Volume 2 Wandering Chapter 7 What Happens When People Die
No one can explain what "death" is.
At first glance, this seems to be a very simple matter. Once a creature loses its life, no longer grows, no longer moves, no longer thinks, and no longer receives the care and blessing of the Supreme God Darmos, then it has "died".
But if you think about it carefully, you will find that everything is not as natural as it seems. A person dies, but his body is still there. His hair, his skin, his blood, his bones... all of these have not diminished in the slightest. He is still himself. From the most basic material composition, there is no difference from when he was alive.
But why? He was so peaceful and silent, as if all the worries and joys he had encountered in his life had nothing to do with him at this moment.
Everyone can raise countless questions about death. They may sound childish and ridiculous, but once you are willing to think about them, you will find that they are as deep as the ravines at the bottom of the sea, sucking your thoughts into an endless black hole:
What is death? What does it feel like to die? Does death have a color? Does death have a shape? If I die, what will I become? Am I still "me" when I die? If I am no longer "me" when I die, then what am I when I am alive? Do I exist when I am alive? Will I continue to exist after I die? If my life is certain and death means that I no longer exist, why should a mere change in the state of life completely overturn my absolute "existence" in the philosophical sense...
Death, it seems, is not a matter of the body, but of the soul.
We all know that every living thing has a soul, because we can see the souls that are emitted when they die. But does death mean the dissipation of the soul, or does it mean that the soul moves to another place?
The body of Longbow Shooting Sun was right before my feet, and I couldn't help but blame myself. I couldn't help but wonder: If killing an opponent can obtain his soul, then did the bandit leader Lydadis also take the soul of our dwarf friend? But we killed him, so does that mean his soul is in our body now?
I felt a little better thinking that he would be with us.
But why? Deep in my soul, I can't feel the wild qualities of this rugged dwarf at all?
Just when I was feeling sentimental, Chang Sanjiao came over and patted me on the shoulder:
"Thank you very much. If it weren't for you, I would definitely be finished."
I know that his gratitude comes from the heart, but it always sounds a bit harsh to me. In fact, we all know that things don't have to turn out like this. If I can...
"I...actually I should be able to stop him..." I answered hesitantly.
"Don't be silly..." Xiange Yayi also came over to persuade me, "...Who knew this guy would roar in fear? And Changgong was also confused. He had so many potions in his hand that he didn't even drink two more bottles. His operation was really bad..."
"That's right, Xiange Yayi is right..." Chang Sanjiao echoed, then he turned the Elf Ranger around by the shoulder, "...Also, don't say these things to me. I am Chang Sanjiao , and the warrior is behind you."
Even though I've long known that space travelers have a very indifferent attitude toward death, I still can't get used to the fact that they face the departure of an adventure partner with such a relaxed attitude.
"Longgong... How could you die just like that, Longgong... Why did you, a priest, have to die... How could I bear this..." What I didn't expect was that the female magician Feiyin was the one who was most saddened by the death of the dwarf priest. She lay on the body of Longgong Sheri, shaking his collar vigorously, looking extremely sad, wanting to cry but unable to, as if she couldn't accept the news of his death at all.
This changed my opinion of this girl. Perhaps beneath her seemingly cold, tough, greedy and snobbish appearance, she still had a gentle and kind heart.
"...My bat wings and hyena skin are still in your backpack... They can be sold for a lot of money... Can't you give them to me before you die..."
Uh, regarding all those comments about Feiyin’s “gentle nature”, it seems I should rethink them.
Just when I was immersed in extreme sadness over Changgong Sheri's death, a familiar groan suddenly reached my ears...
"Ouch... Miss Feiyin, if you keep shaking me like this, my bones will break... Even if you want to murder me, wait until I return the things in your bag to you..."
How is that possible? !
I turned around in surprise and found that the body of the dwarf priest, who was being held in Feiyin's hand and shaken like a doll, had opened his eyes. The fatal scar on his neck had disappeared, and not only that, but all the other scars on his body had also disappeared. He now looked ruddy and his face was full of the radiance of life, completely different from the lifeless look just now.
"What's going on?" Before I could ask, Chang Sanjiao had already shouted in surprise. But it seemed that the issue he was concerned about was not the same as mine.
"How did you come back to life so quickly?" The Orc Wanderer did not show much joy or surprise at the resurrection of Longbow Shooter. He seemed to be familiar with things like resurrection from the dead, but was just surprised by the speed of his resurrection.
"Yeah..." Xiange Yayi was just a little surprised. "...Isn't the resurrection point in the city? With your short legs, it will take you at least ten minutes to jump over here. We are planning to escape first. If the monsters here spawn again, we won't be able to deal with them."
