Ground Stars / 地上星 · Ch.39 第39章 天星横贯大陆-1
第39章 天星横贯大陆–1
Chapter 39: A Heavenly Star Spans the Great Land-1
杨子藏伸手将木塞取下后，小孩赶紧拿一只眼睛望进去，边望边抬起了水壶，像是想对著阳光能将里面看得更清楚。
Yang Zicang pulled out the cork, and the child hastily peered in with one eye, tilting the jug as if trying to see inside more clearly by holding it up to the sunlight.
然后第一口水就被她的眼睛喝下了。
Then the first sip went straight into her eye instead.
「哇瓦！」
“Wawa!”
小孩震惊了。
The child was stunned.
她是听被救回的那人用简单的词汇描述了杨子藏的神奇，说他有「水」，于是小孩就一路追了上来。
She had heard the rescued man describe Yang Zicang’s marvels in simple terms, saying he had “water,” so she had chased after him all this way.
这尽然是真的。
It was actually real.
「阿么，阿哟瓦。」
“Amay, ayowa.”
小孩抱著神奇的葫芦状陶罐，不太确信的指著它道。
The child hugged the magical gourd-shaped earthenware pot, pointing at it with uncertain confusion.
「你还挺有礼貌的嘛，臭小宝。」
“You’ve got some manners, you little rascal.”
杨子藏揉了揉她的头：「拿去吧，叔叔说送当然是送的。」
Yang Zicang ruffled her hair: “Keep it, I said I’m giving it to you, didn’t I?”
说罢，他站起修长笔挺的身躯往前走去，对方听不懂自己的话，但做出动作对方肯定能懂。
With that, he stood up, his tall and straight frame moving forward—she couldn’t understand his words, but his gestures would surely make sense.
小孩看看水壶，又看看杨子藏，目光中不知在思索著什么。
The child looked from the jug to Yang Zicang, a spark of calculation flickering in her gaze.
她仰头喝了几口水后，对著杨子藏呀啊叫了几句，又跟了段路，才抱著水罐顶著绿叶飞快跑远了。
She tilted her head back for a few gulps of water, yelped something at Yang Zicang, trailing after him a bit farther, then, clutching the earthenware pot in her arms, she darted away with the leaf atop her head swaying wildly.
杨子藏转头看她离去，但没跑多远，那孩子也不知是太过激动还是沙地太烫太滑，居然摔倒在地。
Yang Zicang turned to watch her leave, but before she’d gone far, the child—whether too exhilarated or because the sand was too scorching and slippery—suddenly tumbled to the ground.
瓦水壶碎成了好几片，剩余的清水渗入沙地迅速消失。
The earthen water jug shattered into several pieces, and the remaining clear water seeped into the sand, disappearing swiftly.
孩子愣了下，哇哇大哭起来。
The child froze for a moment, then burst into loud sobs.
在沙漠中能得到如此奇特的储水工具，这是从未有过的事情，可自己却搞砸了。
In the desert, obtaining such a peculiar water storage tool was unprecedented, yet she had ruined it.
「你还真是没什么福气。」
“You really don’t have much luck.”
远处的杨子藏笑呵呵的抱臂看著她，几分钟后这孩子居然还在哭。
In the distance, Yang Zicang stood with his arms crossed, watching her with a chuckle; minutes later, the child was still crying.
「唉，你该不会是知道自己搞坏了什么对吧。」
“Oh, you wouldn’t happen to know what you broke, would you?”
他往小孩那边走去。
He walked over to the child.
「反正我时间大把，就在这里重新开炉吧。 这次我捏个更漂亮点的。」
“Anyway, I’ve got plenty of time, so I’ll just set up the kiln right here again. This time, I’ll mold something even prettier.”
带著孩子回到了那处部落附近，又从老远的地方寻来可以制作陶器的粘土、木材和煤炭，在此地建起了窑炉。
He brought the child back near that tribe and, from far away, fetched clay, wood, and coal for making pottery, building a kiln before them.
二十多天后，经过几次失败，能用的丑陋陶器出炉了。
Over twenty days later, after several failed attempts, ugly-looking functional pottery emerged from the kiln.
