Chapter 126, Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Lost Manor
The morning following the holy war was exceptionally different.
The doors of both chapels were closed, and notices were posted informing everyone that Mass was canceled and that people should go to the statues of Psyche and Eros in the town square.
What puzzled Li Yufei even more than this was that Song Xiaona hadn't come looking for her.
She felt a little out of sorts after not seeing Song Xiaona for just one night.
Li Yufei felt a little panicked. After Cheng Yuzhou's death, she was unable to contact the people around her for a long time, which made her prone to this kind of emotion.
Given the current circumstances, she's even starting to worry about Song Xiaona.
"Mr. Zheng." "Mr. Zheng, Ms. Li."
On their way from the seventh floor of the castle to the square, Li Yufei and Cheng Yuzhou encountered quite a few people.
Li Yufei saw that Cheng Yuzhou was loved and respected by the whole village, just like a rural volunteer teacher.
This affection comes from the bottom of their hearts; it is the respect and concern of people in remote areas for intellectuals who are willing to give up urban life, rather than the obsequiousness shown to village chiefs out of deference to power.
The village chief is dead, but there will be a new village chief soon.
But if the volunteer teachers are gone, the knowledge will be gone too.
Currently, there are only two teachers in Psyche Village, Song and Zheng. Having experienced the Holy War, everyone deeply realizes their importance.
There may be others in the crowd who are just as intelligent as them, but they lack their courage; those who have their courage are not as intelligent as them.
Cheng Yuzhou pays more attention to vulnerable groups and speaks and acts more gently.
Amidst the perilous and tense atmosphere of the supernatural tales, his leadership style only makes him more likable.
He responded to each person who greeted him, with just the right amount of friendliness.
Li Yufei seemed to see Cheng Yuzhou's workplace persona reflected in this.
This is what he used to be like at the company...
"Mr. Zheng, what do you think it is about that we're meeting in the square today?" The people walking around him nervously sought an answer from him.
Did we win yesterday?
"When they were really needed, all the ants and knights were gone. What a tragedy."
Cheng Yuzhou shook his head. "I'm not sure either, but the sun has already risen, so it should be safe for now. There's no need to be afraid. If this place were purely for harming people, it wouldn't have provided us with such generous supplies."
His slow, deliberate voice was strangely reassuring.
"So what exactly do you think is the purpose of these things here?"
Cheng Yuzhou pondered, "I have a guess. Perhaps this is the territory of some deity whose power is waning and who hopes we can help fight against the demons."
"That makes sense, that's very likely!"
"Is it really Psyche?" "Psyche isn't from our country, so how come she's here?"
“It may not really be Psyche, maybe it’s just using Psyche’s name…” Cheng Yuzhou stopped abruptly.
As they walked to the center of the square, they saw Song Xiaona.
Like Cheng Yuzhou, Song Xiaona was also surrounded by a number of people, who were talking and discussing.
When the two groups met, Li Yufei noticed that Song Xiaona gave her a meaningful look.
She seemed to want to say something to her, but quickly looked away and continued talking to the person next to her. Dean, on the other hand, waved to Cheng Yuzhou and Li Yufei and greeted them.
With most of the tourists present, two vortexes of people formed around Cheng Yuzhou and Song Xiaona.
Li Yufei dreamt of returning to the elementary school brigade committee selection room, the middle school Youth League branch, and the university student union.
Every year has been the same, with these two competing for first place.
Aside from university, she firmly stood by Cheng Yuzhou.
It wasn't to support Cheng Yuzhou, but simply to bring down Song Xiaona.
But this internal strife seems pointless now.
Li Yufei looked at the two people who didn't recognize each other and sensed something strange.
Aren't they in cahoots?
She put aside her personal grudges and cooperated with Song Xiaona, so how could those two be so inconsiderate?
Cheng Yuzhou was busy talking to the anxious tourists, while Li Yufei, considering the bigger picture, decided to be a good person and try to mend the relationship between the four.
She had just taken two steps toward Song Xiaona when a buzzing sound of wings came from afar.
Having just experienced a holy war, everyone was extremely sensitive to unusual sounds.
The square suddenly became deserted, and everyone looked up at the sky with fear and vigilance.
A swarm of ants flew in from the northwest and northeast sides of the sky.
The priestly ants, which had disappeared for a day, flew in from the sky and landed in front of the 23-meter-tall statue.
Two priests stood in front, with seven nuns following on either side.
The ants were overjoyed, and their cartoon eyes shone even brighter than usual.
