Chapter 76
Six years ago.
Infinite space, divine realm, sacred forest.
The man and woman squatted by the stream, observing a rock in the middle that was raised above the water.
They have human appearance and dress, but their skin is covered with dark scales, and on their foreheads there is a unicorn-like horn with silver-white spiral patterns.
At first glance, this stream appears crystal clear and gurgling happily, but in fact, it is not ordinary water that flows inside, but mercury.
The two people's eyes were not focused on the stone, but on a dark black egg placed on the stone.
It's about the same size as an ostrich egg, but its shell is much smoother. The case appears completely black, yet it gleams with a faint silver shimmer depending on the angle of the light.
The egg swayed slightly from side to side, perhaps due to the erosion of the stream or because it was difficult to maintain balance on the uneven stone surface.
Or maybe there are internal stirrings.
"Isn't it almost time?"
Someone's deep and magnetic voice suddenly appeared behind him.
The two men turned around, their skin returned to human form, and the horns on their foreheads disappeared, leaving behind a tuft of bangs that were much lighter than their original hair color.
They both placed their right hands on their left shoulders and bowed their heads in greeting.
"God Lord."
"Lord God."
The god pressed his hand, indicating that they didn't need to be polite, and walked to the stream with the two of them making way, also looking at the egg.
He put his four fingers together and raised them. A dazzling golden light floated and enveloped the egg. Feeling the arrival of sublime power, it swayed joyfully, nearly falling into the stream.
"In good condition." The god withdrew his power and said with satisfaction, "It looks like it will be a very healthy child."
The woman smiled softly. "It's been a long time since our family has had a new life. I hope this hatches successfully, thanks to your blessing."
The man was worried: "We are both still in our prime. Will this child also be connected to you? I don't think there has ever been such a precedent."
The two of them, as well as the little one who is about to be born, belong to the precious Lingxi clan.
This species is extremely rare, with no more than a handful existing in the world at any one time. Their conception does not go through the conventional reproduction process, but instead absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, directly condensing into new individuals.
In other words, if you want to know if there are any new little Lingxis, you can only come to this mercury stream and see if there is a black silver egg suddenly emerging.
So, every day for hundreds of years, they would come to check, and finally a few years ago they waited for this little fire.
The incubation period of Lingxi takes several years, during which time it will remain in a quiet sleep and rarely wake up.
Recently, it has become more active and responds to their calls and conversations, showing signs of hatching.
Most of the Lingxi people are single-born, but occasionally there are twins such as men and women.
They were born with only one mission: to protect the gods, to become their invincible spear and unbreakable shield, and to become their most loyal and devout believers.
The gods' ages are limitless, but their spirits have limited lifespans. Whenever they begin to wither, new life appears to take their place.
What's strange is that this pair of twins are still very young, and they still have at least a few hundred years before they age or retire. How come the other one appeared so early?
"Because it didn't come for me." The god knew what they were wondering about and gave them the answer, "Its appearance is to await the birth of the Son of God."
The unique connection between the Lingxi clan and the gods has been passed on to the next generation.
The man and woman looked at each other in surprise, and then said happily: "Lord God, you and Mr. Shen..."
When the name was mentioned, the Divine Lord's majestic expression softened a bit: "Well, finally."
——To put it simply, after going through all kinds of hardships, He finally caught up with that stubborn human.
"That's great." The two sighed, happy for Him from the bottom of their hearts, "Lord Divine Master and Mr. Shen are really a perfect match."
The man remembered something and became curious again: "That Mr. Shen, is he a male? I remember that male humans can't... uh."
The woman gave him a strange look. "Does the birth of the Son of God still require the basic laws of biology in the human world?"
The man was stuck: "...Don't you need it?"
The woman was speechless. "Of course not! Luckily, little Lingxi grew up with the Lord God and doesn't need you and me to raise him. Otherwise, how would you teach a new cub? You're just misleading the young ones."
The man jumped up and down: "What do you mean!"
The woman snorted and laughed. "That's what you think it means."
The gods listened to their bickering, which had never stopped for hundreds of years and had become commonplace.
He gazed from the stream to the edge of the forest and the vaster, more desolate distance beyond it. After a moment, he murmured a low, chanting verse: "My child, you will be the most beautiful gift given to this world."
The egg on the stone bounced around, trying to show its existence.
The god smiled at it and said, "Well, I'll leave it to you from now on."
From that moment on, the young and tender little Lingxi has made a lifelong commitment of his own.
*
Ten minutes ago.
Hell World, Esteril City, Central Square.
"Hey, is that a maple muffin?"
"Wow, I smell something delicious..."
"Ahhh, I want to see that! Is that a magic trick? The kind that can turn into pigeons and rabbits?"
