Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"I guessed it, too." Phaethon had already set up the dining table. "In this case, we have to learn how to do it. Have dinner first? Tell you when we eat?"

"Rebirth ceremony?"

"Yes, it is necessary." Victoria explained while eating stew. "This kind of situation often happened in ancient Greece. For example, a sailor who had been on a long voyage did not come back for a long time. His family thought he was dead, and the whole society thought he was dead. He had completed social death. But he was not actually dead. He returned to his hometown a few years later. At this time, his physiological survival and social death formed a conflict. For this reason, it was necessary to prepare a ceremony to resurrect his social self."

"What will happen if I don't resurrect?"

"In Greece, he would have been treated as a dead person and his social status would not have been restored - of course this was ancient Greece. Modern people can easily confirm the identity through various technical means. But in ancient times, people could not confirm whether this person was dead or alive, because this person might have appeared out of nowhere, a spirit, a demon, or a changeling."

"Ah, so there is a rebirth ceremony? How is it held?"

"The rebirth ceremony is not a specific ceremony. What we learned in our textbooks is to learn the rebirth ceremony as a representative sympathetic magic. In short, the rebirth ceremony is a method of re-establishing social relationships. In order to revive a person's social relationships, it is necessary to let him go through all the ceremonies he has experienced since childhood, including birth ceremonies, coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, etc., all in the same way. In this way, this person's social relationships will be very similar to the original person."

"So-called magic may be certain." Phaethon added, "As long as you re-establish a sympathetic connection with your original identity, even if it is not exactly the same, you can reposition social relations. Because social relations themselves are a kind of magic, right? They do not exist in reality."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Shang Luo nodded, "Then Wen Yuan's current condition is because the rebirth ceremony was not carried out?"

"I think so, especially in Victoria." Phaethon replied, "If the rebirth ritual is not performed, then this person may really have no sense of existence in Victoria's eyes, because this person does not exist in the magical sense."

"Then let me take care of it!" Victoria said, "I will bring him back to his original self! Make him exactly the same as before. In this way, his sense of existence will be restored."

"Wait a minute." Shang Luo raised his hand. "I'm not sure if Wen Yuan wants to change back. He's already a different person. Anyway, I'll go and ask for his opinion some other day."

Chapter 1297 He has few friends

"So it's based on this reason?" Shang Luo said to himself, "Could it be that even if he is not in the magic system, magic will also have an impact on him?"

"There are two main influences. First, rebirth rituals are common in all cultures. You may also have them here, but the influence is not so specific.

"Second, in theory, any human being will be affected by magic." Victoria explained, "It's just that because your people are not in Rome, the impact is minimal - for example, his presence here is ridiculously weak, but he is still fine in his original environment.

"Does Wenyuan have any problems with socializing?" Phaethon asked.

"He actually has very few friends. Apart from me, I seem to have rarely seen him interact with other people. But generally speaking, it's normal. After all, there are many people who have few friends."

"Then there's no need to worry about it," Phaethon replied. "Since the patient himself is unaware, there's no need to risk invasive medical treatment. Don't listen to Victoria when she says that 're-performing the ceremony' is simple. In fact, it requires many participants, attention, triggering events, and so on. It's very troublesome."

"Is there any way to provide him with some help?"

"Of course there are." Phaethon replied, "In fact, there are many ways to improve one's presence, and it is not necessary to start with the soul. If he just dresses up well, maybe it will be okay. And why doesn't he find a girlfriend? That way someone will pay attention to him. Even if he doesn't have a girlfriend, you can spend more time with him."

"Are you serious? I go to accompany him every day instead of spending more time with you guys?"

"That's right!" Victoria put down her chopsticks. "Let me cast a spell! I guarantee he'll become everyone's focus in an instant. This way Shang Luo won't have to help him find a girlfriend, and Shang Luo won't meet anyone new anymore!"

"What's the point of all this?" Shang Luo pressed his forehead. "I'm asking, is there any way within your ability but with good results to make up for his lack of sense of existence? Because he will soon go to a new school, which is different from the school he has been in since he was a child. If he is not recognized in the new environment, I am worried that he will develop some psychological illness."

"Oh, you should have said that earlier!" Victoria replied, "To cure magical diseases, of course we have to use magic."

Shangluo keenly noticed Victoria's statement -

"Magical disease? I've heard before that Rome has done a lot of research on magical medicine. How can this disease be cured?"

"This disease, based on the symptoms, can be called 'soul loss'. The solution is also very simple, just prepare a potion and incense. Fragrance is also a kind of magic, which can supplement the missing part of his soul like a prosthesis. Although there is no way to truly repair the soul, it is still very simple to enhance his sense of existence from a phenomenon perspective."

[In fact, if you buy him an ordinary perfume, it will have a similar effect. But if it is done by magic, it will be more targeted. ]

"That's fine." Shangluo asked, "Then what do I need to prepare to make perfume for him?"

With this plan, Shangluo planned to first boost his sense of existence and his confidence, and then tell him the truth after making sure he would not be too shocked.

