Your Preference (6)
“She created a unique divine art for that person.”
Lilith heard the phrase “punishment for dishonesty,” and the hopeful light in her eyes dimmed. She seemed to want to say something more for herself, but the person in front of her had already turned away. She felt a mysterious sense of reverence and dependency on Xu Jiao, which made her dare not defy Xu Jiao’s decision, and she could only obediently bow her head and listen.
She worriedly thought to herself whether she would have to return to her previous life once Sister Grace and Sister Anna arrived.
The excitement of having escaped this terrible family disappeared in an instant, and Lilith only felt like her heart was entangled by vines. All those fears climbed up, and even though she was standing in front of the bright Sun Temple, she seemed to be shrouded in shadow, unable to say or do anything, simply waiting dazedly for the unknown terror to descend upon her.
She followed Xu Jiao in a daze, trying to move forward, but at that moment, she was stopped by the higher-ranking golden guards of the temple. Their actions were very cold, and seeing the sharp blade blocking her path, Lilith was stunned for a moment.
Andrew smiled timely and said to her:
“Oh, child, there’s no need to be afraid. Inside is a place only the Saintess and the Pope can enter. I think perhaps you wouldn’t mind having some afternoon tea. Well… in the time it takes for a cup of tea, the Saintess can come out.”
Lilith had no choice. She looked at Xu Jiao with attachment, like a fledgling bird flying out of the nest for the first time, unsure of what storms and rain might lie ahead, so she tried to flap her wings and stay by the big bird’s side a little longer.
Xu Jiao simply smiled at her and said, “Go on.”
Lilith walked away, turning back every few steps.
Xu Jiao entered the church and met the Pope of the Sun Temple. He looked much younger than Andrew—handsome and tall, like a prince stepping out of a fairy tale.
Only those emerald green eyes, like jade with traces of sediment, leave a deep impression.
As if they have seen too much of the continent’s vicissitudes.1
His eyes…
Do not seem like those of a young person.
Rather than being full of youthful vigor, it is more like a golden crown, worn crookedly on his head. He walked to Xu Jiao’s side, bent down to perform a hand-kissing ceremony, and his voice was deep, like the low tones of a cello being played:
“I have finally awaited you,” he said with a smile, “My God.”
Xu Jiao lowered her eyes to watch his actions. She could feel the surging power of the Sun God emanating from his body and from this splendid hall with twelve Doric columns. The Sun God’s art possesses a series of effects such as purification, dispelling darkness, and healing, which also explains why the Pope is so young.
Upon hearing his words, “My God,” Xu Jiao’s hand slightly moved, and she simply said, “I am not a god.”
At least not yet.
What is the difference between a god and a mortal?
A god is all-knowing and all-powerful.
There is ultimately a difference between an incarnation and the original. Even though Xu Jiao is now considered partially a divine being, possessing the Creator God’s ability to hear the voices of believers, being instinctively harmonious with natural elements, and capable of using many different divine arts, yet…
She still cannot be considered a god.
Unless this incarnation of hers is reclaimed by the Creator God, or in special circumstances such as death, she cannot return to the divine palace in the heavens.
She is very clear about this point.
Xu Jiao is not too surprised by the demeanor displayed by the Pope of the Sun God Temple. The popes of the six divine temples are completely respectful and loyal to the gods. With the divine power they now possess, discerning the extraordinary nature of Xu Jiao is quite normal.
The temple records many stories of gods’ incarnations coming to the human world.
In these stories, the temple always reacts the fastest. They are the most faithful servants of the gods, and even towards the incarnations of gods, they hold an unparalleled longing, charging into battle for them and being invincible for them.
At the beginning.
On this continent, only the Sun God Temple, upon knowing that the incarnation of a god has come to the human world, has its guards protect Them until the divine incarnation imparts everything about ‘destiny.’ The word ‘destiny’ awakens the lost sheep, and thus the Temple of Destiny is born.
Then come the Storm, Judgment…
And so on.
Every time God visits the human world, They bestow another treasure upon the people, dispelling darkness once more. This allows the people of the Miracle Continent to always live in happiness and light, as long as they wholeheartedly believe in and serve the gods. The gods will respond to all the devout wishes of their followers.
