Chapter 29 Part 2

Looking at the Dwarven Great Sage’s smile, Xia Xifeng had a strong intuition that the Dwarven Great Sage might have known Jim personally.

He didn’t ask.

If the Dwarven Great Sage hadn’t mentioned it himself, there was no need to pry into others’ private affairs.

But if the Dwarven Great Sage knew Jim, he would probably look after Lana.

The Dwarven Sages continued their work. Xia Xifeng stood before Jim’s body in a moment of silence, then left the basement.

He was indeed very tired.

After eating something and taking a shower, Xia Xifeng went to bed early.

The Dwarf Merchant Caravan was still kept in the dark.

The Dwarven Sages had stepped in. They all believed Jim had fallen seriously ill and was undergoing treatment. Xia Xifeng had joined the medical team. So they didn’t come to disturb him.

After Qin Lang settled the Dwarf Merchant Caravan’s affairs, showered, and changed clothes, he entered the bedroom.

Xia Xifeng was already lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Qin Lang sat on the bed and saw there was only one blanket. He was immediately speechless.

Although he knew Xia Xifeng had suffered a major emotional shock and would very likely use him as a body pillow tonight.

Xia Xifeng had been like this since childhood. Whenever he was overly stimulated or upset, he couldn’t sleep without someone nearby.

He used to always want to sleep with his parents, and after being kicked out by them, Qin Lang became the next victim.

It wasn’t until high school that Xia Xifeng finally broke this clinging habit.

But after arriving in another world, no matter how composed Xia Xifeng acted on the surface, the panic deep in his bones had never subsided. Thus, Qin Lang once again became the victim.

Sulking for a moment, Qin Lang slipped under the covers, leaning against the headboard to read.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to resist, but Xia Xifeng would sneak in during the middle of the night anyway, so he was too lazy to make a fuss.

If Xia Xifeng’s sleeping posture dared to be bad, he’d just kick Xia Xifeng out of bed.

Lying flat, Xia Xifeng slowly squirmed over until he was pressed tightly against Qin Lang.

Qin Lang put down his book, waiting for Xia Xifeng to open his floodgates of chatter.

Xia Xifeng: “That plot in the dream… It’s really a textbook Western fantasy game plot, a classic among classics.”

Qin Lang: “Mn.”

The visions Xia Xifeng had seen, after he’d killed the Blood Moon’s projected divine body, had also entered Qin Lang’s mind.

Xia Xifeng: “Outer Gods always have a bit of that Lovecraftian flavor. You know, the classic Lovecraftian plot: you’re in your original world, happily singing and eating hotpot, when suddenly a group of masked bandits rushes into your house, trashes the place, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Qin Lang thought about it. That was actually spot on. “Right.”

That was exactly the Lovecraftian trope.

They’re Outer Gods, with absolutely no connection to the world where the story takes place.

But they just pass by to take a look, and their so-called “indescribable” nature, the “seeing them drives you mad” debuff, instantly descends upon this pitiful world.

And then the world ends.

Although many stories go to great lengths to emphasize, “The Outer Gods bear no malice; they’re just passing through. It’s you mortals who are at fault, unable to withstand the divine presence.” Ah, yes, those Outer Gods are truly so innocent and wonderful. Since you’re such high-and-mighty gods whose mere sight makes mortals explode, why do you even bother coming down to the mortal realm to flaunt your might, then?

Mortals are to gods what ants are to humans. But aside from pest control, even innocent, cruel children wouldn’t go around destroying every anthill they see.

Xia Xifeng: “The Outer Gods in this world have a slightly higher level of class. They aren’t the boring kind of Outer Gods who are ‘incomprehensibly high-and-mighty but still insist on tormenting mortals.’ They’re invaders whose own world is about to collapse, so they have no choice but to stake everything on an invasion. Oh, that’s even more disgusting.”

Qin Lang fully agreed. “Correct.”

Can’t even protect your own home, and you call yourselves gods?