刚开始还只是小孩在他身旁，但后面几天来的原始人越来越多。
At first, it was just the child by his side, but as days passed, more and more primitives gathered around.
他们最初只是好奇，或是被杨子藏的武力所吸引，因为他几块石头就能砸跑那些沙地蜈蚣。
Initially, they were merely curious or drawn in by his martial prowess—how his few hurled stones could scare off the sand centipedes.
但后面他们就不淡定了。
But soon, they lost their cool.
随著各种形状的陶器呈现眼前，众人看杨子藏的目光已经从看人变成了看待圣贤。
As various shapes of pottery materialized before their eyes, everyone stared at Yang Zicang with awe, as if witnessing a sage rather than just a man.
「这个给你拿去玩。」
“Here, take this to play with.”
杨子藏随手从这一炉中的青蛙状陶俑中，拿出个递给小朋友。
Yang Zicang casually picked up one of the frog-shaped clay figurines from this batch of kiln-fired pieces and handed it to the little kid.
「哇啊。」
“Wow wow.”
小孩的眼中都在冒著星星，看得周围的孩童们羡慕不已。
The child’s eyes sparkled like stars, making the surrounding children burn with envy.
「阿塔塔！」 小孩举著陶俑青蛙，仿佛举著皇冠般自豪。
“Atata!” The kid raised the clay frog aloft, as proud as if holding a crown.
「啊塔塔啊塔塔！」
“Ah tata ah tata!”
然后她的东西就被抢走了。
Then, her treasure was snatched away.
杨子藏看著他们笑闹。
Yang Zicang watched them laugh and tussle.
好些日子后，这个原始部落的人差不多大半以上学会了运用陶器去盛水。
Days later, more than half of the people in this primitive tribe had learned to use pottery to hold water.
如此又过了四十多年。
Thus, another forty-odd years passed.
杨子藏已经走过不知多少地方。
Yang Zicang had traveled through countless unknown lands.
他已经懒得骂好久以前那个光芒邮徽了，同时他也不对雕像抱有幻想，只是想寻找有用技能的同时，顺便找找那东西罢了。
He had long since grown tired of cursing the ancient Light Postal Emblem, and he no longer harbored illusions about the statue—only seeking useful skills while keeping an eye out for that item.
身披蓑衣，抬头望了眼天际消散乌云的杨子藏叉腰转了转脑袋。
Draped in a straw cloak, Yang Zicang looked up at the dissipating clouds in the sky, then turned his head with his hands on his hips.
他拉起裤脚迈入水中涉向前方的小船。
He rolled up his pant legs, waded into the water, and headed toward the small boat ahead.
这说是船，实际上是将大树裁断凿空后的独木舟，只是它比普通的独木舟要大些。
To call it a boat was generous; in truth, it was a dugout canoe made by felling a tree and hollowing it out, only larger than ordinary canoes.
虽然几十年来自己已经找到铁矿，打造出不太耐用的易脆铁器，给自己补充了箭矢，但造船这种需要技术的活儿自己还是干不了。
Though over the decades he had found iron ore and forged crude, brittle iron tools to replenish his arrows, he still couldn’t master the craftsmanship needed for shipbuilding.
杨子藏转身看向那些对自己叩拜的原始人，这只小部落还算发展得比较快，已经有简单的语言，以及会用藤蔓来捆东西了。
Yang Zicang turned to look at the primitive people who were bowing to him. This small tribe had developed relatively quickly, already possessing a simple language and knowing how to bind things with vines.
但他们只有十几个人，杨子藏猜测他们可能是从别的地方学的。
But there were only a dozen of them, and Yang Zicang guessed they might have learned this from elsewhere.
自己当著这十几人的面制作了更为复杂的藤网，并用来捕到了鱼和小型野兽，应该有人以后能摸索出来它的更多用法吧。
Having crafted a more complex vine net in front of these people and used it to catch fish and small wild beasts, perhaps someone would eventually figure out more uses for it.
「未来再见，野人们！」
“Farewell for now, savages!”
「窟拉谷啦！」
“Kula-gula!”
