Chapter 57

Li Jia inherited the authority of the God-King and her temple, including the people of Xiangcheng Quandu.

As for hiring a priest.

Of course not.

During this time, she tried countless ways to break the restrictions on the sacred mountain, but ultimately she was helpless.

Inside the palace, a woman dressed in a divine robe, with flaxen curly hair reaching her waist, and a troubled look in her light blue eyes, was hunched over a desk, sorting through the marriage contracts she had finished processing recently.

Li Jia is someone who hates trouble. Hera left, leaving all these things to her. She has to understand and deal with them one by one, which is very tiring and exhausting.

She didn't want to ruin Hera's achievements or damage the reputation of the Temple of Marion.

She didn't want to.

Li Jia learns to handle every marital dispute calmly, just like Hera. When faced with a tricky marriage proposal, she subconsciously imitates Hera's tone and thinks about how Hera would handle it, resolving the conflict calmly and firmly.

We must safeguard the rights and interests of women and children fairly and justly.

Only she knew that every time she raised her hand and used her divine power, her fingertips would touch that ring, a sharp pain would surge in her heart.

The people of Xiangcheng Quandu treated her, their new deity, with utmost respect. Their daily prayers flowed into the temple, but those sincere blessings could not fill the void in her heart.

Snowflakes outside the window hit the windowsill, making a soft, crackling sound, like countless tiny needles gently pricking Li Jia's bare wrist.

She misses her.

System, tell me why this is.

Li Jia softly called out to the system.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Master?"

It didn't understand what Li Jia meant; it would appear when Li Jia called it.

The person being pursued fell in love with the person pursuing them.

I was supposed to die last summer, but I'm alive this winter, and I'll probably live on forever.

Isn't this disconnected from the plot of the book? Why wasn't I punished?

"The one being conquered is a god. She forcibly sacrificed her will as a god. A god's will cannot be taken away or altered. She risked everything to keep you here."

"The one who has been conquered has realized that you are not from this world, and your fate cannot be connected with hers. There is also no spirit-binding lamp for you in the underworld."

"You are not from this world. Your soul resides in this body, but the soul in this body has perished, and she cannot find a way to keep you here."

"She sacrificed herself to make you the new God-King."

"She chose the most dangerous yet foolproof method: to keep you here."

The system was also troubled. Persephone was born smoothly, and according to the original plot, she would meet and fall in love with Hades, the god of the underworld, thus avoiding the war of the gods.

Both the main storyline and the side storylines have been completed.

Three years later, this body will naturally age and die, and Li Jia will return to modern society and obtain a healthy body.

Unexpectedly, her lover used the most tragic method to give her a grand extension of her life.

Li Jia transformed from a human into a god, a sacrifice willingly made by the gods.

This was the first time the system had encountered such a situation while traversing countless small worlds.

God's blessing.

He prayed for her to live forever.

Hera knew everything about her, but never exposed or criticized her, accepting everything about Rika, including her bad habits, lies, and deceptions.

Hera's sudden behavior left the system completely bewildered, preventing it from using any formulas to explain it.

Everything can be calculated using data to arrive at the best and most reasonable solution, but love is not; love is voluntary.

As the new God-King, Li Jia had the right to choose the new location of the divine residence and the scope of her divine duties. Without hesitation, she chose everything that Hera had left behind.

She didn't want anywhere else but here.

She didn't want to go anywhere else but here.

Li Jia became the God-King, and her marriage to Hera could no longer be hidden. The world knew that she and Hera had a complicated and inexplicable relationship.

Hera took it upon herself to erase her name, and with just a flick of her finger, Li Jia could end the marriage and have nothing more to do with her.

“My Lord, Zeus is again requesting an audience outside the palace.”

The voice of the maid outside the palace, filled with disgust and helplessness, interrupted her daze.

This is a new maidservant hired this year. She is a little overwhelmed in handling human affairs on her own. Li Jia is kind and gentle, and the maidservant is not afraid of her. She thinks she is the easiest god to get along with in the world.

