#100 - Chapter 100 Shandia
Skypiea.
Shandia settlement, Cloud Hidden Village.
We walked and asked all the way.
Eneru, who claimed to be our guide, was completely useless throughout the entire process.
"Don't look at me like that. How would a Skypiean like me dare to come here..." Eneru said softly, defending himself.
Then he quickly changed the subject, "Gan Fall is really something, sending us to a place we don't know at all, and not even giving us directions."
After traversing winding mountain paths and crossing gently flowing cloud seas, and with constant inquiries and directions, Jin-An and the others finally set foot on Shandia territory.
Night had already fallen, and only the remaining twilight hung faintly on the horizon, painting the land with a mysterious dark blue hue.
The Shandia settlement was hidden among towering mountains, like a natural fortress.
Its appearance was not extravagant, but rather displayed a simple and solid presence.
Flickering lights could be vaguely seen between the houses, exuding the warm atmosphere of human activity.
But as Jin-An and the others passed through the low bamboo fences and gradually went deeper, they could clearly feel the subtle tension in the air.
The Shandia villagers seemed to have a natural wariness towards strangers.
Their sharp eyes held scrutiny, and they subtly looked at each other, as if communicating something silently.
Children hurried away at their parents' calls, leaving behind only a few shrinking figures and questioning gazes.
From the Shandia's attitude towards them, and the slowly increasing number of people here, the three felt an obvious sense of distance.
They slowed down slightly, trying to reduce this foreign separation in an inconspicuous way.
Jin-An gestured to Amatsuki Toki, telling them not to act rashly, and to maintain a peaceful and friendly demeanor.
Just then, an old elder slowly walked out of a house, his steps were very steady, and his eyes were as sharp as a raptor's.
He held a scepter symbolizing the tribe in one hand, and stroked his graying beard with the other.
He stopped not far from Jin-An and the others, and broke the silence with an aged but powerful voice: "Outsiders, what brings you here?"
Jin-An and the others quickly exchanged a look.
Suddenly.
Amidst the surprised gazes of the Shandia, Jin-An calmly stepped forward, made a respectful gesture in front of his chest, and said:
"Respected elder, we are explorers from the Blue Sea. We have heard of the wisdom and bravery of the Shandia people, and have come to visit and learn from your noble ways."
There was no arrogance in his words, but rather a sincerity and respect for the other party.
A subtle change flashed across the Shandia chief's face, like a fleeting ripple on a hard stone.
He was silent for a moment, his gaze shifted from one person to another, and finally he tapped the scepter in his hand lightly and said, "If that's the case, shouldn't you be going to the Skypieans' settlement? We have nothing here that would attract you."
As soon as he said this, the other residents of the village seemed to relax a little, lowered their guard slightly, and began to gradually approach these three new faces.
The firelight flickered in their eyes, reflecting a contradictory emotion—both vigilance towards the unknown and a desire to know more about the people from the Blue Sea.
Under the Shandia's nervous gazes, Jin-An and the others continued to walk forward.
At the same time, the Shandia quietly tightened their grip on their weapons, still wary of the three approaching people.
"We mean no harm, you don't need to be so defensive."
Jin-An, who had entered the Cloud Hidden Village, spoke in a steady voice, placing his hands in a place where the other party could clearly see, indicating that the three of them were not carrying weapons.
Seeing that the three of them were not carrying weapons, the Shandia's hanging hearts were slightly relieved.
Seeing that the vigilance of the people around him had weakened a little, Jin-An directly answered the other party's question:
"We have already been to Skypiea."
"What?!" The Shandia chief's tone rose slightly, "Could it be that you were sent by the Skypieans?"
Jin-An nodded and then quickly shook his head, "We don't belong to Skypiea, no one can order us to do anything."
"It's just that Gan Fall wants to change your lives that haven't changed in hundreds of years, and we're just doing it along the way."
Wiper, who was standing next to the chief, moved, but was stopped by the chief's outstretched hand.
The Shandia chief stood in front of the crowd, his face etched with the ravages of time and the marks of wind and frost. Although his figure was no longer as majestic as it once was, his eyes still flashed with a firm light.
He gently raised his hand, gesturing to Jin-An and the others, signaling them to pay attention to their surroundings.
"You can look at the expressions on the faces of the people around you."
The surrounding Shandia stood in their respective positions, their expressions varied, but most of them showed a look of disdain or indignation.
In their hearts, the conflict with the Skypieans was a blood-soaked epic, a deep-seated racial feud, deeply rooted and indelible.
This hostility has continued for nearly four hundred years. Generation after generation of Shandia have remembered every conflict with the Skypieans in tears and blood, and every scar is unforgettable.
Countless dark and windy nights, the children in the village fall asleep to their mothers' lullabies, and the songs are filled with unforgettable hatred and sorrow.
Jin-An and the others, as peacemakers, naturally hoped to resolve the long-standing feud.
However, the Shandia's hatred had been brewing for the same amount of time as that lost homeland.
It had accumulated deeper than mountains during this time.
The chief was silent for a moment, closed his eyes, as if recalling those painful pasts, and then said, "Your starting point is kind, but some wounds are too deep to be healed by words."
In the eyes of the villagers, one could read a deep-seated resentment.
It was not that they did not yearn for peace, but when their land and dignity were taken away, when the traces of their lives were eroded by the other party, the insurmountable gap in their hearts could not be crossed by simple reconciliation.
At this time, the village soldiers walked through the crowd, holding weapons made of rough iron ore in their hands, showing their firm attitude without saying a word.
Even in the face of foreign peacemakers, their posture was defensive and inviolable.
What the Skypieans occupied was not only their territory, but also the memory of time and ancestors, which was a pain that the Shandia could not bear.
Amatsuki Toki stood at this crossroads of fate, feeling both powerless and understanding the deep-seated hatred that was difficult to reconcile with one's own strength.
Everyone knows that revenge is a vicious cycle, but at the same time, they cannot easily cross the wounds that time has left on this nation.
......
"We can understand the hatred that has lasted for nearly 400 years."
"We can't interfere with your choices either."
"We didn't come here to change your minds."
"However, I want to tell you that the Light of Shandora is at the top of the giant vine that runs through Upper Yard."
The road is under everyone's feet. Jin-An has already told them the best solution. Next, it depends on the choices of these people.
...
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