Su Cheng: "A God's Favored?"
Su Cheng's gaze fell on his lower abdomen.
That patch of smooth, porcelain-white skin was slick with moisture from the steaming vapor in the bathroom.
A scarlet heart was tightly entwined by curling vines, every inch of the pattern gleaming with a moist luster.
The tendrils of the vines snaked along the crevices of his abdominal muscles, even writhing slowly, as if they would leap out from his flesh and blood in the next second.
"Mhm," the black-haired young man looked down at her. "Yes."
Su Cheng looked up. "Which deity?"
"...The God of Desire." He said softly, "If you want to know, I have no idea why I was chosen either."
"There must be a reason," Su Cheng shrugged. "You can take your time to figure it out. Believe me, many people are curious about this at first."
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, as if he hadn't expected her to give such an answer.
"However, if you want to figure it out," Su Cheng paused, "you can look back at your experiences around that time. What you did, or what thoughts you had in your mind, are often connected to it."
"I can't think of any specific experience," he shook his head slightly, "but it should have been... when I was playing at a banquet. I felt my body burning up."
He watched her as he spoke, seemingly unwilling to miss any subtle reaction on her face.
Su Cheng simply listened with a serious face, revealing a thoughtful expression, without any other unusual reaction.
He relaxed a bit more. "Later, someone killed my friends. He insisted that they had offended him, but their bodies—"
"The brother and sister were my colleagues. Their parents had passed away, and they still had three young siblings to take care of, so they came to the club to dance..."
"They lived just two streets away. They were hardworking and honest commoners who treated a slave like me very well. How could they possibly offend a noble..."
"...They were tortured to death by that man."
The black-haired young man fell silent for a moment. His long, pale fingers traced his waist and landed on the bewitching, eerie scarlet mark on his lower abdomen.
"It granted me a kind of power that drives people into madness, losing themselves in some intense desire..."
His eyes also grew somewhat hazy. "Although sometimes, it brings me pain as well."
Su Cheng's gaze paused. "Pain?"
"Mhm," he lowered his head. "My body gets very hot, but it's fine if I just endure it."
Su Cheng examined the mark carefully again and found that it was somewhat different from hers, or rather, it looked more exquisite and complex.
There were even rosebuds ready to bloom on the vines, and the overall size was more than just a little bigger.
The God of Desire?
Although the two sects had a poor relationship, it seemed that the God of Darkness and the God of Light had not yet completely fallen out, and the other major gods had not clearly divided into factions.
The God of Desire, who would become an ally of the God of Darkness in the future, had chosen the guy in front of her. It made sense that he would receive special treatment because of this.
But...
The God of Desire appeared in the world even earlier than the Gods of Light and Darkness, and He also had His own believers. Why didn't those people come to recruit this God's Favored?
"Actually," Su Cheng suddenly spoke, "when you were playing, your mood, your thoughts, even if it was just a fleeting idea, might be the reason you were chosen. You must have shown some recognized trait. As for what negative effects it might bring you, honestly, being a God's Favored is almost always like this. You will be subject to some constraints yourself, and different deities have different situations, so—"
"Thank you."
The man's deep voice came from above her head.
Su Cheng tilted her face up. "Hmm?"
"No one has ever said these things to me."
The black-haired young man said softly, his coral-colored lips curving up slightly, revealing a bitter and subtle smile.
He casually brushed aside his hanging hair, revealing those two slender eyebrows and deep eyes as rich as blood-clotted poppies.
Those two rows of thick, curled eyelashes trembled continuously with the moisture. The naturally upturned corners of his eyes carried a lazy aura, and even a bewildered expression could not mask his breathtaking beauty.
"...They found me and brought me here."
He spoke in a murmuring tone. "High and mighty, as if they were giving me charity. The way everyone looked at me was like looking at a lucky beggar who had picked up gold. Oh, maybe even worse than a beggar. After all, I'm a slave, and a fugitive."
"Hey!"
Su Cheng reached out and cupped his face. "Listen to me—"
His face was long and lean, his jawline as if carefully sculpted, still carrying a touch of cool, moist water.
Su Cheng had to hold her arms up high to maintain this posture, making her look a bit comical.
