September 12, 2023 by Wyrd
The young man’s nose and mouth resemble him the most; his eyes resemble him the least.
Ning Changfeng gasped for breath, feeling a fiery pain in his chest and throat.
The Holy Maiden watched as he forcefully rubbed his hands against the wall, smearing black blood onto the wall. She said, “Your first intimate contact with your son involves opening his chest and cutting his heart. It’s quite meaningful, isn’t it?”
What the young man had said echoed in Ning Changfeng’s mind at this time, “Do you know what matters most to someone who has never had parents since childhood?”
Ning Changfeng’s body slowly slid down.
***
The afternoon worship ceremony began.
The worshippers today were extraordinary.
Everyone in Furen County was excited.
They believed that the previous tremor was a manifestation of the Flower God.
They had faith that the Flower God would appear again this year and bless Furen County once more.
It had been five years since the last appearance of the Flower God. They had held the Flower God Festival every year, and they were finally able to move the Flower God to appear once again.
Tens of thousands of people knelt and worshipped, and the songs praising the god were extremely loud.
When the songs penetrated the thick walls and reached inside the temple, the clearest words heard were ‘Oh, god’ and ‘prayer.’
Zhu Shuangshuang, covered in blood, staggered out of the room, only to find Ning Changfeng sitting against the wall on the ground, with his elbows on his knees and his hands covering his face, pressing a dirty patch of black-red onto it.
Zhu Shuangshuang had never seen the number one player on the game base looking so disheveled.
She squatted in front of him, clenching her trembling fingers and asked in a daze, “Senior Ning, Su Su, how is he?”
She stared at the blood on Ning Changfeng’s hands and asked, “Is this black stuff Su Su’s?”
Ning Changfeng, who hadn’t recovered yet, became even colder and stiffer.
Once again, he thought of the blade cutting through the thin chest, the young man’s lifeless organs, and the black veins.
Zhu Shuangshuang heard his heavy breathing and saw him pressing his hands against his face even harder.
The two of them crouched on the dark and damp ground, listening to the excited praises from outside.
The corridor was as quiet as time itself had frozen.
“When we worshiped yesterday afternoon,” Ning Changfeng rasped, his voice like autumn wind through dry branches, “Thank you for helping him with Su Wangsheng, not leaving him alone.”
Zhu Shuangshuang didn’t understand why he said that. “You kicked his flower basket yesterday. Why are you saying this now?”
Ning Changfeng let out a “ha.”
That sound was nothing like laughter at all.
Zhu Shuangshuang got up and pushed open Ning Su’s room door, but there was no one inside.
***
The Holy Maiden said that after the sacred flower was implanted in the heart, the flower attendant could recover in the fifth day to the point where they could stand on the ground and take a knife to help another flower servant open their chest to plant the flower.
At this time, no one would think that the newly planted flower attendant would run away.
Ning Su walked for a long time and finally found the location of the statue.
The statue turned around, still facing half away from the temple, making it easier for Ning Su to climb up.
The pale hands revealed even more prominent black veins as he grabbed onto the statue’s black robe. He struggled to jump up, hugging the statue’s knee, and climbed up slowly, bit by bit, until he reached the vine-covered hands.
He turned over and lay in the palm of the statue’s hand, the soft vines half-encircling him.
It was like when he was a child, like when he first woke up when the end of the world had come, he turned over and lay there, listening to the solemn praise of the people for the flower god, slowly closing his long eyelashes, falling asleep.
The divine hymn outside spread to every corner of Furen County.
The dense crowd of believers worshiped the statue like crazy.
It was said that humans couldn’t directly look at the face of the god; they dared not look at the statue, so they didn’t know that there was a white-clothed, wet-haired young man sleeping quietly in the palm of the god’s hand.
The vines on the god’s palm slowly grew, gently covering him.
Perhaps the god would wonder why.
The statue opened his eyes, and a crimson glow emerged at the corners, dispersing the chaos.
He gazed at the sleeping young man in his palm, where a faint spark of life resided.
Within the fragile body was his enshrouded heart.
Half of his energy coursed through delicate veins.
In the cycle of the universe, amidst the primordial chaos, such wonders were rare to find.
Beyond the devoted worshippers, two inconspicuous figures knelt.
They stood upright, gazing upon the statue.
“Gui Sheng little brother.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you see our mother?”
“Yes!”
“He rests upon our father.”
“Wow~”
The memory of that night when Manman spoke of it still lingered with him. With a father, their family would be complete.
He raised his little head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the statue.
Like the young girl, his celestial earrings gleamed in the sunlight, just like her eyes.
Born in different worlds, in disparate circumstances, they both yearned for the same thing: a complete family.
