Chapter 06

The little girl stood there, stunned, her expression blank, her mouth slightly open but she didn't know what to say.

"You did a great job."

"It's really good."

Li Jia lowered her head and smiled at the little girl, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers, and then leaned down to gently hug the little girl into her arms.

How guilty and scared the little girl must have felt at that time.

"I am so useless, I have been a burden to my father and mother."

The little girl's eyes reddened, like pearls falling from a broken string, and pattered into Li Jia's palm.

"Don't blame yourself."

Do you know?

Actually, I envy you.

Li Jia was telling the truth; she envied the original female lead.

They were using the same body, and she felt things she had never felt before in her torso.

She felt a love that was both familiar and unfamiliar, which made her heart feel bittersweet.

Sometimes Li Jia herself finds it laughable. In her original era, she was just a student who had just been admitted to university and should have been worrying about her romantic affairs and girlish thoughts.

But she was grieving for her family of origin and struggling to earn enough to live on.

She couldn't understand why her college roommate would call home every night.

How can there be so many topics to talk about?

And the parents section of her phone's contact list is always empty.

No one would willingly take the initiative to stand alone, but she was forced to do so.

Adversity forged her independence.

Like a bird perched on a tree, it never worries that the branch will break.

Because it trusted its own wings, not the branch.

If you receive love in your family of origin, you won't get any tough challenges.

You cannot gain love if you are tempered.

Ultimately, it's impossible to have both.

Li Jia no longer expects anyone to be her guiding light.

She is her own dock.

"Really? But if I hadn't been so useless, Father and Mother wouldn't have died."

"I don't have the courage to ask for my father's belongings back."

As a child, Li Jia lay in her arms, gazing at the almost identical face. She clutched her clothes tightly and asked in a muffled voice, eventually losing all confidence.

"It's not your fault. You were too young then, and you just wanted to survive. I know better than anyone what it's like to live under someone else's roof."

"Your parents raised you very well and were very kind."

They won't retaliate against others when they encounter difficulties; they'll only make things harder for themselves.

"Fool, it's not worth punishing those wicked people who deserve to go to hell with your own death."

The thorns, stained with Li Jia's blood, slowly receded away. She stood in the center of the circle, holding the little girl. The gods in the temple witnessed everything: Li Jia's fears and memories.

This includes the scene where Li Jia, upon learning she was to be selected as an apprentice, committed suicide by taking poisonous herbs.

"Master, the person being conquered is watching you."

The system emitted a cold, inaudible alert.

Look at me?

"It's not just the person being attacked who's watching you; the divine consciousness of other gods also exists."

I see.

Li Jia curled her lips and gave a self-deprecating smile. These candidates were like little people in a surveillance camera, with someone watching their every move.

They are nothing more than tools for those in power to relieve their boredom.

"She's such a pitiful girl, I can't help but feel sorry for her and feel sorry for her."

Aphrodite sighed and said with heartache, "Why did you choose Hera? She is the most difficult goddess to get along with in the entire divine realm. If I had known that this girl's fate was so difficult, I should have taken her with me. It would be much safer for her to be by my side than by a madman."

"These are all personal choices. I have always despised cowardly and weak people who choose to give up their lives because of other people's mistakes."

Athena's eyes sharpened, revealing a hint of coldness and skepticism.

She is a war goddess born from the sacred mountain. She represents victory and wisdom, possesses formidable divine power and strong leadership. She never panics in the face of adversity, has clear logic, and can decisively and efficiently get out of trouble. Therefore, she hates cowards.

"A goddess as arrogant and cold-hearted as Hera is well-suited to a cowardly servant."

Zeus thought about it and found it to be quite reasonable.

He didn't want Hera to have a servant she liked.

It's not always a good thing for a servant to be too clever, too brave, or too fearless.

The twelve divine lords were all born from the sacred mountain. The creator god left behind divine oracle, and the twelve divine lords each performed their duties and checked each other. If a god became jealous and attacked his companion, it would inevitably harm his soul.

On the day of God's birth, the Mountain of God will require him to make a divine oath, swearing on his most important possession, to extract his most precious thing from his body and entrust it to the Archangel Gabriel in the Mountain of God's temple.

To fulfill the divine duties that God should perform.

If you want to reclaim what you have lost.

They will be judged within the sacred mountain.

For example, Zeus, the god of thunder, sacrificed his true heart, so he would constantly fall in love with others, but he would never fall in love with anyone.

There is a mutual restraint between the gods and the sacred mountain.

Fortunately, the sun and moon have rotated for thousands of years without error.

Times have changed.

The four realms of the sky, sea, land, and underworld are ruled by Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, and Hades.

Hades is ruthless and cold-blooded. He prefers darkness and acting alone, disdains associating with the gods, and willingly became a fallen god to become the lord of the underworld, residing in the Netherworld. He is not among the twelve gods.

The underworld and the sacred mountain each have their own restrictions, preventing each other from setting foot in the other's territory, and they keep to themselves.

In the original book, Zeus and Hera were equal in power. Zeus feared Hera's power and that she would stand against him, so he decided to pursue Hera in order to merge with her and consolidate his own power.

But the proud and sinister god ignored his pursuit.

All his attempts to stop him were in vain, until one day he transformed into a cuckoo drenched in a downpour and pitifully appeared before Hera.

Hera, perhaps moved by compassion, took the bird into her arms to warm it. However, Zeus seized the opportunity to revert to his original form and forcibly took Hera as his own, after which he spread the news.

At first, the gods did not care. A woman's chastity was never beneath her skirt; chastity was merely a shackle that bound women.

