Shi Jinzhe's hand was flung away, and he almost dislocated his shoulder.
He chased after them and, to the astonishment of the couple, cast a protective array to shield Shekh.
The dozen or so men were stunned. When they saw the light purple snake tail, the one who reacted the fastest raised his spear and thrust it forward, only to have his wrist suddenly grabbed from behind.
Shi Jinzhe broke his wrist and threw him away. When Shehe saw him, he swept his tail to clear away the obstacle and ran away after meeting up with Shi Jinzhe.
As he passed the couple, Shekh melted down the lead block and, as if to remind the dazed pair, "Why aren't you running yet!"
Shekh is going to get herself killed in this, and if these two don't run away, it'll be like she saved them for nothing.
The couple then stumbled and helped each other up, and hurried after him.
When they were running so fast that their lungs were filled with cold air, and every breath required their last bit of willpower to keep them going, Shi Jinzhe and Shehe, who were ahead of them, stopped as if nothing had happened and found a secluded triangular area to rest.
The wife slid to her knees, ignoring her scraped knees and hands, and exclaimed, "You...you are...you are the God of Prayer!"
Shekh was startled and took a step back to let Shi Jinzhe block him. "What is she saying? I don't understand."
His wife was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes. As she spoke, she tidied her hair and wiped her face with her sleeve.
"You have a snake's tail, you must be the god of harvest and rain, please save us!"
"..." Sheh hid himself, this woman was even more confusing than Shi Jinzhe.
Shi Jin blocked her way; Shekh's body had grown, but his brain hadn't caught up yet.
The wife kept talking, and the husband chimed in, "It must be because you heard my prayers, otherwise why would you come to save me? You really are God."
Shi Jin threw the flying knife, the tip of which grazed her husband's nose. "Don't come any closer. Just say it from that spot. Don't cry or shout. Keep your voice down."
“Otherwise, we’ll send you back,” Shekh added from behind him.
She wouldn't have saved them if she hadn't sensed their fervent reverence.
She hates humans the most.
Shi Jinzhe didn't expose her hypocrisy. Seeing a wooden board behind her, he laid it sideways and let Shehe sit down to listen.
Shekh patted the sides of the wooden board, as if worried that the wood was not sturdy. He straightened his back and moved his buttocks back little by little before finally settling down.
Then, in a very serious manner, he put his hands together on his belly scales and said to the couple, "Explain it clearly."
The husband pushed his wife's arm away, saying, "You tell her..."
The wife wiped away her tears and pleaded, "Why haven't you shown up? We've been having such a hard time..."
Shekh tried to be aloof, but when he bumped into someone with his shoulder, the blow broke.
I don't understand, you can ask me.
Shi Jinzhe received the decree: "I just heard you shout to that person, 'Your country, since you believe in praying to the gods, why do you live in a land that believes in the gods of war and glory?'"
"Why..." the wife laughed bitterly, "because our country is gone."
“All…all kingdoms, big and small, every kingdom on this continent that can be named, none can escape it.”
Shi Jinzhe: "Is this the place where all believers pray to God?"
“At first it was…” the wife said, “The kingdom I lived in was the last one to be destroyed for its belief in God. Everyone became prisoners and slaves. We were not allowed to believe in God. If we were discovered, we would be subjected to all kinds of extreme punishments.”
Shekh asked curiously, "So, the 'prayer' you're talking about is me?"
"Of course, legend has it that the Goddess of Prayer has a snake's tail, which is the source of her power. She comes from nature and has abilities that people awe. It is said that wherever she goes, the cleanest rain will fall, which can bless the land to grow the best crops."
"What other legends are there about the goddess of prayer? Someone must have seen her to be able to carve a snake's tail," Shi Jinzhe asked.
“When I was a child, I heard from my elders that the goddess of prayer liked to appear by the water at night, especially on summer nights when there were the most stars in the sky. She would come out to look at the stars. The story says that the first person to see her was a prince, and later he built a city by the water where he saw the goddess of prayer and established a country.”
“Prince.” Shi Jinzhe was a little unfriendly to the word, but still asked seriously, “Are the Western countries very close to here?”
“Yes, the closest city to here is the Dead City.” His wife sighed. “Actually, it wasn’t called the Dead City before. Later… the Queen massacred everyone in the city, and that’s how it became the Dead City.”
“In her eyes, worshipping gods is a heinous crime. She does not allow any idols of gods to appear anywhere, or even mention her.”
Shi Jinzhe: "So the Queen requires you to worship the God of War and Glory, is that it?"
