The coastal weather is capricious; it was just cloudy with sudden rain, and now the rain has passed, and the sun is shining. A beam of golden sunlight perates the scattered clouds and falls on the temple of White Stone, like a blessing from the Sun God. On the walls of the temple, the bas-reliefs of the serpent divine shimr with golden light, lifelike, as if they are moving, revealing their divine nature.
The Totonac people in the city pass by the edge of the temple, bowing their heads piously and saluting the towering temple. Below the temple of the pyramid, the bustling market is crowded with stalls and bamboo sheds selling goods. Shouts in various dialects rise and fall, and foreign rchants in different costus co and go... This gigantic city-state market accommodates at least thousands of people!
"Wow! What a huge city!"
Chiwaco landed on the shore, gazing at the scenery of the city. He widened his eyes, quite amazed. Such prosperity reminded him of the Qinchongcan Capital of the kingdom. However, many unseen divines are carved on the architecture and murals of this city-state, leaving him in awe yet sowhat cautious.
"So many divine carvings, unlike those in the Feathered Serpent City. Over there is one big snake, and here it’s a snake nest..."
Tikalo nodded with a smile, looking at the familiar scene and recalling the nurous past trades here, replying leisurely.
"Haha! Captain Chi, you are indeed sharp. Hidden Serpent City is known for its snakes, worshipping many serpent divines and has a tradition of raising pet snakes. People here not only believe in Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent Divine, but also in our corn people’s Heavenly Serpent Sun God, Itzamna, and the Northern Maya’s Feathered Serpent God Kukulkan..."
"Huh? Your Feathered Serpent Divine, isn’t it the sa as those of the seaside tribes?"
Hearing this, Chiwaco was slightly taken aback, sowhat puzzled.
"Tikalo, when you prayed in the past, did you pray to ’Quetzalcoatl’ or ’Kukulkan’?"
"Well..."
Tikalo curled his mouth and suddenly rembered the oath of allegiance made before the shrine. He suddenly laughed very happily, triumphantly stating.
"Neither! The main divine of our family is the Heavenly Serpent Divine, Itzamna. Only an oath to Him cannot be violated!"
"Heavenly Serpent Divine..."
The old militia scratched his head, sowhat clueless. He had never heard of these Maya gods before. But Tikalo changed the topic, speaking confidently.
"Captain Chi, let tell you, the world is vast, and Hidden Serpent City is truly the center of the world! The various tribes on the xican Plateau and the Mayan lowland tribes converge here, exchanging knowledge from two worlds and trading specialties from two regions... And we wandering Mayan rchants are the envoys connecting the East and West under the guidance of the serpent divine..."
At this point, Tikalo sighed slightly. He glanced towards the northeast, where the family’s forr glory lay, along with the ancestral and divine holand. But now, all of this had been... Tikalo slightly lowered his eyes, suppressing his emotions, and turned his gaze to the south.
"...Travel southwest for about eight hundred li, and you will reach the Oaxaca Valley of the Zapotec people, also connected by waterways. Heading southeast, there are the various tribes of the Maya highlands. rchants from all tribes will trade here and exchange what they have for what they need!... Esteed captains, revered Chief God Priest, here flows vast wealth, and there are divine objects from ancient eras; let us enter the city now!"
The lake fleet docked by the shore, and from the seven longships, four to fifty people disembarked at once. Warriors and sailors, each ard and with bulging waists, carried gemstones in their arms. The exploration fleet needed supplies and goods. The leaders of each ship and the sailors also wanted to buy so items for themselves, well, using the fleet’s gemstones...
Everyone was raring to go. Chiwaco wore a straw hat, a short coat, and carried a short spear for protection, looking very plain. At a glance, he looked like a militia.
The group entered the city gates guarded by Totonaq Warriors without drawing much attention, only paying the foreign rchant entrance fee, a bag of cocoa beans. Then, they rged into the crowd, much like hundreds of other tribal rchants, flowing into the tide of wealth!
The flow of people ca and went, treading on a wide dirt road leading straight to the central market. Soon, under Tikalo’s guidance, the group didn’t take a single detour and reached the plaza market beneath the temple pyramid. The cheerful atmosphere hit them imdiately, bringing with it the shouting of thousands of people, causing temporary ear ringing.
Chiwaco opened his old eyes, touching his straw hat, watching the prosperity in front of him, genuinely admiring.
"Selling venison, turkey, beetle at, pumpkins, beans, cornal, and even pottery, stone tools, and straw clothes... The villagers here look spirited, living very well!"
"...Oh."
Hearing this, Tikalo’s mouth twitched. He looked around, everyone else was looking for strange and exotic divine objects, only Old Chi was fascinated by these earthy products with no profit, this truly...
"He really doesn’t recognize quality!"
Tikalo criticized silently in his heart, his eyes scanning a few spots in the market. Then, he smiled confidently.
"Haha! Villagers live well, not from selling earthy products... It’s because the legends of divine objects here attract countless foreign rchants! "
The Mayan rchant smiled, casually pointing to a spot in the market.
"Look, ancient relics are buried on this land, leaving nurous artifacts. The stalls on the ground, these local villagers, will sell so ancient items unearthed from the ground. But, divine objects are rare; finding a genuine divine object among these many ancient items depends on the blessing of the divine!"
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