World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 257 Mazuz Market

Three days after Lin An assigned "World Tree System 1.0" to the Meyer Mezzo sisters, he called them in to inspect the results.

He had originally thought that Mezzo, who had a faster reading speed and better comprehension, would perform well in the assessment. However, when asked about her, she seemed clueless, while Meyer, who was feeling uneasy, answered meticulously.

She told Lin An that after getting tired of playing with the "snake symbol," the sleepy Mezo never looked at the data again.

This is the difference between a top student and a high achiever...

Lin An was helpless against Mezo's self-willed behavior. The most crucial thing was that he was constantly struggling with whether or not to awaken Mezo.

Her medium tends to be "prophet," and at least at the legendary level or higher.

Having a mysterious being who can unconsciously influence one's thoughts by one's side is quite dangerous for Lin An, who possesses the medium of "Seeker of Knowledge".

Let's slow down for now.

Seeing that Mezo didn't like studying, Lin An didn't urge him. He listened to Meyer's usage reports and suggestions, and modified the World Tree system's data to make it more complete, convenient, and easy to understand.

The diligent Mezo is on the verge of becoming a mystic, and her potential is also legendary. It's a pity that Lin An doesn't have a high-rated "God of Agriculture" entry.

After much thought, he could only follow the same method and put in [Phantom Spirit]. It could only help Maye understand "Comers", but it was difficult to improve her rating further.

According to Lin An's observations, at the mythological level, a certain preliminary ritual corresponding to the mysterious prototype must be completed.

Corresponding archetypes and rituals are generally held by aristocratic families, who can even "mass-produce" mythical figures if they wish, such as the six deacons of Joshua's inspectorate.

According to Rocky, the mystery of the shared name seems to have an impact on the existing Source-level beings.

Therefore, powerful families dare not recklessly foster mythical beings, and sometimes even actively kill them to prevent unexpected "deviations".

Previously, Lin An didn't understand why Rocky said that [Sariel] must be the "Lord of Dreams". Now, after obtaining the mysterious encyclopedia 2.0 created by the Duke, he gradually understands the importance of the deviation value.

The recurring mystical archetypes may influence the "letter names" of certain deities.

Fortunately, Lin An's two mysteries are unique in the world, so there is no need to worry about them. Due to their different stances, he is also a mortal enemy of most aristocratic families.

If Lin An had known about the prerequisite ritual, he would have loved to create a whole bunch of mythical beings in one go. If it affected the relevant gods and demigods, it would have been a truly unexpected and joyous occasion.

Unfortunately, the mysterious tree diagram of Meyer was full of question marks, and he had no idea where to begin his research.

With limited information, Maye was instructed to do some things that would benefit the lion tribe and get used to the influence of the agricultural god "Comers" in advance.

For example, tomorrow is the day the Lion Clan goes to market.

After living in the tribe for two weeks, Lin An still thought that apart from the Tigerfish tribe, all the rainforest people lived a self-sufficient life of catching and eating what they caught.

The rainforest is rich in resources. In addition to the meat and fish from the hunting teams, Lin An has seen many of the harvests from the gathering teams in the past few days.

For example, Mangwanshi beans, sugarcane, Enba (peanuts), Malala (blood oranges), Mancondo (plantains), Nanasi (pineapples), and Nanasipopo (papayas).

Although they are either extremely sour or extremely bitter.

The staple food is usually made from thick tree sap filtered through a simple mesh. The tribe mixes its starch with water and soil to make a cake; or fermented cassava, then wraps it in leaves and bakes it, somewhat like a rice dumpling.

But without exception, they were all difficult to swallow.

Lin An also tried the cola nut; it was bitter upon tasting and went straight to his nasal cavity.

Nature's gifts aren't always fresh and sweet; processed or artificially cultivated foods are often more fragrant.

The elder told Lin An that they were going to the market. In the past, the spotted lions were too weak and could only form two hunting teams and one gathering team. It was difficult to spare people to embark on long journeys, so the last time they went to the market was half a year ago.

Now that Lin An has arrived, the number of people in the spotted lions has increased, and some manpower can be freed up to go to the market.

She said that if you walk south along the Kuba River from here, you will reach a market called "Mazuz".

Mazuz means "riverbank" in Bantu, so it can also be called the Riverbank Market.