Wife: "Yes, everyone. But I overheard a message from the guards: the Queen actually overthrew the god of war and glory in her palace. It seems she no longer believes in the gods, but she didn't announce it to the outside world for fear of causing opposition from the believers."
Shi Jinzhe: "Is the Queen still attacking other countries, even those of the same faith?"
“They’re fighting. She’s fighting another country that worships a god of war and glory right now.” The wife’s voice trailed off, sounding aggrieved. “The front lines need a lot of food, but our country has been destroyed. The land outside can’t grow crops, and the land we were given yields very poor harvests. The food tastes like mud, it’s inedible. That’s why we’re thinking of secretly praying to the gods…”
“We did it very discreetly, I have no idea how they found out.” The man gestured with his hands and feet. “In the middle of the night, a group of people suddenly rushed in and took away my three children, and then…and then…”
He choked up and couldn't speak, then burst into tears.
"God, please save us. Is there something we haven't done well enough that has prevented you from sending down rain for a bountiful harvest? We really need you."
Sheikh: "Am I... that important?"
The man quickly replied, “You are the greatest god, no one can compare to you. My country used to produce the most grain, and even other countries that worship gods could not match the richness of their land.”
Hearing these words, Shekh couldn't help but feel a little satisfied, so she could bring benefits to people...?
Does that mean she's no longer considered a monster?
The people in this forest always bully her, simply because she hasn't found the right place. If she went to where this couple lives, wouldn't people like her then?
An indescribable feeling welled up inside him, and Sher's lips pursed slightly.
"God" is a good word; if that's the case, she could reluctantly become a god.
The main reason is that she doesn't want to be a monster.
Seeing Shehe like this, Shi Jinzhe couldn't help but smile along with her; her happiness was quite obvious.
The wife said, “The harvests have been getting worse and worse in recent years, and other kingdoms are in dire need of food. But because of your presence, our crop yields are still very high. As a result, the price of food has soared, and we have made a lot of money and are living a very wealthy life.”
She asked Shekh, "But later our country also rarely had rain. Did we do something wrong to anger you?"
Shekh frowned slightly, the image of her swimming into the sea appearing in his mind.
The blurry images gradually reappeared, and it seemed that the clean rain that his wife mentioned was just because she felt hot, so she always made it rain where she was.
The land yields a good harvest because she is used to that place, where she can see a sky full of stars whenever she looks up. She is unwilling to move, so there is plenty of rain.
And then, leaving that place, we entered the sea...
Sheh held her forehead, vaguely thinking that the place was getting more and more crowded and noisy, so she wanted to find some peace and quiet in the deep sea.
Seeing her smile, the wife said only the nicest things, "Once, it didn't rain for a year. The king said it must be because our hearts weren't sincere enough to move you, so we offered you our blood. Unexpectedly, it really rained!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Jinzhe realized something was wrong; this was going in...
The man added, "Yes, yes, later someone suggested using the blood of prisoners, so everyone thought of those who believed in the god of war and glory, and they used their blood..."
Shi Jinzhe interrupted him, "Does it rain every time blood is drawn?"
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Shi Jinzhe didn't know how to explain it. It's just random probability. Even without Sherlock, it would still rain.
The man licked his lips and, seeing that Sheh's expression hadn't changed for a while, assumed she was unhappy because she hadn't heard the pleasant words. He said ingratiatingly, "We know that the nations that believe in the god of war and glory are irreconcilable enemies of you, so everyone thought that using their blood would make you more satisfied, and it really did!"
“Yes, that’s right!” His wife grinned. “The driest we’ve ever experienced was three years without rain. Offering blood was no use. But because you’re on our side, one of our guards, who was out searching for a city, managed to capture an important figure from an enemy country.”
She leaned forward obsequiously, getting closer to the motionless Shekh, half-prostrate beside her tail, her voice tinged with barely perceptible excitement.
"The king cut off his head and gave it to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shekh's eyes turned red.
It was as if blood had been spilled all at once, and everywhere you looked was a shockingly red expanse of blood.
The king, wearing a crown, placed a pure gold tray before the white statue, which was covered with golden ears of wheat soaked in blood, and the stench of blood filled the air.
The king knelt down, saying, "This is the tribute I offer to you; please bestow your blessings..."
A small head, its eyes gouged out, was placed on an ear of wheat.
It was a boy's head, with soft blond hair, only seven or eight years old, still very young, and looked somewhat like...
Sher's upturned lips slowly fell back down.
The joy she felt a few minutes earlier vanished completely, and her face gradually returned to indifference until it was completely expressionless.
She sat there silently, like a lifeless stone statue.
That face resembled a combination of the two children she had watched grow up many years ago.
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