Chapter 85: Bonus Chapter 2
Misha finally understood why Samuel wore such a dazed, disillusioned expression.
He didnât know how the statues were crafted in the human world, but when he saw the statue of Genesis for the first time, he noticed a seventy-percent resemblance to her actual appearance. The remaining thirty percent difference lay entirely in her height.
Indeed, the Goddess of Light, Genesis, didnât even reach Mishaâs shoulder.
Back in the Shen Jie, Misha hadnât found anything unusual about this. His interactions with Genesis werenât frequent, but she had a friendly and sweet personality. Misha never thought it was strange until he arrived in this world and saw the statues the living beings here had erected for her.
All the statues of goddesses possessed a nearly uniform, slender height and a perfect figure. Coupled with the fact that these statues were built on a grand scale, Misha had found it difficult to connect the stone figure with the Genesis in his memory.
But even so, he didn’t quite get why Samuel looked so shattered.
Genesis stood before them, tilting her head back with some effort to look at the group.
Genesis: “…”
Lance: “…”
Samuel: “…”
Misha: “…”
Dammit, my neck is getting sore.
Arlo cleared his throat and introduced Genesis to everyone. He didn’t dare say outright that she was the Goddess Genesis whom humanity worshipped so fervently. Instead, he beat around the bush to fabricate a somewhat plausible identity for her.
“This is the Sheng NĂź of the Goddess of Light Temple,” Arlo said. “Their temple is located on the ice fields, and they have also been affected by the destruction of the Yi Jie Zhi Men.”
There truly was a Temple of the Goddess of Light on the ice fields. It was situated at the highest point of the frozen lands, atop a snow-capped peak where few humans ventured. People from that temple rarely left the mountain to interfere with worldly affairs. In other words, even if Arlo spun such a lie, Misha and the others had no way to verify or expose it.
However, the Sheng NĂź of the Snowy Mountain Temple was known as the person closest to the Goddess Genesis. They held an extremely high status within the Church, nearly equal to that of the Da Zhu Ji in the Royal Capital. As a knight of the Church whose elder brother was the Knight Commander, Samuel might have actually met a Sheng NĂź before.
Samuel’s current odd behavior likely stemmed from the lie Arlo had told him in private when asking him to keep Genesisâs identity a secret. Misha decided he would pull Arlo aside later to ask about it.
Arlo cleared his throat again. “The Sheng NĂź-daren has come specifically to investigate the issues regarding the Yi Jie Zhi Men.”
Having said that, he turned to Genesis, waiting for her reaction.
Genesis gave everyone her habitual, friendly smile. She first looked at the Yong Zhe before her and asked, “You must be the Yong Zhe of Salvation.”
Misha: “…”
Misha had a bad feeling. Almost every time Genesis spoke to Lance, things didn’t end well. He felt this time would be no exception. Even if Genesis was using the identity of a Sheng NĂź, Lance had traveled through so many worldsâhe likely recognized her appearance.
Sure enough, Lance knit his brows and studied Genesis for a moment before asking, “Sheng NĂź?”
Genesis answered earnestly, “Yes, I am.”
Lance turned curiously to Samuel. “Compared to a Da Zhu Ji, which one has a higher status?”
Misha: “…”
Genesis: “…”
Looking at the Yong Zheâs expression, Misha didn’t think he was being difficult on purpose. He was genuinely curious. It was like a simple academic discussion; he didn’t understand the hierarchy of the Church, and since Samuel was the most knowledgeable person there, he sought the answer from him.
Samuel was stunned. He didnât know how to respond. From the start, he had been in a state of absent-mindedness. When Lance asked him, he could only stare blankly before turning his gaze to Arlo and Genesis, looking utterly lost.
Arlo was also embarrassed. “Uh…”
Genesis: “This…”
Misha: “…”
Wait, how can you even compare clergy members like that!
Seeing that no one was answering, Lance provided his own conclusion.
“It seems the Da Zhu Ji is higher,” Lance said. “He brings more knights with him.”
Genesis: “…”
Arlo: “…”
Genesis took a deep breath, trying to skip over this bizarre topic.
Genesis: “I have heard of your nameâ”
Lance: “Mm, ever since Lan Si became the Yong Zhe, everyone has heard of my name.”
Genesis: “…”
Misha: “…”
What is wrong with this annoying Hero! Is he really not doing this on purpose?!
Genesis: “I have heard of the things you have doneâ”
Lance: “Indeed, news of the Yong Zheâs deeds always spreads fast.”
Genesis: “…”
Misha: “…”
Genesis was starting to find it hard to continue. She finally understood the predicament Misha and Arlo faced working in this world, and just what kind of “miraculous” creature this Yong Zhe was.