As the ritual came to an end, the hymns ceased.
Ning Su slowly opened his eyes, surveying his surroundings, and uttered, “Hmm.”
He looked up at the face of the statue. “I have finally offered my worship today.”
The god’s statue stood in profound silence, seemingly unchanged for millennia.
Ning Su decided to stay and silently let his presence be acknowledged. He gracefully slid down the statue’s robes, his spirit fully connected to the only ethereal flower that bloomed on the god’s palm as he walked away.
He had originally planned to sneak back to that room, but to his surprise, he was caught right at the staircase.
The Holy Maiden stood there in her black attire, silent. Zhu Shuangshuang, who was behind her, anxiously said, “Su Su, where were you? Everyone has been searching for you!”
What was even stranger was Ning Changfeng, who gazed at him with an eerie look, his eye sockets filled with terrifying bloodshot veins.
Ning Su, with a wry smile, said to the Holy Maiden, “You’ve returned quite early. I just saw you kneeling before the god’s statue.”
The Holy Maiden wasn’t buying it. “Bring him up!”
The white-clad individuals immediately came forward and took him into the room.
“Be careful!” Ning Changfeng hoarsely spoke up. “His wounds haven’t fully healed yet.”
Ning Su remained silent.
He returned to that waterbed once more.
The Holy Maiden instructed him to stay here for the night, to survive the first perilous night before he could leave.
Ning Su didn’t mind this, but what bothered him was Ning Changfeng.
The lone ranger ranked first in the game base was actually staying here.
He sat on a chair beside his waterbed, as if he were tending to him.
Sometimes he sat stiffly and seriously, other times he fidgeted and clenched his fists, and sometimes he pretended to casually glance at him.
There was something odd about his gaze.
“Aren’t you going to drink some water?” Ning Changfeng softly spoke after being caught by Ning Su’s glance.
His voice was awkward yet gentle, instantly sending goosebumps down Ning Su’s spine.
Ning Su had a bad premonition and immediately tensed up.
Ning Changfeng started, “Well...”
Ning Su interjected firmly, “No!”
Ning Su had been on guard against the other from the moment he began to speak.
He solemnly said, “This was our agreement. I let you put the flower in me first, and once we leave this instance, you let me cut off your head and take it to President Shi for a billion points.”
“You can’t change your mind just because you see me alive and well!”
Ning Changfeng: “...”
September 12, 2023 by Wyrd
The young man’s nose and mouth resemble him the most; his eyes resemble him the least.
Ning Changfeng gasped for breath, feeling a fiery pain in his chest and throat.
The Holy Maiden watched as he forcefully rubbed his hands against the wall, smearing black blood onto the wall. She said, “Your first intimate contact with your son involves opening his chest and cutting his heart. It’s quite meaningful, isn’t it?”
What the young man had said echoed in Ning Changfeng’s mind at this time, “Do you know what matters most to someone who has never had parents since childhood?”
Ning Changfeng’s body slowly slid down.
***
The afternoon worship ceremony began.
The worshippers today were extraordinary.
Everyone in Furen County was excited.
They believed that the previous tremor was a manifestation of the Flower God.
They had faith that the Flower God would appear again this year and bless Furen County once more.
It had been five years since the last appearance of the Flower God. They had held the Flower God Festival every year, and they were finally able to move the Flower God to appear once again.
Tens of thousands of people knelt and worshipped, and the songs praising the god were extremely loud.
When the songs penetrated the thick walls and reached inside the temple, the clearest words heard were ‘Oh, god’ and ‘prayer.’
Zhu Shuangshuang, covered in blood, staggered out of the room, only to find Ning Changfeng sitting against the wall on the ground, with his elbows on his knees and his hands covering his face, pressing a dirty patch of black-red onto it.
Zhu Shuangshuang had never seen the number one player on the game base looking so disheveled.
She squatted in front of him, clenching her trembling fingers and asked in a daze, “Senior Ning, Su Su, how is he?”
She stared at the blood on Ning Changfeng’s hands and asked, “Is this black stuff Su Su’s?”
Ning Changfeng, who hadn’t recovered yet, became even colder and stiffer.
Once again, he thought of the blade cutting through the thin chest, the young man’s lifeless organs, and the black veins.
Zhu Shuangshuang heard his heavy breathing and saw him pressing his hands against his face even harder.
The two of them crouched on the dark and damp ground, listening to the excited praises from outside.
The corridor was as quiet as time itself had frozen.
“When we worshiped yesterday afternoon,” Ning Changfeng rasped, his voice like autumn wind through dry branches, “Thank you for helping him with Su Wangsheng, not leaving him alone.”
Zhu Shuangshuang didn’t understand why he said that. “You kicked his flower basket yesterday. Why are you saying this now?”
