rhaenys's Hill, while the lower half was the southern district centered around Visenya Hill.
Since the Great Sept of Baelor stood at the center of Visenya Hill, the red priests naturally gathered in the northern district.
And septons would never go into the northern district to distribute flyers or post notices.
"What are those red-robed monks doing?" the dark-skinned woman asked curiously.
"Building temples to the Red God. What else?" the fat man sneered. "Prime Minister Onion moved the people of Flea Bottom to Visenya Hill, and all the vacant slums were torn down. The bricks and timber were used on the spot to construct magnificent temples."
(End of Chapter)
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