Parallel world——

If time could be reversed, Lin Xi would probably grab Bryce by the neck and yell at him, then make him throw the handmade pendant that Sunu brought back directly into the toilet.

The only gift Bryce brought back after returning from the two-year expedition to Sunu was that seemingly ordinary pendant, which he supposedly bought at a gathering at the only remaining temple of Sunu.

It was a snow-white bone bead with some indistinct Sunu script carved on it.

Judging from the knife work, this thing should be an antique that's been around for a while, but its overly smooth and white texture suggests that it's just a modern handicraft.

“You know I’ve never liked anything from Sunu, but I think you’d probably like a little souvenir.”

Bryce said this as he handed the pendant to Lin Xi with a frown. Compared to his colleagues who brought back large bags of Sunu specialties to Earth, his resistance to Sunu goods was indeed almost exaggerated.

Regardless, he did buy Lin Xi this small gift, and Lin Xi accepted it without any hesitation.

Even at the time, Lin Xi felt a bit amused and exasperated by Bryce's "Sunu allergy".

result……

Look at the current situation.

Lin Xi was trapped in a rickety vehicle with a group of pale-faced aliens with incredibly long limbs. Two enormous, beetle-like creatures were pulling the vehicle from the front. As for the aliens beside him, they were undoubtedly Sunu people.

In fact, Lin Xi himself is now a Sunu person.

He looked down at his slender hands, and that incredible, dreamlike sense of unreality still lingered in his mind.

In his memory, his last night as an Earthling was spent comfortably falling asleep on his bed after finishing a small glass of wine. He casually tossed the pendant into the drawer of his bedside table—he had no doubt that it was that thing that had led him to this strange predicament: he woke up to find himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

Incidentally, he himself also became... a Sunu.

He has a Sunu identity (and surprisingly, he is also called "Lin" here), and can understand the Sunu language, but his status seems to be very low... and the world he is in now does not seem to be the Sunu world that Lin Xi said he knew.

This place is so primitive and backward.

Lin Xi strongly suspected that she might have traveled back to ancient times in Sunu.

Before he could even figure out what was going on (well, for the first few days he thought he had some kind of mental problem or he was just dreaming), he was suddenly driven out of the dirty, dark stone house by soldiers in strange armor and a group of deformed, monk-like people who forced him and others into the Beetle they were now in.

Then, the long trek began.

Lin Xi nervously observed his companions, trying to figure out what was going on. They looked to be about the same size as him, and apart from their skin color and slender limbs, they didn't seem much different from Earthlings after a while. But from beginning to end, these Sunu boys who were sitting in the same car as him were just crying loudly, as if they were about to face something extremely terrible.

In this situation, Lin Xi's confusion turned into composure.

After observing him for a long time, a monk in charge of patrolling the vehicles approvingly gave him some extra food and water.

If you can maintain such a calm demeanor when chosen by God, you might receive the favor of the Star God.

It said this to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi forced a smile at the kind monk.

But he still didn't know what the chosen one the monk was talking about was—judging from the state of his companions and the pity that flashed in the monk's dark eyes, it probably wasn't a good thing.

The Beetle van was extremely bumpy, and Lin Xi soon lost the will to continue his investigation. He was sleep-deprived and constantly cold and hungry; for a moment, he genuinely felt that he might die.

However, death doesn't seem to be a very scary thing for him: maybe after death he can return to his own world?

He even attempted suicide several times, but unfortunately, he was stopped immediately.

In the strange world he now inhabits, even using suicide to escape a divine marriage seems sinful.

The monk who had previously shown affection for Lin Xishang whipped him without hesitation—it was an inhumane act of torture.

Lin Xi was almost completely despondent, especially when the Sunu people healed him and then threw him back into the Beetle truck.

Not to mention, the words the monk said to him while treating his wounds with the worm's slime made Lin Xi even more apprehensive about what was about to happen.