Upon hearing Xu Jiao’s words, the Pope in front of her smiled and added, “You will be.”
Subsequently, he restrained the smile on his face, performed a complete bow to Xu Jiao, and said in an exceptionally solemn tone, “Pope Henry XIII of the Sun God Temple pledges all his loyalty to my god—”
“Where the holy light of the sun purifies, all darkness and shadows will have nowhere to hide.”
He understands the mission of God coming to the world better than Xu Jiao does.
Xu Jiao remained silent. In fact, she hasn’t yet written about why God’s incarnation would come to the Miracle Continent. This character’s role in the original text was simply to empower the heroine. As to why God would incarnate and come to the continent?
Now, this NPC, Henry XIII, has already arranged it for her.
It’s not because God is bored, but because it seems that dark forces have reappeared in this world.
Xu Jiao maintained her expressionless demeanor, waiting for Henry to continue fleshing out her character. As expected, Henry succinctly explained the greatest threat currently facing the Miracle Continent. It was said that magic wolves and snow demons shrouded in dark mist appeared in the Zake Mountains, impossible to kill or eliminate, posing a great threat to people.
Originally, they hadn’t planned to trouble God with this matter, but unexpectedly, after hearing about it, God incarnated and came to the human world.
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What followed was a long string of flattery.
Xu Jiao silently listened, feeling that something wasn’t quite right—
With God’s high status, having a lifespan as long as the entire world, having lived for tens of thousands of years, is it really because of the appearance of strange things like magic wolves that God came to the human world?
Moreover.
In essence, Xu Jiao hadn’t discovered herself being sustained by any power of faith. She vaguely felt that the status of the Creator God wouldn’t be affected by the lack of human belief. Humans were merely something They created out of boredom. In other words, you might protect a group of ants you keep from external harm, but who would be bored enough to mediate in what happens among the ants?
How could these magic wolves or snow demons possibly cause God to come to the human world to handle them?
If the various temples were truly troubled by this problem, there exists a divine descent technique in the temple. By using the divine power of the popes to perform it, it would be enough to bring a part of God’s power to the human world and completely annihilate these things. Why would it be necessary to pull out a rib to incarnate? That would be… too grand.
Xu Jiao stood there silently, with many thoughts crossing her mind. But since this world had only revealed the tip of the iceberg, even she didn’t know how the plot would unfold. She could only ask the system in her mind:
“System, do you know why God incarnated into the human world?”
System: “…You’re God, and you’re asking me?”
Xu Jiao: “…You’re the one who arranged this identity. If I don’t ask you, who should I ask?”
System: “The characters mentioned in the first ten chapters are just these few. I picked them randomly, so I’m quite confused myself.”
Xu Jiao: “…”
Fine, you win.
She vaguely felt that something unknown to her had changed here, and even after searching her mind, she couldn’t find any impression related to this matter. She could only quietly wait for Henry to finish his flattery. When he asked if she had any arrangements for her temporary residence, she shook her head:
“Anywhere is fine.”
She said, “But I want to go to the central God Tower immediately to see the relevant recorded documents inside. Is that okay?”
Being this God doesn’t seem to be as easy as she imagined.
If she doesn’t understand what she needs to do, Xu Jiao always feels like she’s being passive, led by the unknown plot of the entire world.
Henry relaxed his brows and said to her, “Of course, as you wish—”
“It’s just that you’ve just traveled from the Western Continent, and I think you should rest first. All the lofts of the God Tower are always open to you, so you don’t need to be in such a hurry.”
Xu Jiao nodded calmly, allowing him to make arrangements: “Okay.”
……
Lilith absentmindedly finished a cup of black tea.
It was strange; even though she was somewhat frightened by the matters concerning her two sisters, she oddly didn’t feel anything for the fragrant, soft delicacies and exquisite flower tea, unlike when she had a good appetite while on the carriage.
Usually, when she was scared, she would always eat a lot upon seeing food because whenever she felt she was going to have bad luck, that feeling always proved true. If she didn’t hurry to eat her fill, she wouldn’t know when she’d have the chance to eat again.
