Chapter 124: The Festival
Disguised, they entered Lindu, the capital city, and found the streets decorated with colorful paper flowers adorning every window and doorway.
Strings were strung between buildings, festooned with lanterns and ribbons.
The roadside shrines, overflowing with fresh flowers, had been polished to a gleam.
Bai Jingxue glanced at the statue within a shrine, her gaze meeting the goddess’s, but she didn’t sense anything unusual. It seemed their actions hadn’t been noticed yet.
But the decorations weren’t the only signs of activity. People were climbing onto rooftops, tossing ropes to their neighbors, who would catch them and secure them, preparing to hang more lanterns.
The city was bustling, the prayer ceremony as lively and vibrant as the Lunar New Year celebrations in her past life.
She looked up at the men working on the rooftops, then her ears twitched, catching an unusual sound: the shifting of tiles.
A moment later, one of the men lost his footing, his body plummeting towards the ground. The people below screamed, scattering in all directions.
Bai Jingxue reacted instantly, kicking a nearby stall, its soft fabrics cushioning the man’s fall. The building wasn’t tall. He landed with a thud, unharmed.
A crowd quickly gathered, and Bai Jingxue, seizing the opportunity, slipped away, melting into the crowd, then she spotted Lü Qingyan.
Lü Qingyan rushed over, about to scoop Bai Jingxue up and spin her around, then, seeing Bai Jingxue’s warning glare, she simply grabbed her hand, her voice filled with admiration. “You’re so amazing, Jingxue!”
Lü Qingyan was always so enthusiastic. But Bai Jingxue, though she inwardly scoffed, had to admit that Lü Qingyan’s constant praise, in her past life, had helped her overcome her insecurities.
She squeezed Lü Qingyan’s hand gently, then scanned the crowd, searching for the Demon Lord and Luo Nianshang.
The city was crowded. They had been separated in the chaos.
Lü Qingyan sniffed the air, but she couldn’t locate them.
The Demon Lord, after learning that Lü Qingyan could identify her through her scent, had improved her disguise techniques. And the city’s numerous scents were interfering with Lü Qingyan’s abilities.
But there was no need to worry about them. One was a powerful half-demon, the other a walking poison factory. It was the people who offended them who should be worried.
This was a rare opportunity to spend time alone with Bai Jingxue, and Lü Qingyan’s heart fluttered with a quiet joy.
But she hadn’t forgotten their mission: to capture the Emperor, Bai Zhao, and convince her to abandon the Flower Goddess. If Bai Zhao refused, then they would simply knock her unconscious, have the Demon Lord impersonate her, and dismantle the kingdom’s faith.
That last part, the simple, brute-force solution, had been the Demon Lord’s idea. If she wasn’t so averse to governing, she would have skipped the negotiations and simply replaced Bai Zhao.
“May the Flower Goddess protect us.”
“Flower Goddess, please bless my son so he may pass the imperial examinations.”
“Flower Goddess, may my career prosper.”
Prayers echoed through the streets, their sincerity creating an oppressive atmosphere that made Bai Jingxue’s head throb.
She rubbed her temples, then, her discomfort fading, she grabbed Lü Qingyan’s hand, pulling her through the crowds, towards the center of the city.
The usually bustling square was now silent, the people kneeling, their heads bowed low.
They were facing a newly erected statue of the Flower Goddess, her hair adorned with flowers, her expression serene, her gaze benevolent.
Their prayers, synchronized, their words unfamiliar to Bai Jingxue, created a strange, hypnotic rhythm.
Bai Jingxue, glancing at the statue, then pulled Lü Qingyan away, seeking refuge in a nearby fabric shop.
Normally, a shopkeeper would greet them with a cheerful welcome, but this one was kneeling before a small statue of the Flower Goddess, his eyes closed, his lips moving in silent prayer.
The shop was spacious, but the lighting was poor, creating a dim, almost oppressive atmosphere. Rolls of fabric in various colors and textures lined the walls, their vibrancy a welcome contrast to the gloom.
But the shopkeeper’s soft chanting made Bai Jingxue uneasy.
She exchanged a glance with Lü Qingyan. Although she didn’t share this kingdom’s faith, she felt like they should leave.
As she turned to go, she noticed a faint, grayish aura emanating from the shopkeeper’s body. It was the aura of death.
She paused, approaching the shopkeeper. His face was pale, his lips dry and cracked. He hadn’t eaten in days.
He would die at this rate.
She was about to speak to him, to offer assistance, when she felt a cold, malevolent gaze on her.
She turned, her eyes meeting the statue’s, its smile fixed and unnatural.
The statue’s eyes had moved, but the shopkeeper, his eyes still closed, his hands clasped together, hadn’t noticed.
