Therefore, he nourished the sacred flower every day with his body and blood, enduring the excruciating pain of bursting veins with a smile every night. Like clockwork, he would worship the Flower God every afternoon.
Because he wanted to nurture his god, he wanted to meet his god.
But now, reality told him that his devoutness, his pain, his hopeful nurturing—all of it was merely sustenance for those people, tools to satisfy their desires.
Not for his god.
Having witnessed his fervent dedication during the transplantation of the sacred flower, having seen his pale smiles every night, Ning Changfeng couldn’t bear to tell him this harsh truth.
But he had to.
Ning Su stood still for a moment, his eyelashes quivering suddenly. He touched his chest, lowered his gaze.
After an uncertain amount of time, he turned to look at An Xiang’s lifeless body.
He thought of Yang Tai, in the water prison, clumsily praying, saying he would definitely see the Flower God.
Ning Su: “Is the Kingdom of Shigen going to be destroyed?”
Ning Changfeng said: “Yes, at least there will be a change in leadership.”
He couldn’t wait to go and claim the dog head of this kingdom’s emperor.
“Let them experience the feeling of nurturing flowers.”
“Well, that’s convenient. We have spare Sacred Flowers here. Don’t waste them.”
The players’ faces darkened.
Since entering this world, they had been treated as if they’re not humans, bought and sold, thrown into water prisons, callously killed as laughable flower sacrifices.
In the sunless Flower God’s temple, their emotions were brutally stimulated, enduring the pain of bursting veins and the destruction of their bodies every night, all in the hope of meeting the sleeping god and uncovering the truth.
For themselves, for the guild, for those who died.
When they discovered that all of this was a mockery, merely nurturing food for those people, satisfying their desires, they couldn’t tolerate it, not with a drop of blood or a shred of dignity left.
That night, with the help of Old Li’s fire-making tools and weapons, they cremated An Xiang’s body, placing the ashes in a box.
They didn’t want to throw the girl’s body into the Dark Swamp again, to slowly be corrupted and turned into flower fertilizer.
Outside, there was no place for her to return.
Place her in a clean box, wait for an opportune time, and give her to her girlfriend, the one called Chu Kui, who was still searching for her girl.
By the time they returned, it was almost dawn.
When the day broke, the people in white finally brought Chu Kui back.
She was extremely weak, her eyes filled with purple bloodshot, and she asked the flower attendants in the hall with a hoarse voice if they had seen An Xiang.
Many flower attendants, still not awake after a night of torment, were pushed awake by her, and they scolded her irritably. But she showed no reaction, only repeatedly asking if they had seen An Xiang.
When she came to the players, they silently shook their heads.
Jia Chensheng told her, “Since no one has seen her, she should have been taken out to prepare for the Flower God Festival. She is an outstanding representative of the flower attendants.”
Chu Kui nodded vigorously, “Yes! I will wait for her here. I promised her that I would wait for her when she left.”
Ning Su quietly watched her, his gaze moving to her fingers. After a night, sacred flowers had also grown on her fingers.
A purple, long-petaled small flower.
Fang Qi raised his finger to show him, and the sacred flowers had also grown on his finger.
It was very strange. The sacred flower was deep blue when it was in the body before transplantation, and the color was not like a normal plant. After growing out of the body and blooming on the fingertips, the sacred flower was light blue, as if it had been cleansed in the body.
When the Holy Maiden appeared, seemingly aware of the different atmosphere in the hall, she glanced at the various flower attendants in the hall, walked to Chu Kui and Fang Qi, and glanced at the sacred flowers growing from their fingertips.
She was very satisfied and said, “Very well, I will arrange for you to see the Emperor and the Queen as soon as possible.”
Fang Qi chuckled, “The Emperor is very busy.”
The Holy Maiden frowned. She saw Ning Su raised his hand, “Your Highness Holy Maiden, my sacred flower is about to grow from my fingertips. Should I also see the Emperor when the time comes?”
He came as part of the later group, but the sacred flower in his body grew very quickly. It was obvious that it had already grown to his fingertips and should be able to bloom in one or two nights.
The Holy Maiden withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and said, “You are a flower attendant of the Yenan family. Whether you would see the Emperor or someone else is decided by the people of the Yenan family.”