You need a Creator God capable of matching the Heavenly Father just to invade this world. Well, can’t you just create another world? You have the power to plunder another world but not the ability to create a new one?

Alright, the setting for the invading gods in Fantasy Realms is that the Creator God can’t die and could indeed create a new world. But the gods rooted in the original world would all perish. The God loves Their children, so They choose to devour other worlds to patch up Their own world, protecting Their children.

How loving.

So the game developers say, “From each standpoint, there is no absolute good or evil~”, “It’s just a difference in perspective!”~

Xia Xifeng: “Pfft, ‘no absolute good or evil,’ my ass.”

Qin Lang: “Why argue about good and evil? What matters is victory or defeat.”

Xia Xifeng pulled the blanket up, covering half his face. “You’re right.”

Xia Xifeng continued rambling complaints about the “game’s storyline.”

Still the textbook Western fantasy game plot.

Poor commoners don’t even qualify to anger the gods, yet the gods always target them first for punishment.

Children are the beings closest to the divine, so they are always violated in various ways, becoming the gods’ “hosts” and “vessels.”

How did that saying go again?

Priest: “Damon, get out of this pure child’s body!”

Damon: “Nonsense! You get out of this pure child’s body first!”

In Western fantasy worlds, not only do clergy like little boys and girls, but some noble men and women also treat little boys and girls as “tonics.”

Kill them! Kill them all!!

Exterminate them all!!

I, the Fourth Calamity, am going to start a massacre right now!!

Qin Lang: “Alright. You know the story well. Make a list. Once my level is high enough, I’ll go down the list and kill them one by one.”

Xia Xifeng pulled the blanket down a bit, exposing his whole face.

He tilted his head slightly, looking speechlessly at Qin Lang. “I was joking. This isn’t a game. If you can avoid killing, don’t kill. Killing is bad. Be more peaceful.”

Qin Lang reached out and covered Xia Xifeng’s eyes, not answering.

Xia Xifeng said, “Really, don’t do anything reckless. Besides, killing everyone won’t change the world.”

Qin Lang thought to himself: I know it won’t change anything, but it would make me feel better.

He said aloud, “I was just comforting you.”

Xia Xifeng raised his hand and covered Qin Lang’s hand, which was covering his eyes. “Now that we know it’s the Blood Moon causing trouble behind the scenes, we’ll leave what comes next to the big shots. Let’s focus on our territory first. Once the equipment and weapons are ready, even ordinary people can fight back against the Doomsday Cataclysm. In the game’s siege battles, ordinary people could participate too.”

Qin Lang withdrew his hand. “Okay.”

Xia Xifeng pulled the blanket up high again. “Turn off the light. Time to sleep.”

Qin Lang tapped the Magitech lamp controller at the head of the bed, and the lights went out.

As Qin Lang lay down, Xia Xifeng lightly touched his forehead to Qin Lang’s shoulder. “Classic textbook Western fantasy game plots becoming reality… it really sucks.”

Qin Lang: “Sleep.”

Xia Xifeng: “Mn.”

The Silver Moon quietly climbed the treetops, its silvery-white light softly showering the earth, bestowing a blessing of tranquility upon the land’s living beings.

May all the suffering of the living be healed in the moonlight.

May all the resentment of the dead be soothed in the moonlight.

Perila and Leo stood on the altar in Sunflower Valley, quietly praying to the Sun.

The Moon was a facet of the Sun, the Sun’s symbol during the night.

“Merciful God of the Silver Moon, have You seen Jim’s soul?”

The Silver Moon was silent.

After the War of the Gods, Gods could no longer directly send down oracles. They could only silently accompany and very subtly guide Their faithful.

But Perila’s silver hair shimmered.

The Silver Moon was hinting that It had heard Its favored one’s prayer.

The prayer ended. Leo helped Perila tie up his hair again and put on the Perilla Flower Hairpin. “Once the Evil God broke the oath shared by all Gods after the War of the Gods, our Gods could finally intervene. But the Gods will only fight above in the Divine Domains. The affairs of our world, we must resolve ourselves.”