A sharp pain pierced Bai Jingxue’s mind, and she closed her eyes, finding herself face to face with the evil god.
She wasn’t afraid. She simply stared at her, her gaze cold and unwavering.
The evil god looked her up and down, then chuckled, her voice laced with disdain. “We meet again, hypocrite.”
Bai Jingxue didn’t care about the insult. “I would rather not see you, evil god,” she said, her voice flat.
The evil god feigned sadness, her voice a playful whine. “You don’t want to see me?” she asked. “Have you forgotten our promise?”
The one who had made that promise had been Er Ya, not the evil god. Bai Jingxue knew the difference.
Perhaps because they were in Bai Jingxue’s mind, the evil god could hear her thoughts, even the unspoken ones.
She laughed, tears streaming down her face, then she wiped them away, her movements swift and precise.
She held up a flower, twirling its stem between her fingers. The yellow petals blurred, resembling a miniature fan.
Perhaps she had spun it too fast, or perhaps the petal had simply been ready to fall, but it drifted down, landing at her feet.
She tossed the flower aside, then levitated, crossing her legs. “What will it take for you to understand that I am Er Ya?” she asked, her voice a soft whisper.
Bai Jingxue sat down, closing her eyes, unwilling to see Er Ya’s face twisted into expressions that didn’t belong to her. “Why are you so determined to prove that you and Er Ya are the same person?” she asked. “Is my opinion truly that important?”
The evil god was silenced, then she scoffed. “It’s not important,” she said. “But your obsession with my… humanity is tiresome.”
Her expression twisted, her voice laced with a bitter resentment. “Because of that weak, pathetic girl,” she hissed, “I’m trapped like this, forced to hide from insignificant ants like you.”
She ripped the flowers from her arms, tossing them to the ground, stomping on them, her actions a stark contrast to her usual serene demeanor.
Bai Jingxue, listening to her frustrated outburst, couldn’t help but frown.
In her mind, gods were supposed to be aloof and composed, their emotions controlled. This easily provoked evil god reminded her of a spoiled child.
Sensing her thoughts, the evil god glared at her, which only reinforced Bai Jingxue’s assessment. She forced herself to calm down.
But the Emperor of Cang Xi now worshipped her. Once she had consumed the kingdom’s faith, her power would return.
And with power, she could reclaim the fragments of her divinity, her abilities. She had been observing them. Aside from Luo Nianshang, who possessed her destiny, they were all relatively weak.
She would eliminate them, then she would take back her destiny from Luo Nianshang. Then, her power restored, she would destroy this world, this world that had become so… prosperous.
Bai Jingxue frowned again, her mind filled with sarcastic comments, which she didn’t bother suppressing, since the evil god could hear her thoughts.
But the evil god wasn’t afraid. She had been in Cang Xi for a long time. Faith wasn’t easily earned or discarded. If she hadn’t needed time to recover, she would have simply replaced Bai Zhao.
And frequent appearances would have attracted the attention of both the righteous and demon realms.
But she had recovered now. And she had been discovered. There was no point in hiding anymore.
Luo Nianshang possessed her destiny. If it weren’t for the unusual rules of this world, Luo Nianshang would have already ascended to godhood. Now, with her destiny amplified, even in this flawed world, she could replace the evil god.
That was why the evil god was afraid. That was why she had been so active lately.
This was her last chance to eliminate Luo Nianshang.
She shouldn’t be telling Bai Jingxue all this, but for some reason, she felt compelled to share her thoughts, her frustrations, even her fears. She wanted them to understand.
But such thoughts were childish, unbefitting a god. She remained silent.
She stared at Bai Jingxue, her eyes closed, then her form began to fade, her voice echoing in Bai Jingxue’s mind.
“Bai Jingxue, you will be my next witness.”
“Let’s play a game,” she continued, her voice laced with a chilling amusement. “Once I regain my full power, you will try to stop me. Hehe. That will be… entertaining.”
Bai Jingxue opened her eyes, her expression not one of fear or anger, but of sadness. She had heard the despair in the evil god’s voice.
But her despair was overshadowed by madness.
She could sense the evil god’s hatred for this world.
There was no way to redeem her.
Bai Jingxue sighed softly, returning to reality. The shopkeeper had collapsed, his body lying motionless on the floor.
She quickly searched for food, but the shop was empty.
“Don’t bother,” Lü Qingyan’s voice, calm and steady, said from behind her. “He’s dead.”
This was just the beginning.
A thud echoed through the shop as someone stumbled through the doorway, their head striking the doorframe. They collapsed, unconscious.
And the floor beneath their feet cracked, the rift reaching Luo Nianshang’s feet, then stopping, slowly closing.
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