Chapter 24: Black Death and the Deity 06

The players all remembered that when they first entered the instance, there had indeed been a male statue of a god in the center of the church.

They couldn’t tell which religious system’s deity it belonged to.

Later, everyone was so busy with survival tasks that no one noticed whether it was still there or not.

“The statue is gone… Could it have mixed in among the players?” One player widened his eyes in horror, muttering to himself, but another player quickly covered his mouth: “What nonsense are you talking about?!”

“Has any player tried to identify that statue? Could it be another deity?”

“No, it seems like it was gone from the very beginning. We all just assumed there was no statue in the church…”

All the players fell silent.

The statue was gone. So, where was the missing statue? What did it want to do? Was this statue NPC good or evil?

Jian Bumian couldn’t be bothered with what was happening with the other players. He narrowed his eyes, carefully sizing up Michael.

The little boy didn’t understand why his mother was staring at him. He asked curiously, “Mother, what’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“…”

Jian Bumian snapped out of it, chuckled lightly, and pinched the child’s soft, pale cheek. “Michael, why do you have blond hair and blue eyes? Your father and I both have black hair, and neither of us has blue eyes.”

The little boy’s expression stiffened, his whole body freezing.

He thought seriously for a long time, then scooted closer to Jian Bumian, blinking his innocent blue eyes: “Maybe I don’t have just one father?”

Jian Bumian: “………”

The viewers in the livestream were taken aback by this answer.

[Hahaha, the kid’s dad is getting cuckolded with a green hat of light!!]

[I can hear the implication in the little boy’s words… the neighbor guy?]

[Could it be that Mianmian has slept with more than one man?]

[Get lost, upstairs, my wife hasn’t even kissed anyone!!]

Jian Bumian was shocked by the little boy’s answer and didn’t want to pursue that line of conversation.

…What goes on in kids’ minds these days?

Jian Bumian stood up, pulling the other’s hand. “Come on, let’s go back to the bedroom and sleep.”

“Okay, Mother.”

They followed the spiral staircase up to the second floor of the church.

The second floor was where the church personnel lived their daily lives.

The refugees who had come to the church for shelter yesterday had also been settled in the hallway on the second floor.

They had dragged unwanted cotton blankets and padded clothes from the storage room, spreading them on the floor to barely serve as crude beds. Several people were packed onto them in great discomfort.

When they saw Jian Bumian arrive, their eyes widened, and they hastily knelt down, trembling.

In their eyes, Jian Bumian was no ordinary church member, but the supremely noble Holy Son, His Majesty.

The youth’s skin was so pale it was almost translucent, his features exquisite and beautiful. He wore a long white robe that hung down to his ankles. A warm breeze brushed past, sending his robe and the sunlight fluttering. With every step, the bells on his ankle rings chimed with an ethereal, lingering sound.

He looked entirely like a deity descending from Heaven to show mercy to the human world, completely out of place among the wretched, despairing crowd.

But Jian Bumian didn’t see it that way. He stopped in front of the refugees, tilted his head, and asked, “When you lived around here before, did you ever notice the statue of the deity in the center of the hall?”

One woman paused, then replied, “I sell bread nearby. Every morning, I could just see that statue through the church gate.”

Jian Bumian raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips. “That statue originally had color, didn’t it?”

When he had touched the statue earlier, it was already a stony grayish-white. But despite that, he had noticed faint signs of peeling pigment on its lips.

The woman replied, “Yes… it had color. Later, because it had been there so long, the colors had mostly faded. The church personnel simply washed all the color off.”

Jian Bumian: “Then can you tell me what color its hair and eyes were?”

His voice was very gentle, without the slightest hint of condescension. Anyone hearing it would involuntarily let down their guard.

The woman closed her eyes, struggling to remember.

“That statue’s hair was a pale gold. The eye color was very beautiful, a sea-blue just like the ocean.”

Everything matched.

Jian Bumian wasn’t surprised in the least.

He had felt that the little boy NPC and that statue were strange from the beginning.

If they were truly father and son, Jian Bumian thought it was impossible.

This wasn’t a parent-child type instance; why would there be so many fathers and sons?

The only possibility was that they were the same entity. Jian Bumian wasn’t their mother either.

There was no such thing as a happy family of three.

“Thank you.”

Jian Bumian thanked the woman, revealing a sweet smile. “May God bless you.”

Jian Bumian shifted his gaze, glancing at the little boy beside him.

He was clinging to Jian Bumian’s side as usual, his expression unchanged, still that well-behaved, cold look, like a beautiful angel doll.

But the force with which he was gripping Jian Bumian’s arm was growing stronger and stronger.

The little boy looked up, his eyes clear, his voice soft and childlike: “Mother, don’t chat with them anymore. Come back to the bedroom and sleep with me.”

“Alright…”

Jian Bumian pressed his lips together.

After bringing the little boy back to the bedroom, Jian Bumian immediately locked the door.

The little boy noticed Jian Bumian’s unusual action and asked, puzzled, “Mother, why are you locking the door?”