Lilith seriously reflected on her current state of being unable to eat despite the delicious food, and she forced herself to swallow two more pieces of soft bread and finished the black tea in front of her. Just then, she saw someone from the hall come over and say that Her Holiness had already gone to the resting place and asked Lilith to go there as soon as possible.
Clearly, it was a servant’s task, yet she was as happy as a little bird.
She curtsied to Andrew and then stared at him with bright eyes, unable to hide her impatience.
Andrew shook his head with a smile and said to her, “Go on, return to your holy maiden, little girl.”
Lilith curtsied to him again before joyfully quickening her pace to walk outside. Andrew watched her back, a hint of contemplation appearing in his eyes. After a few seconds, he suddenly raised his hand, his lips moved slightly, and a golden sphere of light appeared in the palm of his hand.
The light sphere remained motionless, with no change in color and nothing else appearing.
Andrew lowered his palm and chuckled softly.
“Isn’t it?”
It wasn’t this person.
Then who could it be?
After thinking for a moment, he patiently waited a little longer in his seat until there was hardly any black tea left in the cup. Suddenly, he heard a voice enter his ears:
“Is it her?”
The voice was deep, carrying an air of authority.
Andrew lowered his eyes and respectfully responded, “I’m sorry, Your Excellency, it is not her—I have already used holy water for detection. If… it were that demon, it would be impossible to continue maintaining a disguise under such a force of light.”
Pausing, he said, “Perhaps that thing has not yet appeared.”
The deep voice was somewhat irritable: “As soon as possible, send out more people, including notifying Beyoncé and the others. Now that the incarnation of God has appeared, our time is short, and we cannot delay any longer—the power of God is beyond our imagination. Once this incarnation returns to the divine position, the entire continent will turn to ashes.”
How could humans possibly withstand the wrath of a god?
Andrew understood this point as well. After bowing, he quickly said, “I understand. We will immediately transmit the orders to the churches in the towns and increase the intensity of the search. Rest assured, we will not let that demon escape a second time.”
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“Remember, as soon as possible.”
……
On the other side.
Inside a large hall behind the temple.
The temple maidens coming in and out were arranging the room for Xu Jiao. This hall was truly too spacious, as if no matter how many people came, it could never be filled. Lilith followed closely behind Xu Jiao, not speaking, just sticking to her side like a little pet.
Then Grace and Anna arrived.
The two of them politely greeted Xu Jiao, their expressions very obedient, but judging from Lilith’s trembling appearance, they certainly were not the easygoing type in private.
Xu Jiao could feel Lilith’s nervousness. When Grace and Anna asked her what they should do, Xu Jiao lazily said:
“Whatever.”
The two girls were still in shock when Xu Jiao glanced outside and casually said, “Just stay a bit farther from here. I don’t like too many people around me.”
Grace and Anna said, “This…”
They looked at Lilith, then at Xu Jiao, as if they still wanted to say something. However, Xu Jiao turned and walked away. After taking a couple of steps, she saw Lilith still standing there and couldn’t help but turn her head and call out in a slightly puzzled tone:
“Lilith?”
Lilith immediately reacted, jogging to catch up with her, her face blushing as if she had discerned something incredible from Xu Jiao’s simple command earlier. Her sea-blue eyes were glowing, exceptionally bright.
Xu Jiao was about to say something to her, but when she turned her head, she met Lilith’s big, doe-like eyes and couldn’t help but laugh, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Lilith seemed to want to say something, but when the words reached her mouth, she just shook her head and softly said to Xu Jiao, “Nothing.”
She said, “I… I’m just a little happy, although it’s not very appropriate.”
How could she feel happy just because the Saintess refused the close service of the two sisters?
Lilith reminded herself to be kind and forgiving.
However, a small voice in her heart said, “But the Saintess said that God does not require humans to be forgiving.”
So her happiness became even more apparent.
Xu Jiao didn’t expect her happiness to come so easily and shook her head while looking at her. After Lilith’s excitement subsided, she remembered that the Saintess had been standing with her for quite a while, and it was clear that she had something to say earlier.
