I rested on the bed for a while before sitting up and slowly starting my morning routine.
Time was running short for me now, and I had to find a way to resolve the black spider on my body at the temple quickly.
"Commander, Commander!"
As I was washing up in the room, I suddenly heard a gruff voice calling my name from outside.
Why was Hu Jia Lu coming to find me so early? Had Hu Tou played another trick on him?
"What is it?"
Without rushing, I dried my hands and walked out. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Hu Jia Lu scratching his head, standing in front of my tent.
"Commander, thank you, Commander!"
Hu Jia Lu looked much better now than his dejected appearance yesterday. His face was full of smiles, and his posture was exceptionally upright.
"Commander, thank goodness for you. Hu Tou came to apologize to me first thing this morning!"
I nodded calmly, feeling somewhat satisfied.
Hu Tou was quite shrewd. It seemed he wouldn't be an obstacle to me for the time being.
"Hu Jia Lu, you are my man! Work hard and don't disgrace me!"
Hu Jia Lu responded respectfully, then suddenly seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead.
"Right, Commander, the High Priest just sent someone to tell you that today is a day for the Shepherd God to bestow blessings upon you, and you are to go to the temple in the morning."
Huh?!
An opportunity!
I casually said a few more words to Hu Jia Lu and sent him away.
After Hu Jia Lu left, I ate the breakfast he had brought while pondering the matters at hand.
The Shepherd God's blessing was the ability that Gui Du Si had, to suddenly transform. To be honest, while this ability was powerful, I felt a sense of resistance towards it.
Not to mention the black spider on me, this ticking time bomb that had yet to be dealt with, the fact that Gui Du Si's personality had changed drastically after transforming was enough to make me wary.
Who knew if I would still be myself after receiving the Shepherd God's blessing!
The more I interacted with the barbarian tribes, the more I feared the gods that these barbarians on the deserted island worshipped.
Even though the barbarian legends said that the Shepherd God had defeated the Mother of All Creation, in my opinion, these gods were not good news, all of them. They were birds of a feather.
I feared that if I accepted the Shepherd God's blessing, it would be similar to the mark of the Mother of All Creation on me, affecting my mind.
By then, I would truly become a temple guard commander named Ba Du!
I had to find a way to get rid of the black spider without accepting the blessing!
I made up my mind and, after hastily eating breakfast, walked towards the temple entrance.
Soon, I reached the temple gate. Although I had been the temple guard commander for several days, this was my first time entering the temple's interior.
"Commander, the High Priest and the Saintess are waiting for you in the main hall inside."
I greeted the guards at the entrance responsible for security and strode inside.
The Shepherd God's temple had many similarities in its internal structure to the Sea God Qi Ye's temple I had visited before. The walls were covered with various ambiguous murals, seemingly telling stories of the Shepherd God's greatness.
This is...?
When my gaze inadvertently fell upon one of the murals, I immediately stopped.
The content of this mural was simple: a massive monster with eight legs was battling a small figure wearing a crown.
This monster's appearance was not unrelated to the black spider on my body; it was identical!
Could this painting depict the story of the Shepherd God defeating the Mother of All Creation?!
Then who was this small figure? Could the Shepherd God also transform into a human?
I couldn't help but extend my finger to gently caress the rough mural. Apart from this one, the two murals on its left and right depicted completely unrelated things. It was as if some unseen force was guiding me to see this particular mural.
"Commander Ba Du, why are you stopping here and not going in?"
A male voice suddenly sounded from behind me.
Who is it?!
Startled from my thoughts, I spun around abruptly and found myself facing the mysterious man who always accompanied Pan Li Li.
He was smiling now, his eyes filled with a profound meaning.
"Ah, I've always been very interested in the stories told by the elders of the tribe since I was young. Therefore, I couldn't help but observe these murals closely."
If I had to say who I feared the most in the Du An tribe right now, it would undoubtedly be this person of unknown origin.
So, I quickly concocted a plausible explanation that fit my current persona to brush it off.
Fortunately, the mysterious man didn't press further. After all, unless one had a wild imagination, no one would guess that I had infiltrated the Du An tribe by forging my identity due to being parasitized by the Mother of All Creation.
"If Commander Ba Du is interested in these ancient legends, I happen to know some. Would you like me to tell you about them?"
Oh?
This was truly a pillow appearing just when one wanted to sleep. Of course, I readily agreed.
The mysterious man cleared his throat, and his opening words immediately piqued my interest.
"Commander Ba Du, do you know what the Shepherd God looks like?"