Chapter 104: The Captive Divine Being
I never expected her to be such a girl. At that moment, she executed the skill Old Tree Roots, then followed up with Poisonous Dragon Out of Sea, and I was sent flying—Luxianbei.
After being caught in Jumeng’s hold and crashing down, Luxianbei lay on the sofa for nearly half an hour before slowly regaining his composure.
“I suspect that the contract we made earlier has an issue. You attacked so fiercely and didn’t even violate the contract or suffer any backlash—this is just outrageous.”
Jumeng cast a sideways glance at Luxianbei. Although she felt a bit guilty for acting irrationally without fully understanding the situation, she had no intention of admitting her mistake due to pride.
“Hmph! When I attacked, I had no intent to k*ll and controlled the angle, so it’s impossible for me to hurt you. This doesn’t count as violating the contract.”
As a proud divine being, how could she apologize? That would be too embarrassing!
Thinking this, Jumeng secretly glanced at Luxianbei’s abdomen.
I was really restrained earlier. He shouldn’t be hurt, right? Jumeng thought. Didn’t this guy want to learn about urban legends? At worst, I’ll just share more with him as compensation.
Luxianbei, “…”
He wanted to shout at Jumeng, “Do I still have any status in this house?”
But soon, he realized he was overthinking. Since Jumeng had attached herself to him, simply being alive in the house meant he had his status.
So boys really need to learn to protect themselves and not let strange girls move into their homes, or they end up like me, Luxianbei thought.
With no other option, Luxianbei brought the topic back to the bamboo slips, “Never mind, this issue isn’t your fault. Let’s talk about the bamboo slips.”
“When you unfolded the bamboo slips earlier, their reaction was bizarre. It clearly indicates they’re not good things. We should figure out how to dispose of them; leaving such things is a disaster.”
“What if we just burned them?”
Though Luxianbei was curious about the contents of the bamboo slips and the stories hidden behind them, he strongly agreed with Jiang Li’s saying, “The more you know, the more dangerous it is.”
Danger? No way! Luxianbei thought. But if I can’t solve the danger, can’t I at least deal with the bamboo slips?
Upon hearing this, Jumeng shot Luxianbei an annoyed look, saying, “Do you really like playing with fire that much? Be careful not to wet the bed when you sleep tonight!”
Luxianbei frowned and looked at Jumeng with some disdain. “Are you seriously going to stick to that disgusting joke? Since we can’t burn them, you should tell me how we can deal with them!”
Jumeng shrugged her lips and stared pensively at the bamboo slips for a few seconds before saying, “This thing can’t be burned directly, or, I don’t know of a more proper way to dispose of it.”
Something containing the corrupted bl**d of a divine being is like a continuously emitting virus source. The urban legends capable of handling it must at least be high-level mythological species or other beings with similar abilities.
However, urban legends that can handle the corrupted bl**d of divine beings are also the ones most easily affected by it, meaning dealing with them carries great risks.
Thus, the simplest and most effective way to handle it is to throw it away somewhere and let time take care of everything, but who knows when its toxic residue will dissipate?
“How about we get a black plastic bag to put it in, then find a time and place where no one is around and just throw it away,” Jumeng suggested.
Luxianbei was shocked, “d*mn, don’t you feel guilty saying that?”
“I do feel a bit uneasy, but…” Jumeng paused and said seriously, “A dead friend doesn’t k*ll the monk!”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei suddenly thought Jumeng’s shameless, cowardly spirit actually resonated with him, and he nodded, “You make a good point… not!”
“Then I can’t help it. Can you bear to see me, such a beautiful girl, get tainted by corrupted divine bl**d and turn into a monster?” Jumeng said, winking playfully at Luxianbei.
A beautiful girl? Didn’t you say otherwise in the last chapter? Luxianbei thought to himself. He glanced at the bamboo slips that had fallen to the ground, bent down to pick them up, and then turned to look at Jumeng.
Seeing this, Jumeng slightly startled and shrank back, “What are you doing?”
Seeming to notice something, Luxianbei narrowed his eyes at Jumeng, “You seem very afraid of this thing?”
Jumeng bit her lip and didn’t say a word.
“If you’re not talking, I’ll take it as agreement. In that case, I can only—hehehe…”
“What do you want to do? Don’t think you can threaten me with that! Even if I fall, I won’t have anything to do with you!” Jumeng said in a panic.
“Spit! Keep your mouth clean. Who wants to have anything to do with you? I just want you to translate what this says!”
Jumeng, “…”
…
Over an hour later.
Luxianbei held the bamboo slips up, his arm slightly sore, as Jumeng finally finished reading the contents.
After reading the bamboo slips, Jumeng’s expression turned serious. She rested her chin on her hand in thought for a long time before organizing her words to address Luxianbei, her eyes seemingly filled with resentment.
“I’ve found that some of you humans really lack conscience.”
