World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 247 Moon-Cracked Harelip
Just as Misuru closed the door, Lin An rushed out to explain the misunderstanding to him.

"Okay, I see."

Misuru pursed his lips. On one side was his idol, and on the other was his younger sister whom he had grown up with. If they were to be put together, his feelings would be quite complicated.

"Actually, Mezzo doesn't often sleep next to others, for example, she never sleeps next to me—it must be because Meyer talks badly about me every day."

"Can even close family members who live together day and night have a bad relationship?" Lin An asked.

“I see them every day, so I’m annoyed by them. But when I don’t see them anymore… I might miss them.” Misuru clicked her tongue. “Let’s not talk about it. Lin, Tigerfish has sent an envoy to exchange prisoners with us, and Ap is already negotiating.”

Ap is the name of the female leader of the gathering team, meaning "good at communicating".

Lin An didn't want to show up, but he was also curious about the items the Tigerfish Tribe was going to exchange. Judging from Misuru's words, they brought more than just guns and ammunition.

The two stepped out of the hut and saw from afar that the Tigerfish tribe had brought several baskets of colorful items, including a jumble of clothes, shoes, gloves, and some daily necessities such as basins, buckets, and ropes.

It's practically like bringing Pinduoduo offline...

Lin An glanced at the scheming Tigerfish tribesmen and gestured for Misuru to hide in the shadows and observe the situation.

"How about we exchange one basket for one of our tribesmen?"

The Tigerfish tribe's negotiator picked up loose, old clothes and tried to sell them to Apu, somewhat like a peddler praising his own wares.

"Look at this garment, it's so smooth and dry, much better than the ones we knit ourselves."

"Two baskets for one person," Ap said, holding up his finger.

“No, we spent a lot of ore to get these.” The Tigerfish tribesman shook his head repeatedly. “One in a basket, with candy included. They’re as sweet as fried bananas.”

"One and a half baskets!"

The Tigerfish tribe members were somewhat displeased with Ap's firm attitude.

They are the largest tribe in the rainforest. If it weren't for Lin An descending from the sky as an ancestral spirit, the Lion Tribe wouldn't be worthy of negotiating with them at all.

"Forget about the exchange. Do we really need those few more people? The Tigerfish Tribe has a full twenty hunting teams and twenty-five gathering teams. Do you really think they're that important to us?"

The tigerfish tribesman angrily threw the clothes into the basket, speaking in a harsh tone.

"If it weren't for the ancestral spirits and the chief telling us to maintain friendly relations with the spotted lion, I wouldn't have bothered making this trip!"

“Then I’ll immediately relay your words to the prisoners, telling them that the Tigerfish tribe abandoned them and left them to the lions to do with.” Ap shrugged. “Anyway, I think over a hundred strong men are worth more than your junk.”

"You're really pushing your luck!" The tigerfish clansman's forehead veins bulged. "Believe me or not, I'll kill you before your ancestral spirits arrive!"

After saying that, he raised his hand, and the clicking sound of guns being cocked was incessant. More than a dozen Tigerfish tribesmen raised their guns and aimed them at Ap and the Lion tribesmen.

"What do you want to do!?"

"Tigerfish Tribe, if you kill us, the Ancestral Spirit will not let you off!"

The lion tribesmen were startled and, not to be outdone, took out the guns they had previously confiscated. However, since they didn't know how to fire or reload them, they could only pretend to hold them up.

"wrong!"

Ap was taken aback; the other party's deliberately difficult attitude aroused her suspicion.

She looked around warily and suddenly noticed a cold, mechanical light flashing among the leaves of the jungle. Several Tigerfish tribesmen were pointing black rifles and cannons at her, ready to fire.

Camera... or camera?
Ap had heard the elder speak of these wondrous things before; they were said to be able to transform a scene into a lifelike painting, recording it forever.

Although he had never seen the actual objects, the elder's description was so vivid that Ap quickly matched these black machines with the "camera" in the story.

The Tigerfish Tribe is trying to deliberately provoke us, create chaos, and force out our ancestral spirit to resolve the matter.
Ap recalled the rumors about the Tigerfish tribe, and suddenly realized what was going on, a nameless anger rising in his heart.

Only "merchant guilds" that trade with the Tigerfish tribe need photos!
She absolutely couldn't let these people film the secrets of the ancestral spirits and hand them over to those disrespectful outsiders, causing him unnecessary trouble! She clenched her fists.

I must resolve this matter before the ancestral spirits arrive!
As he pondered, anger transformed into energy, igniting from the depths of his soul, turning into a burning sensation that swirled on his tongue and lips. Ap took a deep breath and spoke coldly.