Ning Su: “Oh.”
In the afternoon, Ning Su prepared to participate in the worship activity again.
Ning Changfeng stopped him. “Why are you still going to worship?”
It was already clear that what was in their bodies was just the food of those people. This was a scam, holding a grand Flower God Festival in the name of the Flower God to celebrate their immortality.
They couldn’t cultivate a god, no matter how devout they were.
Ning Su understood his meaning; he said, “But Zhu Shuangshuang has successfully left the instance.”
Ning Changfeng was taken aback. “But we don’t know what kind of answers she submitted.”
Ning Su pushed away his hand and stubbornly went to worship the Flower God.
Now, no players felt that raising the sacred flower was meaningful. Only he did.
He sat on the palm of the statue, quietly looking at its face.
After a while, he turned to look outside the hall.
Three days left until the Flower God Festival, more and more people were participating in the worship activities, including the emperor of the country and the heads of the major families in Furen County, giving a feeling of temporarily seeking divine help.
The emperor personally came to worship the Flower God, kneeling before the statue for a long time like an ordinary believer, winning the favor of tens of thousands of believers.
When the worship activity ended, the emperor, surrounded by others, smiled kindly and said, “Not hard. The hardworking ones are the Holy Maiden and the flower attendants, and all of you are busy for the Flower God Festival.”
“After the Flower God Festival, we will commend the Holy Maiden and the flower attendants. The Flower God’s temple will have the names of more flower attendants.”
“Of course,” he pointed to several happy family heads, “That includes the hardworking heads of Furen County.”
Watching his kind smile, Ning Su’s mind was filled with the image of the other’s nauseating face when he swallowed An Xiang’s finger.
His gaze shifted away from the emperor and fell on the two ghost children in the crowd.
The two children each raised an arm, hands on their small heads, making a heart shape.
Ning Su reached out and gave them an OK sign.
That night, Fang Qi and Chu Kui were not taken to the emperor.
Fang Qi sneered, “Perhaps his hollow and fat body can’t handle too much replenishment at once. It needs to be done slowly. Isn’t there a saying, “the void cannot be filled”?"
Su Wangsheng said, “It may also be that they want to save up and have a grand celebration at the Flower God Festival.”
As the Flower God Festival approached, the remaining flower attendants’ fingers had all grown into their hands and were about to sprout.
They grew slowly, but the white-robed people had already started to ‘ripen’ them, either by soaking them in holy water or through strong emotional stimulation.
This intense emotional stimulation inevitably led to the death of several flower attendants.
Fortunately, Ning Su and Ning Changfeng’s sacred flowers were growing rapidly, and Su Wangsheng, without a partner to stimulate, could only be taken to soak in holy water.
He guessed it right. The next day, several sacred flowers, including Ning Su and Ning Changfeng, grew from their bodies again. The people in white-robes took them to the darkroom to change clothes.
Before entering the room, Fang Qi muttered, “Change clothes for what? Are they finding us dirty, or is it that our clothes are not presentable?”
Su Wangsheng, who came to watch the show, said, “Ah, such a grand occasion naturally requires more formal attire.”
Ning Su thought for a moment and uttered, “Hmm, indeed quite grand.”
Ning Changfeng continued, “Grand enough to be recorded in history.”
Seeing Ning Su looking over, Ning Changfeng said, “Little brother, aren’t we very taciturn?”
Ning Su: “...”
He pushed the door open and quickly changed into solemn and magnificent blood-stained clothes.
When he let his hair down, Ning Su glanced at the bronze mirror and saw a strangely unfamiliar version of himself. Suddenly, he remembered the time he changed clothes at Boss Qi’s place.
That time, he was about to be locked in an iron cage for auction.
He blinked, black-red veins spreading on his pale face, slowly pulling up a sinister smile.
He raised his hand, and a rich blood flower bloomed on the fingertip of his pale and soft ring finger.
After the three of them changed clothes and came out, Su Wangsheng could no longer go upstairs with them. He watched the three of them slowly climb the stairs in the third-floor hall.
Thinking of Ning Su breaking the Soul-Locking Rope, thinking of Fang Qi crushing a village, thinking of Ning Changfeng always sitting securely in first place.
Suddenly, there was a bit of worry.
Not for these three, though.
