Su Cheng felt that there was no need to ask for his older brother's name anymore.
She would have plenty of opportunities to find out the answer. Besides, if she showed interest in his brother, who knew how annoyed Gerald might get?
If he really was the God of Envy from the past.
This realization made her feel a sense of novelty.
It wasn't her first time interacting with a god, but this kind of experience was a first, especially considering she had seen him after his ascension to godhood.
"Well," Su Cheng coughed lightly, "I actually think you're better looking."
This probably wasn't a very clever way to comfort someone.
But perhaps because the young God of Envy was easier to handle, a smile almost instantly appeared on his beautiful face.
Gerald suppressed the corners of his mouth that wanted to turn up, "Is that so?"
"Mhm," Su Cheng rested her chin on her hand and looked at him, "You're the most beautiful and charming man I've ever seen."
The blond boy chuckled softly, "You sure have a sweet mouth."
Not long after, a few more guests came in. They were all wearing pitch-black trench coats with daggers or swords hanging from their waists, and casually sat near the counter.
It was Su Cheng's first time seeing this kind of attire, so she couldn't help but take an extra glance.
One of them was probably sensitive to gazes and immediately looked back, his eyes quite sharp.
She offered an apologetic look and then continued to lower her head and drink her beverage.
"...Young Master," a servant who had been sitting and waiting nearby stood up and softly reminded him, "It's almost time."
Gerald was staring blankly at the waterscape outside the window. Hearing this, he nodded listlessly.
He stood up, perhaps intending to say his goodbyes, but looking at the black-haired girl in front of him, he felt a bit reluctant.
The blond boy bit his lip, his eyes suddenly flashing as he said, "Right, you don't have a place to stay right now. Of course, since you have money, finding an inn to settle down in wouldn't be difficult. However, I still hope I can have the honor of inviting you to be a guest at my home."
Su Cheng was actually quite willing, because this would allow her to further confirm his identity. As long as his brother's name matched the one in the poems, there would be no doubt.
On the surface, she still hesitated for a moment. "...I'm indeed not very familiar with this place. I heard that hotels in the upper district might check identities, while the lower district is rather chaotic."
"Chaotic? That's certainly a polite way of putting it."
The blond boy twitched the corners of his mouth, "That's right. Swindlers, thieves, robbers, wanted criminals, and professional killers—despicable lower-class people gather in those places."
He noticed Su Cheng's gaze and crossly added, "I'm not saying all lower-class people are despicable. I'm only talking about the people engaged in those 'professions'."
Su Cheng: "...That's not what I wanted to say. Mainly, will it cause you trouble?"
"No," Gerald said immediately. "I'm not a child anymore. I have my own property. You can rest there for a couple of days, or stay longer, it doesn't matter. I can feel that you're an outstanding magician. I've never had a magician friend my own age before. Perhaps we can study magic together."
Su Cheng blinked, "You don't have any magician friends your age?"
"Yeah," the blond boy slightly raised his chin. "I know many magicians my age, but their level is completely incapable of accomplishing anything with me—at least the projects I want to do. And their character makes me feel like I can't be friends with them."
Su Cheng couldn't help but break a cold sweat, "I'm actually not the research type either. I haven't read many books."
"It doesn't matter," Gerald said with certainty. "Just looking at the intensity of your magic power and the activity level of the elemental spirits on your body, you must have a superb talent for elemental magic. I'm talking about comprehension and understanding, which can usually be applied to other fields of magic. That is what most people lack. Even if they have a resonance level, it doesn't change the fact that they are idiots."
Su Cheng: "...Alright, thank you for having so much confidence in me. But if I mess up, it will only be because you had too many expectations of me."
He froze for a moment, then began to laugh, "Hahahaha, it's fine. I don't think my judgment is off. But if it really does happen, well, it doesn't prove anything. After all, judging from the state of your battle aura, your time isn't just spent on magic."
Su Cheng fell silent.
So you're a dual cultivator of magic and martial arts too!
Otherwise, where would he get the ability to sense someone else's battle aura, let alone carefully analyze its intensity? The latter requires a much higher level of strength than the former.
Su Cheng agreed.
She knew that the Seven Gods of Sin were all top-tier experts when they were human. Even the weakest among them, the God of Carnal Lust—was only weak compared to his peers.