"Barbecue, it's barbecue! It's been a long time since I've eaten meat other than human meat."
"This celebration is quite fun. I want to hold it every month from now on!"
The tall adult man moved aside in disgust, trying to keep a distance from the energetic teenager who found everything new and exciting.
The boy habitually tried to take his arm but missed. Turning back, he found that the man was lowering his head and pretending not to know him.
Meow Ling—no, it shouldn't be called Meow Ling now—Mephisto adjusted his bangs, squeezed through the people blocking them, and grabbed the man's arm without question. His voice had long since changed from a delicate girl's voice back to a clear boy's voice, but he still liked to speak in a coquettish voice: "Uncle, what are you doing?"
He looked petite and slender, but in reality he was incredibly strong. The fake Tan Ning and the real Wan Nian tried but couldn't break free. They sighed, "I really feel ashamed to be with you."
Mephistopheles pouted and said, "You are so cruel." Then he laughed again, "But I like you like this~~"
Wannian: “…”
The era of this fictional sub-world is too ancient, and people still have deep reservations about intimate relationships between the same sex. The two of them were so affectionately holding each other that they had already met many surprised and disgusted looks.
Wannian really wanted to remind him that although the little devil changed from a female to a male, he still looked the same as before, and as the steward of the Caster family, he was still easily recognized.
But then he thought again, the old script has come to an end, what difference does it make whether he recognizes it or not?
Anyway, it won’t be long before all these people who are enjoying the celebration with laughter and joy will be reduced to ashes - yes, all of them.
Mephistopheles couldn't help but bring back a lot of delicious food. In his left hand, he held a muffin package drizzled with maple syrup, and in his right, he held up a cumin-roasted lamb. He gave all the leftovers to Wannian, eating while mumbling, "Actually, it's not always me who comes to collect debts in person. It's just that the baby is here this time, so I wanted to come and see."
Wannian once again took a few steps away from him in silence and disdain: "Are you doing this for the baby? I think you're here for food and drink."
"Not at all." The pretty boy, still radiant even with the syrup on his face, flirted with the older man. "And the most fundamental reason is that I want to date an uncle."
After spending so much time together, Wannian has built up an immune system against his flirting.
If he had a choice, he really didn't want to bother with this brat, but there was no way, he followed him to learn how to be a big boss.
Looking across the entire infinite space, perhaps only the demon Mephistopheles would be willing to teach him such a thing - even though ten thousand years later, the real reason behind the other party's kindness is still unknown.
Mephistopheles was very interested in him, a level of interest that went beyond the usual level of interest in good looks or delicious souls.
Wannian knew what qualities he had that deeply attracted the little devil - this did not make him happy, as being favored by the devil was never good news - but he did not know what those qualities were.
If he could find it, he would dig it out of his body without hesitation, like digging out a bloody heart.
Never mind, there's no point in thinking about this now.
Now he is accompanying Mephistopheles to "collect debts".
Count Jiahang Xu Custer in the sub-world, that is, the player Xu Jiahang, made a wish twenty years ago in the plot that "he no longer wanted to be a servant ordered around, but wanted to be a master who could call the wind and rain", and signed a contract with the devil.
The lease term is twenty years, with no deposit, no guarantee, no middlemen, transparent process and fair transactions.
——The price is his soul.
This is an immersive experience created exclusively by Mephisto. Players can directly play their roles from the moment they enter the dungeon without any preparation.
The backgrounds of most escape games are difficult and cramped, and players are surrounded by enemies. Not only are they hungry and cold, but they are also constantly shrouded in the shadow of death. It is extremely difficult to tear apart a utopia that is warm and beautiful all of a sudden, and it is extremely confusing.
To pass the game, one must identify the weirdness of the plot among the many flaws, and find a way to break free from the virtual world - in short, see through any disguised identity of the golden jade suit, and remember that he is a player with his head on his belt.
Unfortunately, most players are like Xu Jiahang. Even if they find something wrong, they will deceive themselves and would rather continue to sink.
Many years have passed in the background story, and the actual time in the copy is only a few days.
The Count failed to see through the illusion, and the twenty-year agreement has come. The devil wants to destroy the dream with his own hands and reclaim Xu Jiahang's soul.
Everything was going well originally. This was an evil fairy tale written by Mephistopheles himself, and no one would be so blind as to dare to embarrass the master of this sub-world.
But the accident still happened.
The sudden screams spread quickly to every corner like a wave. People who didn't understand what was going on looked towards the source of the sound and opened their eyes wide at the same time.
Panic is the most contagious emotion. Within seconds, people were running around shouting, regardless of whether they had seen it or not:
"The monster has appeared!"
“Run!!!!”
“It’s so scary…”
"Help, it's a monster, someone come and save us!!"
