Chapter 103: Becoming Your God (VI)

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Chapter 103: Becoming Your God (VI)

“You may remain in the Yi Empire, but you must accept my supervision.”

Having finally had enough of playing with him, the War God left those words behind and disappeared.

Shang Ke flashed a victory sign in his mind, and the mask simultaneously broke into a jubilant smile: ╰(＾▽＾)╯.

Neil had appeared beside him at some point. “You’re this happy about being monitored?”

Shang Ke shot him a sideways look: (﹁”﹁). You don’t understand. As an evil god who once fought the War God tooth and nail for centuries and committed every imaginable evil, not getting exterminated the moment we met—and even being given a chance to turn an enemy into a friend—is already incredibly fortunate.

With such a promising start, Shang Ke was in an excellent mood and no longer cared if his mask twisted through a few extra expressions. Waving goodbye to the foolishly amused Love God, he drifted back to his room in high spirits.

Three days later, the prince’s consort-selection ceremony officially began. After carefully preparing themselves, the Shu Clan escorted Tima to the venue. Shang Ke turned himself into an invisible trailing spirit and accompanied her to the banquet.

In the original timeline, the evil god had secretly cursed the other candidates so that Tima would be chosen, causing many girls to fall seriously ill or become injured and lose their chance of selection. His curses were not invincible, however. Some girls worshiped powerful deities capable of dispelling them, such as the Light God, whose power rivaled the War God’s; the Healing God, who governed health; the Nature God, whose blessings nourished all living things; or most deities who wielded dark power, such as the Death God. Followers of the Death God, however, would not casually enter a light-aligned domain.

Guided by an attendant to the entrance of the banquet hall, Tima handed her invitation to the receiving servant and removed the mask from her face.

The servant’s eyes flashed with amazement at her appearance. After checking the invitation, he bowed and invited her inside.

Tima lifted her skirt and slowly walked along the red carpet, her heart pounding and her palms slick with nervous sweat. As more and more eyes turned toward her, she nearly fled on the spot.

Although Shang Ke’s guidance had helped her build considerable confidence and courage, she had never experienced an occasion this grand before and could not avoid feeling intimidated.

“Don’t be nervous. Just think of them as flowers and grass.” Shang Ke floated beside Tima with his hands clasped behind his back, looking left and right as though inspecting his territory. Unfortunately, unless he manifested himself or entered someone’s dreams, ordinary mortals could not hear his voice.

Naturally, Tima’s nervousness did not lessen in the slightest. If anything, she grew more tense with every step into the hall.

Shang Ke continued encouraging her from the side. That girl isn’t as slender as you. That one isn’t as pretty. The most lavishly dressed one has an awful hairstyle. That one laughing and chatting with everyone lacks dignity… And so on.

It accomplished absolutely nothing. Cold sweat continued pouring from Tima in waves, nearly enough to form a river.

“Pfft.” A soft laugh came from nearby.

Shang Ke turned and saw Neil standing not far away in splendid clothes, wineglass in hand, smiling brightly at him.

Neil was an embodied god, so he could freely mingle among mortals and shamelessly flaunt his beautiful face.

Shang Ke floated over and nudged him in the waist with an elbow. “Do me a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” Neil asked with a smile.

“Ask Tima to dance later. This is her first large ball, and she doesn’t have much experience.”

“Sorry. I don’t know how to dance.” Neil refused with a regretful expression.

Shang Ke →_→: The mighty Love God can’t dance? Then why did you dress yourself up like a peacock and come to a ball? To be a wallflower?

Neil laughed. “Instead of asking an outsider like me, why not do it yourself?”

Shang Ke (╯︿╰): If I could do it myself, why would I be asking you?

“You may not have a physical body, but if you materialize your spirit form as much as possible and put on formal clothes, you’ll look almost no different from an ordinary person,” Neil suggested sincerely.

Shang Ke first went (⊙▽⊙), then (= ︿ =). His body could be altered, but the mask could not. He simply could not imagine dancing with a beautiful woman while wearing that cursed thing. One moment he might look mighty, masculine, and domineering; the next, his face would transform into some magnificently ridiculous expression.

Neil looked at the mask that concealed absolutely nothing and suppressed his laughter. “You don’t need to worry about your mask. I have a solution.”

Shang Ke: ( °o°) What?

Neil produced another mask from who knew where. It was pure white, with intricate muted-gold filigree curling around the right eye, exquisitely crafted.

“How about this?” Neil lifted the mask and held it against his face for comparison.

So he wants me to cover my mask… with another mask? Shang Ke stared thoughtfully at the one in Neil’s hand.

“You’d better decide quickly. The dancing has already started.” Neil jerked his chin toward the center of the hall. “If you agree, I’ll take you somewhere to change.”

Shang Ke nodded. “All right!”

Melodious music filled the hall. Prince Yitamo took his mother’s hand and gracefully led her into the center of the ballroom, dedicating the first dance to her.

Surprise flashed through Tima’s eyes when she saw Yitamo. She had never expected the handsome young man who had traveled with them for several days to be the prince of the Yi Empire. She liked Yitamo very much, but only as a friend.

In her heart, God Uno was the most important existence. She had come to participate in the consort selection only for the future of the Shu Clan.

When the first dance ended, enthusiastic applause immediately rang out. Yitamo released his mother’s hand and slowly swept his gaze over the many girls present.

Yitamo had never seen Tima’s uncovered face, and she was standing toward the back, partially obscured by the crowd. In the end, he chose a girl closer to him as his partner for the second dance.

The music began again. The prince and his partner started the dance, and the other men began seeking partners of their own before gradually joining them on the floor.

Tima refused several men who came to ask her to dance and stood alone in a corner, quietly watching Yitamo on the dance floor, her mood somewhat low.