Her expression was very solemn. "You are an excellent musician, you are an artist. Some people despise you because of your identity, because of where you work. That's their problem. Don't think that just because someone looks down on you, or someone shows a terrible attitude, it means there's something wrong with you. To put it bluntly, the highest-ranking figures in the Secret Cult, the most powerful experts, are still constantly cursed by the people of the Church. Not to mention they even speak disrespectfully of His Holiness the God of Darkness. Whose problem do you think that is?"
He was stunned.
"See?" Su Cheng gently shook his face. "Remember what I said. Today you are a human, and even if you become a god tomorrow, there will still be people who are dissatisfied with you. But that's not your fault."
He slowly raised his hand, seemingly wanting to touch the slender wrist beside his face, but his fingertips stopped just as they were about to touch her skin.
"...That is the strangest encouragement and hypothesis I have ever heard."
The black-haired young man murmured, "I've been studying elemental magic for two days, and I've only managed to learn a small flame spell, yet you think I can become a god."
"Hah?" Su Cheng laughed outright. "Two days? You're doing much better than you-know-who!"
He froze. "Who?"
Su Cheng opened her mouth. "Uh, a horse."
"?"
Heaven knew that the future God of Purity, the number one enforcer under the God of Light, actually couldn't perceive elemental spirits under those conditions.
One must know that it was only the first step in learning magic. From perceiving the existence of elemental spirits to learning the first spell, there were many steps in between.
So learning a Tier 1 spell in two days was definitely considered quite good.
"...Alright," Lusha said helplessly. "I just feel that there are many geniuses here. You know, a while ago there was also a fugitive who had already obtained the position of a Secret Sacrificial Envoy, a role responsible for preparing the holy communion. It's said he used to be a chef, and he learned magic much faster than I did."
Su Cheng paused for a moment. "This chef is a fugitive? Does he have blond hair, blue eyes, and is very tall?"
Lusha was also taken aback. "I haven't seen him, but he is indeed a fugitive. I heard he killed several people from the Church—"
Su Cheng: "?"
Didn't he kill his own family members?
Su Cheng: "Why would he kill people from the Church? Because he hates the Church? Or did the Church people pick a fight with him?"
Lusha frowned and thought for a moment. I heard them say his emotions are quite unstable. A few people from the Holy Church went to his tavern to eat, and for some unknown reason, he rushed out of the kitchen and killed them all. I heard he even chopped up the bodies.
Su Cheng: ???
Was this the same person she was thinking of?
Su Cheng cleared her throat. Well, let's ignore that for now, and ignore those who belittle you. Most of them are probably just jealous of your talent. Don't listen to their nonsense, and definitely don't let it ruin your mood. Also, do you want to put some clothes on? I seem to have kept you talking this whole time. If you want to dress, you can do that first. Of course, if you want to continue washing, I'll go wait for you outside?
The black-haired young man gave her a deep look. ...Thank you.
He turned and picked up the bath towel hanging on a distant rack, the muscles rippling across his lean, snow-white back.
Besides, the money you gave me back then helped me a lot.
Oh, Su Cheng hesitated, you're welcome. I believe you could have solved it yourself—
By the way, my name is Lusha, he said, drying his long, black, satin-like hair. Though you might have already seen it on the wanted posters.
I'm Su Cheng, Su Cheng didn't touch upon his last remark. Nice to meet you, sir.
Lusha tilted his head slightly. Yes, me too.
Su Cheng hadn't expected him to have this kind of personality at all.
He seemed to have a soft temper and wasn't hard to approach. He was even quite calm when someone accidentally barged into his bathroom.
Of course, he felt grateful to her, so he might have had a higher tolerance, but even before discovering the intruder's identity, he hadn't looked like he was going to get angry.
Even killing that noble was only because the other party had done something truly atrocious.
Though thinking about it carefully, the God of Lust's temper seemed to have always been quite good. He rarely got angry for no reason, and one could casually joke with him.
Speaking of getting angry.
Su Cheng couldn't help but think of a certain someone who hadn't yet become a pony.
She wondered how he was doing in the Holy Church.
With his strength and age, after being recruited by the Church, he would definitely be promoted very quickly.