扛著锯片与斧头的野人们依依不舍的送别。
The savages, carrying saw blades and axes, reluctantly bid farewell.
杨子藏拉起兽皮风帆驶离此地，他要跨海而去，他想寻找更遥远的地方。
Yang Zicang raised the animal hide sail and set sail from this place, intent on crossing the sea—he wanted to seek out more distant lands.
或许还海上有新的发现。
Perhaps there would be new discoveries on the sea.
或许一出去就能见到停泊在远方的东印度公司的废弃货船，他期待的想到。
Maybe as soon as he set out, he would spot a derelict cargo ship of the East India Company anchored in the distance, he thought with anticipation.
「六十年了，是时候做出新的尝试了！ 接下来我就是：郑. 麦哲伦哥伦布. 杰克藏！」
“Sixty years have passed—it’s time for a new attempt! From now on, I am: Zheng · Magellan · Columbus · Jack Zang!”
青年一脚踩在船舷上，一手戴上了遮阳草帽，虽然自己手艺不怎么样，但有种别具风格的粗旷美感。
The young man placed one foot on the ship’s rail and donned a straw sun hat with one hand. Though his craftsmanship was mediocre, it carried a rugged aesthetic of its own.
如果再失败，这枚邮徽就当被贪心的自己搞废了吧。
If it failed again, this postal emblem would be considered ruined by my greedy hands.
忽地，后方岸上的原始人更大声的叫了起来，而且好些人的声音充满恐惧。
Suddenly, the savages on the shore behind him yelled even louder, and many voices were filled with terror.
杨子藏疑惑转头，随著他们的目光抬头望去，天空出现抹流星光芒，如针点远远挂在遥远天边。
Yang Zicang turned in confusion, following their gazes as he looked up. In the sky, a streak of meteor light appeared, like a tiny needlepoint hanging in the distant horizon.
「嚯嚯，这是流星，不对，应该是彗星。」
“Hoho, that’s a shooting star—no, wait, it should be a comet.”
杨子藏哈哈笑道，这些原始人好单纯。
Yang Zicang laughed heartily. These primitive people were so simple-minded.
不过也不能怪他们，这样在白天都能看见彗尾的彗星很难见到，突然在天空看见这般异相，的确是难以理解。
Still, he couldn’t really blame them. Such a comet, with its tail visible even in broad daylight, was rare beyond measure. Suddenly witnessing this bizarre sight in the sky would indeed be hard for anyone to fathom.
他们产生恐惧也是自然的。
Fear came naturally to them.
「这只是梦。」
“This is just a dream.”
几天后，看著四顾苍茫的大海，杨子藏喃喃道。
Several days later, gazing at the vast, desolate sea stretching in all directions, Yang Zicang murmured to himself.
虽然这是梦，但他觉得自己已经是活在这其中的人了。
Though it was a dream, he felt as if he had already become a part of this world.
唯一的人类。
The only human.
碧海蓝天，还好自己不需要食物和水，连觉也不用睡，否则恐怕会在这海上死去数百上千次。
A beryl sea beneath an azure sky. Fortunately, he had no need for food or water, nor even to sleep; otherwise, he would have died over the ocean hundreds—no, thousands of times by now.
杨子藏看了眼天际。 那彗星还在天边，只是前进了没多远的距离，若要跨过整个天际，恐怕还需要不少时间。
Yang Zicang glanced toward the horizon. That comet was still on the edge of the sky, having advanced only a short distance. To traverse the entire expanse, it would take quite some time yet.
「是我先跨过海洋，还是你先穿过天空呢？」
“Will it be I who crosses the ocean first, or you who pierces the sky?”
杨子藏自娱自乐般的道。
Yang Zicang said, amusing himself.
随著数十个昼夜过去，天气逐渐降温。
As tens of days and nights passed, the weather gradually cooled.
正午，细雪初停，百无聊赖的杨子藏用扁平如长刀的铁矛划动了几下水后，忽然感觉有些心慌，周围空气中弥漫著些许阴森之气。
At noon, the light snow had just ceased. The bored Yang Zicang stirred the water a few times with a flat, sword-like iron spear when suddenly a chill gripped his heart—an ominous aura pervaded the surrounding air.