Genesis tried one last time. She thought that among everyone here, she had the most experience dealing with Yong Zhe. She was Arlo’s senior, after all; if there was something Arlo couldn’t solve, she believed she could. So what if the Yong Zhe was strange? She would work hard to pull him back onto the right path right now.
Keeping the smile on her face, Genesis said, “I hope you can assist me in invesâ”
Lance: “You can just go in yourself.”
Genesis: “…”
Misha: “…”
Too heartless, Hero! Too heartless! Sheâs going to notice something is wrong!
Lance frowned slightly. “Iâve already gone in to investigate. I didnât see anything.”
Genesis: “But…”
Lance: “Twice.”
Genesis: “…”
Genesis turned back and looked at Arlo. Arlo gave her a slight nod. The Yong Zhe had indeed entered the Sheng Di twice under the commission of the Knights and the High Priest. As far as Arlo knew, they hadnât found anything. The Yi Jie Zhi Men had been destroyed so thoroughly that it was difficult to find any useful clues.
Still, Genesis found it hard to accept the Yong Zheâs eccentricity. She blinked at Misha and then deliberately asked, “Is this the Divine Envoy Misha?”
Misha: “…Yes.”
Even though it felt silly, he had to give Genesis face and play along with this drama. Perhaps they could gain some clues they didn’t have before.
“I shall relay the oracle of the Goddess,” Genesis said. “However, for the time being, this oracle can only be relayed to the two Divine Envoys.”
Lance nodded calmly, showing not a hint of curiosity about their conversation. Without hesitation, he turned and walked toward a slightly more distant part of the forest. Samuel simply let out a complex sigh and followed Lance, walking away with him.
Misha couldn’t help but ask, “Whatâs wrong with Samuel?”
“He has seen the Sheng NĂź of the temple,” Arlo frowned. “I could only scramble to make up some lies.”
Misha: “What lies?”
“Thatâs not important,” Genesis hurriedly interrupted their small talk. “We should talk about the Yong Zhe first.”
Misha: “…”
The Yong Zhe… he had always been this annoying. Misha felt there really wasn’t much to talk about.
Genesis took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “What is up with this Yong Zhe?!”
Misha felt a bit nervous, worried that the Yong Zheâs strange behavior would arouse Genesisâs suspicion. He could only say, “The Yong Zhe has always been like this.”
Arlo was eager to confirm this, adding, “Yes, he’s always like this.”
Genesis: “…”
Genesis thought that this Yong Zhe was indeed far too out of line. Under normal circumstances, she would have plenty of time to find a way to handle this so the Yong Zhe could complete his mission smoothly. But this time, it really wouldn’t work. This was the first time something as major as the destruction of a Yi Jie Zhi Men had occurred. From now on, all of the Divine Realm’s attention would likely be focused on this matter. She probably wouldn’t be able to look after this Yong Zhe much longer.
In that case, it was better to be quick and settle the Yong Zheâs evaluation all at once.
Genesis nodded and asked, “How is this Yong Zheâs strength currently?”
Misha was taken aback, not quite understanding why she would ask this so suddenly. He was worried that if Genesis discovered the Yong Zheâs exaggerated power, she would suspect Lance. He didn’t answer, but Arlo nodded with absolute certainty.
“Extremely strong.”
Genesis: “Strong enough to defeat the Mo Wang?”
Misha: “Eh?”
How did the conversation shift to me?
Arlo gave a firm confirmation once more. “He should be able to.”
Genesis: “He developed that fast?”
“Misha tried to ambush him,” Arlo said. “He was able to easily grab Mishaâs taiâ”
Misha: “Stop! Don’t say another word!”
He didn’t want to recall those painful memories ever again!
Arlo coughed lightly and stopped mentioning that strange night. Genesis, however, felt she understood. Although the Yong Zhe hadn’t visited the Shen Ta for three years, he had grown very quickly. He already had the ability to kill the Mo Wang. This was a good thing and extremely beneficial for their next plan.
“Then let’s do this,” Genesis said. “Weâll settle the selection of the Yong Zhe first, then go about repairing the damage to the Yi Jie Zhi Men.”
Misha: “…Eh?”
What?
How did we suddenly jump to selecting the Yong Zhe?
Genesis was already looking at Misha with a smile.
“Is he still unwilling to go to the Mo Wang Cheng?” Genesis asked. “How about we change our approach? You transform back into the Mo Wang and go challenge him to a duel directly.”
Misha: “…”
Misha: “……………”
Crap.
Did I forget to tell the Yong Zhe that I am actually the Mo Wang?!
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