Chapter 265, Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Four: The Bet

Yan Qing walked up to Yan Shi.

As she walked over, the world around her was slowly erased, from the beams and pillars of the main hall to the offering table and the surrounding buildings, all of which disappeared.

All that remained was a vast expanse of white.

Yan Shi stood up, her clothes hanging down naturally in the windless space.

She looked up and met Yan Qing's gaze without flinching.

The god's eyes were unfathomable, yet they reflected Yan Shi's image.

Yan Qing spoke, her voice so clear it seemed almost next to her ear, and asked again, "Yan Shi, are you really without any regrets?"

Yes, of course there are. Yan Shi has so many regrets.

But then Yan Shi smiled, her eyes filled with composure. "No more," she said softly. "Thank you."

If Yan Qing hadn't recommended her to become the director of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, perhaps none of this would have started.

Everything will unfold according to the future Lin Cai remembers, and the world will collapse.

Compared to the terrible future that was originally expected, this is now a very happy ending.

Yan Qing leaned forward slightly, his gaze deep: "Really? I am a god, you know that."

Her voice was seductive: "If you have any regrets, just tell me... and I can grant your wish."

"Look," Yan Qing said, waving her hand. In an instant, they floated from the white world into mid-air.

Yan Shi looked down and saw cities of the surface world beneath his feet, shrunken into points of light like grains of sand, their light and shadow flickering faintly.

Yan Qing said, "Of the 108 boundary gates, 69 are broken. Monsters and evil spirits run rampant in the surface world, and smuggling groups are making huge profits through the broken boundary gates."

"Countless beings from the surface world are trapped here, and they cry out to you for help in despair."

As her voice fell, a dense, subtle sound rose from below, emanating from countless corners of the world and converging on Yan Shi's ears.

'Help me...'

'If only Director Yan really existed, I wouldn't want to die.'

'I'm so scared, is there anyone who can save me...'

Each sound, sharp and fragmented, pierced my heart.

Yan Shi curled his fingertips.

Yan Qing paused, then continued, "Don't you want to save them? Didn't you say that all living beings are born equal and that you would protect everyone?"

Yes.

Yan Shi said this.

Yan Qing's expression remained unchanged when he saw Yan Shi, and he waved his hand again.

They appeared at the Destiny Platform.

Half of the lights on the Heavenly Mandate Platform were turned off, making the room dim.

Outside the large French windows, dark clouds gathered and the waves surged. The furious waves of the Guixu Sea crashed against the glass, splashing water everywhere.

It even looked like the end of the world.

Lin Xuya lay face down on the table, nestled in her arms, and fell into a deep sleep.

She had lost a lot of weight, and her brows were furrowed, as if she were trapped in an endless nightmare.

Lin Xuya did not sleep well.

However, the Heavenly Destiny Platform also lacked a rest room and a warm bed to provide her with an environment where she could sleep peacefully.

Yan Shi sighed.

Yan Qing stood beside her: "She will be trapped here forever."

"A lifelong, endless loneliness, with no living being to communicate with her. There was no rest, nothing at all."

“But do you know what?” Yan Qing said, pointing her finger at Yan Shi’s chest: “Your heart originally belonged to her.”

Yan Shi was taken aback, his fingertips clenching into his palm.

Guixu Sea continued to pound against the glass, producing a series of resounding crashes.

Yan Qing: "She is the chosen one of the laws. Lin Cai survived because she possessed her Heart of Light, and you survived because of the Heart of Light that Lin Cai gave you."

"The real children, who should be blessed by fate, will willingly die alone for thieves, never knowing that their destiny has been stolen by others."

She asked slowly, "Don't you feel guilty?"

Yan Shi seemed to be thinking: "You seem to really want me to have an emotional breakdown?"

Yan Qing was clearly doing this for the first time, and she immediately lowered her eyebrows and said, "I'm just telling you the facts."

As she spoke, she waved her hand again, opening up space.

On the other side of the space lies a vast plain, where the wind whips up waves of grass.

Lin Cai stood among them, noticed the commotion, and looked around warily.

There was no one beside her.

Yan Shi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Come here,” Yan Qing said, “Lin Cai.”

Lin Cai's expression instantly turned cold, her composure replaced by a sense of vigilance.

She was clearly hesitant, but after seeing Yan Shi standing next to Yan Qing, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped in.

The space behind her healed.

Yan Qing pointed at Lin Cai: "The Lin Cai on the other timeline shares a body with the real Lin Cai. The real, younger Lin Cai at this time should be much weaker, right?"

Lin Cai immediately became wary, looking at Yan Qing suspiciously: "What are you talking about?"

Yan Qing smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm just telling Director Yan that the young Lin Cai is about to disappear."