他皱眉取下早已散开帽簷的草帽，四下望瞭望，却没发现有哪里不对。
Frowning, he removed his straw hat, whose brim had long since frayed, and glanced around, yet found nothing amiss.
忽然，莫大的阴森恐怖之感出现。
Suddenly, an immense sense of dread and terror surged forth.
「什么东西？！」
“What the hell is that?!”
木舟舷上，扁平铁矛阴影汇聚，似乎有什么要从上面形成。
On the side of the wooden boat, shadows gathered around the flat iron spear, as if something was about to take shape from it.
久违的记忆涌现。
A long-forgotten memory sprang to mind.
恶魇！
A Nightmare!
杨子藏震惊的看著这杆劣质铁枪，这不是自己做的吗，为什么会诞生恶魇？
Yang Zicang stared in shock at this shoddy iron spear—wasn’t this something he had made himself? Why would a Nightmare be born from it?
它又不是来自地球的投影。
It wasn’t even a projection from Earth.
「吱！」
“Squeak!”
石矛木枪上长出个奇怪的眼眸壮纹路，里面一点红芒上下晃动，随后锁定向杨子藏。
On the stone-tipped wooden spear, a strange, eye-like pattern grew, with a crimson gleam bobbing within it before locking onto Yang Zicang.
[我，伟大的四边形，感受到了敌意。]
[I, the great Quad, sense hostility.]
胸前Moexl自动浮显。
On his chest, the Moxel symbol flickered into view on its own.
丢在地上的石矛化为如同蛇形的暗影怪物，红色眼眸宛若蛇蝎，它身体弯曲弓起，弹射了过来。
The stone spear, discarded on the ground, morphed into a serpentine shadowy monster, its red eyes like a viper’s. It coiled its body, then sprang forth.
杨子藏手上瞬间亮起金色虚影，一拳砸去。
A golden phantom flickered instantly around Yang Zicang’s hand as he punched at it.
嘭！
Bang!
这铁矛中刚诞生的恶魇瞬间暴毙。
The nightmare dragon that had just been born within this iron spear was instantly obliterated.
长枪上闪烁著无数诡异纹路，暗红的烟雾缩入武器之内掉在船上失去动静。
The Lance shimmered with countless eerie runes, as dark red smoke condensed back into the weapon, which fell to the decks and lay still.
杨子藏将枪捡起，几道心念声出现在心中。
Yang Zicang picked up the spear, and several voices of thought whispered in his mind.
[议员们称它为——灵物战器。]
[The Councilors call it—a Spirit Weapon. ]
灵物战器，不是时序战器？
A Spirit Weapon? Not a Chronos weapon?
杨子藏猛地睁大双眼。
Yang Zicang’s eyes snapped wide open.
刚才自己消灭它的确没有耗费任何时序！ 一秒也没有减少！
Just now, when he destroyed it, he hadn’t used any Chronos! Not a single second was lost!
「呜~」
“Woo-hoo~”
怪异的悲泣声如梦似幻的响起，仿佛在耳边，又仿佛在心中出现。
An eerie, sobbing wail rose like a vision from a dream, seeming both beside his ear and deep within his heart.
久远的，又像是不久前的记忆浮现，这类似的声音… 是那所谓的[母体]跟自己说话时。
A memory surfaced—ancient yet fresh—of a similar voice… a voice belonging to that so-called [Matrix] when it spoke with him.
更为浓烈的阴森恐怖之感浮现，杨子藏左右寻找，最后目光落在还未展开的兽皮风帆上。
A heightened sense of dark and terrifying dread washed over Yang Zicang as he looked left and right, finally fixing his gaze on the unfurled animal-hide sails.
因为长期在海上飘荡，它都快受潮腐烂了。
From drifting endlessly on the sea, it had nearly become damp and begun to rot.
此刻的风帆上无数暗影如同青黑血管在兽皮与小桅杆上流动，似有东西将要从中复活。
On the sail, countless shadows coursed like blue-black veins across the hide and the little mast, as if something was about to be resurrected from within.