This is the closest market to the rainforest, a melting pot of all sorts of merchants, including many highly capable information brokers.

Occasionally, ships from Kinsasha would pass by the riverbank, and passengers would exchange money with market vendors for fresh ingredients.

Whether you're looking to improve your life or gather intelligence, the Mazuz market is a place worth visiting.

Moreover, Lin An remembered that Zai had warned him not to drink the water from the south, and the Kuba River in the south referred to the area around the Mazuz market.

what happened there?
It was surprising that Zai was willing to set aside his hatred and specifically use the illusion to have Lin An warn the various tribes in the rainforest.

On market day, Lin An, along with the three Misuru siblings and a hunting team, carrying some pickled fish, meat, fruit, and valuable animal hides and teeth, embarked on their "expedition."

The Lion Tribe already has five hunting teams and three gathering teams, so they are not worried about a lack of manpower.

The group set off on Thursday morning but arrived on Saturday morning, a journey that took two days and two nights.

No wonder the lion tribe dared not go to the market; the potential dangers alone could wipe them out and cause them to lose all their traded goods.

As the distance decreases, the dense rainforest of towering trees, ferns, thick mud, and decaying leaves gradually thins out, and amidst the chirping of birds, a solid red earth stretches out flat.

Sunlight penetrated the no longer layered canopy of trees, casting a pinkish hue over the entire world in the morning glow. The tall palm tree trunks cast slender, dark shadows, cutting the bumpy path into square and trapezoidal fragments.
The sun rose at exactly six in the morning.

Fine dust drifted in the air, tinged with a rosy hue by the bright sunlight, making it appear at first glance as if colorful confetti from birthday celebrations were scattered everywhere.

A strange sour smell drifted along with the dust, and Lin An could now recognize it as the smell of roasted fermented cassava rice, called "Chikwanga" in Bantu language.

He tried it once, and it was sticky and stuck in his throat; it was very unpalatable.

However, the presence of cassava rice suggests the presence of human activity in the vicinity.

Misuru, her face flushed, pointed to the end of the red dirt road and shouted, "We've arrived!"

The Mazuz market is located on the southern main stream of the Kuba River, where merchants have built mud huts one after another, nestled against the bushes in a long, dense row.

These temporary structures all knelt facing east, as if praying that they would not collapse.

Behind the cottage, the sun appeared as a pink dot, hazy and indistinct, as if the land it shone on was elsewhere, far away from here.

The opposite bank of the river was a wrinkled, yellowish-brown mud, like a huge old carpet, gradually disappearing into the misty, light blue sky.

It leads to Mbanbuka, the Bantu city closest to the rainforest. Even in the early morning, the lively cries of vendors rise and fall, carried by the wind to the ears of the group.

Misuru's bright eyes scrutinized the stranger approaching him, his muscles tensing from time to time, and he subconsciously adopted an aggressive stance.

Mezzo kept yawning, exhausted from the journey, while Meyer wiped her wet forehead with the back of her hand and bit her lip.

The lion tribesmen, carrying their trading goods, entered the bustling market.

The merchants huddled in the huts mostly came from Mbanbuka City. They traded with the rainforest tribes for animal hides, teeth, and minerals in exchange for goods from the city.

Compared to the latter, who live a primitive life and are detached from worldly affairs, these people are the true embodiment of the modern Bantu.

Some of the children running around were wearing tattered clothes donated by Baptist charities, while others were completely naked.

The mother wore a gauze cage, and if she could afford it, she would wrap a large square cloth around her upper body, leaving most of her chest and thighs exposed, but no one cared.

The men were dressed in all sorts of outfits: some wore long-sleeved shirts, some wore button-down shirts, and some short men strolled around in underwear with children's patterns. No one passing by found them funny.

"Take a look!"

"Handmade soap!"

"Freshly fried rice cakes!"

The merchants on both sides rubbed their hands together like flies; even though it's summer all year round at the equator, they seemed too cold to be seen by others.

The group of people were either barefoot, wearing sandals made from bicycle tires, or outdated pointed shoes, cracked black rubber rain boots, or light pink plastic flip-flops, all worn out as if they came from the last century.

Brightly colored objects, such as plastic buckets, seemed out of place when they held them; they and the modern society that Lin An recognized existed in two different time and space.