You should be grateful, Lin, you have beautiful eyes and black hair. In past divine marriages, the Star God favored people with black hair and black eyes like you the most…

About ten days later, Lin Xi was taken off the car, as were his companions.

Like slaves in ancient times who had no dignity, everyone was ordered to take off their dusty and dirty clothes, and expressionless monks led them to a magnificent place that resembled a temple.

Inside was a pool of water that was icy cold.

Lin Xi listened blankly as the monks gave orders, commanding them to wash their bodies there.

The Cold Pool looks exceptionally vast; if it were on Earth, it would probably be a wonder of the world, attracting countless visitors.

Lin Xi stared at the jewels laid out at the bottom of the cold pool, and the intricate golden patterns, speechless.

However, no matter how luxurious the decoration, it cannot hide the fact that the water inside is as cold as if it had just flowed down from a snow-capped mountain.

The moment Lin Xi stepped into the cold pool, he almost fainted from the cold. He wished he could faint so he could escape this terrible torture.

He truly couldn't understand what he had done wrong to deserve such agonizing torment.

Maybe……

A thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to just fall into the water and drown. Maybe if he did, when he woke up again, he would find himself back on Earth, back in that civilized, comfortable, and normal world.

Lin Xi glanced around quickly. The Sunu soldiers patrolling around the cold pool were marching in an orderly fashion, but they all seemed a little afraid of the place, so they were staying as far away from the water as possible within the allowed range.

This was a golden opportunity for Lin Xi.

He relaxed his body and then slowly, slowly sank to the bottom of the water.

But at that moment, his movements suddenly stopped.

He felt something was... watching him.

Lin Xi swore that it was definitely not human vision.

Even the most terrifying humans, or the Sunu people, could not possibly possess such an evil and insane gaze.

That gaze seemed to pierce through his skin and into his bones, as if to lift him up and turn him into a human specimen.

Lin Xi didn't even have the courage to turn around. He was surrounded by so many young, weeping Sunu people, but at this moment he seemed to be isolated from the whole world.

He was surrounded only by that terrifying and intimidating aura, that sharp gaze, and—

Lin Xi's teeth chattered.

He knew it wasn't an illusion; something resembling a snake had darted past beneath the water's surface. But... but it wasn't a snake.

Its surface was extremely smooth, seemingly due to a layer of mucus covering it. Moreover, its size was so enormous that it appeared as if Lin Xi himself was standing on its surface.

Forest--

Someone suddenly called out to him.

Lin Xi's body trembled violently as the "snake" withdrew from his body.

What are you doing

The speaker was the guard in charge of watching over them, and he shouted sternly at Lin Xi.

Get out of there. There's no point in you lingering here.

Lin Xi gradually regained his strength after hearing the guard's words. He looked around and realized that everyone else had left sometime earlier.

Lin Xi almost unconsciously obeyed the words of the Sunu guard, and he trembled as he climbed out of the pool.

For a fleeting moment, he had a strong premonition that he might never be able to leave this place, no matter what had been watching him—it would pull him back into the icy pool at the last moment and bind him until he drowned.

But "that thing" never appeared until he stumbled away from there.

Of course, the reason Lin Xi thought this way was because he didn't turn around to look at Leng Chi again.

If he saw it, he would discover... beneath the pool, a huge shadow was slowly receding from where he had been standing.

Beneath the swaying water's surface, what he had previously mistook for jewels and metal ornaments began to writhe at the same time. They recombine into clusters of circular patterns, within which ever-changing, brilliant colors shimmered.

Forest.

A strange tone came from somewhere beneath the water.

The voice sounded sharp and hoarse, full of awkwardness.

Forest.

But soon, "He" repeated it again, and this time, His voice sounded much better.

"Whoosh..."

The surface of the cold pool water caused violent ripples.

The Sunu soldiers surrounding the cold pool screamed in terror at the strange sight.

"Star God—"

Finally, He slowly emerged from the pool.

Its enormous wings fluttered, shaking the icy pool water onto the ground.