「又一个恶魇？ 不，两个！」
“Another nightmare dragon? No, two of them!”
金枪插下。
The golden spear slammed into the deck.
咚！ 独木舟刚刚开始凝聚的灰雾顿时被挡开，如金戈般的暗红武器深深插入其中。
Thud! The grey mist that had just begun to coalesce around the canoe was forced aside as the dark red weapon, like an iron halberd, plunged deep into it.
杨子藏难以接受，这到底是怎么回事，如果仅仅只是这里倒也还好，可是…
Yang Zicang could hardly accept it. If it were only this, it might have been bearable, but…
陆地上！
On land!
他不敢继续想下去。
He dared not think further.
「这是梦，这只是梦！ 哪怕… 啊！ 去死!!」
“This is a dream, just a dream! Even… Ah! Die!!”
他愤怒的扬起带著金辉的拳头砸向桅杆，但这东西说大不大说小不小，仅凭时序包裹的拳头根本无法打中它的主体。
He angrily raised his fist, gleaming with golden light, and smashed it toward the mast, but this thing, neither too large nor too small, couldn’t be struck at its core with mere fists wrapped in Chronos.
「噗噗！」
“Puff-puff!”
两道灰雾射来。
Two jets of grey mist shot forth.
[调度！]
[Deploy! ]
灰雾也能够被调度能力拐掉轨迹，它们被射入海洋。
The grey mist could also have its trajectory redirected by the deployment ability; they were shot into the ocean.
水面下几只游鱼被这灰雾射中，顷刻间痛苦扭曲著改变自己的形体，变得宛若八爪鱼般长出几道多余肢节。
Beneath the water, several fish hit by this grey mist writhed in pain, distorting their forms on the spot, sprouting extra limbs like octopuses.
即便自己的时序应该能防御这样的攻击，但杨子藏依旧看得头皮发麻。
Even though his Chronos should be able to defend against such an attack, Yang Zicang still felt his scalp tingle.
他拔起充满妖异的长枪一枪戳去，桅杆上发出幻音惨叫。
He pulled out the uncanny Lance and thrust it forward, eliciting an illusory scream from the mast.
这声音反而让杨子藏冷静了点。
The sound, instead, calmed Yang Zicang down a bit.
「要趁此多搜集资料才对。」
“I need to gather more data while I have the chance.”
这可是找了几十年的异相，绝不能如此就全杀了了事。
This was a phenomenon he’d been searching for decades; he couldn’t simply kill it all off like this.
他拿起独木舟上一根木棒抽打过去。
He picked up a wooden rod from the canoe and swung it down hard.
这根普通的木棒，除了将原本就快烂掉的皮革打得嘭嘭作响外，果然没什么用。
This ordinary piece of wood, aside from making a muffled thumping sound on the already rotting leather, proved indeed to be useless.
「看来如同那些恶魇一样，虽然你们跟它们有些差别，不需要耗费时序，但也不是普通攻击能够伤到的。」
“Looks like it’s the same as those nightmares. Though you differ from them somewhat and don’t require Chronos to be depleted, you still can’t be harmed by ordinary attacks.”
噗噗噗！
Puff puff puff!
又是几道灰雾射来，一如既往被调动进入水中后，杨子藏用手上的灵物战器几下将它彻底捣烂。
A few more streams of gray mist shot toward him, but when drawn into the water as always, Yang Zicang thoroughly pulverized them with a few strikes from the spiritual artifact in his hand.
只剩木桩的桅杆上，黑色纹路渐渐不再流动。
On the mast, now reduced to nothing but a stump, the black patterns gradually ceased to flow.
青红色粘液渗出，它们干枯后，宛若半透明晶膜覆盖在上面。
A viscous sap oozed forth in dark cyan-red, and once dried, it coated the surface with a translucent crystalline film.
杨子藏用手触摸。
Yang Zicang reached out and touched it with his hand.
[大概是能给小船加速的灵物战器。]
[Probably a spiritual artifact that can accelerate the canoe. ]
又等了些时间，独木舟上再也没有更多的东西出现异状。
After waiting a while longer, no more peculiarities emerged from the canoe.