Chapter 435: Evil God Festival - Boathouse

After the departure of the royal ship, silence returned to the cabin, and only the occasional sob of a child's wince and the unknowing yelp of a small dog or cat could be heard.

Cangta had been given a small black cat, and he was quiet behind Bai Liu for a long time before he spoke up, asking in a trembling voice, "Bai Liu, can you see Xiao Kui? How is she?"

Bai Liu looked at Xiao Kui on the bottom bunk with the help of the weak light, Xiao Kui was lying on the bed with her hair spread out, pulling at the bandage on her wrist, stroking the head of the kitten that had been given to her one by one, her voice was hoarse and weak: "Good kitten, so good."

"[Xiao Kui] is so good."

Cangta heard Xiao Kui's voice, and he was silent for a long time, looking with an almost ineffable gaze at the little black cat in his arms, his hands trembling and loosening.

The little black cat lifted her head in confusion, looking at the boy who didn't hold her tightly, and gave a small mimicry.

Cangta turned his head ruthlessly, his eyes closing as he breathed heavily.

...... So that's why they sacrifices get cats.

It is the dream of almost all children to have a little animal that has the same name as theirs and is incredibly close to them.

But it can't be that, that would be too ...... painful.

That scares Cangta a hundred times more than making him do hard labor.

When she saw the two kittens named Xiao Kui and the Shiba Inu die, Cangta, who was cowering on the bed and afraid to make a sound, shivered as she listened to Xiao Kui's heartbreaking screams, and covered her ears to prevent her from listening to them.

The screams were so harsh that Cangta almost thought it wasn't the animal that had died, but Xiao Kui herself.

He didn't want to be the next Xiao Kui, so it was best he didn't get attached to these pets handed out, and it was best to separate them now.

The next wave struck again, and the cabin was lurched up and down, and all the men were knocked to one side by the wave, and the little black cat, whose paws could not hold on to anything, and who looked as if she were about to slide down the bed, yelped twice in alarm.

Cangta, who had looked away, subconsciously turned her head in panic, "Cangta!"

With a reach, he gathered the little black cat into his arms again and hugged it tightly.

By the time Cangta realized what he had done, he froze, staring at the little black cat with his hands firmly clasped around him, tears falling uncontrollably.

...... Why this is so.

Even though it was only the first time they met, he really couldn't stand by and watch [Cangta] die.

Many small children in the darkened cabin cried and clung to their pets the moment the wave struck, sobbing and calling out their pets' names like their own.

In the vast ocean, on a painful journey with no certainty of what lies ahead, these soon-to-be sacrifices to the evil gods try to get some kind of supportive warmth from the soft and affectionate little creature that was soft and close to them, or was domesticated by humans to give them love at their first meeting.

"You won't be able to do let go of the pet they handed out." Lying in front of him, the child called Bai Liu spoke in a flat tone, "You won't be able to let go until you know it's called by the same name as you."

Cangta hugged the little black cat and sobbed, "Why?"

Bai Liu went on calmly, "It is, like you, an animal cub used by adults, an individual adrift alone on this ocean after being given up for sale, an instrument to be tortured soon to increase its pain."

"In every sense of the word, you are all kindred spirits who share a common destiny."

"In the human world you should have never met a kindred spirit so kind to yourself, all the kindred spirits, or humans you have met have brutalized you, otherwise you would not have been trafficked onto this ship, and under these conditions, you have met a [kindred spirit] who has been handpicked and is sure to like you, and you share a name, and it's hard for you not to be empathetic to this animal cub. "

Bai Liu turned his head slightly sideways and lifted his eyelids to look at the bewildered Cangta behind him : "-- In other words, the cat in your hand now is no longer a cat, it's another you yourself, another Cangta."

"You can't do it and watch it die any more than you can watch yourself die."

Cangta stared straight into Bai Liu's dark eyes as he suddenly remembered the rumors, shuddered, and opened his mouth as if to ask something, but eventually fell silent.

Bai Liu spoke calmly, "Are you now trying to ask why [I] in the orphanage abused the animals if one would develop empathy for another animal out of the same predicament, yes?"

Only after a long interval did Cangta glance hesitantly at the little white cat who was huddled in Bai Liu's arms, purring and sleeping with her belly turned over, and explained, "Actually, I don't think it was you, but I just can't figure out, I mean if, if there's a rumor of someone like you, why would he do it?"

Bai Liu was quiet for a long time and spoke, "There is a very important point in empathy determination, which is empathy."

"First of all, you have to feel that the other person is emotionally the same as you, for example, you and the black cat in your arms are suffering from the same dilemma, both of you produce emotions such as pain, awe, fear, etc., at this time you will feel that it is your kind of person, and then you will be able to sympathize, and then you will be able to achieve the purpose of empathy."

"But if a person, when subjected to any kind of event, produces emotions that are different from those of the people around him, or even the animals, and the emotions are not the same he has no way of empathizing with them, and naturally empathy is not possible."

"Having no emotions in common, he will not feel like his own kind with those around him, and there is no sense of pain when a man mutilates against something that is not his own kind."

"He's just like all of us, a child who grew up in an orphanage." Cangta arched toward Bai Liu and asked with heartfelt disbelief, "Why doesn't he have the ability to generate the same emotions as us? Is it because his brain is different from ours?"

"I personally don't think so." Bai Liu's tone is light, "Because a lot of people in their right mind are also capable of empathy before they're capable of exploiting others."