Compared to this group of people, Misuru, dressed in animal skins and straw sandals, could be considered "well-dressed".

The market was packed tightly together, with many merchants carrying all sorts of things on their heads: a huge glass jar filled with palm wine, a bundle of firewood made of elephant grass, and a large enamel mug filled with leafy greens.

Their sense of balance amazed Lin An, no less than that of acrobats under the spotlight at Bode.

Some men brought their wives, who looked very young, but their eyes were filled with vicissitudes and sorrow, unmoved by anything, indifferent and numb, as if they had seen it all before.

These are the eyes of a married person.

The children tied behind their backs, regardless of gender, had their heads shaved. The elder had mentioned this custom to Lin An, saying it was to prevent the hair from consuming protein.

"Bilaiqi! Bilaiqi!"

The older children pointed and whispered about Lin An.

Bilaiqi means "Flanders," and they thought Lin An's skin was too pale, so he might be from the West.

Misuru shouted at them, "Get out of the way!" and they scattered like birds and beasts.

Walking past the crowded stalls, Lin An searched for information brokers while observing the goods on both sides with great interest.

The stalls displayed green bananas and pink plantains, but notably no improved yellow bananas. There were also onions, carrots, and bowls of oddly shaped cherry tomatoes, all at exorbitant prices. Lin An even spotted bottles of light orange soda.

Unfortunately, this is not Fanta, but a substandard beverage without an ingredient list or production license—a completely unregulated product.

Lin An bought a bottle; the bright orange soda reminded him of the Arctic Ocean soda from his hometown.

After passing a few more stalls, I came across a woman selling pieces of mysterious, dark solids.

At first, Lin An thought it was soap, but when the woman saw that Lin An was holding a drink, she immediately and eagerly invited him to try it.

So it was food?

Lin An took the cube the woman handed him and tentatively licked it. It was sweet and had a coconut fragrance. The woman explained to him that it was fried coconut flakes.

Since there was a rare and delicious dessert, Lin An simply bought all the cubes, intending to let the Lion Clan try them.

They had already gotten separated in the crowded market.

Lin An delivered a crocodile skin, a gift from another tribe, to the woman. She seemed very satisfied and kept saying thank you in a mix of sign language and French—Bantu people living in the city generally speak French.

Besides food and clothing, Lin An unexpectedly met a distinguished herbalist in the bustling market.

His hair was gray, and he wore a fairly clean white robe, looking quite divine, like a preaching priest, but he had two AKs tucked into his waistband.

This gave him a private stall, freeing him from having to squeeze in with other people.

The herbalist sold aspirin, fragrant pink pills, yellow pills that smelled of fermented wine, dried animal organs, and talismans with strange patterns, all placed on a soft black velvet cloth.

When Lin An passed by, he was "treating" a patient.

The herbalist first listens to the patient's description of their discomfort, then tells them which pills they need to buy.

The patient said he had no money to buy medicine, so the herbalist gave him a lucky charm and told him to go home quickly and stop overthinking.

Not only did Lin An see goods, but he also saw a bunch of stalls selling hairdressing, sewing, and repairs, and a man on a sewing machine mending clothes for others on the spot.

The skilled hairdresser used an intricate technique to divide the woman's hair into many strands and then braid them together, like hundreds of black wool balls being magically woven together.

A group of people had gathered around the barber stall. An enthusiastic old man told Lin An, "We have a proverb: if you can't grow hair yourself, look at other people's hair."

Before he could find the intelligence broker, Lin An suddenly heard the sound of rushing water in the distance.

The bustling market instantly erupted in excitement, with merchants scrambling to hoist their goods onto their heads and rush towards the riverbank, where the passengers on the boats were their easy targets for ripping off.

Lin An was also curious. He moved closer to the herbalist, his consciousness sinking into the [One Eye of God], and his vision suddenly rose.

A dilapidated ship came into view. The sign indicating a capacity of 50 people had long since faded, and the ship was crammed with at least 800 passengers, making the old, neglected vessel unbearably heavy.

As Lin An continued to observe, an ominous premonition arose.

He seemed to sense something and turned to the opposite bank of the Mazuz market, where several men hidden in the woods set up mortars and aimed them at the ships full of people without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)