Changgong Sheri raised his head somewhat proudly, and seemed to look at the two companions who asked the question with some contempt: "You are inexperienced, right? You can tell at one glance that you are a rookie who hasn't died many times. Let me tell you, there is a cemetery halfway up the mountain, and I turned into a soul state directly there..." He looked in good spirits and was quite sober, which temporarily relieved me of my judgment that Changgong Sheri was "resurrecting from the dead".
"Bah, what's there to be proud of when you die so many people?" Chang Sanjiao and Xian Ge Yayi simultaneously stretched out their hands, spread their thumbs and index fingers, and gestured towards the longbow shooting at the sun. This action may have a very profound implication, which I don't understand.
Changgong Sheri ignored their attitudes. He swallowed his saliva in an inelegant manner and continued, "I found that the sister of the Grim Reaper in the cemetery is quite pretty. If I hadn't taken a closer look, she might have been resurrected even faster."
"Is this the reason why you always seek death? What a pervert!" Chang Sanjiao said with contempt.
"Necrophilia!" Xiange Yayi's definition is more concise and to the point.
From their conversation, I learned something about "death". It seems that when a person dies, his soul will appear in a nearby cemetery. When his soul finds his body again, the person can be resurrected again. This may be the reason why these people ignore death and even laugh at the dead, because death is only temporary, and life will be eternal.
This seems to be completely different from the death I have in my mind. I have always thought that death is unique, absolute, and irreversible. I don't know who instilled this concept in my mind. I can't personally verify whether it is correct or not, because I have never died so far - and I don't plan to do so. However, judging from the resurrection of Changgong Sheri that I witnessed, this concept may be wrong.
Another new news is that the Grim Reaper is actually a woman, young and beautiful. For those who fear death, this may be good news that makes people happy...
"Stop talking so much, and quickly take out everything from the bodies!" The magician Feiyin was not interested in the conversation between the men. The craze of collecting spoils had taken control of our beautiful spellcaster. Under her command, we dutifully searched every pocket of the saber-toothed bandits. Even so, the female magician was still not very satisfied. She said with some regret:
"It would be nice if human skin could be peeled off and sold..."
As I had been amazed at long ago, each of us picked up a head from the body of the saber-toothed bandit leader Lydadis. I don't know why this cruel bandit carried a bunch of heads that were exactly the same as his own, but this strange habit helped us a lot and enabled us to complete the task of defeating the bandits. Soon after, I learned that there were many people with similar good habits.
Finally, we all stood beside a large box in the corner. It was a finely crafted camphorwood box, placed in the southwest corner of the room. Originally, the bandit leader Ridades had been standing in front of it, making it difficult to spot. But now, it was obviously the most eye-catching thing in the room.
Chang Sanjiao knocked carefully on the four walls of the box. After making sure that there were no mechanisms or traps on the box, he gently opened the wooden box.
There wasn't much in the box, just a few gold coins, two or three bottles of potion, a small stack of cloth, some dry bread, and a sword.
This is a weapon with a strange shape. Compared with the long sword I just lost, its blade is narrower and sharper. The edge of the blade flashes with a frightening cold light. The blood groove in the middle of the blade is engraved with some simple but delicate patterns. Its biggest feature is that at both ends of its sharp blade, it is not a sharp and smooth blade like an ordinary long sword, but has two rows of tiny saw teeth tilted toward the side of the hilt. This sinister design allows it to pierce the opponent's body without any hindrance, but when it is pulled outward, it will cruelly bite and tear the wound, causing greater damage.
This sword has a fierce name: Sabretooth Ripper, attack +15, agility +3, 30% chance of causing a tearing effect, causing 10-15 points of health damage per second, lasting for nine seconds.
"Ah, what a beautiful sword!" Feiyin's eyes lit up immediately when she saw the sword. She took it in her hand and looked at it from left to right. She first looked at the properties of the sword, "Not bad..." Then she looked at the patterns on the blade and the hilt, "...It looks pretty too..." Then she clumsily made a sword pattern with her white and thin hands, "...It must be very handsome to hold in my hand..."
Finally, she gave a simple and insightful evaluation of the sword with a very confident tone: "...it will definitely sell for a good price!"
Xian Ge Ya Yi and the others all looked a little embarrassed, and the one who blushed the most was the huge half-orc wanderer Chang Sanjiao. He looked at me uneasily and coughed lightly: "Ahem... that... Fei Yin..."
"What's wrong?" The female magician was still playing with the sword in her hand, with golden light radiating from her eyes.
"This sword should be given to Jeff. He is the only warrior among us. He originally used a sword, and..." At this point, Chang Sanjiao looked at me with some gratitude, "... and in order to save me, he also destroyed his own sword. I think he should be compensated with a weapon."