"Tigerfish Tribe, you steal prey from other tribes, squeeze your own people's living space, and plunder forest resources unethically, all to exchange for supplies with outsiders. Now you're even willing to betray the ancestral spirits of the Bantu people to curry favor with them. What a bunch of traitors!"

Tigerfish blushed and gritted their teeth in rebuttal.

"What do you know, you idiot who bleeds every month? The Red Poppy Merchant Guild has asked Tigerfish to report on the status of each 'Ancestral Spirit.' Apart from that old madman, the other six members of the Ancestral Spirit Totem have no objections. How dare the little Spotted Lion Tribe speak out of turn!"

"What right do outsiders have to govern our ancestors!" the lion tribesmen shouted.

"Just with this gun!"

The next moment, gunshots shattered the tranquility of the rainforest morning, smoke billowing in the sultry mist.

"Ping——!"

Black bullet holes immediately appeared on the bodies of the lion tribesmen, and many of them fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Half of these screams came from the tigerfish tribesmen who were confronting them.

Their expressions were ferocious. They threw down their hunting rifles without a care, covered their lips with their hands, and let out muffled groans.

Blood trickled from between their fingers.

When they removed their hands, they were surprised to find a triangular scar above the lips, rising from the gums to the philtrum, and showing signs of continuing to crack.

The moment the wound appeared, the Tigerfish tribe members not only had difficulty breathing and felt short of breath, but their whole bodies became hot, their limbs became uncoordinated, and their ears rang with a persistent, sharp tinnitus.

"With your witness, the illustration of [Moon-Cracked Cleft Lip] has been unlocked in the encyclopedia."

"The entry 'Barbalu Aye's Plague Spirit III: Moon-Cracked Claw Lips' has been added. You have obtained the media 'God of Agriculture' x2, 'Prophet' x1, and 'Lord of Dreams' x1."

"By sharing knowledge from 'Commerx' with others, the level of contamination in the [Mysterious Encyclopedia] has decreased by 0.4%."

[Name]: Cleft Lip
[Rating]: Disaster Level D

Radiation level: 0.2%
[Pollution Level]: 3.8%
[Medium]: God of Agriculture

Babalú-Aye is pronounced after the Yoruba word Obalúayé.

This god of plague has different legends in different regions, such as being the incarnation of the supreme god, the spirit of the planet, or the ghost of the king, but his image is always closely related to infectious diseases and their treatment.

Babalu Aye can heal those on the verge of death, but it can also bring diseases such as smallpox, malaria, skin diseases, epilepsy, and ankylosing spondylitis to humankind.

His divine name, along with various infectious diseases, spread throughout the Southern Continent, resulting in diverse names and origins, one of which is "Moon-Cleft Cleft Lip." It is said that this is a small ghost split off from Babal Aye, specifically "managing" symptoms related to cleft lip.

Attracted by the baby's cries, it stays above their heads, tears their lips, and causes cleft lip.

On the bright side, people believe that the wound caused by a cleft lip can expel other diseases from an infant, allowing them to survive their initial vulnerable period and making them luckier than other children later in life.

If parents do not want the "Moon-Cracked Harelip" to befall their child, they must offer grains to the Moon-Cracked Harelip or the deity Babalu Aye and pray that they will spare the unborn baby.

The legend of the "moon-cleft cleft lip" spread to the Eagle Kingdom through the triangular trade. The fear of cleft lip is sometimes reflected in some horror films of the last century. The ghosts or demons corresponding to them are usually the plague god Babal Aye.

Of course, whether it's Babalu Aye or the Moon-Cracked Claw, they are merely figurative divine images born from the Southern Continent people's fear of disease.

Modern science has long since listed the origins of various diseases and proposed corresponding cures.

Only when the orbits of "Comers" overlapped did ancient myths, through extraterrestrial radiation, allow spiritualism and mysticism to replace the physical laws of Titan and become reality.

Listening to the system's announcement, Lin An opened the control panel.

They gained a disastrous "believer" whose measurement value increased to 28, but unfortunately the deviation value remained high and the fusion process hardly changed.

The entry for 【Phantom Spirit】 has returned to the Mysterious Encyclopedia with Apoo's awakening, and is now available for reuse or editing.

Continuing to observe the battle, Lin An discovered that the [Moon-Cracked Harelip] was not very lethal, but it could quickly disrupt the body's coordination, causing the user to lose most of their combat ability.