Li Jia withdrew her hand, the hem of her divine robe sweeping across the ground, creating shimmering light. As she stood up, the warmth in her eyes had completely vanished, leaving only a coldness like an icy pool: "Let him in."

Zeus's figure had barely appeared at the palace entrance when, with his usual arrogant smile, his gaze swept over the book of marriage contracts on the table, his tone laced with condescending pity: "Li Jia, you're still guarding this useless thing? Hera has already..."

"Shut up."

Li Jia's voice wasn't loud, but it made the air in the hall freeze instantly, and the silver candle flames flickered violently: "You are not worthy to mention her name."

Zeus visited her many times to persuade her not to worry about someone whose fate was uncertain, but to marry him and share the power of the gods with him.

The news of Hera and Rika's marriage spread throughout the entire sacred mountain region, and Zeus finally felt relieved of his pride and ego.

No wonder she wouldn't accept his love no matter what. He is the most handsome and extraordinary god in the world, how could any woman not love him?

Zeus said earnestly to Li Jia, who was also a god, "If only you had come to me about this sooner. Hera likes you, which is why she doesn't want to accept me. Why didn't you both marry me? That would have solved the problem... once she's experienced the pleasures of men..."

As he spoke, he reached out to touch Li Jia's shoulder, but before his fingertips could even touch the fabric of her divine robe, a red starlight suddenly pierced the air, carrying a sharp edge.

Zeus was startled and retreated. With a "crack," his golden laurel wreath broke off, and his long hair fell down, a few strands still hot, turning to ashes the moment they hit the ground.

Before he could continue his foul language, Pan Dao cut off his prized long hair. Before the man could react, the woman coldly said, "If you keep talking, I'll kill you too."

Li Jia did not lower her hand holding the sword of Judgment; the divine power of the sword's edge was still slightly hot.

She approached step by step, her light blue eyes surging with murderous intent. The oppressive aura of the god-king descended like a tidal wave, making Zeus almost breathless: "Get out."

The air inside the hall froze instantly, and even the burning silver candles shivered.

Zeus clutched the severed end of his hair, staring at her in disbelief.

He never imagined that a mere mortal, who had gained power by chance, could possess such chilling killing intent.

But when he met Li Jiana's eyes, which had the same expression as hers, his arrogance was instantly replaced by fear. He could only cover his wound in embarrassment and leave dejectedly.

The ruby ​​ring belonging to Hera in the middle of Li Jia's knuckles, and the starlight divine power mark.

He suddenly realized that this woman who had transformed from a mortal into a goddess was not guarding any divine authority, but rather all the traces Hera had left in this world.

Zeus, disheveled, clutched his charred head and staggered out of the temple. The temple doors slowly closed behind him, shutting out all the sounds from outside.

God-King Li Jia was unwilling to erase her name.

If the other party in the predestined relationship is absolutely steadfast and is also a deity, the predestined relationship cannot be automatically dissolved or dissipated; this can be understood as a cooling-off period for divorce.

In ordinary couples, it's common for one party to be unwilling to divorce, and the other party to file lawsuits five or six times without success. The protracted legal battles often last for at least two years. Getting married is easy, but getting divorced is difficult.

Hera initiated the marriage contract, proposing to dissolve it. She erased her name from the marriage history, but at the same time, she was no longer the goddess of marriage. Li Jia inherited the power and became the god-king above her.

The system's voice softly echoed in my mind.

"Master, you can erase the name in the marriage record at any time."

Why erase it?

Li Jia asked softly, her tone carrying a stubbornness she herself was unaware of.

"She initiated the dissolution of the marriage contract, but forgot that I was the other party in the marriage contract. Even ordinary couples go through years of complicated divorce proceedings, let alone a divine marriage?"

I disagree.

She turned back to the desk, her fingertips landing on the scroll of marital records. Divine power flowed into it, and the name that Hera had erased was slowly reappearing, closely next to her own, inseparable from it.

Even if I can't see her now.

She also wanted to be husband and wife in name only.

"You will never escape me, life after life."