"The darkness has passed, children, I am proud of your piety," the two priests said in unison. "The goddess saw the coming calamity and heard your cries, and will doubly bless her faithful believers."
With the words of the two ants, new rules emerged in the Covenant:
[VII. The goddess, awakened from her victory, saw the believers who fought for her; the next seventh...]
On that day, the benevolent goddess will protect her people from the ravages of evil spirits.
The priest raised his forelimbs, waving his antennae, and said in a passionate voice, "You have defeated the demons and protected the goddess with your wisdom, courage, and piety. You should be proud."
[Rejoice! Dance! There is no need for worry or anxiety, for the glory of victory will shine upon every devout believer. Wash away the smoke of battle, change into your finest attire, for the goddess has bestowed celebratory delicacies and wine, rewarding the outstanding heroes.]
The voices of the two ants merged into one: "At seven o'clock tonight, the castle will hold a victory ball to light all the lights in celebration of your feat."
The two voices travel on the same track, creating a reverberating sound wave.
The ants' excited emotions flowed among the crowd.
Their voices were highly contagious, and an inexplicable excitement and joy filled everyone's faces.
The weight on their hearts was finally lifted; the war was over, and they had defeated the demons! For the next two weeks, they no longer needed to worry about fighting.
The ants left, and the remaining people still wore happy expressions.
The fact that we don't have to face danger directly is the biggest and most tangible good news we've received so far.
"Actually, demons aren't that scary," someone said.
"Yes, as long as there are many of us, they can't do anything to us. They'll set on fire on their own if we get close enough to do anything."
Someone sniffed and said, "The scallops and birds smell quite good when they're cooked."
The people next to him couldn't help but laugh, "Then you should be the first to try it. A scallop that big would cost a lot of money outside."
"Birds aren't cheap either, and this is pure wild game. I might try it next time."
"I'm getting hungry just talking about it. I didn't eat much yesterday. The shops are open now, let's go and have a good meal."
"Let's go, let's go, let's have a bowl of hot soy milk, two fried dough sticks, and two baskets of xiaolongbao."
"Alright, let's go together! We're practically brothers in arms."
The atmosphere was more relaxed and lively than ever before.
Song Xiaona stood in front of the crowd preparing to leave, saying, "Please wait a moment."
The crowd stopped, and no one ignored her: "What's wrong, Miss Song?"
"Is there anything else?"
“I know everyone is tired, but we can’t relax yet,” Song Xiaona said. “I’d like to hold a meeting to discuss yesterday’s holy war and also to discuss what to do next. How about ten o’clock?”
She instantly pulled everyone back to reality from the joy of success.
The smiles on people's faces faded.
After a moment, someone said, "Okay, Miss Song isn't wrong either..." "Is it necessary to be in such a hurry?" A clear voice cut through the crowd.
People looked back and saw Cheng Yuzhou walking out.
“Everyone’s stress tolerance is different,” he said. “Everyone has worked very hard this week. Since there is no danger in the next 14 days, it’s not a bad thing to relax today.”
He didn't look at Song Xiaona, but said to the others, "Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. Staying under such high tension all the time will be unbearable. We also have elderly people and children. It's not just them; many people's mental pressure has already reached its limit. This is not a good time to think."
"I suggest we all take our time today, sort out our thoughts, and then meet together after tomorrow's morning mass. What do you all think?"
Song Xiaona's suggestion was reasonable, but even Mr. Zheng, who was the quickest to grasp the rules and discern the dangers, thought it was unnecessary, so people also hoped to catch their breath first.
"Yes, how about we postpone the meeting until tomorrow?"
Song Xiaona's expression hardened slightly.
Someone quickly added, "We know the situation is urgent. It's not that we don't want to discuss it, but we were so worried last night that we didn't sleep well. Now that we're in a meeting, my mind is a complete mess, and I can't come up with any good suggestions."
"Yes, Miss Song, let us take a break."
"Most people are unprepared and don't know what to say in the meeting. They should think things through first and plan ahead before starting."
"If I could have left, I would have left already. It won't make a difference if I stay another day."
Song Xiaona's face grew increasingly pale as she stared intently at Cheng Yuzhou in the crowd.
Children always love their fathers.
They did not yet understand their mother's worries; they only saw her discipline and their father's love.
That's not compassion, that's indulgence, stemming from indifference.
"Everyone says so, why don't we just give up?" Dean tentatively suggested. "You're really tired, Xiaona, you should take a break too."
Song Xiaona's unpleasant expression was not only because her suggestion had been rejected, but also because Cheng Yuzhou had gained control over people's hearts.