In theory, this is also a medical experiment, used to test the treatments for these magical diseases.

"Let me think about it." Victoria counted on her fingers. "Other things are easy. I can prepare some necessary supplies. But I may need something with his characteristics - first of all, I need hair and nails."

"Why does it sound like you're going to stab someone?"

"Yes, the principle of voodoo dolls is the same as this one. This is a reverse voodoo doll. Voodoo dolls kill people by making them 'soulless'. To cure the soulless, of course you have to make a vitality doll, and then you need... By the way, do you have his handwriting?"

"You should have told me earlier. I just returned his homework."

[It's okay, I've scanned and saved everything. That guy's handwriting is truly beautiful, so I took a photo and saved it while I was studying. I plan to combine it with other fonts to further my study later.]

"That's all!" Victoria rubbed her hands, "I'm going to cast a spell~~hehehe."

"Is she really reliable?" Shangluo asked Phaethon in a low voice.

"You can tell whether she's reliable or not. Her professionalism is indeed guaranteed. But she has never put it into practice. I suggest you don't have too high expectations of her."

Next to her, Victoria actually began to dream about becoming a wizard. This level of magic could be accomplished by even mortal wizards. Of course, she could do it too.

"Okay." Shangluo shook his head. It wasn't just Wen Yuan who needed treatment here. Victoria was also seriously ill. Letting patients treat other patients was not a bad idea.

"Oh, by the way." Shangluo asked Phaethon, "Is there any space in the refrigerator? I brought back a lot of pork this time, and I need to find a place to store it."

"There were some before. But as I told you before, the space is full of the sacrificial meat that was delivered. I suggest you deal with the sacrificial meat. Because raw pork can be eaten for a long time in frozen state, but the sacrificial meat will go bad if it is not eaten quickly."

"How much meat?"

"Just think about how empty the refrigerator was before, and how much meat is in it now."

Shang Luo slapped his hand on his head: "What should I do? It feels so wasteful. The sacrificial meat cannot be thrown away, but I don't want to throw away the meat sent by Elder Wen. I can't eat it, so what should I do?"

"If we can't eat it, can't we give it away?" Victoria asked.

"I guess no one would really want to eat the sacrificial meat on the table. You didn't eat it either."

"Where?" Victoria looked at the table. "You're not saying that this dish of fat meat without any seasoning is the highest quality and is used as a sacrifice to the late emperor?"

"Yes. That's it."

"I thought Phaethon failed in cooking and that's why it turned out like this."

"Come on, don't you have even this little trust in me?" Phaethon wondered, "Even if I can't cook, I still know how to season the meat."

[Um. Excuse me.] Apollonia suddenly said, [Listen first, the former young general and other Tianyi nobles seem to have something to say]

"what?"

[Shangluo, they want you to give them the sacrificial meat from the Imperial Temple.]

Chapter 1298: Sacrificial Meat

"Ah, you want to eat sacrificial meat, right?"

【They said yes. They really wanted to eat it. 】

"Of course. The emperor gave the sacrificial meat, and then I gave it to you, it's the same." Shangluo was always generous when it came to food. Although the sacrificial meat looked quite delicious to him, it was okay to give it to the nobles of Tianyi to try.

"Then wait, I want to eat some too. I'll share some with you after I finish eating."

Shang Luo himself hasn't eaten the sacrificial meat yet.

In fact, he had wanted to steal the tribute in the Taimiao that morning. He even began to think that even the incense was delicious. The smell of sandalwood was like the Maillard reaction that could arouse appetite. The fruits on the tribute table were all fresh, and although the sacrificial meat was only simply cooked, it looked delicious.

The meat offered to heaven and earth is different from the meat offered to the Taimiao. This is the difference between gods and ancestors.

Generally speaking, the farther the object of sacrifice is from humans, the closer the offerings used are to the natural state.

For example, the meat offered to heaven and earth was almost all raw, because the gods were extremely far away from the human world. The meat offered to the Imperial Ancestral Temple was usually half-cooked, because the Imperial Ancestral Temple was dedicated to the emperor's ancestors. Although the ancestors were no longer alive, they still lived in the era when they lived, so they only needed to be cooked before being offered. The sacrificial meat distributed to the royal family and ministers also mostly came from this part.

For closer relatives, such as those at home, it is sufficient to offer the usual meals. There is no need to prepare half-cooked sacrificial meat separately.

As far as the meat sacrificed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple is concerned, if the Guanglu Temple is more careful and the sacrificial meat is eaten on the same day, the taste will probably not be too bad. This is because the only time for offering is during the sacrificial ceremony, and the sacrificial animals are usually slaughtered yesterday and prepared overnight.

After a day of offering, it was in the state Shangluo saw now. It was basically a piece of boiled meat with blood on it.

This dish is not inedible. Apart from other things, the quality of the pork selected by the Guanglu Temple is quite good. The ratio of fat and lean meat is quite regular, there is no bad smell, and it has the aroma of meat. In particular, you can smell better here in Shangluo. This feels like the super double of the steamed bread we eat on weekdays - the steamed bread is just auspicious and virtuous, while the sacrificial meat offered in the Taimiao is no longer ordinary and has soul.