——

Winslow, wearing a little yellow chick cotton coat, crawled into the ice cellar. Inside was a large cabinet with double doors, which Li Jia called a refrigerator.

The white steam seeping from the gaps in the double doors condensed a thin layer of frost on the surface of the little yellow chick's cotton-padded coat.

Winslow tiptoed to reach the cold metal handle on the cabinet door, and was jolted by a muffled groan coming from inside as soon as his knuckles touched it.

How much longer are you going to stay here?

Winslow put another little yellow chick cotton coat on Li Jia. The walls of the refrigerator were covered with thick ice. Li Jia curled up in a corner covered with three layers of blankets, but her whole body was still abnormally red, as if she had just been pulled out of boiling water.

Li Jia didn't have the strength to lift her eyes, so she buried her face in the little yellow chick cotton coat, her voice muffled as if it were covered by cotton: "Wait another half hour... It seems to hurt less today than yesterday."

Every night at midnight, Li Jia would lock herself in the refrigerator to cool down.

Ever since Hera disappeared, every day at this time, her whole body feels like it's being roasted on a hot iron grill, burning painfully everywhere, yet she doesn't have a single wound.

At first, she couldn't find the reason. Doreen told her that she only needed to use her divine power to seal her five senses so that she wouldn't feel pain.

That night, Li Jia used her divine power to seal her five senses, and sure enough, the deadly sensation of being struck by magma disappeared. However, Li Jia felt empty inside, which was even more painful than not feeling the burning sensation at all.

She even wondered if she was a masochist, feeling uncomfortable unless she was burned a couple of times.

Li Jia confided her troubles to Artemis, complaining that if Hera were here, she wouldn't have to come all the way here to bother her.

Artemis hesitated for a moment, then decided to follow her heart. She told Li Jia that the reason she felt unbearable pain was because she had signed a master-servant contract with Hera.

The ring, stained with the blood of both of them, has long been ingrained in their lives.

She suffered ten parts of pain, and Hera took nine parts of it for her.

Now that Hera is no longer a god, the master of the master-servant contract has lost its power and can no longer protect Li Jia.

She was in nine parts pain, and so she was in nine parts pain as well. This was the result of the backlash and upheaval caused by Qi.

"Breaking the contract is a piece of cake for you right now."

Artemis recalled the eternally serene and beautiful face of her deceased friend and comforted her, "Let it go, Li Jia. More than anyone else, she wants you to live a happy, healthy, and long life."

"Does she experience this much pain every day?"

Li Jia lowered her eyes and murmured, "Then this one point of ease is worth it."

Winslow crouched down and looked at her exposed ankle. There was no wound there, but it was faintly red and looked unnatural. Even the blanket she was touching seemed to be burning hot.

"Didn't the Goddess of the Hunt say you could break this bond?"

Winslow spoke softly, afraid of touching a sore spot for Li Jia: "If Her Majesty Hera were here, she would never allow you to hurt yourself like this."

"Untying the contract is easy."

The woman raised her eyes, which were red, but she didn't shed any tears: "But I'm afraid that if I take my own life, even this last little thing related to her will be gone."

The temperature in the freezer was so low that it could freeze your breath, but Li Jia felt a faint warmth in her chest.

Even if she has to rely on the ice in the refrigerator to physically suppress the burning sensation, even if she has to wait for the pain to subside in the biting cold every night, she wants to keep this pain.

Longer, much longer.

Winslow didn't say anything more, but simply took off his little yellow chick cotton coat and draped it over Li Jia's blanket.

He stood at the entrance of the ice cellar and said righteously, "If you really can't stand the pain, just scream. I won't laugh at you. But if anyone dares to laugh at you, I'll kill them."

Winslow.

Li Jia said weakly, "I want to eat sweet osmanthus wine, with lots and lots of soft and chewy little balls in it."

What a waste of my emotions.

Winslow sighed. It seemed the God was right. No matter where Li Jia was or what happened to her, she would survive.

If you can eat, then there's nothing wrong.

"Okay, okay, I'm really defeated by you. I'll go prepare."