Ning Changfeng let out a “ha.”
That sound was nothing like laughter at all.
Zhu Shuangshuang got up and pushed open Ning Su’s room door, but there was no one inside.
***
The Holy Maiden said that after the sacred flower was implanted in the heart, the flower attendant could recover in the fifth day to the point where they could stand on the ground and take a knife to help another flower servant open their chest to plant the flower.
At this time, no one would think that the newly planted flower attendant would run away.
Ning Su walked for a long time and finally found the location of the statue.
The statue turned around, still facing half away from the temple, making it easier for Ning Su to climb up.
The pale hands revealed even more prominent black veins as he grabbed onto the statue’s black robe. He struggled to jump up, hugging the statue’s knee, and climbed up slowly, bit by bit, until he reached the vine-covered hands.
He turned over and lay in the palm of the statue’s hand, the soft vines half-encircling him.
It was like when he was a child, like when he first woke up when the end of the world had come, he turned over and lay there, listening to the solemn praise of the people for the flower god, slowly closing his long eyelashes, falling asleep.
The divine hymn outside spread to every corner of Furen County.
The dense crowd of believers worshiped the statue like crazy.
It was said that humans couldn’t directly look at the face of the god; they dared not look at the statue, so they didn’t know that there was a white-clothed, wet-haired young man sleeping quietly in the palm of the god’s hand.
The vines on the god’s palm slowly grew, gently covering him.
Perhaps the god would wonder why.
The statue opened his eyes, and a crimson glow emerged at the corners, dispersing the chaos.
He gazed at the sleeping young man in his palm, where a faint spark of life resided.
Within the fragile body was his enshrouded heart.
Half of his energy coursed through delicate veins.
In the cycle of the universe, amidst the primordial chaos, such wonders were rare to find.
Beyond the devoted worshippers, two inconspicuous figures knelt.
They stood upright, gazing upon the statue.
“Gui Sheng little brother.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you see our mother?”
“Yes!”
“He rests upon our father.”
“Wow~”
The memory of that night when Manman spoke of it still lingered with him. With a father, their family would be complete.
He raised his little head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the statue.
Like the young girl, his celestial earrings gleamed in the sunlight, just like her eyes.
Born in different worlds, in disparate circumstances, they both yearned for the same thing: a complete family.
As the ritual came to an end, the hymns ceased.
Ning Su slowly opened his eyes, surveying his surroundings, and uttered, “Hmm.”
He looked up at the face of the statue. “I have finally offered my worship today.”
The god’s statue stood in profound silence, seemingly unchanged for millennia.
Ning Su decided to stay and silently let his presence be acknowledged. He gracefully slid down the statue’s robes, his spirit fully connected to the only ethereal flower that bloomed on the god’s palm as he walked away.
He had originally planned to sneak back to that room, but to his surprise, he was caught right at the staircase.
The Holy Maiden stood there in her black attire, silent. Zhu Shuangshuang, who was behind her, anxiously said, “Su Su, where were you? Everyone has been searching for you!”
What was even stranger was Ning Changfeng, who gazed at him with an eerie look, his eye sockets filled with terrifying bloodshot veins.
Ning Su, with a wry smile, said to the Holy Maiden, “You’ve returned quite early. I just saw you kneeling before the god’s statue.”
The Holy Maiden wasn’t buying it. “Bring him up!”
The white-clad individuals immediately came forward and took him into the room.
“Be careful!” Ning Changfeng hoarsely spoke up. “His wounds haven’t fully healed yet.”
Ning Su remained silent.
He returned to that waterbed once more.
The Holy Maiden instructed him to stay here for the night, to survive the first perilous night before he could leave.
Ning Su didn’t mind this, but what bothered him was Ning Changfeng.
The lone ranger ranked first in the game base was actually staying here.
He sat on a chair beside his waterbed, as if he were tending to him.
Sometimes he sat stiffly and seriously, other times he fidgeted and clenched his fists, and sometimes he pretended to casually glance at him.
There was something odd about his gaze.
“Aren’t you going to drink some water?” Ning Changfeng softly spoke after being caught by Ning Su’s glance.
His voice was awkward yet gentle, instantly sending goosebumps down Ning Su’s spine.
Ning Su had a bad premonition and immediately tensed up.
Ning Changfeng started, “Well...”
Ning Su interjected firmly, “No!”
Ning Su had been on guard against the other from the moment he began to speak.
He solemnly said, “This was our agreement. I let you put the flower in me first, and once we leave this instance, you let me cut off your head and take it to President Shi for a billion points.”
“You can’t change your mind just because you see me alive and well!”
Ning Changfeng: “...”