People are inherently lazy. By exploiting this psychology, Cheng Yuzhou's approval rating will continue to rise. In the future, at every crossroads between retreat and progress, he can easily lead people down the path of complacency.
He will lead the way backward, but he will win people's hearts even more.
“It seems everyone is on the same page,” Cheng Yuzhou said. “Then let’s leave it at that for now. You’ve all worked hard yesterday and probably haven’t eaten much. Go have some breakfast and get a good night’s sleep. I wonder what the dance party Ant mentioned is all about. Everyone, rest up and prepare for the celebration dance tonight.”
"well!"
"Let's do as Mr. Zheng said and not get stuck here." "No matter what, let's eat first, and then think of a solution after we've eaten and slept well."
The crowd dispersed like quicksand, and Song Xiaona knew that there was no point in trying to stop them at this point.
After the people in the square left one by one, she and Cheng Yuzhou exchanged a brief glance.
The young man's dark, jade-like eyes still held a lingering feigned friendliness, but the moment his gaze met Song Xiaona's, that friendliness faded even further, revealing the true indifference beneath.
This is the Cheng Yuzhou that Song Xiaona knows well.
"Feifei, let's go too." Cheng Yuzhou quickly turned to Li Yufei, "What do you want to eat for breakfast?"
The moment he turned to her, his expression and tone visibly lifted, and even his eyes became clear and bright.
This is the Cheng Yuzhou that Li Yufei knows.
She glanced hesitantly at Song Xiaona, who met her gaze but made no move to speak to her.
Just ignore her.
She then followed Cheng Yuzhou away, heading towards the commercial street, saying, "Whatever."
Everyone was eating, and the town's breakfast shops were packed.
Upon meeting Cheng Yuzhou, people warmly invited him to share a table. He smiled and thanked them, then waited in line until he got a table and sat down alone with Li Yufei.
As Li Yufei drank the somewhat inauthentic spicy soup, she felt increasingly uneasy.
She glanced at the people eating on both sides and lowered her voice, "You and Song Xiaona just now..."
She paused, unsure how to describe it.
Cheng Yuzhou looked up. "Is the atmosphere a bit off?"
Li Yufei nodded. Although the atmosphere between them and Song Xiaona had always been bad, she felt that it had taken a sharp turn for the worse this morning.
“She and I,” Cheng Yuzhou said, his gaze lowered, “have always had different ideas. And it’s not just this time.”
That was an overly tactful way of putting it. Thinking of the terrible way Cheng Yuzhou had been bullied by Song Xiaona in the past, Li Yufei couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"That's just how she is. She doesn't care about other people's lives. Back when I was in the same club as her or participating in some competition, everyone was exhausted and the last train was about to leave, but she wouldn't let anyone leave. She insisted that we practice according to her wishes until she was satisfied."
Li Yufei picked up a sesame and brown sugar glutinous rice ball, and used her hand to hold it to Cheng Yuzhou's mouth.
You've suffered enough with Song Xiaona, time to have something sweet.
Cheng Yuzhou held out a plate to take her hand, and Li Yufei put down the mochi next to the plate, only then remembering their current relationship.
What is the relationship?
I'm not sure, but they've already kissed and shaved, so they're probably not neighbors or childhood sweethearts anymore.
She withdrew her chopsticks and took a bite of the two-piece mochi.
With her bright, foxy eyes fixed on Cheng Yuzhou, she covered her lips with one hand as she slowly chewed, and with the other hand, she used her chopsticks to hand the remaining half to Cheng Yuzhou.
Be happy, they're already so familiar with each other. To give him a complete romantic experience, she deliberately acted like she was in the honeymoon phase.
When they were dating in high school, she didn't give him this kind of sweetness. Now that she's 28, she's much gentler and more considerate than when she was 18. He's really lucky to have caught a good time.
Cheng Yuzhou was stunned.
Li Yufei's teeth marks were left on the soft mochi. She chewed it, her four fingers covering her lips, but the slight puffing of her cheeks was clearly visible.
Not seductive or alluring at all.
She was incredibly cute, as charming as a bird ruffling its feathers, generously displaying her beauty.
Even though Li Yufei no longer had the ability to control her mind, Cheng Yuzhou was still attracted by her bright, fox-like eyes and couldn't look away for a second.
He was irresistibly drawn into her bright eyes, and following her instructions, he lowered his head and bit into the mochi she offered.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling with smugness; his heart immediately followed hers, and he gazed back at her with a dreamy look.