The central square, which was originally filled with laughter and joy, suddenly became a wasteland for people to escape.
Mephistopheles and Wannian also saw the black-skinned kid who was left there, bewildered and at a loss.
He, or it, is not big, somewhere between a medium-sized dog and a large dog. It is densely covered with scales from head to tail, wrapping it tightly like a shield.
Someone threw things at it... let's call it him for now, throwing whatever they had in their hands, from drinks, food to torches, all of which were blocked by the scales.
The bewildered little beast looked embarrassed, but was obviously not really hurt.
There is a spiral silver-white protrusion on his head, which looks a bit like ivory and rhinoceros horn.
In short, no matter how you look at it, it is not a magical creature that should exist in this world, at least not in the cognition of ordinary people.
The man was stunned, then looked at the boy: "You did it?"
"How could that be? It's not me." The boy bit off the barbecue skewer, chewed it nonchalantly, and swallowed it. His pupils gradually turned into excited hearts. "But it seems very interesting."
There were people running around in panic everywhere, and several of them almost bumped into me.
Wannian frowned and dodged, just as he was about to pull the little devil who was watching the fun away from the troubled place, his pupils shrank when he glanced at a certain place: "Why is there, cub?"
Mephistopheles looked in the direction of his gaze. While everyone wanted to stay a hundred meters away from the little monster, there was still a stupid little fool who didn't know how to run left in the open space beside him.
The cub looked up at the little beast. Unlike the others who were scared to death, he walked over step by step and even raised his hand to touch it.
Her pale golden eyes shone with joy and admiration, and she spoke dreamily, "Is this what Xixi really looks like? So cool!"
*
Now.
The little beast paced restlessly in its spot, terrified. Whether it was the shattering and reassembling of its own bones and flesh, or the disgusted and wary gazes of others, it was deeply wounded.
Until now, he still doesn't understand what happened.
The little beast still retained human thinking, and in the midst of the clamor, he tried to calm down and think: He was originally acting like a human being, but he became like this after being helped by the Son of God.
The body of the Son of God contains the divine power of Fialan, which is so holy and pure that demons and ghosts cannot bear it.
Any monster he touches can no longer maintain its disguise and reveals its ugly true form in public.
That's just how he is.
So, the little beast thought anxiously, is it not a human being... but a monster?
A drink hit him and bounced off, spilling onto the ground and forming a small puddle.
The little beast lowered its head and saw its own cold and terrifying reflection, which frightened it.
He quickly turned his face away and never dared to face her again.
who I am?
What on earth am I?
People were screaming. People were running away.
So noisy.
After transforming from a human into an animal, his five senses became much sharper, and at this moment his hearing was amplified countless times.
I look so scary, it's only right that I'm disliked.
The little beast fell into deep self-loathing.
He suddenly sensed someone approaching. Hmm, it must be a signal from his sense of smell.
It smells sweet, like milk and pear blossoms.
It warmed his heart, which had been chilled by the crowd's reaction.
The little beast looked up and saw a human cub approaching it.
...It was Pear. He hadn't forgotten him yet.
The little animal longed to get closer to the sweet smell. Just as it was about to move its paws, it suddenly remembered that it had become a strange and ugly monster.
He didn't want to scare Li, and was even more afraid of seeing the same suspicion and disgust in those beautiful golden eyes as in everyone else's, so he quickly stepped back, trying to escape.
But then he heard the little cub say in a baby voice: "So cool!"
So cool?
who?
Me?
The little beast looked over blankly.
Isn't he afraid of himself?
Not only is he not afraid, he even seems to like the way he looks.
The little cub curved his eyes and smiled at him as sweetly and softly as always: "Xixi!"
No matter what Ling Xi becomes - Ling Xi, Xu Lingxi, a human cub, or an inhuman monster - she will always be the best in Li Jue's eyes.
Xixi...
The little beast thought, is this his name?
It seems that his name is not just Xixi. There should be a more complete name.
If it was the cub in front of him, he should know the answer.
The little beast mustered up the courage to step forward, but was blinded by a patch of pure white.
He stepped back repeatedly before realizing that it was a corner of a snow-white robe.
The Son of God quickly calmed down after a brief moment of shock. This was not the first time he had seen such a scene. Many powerful demons and monsters had been exorcised by him without even the people who slept with him noticing any clues.
The little cub in front of him was as fearless as a newborn calf and was about to approach the tiger. The Holy Son protected him behind him, his brows gloomy, and asked the little monster that Xu Lingxi had transformed into: "Who are you—what are you?"
"I..." The little beast opened his mouth and was surprised to find that he could still make human sounds and use human language. "I am..."
What is it?
He is Xixi... No, not that one.
He is...