“That definitely doesn’t refer to me,” Luxianbei shrugged.
I always pursue being straightforward and guilt-free. Even if there is guilt, I can convince myself not to feel guilty, Luxianbei thought.
“…” Jumeng opened her lips slightly, suppressing her urge to comment on Luxianbei’s shamelessness, and looked at the bamboo slips, explaining some of the contents she saw.
“This set of bamboo slips starts with a diary filled with profanity, but in the later third, it contains lots of useful insights.”
“Useful insights? What do you mean?” Luxianbei asked, confused.
“It discusses obscure knowledge and mysterious ancient texts in great detail. Many of these books are unique editions from the outside world that have long been lost or ancient scriptures that no one has heard of. Considering the earlier content, these things should be knowledge bestowed upon them by the divine being they found.”
“After they acquired this knowledge, they indeed mastered many powers that ordinary humans cannot grasp, leading them to a much better life.”
At this point, Jumeng suddenly remembered her organization, Peach Source. The situation was developing similarly to her own context.
“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t it great?” Luxianbei asked, puzzled.
“There’s a big problem because when they found the divine being, it was near d*ath,” Jumeng replied.
Luxianbei’s expression slightly changed upon hearing this. Wouldn’t the d*ath of a divine being be the very question he wanted to ask Jumeng?
Now, he hadn’t even had the chance to ask, yet Jumeng indirectly provided a definitive answer.
“Wait… can divine beings really d*e?”
“Of course they can,” Jumeng said seriously. “Isn’t there the saying of ‘the five declines of heaven and man,’ ‘three disasters, nine difficulties’?”
“What the hell?” Luxianbei was taken aback. “I thought all of that was superstition, just nonsense!”
After saying this, Luxianbei felt something was off. He had seen so many urban legends—what superstition could he not believe in?
Now, even if someone told me they saw the Flower Girl on the street, I would believe it!
Jumeng rolled her eyes, “Of course, it’s nonsense.”
Luxianbei, “…” Big sister, you’re making it hard for me!
I finally managed to convince myself to believe.
“Though it’s nonsense, there is a bit of truth to it,” Jumeng explained. “Even divine beings, in essence, are like urban legends. There’s a risk of falling, and the longer they exist, the higher the risk.”
“The erosion of time is scarier than anything else. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been a single urban legend that could last for five thousand years.”
“…” Luxianbei studied Jumeng for a few seconds, then asked seriously, “May I ask how old you are this year?”
“Five thousand three hundred and seventeen,” Jumeng replied nonchalantly.
Asking a girl’s age is a taboo not to be taken lightly, but obviously, Jumeng had no such concerns.
“You…” Luxianbei hesitated. Was she implying, “Other than me, everyone here is trash”?
“My situation is quite complex, so I won’t explain it to you,” Jumeng said.
I can’t just tell him that for five thousand three hundred and seventeen years, I spent five thousand years as a peach tree with no formed consciousness and three hundred years barely understanding my own intelligence, right?
That would be so embarrassing! He might treat me like a seventeen-year-old girl. That can’t happen! It would tarnish my prestige!
Thinking this, Jumeng rushed to continue before Luxianbei could pry further, “Now, let me tell you where the problem lies.”
“Uh-huh,” Luxianbei nodded.
“According to the records on the bamboo slips, those soldiers who were tasked with finding the divine being, as well as the young boys and girls offered as sacrifices, did not return to their original countries after gaining the divine knowledge. Instead, they reproduced in the place where they found the divine being.”
“Over the long years, they developed a belief in the serpent god. They believed themselves to be the descendants and subjects of the Great Serpent God, residing there for generations…”
“Wait!” Luxianbei couldn’t help but interrupt upon hearing this. “Long years? Isn’t this written by one of the soldiers who were responsible for finding the divine being? How does he know what happened afterward?”
However, Jumeng’s next words left Luxianbei stunned for a moment.
“Because he hasn’t died during all that time; he may still be alive even now,” Jumeng said.
“I mentioned earlier that the divine being they found was close to d*ath. When it felt its imminent demise or falling, it left Kunlun Mountain, where it had always resided, and journeyed toward the sea intending to commit s*icide there.”
“It originally bestowed grace upon those humans, but that was merely a momentary act of kindness during its journey toward d*ath. It didn’t intend to linger too long. However, just as it prepared to depart again, it realized it had raised a tiger.”
“What do you mean?”
“If it left, those people’s faith would collapse because the humans who gained miraculous powers and long lifespans from it would lose everything…” Jumeng explained.
“So…” Luxianbei furrowed his brow, “those people found a way to imprison it?”
“Exactly!” Jumeng nodded. As she spoke, a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes as if she remembered something.
If one day I fall and want to leave to find a quiet place to d*e, will the people of Peach Source send me off or imprison me? Jumeng pondered.