“Beautiful lady, may I have this dance?” A gentle voice interrupted Tima’s thoughts. She was just about to refuse when she caught sight of the mask on the man’s face and paused.

The man before her wore an exquisitely tailored black formal suit and a white mask traced with gold. He was tall and powerfully built, yet every movement carried an air of elegance and effortless ease.

Tima hesitated for a moment, but ultimately refused.

“Tima, I didn’t teach you to dance just so you could hide your ability in a corner.”

At those words, Tima abruptly raised her head and stared at the man in disbelief.

“You… you…” Her heart began pounding uncontrollably, and even her breathing quickened.

“Come on. Let’s dance.” Shang Ke extended a hand in invitation.

“All right!” Tima broke into a radiant smile and placed her hand in Shang Ke’s. His touch was cold, yet it instantly ignited the warmth in her heart.

The two stepped onto the dance floor and began moving gracefully to the rhythm of the music.

Shang Ke wanted Tima to become the most dazzling girl in the entire ballroom. He guided her carefully, gradually drawing out everything beautiful in her movements.

Under Shang Ke’s guidance, Tima’s initially awkward movements gradually became fluid. Her skirt swayed and fragrant air curled around her as she turned. Like a rosebud opening beneath gentle sunlight, the girl slowly blossomed to the sound of the music.

Their elegant dancing quickly drew everyone’s attention, and Tima’s beautiful face seemed to glow even more brilliantly as she moved.

Watching from the crowd, Neil gave a quiet whistle. He had never expected Little Mask to be capable of looking this elegant. With his real mask concealed, Shang Ke seemed like an entirely different person. Who could possibly imagine that beneath those splendid clothes was a rugged brute wearing an animal-hide skirt and a bizarre mask? The thought made Neil burst into laughter.

Mm. His real appearance is still cuter.

Yitamo’s attention was also drawn toward Tima and Shang Ke. He first looked at Tima and felt that she seemed familiar. Then, when his gaze shifted to her masked partner, realization suddenly struck him. Wasn’t this girl Tima from the Shu Clan? Although he had never seen her uncovered face before, her build and distinctive style of dress were enough for him to recognize her.

But who was her partner? Wearing a mask at a formal event that was not a masquerade was generally considered impolite.

Yitamo did not care that the pair had stolen the spotlight from him. He had not intended to choose a partner at the ball anyway. From time to time, he glanced toward Shang Ke, increasingly convinced that he had seen him somewhere before.

After absentmindedly finishing the second dance, Yitamo was about to take a break. He had only walked a few steps when he abruptly pivoted ninety degrees and headed straight toward Shang Ke and Tima.

“Uno!”

Shang Ke instinctively turned around.

“It really is you!” Yitamo looked Shang Ke up and down with a strange expression, clearly struggling not to laugh.

Shang Ke immediately became unhappy. I was always an elegant man to begin with. What’s wrong with dressing magnificently for once?! That ridiculous animal-hide skirt with a draft underneath is the thing that doesn’t suit me!

“I didn’t expect you to attend my ball. Would you like to dance the next one with me?” Yitamo asked with a refined, gentle smile.

Shang Ke, hidden behind his elegant mask, stared silently at Yitamo. Has your brain short-circuited? You want to dance with a man who’s almost your height and even more muscular than you? There are easier ways to humiliate yourself. As a prince, how are you supposed to face your country and your people after this?

In truth, Yitamo’s invitation had slipped out entirely unconsciously. He had simply thought that dancing with Shang Ke would probably be fun. The moment he said it aloud, however, he realized how foolish it sounded.

“Ahem. I meant that I’d like to invite Miss Tima to dance the third dance.” He corrected himself just in time.

Shang Ke: You’re inviting Tima while staring at me? Are your eyes crooked?

Tima: I really want to refuse…

As the third song began, Yitamo led a deeply conflicted Tima onto the dance floor. She looked back several times, hoping her god would rescue her from the clutches of the “evil prince,” only for said god to cheerfully wave her off, mercilessly shooting an arrow straight through her hopes.

“It would’ve been even better if you hadn’t been wearing a mask just now,” Neil said regretfully as he walked over to Shang Ke.

“Thank you for the mask. I’ve decided I’m going to wear it forever and never take it off again,” Shang Ke said gratefully.

Neil’s expression froze. “I wasn’t planning to give it to you.”

“What a shame.” Shang Ke shrugged and sighed. “Looks like I’ll just have to forge one for myself.”

Shang Ke felt wonderfully refreshed. He had finally discovered a way to become a dignified human being again! From now on, he would never have to worry about that cursed mask broadcasting his pure inner world to everyone around him.

Thank you so much, Lord Love God. You truly are humanity’s best friend!

Shang Ke gave Neil an exceptionally benevolent look to express his heartfelt gratitude.

Neil: …I suddenly feel as though I’ve made a terrible mistake.

Unfortunately, Shang Ke’s beautiful dream was destined not to come true.

After the ball ended, Shang Ke, still dressed in his elegant formalwear, followed Tima and the others back to their lodgings.

The moment he entered the courtyard, he saw the War God—though whether Saya had happened to pass by or had specifically come looking for him was impossible to tell.

Saya took one look at Shang Ke’s polished, aristocratic appearance and gave a soft snort.

With that single quiet snort, Shang Ke felt his materialized body dissolve. Without warning, he slipped straight out of his formal clothes. The suit and elegant mask collapsed onto the ground, leaving him once again as the rugged brute in an animal-hide skirt and his original grotesque mask.

“Neither one thing nor the other,” Saya judged coldly.

Shang Ke: (┭┮Д ┭┮)

He wept bitterly for his lost youth.

#No one in this world will let him be noble, elegant, or handsome.#

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