Perila said, “I understand. We must strive to find the path to Legend. We can’t let Feng and Lang fight alone forever.”

Leo said helplessly, “The two of us are much stronger than them. Why is it always them working while we just watch? Could it be that the Sun Gods who blessed us are too dumb to see through the schemes? Are they still being kept in the dark?”

Perila took a deep breath. “Leo.”

Leo: “Hm?”

Perila: “Don’t speak ill of the Gods. Do you want the Sun’s fire to burn off your hair again at the next Sun festival?”

Leo: “Tch, stingy Sun.”

Alright, he’s a lost cause. Just wait for death, then. Perila might as well start picking out a wig for Leo now.

Birth’s Sun must surely regret choosing Leo as Its “Son of God.”

“Leo, Feng seems really upset. Lang too, even as detached as he is, couldn’t hide the anger on his face.”

“Next time, we must fight alongside them.”

“Mn!”

The two left the altar.

The silver radiance on the altar shimmered like silver sand, lingering for a long time before finally fading.

Xia Xifeng thought he’d have nightmares, but to his surprise, he slept dreamlessly through the night, and the sleep quality was excellent.

Waking in the morning, he was full of energy again.

He’d known all along what kind of messed-up world this was. Xia Xifeng had no time to carry yesterday’s bad mood into the next day.

He had to quickly get his Knight’s Domain in order.

The next day, Amuruo didn’t summon Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang; he came to the Knight’s Domain himself.

Suer had awoken.

When Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang returned from the dream, Suer had roused from his little jewel bed. The first thing he did was go beat up Amuruo.

Don’t think that just because he was meditating, he didn’t know Amuruo tied butterfly knots of different colors on the tip of his tail every day.

The moment Xia Xifeng saw Suer, tears nearly welled up in his eyes.

Though Mr. Amuruo was powerful, Mr. Suer’s presence gave him a far greater sense of security.

Besides, he’d seen in the dungeon that in the “game’s canon timeline,” Mr. Suer had remained in slumber for a very long time. He hadn’t even awoken when Sunflower Valley faced its catastrophe.

His failure to wake from meditation was as if he’d been “sealed.”

Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang suspected that when Mr. Suer was “captured” by Fate, he might have simultaneously fallen victim to other machinations.

Learning that one of the masterminds behind Sunflower Valley’s troubles was the Blood Moon confirmed this for them.

Meditation, strictly speaking, could also be considered “entering a dream.”

The fact that Mr. Suer had awakened early meant the future had already drastically changed.

“Good children, you’ve worked hard.” Suer patted Xia Xifeng’s head.

When he reached out towards Qin Lang, Qin Lang tried to dodge, but an invisible force “grabbed” him and pulled him back in front of Suer, who also patted his head.

Qin Lang: “…”

He glanced at Amuruo from the corner of his eye.

Amuruo wore a deeply serious expression, looking every bit the proper and reliable elder.

Tsk. Qin Lang resigned himself to Suer’s praise.

Fine. To a Black Dragon, he was indeed a child. Being praised like a child was nothing.

After praising the two juniors, Suer told them to focus on building the Knight’s Domain with peace of mind, no longer needing to worry about the ensuing matters.

Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang recounted the events of the dream to Suer and Amuruo.

Xia Xifeng ultimately failed to learn the seer’s enigmatic, mystical way of prophecy. He just spoke directly about everything he’d seen, without adding a single extra word.

He’d already mentioned the Outer Gods before. He trusted that Mr. Suer and the City Lord would immediately know where to direct their efforts upon hearing the name “Blood Moon.”

The Blood Moon was scheming to usurp the Silver Moon, but it hadn’t succeeded yet.

Even if the Blood Moon had silently inflicted considerable damage on the Silver Moon, and the foolish Silver Moon hadn’t even noticed—now that Silver Moon knew, being a native God with the home-field advantage of timing, terrain, and people, even if half its body had been gnawed away, it could still deal a heavy blow to the Blood Moon.