According to legend, the "Moon-Cracked Harelip" seems to be able to hear the thoughts of those who pray.

"Great, the Lion Clan finally has two mysterious henchmen," he thought with satisfaction.

The leader of the tigerfish tribe was in excruciating pain in his lips. He covered his bleeding wound while mumbling threats.

"Ban, Bansi tribe, just you wait and see!"

"Then let's wait and see!"

Ap showed no weakness, instinctively covering the gunshot wound on his shoulder with his palm.

A few seconds later, she was surprised to find that the skin she had touched soon returned to normal.

Unfortunately, when she did the same to others, the gunshot wounds of her tribesmen did not heal.

Then a flash of green light appeared, instantly healing everyone's wounds.

Apu saw his ancestral spirit emerge from the shadows and immediately cried out in alarm.

"Lord Ancestral Spirit, don't come any closer! They want to hand your photo over to outsiders, to that tribe called Poppy!"

"They're just doing this for the dog magazine, hoping they can take a picture of me and get a few more bones."

Lin An shook his finger, gesturing for her to look around. All the black cameras had disappeared, and Misuru's face, stained with a few drops of blood, emerged from the ferns.

"That's solved, what's the next step?"

“As the saying goes, courtesy comes before force. Since fair trade isn’t working, we have no choice but to resolve this using the rainforest’s methods.” Lin An looked at the Tigerfish tribesmen, whose faces were growing increasingly dark. “Leave your things here, and you can leave.”

Before the Tigerfish tribe could react, a howling wind blew in, sending them flying backwards, while baskets of supplies remained untouched on the opposite bank of the river.

Purchase for free.

The lion tribe witnessed this scene, their eyes wide with shock. After a moment of astonishment, they all remembered the lesson their ancestral spirits had taught them.

If the other party is unwilling to negotiate peacefully, just flip the table and see who has the bigger fist.

After all, since the arrival of the ancestral spirit, the Spotted Lion Tribe has been completely transformed and is no longer the insignificant tribe that had to deal with various tribes and obey their rules!
Watching his people wade through the water to carry supplies, Lin An nodded in satisfaction.

Despite becoming the ancestral spirit of the spotted lion tribe, he didn't want to do things personally and ended up living as an all-around babysitter.

This group of people must figure out their new identity and position, and how they should act from their perspective.

Ap methodically tallied the harvest. These "gifts" from the tigerfish tribe had many uses and could greatly improve the quality of life for the lion people.

Misuru rummaged around for a while, but found no new weapons, so he left with Lin An without interest.

"Screw rustle..."

Under Apu's command, the transport work proceeded smoothly, but the group of tigerfish tribesmen who had been blown away lingered in the jungle, watching them furtively and timidly.

Apu stood with his hands on his hips, his gaze following their every move like a guardian deity.

“Hiss, A, Apu from the Lion Tribe.”

After a moment's hesitation, the Tigerfish Tribe's negotiator finally couldn't hold back any longer. He stumbled forward, and the Lion Tribe immediately stopped carrying things and gathered around Ap, ready for battle.

"Are you still dissatisfied with our Ancestral Spirit's decision, Tigerfish?" Ap asked sternly, his demeanor now bearing the air of a superior.

"No, how could I dare?" The tigerfish clansman swallowed the saliva dripping from his cracked lips. "There's just one thing we haven't given to the spotted lion ancestral spirit yet, sir."

He took out a flat stone with an inscription on it. It was very clean, with a hole in the top through which a vine passed, and it swayed back and forth like a small decoration.

"What is this?" Ap frowned.

"An invitation from the ancestral spirit totem," the tigerfish tribesman said tremblingly. "Susumi hopes the spotted lion ancestral spirit will participate in next week's gathering. Ap, uh, do you want to...?"

“No need. I am merely a humble descendant and a loyal messenger of the Ancestral Spirit.” Ap carefully accepted the stone. “I will pass it on to him.”

"You mean, the Lion Ancestral Spirit gave you the Great Treasure?" A strange look flashed across the Tigerfish's face.

"Yes."

"Oh……"

"By the way, Tigerfish, would you like to know about the origins of our Ancestral Spirit?" Ap blinked, suddenly becoming interested.

"what?"

"Legend has it that the expansion of the creator god Enzambhi Mpengu corrupted the underworld, causing widespread suffering among humankind. His two children, the sun and the moon, took pity on him and stole their father's flame..."

Thank you Shion for the donation, thank you Black Century Egg for the monthly ticket, and thank you everyone for your recommendations and subscriptions.



(End of this chapter)