Therefore, he nourished the sacred flower every day with his body and blood, enduring the excruciating pain of bursting veins with a smile every night. Like clockwork, he would worship the Flower God every afternoon.
Because he wanted to nurture his god, he wanted to meet his god.
But now, reality told him that his devoutness, his pain, his hopeful nurturing—all of it was merely sustenance for those people, tools to satisfy their desires.
Not for his god.
Having witnessed his fervent dedication during the transplantation of the sacred flower, having seen his pale smiles every night, Ning Changfeng couldn’t bear to tell him this harsh truth.
But he had to.
Ning Su stood still for a moment, his eyelashes quivering suddenly. He touched his chest, lowered his gaze.
After an uncertain amount of time, he turned to look at An Xiang’s lifeless body.
He thought of Yang Tai, in the water prison, clumsily praying, saying he would definitely see the Flower God.
Ning Su: “Is the Kingdom of Shigen going to be destroyed?”
Ning Changfeng said: “Yes, at least there will be a change in leadership.”
He couldn’t wait to go and claim the dog head of this kingdom’s emperor.
“Let them experience the feeling of nurturing flowers.”
“Well, that’s convenient. We have spare Sacred Flowers here. Don’t waste them.”
The players’ faces darkened.
Since entering this world, they had been treated as if they’re not humans, bought and sold, thrown into water prisons, callously killed as laughable flower sacrifices.
In the sunless Flower God’s temple, their emotions were brutally stimulated, enduring the pain of bursting veins and the destruction of their bodies every night, all in the hope of meeting the sleeping god and uncovering the truth.
For themselves, for the guild, for those who died.
When they discovered that all of this was a mockery, merely nurturing food for those people, satisfying their desires, they couldn’t tolerate it, not with a drop of blood or a shred of dignity left.
That night, with the help of Old Li’s fire-making tools and weapons, they cremated An Xiang’s body, placing the ashes in a box.
They didn’t want to throw the girl’s body into the Dark Swamp again, to slowly be corrupted and turned into flower fertilizer.
Outside, there was no place for her to return.
Place her in a clean box, wait for an opportune time, and give her to her girlfriend, the one called Chu Kui, who was still searching for her girl.
By the time they returned, it was almost dawn.
When the day broke, the people in white finally brought Chu Kui back.
She was extremely weak, her eyes filled with purple bloodshot, and she asked the flower attendants in the hall with a hoarse voice if they had seen An Xiang.
Many flower attendants, still not awake after a night of torment, were pushed awake by her, and they scolded her irritably. But she showed no reaction, only repeatedly asking if they had seen An Xiang.
When she came to the players, they silently shook their heads.
Jia Chensheng told her, “Since no one has seen her, she should have been taken out to prepare for the Flower God Festival. She is an outstanding representative of the flower attendants.”
Chu Kui nodded vigorously, “Yes! I will wait for her here. I promised her that I would wait for her when she left.”
Ning Su quietly watched her, his gaze moving to her fingers. After a night, sacred flowers had also grown on her fingers.
A purple, long-petaled small flower.
Fang Qi raised his finger to show him, and the sacred flowers had also grown on his finger.
It was very strange. The sacred flower was deep blue when it was in the body before transplantation, and the color was not like a normal plant. After growing out of the body and blooming on the fingertips, the sacred flower was light blue, as if it had been cleansed in the body.
When the Holy Maiden appeared, seemingly aware of the different atmosphere in the hall, she glanced at the various flower attendants in the hall, walked to Chu Kui and Fang Qi, and glanced at the sacred flowers growing from their fingertips.
She was very satisfied and said, “Very well, I will arrange for you to see the Emperor and the Queen as soon as possible.”
Fang Qi chuckled, “The Emperor is very busy.”
The Holy Maiden frowned. She saw Ning Su raised his hand, “Your Highness Holy Maiden, my sacred flower is about to grow from my fingertips. Should I also see the Emperor when the time comes?”
He came as part of the later group, but the sacred flower in his body grew very quickly. It was obvious that it had already grown to his fingertips and should be able to bloom in one or two nights.
The Holy Maiden withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and said, “You are a flower attendant of the Yenan family. Whether you would see the Emperor or someone else is decided by the people of the Yenan family.”
