In June, the seaside is the scorching sun, the sudden wind and rain, and the vibrant greenery. In the lush farmland, corn grows strong, standing like short spears. And in the flourishing jungle, tropical flowers bloom unabashedly, their spreading leaves shading the sunlight, even the coastal Luwei can grow taller than a person.
The tall reeds grow on the edge of the mangrove swamp. They extend from the seaside to the inland of the South, passing through a seven or eight-mile long river, and converge with a narrow lagoon. Here, the distant sea and sky are vaguely visible, and the nearby woods are lush and verdant. And on the riverbank, where the Luwei and the woods coexist, lies a low and inconspicuous encampnt.
Redbirds hover over the camp, attracted by the sll of fresh food. Vultures also circle above, drawn by the scent of rotten food. From the height of the flying birds, only then can one see the scale of the campsite, which is quite large, accommodating a good one to two hundred people. On the dense reeds by the river, four old longships can be faintly seen. The moss clinging to their hulls indicates that these conspicuous vessels have not sailed along the coast for a very long ti.
"...This damned weather! The pumpkin mud has gone bad... To remain hidden, even firing up during the day is hard..."
The lowly and simple campsite stretches out, encircling several large circles. Everywhere are the damp water vapor and the Samurai of the fleet, wearing only loincloths. In the circle’s center, there is an unlit fire pit. Old Chiwaco, the militia, with his upper body exposed, sits by the moist fire pit, holding a terra cotta bowl. As he grumbles, he licks the smooth rim to find a trace of ’delicacy’ left behind.
"It’s too hot, the moisture is too much! Even dry and salty pumpkin mud can turn spoiled... Your Majesty said it’s caused by so tiny bugs reproducing overly..."
Kate, the Divine Revelation Priest, shows a sallow face. He grimaces while eating pumpkin mud from the bowl, feeling as if chewing mud from a swamp.
On the other side, Tikalo the Mayan rchants, eats the ’salty mud’ quietly with his head lowered. Occasionally, he turns, glancing at the two children behind him, and shows a gentle smile.
The two kids, a boy and a girl, are quite young. The older boy is ten, nad Tilan, possessing an elongated divine head and a cross-eyed gaze near the nose, always mute. The young girl is only five, nad Tidan, apart from a slightly long forehead, lacking many Maya features.
In fact, in formal Maya language, the nas of the two kids are very noble, being ’as heavenly sacred blue’ and ’as blood divine red’.
At this mont, everyone in the camp is eating the hard and spoiled pumpkin mud. Only these two children hold soft and fragrant corncakes in their hands. The little girl, Tidan, with a small appetite, ate half a cake and handed the remaining half to Tikalo.
"Father, you eat! The cake is soft and tasty!"
Seeing the cake handed by the little girl, Tikalo the Mayan rchants swallowed hard. He hesitated for a mont, glanced at the few others watching, then shook his head with difficulty.
"I won’t eat. Tidan, you eat!"
"Ah? I’m full."
The little girl Tidan blinked, confused, at Tikalo. Then, like the wind, she hopped in front of Chiwaco, stretching her hand to offer.
"Then, Little Father, you eat!"
"Gulp..."
Old Chiwaco also swallowed hard, trying to refuse with a shake of his head. Extending a hand, he tousled the little girl’s hair, softly speaking in simple Maya language.
"Little Tidan, I’m also full. The two brothers haven’t eaten enough. Give them, alright?"
The little girl Tidan blinked again, looking behind the old militia man. Dark Snake and Didi, shoulder to shoulder, squatted on the ground, watching the corncake in Tidan’s hand while drooling, looking rather festive.
"They should be split into two parts, equal in size..."
Little girl Tidan stared at the irregular cake in her hand, thinking for a mont. Then, carefully folded it twice, aligning the sides, then used the fold line to split the cake, and handed it to the two.
"One cake, two pieces, equal size... you eat!"
"Ow! Woo woo..."
Like lightning, Dark Snake and Didi reached out together, stuffing the cake into their mouths, almost howling like wolves. Chiwaco covered his old face with his hand, unwilling to watch. Kate, the Divine Revelation Priest, curiously observed the smart little girl and laughed in Maya language.
"Tidan, have you learned mathematics?"
"Mathematics? Well, I only morized multiplication tables up to 20*20, taught by the tribe’s grand elder... Dot dot dot (1*1=1)... Horizontal line dot horizontal (5*5=25, horizontal as 5, dot horizontal as 25)..."
The little girl Tidan naively blinked, looking at Kate, reciting Maya multiplication tables. Maya mathematics is base 20, and multiplication tables within 20*20 are the foundation for practicing sacred astronomy as a Maya Priest. Clearly, Tidan’s original cultivation direction was to beco a noble Maya Divine Descendant Priest, inheriting the most mysterious and noble ancient knowledge of the Mayapan Royalty.
"What? Within twenty? Multiplication?"
Upon hearing the little girl’s words, old Chiwaco widened his eyes, dazed for a mont, listening to her start reciting the mnemonic verse. He paused, covering his old face again. After a mont, he seed to rember sothing, and forcefully tapped his two comrades on the head.
"Listen well! Learn sothing!"
"Yes! Father!"
"... Dot zero dot zero dot zero zero (20*20=400, dot zero as 20, dot zero zero as 400)... Alright! I’m done reciting!"
Little girl Tidan happily smiled, gazing around at the people present. At this mont, except for Tikalo, everyone slightly lowered their heads in sha, pondering the philosophical question of life’s inherent differences.
"Uh... Praise the Chief Divine! Tidan, you recited wonderfully!"
Kate, the Divine Revelation Priest, silently prayed for a mont, then took a look at the Maya little princess before him and said with a smile.
"Tidan, learning mathematics should be applied in life... Do you rember how many days we’ve been here?"
"Hmm..."
Little girl Tidan blinked, not counting on her fingers but ntally calculating. Soon, her eyes brightened, providing the answer.
"The ship bringing food cos every six days! It’s co twelve tis, so... 72 days. Hmm, today is the fifth day since the ship didn’t arrive, which ans... 77 days!... Alright, I figured it out!"
"Ah? 77 days? Damn! We’ve been hiding east of this Hidden Serpent City for this long?"
Old Chiwaco looked at Kate with surprise. The latter praised the little girl a few tis before nodding at the old militia.
"Indeed! Witnessed by the Chief Divine! We arrived here in mid-March, hearing news of the Kingdom fighting with various seaside tribes, stopped, and camped at this hidden spot... In a blink, now early June, almost three months have passed!"
Kate, the Divine Revelation Priest, showed a bitter smile, sighing deeply. The fleet returned from Cuba, experienced perilous storms, narrowly escaping the Xi Wu family fleet’s chase... Crossed ten thousand miles of waves, the fleet endured it all. He never anticipated being trapped here, truly unable to advance or retreat.
"Alas! Supre Your Majesty! The Kingdom’s legions!... When will you arrive here?... Hidden Serpent City’s tribes are already engrossed in battle with the Kingdom... Phew! May the Chief Divine protect us!"
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