"Xiulote, my beloved student! The heroes of the Divine in the world, it's only the two of us!"
The night was dim, and the tent was filled with the scent of alcohol. Aweit had clearly drunk too much; he leaned against Xiulote's shoulder, shouting with a drunken smile.
"Protected by the Chief Divine! Great-grandfather Itzcoatl founded the initial xica Three States Alliance, co-ruling in turns with the King of Texcoco and the King of Tlacopan... Grandfather Montezuma and Grandfather Telaka'aileier, one waged war while the other governed the country, practically like Dual Kings... We xica have a tradition of Dual Kings!"
Hearing this, Xiulote felt a jolt in his heart. If one looked into the not-so-long history of the xica Alliance, there indeed had been a long period of tri-state co-rule and internal-external Dual Kings, which was a consistent tradition of shared governance. This was due to the limitations of communication and administrative abilities, a compromise within the royal nobles and with the great nobility. But Aweit suddenly ntioning this made Xiulote's hair stand on end, realizing the danger instantly...
"Xiulote, my son-in-law! You also have the bloodline of our ancestor Huitzilíhuitl, and you are so extraordinarily divine... why don't we, too, like the predecessor monarchs..."
"Ah! Teacher, my stomach is growling, and I'm feeling dizzy from drinking... how about I go get so food?"
"Oh? Food? Soone, bring food!... You can't leave, you've drunk too little! Continue drinking with !..."
Aweit's drunken eyes were misty, and he pressed down on Xiulote, preventing him from getting up. Smiling, he handed Xiulote a cup of wine, pouring another one after he drank. It wasn't until Xiulote had downed three glasses, his face flushed and his head swaying slightly, that Aweit laughed again.
"Haha! Xiulote, seeing you drunk reminds of the first ti you got drunk! Back then, you told a lot of your inner thoughts... Co, co! Don't be reserved, you are my family, drink two more cups with !..."
"Teacher... I... okay!..."
Drinking on an empty stomach, Xiulote's eyes beca a bit blurry. Guards served pastries and dried fruits, and he quickly grabbed a couple of handfuls, stuffing them into his mouth to fill his stomach. While eating, he heard Aweit ask again.
"Xiulote, how do you find these pastries?"
"Delicious! Delicious!..."
"Haha! My student, I know you've liked herbs, honey, and black persimmons since you were little, you just love sweets! This is a vanilla honey corn cake, and next to it is a black persimmon cake with ant eggs..."
Saying this, Aweit suddenly patted his forehead, laughing drunkenly.
"The army is on campaign, and there's hardly anything to eat! Alisa specially prepared these for you, sent from the Lake Capital City... Oh! Alisa is about to give birth, and you are on campaign outside... why don't you take a team back to the capital city? Oversee the capital for , take charge of the logistics and transportation in the Texcoco Lake District, ensure the supplies for the southern expedition army..."
"...Ah? Go back and accompany Alisa? Take charge of the army's logistics?..."
Xiulote was stupefied in his daze. His head was spinning, and he almost couldn't open his eyes, but he still shook his head solemnly and said.
"No! I can't, teacher, that's the position of the Female Snake Gillim, and I am the only Supre High Priest of the army!... I still need to divine, perform sacrificial rites, and boost the army's morale!..."
"Oh! Right, right!... Your divinely gifted divination, that's remarkable! The position of the High Priest is ultimately yours, and I only acknowledge you..."
Aweit shook his head and laughed, hooking his arm around Xiulote's shoulders. Then, he leaned close to his student, looking into his eyes, and asked in a drunken haze.
"Xiulote, my child! Since you're skilled in divine-granted divination, why not divine the future for !..."
"Ah? Divine the future?... Teacher, I didn't bring kui grass, I can't divine right now! Besides, my divine significance in divination, when eting a Divine King like you, I guess it's not enough... Oh, I can't, I can't! It won't be accurate..."
Xiulote had evidently drunk too much. He gradually loosened up, no longer restrained, and said with a smile.
"But from what I can see, your face, that's of the highest Divine King, like the eagle of the sun!"
"Oh? Reading faces? Can reading a face reveal the future?..."
"Ah, haha!... Teacher, to be frank in a way that isn't respectful to the Divine, my divination is just that way! You know it too, the so-called divination of the Alliance... the high priests are all quite clear about it, it's just to fool the nobility, samurai, and commoners..."
"Haha! You actually spoke the truth! At fifteen, when I went to the Calcac University in the capital city, watching Quetzal's divination, I knew... these high priests, each is a scare-monger deceiving the Mongolians! At that ti, Quetzal was just an Elder Priest and wanted to take as a student, using divine divination to fool , but I'm not like my foolish brother... I only like the potions taught by the Herb Elder! Only the potions of herbs and insects are practical!..."