But she soon lost the mind to care about others.
According to Lusha, since the mark of the God of Desire was proof of a divine favored one, then the crest on her own body might be related to this.
But she had never felt this so-called divine power.
Was it because she hadn't tried to tap into it?
Or did she simply not have it at all?
Su Cheng couldn't help but ask the question aloud, How did you feel that you could use that kind of power? Did you just know it instinctively?
...No, it was when I was practicing the piano, Lusha looked down and adjusted his inner lining. The people around me started acting abnormally, and I realized it.
He draped a magnificent, heavy black robe with a lapel collar over his shoulders. Silver-red silk threads crisscrossed along the lapels and cuffs, and the fabric faintly flowed with a cyan luster.
The golden cummerbund was inlaid with magnificent gems, looking like countless flashing, eerie eyes.
This outfit looked quite luxurious and very formal.
Su Cheng: ...Are you going to host some kind of ceremony?
No, I'm not the host, he replied immediately. There is a small holy chanting ceremony every afternoon that I have to attend. I am one of the Hymnal Envoys.
Su Cheng understood. Oh, so those people dressed in gorgeous clothes we saw in the High Court, do they all do this?
There are other ceremonies too, he said helplessly. Did you just join the Church?
Su Cheng blinked. Take a guess?
I'm guessing, Lusha couldn't help but laugh, no matter what, you definitely just got here.
Su Cheng was about to speak when she suddenly remembered something.
When she first met Vorey, that guy said she had the brands of three Ancient Gods on her.
The Dancer counted as one, and the Door counted as one.
Could the third one be referring to the God of Desire?
Now that would be interesting.
Having holed up in the Tower of Omniscience poring over books for months, she already had a rough idea of what the Ancient Gods actually were.
Simply put, they were ancient creatures with ever-changing forms, unfathomable wills, and control over certain authorities.
Because ancient elves, humans, and other intelligent races were either shocked or seduced by the power of these beings, they worshipped them as deities.
Many people became believers and followers of the Ancient Gods.
As a result, they lost their lives or fell into madness and lost their minds.
Later on, the true deities appeared. They joined forces with the Dragon Race to repel the Ancient Gods, driving them out to the Outer Void.
From then on, they became the False Gods of the Void.
At least, that was what the books recorded.
Therefore, Ancient Gods equaled False Gods of the Void.
However, the God of Desire was a proper main deity nowadays, and would also be an ally of the Dark God over a thousand years later.
The Holy Church would give the God of Desire many derogatory titles.
But no one would ever call the God of Desire a False God of the Void.
If the God of Desire was also an Ancient God, then it meant that while some Ancient Gods were banished to the Void, others were not.
That so-called story of the true gods defeating the false gods only captured a portion of the truth.
Lusha! Su Cheng tugged at his sleeve. Do you know about the False Gods of the Void?
Lusha was slightly taken aback and subconsciously looked around, unable to help but lower his voice. What's wrong? I thought that was a taboo subject?
Su Cheng: ...
He didn't know or didn't believe that the God of Desire was an Ancient God.
Sorry, Lusha misunderstood her silence and hurriedly explained, I didn't know about these things before. After coming to the High Court, I read some books...
He sounded a bit ashamed as he said this.
No, no, no, Su Cheng shook her head. I just thought of something. I'm going to head to the Tower of Omniscience for a bit!
Lusha hadn't had much contact with magic before, so he definitely wouldn't have read any ancient tomes—unless they were music scores. So it was perfectly normal for him not to know the concept of false gods.
Su Cheng scurried back to the tower and burst into Vorey's office.
The brown-haired man stood beside the massive stone table, silver streams of runes constantly flashing across his monocle.
He was holding a crystal test tube, pouring colorful liquids into it, and said without even lifting his head: ...I thought you wouldn't come back.
Vorey spoke unhurriedly, placing the tube back into the rack and wiping his hands with a silk cloth. Considering the state you were in when you left last time—
You were boiling your subordinate's soul in a pot, Su Cheng said in a bad mood. What did you expect from me?
Oh, he looked up at her. So what compels you to come over now?
Su Cheng took a deep breath. You said you felt the brands of three Ancient Gods on me. Can you sense their locations?