“What’s with that expression?” Li Yufei was amused by him. “Are you that happy? It looks so silly.”
Lost in her radiant smile, Cheng Yuzhou was completely oblivious to what she said next. No matter what she said, he just kept nodding, his heart pounding and his eyes glazed over.
“In short, Song Xiaona is really annoying, selfish and… how should I put it,” Li Yufei returned to the previous topic, “…impatient for quick success? But the situation is special now, and we still need her before we escape. She has indeed done a lot of practical things these days, so just bear with her for a bit.”
She's talking about Song Xiaona again.
Cheng Yuzhou's smile faded slightly. "I won't deliberately cause a conflict with her."
“I wasn’t talking about you.” His dejection made Li Yufei feel a little guilty. “Of course I know you’re not the type to cause trouble. I was just saying.”
Cheng Yuzhou nodded. "I understand. You want everyone to be alright."
Yes, I'm glad you understand.
The atmosphere was a little strange in the morning. In Li Yufei's opinion, neither of them had any wrong intentions and both made sense.
Song Xiaona was hopeless; there was nothing she could do about her. She mentioned it briefly to Cheng Yuzhou, and that was the end of it.
On her way back to her room after breakfast, Li Yufei would glance at Cheng Yuzhou every now and then.
The sun shines brightly and the breeze is gentle; the weather is beautiful and radiant.
The morning after the holy war ended, the manor was filled with an unprecedented sense of ease.
The initial panic has subsided, the war has come to an end, and the situation is no longer urgent.
Li Yufei took a deep breath; it was time to confront Cheng Yuzhou.
Back in her room on the seventh floor, she sat on the sofa, nervously rehearsing her lines, worried that as soon as she finished speaking, he would spread his wings and fly away like Eros.
Cheng Yuzhou suddenly walked over and sat down next to her.
"What are you doing!" Li Yufei exclaimed in surprise.
Cheng Yuzhou was slightly taken aback. "I want to massage your legs. You walked so much yesterday."
"Okay... okay." Li Yufei breathed a sigh of relief, twisted her hips, and put her legs on Cheng Yuzhou's lap.
After straightening her legs, Li Yufei's nervousness and anxiety immediately dissipated, and she gained confidence.
Her legs are so long, long and straight, toned and shapely.
With legs that are so beautiful draped over him, no normal person could possibly fly away.
As Cheng Yuzhou bent down to help her relax, Li Yufei coughed twice and got down to business: "What are your thoughts on Eros?"
She chose a symbolic entry point.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yuzhou paused in his work, and after a moment said, "He is very lucky and very happy."
A faint hint of envy was hidden beneath his eyelashes.
"Who says otherwise?" Ignoring his wife, the princess, the most beautiful woman in the world, risked her life to go and apologize to him. Absolutely unbelievable.
"Wait a minute," Li Yufei sensed something was off, "What, are you envious of him?"
Her tone suggested that if Cheng Yuzhou simply nodded, she would make his body become the color of his soul.
Cheng Yuzhou immediately understood her meaning and cautiously replied, "I envy him for having such a loving wife. That's why his attitude towards Psyche is even more infuriating."
The fierce glint in the fox's eyes subsided, and his answer satisfied Li Yufei.
Cheng Yuzhou's values were still sound, she thought, now she could ask him what his difficulties were.
“Then,” she picked up a strand of hair that was hanging down her chest and twisted it around in a tangled mess, “is it possible that Eros has some unavoidable difficulties, such as dying after his true identity is discovered by humans, or Psyche being injured or something like that.”
Cheng Yuzhou was stunned.
He murmured, "How could you think that?"
"Otherwise, why would he hide his true identity from Psyche? It couldn't be because he 'found it amusing'."
If Cheng Yuzhou was hiding his identity and staying by her side because he was "fun" or deliberately teasing her, she would definitely tear him apart. Tear him to shreds.
Cheng Yuzhou had considered why Li Yufei hadn't exposed him.
The most likely explanation is that Song Xiaona stopped her.
He hadn't expected that her efforts to conceal and pretend to be unaware were actually out of concern for him.
He deceived her, but she, with her vengeful nature, suppressed her anger and secretly found all sorts of reasonable excuses to absolve him.
No one can deceive Li Yufei. She despises two-faced people and will never forgive those who have played tricks on her; but as for Cheng Yuzhou—
All she could think was: as long as he's here, as long as he comes back.
He feared his true identity being revealed by the candlelight, so he stole her power, but she asked him anxiously, "Will Eros die? If his identity is discovered, will he be alright...?"