Feiyin rolled her eyes at him, feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed as if she was looked down upon: "I was going to give it to him anyway. Do you think I'm really that greedy? You look down on me."
"That's great." Chang Sanjiao breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out his hand to take the sword:
"...You...didn't you say you were going to give it to Jeff? Why are you holding it so tightly..."
"I didn't... hold it tightly. I just wanted to... take a closer look at it..."
"Okay, you've seen enough, just let go..."
"Let me take one more look, just one more look...ah..."
With Feiyin's exclamation, the tug-of-war for the control of the long sword ended with the victory of Chang Sanjiao. He ignored Feiyin's angry knocking behind him and forced the sword into my hand:
"Here, it's time for you to change your weapon..." He said, then looked back warily and quickly reminded me, "...if this girl asks you to borrow it to take a look, you must not lend it to her..."
"Hate you, fat man, I'm not such a loser!" Seeing that there was no hope of getting the sword back, the female magician protested in shame and anger. However, after saying this seemingly generously, she couldn't help but stare at the sword in my hand, and her regretful expression was extremely cute, which was completely different from when she was cursing at me angrily.
"This sword is given to you by me, not by that fat guy..." She insisted. After hearing her words, Chang Sanjiao smiled bitterly and did not refute.
"...Also, you must use it with care and love, and repair it regularly. Don't break it, and don't throw it away like you just did..."
Although her instructions were a bit redundant, I nodded and agreed. For a warrior, a good weapon can help him immeasurably. I am not the kind of spendthrift who throws expensive weapons all over the floor.
"...Also...When you reach a higher level and want to change your weapon, can you sell this sword and send the money to me..."
"Feiyin!" Chang Sanjiao on the side cried out in a state of mental collapse:
"…Even if you are obsessed with money, you should know when to stop!"
We sent the head of the bandit leader to the sheriff, Mr. Gerald, and each of us exchanged it for thirty silver coins and a "vitality ring" that can speed up the recovery of vitality. After receiving the reward, Feiyin kept yelling that he was too stingy, and even wanted to rush up and tear off the pendant on Gerald's neck - of course, Changjianghexiangge Yayi pulled her back in time.
At a nearby grocery store, Feiyin sold most of the loot we had collected along the way, leaving only some potions and items we needed to practice our professional skills. Although things like bat wings and wild dog eyes were not worth much, accumulating them would actually make a lot of money. We sold these things for more than three gold coins in total, and together with the ones we looted from the bandits and finally found in the box of the bandit leader, we actually collected almost ten gold coins in total.
What surprised me was that Feiyin actually distributed the money to us fairly, not taking even a copper coin more. Xiange Yayi was too lazy to do so, so he suggested leaving all the change to Feiyin, but she firmly refused, gave him a severe lecture, and blackmailed him for a magic wand in the indefinite future - I don't know when this will be fulfilled.
When Chang Sanjiao told me that Xian Ge Yayi had already owed Fei Yin hundreds of debts, some of which were magical equipment that only existed in legends, looking back at the elf ranger who agreed without hesitation, I began to understand what "too many lice don't itch, too many debts don't worry" meant.
Although Feiyin has shown a fanatical pursuit of money along the way, I think she is not actually a money-hungry girl. Sometimes, in some details, her performance and decisions are almost completely opposite to this character, and at this time she seems more real and natural. It's just that she seems to be more keen on playing such a role and getting along with friends in this way. This makes her feel relaxed and makes others feel happy when they are with her.
This strange feeling also applies to other people: Changgong Sheri is not necessarily a guy who likes killing, Xiange Yayi is not necessarily as weak as he looks, and Changsanjiao is not a murderer who likes to appear behind others. They do this just because they like it. They like to communicate with others in this way, eliminating barriers through mutual criticism and exposing each other's shortcomings.
Some people say that everyone wears a hypocritical mask in life. But I think that wearing a friendly and funny mask like theirs is not necessarily a bad thing.
After returning the task and dividing the spoils, they agreed to go hunting outside the city to level up. I thought about it and rejected them. Just a few days ago, I was still worried about not being able to raise the tuition for alchemy, but in just half a day, I became a "rich man" with two gold coins and thirty-seven silver coins. Taking this opportunity, I want to start learning this life skill first.
I went to the alchemist Edgwell's home again and asked him to learn alchemy.
"One gold coin is ninety silver coins." He rigidly kept the minimum price of tuition.
I handed the money to him, and there was a crisp "rustling" sound as the coins changed hands. I thought it sounded like the sound of my heart breaking.
That’s a lot of money!
After paying the tuition, the poor man, who had only forty-seven silver coins left on his body, began to take his first alchemy course...
