Chapter 38: Chapter 313: Not Qualified
Luh Yao had Isabel go out and circle the area a few times, covering five kilometers in total.
After confirming that Song Shiyi had taken the sparrow and left in a car, Luh Yao had Isabel return to the alley.
He had an idea. "Your [Mourning Prayer]—can it summon Yuyao’s Wandering Soul from here?"
"I can."
"And if you question her, will she answer?"
"My Lord, I pray to the Sea of Mourning. The Wandering Soul is simply reacting to it. Most of the Dead cannot resist the will of the Sea of Mourning."
Isabel’s answer sent Luh Yao’s mind reeling with possibilities.
’This [Mourning Prayer] is an ability with enormous potential,’ Luh Yao thought. ’Not only can it find clues through Wandering Souls, but in theory, it can even be used for post-battle interrogations after eliminating an enemy.’
’Then there’s her other trump card, the Divine Skill [Forest Sword], which summons a Holy Sword and creates all sorts of Forest Elemental Creatures...’ Even Luh Yao had to wonder, ’Isn’t this Apostle of mine, Isabel, a little overpowered?’
Just then, Isabel finished her prayer inside the car. Same as in the kitchen, wisps of black smoke coalesced into a dark mass—the Dead.
Isabel completed her encrypted communication with the Dead, and it dissipated once more.
"My Lord, this is what happened..."
Yuyao hadn’t been lying about her identity. She was indeed from the East Sea Clan, and she was their newly emerged Prophet. However, she was no naïve and innocent girl.
Ever since becoming a Prophet, Yuyao had begun to ponder a question: What exactly was a God?
The East Sea Clan couldn’t directly contact their God, but they did receive the protection of a Divine Totem. The God’s will was transmitted to the clan through the Prophet, who would then interpret it into words the tribe could understand.
Broadly speaking, the East Sea Clan’s mission was to breed Sea Monsters for their God. These Sea Monsters were the God’s soldiers for His campaigns.
The [Sea-Going Woman] was one part of the process for creating these Sea Monsters.
The God selected certain Believers from the East Sea Clan who could breed powerful Sea Monsters with other individuals.
However, once these [Sea-Going Women] were taken away by the God, they never returned. They were too fragile; their bodies would disintegrate shortly after entering the Divine Realm.
Yuyao gradually came to realize that the God was not omnipotent.
If the Prayer God could truly do anything, why would He need the insignificant East Sea Clan to endlessly produce Sea Monsters? He could just conjure them out of thin air, accomplishing creation and rebirth with a wave of his hand, just as most of the clan imagined.
The seeds of doubt began to sprout in Yuyao’s mind.
’Perhaps a God is just a more powerful type of being, not an unbeatable one.’
’If I could just enter the Divine Realm, maybe I could uncover the God’s secrets.’
After obtaining the precious Artifact [Tearful Amber], the wild fantasy Yuyao had suppressed in her heart finally began to stir.
[Tearful Amber] had a unique ability: it could envelop a living creature, placing it in a petrified state of suspended animation, unable to move.
On the outside, it looked just like an ordinary yellow stone, showing no signs of anything unusual.
Silently reciting the Spell on the great clam associated with the [Tearful Amber] would cause the Amber to melt, restoring the creature within to its original state.
Yuyao devised a bold plan.
She secretly encased herself within the Amber Stone. The unsuspecting members of the East Sea Clan followed her instructions and presented the [Tearful Amber] to the Prayer God as a Sacrificial Offering.
The Prayer God accepted the gift.
Using this Artifact, Yuyao arrived in the world where the God lived.
She wasn’t sure if the Prayer God would discover her, so she never dared to recite the Spell.
But through the Amber, she saw the Prayer God’s true form.
He was a bald, middle-aged man with a potbelly. When he laughed, a sound like a honking goose came from his throat. He had none of the dignity or presence of a God.
Any worry or reverence Yuyao had previously felt for him vanished completely.
Two years ago, the Prayer God suddenly vanished and never came back to the house.
Still, Yuyao didn’t dare to move.
Fortunately, by remaining inside the Amber, the restrictions of the World Dimension were also greatly slowed.
By this year, Yuyao concluded that the Prayer God must have run into some kind of trouble and wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. She gathered her courage and emerged from the Amber.
Yuyao’s next plan was to take the Prayer God’s place.
Hiding inside the Amber on the desk, she had seen everything very clearly.
This so-called God simply operated a device called a "computer," using it to control and issue commands to the Low Realm Dimension from the High Realm Dimension.
She imitated the Prayer God, turning on the computer and entering the password.
Then, she clicked the "God Simulator" icon on the desktop.
But no cutscene appeared.
A line of white text appeared on the black background.
[Sorry, you do not have player privileges.]
It was like a splash of cold water to the face for the expectant Yuyao.
She kept trying—restarting the computer, repeatedly clicking the icon—but the result was always the same. She was being blocked from crossing some threshold by an unseen, formidable power.
Yuyao left the Prayer God’s residence in a daze and wandered the streets.
Her path forward was blocked, and she couldn’t return to the East Sea Clan. Of course, she could have hidden in the Amber forever as one of the living dead, but then her life would have lost all meaning.
She lured two men she suspected were Gods and killed them in surprise attacks. But this brought her no joy of vengeance, nor did it allow her to attain the status of a God. There was no hope.
Numb and despairing, Yuyao roamed the streets until she met Zhou Qiang.
And that’s what led to everything that happened afterward.
She didn’t know why she hadn’t killed Zhou Qiang. Maybe it was because he was the only man who had actually given her food, instead of just giving her money to sleep with him.
...
Luh Yao looked at the small, pale yellow Amber Stone in his hand.
...
[Tearful Amber]: Faith +1/hour. Reciting the Spell, "Old People of the seabed, forget and slumber," can temporarily seal a living being and allow for Evasion of Rule Power. Reciting the Spell, "Tear-stained Forgotten, return and undergo Rebirth," can release the living being from the Amber.
...
This was a utility Artifact. It could be easily countered and was only useful in specific situations.
Luh Yao quietly put the Amber away.
He looked at Song Shiyi’s business card again. Isabel had already confirmed there was nothing wrong with it. There were no traces of the Power of Faith; it was just normal coated paper.
There was only a single line of text on the card.
[Song Shiyi 189XXXX]
Luh Yao placed the business card and the Amber together inside a box in his drawer.
Now, there was one last thing to do.
Luh Yao pushed open the door and found Zhou Qiang standing in the kitchen.
Through the open window, he stared blankly out at the street, chain-smoking one cigarette after another. His face was a mask of unconcealed anxiety and unease.
Seeing Luh Yao, Zhou Qiang forced a smile.
"Yuyao went to catch up with a cousin. She’ll be back in a little while."
The words seemed meant more for himself than for Luh Yao.
Luh Yao could only nod.
"Wanna play for a bit? A couple rounds of ARAM," Zhou Qiang suggested.
"Sure."
Of course.
Yuyao never came back.
One time, while drunk, Zhou Qiang collapsed onto the table and slurred, "I’m never falling in love again as long as I live." The next day, he moved out.
Luh Yao didn’t know if there had truly been any feelings between Yuyao and Zhou Qiang.
If there really wasn’t anything.
Why would Yuyao have spent so much of her precious time on Zhou Qiang? Cooking for him, cleaning up, taking care of him, and sharing these past few days of his simple life.
But even at the moment of her death, she had insisted, "I have no feelings for him."
Heh. So complicated.
’Too bad I’ve never been in a relationship.’
Luh Yao shook his head.
’I’d better just focus on being a God. That’s a lot simpler than falling in love.’