A wave of shame crashed down on Cheng Yuzhou, almost suffocating and drowning him, even though he was just a wisp of soul.
Her integrity and kindness were beyond his comprehension, like a firefly's glimmer. He judged her with petty prejudices and insulted her.
Cheng Yuzhou lowered his head, "No... what could possibly happen to him?"
Li Yufei opened her eyes: "Are you sure? Are you really sure?"
Cheng Yuzhou nodded and said in a low voice, "He's just insecure and doesn't dare let such a good Psyche see his true self."
Hearing this answer, Li Yufei breathed a huge sigh of relief.
With a weight lifted from her shoulders, she slumped, paused for a couple of seconds, and then sat up straight again.
She began seriously, "I'm about to tell you something that will shock you, and it might be a little scary. Don't be frightened."
Cheng Yuzhou asked in confusion, "What is it?"
Just in case, Li Yufei still held Cheng Yuzhou's wrist tightly, lest he fly away like Eros who had discovered her identity.
"Um... it's... that..."
It's rather cruel to expose someone's true colors, especially since Cheng Yuzhou has always been more sensitive than a girl. If he knew that the disguise he thought he had kept so well hidden would have been exposed long ago, and he might have fainted from embarrassment.
Li Yufei couldn't bear it for a moment, and then whispered to him, "My card is Psyche, right? She can see everyone's soul, so you know... the way you look to me right now might be different from how you look to other people."
Cheng Yuzhou was taken aback. This was indeed unexpected. He only knew that Psyche cards could reveal the color of the soul, but it turned out that she had also seen his original appearance.
He immediately covered his cheek, his heart pounding violently.
What is he like now?
Is this what he looked like when he was alive, or what he looked like when he was burned after his death?
His panic didn't escape Li Yufei's notice, and she said in the most gentle and tactful way, "Actually, actually, before I even used the card skills, it was around the night I first met Shell that I noticed it."
“It wasn’t just me, Song Xiaona also noticed it.”
"A short pain is worse than a long one," Li Yufei blurted out in one breath, "So now, we all know that you are not Zheng Jianbin."
"You are Cheng Yuzhou. Right?"
She quickly comforted him, "It's okay, it's okay, we all understand. You don't need to feel embarrassed or scared to death by being watched by people every day. It's really hard to accept the idea of the dead coming back to life. We all know that you used this method to take care of our feelings... Oh, stop covering your face, what are you doing? I already said I wasn't making fun of you, although your acting skills are indeed not very good."
"Don't look, don't look at me..." He desperately tried to lie down on the sand like a crab, but Li Yufei pried him out. "You've already died once, so don't be afraid of dying again!"
"ugly……"
"What?"
He covered his face, and Li Yufei could only see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. After a long while, he spoke with extreme embarrassment, "I'm burned... I look terrible, did I scare you?"
Li Yufei is obsessed with beauty; she loves beauty herself and only loves to look at beautiful things.
He used to be someone she could barely appreciate, but now even Cheng Yuzhou herself doesn't dare to look at him twice.
For the past two days, he has been talking to her and sharing a bed with her while looking that horrible and disgusting.
Thinking of this, Cheng Yuzhou wished he could die again.
"Huh?" Li Yufei realized, "No, I didn't see you... dead. You're still the same as before."
Cheng Yuzhou trembled.
He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as if he had escaped death.
"That's good..." He lowered his hand with lingering fear, sighing weakly, "That's fine then."
"What do you mean, 'can you do that'!" Li Yufei tugged at him. "If I told you you were Cheng Yuzhou, wouldn't you be shocked?!"
Cheng Yuzhou looked bewildered: "Didn't you already know that?"
Li Yufei: "Huh?"
"Didn't Song Xiaona tell you either?"
"say what?"
“From the moment she recognized me, she knew perfectly well that I had realized she recognized me.” Cheng Yuzhou was taken aback.
"hold head high??"
“You two talked for so long in the rose garden the day before yesterday, I thought she had already told you about this. Didn’t we also talk about Song Xiaona and what happened in the past at breakfast just now?”
How could Zheng Jianbin, who had never been involved in their past, continue the conversation so smoothly? Weren't they talking about those old stories based on their childhood friendship?
Li Yufei: "...Huh?"
Yeah?
Um?
-----------------------
Author's note: "Let's make a promise."
"From now on, if you have any complaints about me, don't hold back; you can resolve them on the spot."
Li Yufei: OK
Next chapter's boss battle, pure boss crushing (×)
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