An ambiguous light flashed in his icy green eyes. A brand is just a general term; it isn't necessarily tangible.
Su Cheng nodded. But I'm guessing the three brands exist in different forms. For example, one might be in my body, and another might be on my soul.
They are indeed different, Vorey tilted his head. But unless you allow me to touch them, it will be very difficult for me to give you a definitive answer.
Su Cheng narrowed her eyes. Is this a transaction?
Hmm?
Su Cheng moved her fingers curled within her sleeves, and the mark of the Scales quietly emerged. "If I agree to your terms, then you must—"
The next second, the brown-haired man's figure flashed through the air, appearing right in front of her. "So you are also an apostle of the Double-Tongued—"
He reached out to grab her shoulder as he spoke.
Su Cheng simply turned and threw him over her shoulder.
Vorey was hurled three meters away, his back crashing against the stone table. The heavy obsidian tabletop shattered with a deafening crack, turning into rubble across the floor.
"Hahahaha—"
The buttons on his chest popped open, revealing lean, pale muscles. Over his heart coiled a two-headed snake, its heads reared back.
Su Cheng's gaze paused. "What is that? The Serpent of Truth?!"
Vorey was in no hurry to get up. Maintaining his slumped posture against the ruined table, he looked down at the pattern on his chest. "Oh, yes—"
He spoke with a half-smile, "You know of Him too, but do you know that you also carry His aura? Even if it isn't a brand."
Su Cheng: "..."
Su Cheng: "?"
Although she didn't show a very distinct expression, Vorey seemed to realize she was unaware of this fact, and a strange smile crept onto his face once more.
"Before I joined the esoteric cult, He revealed the various truths of this world to me. He gave me answers, He gave me a path—"
The brown-haired man slowly stood up. "I also swore to Him that I would never stop my pursuit of the unknown and my demand for the truth."
His light-colored, viper-like eyes locked onto her again. "You want to figure out what that thing on your waist is, am I right?"
Su Cheng's face darkened.
Vorey raised his hand. "Then let me feel your body, let me enter your soul—"
A light flared in his eyes—ignited, twisted, and seared into madness by an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
"Let me see—"
He whispered, his voice carrying a hoarse, gravelly texture that made one's hair stand on end. Every syllable pulsed with an uncontrollable desire.
Immediately after, the veins beneath the skin of his neck suddenly bulged, as if living creatures were writhing and crawling just under the surface.
Su Cheng heard the agonizing groan of bones.
The man's muscles stretched and his bones trembled. His entire body began to elongate, as if being melted down and recast by some unseen force. His outer robe suddenly burst into fragments.
His skin tore open, revealing yellowed muscles and bones that looked as though they were compressed from the pages of old books, emitting a pungent stench of ink and paper mold.
Accompanied by a teeth-aching crunch, his neck stretched out and sprouted black and yellow scales. His skull split squarely in half, and from the ruined flesh and blood, snake heads sprouted one after another.
Each of those serpent heads was as large as a washbasin, their jaws unhinged to the absolute limit, with densely packed runes flashing within their eyeballs.
Their tongues were like unfurling parchment scrolls, trailing a viscous black substance that resembled dripping ink.
Beneath the necks was a massive sphere of flesh. Square scales overlapped and curled like countless sheets of paper glued together, while a spine twisted violently beneath the thick hide.
Those serpentine necks suddenly shot forward, lunging right at her face.
Su Cheng: "..."
Her figure was on the verge of being completely entangled and torn to shreds.
Two seconds later.
Pitch-black scales, like the blooming flowers of hell, rapidly covered her fair skin, their sharp edges tearing through her silk dress.
A cold gold surfaced in her amber eyes.
Her narrowing pupils turned into sharp blades.
Black scales quickly spread across her limbs and rushed down her spine. With a series of explosive pops, the bones and sinews of her hands and feet burst outward into razor-sharp claws.
A half-dragon, half-human figure smashed through the entangling snake necks, swatting the nearest serpent head to the ground with a single strike of her claw.
Tiny black prismatic crystals crept up the young girl's breathtakingly beautiful face, and furious flames burned within her freezing golden eyes.
The two non-human figures clashed violently together.