"Her soul is being suppressed by her future self, slowly eroded. But if the young Lin Cai disappears, her body will die with her. The two of you will perish together."

Yan Qing's tone remained light and cheerful: "Yan Shi, don't you want to save her?"

She looked at Yan Shi expectantly.

She was, of course, only listing a portion of the facts.

Yan Shi's life was filled with so many regrets and things he couldn't handle.

She always wants to make a wish.

Because making a wish to the gods is the easiest and quickest method.

You don't need to make any effort or sacrifice anything as a price.

Something that can be obtained so easily.

Yan Shi slowly shook her head: "No need." She pronounced her words very clearly.

"Do you know what you're rejecting?" Yan Qing asked, somewhat incredulously.

“I know,” Yan Shi said softly, “but I also know that your authority lies in war and judgment. You are not meant to grant people’s wishes.”

Yan Qing could eliminate the wisher, thus solving the problem at its root.

Yan Qing: ...

Her lips twitched: "Who said I can't?"

Yan Shi laughed: "You've already admitted it. Besides, I think I can achieve my own wish myself, and it'll be even faster."

Yan Shi's life was filled with countless regrets.

But there was also countless moments of luck and joy. The world loved her, and she was not alone.

Yan Shi paused, looking at Yan Qing's expression, and then, remembering You Youlai, suggested very seriously, "Perhaps you could listen to the wishes of other beings?"

Since you have nothing better to do, why not work properly at your own temple?

Yan Qing: "...I suggest that some people place less hope in the gods and rely more on themselves."

“Yes,” Yan Shi shrugged. “That’s my answer.”

They looked at each other.

Yan Qing could clearly see the calmness in Yan Shi's eyes; no matter what she said, Yan Shi was never moved.

Yan Shi was different from when he came to Yan Qing Temple to make a wish a year ago, and Yan Qing could see this very clearly.

Yan Shi is already an adult.

Yan Qing waved his hand again.

They left the Heavenly Mandate Platform and appeared in a grand hall. Lin Xuya and Lin Cai had both disappeared.

Pages of drawing paper floated in the air, each printed with a different face.

Arrogant, gentle, radiant, composed…

Characters of different styles leap off the page, vivid and lifelike.

Yan Shi looked up and stared intently, finally finding an orange-haired girl on a piece of drawing paper in a corner.

The girl, smiling, ran towards them from afar.

Yan Qing: "Welcome to the Temple of Death. No, you should have been here before."

“Yes.” Yan Shi came back to his senses and looked at Yan Qing again, “The main hall inside the Throne of Death.”

"However, I haven't read these comics."

Yan Qing: "Oh, this is all the comics from the last hundred years."

She didn't care about the drawings, casually scattering them, and her face showed an expression that was not in line with the image of a deity: "Damn it, why don't you play by the rules?"

As she spoke, she sighed heavily, "Was my wish not appealing enough?"

"That shouldn't be the case." Yan Qing couldn't understand it. "I've seen your life in comics too."

She even saw more of the plot than the comic book readers did.

"Why weren't you tempted?" Yan Qing tried to analyze the situation.

Yan Shi: ?

She looked at Yan Qing with a puzzled expression.

Yan Qing let out a long sigh: "Okay, I lost."

Yan Shi: "What?"

“Oh,” Yan Qing said casually, “it’s a bet I made with Linxi Bridge.”

"Linxi Bridge's ability allows you to designate one person as the 'protagonist,' automatically record the 'protagonist''s' life as a comic, and publish it on the surface world's social media platform. You should already know this."

Yanshi nodded.

“This is a power that can directly acquire faith,” Yan Qing continued. “No living being would be unmoved, including gods. I’m always very reasonable. She made a wish to me, and in exchange, I naturally have to take a certain price from her, such as her power.”

Even the God of War must abide by the basic laws of exchange; forced buying and selling is easily detected and punished by the laws.

"But Linxiqiao's faith at that time was approaching that of a deity. If she was unwilling and wanted to fight to the death, there was nothing I could do. So we made a bet."

Yan Qing also looked up at the countless sheets of paper floating in the air:

"After her fall, she will temporarily transfer her power to me. I can freely choose the protagonist of the comic and then ask any creature that appears in the comic at any time if it wants to make a wish to me."

"If she agrees, then all the faith she gained will belong to me, and the comic will end, allowing a new story to begin."

Yan Shi noticed a peculiarity in her words: "What if she has no desire?"

Yan Qing gritted her teeth: "There is no disagreement."

"You're the only one!" she complained bitterly. "If someone doesn't need to make a wish, then I've lost."

Author's Note: This week's main story concludes. Some tasks that were only mentioned but not yet done by Yan Shi will be covered in the epilogue as part of Yan Shi's daily work routine.

The main text will end where I feel it's most satisfying...?

Red envelopes were also given out in the comments section today.