Chapter 105: High Priest
Chapter 105: High Priest
The inn Xiao Lin would be staying at was precisely the type of building that had a hundred years of history. The inn had three floors and the white brick walls looked as good as new after some restorative renovation. The wear and tear of history could hardly be seen. The inside had also undergone large-scale renovations. The first floor was an open dining area and lavishly carpeted. It was like Hank had said: the residential area was built to provide various services to the colonists and was remarkable in many ways, with a style closer to the modern era.
Of course, as an inn that had its historical significance as its main selling point, there were all sorts of authentic antiques inside. The one that garnered the most attention was the over two-meter tall statue in front of the inn entrance. The pedestal the statue was on had rotted in various places over the years, so it was specially recoated with gold and stabilized.
What was shocking was that the stone statue itself did not have any traces of decay. The milky white stone still looked vivid and lifelike; every single wrinkle and expression on its face was perfectly carved. The statue depicted a man in long robes, but the left half of its body was missing. Hank explained that half the statue was destroyed when Judge Academy attacked the castle all those years ago.
“Is this Asabanor?” Song Junlang asked Hank.
“Asa...banor?” Xiao Lin tried to pronounce the strange name, and felt that it sounded a bit like Ancient Normese, so he guessed, “Is he someone from the Thunder Kingdom?”
Hank nodded and answered, “Correct, that’s Asabanor. Ah, it’s a name that was directly translated from Ancient Normese, so no one really knows the true meaning of the name. Asabanor was the high priest of the Thunder Kingdom. Based on the hierarchy of the Thunder Kingdom, the high priest is similar to our Secretary of State.”
Xiao Lin raised his eyebrows in surprise, and asked curiously, “Then he’s definitely someone very important. What happened to the high priest after Judge Academy attacked the castle? Was he captured? Executed? Or did he kill himself?”
“He disappeared.” Hank said with a strange expression.
“Disappeared? So he ran away?”
“No, he did not run away. He literally disappeared. All those years ago, Judge Academy thoroughly surrounded the palace. Even a fly would not have been able to get out. All of the royalty was found and captured, but only the high priest remained unfound. I believe America only revealed the truth a few decades ago, but before that, Judge Academy had always maintained that the high priest was killed in the chaos.” Song Junlang had some understanding of this part of history.
To Judge Academy, failing to kill such an important figure all those years ago was nothing to be proud of. Hank lost his composure a bit, but quickly regained it as he smiled. “It doesn’t matter anymore if Asabanor ran away or died; it’s been more than a hundred years without a single bit of news from him. He’s most definitely nothing but a pile of bones right now.”
Xiao Lin realized, “So, that’s why you guys publicly revealed the truth a few decades ago. You were sure that the high priest could not possibly still be alive.”
Hank said, “That’s right. What we’re actually worried about is that the high priest would use his influence to fan the flames of rebellion or the urge to reclaim their country in the Normans. However, even if he were to really crawl out of hell now, the naturalized citizens that have been under our protection for so many years, they wouldn’t listen to his orders anymore anyway.”
“You seem really confident!” Song Junlang shrugged.
“Confidence comes from power! I’ve already settled your accommodations. For the next month, you’ll be temporarily staying here. If you need anything, please tell the innkeeper; he’ll relay it to me.” Hank laughed. He was not idling as he talked, but was actually handling everything at the inn.
Before he left, Hank did not forget to ask Xiao Lin to get some rest because he would be there at six in the morning at the very latest to take Xiao Lin over. After all, Judge Academy did not invite Xiao Lin over here for leisure, and Professor Brown seemed to be very pressed for time.
The innkeeper was a very stout old man; his body was pudgy and he had a thin beard on his oily face. He wore long silk robes, and his most defining feature was the white-peaked cap on his head.
Xiao Lin felt uncomfortable just looking at him and could not help but say, “He’s wearing a peaked cap with those clothes. How strange.”
Song Junlang shrugged, “The only thing I can say is that this man is definitely a Norman–a Norman traitor as you said. Only natives would treat our earthly things with such reverence and dress so flashily on the daily.”
“Are we able to bring everything from Earth?” Xiao Lin seemed to have thought of something, and asked.
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering why we haven’t brought tanks or cannons, or even weapons of mass destruction like nuclear bombs, right?”
Xiao Lin nodded after he was seen right through. “Dawn Academy was established during the Ming dynasty, and there admittedly wasn’t anything like that at the time. However, hasn’t anyone thought of bringing modern weapons in recent years?”
Song Junlang waved dismissively, “It’s not possible. The space-time continuum doesn’t just apply to Earth, it applies here too. During our journeys between Earth, the academy and New Washington, there actually has always been an invisible safety protocol that would check us before we boarded. Anything that could possibly disrupt the space-time continuum is prohibited, especially within the wormhole. These things could possibly threaten the stability of the wormhole, and I’ve told you the consequences before.”
Xiao Lin could only answer, “You’d be forever lost in the nothingness of space and time, never to return... Then what if we just made these things on Planet Norma? Since we can’t bring anything that could disrupt the balance from Earth, surely we can recreate these things with our minds?”
“I knew you would say that, so how could the colonists not have thought of it?”
“Then what was the conclusion?”
“It’s logically possible, but in truth it’s too hard to pull off. First of all, you know that even gravity is different on both worlds. A lot of the science that we have mastered on Earth works differently here, so it needs to be researched from the very basics. Among the colonists, there aren’t many that actually have the knowledge and skills to be able to do it. If you want us to study the laws of the New World from the very basics and figure out how to make airplanes, tanks and even nuclear bombs, why don’t you just kill us instead.”