As Aweit laughed heartily, he ntioned another past story buried in dust. Then, he seed overco with sorrow, tears streaming down his eyes for the first ti, sighing sadly.
"Oh Chief Divine, almost thirty years have slipped by, and I am already old! Quetzal is dead, Tizoc too... The Elders have departed, and High Priest Xutel has also left... Xiulote, will you leave as well?..."
"Ah?! I... teacher, I will not! I am a student you have personally trained, and I am also Alisa's husband. I will assist you, just as I would support the only sun of the Alliance..."
"Then, when the sun sets, after I am gone... will you assist Xiu Hua?..."
"Ah! Teacher, you... I... Xiu Hua is my eldest son, of course, I will assist him!..."
"Ah, getting old, it is easy to beco sentintal... I really am old, like the westward slanting sun..."
Aweit sighed and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes forcefully. He once again grabbed Xiulote's arm tightly, as if drunkenly ranting, yet sincerely asking from the bottom of his heart.
"Chief Divine as my witness! Xiulote, honestly, are you my co-tree?"
"Ah? Yes! Teacher, we both wish to reform the Alliance and establish a world for the xica... I am undoubtedly your 'co-tree' with the sa ambition to establish the Divine Tree of the Alliance!"
"Chief Divine as my witness! Then, are you my co-branch?"
"This... Teacher, you are my uncle and my father-in-law. Alisa is my only wife, and she has given an heir... we are certainly 'co-branches' with aligned family and royal interests!"
"Chief Divine as my witness! Then the last question, are you my connecting root?"
"Ah this?... Teacher, I don't know... what does this connecting root an?"
Hearing this, Xiulote scratched his head in a drunken confusion, not knowing how to respond. After thinking for a mont, he hesitantly said.
"Teacher, I am by your side, unable to leave, and you can see at any ti. Whether I am your connecting root, surely you know it in your heart!"
"Haha! Good, well said! Truly great!..."
Aweit laughed and nodded, spreading his arms with a smile, surprisingly giving Xiulote a hug. Then, laughing again, he stood up and staggered, falling onto the soft carpet. He lay there, exposing his back and the back of his head to Xiulote, murmuring.
"Xiulote, my student! Among the heroes with divine nature under heaven, it's just the two of us! I cannot be like that Great Chief who brews wine, unable to recognize a hero with divine nature, letting you leave...
"Chief Divine as my witness, I swear to share the power of the world with you! As long as you do not leave, you are my connecting root... my Divine Artifact of the kingdom!... Even if this artifact is too miraculous, even if this artifact is too glorious... Even if he does not trust , I can trust him... huff! Huff!..."
Seeing Aweit expose his vulnerable back and listening to his drunken words, Xiulote sat there in confusion, his mind spinning in circles. After a long while, he shakily stood up, slowly walking to Aweit's side, squatting down, and staring blankly at the now sleeping Aweit.
"Teacher? Teacher! Teacher, are you asleep?... Teacher, then I'm going..."
Xiulote called out twice in a drunken voice, his voice gradually lowering. The surrounding shadows deepened inside the tent, as if there were not a single guard present. He sat beside the unguarded Aweit, showing fatigue and sorrow on his face. After a while, he sighed deeply and murmured quietly.
"Aweit, my teacher, I believe in you... After you inherited the supre position of Divine King, you beca a solitary soul, the lone and only sun. You are lonely, unable to trust anyone, just like that Great Chief who brews wine... Yet no matter what you have done before, I have never let you down, you should trust !... For the world of the xicas, for father, Alisa, and Xiu Hua, for you and the past kindness between us... I will loyally assist you, staying by your side, until you peacefully go to the Divine Kingdom!... Chief Divine as my witness, I too swear, just as many years ago, we took the oath together!... I am unlike you, I never break my oaths, not even by going around in circles...
Xiulote sat with his head down, muttering incoherently for a long ti, recalling many past mories beside the sleeping Aweit. He laughed now and then, cried sotis, speaking in a jumble with a dazed, sleepy expression on his face. Finally, he simply lay down on the mat, resting beside Aweit, and soon started snoring.
"Huff! Huff!..."
The tent remained silent, the firelight from the hearth flickering, only the sounds of two kings snoring. It passed quietly for a long ti until the firewood in the hearth nearly burned out, and then suddenly, two shadows appeared in the corner of the tent.
These two nimble shadows wore traditional capes and black robes of the Alliance, with daggers concealed at their waists, and what they held in their hands glinted faintly. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be two small bronze wooden crossbows, already loaded with sharp small bronze arrows...
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