Ning Su: “Oh.”
In the afternoon, Ning Su prepared to participate in the worship activity again.
Ning Changfeng stopped him. “Why are you still going to worship?”
It was already clear that what was in their bodies was just the food of those people. This was a scam, holding a grand Flower God Festival in the name of the Flower God to celebrate their immortality.
They couldn’t cultivate a god, no matter how devout they were.
Ning Su understood his meaning; he said, “But Zhu Shuangshuang has successfully left the instance.”
Ning Changfeng was taken aback. “But we don’t know what kind of answers she submitted.”
Ning Su pushed away his hand and stubbornly went to worship the Flower God.
Now, no players felt that raising the sacred flower was meaningful. Only he did.
He sat on the palm of the statue, quietly looking at its face.
After a while, he turned to look outside the hall.
Three days left until the Flower God Festival, more and more people were participating in the worship activities, including the emperor of the country and the heads of the major families in Furen County, giving a feeling of temporarily seeking divine help.
The emperor personally came to worship the Flower God, kneeling before the statue for a long time like an ordinary believer, winning the favor of tens of thousands of believers.
When the worship activity ended, the emperor, surrounded by others, smiled kindly and said, “Not hard. The hardworking ones are the Holy Maiden and the flower attendants, and all of you are busy for the Flower God Festival.”
“After the Flower God Festival, we will commend the Holy Maiden and the flower attendants. The Flower God’s temple will have the names of more flower attendants.”
“Of course,” he pointed to several happy family heads, “That includes the hardworking heads of Furen County.”
Watching his kind smile, Ning Su’s mind was filled with the image of the other’s nauseating face when he swallowed An Xiang’s finger.
His gaze shifted away from the emperor and fell on the two ghost children in the crowd.
The two children each raised an arm, hands on their small heads, making a heart shape.
Ning Su reached out and gave them an OK sign.
That night, Fang Qi and Chu Kui were not taken to the emperor.
Fang Qi sneered, “Perhaps his hollow and fat body can’t handle too much replenishment at once. It needs to be done slowly. Isn’t there a saying, “the void cannot be filled”?"
Su Wangsheng said, “It may also be that they want to save up and have a grand celebration at the Flower God Festival.”
As the Flower God Festival approached, the remaining flower attendants’ fingers had all grown into their hands and were about to sprout.
They grew slowly, but the white-robed people had already started to ‘ripen’ them, either by soaking them in holy water or through strong emotional stimulation.
This intense emotional stimulation inevitably led to the death of several flower attendants.
Fortunately, Ning Su and Ning Changfeng’s sacred flowers were growing rapidly, and Su Wangsheng, without a partner to stimulate, could only be taken to soak in holy water.
He guessed it right. The next day, several sacred flowers, including Ning Su and Ning Changfeng, grew from their bodies again. The people in white-robes took them to the darkroom to change clothes.
Before entering the room, Fang Qi muttered, “Change clothes for what? Are they finding us dirty, or is it that our clothes are not presentable?”
Su Wangsheng, who came to watch the show, said, “Ah, such a grand occasion naturally requires more formal attire.”
Ning Su thought for a moment and uttered, “Hmm, indeed quite grand.”
Ning Changfeng continued, “Grand enough to be recorded in history.”
Seeing Ning Su looking over, Ning Changfeng said, “Little brother, aren’t we very taciturn?”
Ning Su: “...”
He pushed the door open and quickly changed into solemn and magnificent blood-stained clothes.
When he let his hair down, Ning Su glanced at the bronze mirror and saw a strangely unfamiliar version of himself. Suddenly, he remembered the time he changed clothes at Boss Qi’s place.
That time, he was about to be locked in an iron cage for auction.
He blinked, black-red veins spreading on his pale face, slowly pulling up a sinister smile.
He raised his hand, and a rich blood flower bloomed on the fingertip of his pale and soft ring finger.
After the three of them changed clothes and came out, Su Wangsheng could no longer go upstairs with them. He watched the three of them slowly climb the stairs in the third-floor hall.
Thinking of Ning Su breaking the Soul-Locking Rope, thinking of Fang Qi crushing a village, thinking of Ning Changfeng always sitting securely in first place.
Suddenly, there was a bit of worry.
Not for these three, though.