"For example, Lord Gobune just now, who is supposed to be the governor of Kagome Prefecture that Xiao Kui is talking about, sounded like a good guy before and was supposed to be nice to Xiao Kui, but now he's also completely lacking empathy for Xiao Kui, and doesn't even treat him as a living person, but as a sacrifice. "

Cangta asked softly in a stunned voice, "...... Right, why is that?"

"I think because of desire." Bai Liu went on to explain in a flat tone, "When one desires too much, the first thing that arises from the sight of any living thing is not a sense of sameness, but a sense of exploitation."

"Extreme desire leads people to fantasize that they are in a giant social food chain, and that other people are in the same food chain as them, and then they will only have two kinds of judgments about the people around them, the ones who can exploit them, and the ones they can exploit."

"All they can exploit are lowly animals like kittens and puppies, and the one who can exploit them is the supreme God."

"In their world, where the weak are the strongest, the fittest survive, and human nature is inherently evil, where man is born to cannibalize his kind below the food chain in order to increase his assets and value, they take it for granted that empathy is a sign of weakness because beasts don't empathize with their prey."

Cangta retorted weakly, "But we're human, we're not beasts."

Bai Liu paused, "People who stay in the food chain of their own desires for too long can be reduced from man to beast, even monster."

"Humans with only lust are cannibalistic."

Cangta fell into a creepy stupor as he indistinctly repeated Bai Liu's words, "Cannibalism ......?"

From the bunk came Xiao Kui's two nervous, disoriented soft giggles as she murmured, "Xiao Kui, Cat, that's good."

The wind and waves at sea finally stopped, and the big ship carrying Bai Liu and their boatload of offerings docked at the harbor of Luming County on a windy and sunny afternoon.

Standing fully dressed in the harbor, with a bamboo-textured cane in his hand, Gobune looked down at the offerings that came down from the hold in a weak line with their heads bowed, their feet wobbly, and their faces frail.

The sacrifices are all but fifteen years old, just learning and still a bit ignorant, the favorite year for sacrifices in Deerfield County.

Bai Liu is considered big in there, almost seventeen, normally there shouldn't be such a big sacrifice because it's not good to be tempered, but he's skinny and his face looks like he's only about fifteen, that's why he's been sold over here without any problems.

All of these weathered sacrificial gates held the little animals in their arms in death, some of the children still weak themselves, but none of them cared, single-mindedly pouncing on the equally weak little animals in their arms.

They repeatedly check the puppies and kittens paws, with their face on their belly, feel them there is no respiratory ups and downs, while checking while the tears fluttered and fell, but a word did not dare to make a sound, and did not dare to ask for help from the people around, just lowered his head and did not cry out.

Gobune nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the tearful offerings and nodded sideways, "Go help them heal their pets and take them to their boathouse."

Bai Liu glanced around with the remaining light at the end of his eyes, and he saw that quite a few of the children, even if they were fearful of this Mifune because of what happened with Xiao Kui earlier, their eyes lit up a bit because of this command from Mifune.

There were also a few small children who whispered, "Thank you, Gobune-sama."

Fifteen years old is the age when the concept of right and wrong is still unformed, and many children seem to have grown up in cramped and abnormal environments, and are presumably not sufficiently aware of the world.

It's just too good to be true.

Mifune slowed her demeanor, "I'm very pleased with your group of children, all of them are good children, animal lovers, friend and compassionate family and friends, and full of affection."

"I know you were very scared to see me lecture Xiao Kui on the boat, but what I have to say here is that Xiao Kui is a bad boy!"

Gobune sank violently as he gripped his cane and pounded it on the ground, "She doesn't like small animals, she failed the sacrifice test several years before, and injured her own retainer and dog to escape from us, a very bad girl!"

"It's natural that we won't be very kind to such bad kids, so I hope you won't learn from Xiao Kui and strive to be a good kid, and we'll be nice to you."

All the children turned their heads to look at Xiao Kui, who stood motionless among the offerings, as if she hadn't noticed that the children's eyes had become repulsed and wary as they surveyed her, still holding the cat and standing there numbly.

Gobune withdrew his gaze on Xiao Kui and fell back on the group of sacrificed children who tilted their heads up at him:

"The place where you are staying is called the Boathouse, and it's on a coast not far from here, and you can see the ocean every day when you get up, and it's a very beautiful place."

"But there is one more little thing you need to do before you reach the boathouse."

The Gobune said, "I need you to become good friends two by two, and then one of you will be the squire of the other, and the other will be the proper sacrifice."

His eyes became dark and unseeing:

"Children who become positive sacrifices, you can enjoy the best of everything in Deerfield County, food, clothing, travel, education, even your pets can enjoy the best treatment, and no one will ever dare hurt them again."

"We will select for you people from the most prestigious of the great families of Deerberry County to be your adoptive parents, you are the noblest beings in Deerberry County, above all commoners, and if you can successfully provide a round of sacrificial suffering at the Evil God's Festival, after that, you will enjoy all of this for all eternity."

All the children couldn't help but have a vision in their eyes.

"But the child who becomes a squire." Mifune's tone turned pitying, "Just a squire."

"-the same as you've lived before, you're just a, at any moment, discarded squire."

"If your best friends ever don't like you or don't need you anymore." Mifune smiled kindly, "We'll just send ye back."

"But will leave your pets here."