Chapter 37 Part 2

She loved to sing, to dance, to draw, to read elegant poetry. She yearned to wear the most beautiful dress, attend the world’s most refined balls, and sip the finest afternoon tea in the most scenic locations.

After studying in the Empire, Susan’s longing for the elegant, comfortable life of a noble lady only deepened.

“I know it’s wrong. Mother has scolded me many times. But not liking it… is just not liking it.” Susan touched the stiff leather armor she wore, her expression dejected.

Xia Xifeng said, “It’s normal to not like it. No matter how much you force yourself to accept something, what you dislike won’t suddenly become likable.”

Susan gave a bitter smile. “Besides friends I made at the Imperial Academy, Mr. Xia is the first person to validate me like this.”

She knew better than anyone that in the Wastelands, power was a necessity.

But Blackstone Town had been peaceful for too many years; she had yet to witness a moment requiring a lord’s supreme martial might.

Most lords were merely ordinary people with status and identity. They employed powerful professionals to protect themselves and their territory. Lacking strength wasn’t an issue.

Perhaps because she hadn’t yet encountered a moment demanding strength, no matter how much Susan tried to psych herself up, she couldn’t force herself to like what she disliked.

The harder she pushed herself, the worse her training results became, and her mental state deteriorated as well.

Her mother loved her, and no longer forced her to train in martial arts. But when Susan appeared before outsiders, she still had to present the image of a warrior woman to reassure the townsfolk.

Xia Xifeng completely understood Susan.

You could say right or wrong a thousand times, but who could consistently walk the path of “right”?

His homeland also had valiant warrior women. Ask anyone if they admired them? Absolutely. But ask if they’d be willing to endure such hardship? Nearly everyone would shrink back.

The 800-meter run in school had countless people wailing and fainting. Being a warrior was far, far harder.

Someone like Qin Lang, who instantly adapted to training and combat after transmigrating, was the strange one.

“I also don’t like or excel at combat,” Xia Xifeng said. “If you’re genuinely unsuited for it, forcing yourself is useless. Rather than constantly fighting internal battles, choose what you’re better at. As long as you can help your mother and Blackstone Town, alternative paths work just as well.”

Susan asked, bewildered, “Are there other paths?”

Xia Xifeng replied, “Become a support role. Look at Qin Lang. I handle all his equipment, weapons, and potions. He’s that powerful because I nurture him!”

Qin Lang turned his head, giving Xia Xifeng a dark look.

Xia Xifeng raised his chin. What? Convinced otherwise? Then strip off all that equipment!

Even though your power is inseparable from your system and personal effort, putting all that aside, just answer—are you, or are you not, nurtured by me?!

Qin Lang looked away from Xia Xifeng.

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with Xia Xifeng, because Xia Xifeng had no shame.

After Qin Lang conceded defeat, Xia Xifeng continued to Susan: “If your dream is to do nothing but wear pretty little dresses, shoving all pressure onto others, then that’s truly contemptible. But I believe that since you can endure pretending to be a warrior despite hating it, you’re certainly not that kind of person.”

Susan lowered her head. “Of course I couldn’t be like that.”

Xia Xifeng said, “You want to help your mother shoulder responsibilities. If the warrior path is blocked, forcing yourself won’t let you carry much weight anyway. Switch to a direction you’re better at, and you might surprisingly help your mother even more. If you dislike fighting, practice evasion so you don’t become a burden. If you dislike hunting, learn to craft potions and scrolls. If you dislike dealing with filth, practice business and social skills, fighting for Blackstone Town’s interests in the arena of influence and commerce…”

Xia Xifeng patted his own chest. “That’s exactly what I do. Learn from me.”

Looking at the brimming confidence of Xia Xifeng, Susan’s lips involuntarily curved upwards. “Mr. Xia is truly impressive.”

Xia Xifeng lifted his chin again. “Of course.”

Xia Xifeng’s self-praise didn’t embarrass him, but Qin Lang was once again so mortified he wanted to Sap Xia Xifeng into silence.

Unfortunately, friendly fire wasn’t enabled. Otherwise, he’d have done it long ago.

Lynn lowered his voice and said to Qin Lang, “Thank you.”

Qin Lang: “???”

He realized Lynn was thanking him for Xia Xifeng guiding Susan.

He recalled the Susan from the dungeon—the “Bloody Bride.”

The Bloody Bride chanted “strength” with every skill she used.

“I need more strength.”

“Strength is coming.”

“Strength, strength.”

“See? My strength.” …Players all called her “Strength Sister.”

When her skills cast, parts of her body would swell and turn monstrous. She would revel in this, believing it a testament to her strength.

To gain greater power, she didn’t care if her appearance, her body, transformed from a beautiful bride into a monster with flesh bulging like stones. As long as she gained more power.

This was the “Strength Sister,” star of the Fantasy Realms’ player-generated memes and remix videos.

Compared to “Strength Sister,” Lynn was much more normal.

He just silently protected his Bloody Bride, coldly sweeping away all invaders. Only in death did he glance back once at his bride, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, crystallizing into a teardrop-shaped dark-red gem, becoming a player’s trophy.

So in fan creations, Susan and Lynn were the hot-tempered “Strength Sister” and her virtuous “Little Husband.”