Hera simply did not want to cause widespread suffering to all living beings in the three realms by starting a war with Zeus.

Zeus proposed to Hera.

The proposed conditions were incredibly tempting.

They shared the authority of the God-King and their power was equal.

Zeus had many lovers and many children because there was a prophecy that he would be usurped by his youngest child, so he had to keep having children so that there would never be a youngest child.

Hera never loved Zeus.

Zeus was well aware of this.

Hera's punishment of Zeus's lovers was merely part of her duty; she played the villainous role of separating Zeus from his lovers.

Everything she did was based on protecting the stability of her marriage and upholding the loyalty of her family. Hera wanted to maintain the sanctity of marriage in this way. As the goddess who defended marriage, she had to constantly restrain Zeus in order to fulfill her divine duty.

The blonde maid saw Li Jia's dream, and for the first time, a ripple appeared in the eyes of this god who had been lonely for thousands of years.

She has always been self-disciplined and respectful of propriety. At the time of her birth, the sacred mountain bestowed upon her a mission, and she has steadfastly upheld her responsibilities.

She didn't care even if she was labeled as the most vicious and jealous person.

Order needs to be protected by God.

She doesn't need emotions or ties.

Of the eight chosen attendants, only Li Jia broke free of the dream. She overcame her greatest fear, and as long as she climbed the steps to the temple, she would have passed the test.

Apart from Hera, the other gods did not look pleased.

It should be noted that even the sea god, whom people worship and believe in, took his attendants three days to reach him.

The sacred mountain does not lie; only those who are absolutely loyal and submissive can reach the realm of the temple.

How could anyone choose Hera with such unwavering determination?

Such a wicked and vicious god.

Poseidon watched the scene in the flames with great interest, and said with a slight chuckle, "Is that all? Isn't that a bit too fast? Let me add some more fuel to this game."

He moved the trident in his hand, and raging flames leaped on the thorny vines, slowly surrounding Li Jia and closing in to devour her.

Li Jia held the little girl in her arms, and waves of scorching heat rushed towards her again and again, the burning flames swaying wildly around her like a pack of mad beasts.

"Don't be afraid."

She comforted the little girl, telling her not to be afraid.

Li Jia's spine felt like it was being pricked by needles from the flames, and thick smoke poured into her throat. Just opening her mouth was painful, and the heat was burning her flesh, giving it a burnt smell.

The fire grew bigger and bigger, and got closer and closer.

Li Jia's consciousness began to blur and spread. The thick smoke choked her and she couldn't open her eyes. Finally, she staggered and fell to the ground, but she still maintained the posture of protecting the child. The exquisite skirt was scorched, and her hair, mixed with sweat and dust, clung to her forehead.

"elder sister."

"I'm leaving now. I'm entrusting my father's silver coins to you."

"good."

Li Jia responded almost instinctively.

"Thank you, sister."

The little girl broke free from Li Jia's embrace, as if she had made some important decision, and walked out of the circle of fire. Her figure quickly dissipated and disappeared.

Li Jia's skin, which had been dry and rough from the fire, was enveloped as if by a gentle rain, a layer of water film that helped insulate her from the heat.

"Master, the target is approaching you."

Why did she disappear?

Li Jia refers to the original female protagonist's childhood form.

"Master, the original female lead's unfulfilled wish has been entrusted to you. Now, your physical compatibility with her is 100%, and you will no longer be affected by her emotions. As the price for fulfilling her wish, she has voluntarily activated the protection mechanism for you."

You mean she has given herself to me, and I am no longer in danger of being burned or killed?

"That's how it works in theory, Master."

She was physically fine, just looked a bit disheveled.

Can you tell me the distance between me and the person I'm pursuing?

"Of course, my master."

Li Jia calmed herself down, her heartbeat echoing the cold data.

10km

"1000m"

…………

How could it be so fast?

Li Jia muttered to herself, trying her best to look pitiful when she was about to meet the person she was trying to win over.

She was her only servant.

Let's take a gamble.

The flames continued to approach her, and Li Jia mentally calculated the time based on the distance and the system's signals.

"1m..."

She pretended to resign herself to her fate, feigning that she could no longer hold on, and closed her eyes as she fell straight backward.

In her imagination, the cold, muddy ground was replaced by warm arms. Li Jia breathed a sigh of relief, her fingertips tightly gripping the hem of her skirt, refusing to let go.

Li Jia sobbed in her arms, and she could finally see the mottled face of the person in her arms, streaked with soot and tears.

The moment Hera picked her up, she felt the weight of her bones.

So light.

Li Jia's breath gently sprayed on her neck, like a cunning kitten that had succeeded in its plan. Hot wood shavings splashed onto her arm, but the deity still held her tightly.

His tall, slender figure carried a pleasant, woody scent that made her drowsy.

Seeing that she had achieved her goal, Li Jia was so exhausted that she fell into a deep sleep.

The superior carried her out of the ring of fire, and in an instant, he carried her back to his divine abode.

Seeing that things were not developing as he had expected, Poseidon's face suddenly turned cold. There was nothing interesting to do, so he was about to leave the sacred mountain.

Before he even left the temple, thousands of silver snakes surged in from outside, swarming up and tearing at Poseidon. Poseidon used his divine powers but found them ineffective. His face filled with rage, he cursed angrily, "Hera, you madwoman!"

“My servant.”

"It's not your place to discipline them."

A deep, bloodthirsty voice rang in their ears, and the oppressive aura of a god spread throughout the entire temple. The silver serpent's crimson eyes swept over everyone with a chilling intensity, making it hard to breathe.