Jian Bumian: “…”

“Shh. I’ll tell you a secret.”

Jian Bumian half-crouched down, crooking his finger to beckon the child’s ear closer.

The little boy was very confused.

Jian Bumian whispered in his ear: “I found your real father. That man in the painting just now isn’t your dad. Sorry about that.”

As Jian Bumian spoke, he felt the air temperature around him plummet sharply. Gusts of chilly wind blew, as if an invisible person was breathing down his neck.

And Jian Bumian’s neck skin was particularly sensitive, quickly flushing a faint crimson, as though it had been kissed by someone in dissatisfaction.

The little boy’s eyes lit up. He clapped his hands, overjoyed: “That’s great! I knew that man wasn’t my father. I disliked him at first glance… Mother, please take me to find my real father quickly.”

Jian Bumian remained unmoved.

“Mother?” Seeing no reaction, the little boy tugged at the hem of his clothes.

Jian Bumian leaned down, gently kissing the little boy’s pale gold hair. “Your father can’t be found.”

The little boy’s expression stiffened. “Wh-What do you mean?”

Jian Bumian looked up, glanced at the ceiling, his thin lips parting slightly: “Your father is God. He’s flying around up in Heaven.”

The little boy didn’t understand. His pupils constricted, his stiff expression full of confusion.

He wanted to ask further, but Jian Bumian stood up, declaring without hesitation: “I wish to identify a deity. I believe my child is one of the deities.”

Red text appeared in mid-air.

[Reason for identification?]

Jian Bumian curved his lips, his voice soft:

“I am merely an ordinary Holy Son in the church. I have never experienced carnal affairs, yet I miraculously have a child. Only God can grant the ability to conceive without carnal knowledge. Therefore, he is a child of God and myself.”

“If he isn’t a deity, what else could he be?”

[………]

[Reasoning valid. Identification successful.]

[Great Holy Mother, your child is indeed the God of Light.]

The dominant religion in ancient Europe was Christianity, and the holy book governing it was the Bible.

As mentioned in the Bible, God’s son, Jesus, was born of the Virgin Mary, who was a virgin.

Only God could allow her to conceive without any carnal act.

The livestream room fell silent for a long time before a single bullet comment finally appeared.

[Absolutely brilliant.]

Jian Bumian looked back at the little boy.

The little boy who had been identified as the God of Light was surrounded by a sudden burst of golden light. He grinned at Jian Bumian, revealing an ambiguous smile.

“You still found out, dear Mother.”

He took a step back, golden light flickering. Then, his entire body shattered like a broken mirror, disintegrating into fragments amidst the intense golden light, vanishing before Jian Bumian’s eyes.

…The happy family of three, intimate for barely a day, had disbanded.

Jian Bumian felt a bit rueful. He had finally gotten the chance to experience a sense of familial bliss.

Jian Bumian stood up, left the bedroom, and arrived at the church hall.

New blood-red text appeared in the center of the dome.

[Player Jian Bumian, reasoning valid. Result of identification — God of Light.]

When this text appeared, all the players present erupted in excitement.

Jian Bumian had identified another deity??!!

It had been less than half an hour since the last successful identification!!

This speed far exceeded that of any veteran player present.

Did Jian Bumian even remember he was just a newbie?

The players held their breath, watching the youth descending the spiral staircase with eyes full of terror and admiration.

Jian Bumian didn’t react much. He blinked his eyes, looking a bit embarrassed, then revealed a shy smile: “Good evening, everyone.”

“………”

“…”

No one dared to respond.

Finally, after a long moment, a veteran player spoke: “Thanks to Jian Bumian, we’ve identified two deities. Which of these two is the one who can eliminate the plague? And what is the sacrificial ritual?”

“Does anyone know?”

After the players identified all the deities in this instance, they still had to choose the correct deity capable of eradicating the plague, and then perform the corresponding sacrificial ritual.

The main quest seemed straightforward.

But as long as one step was wrong, especially the latter two, they would face total erasure.

Jian Bumian, as usual, habitually sat on the windowsill, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Outside the window, the sunlight was brilliant. It spilled warmly onto the youth, filling the spaces between his hair and lashes with golden light. His caramel-colored eyes were illuminated into a gem-like amber, their glow gentle and captivating.

So far, he felt this instance was progressing too smoothly.

…He still had a nagging feeling that something was off.

For example, if he were the designer of this instance.

Designing for players to choose the correct plague-eradicating deity among a group of deities.

If this instance only had two deities, the chance of correctness would be 50%.

That would be far too simple.

There had to be at least three deities.

The God of Light and the God of Darkness were complete opposites. The existence of a God of Light could easily be deduced from the presence of a God of Darkness.

So, what about the other deity? Or rather, the third deity?

Jian Bumian frowned, feeling a bit puzzled.

The NPC hidden the deepest was often not simple.

Moreover, he had been in this instance for so long and still hadn’t encountered his target NPC.

The malicious ghost he needed to offer a passionate kiss to.

Even the system hadn’t told him what identity that malicious ghost held in this instance.