Placed among humans, he was an absolute genius.
Regardless of whether the person in front of her was the future God of Envy, he was definitely an expert, and she could more or less learn something from him.
There were a few beautiful small boats by the shore, seemingly waiting specifically for departing guests. As soon as they walked out the door, they boarded a boat, sailed across two rippling blue canals, and arrived at a residential area.
The villas here were all exquisite two-story buildings. Pale green vines climbed along the outer walls and window sills, with bell-shaped light blue flowers dangling from the vines.
"Those are Tide Bells."
Gerald noticed Su Cheng's gaze and casually explained.
"They bloom before the tide comes in... But the edges of Yasuo's city are protected by magical barriers, so there's no need to worry about any danger."
He pointed to the small building in front of them, "This is my house."
Su Cheng looked at the white oak-colored wooden door, "What material is this? It's my first time seeing this kind of pattern."
"Sinking Water Wood. This kind of tree is distributed throughout the southern part of the Anser Principality. It won't rot even after soaking in seawater for hundreds of years. It can also be used to make magic wands, but that wouldn't be a very good choice."
Gerald opened the door, "You can rest here for a while. I have something to do and need to visit my parents first. You can read the books here freely, and use anything you like, just don't break them. If there's anything you want to eat, feel free. The basement is locked; I'll take you in when I get back. Oh, you'll be staying in the bedroom on the second floor right across from the stairs. You can go take a look now, and if you need anything else added... well, let's leave it at that for now."
He spoke methodically, while the two servants were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, not daring to make a sound to rush him.
After the blond boy finished speaking, he turned around and went down the steps, "Alright, alright, let's go. I won't be late!"
Su Cheng strolled around the small house. The first-floor living room was furnished with a sofa and a rug. Oranges and berries were placed on the coffee table, next to jars of syrup and powdered sugar. The kitchen had ham, cheese, and sea salt bread, as well as some bottles of magical beast fat and various spices.
There was also a library, which looked like two rooms merged into one. The space was quite spacious, with wooden boards paneled on all four walls. Various books and scrolls were densely stacked. On the desk in the middle sat a quill, an ink bottle, and other items, all tidied up quite neatly. There was an open thick-leather book, and next to it was a stack of draft paper densely covered with calculation formulas.
Su Cheng walked over and found that the contents of the book resembled alien literature. She glanced at the page number, then closed the book and looked at the cover.
The Architecture of Existence: On the First Truth of Position.
Su Cheng was speechless.
If Gerald wanted to study this thing with her, he might as well just kill her.
But then again...
Spatial magic?!
As a type of arcane magic, its origins remained unknown to this day. Unlike elemental magic, which strictly required an innate resonance talent, or blood magic and many other esoteric magics, where one only needed to follow a set process to extract mana and rely on comprehension for the rest.
Exactly what kind of talent spatial magic required and what kind of person could successfully learn it had always been a mystery.
Because it could not be accurately tested, various theories emerged in the academic world. Some believed it was a special physical constitution that simply lacked a corresponding testing method. Others believed it was a blessing from the gods, but this view was extremely dangerous because none of the existing major gods had authorities directly linked to this. In the eyes of the clerics of some churches, this could only refer to the false gods in the void.
Many people learned for decades without gaining anything, while some could grasp the basics in just a few days.
Su Cheng did not know which category Gerald fell into.
She flipped through the book from the beginning. The preface clarified the author's viewpoint: spatial magic had absolutely nothing to do with any talent, bloodline, or divine blessing.
The author believed that learning this power was based on comprehending the essence of the world.
The world perceived by people, such as distance, direction, position, and so on, were merely convenient concepts created by mortal minds to understand existence.
True reality was a perfect, eternal crystal structure full of mathematical logic.
At the end of the preface, there was a line of tiny, ornate cursive text.
The beginning is also the end. A tribute to the Lord of Dimensions, the Endless Doorway, the Supreme Ruler of the Universal Domain.
Following that was the first chapter, which consisted of page after page of axioms, corollaries, and proofs.
It made Su Cheng dizzy just looking at it.
She silently flipped the book back to the previous page and left it open, then walked around the study. She found that, aside from some elemental magic tomes, all the books were about spatial magic.
