Chapter 738: Chapter 13: Mythology in Heaven, Drama on Earth_2

Mr. Gongsun sighed deeply, still feeling the aftereffects, “Please let me see the previous play.”

“Sure! Sure!” Situ Yi turned his head and called out, “Philis, where have you gone? Good child, come over here! Here is a generous young man wanting to buy two theater tickets.”

Mr. Gongsun was a bit surprised: (You can see through that disguise.)

(So it can protect you.) Alandia had predicted it.

“Coming, Captain Sir!”

From afar, a voice responded, and a young boy of middle school age hurried over, dressed plainly wearing a newsboy cap, and with a large wooden box hanging around his neck filled with miniature books. He counted out two tickets from the box: “One pound each, sir.”

The pound is the currency of the Country, equivalent to about five Imperial Coins. Mr. Gongsun pulled out two steel coins from his pocket and handed them over. Philis handed him the tickets and stood there without leaving: “Sir, are you interested in the myths of the Country? Here are some folk legends, two for a pound.”

Mr. Gongsun peered into the wooden box, the covers of these little books looked frivolous, featuring scantily clad comic women, with titles like “King Morton and the Lake Fairy,” “King Morton and the Long-haired Princess”…

He relaxed and laughed, “How come your folklore is so colorful?”

“I don’t know, sir,” Philis said earnestly. “You would have to ask King Morton himself.”

Mr. Gongsun laughed heartily and pulled out two more steel coins, exchanged them for four books, and left. As he took the books, he glanced at the bottom of the box and noticed a piece of brown leather, resembling a wallet, which didn’t surprise him—children in crowded and poor areas often moonlight as pickpockets.

Mr. Gongsun suppressed his laughter and thought to himself: (Anything to say, Dawn Knight?)

Alandia’s response was as typical as a commentary: (In the Country’s folk culture, vulgar stories starring King Morton are ubiquitous, a tactic frequently employed by creators to catch people’s eyes.)

(Can’t you lighten up a bit?)

Situ Yi remained by his side, the fearsome leader seeming intent on watching the play with his guest. They didn’t head to the front of the stage but walked together into the tent.

Inside the tent, seats were arranged in concentric circles, with a specially cleared space in the center. The audience for this play was sparse, consisting of about a dozen children in the front row and a few young people who were free. Mr. Gongsun and Situ Yi found seats in the back row and soon after, all the candles inside the tent were extinguished, a spotlight shone down, illuminating the person who walked to the center of the stage. She was a young woman with green hair, dressed in neutral bib overalls and a white shirt, her shoulder-length hair giving her a scholarly appearance. She held a stack of parchment, and began to sing softly with lyrical verses, introducing the background of the play to the audience.

Primitive props descended one by one along with her singing, suspended by wires, the highest being an abstract circle resembling the sun. Mr. Gongsun scanned it briefly and understood, finding it dull.

(Such a clichéd Sky Wheel…)

(You might as well call it a well-known traditional myth.)

The so-called Sky Wheel myth is a generic name for a class of primal myths common across various cultures. These myths share a common character who is a supreme deity with the power to control the world. In polytheism, He is the leader of all gods; in monotheism, He is the sole authority, with all followers being His apostles or acolytes.

The supreme deity usually resides in a place isolated from the mortal world, existing in a transcendental, metaphysical form, more of a purified embodiment of a spirit or concept. In the Imperial Buddhism, that is the “Pure Land” where all Buddhas dwell; in traditional Imperial myths, it is the supreme “Three Pure Heavens” or “Great Heaven”; and in the popular Holy Cross Sect and the state religion of the Country, it is the “Sky Wheel” controlled by the supreme benevolent deity.

The people of the North Continent believe the “Sky Wheel” is the core of Heaven, existing above the heavens, emitting arcs of light illuminating the world below, much like the real sun. Those on earth who lead virtuous lives can ascend to Heaven upon death, free from the constraints of the flesh, to live an eternally blissful life. The concept of the Sky Wheel is highly representative, integrating common themes of “sky,” “sun,” “pure spirit,” and “supreme authority” from traditional myths, thus making it a synonymous term for this category of myths.

(What good is a myth that no one believes in? Nowadays, it’s merely fodder for literary creation; surely no one actually believes it?)

(Mr. Gongsun, I am pleased to see you approach myths with a rational attitude.)

(Are you being sarcastic?)

(No. I hope you can always maintain this attitude.)

The green-haired woman continued her long song, extolling the greatness of the supreme benevolent deity. Mr. Gongsun listened for a while, feeling bored. As he thought to himself, the Sky Wheel myth had long since become a cultural meme rather than a true religion, as the common folk, although honest, weren’t foolish: the appearance of the giant dragon happened from time to time, but those omnipotent supreme deities from the myths never walked the earth. What use was believing in this religion? If I need a mental solace, why not believe in Emperor Central Spirit who at least claimed to have slain a giant dragon and truly fought in battles?

Thus, to ensure its survival, the Sky Wheel myth had to seek the patronage of secular powers. Specifically in the Country, it meant that King Morton became the “Holy King on earth under the protection of the supreme benevolent deity,” and when the object of worship shifted from deities to historical figures, pure religion ceased to exist.