It seemed the pain wasn't too bad. Winslow ran to the small kitchen to boil water and make osmanthus wine for Li Jia. Li Jia loved the sweet smell of osmanthus, and even Hera could drink half a bowl with her.

Osmanthus is a seasonal flower; its blooming and fading are just a matter of a few gusts of wind.

Winslow would stock up on several large jars every year, and following Li Jia's method, he would marinate them in honey so they could be stored for a long time. He would just scoop out a couple of spoonfuls whenever he wanted to drink some.

Today's osmanthus-flavored rice wine had half a bowl less than usual.

Winslow felt empty inside.

After being roasted on and off for two years, Li Jia felt that if she were thrown into Turpan now, she could comfortably lie around there like a salted fish.

Li Jia came out of the refrigerator, returned to the deep hall to change into clean robes, and drank some osmanthus wine to recover. While drinking, she complained to Lina: "I feel like a piece of meat that can't be frozen. I'm doing cryosonic cannons every day, and my skin feels much firmer."

The little penguin held the bowl with its short, flipper-like arms, tilted its fluffy little head back, and took a sip of osmanthus-flavored rice wine. It said helplessly, "I've already told you the solution, but you still can't bear to part with it. This is called suffering through pleasure."

Although Li Jia complained, she would rather die than actually lose the ability to feel pain.

Despite the pain, she could sense that she was still alive.

It's good that you're alive.

First, stay alive. Even if it feels like you're dead, you have to stay alive. Only by staying alive can you turn things around and have a chance to survive.

Another six months passed, and the burning sensation gradually faded. Li Jia felt this was not a good sign; it was worse than death for her.

She knew she couldn't wait any longer.

system.

In the dead of night, Li Jia called out the system's name.

After this mission, the system has transformed into a major taxpayer in the bookstore. Not only has it made up for all the points it owed, but it has also become incredibly wealthy, making a fortune.

When Li Jia called it, she was preparing to tease its eighteenth male model.

The system called out to itself, then kicked the male model aside and returned to Li Jia's mind.

"Master, what brings you here?"

The mission is complete, but you still owe me a wish. Do you remember?

"Of course I remember. This is what you deserve for completing the mission, Master. Although we don't know how to get you back to the real world yet, the mission is complete, and this wish will not be forgotten. It will be preserved forever."

For those who work on systems, the most important thing is to be honest and trustworthy.

Can I have my wish granted now?

"Of course, but didn't you want a healthy body? We'll make that right for you as soon as we get back to modern society."

The system knows what Li Jia has always wanted.

No, I want to change my wish.

I could feel her slowly disappearing.

My wish is to get her back.

Li Jia spoke calmly, without the slightest hesitation.

The system was instantly stunned. It thought the strategists had gone mad. This was just a world in the book; they were nothing more than a string of data, a jumble of gibberish. To waste a chance to survive for a bunch of worthless data—what else could it be but madness?

"Master, the world in the book doesn't count. Once you return to the real world, everything will go back to normal, and you can have a healthy body and a brand new life."

The system repeatedly reminded it that it hoped Li Jia would come to her senses. This was the first outstanding student it had ever mentored, and it cherished her talent immensely!

She said, "If she dies, I will never live on alone. If I die, the mission will be declared a failure, and you can go back to the furnace for rework."

The words have already been said, and the system's brainwaves are about to explode.

After going through all sorts of rule manuals and calculation methods in the database, the system felt like it was about to burst into flames.

Li Jia looked utterly hopeless. The system gritted its teeth, thinking that at worst it would just get struck by lightning a few more times. It spent its points to exchange for a "Difficult and Complex Diseases Solution Pouch" and told Li Jia the method.

Seeing the girl smile again, the system felt as uncomfortable as if it had been infected with a virus.

He said grimly, "There is only one reward. Your original body is dead. After returning to the real world, your body will be obliterated without a host, and you will not be reincarnated or have an afterlife."

Looking out the window at the grove of trees, she saw that the branches and leaves had already sprouted flower buds, which would bear fruit next spring, and then she would see her gift.

Li Jia smiled and said, "Yes, I know."