She picked up a copy of Introduction to Forbidden Spatial Spells: The Sensory Paradox, flipped through a few pages, and found it easy to understand, so she went to sit on the sofa in the hall to read.
The book was stuffed with many small slips of paper containing annotations. The handwriting looked a bit immature, like that of a child.
Su Cheng read until evening.
At dusk, Gerald returned. He sat down next to her looking somewhat exhausted and glanced at the book in her hands. Oh, this one...
I didn't mess up your bookmarks! Su Cheng snapped back to reality. I'm sure they're all in their original places.
It doesn't matter, he waved his hand dismissively. I haven't touched this in years. I loved reading it when I was eight or nine...
The two servants followed him in and began to work efficiently; one cleaned up, and the other went to the kitchen.
Su Cheng took the opportunity to ask him some questions. Gerald answered them patiently, and she could not help but ask about the talent required for spatial magic.
Hmm? The blond boy blinked. You read the book on my desk?
I thought...
No, no, no, I didn't say you couldn't read it. Judging from your reaction, you probably won't report me to the church either...
The church? Su Cheng paused. Why would I report you to the church?
That author is on the church's blacklist.
Gerald said in annoyance, clearly holding a grudge about the matter. They say he's a follower of false gods...
Su Cheng thought for a moment. Is the church you're talking about the Eternal Night Cult?
Of course, he gave her a strange look. Is there any other church?
Su Cheng immediately remembered the men in black she had seen at the restaurant. If this city was the territory of the Eternal Night Cult, those people were the clerics of the God of Darkness.
The forces of the God of Darkness were completely expelled from the Northern Continent after the Siege of White Night, a great war in which several gods ascended.
More accurately, they died in battle and were subsequently deified.
They and the people from the Holy Church are all like this, Gerald said grumpily. So what if they are false gods in the void? What right do they have to blockade knowledge? If some fools get hurt because of it, it's just that they lack self-awareness and insist on touching things they can't control...
Su Cheng looked at him thoughtfully. You mean to say that the follower organizations of both the God of Light and the God of Darkness forbid people from accessing knowledge related to the false gods of the void?
He nodded. You're an elemental mage, right? Although you have other magical auras on you... you should be majoring in elemental magic? Then you don't need to touch books related to those entities to get enough knowledge. After all, there are so many elemental mages and plenty of reference books. But some fields of magic aren't like that.
The boy's face was full of indignation, clearly having harbored resentment over this for a long time. You probably can't understand.
I was just thinking, Su Cheng couldn't help but say, why they would do this. The reason you mentioned about fearing harm to ordinary people is just too official. Even though I know very little about these two organizations, I know that they, or rather their decision-makers, don't really care about the lives of the common people. So the real reason shouldn't be that.
Gerald paused for a moment, then curled his lips into a smile. Hah, you really dare to speak your mind.
Su Cheng was speechless.
Wasn't it because she saw he hadn't joined yet and still held a grudge against the cult?
Anyway, if he really was the Jealous God, she wouldn't be staying with him for long, as he was fundamentally a very dangerous person.
But it makes a lot of sense, the blond boy nodded thoughtfully. So, looking at it from another angle, they would only care so much if something harmed their interests. Are they afraid that if there are more followers of the false gods, it will affect their status?
In the end, it depends on the power of the gods. The reason the cult and the church have the prestige they do today is because of the two Supreme Gods...
Su Cheng paused. Unless those so-called false gods pose a greater threat than we imagine.
She also couldn't help but think that in the study of a mage from over a thousand years ago, one could find books written by so-called followers of the void's false gods, with words of tribute even written in them.
Yet in her own era, it seemed very difficult to find such things.
One must know that while Gerald might be a genius, judging by where he lived, he was definitely not some highly respected and famous grand mage. The neighbors around here were just ordinary wealthy people.
Therefore, the books he could get his hands on were probably the kind that could be bought as long as one had money.
At this moment, a servant was already walking toward the dining table carrying a large tray.
Wine glasses and cutlery had already been arranged there. He placed various exquisite dishes on the table and silently retreated to the side.
The cleaner had finished the work, reported to Gerald, and left for the day to head home.
"Let's eat."
The blonde boy stood up and pointed at the book Su Cheng was holding. "Just reading that won't do you any good. You need to practice. I will help you out later; I am going to make sure you learn how to teleport today!"