It is very, very, very soulful. Even Shangluo can't resist the taste.

"What are you doing?" It was the first time that Phaethon saw Shangluo with such an expression. He almost drooled. "Does this meat, which was just taken out of the refrigerator, look so delicious?"

"Well, excuse me. How about I try it first?"

"Then should I cut it and warm it in the oven?"

"Okay, okay. Please don't heat it for too long. It won't taste good if it's fully cooked. Only half-cooked ones have flavor."

"How come you eat more vigorously than I do when I'm training? Okay, wait a moment."

This is a small matter. Using the skills she learned while working at McDonald's, Phaethon cut the meat into slices with a few cuts, then simply placed it on a plate and put it in the oven. According to Shangluo's request, she didn't do much processing, just slightly heated it, turned it over, and heated it again.

When the meat was taken out of the oven, it was only heated from the refrigerated state in the refrigerator to the temperature that was just right for eating. The fat in the meat had not even completely melted, and it was still solidified and opaque.

"Here you go. Want some seasoning?"

"No need, high-end ingredients only require the simplest cooking!"

He couldn't wait to eat a piece with chopsticks -

“Ah~~Oh~~”

A happy smile bloomed on his face.

"Is it really that delicious?" Victoria came over, "Can I have some too?"

"Come on, everyone, have some. It's delicious." He handed the plate out.

Victoria didn't use chopsticks either. She took a piece with her fork and put it into her mouth, half-believing.

"Hmm." She frowned and chewed hard with her mouth, and it took her a long time to swallow.

"How is it?" Shangluo asked.

"Uncooked. I always feel like it's hard to chew. Although the quality of the meat is very good, it has just been taken out of the refrigerator and the fat has not completely melted. It even feels cold when I eat it. Ah, it feels like my tongue has been bitten. Phaethon, do you want some?"

"I knew what it smelled like when it came out of the oven. You see, I didn't even touch it."

"Your skills are still not good enough. When you reach my level, you will know how delicious this is. This is meat that is offered as a sacrifice by the entire empire. I can eat a large bowl of rice with just a small piece of it. It's so delicious."

He ate another piece: "Mm, it's so delicious, Tianyi Nobleman will also like it. Oh, by the way, Phaethon, can you help me pack a few extra pieces."

"Why? Are you going to give it to someone else?"

"Yes, we need to send some. You don't need to send it to Captain Lu's family, the Jinyiwei will distribute the sacrificial meat and other things themselves, and they eat them earlier than I do. The police station in front of our house seems to have helped us many times? They even treated me to glutinous rice. Give them some sacrificial meat - and pack an extra big piece for Xiao Han. He must be starving, so give him some as well."

"That's right," Phaethon thought, "I've seen him staring at rice in the cafeteria a few times. Because the cafeteria has only pork elbows and nothing else recently, he can't eat anything except rice. By the way, isn't his uncle a Jinyiwei?"

"His uncle is on a business trip and is not here. So as the eldest brother, I will just look after him."

[Wow, you are getting better and better. You even started to take care of your younger brother. ]

"I'm not called Big Brother for nothing. Well, if you eat my flesh, you can't escape from following me to heaven."

[So you were waiting here, but wasn't he willing to go at that time? ]

"He hasn't said whether he wants to ride the rocket or not. He just said that he's willing to join my plan. I'm going to pull him up this time no matter what. It would be a waste if we don't use it."

Next, it’s Tianyi Guiren.

As before, Shangluo used small iron boxes to deliver food to them. They didn't even need to heat or cut the food, they just took it out of the refrigerator and put it directly into the iron box.

The iron box that the Shangluo family used to feed Tianyi Guiren was made from a biscuit can.

After putting the meat into the jar, you can even see visible vibrations inside. Tianyi Guiren has never made such a big noise when eating, so today is the day for him to eat meat.

Chapter 1299: Tianyi Noblewoman’s Recipe

【They said they were very grateful! 】

"Say something." Shangluo asked, "I gave them the sacrificial meat that I like very much. After they eat it, they must say something, right?"

[They are busy eating and have no time to talk now.]

Even when Shangluo went to bed, Tianyi Guiren was still eating. The noise in the iron box outside seemed to be getting louder and louder, as if they were calling their friends and inviting Tianyi Guiren from far away to come and eat together.

Shangluo just treated it as a hamster running on a wheel at home and didn't pay much attention to it.

He put on the "sandbag". The weighted sandbag he got from Fu Yuanshan was recently used as an eye mask. Because if he didn't wear the sandbag, his control over his dreams seemed too clear, making him want to do his homework in his dreams - which greatly affected his sleep quality.

After putting on the sandbag and controlling his own cultivation, he was finally able to have a sound sleep like an ordinary person.

Shangluo entered a dream——

In the dream, he was still in the Taimiao.