The dungeon contained no scenes of Susan and Lynn’s daily life before becoming bosses. Who could have known their relationship was so “mundane” and “ordinary”? Just a common little princess who loved dresses, jewelry, afternoon teas, and dances, and her knight.

The most correct course of action would be for Xia Xifeng to tell Susan how dangerous the future would be, that strength was her only safeguard.

But instead, this man was guiding Susan to explore non-combat interests, to walk the path of support, even willing to share his notes with her.

Xia Xifeng had no intention of taking a disciple, nor did he know how to teach one. He figured that merely sharing notes shouldn’t harm anyone.

Qin Lang didn’t agree with Xia Xifeng’s approach, but given his laziness, he let Xia Xifeng do whatever.

Susan’s years-long knot wouldn’t be instantly untied by a single conversation with Xia Xifeng, but her heart indeed felt much lighter, and she resolved to study knowledge in more domains.

Since stubbornly clinging to the warrior path showed no growth, she might as well invest the wasted time and energy into other useful pursuits.

Susan’s smile returned. She fervently introduced Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang to the history of the mine pit, once again becoming an excellent guide.

Xia Xifeng claimed his greatest interest was deity worship culture. Since it was already known that Xia Xifeng had close ties with both the Church of the Sun and the Church of the Silver Moon, Susan stopped holding back, telling him about Blackstone Town’s secret history of Silver Moon worship.

Legend said that when Blackstone Town was first founded, the miners deeply feared the underground darkness. Their mental stress was immense, leading to countless accidents.

Later, the Silver Moon manifested, stating that the darkness underground also fell under the darkness She must soothe, and She would grant the miners light and spiritual peace.

The Silver Moon left a divine artifact, placed deep within the mine pit.

From then on, miners descending into the darkness no longer feared or felt lonely. Their minds were utterly serene, and no more accidents caused by mental stress ever occurred.

Successive mayors of Blackstone Town all fulfilled their promise to the Silver Moon—true peace lay not in divine blessing, but in human kindness.

They deeply loved their town, improved miner welfare, used mining profits to better the lives of the townspeople, and provided for impoverished residents without means of support.

Many years had passed, legends became unreliable, and the so-called divine artifact was lost to time. But the residents of Blackstone Town loved their home just the same.

Even after the mineral veins were exhausted, they never thought of leaving. Instead, they exhausted every effort to ensure their hometown’s continued prosperity.

As Susan recounted Blackstone Town’s history, her small face flushed with color.

She truly loved her hometown.

Lynn’s expression was one of yearning and anticipation.

Born to a rather prestigious noble family in the Human Empire, he had decided to renounce his inheritance, settle in Blackstone Town with Susan, and dedicate his strength to the town.

He genuinely loved the warm atmosphere of this little town.

Xia Xifeng: [Qin Lang, a divine artifact… it’s got to be this thing, right? Why was it never mentioned in the dungeon?]

Qin Lang: [Don’t ask me.] He didn’t follow the story anyway.

Xia Xifeng’s brow furrowed tightly.

Following the trope, the Outer Gods’ goal was the divine artifact, or to corrupt the Silver Moon through the artifact.

But if there was a divine artifact, the game’s dungeon would have had at least some hints. The undead NPCs in the dungeon never mentioned any divine artifact appearing.

Blackstone Town was simply massacred abruptly during Susan and Lynn’s wedding.

At that time, the apocalypse hadn’t fully descended. Major churches had investigated Blackstone Town but failed to identify the culprit.

Soon after, Hope’s Sun fell. The tragedy of a small town like Blackstone was left with no one seeking its truth.

Xia Xifeng poked Perila again, asking him to inquire with Hope’s Sun about what the divine artifact actually was and its function.

Perila had to hastily burn incense again. The bath could be skipped; he’d already bathed once today.

Hope’s Sun replied instantly, as if he’d been waiting.

[I don’t know~.]

Xia Xifeng took a deep breath.

Then what do you know, Your Elderliness?! Blackstone Town worshipped the Silver Moon for nearly a millennium, and you truly have no impression at all?!

[A place like this is too common, scratching head.]

Huh? Scratching your head? You’re a sun, how do you scratch your head?

Xia Xifeng asked Qin Lang: [Once you reach the max level of 200, can you go to the Divine Domain and beat that sun up?]

Qin Lang didn’t answer.

Before his strength grew enough to actually beat up a sun, he would never respond to any disrespectful words against the sun.

Didn’t Xia Xifeng see Perila’s and Leo’s gleaming bald heads?

“Before sealing the mine pit, we would hold one final secret Silver Moon ritual inside,” Susan said. “The friends of the Sun God’s Favored should be qualified to attend. Would you like to go? Let me ask Mother.”

Xia Xifeng immediately said, “Yes! We’ll make the request in person, to make it more formal.”

Susan smiled and nodded. “Mm.” She could tell Xia Xifeng deeply respected the Silver Moon, that he was, like them, a faithful follower of the Silver Moon.

Xia Xifeng struggled to keep his heart calm and steady.

Through Blackstone Town’s secret Silver Moon ritual, passed down through generations, perhaps he could detect something.

Damn those Twin Suns. Truly, utterly unreliable!