"Oh my God, isn't that the Holy Son? It's His Royal Highness the Holy Son!"
The crowd in the distance erupted in shouts.
After a while, voices of support for the Son of God and the fight against the monsters rose one after another:
"Great! It's His Royal Highness the Holy Son. We are saved!"
"Your Highness, please drive away that monster quickly!"
"If you drive him away, he'll still cause trouble. You'd better destroy him completely!"
"Your Highness..."
"Your Highness!"
The crowd who had been fleeing just now straightened their backs immediately when they saw the arrival of the Son of God, as if they had seen reinforcements.
They once again raised whatever they had in their hands, or even used whatever was available, even pulling off the suede hats on other people's heads.
"Yes! Destroy the monsters!"
"Don't try to stir up trouble in Esteril City!"
"We have the protection of the Custer family."
"In the sacred continent of Fialan, no evil will last long."
"Support His Majesty the Holy Son to defeat the monsters!"
"Support His Royal Highness the Holy Son—!"
People are afraid and panic.
This instinctive reaction to the unknown fermented into collective indignation, converging into a tsunami that rose higher and higher, almost drowning the little beast.
And he obviously didn't hurt anyone.
The Son of God, whose name they shouted, remained unaffected; interestingly, compared to those who believed in and were obsessed with him, the Son of God himself seemed to care little about humans.
He is a messenger of God, not the embodiment of justice desired by the masses, and he should have independent judgment different from that of the mob.
Li Jue was behind him, speaking repeatedly:
"Brother, he is Xixi!"
"Please don't hurt him, okay?"
"He's not a bad guy!"
Faced with the threat of the crowd approaching from far away, the cub's reaction was even more frightened than the animal itself.
The Holy Son had to distract himself to comfort him: "Brother, don't be afraid."
"Zizi is not afraid." Li Jue ignored many etiquettes and tightly grasped the corner of his clothes and begged, "He is my best friend, he is not a bad person!"
"I know, I know." The boy said helplessly, "Let's leave here first, okay? - Take him with us."
Zizi then let go of his hand, staring at his movements with his bright, light-colored eyes without blinking.
The Son of God's divine power was not only manifested in the initial forcing of demons to reveal their true form and the final purification, but it could also calm them. He assessed the condition of the little beast and measured how much strength he needed to use.
The most urgent thing is to stay away from the crowd to prevent them from hurting the little monsters, and more importantly, to prevent the little monsters from running wild.
"I won't hurt you."
He looked at the little beast and said softly.
The latter's gaze hesitated between himself and Li Jue. He wanted to trust them and move forward, but he was also worried that he would lose control and could not help but retreat.
Every time he made the slightest movement, the humans in the distance would let out high-pitched screams, especially when they discovered that he seemed to want to approach the Son of God. The screams were mixed with fear and hatred.
The little beast had to stop moving and growled uneasily.
In this kind of hesitation, anxiety gradually approaches the critical point.
Seeing the situation was not good, the Holy Son spoke again to comfort him: "Let's leave here first. The three of us will go together to a place where there is no one else."
His voice was clear and cold, like trickling snow water, and coupled with the encouraging look of the little cub beside him, the little monster, with the double comfort, finally calmed down a little with its scales that were almost standing up, along with the trembling.
The young man breathed a sigh of relief and raised his fingertips from under his sleeves to touch the other person; at this moment his strength was enough to have a slight paralyzing effect.
Everything is going in a good direction.
But accidents always come unexpectedly.
"Your Highness, please move aside and let me use my demon-slaying arrows!"
There was a commotion again, and the crowd of onlookers parted to both sides, applauding this "courage"; the man with a burly waist and tiger back and a sweat towel on his forehead carried a longbow as tall as an adult, raised an arrow with sparks and lightning at the tail, put it on the bowstring, and used his luck, aim, and strength!
Accompanied by the unheeding cries of "Are you crazy? What if you hurt His Royal Highness the Holy Son?!", the Demon-Slaying Arrow fiercely and fiercely cut through the air, making a sharp explosion and flying straight towards its target.
The Demon-Slaying Arrow is not just a fancy arrow. It does have a certain degree of lethality and powerful tracking ability, and can automatically identify and lock onto unconventional creatures.
The little beast was not sure whether the arrow could hurt it or how much damage it could cause, but it was an instinctive fear of weapons for living things.
He shrank his body and raised his scales to try to hide, but he didn't know where to escape.
At this moment, a glowing light golden figure rushed forward regardless of everything.
The little cub opened its arms and stood in front of the little monster. Even though tears of fear kept falling, it did not move a step away from the arrows that were so close to it.
Li Jue closed his eyes tightly, summoned all his courage and shouted with all his strength:
"Don't hurt Xixi--!!"
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