Lilith nervously pinched the corner of her clothes and asked, “Is there something you want me to do?”
Xu Jiao looked at her and raised her hand to smooth the slightly messy curly blonde hair at the back of her head, gently saying, “Nothing much, I just remembered that you seemed to envy your sisters for attending the Sun Academy. Do you want to go?”
Lilith parted her lips.
Why does happiness always come so suddenly?
She dared not move, allowing Xu Jiao’s actions to fall upon her hair, carrying that faint, indescribable fragrance that continuously brushed past her nose and surroundings. Her cheeks turned as red and rosy as ripe wild fruits, and after a long while, she softly asked:
“Is it possible?”
Xu Jiao found her interesting and did not rush to answer, “But you must agree to one condition.”
Lilith focused on her, her blue eyes like the clearest water on the continent, clean and pure, with golden curls slightly falling by her cheeks, making her look even more beautiful than the dolls in the store windows.
She attentively, with full concentration, watched Xu Jiao’s crimson lips, waiting for the condition to be spoken from them.
No matter how difficult—
Lilith thought, she would still do it.
Only then could she live up to the Saintess’s nurturing and test.
She secretly clenched her small fists to encourage herself, waiting for Xu Jiao to speak of what might be a very difficult test. Xu Jiao, intending to tease her, dragged out the time for a long while until sweat was almost seeping from the child’s forehead, before she slowly and unhurriedly spoke:
“Let me think…”
Xu Jiao bent down, leaned close to her, touched her forehead, exchanged breaths at close range, and softly said, “Perhaps this will be very difficult for you, so you must think carefully before agreeing with me. Once you agree, if you can’t do it later, I will be very disappointed, you know?”
Lilith’s throat moved slightly, and she nodded with a small movement.
Her eyelashes trembled uneasily, like butterfly wings.
Xu Jiao didn’t torment her any longer and straightforwardly stated her condition: “Don’t let anyone bully you, including your two sisters—how about it, can you do that? If you can, I will help you apply for the opportunity to attend the academy.”
Lilith looked at her in shock.
Her first reaction was, what kind of condition is this?
Subsequently, a delayed bitterness rose in her heart…
She opened her lips, seeming to want to defend herself, but when she met Xu Jiao’s deep black eyes, she felt that all her timid and cowardly excuses had already been seen through. The Saintess seemed to know what a coward she was.
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On one side was an unprecedented opportunity, and on the other was resisting her two terrible sisters. Lilith’s delicate eyebrows knitted together, seeming to fall into extreme conflict.
She looked down at her slender arms.
Thinking of her two sisters grabbing her hair when angry, dragging her into the small storage room to punch and kick her, her eyes filled once again with gloom, as if dominated by deep, hopeless fear.
Xu Jiao had been waiting patiently for her, but seeing Lilith looking as if she would suffocate herself, she couldn’t help but slightly reflect on whether she was pushing too hard.
When the child trembled slightly due to the imagined scenario and opened her lips as if wanting to forcibly agree, Xu Jiao suddenly changed her mind:
“Perhaps I was a bit too hasty—”
Maybe she was eager for the heroine to grow up quickly, to carve out her own world, and to write her own story, so she was a bit too eager.
Xu Jiao sighed softly and said, “Then I’ll teach you a spell. Once you’ve learned it, think about this matter again. How about it?”
Lilith’s uncontrollable trembling paused. She looked at Xu Jiao and said with difficulty, “I’m just a little… lacking in courage. Please give me some time; I can definitely do it.”
She wanted to say something more, but Xu Jiao raised her hand and gently made a “shush” gesture on her lips.
“Be quiet,” she said. “Listen carefully with your ears, and also watch closely with your eyes to feel the trajectory of divine power—”
Xu Jiao lightly drew a very complex golden character in the air.
The lines were extremely smooth, and as her movement completed, the golden character shed powder, with golden dust flying towards a distant pillar, followed by a “boom” sound.
The golden pillar turned into a golden pig.
It was still made of the same metallic material, but the whole scene looked somewhat comical.
Lilith’s eyes widened.
Footnotes
- Vicissitudes: A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.