Chapter 104: Becoming Your God (VII)

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Chapter 104: Becoming Your God (VII)

The ball would continue for three days, but Shang Ke did not go along on the second day. Yitamo and Tima had already been properly introduced and gotten to know each other, and for the remaining dances, Tima would be his regular partner.

Shang Ke’s goal was to create as many opportunities as possible for the two of them to spend time together, not to serve as a god-tier third wheel. The other Shu clansmen had their own task as well: every day, they set up street stalls selling finely crafted objects, specialty snacks, small handicrafts, and the like, earning money while familiarizing themselves with the city.

The elders of the Shu Clan did not want their young people to remain tucked away in the remote mountains forever. Whenever the opportunity arose, they should come out and gain some experience. They did not expect to secure a marriage alliance with the prince of the Yi Empire; they merely hoped the Shu people would be permitted to come to the Empire and develop their livelihoods there.

In this lifetime, with Yitamo’s and the War God’s acknowledgment, Shang Ke was certain the Shu Clan could achieve that goal ahead of schedule. As for a marriage alliance, it could happen if fate allowed it; if not, there was no need to force matters. Although arranged marriages and matching social status still mattered in this world, most people nevertheless pursued love freely. That was one reason Love God Neil had become so powerful. Back in the war-torn age when evil gods rampaged across the continent, who knew what forgotten corner Neil had been hiding in planting apples? In terms of seniority, the evil god was more than a little older than him, yet Neil showed no respect for his elders at all. He treated Shang Ke like some down-on-his-luck god starved for affection and kept wandering over to bother him.

And then there was Lord War God, who had also spent the past two days showing up uninvited. He called it “supervision,” but who couldn’t tell he was really just bored out of his mind? In an age of peace, a War God had little opportunity to exercise his power, which was why Saya had gone to sleep in the first place—only to be accidentally awakened by the evil god’s presence.

Ever since meeting him face-to-face, Shang Ke had become almost certain that Saya was his man. But with such an enormous disparity in their strength, and with their status as friend or foe still unclear, Shang Ke did not want to develop a relationship with him that went beyond friendship just yet.

And yet, before any romance had even begun, that bastard had already mastered the ultimate technique of stripping him in one second. No matter what Shang Ke put on, Saya mercilessly stripped it right back off. The only things he apparently could not remove were Shang Ke’s real mask and animal-hide skirt…

As Shang Ke was thinking this, he saw Yitamo offer Tima his hand and help her down from the carriage. The two chatted and laughed easily together, apparently getting along quite well.

“Neil, don’t you think they look good together?” Shang Ke asked Neil, who was lounging against a tree branch.

Neil lazily opened his eyes, glanced at the pair, and said indifferently, “They make pretty good friends.”

“Friends?” Shang Ke seriously pursued the subject. “Don’t they have that pink aura of romance around them?”

“They do.” But the feeling was not directed at each other. Neil was rather puzzled about that himself. It made sense for Tima to be in love with her own god, but why was it that after spending several days with Tima, Yitamo—who had originally shown no romantic stirrings whatsoever—was now giving off pink energy that kept drifting toward Little Mask beside Neil?

Neil swept Shang Ke from head to toe with an appraising gaze.

Shang Ke: (￢︶￢) What?

Neil: …Fine. I have to admit, Little Mask’s expressive face really does have a charm that ordinary humans and gods can’t resist.

“Has God Uno not appeared at all these past two days?” Yitamo sat drinking tea with Tima in the courtyard, his gaze casually sweeping their surroundings without making it obvious.

“I haven’t seen him since we came back from the ball that night.” Tima toyed with the wooden carving hanging at her chest, looking rather dejected.

“He’s your god. Even when you can’t see him, he’ll still be nearby protecting you.” Yitamo changed the subject. “Why don’t you tell me some more stories about him? Did anything interesting happen while he was teaching you all those skills?”

At that, Tima immediately brightened and laughed. “Don’t let God Uno’s big, muscular appearance fool you. He’s actually very cute…”

The two became completely absorbed in their conversation, never noticing the two eavesdroppers sitting in a nearby tree.

Neil listened with great interest while thinking to himself: No wonder Yitamo’s pink aura keeps drifting toward Little Mask. Apparently, all these two do together is talk about him.

Neil instinctively looked over at Shang Ke and almost burst out laughing.

Shang Ke: (˙︿˙) What the hell? If you two are going to have your little romance, why do you have to use stories about this god as entertainment?

(▔△▔) Tima, is this really the image you have of me? Didn’t you used to praise me for being heroic, rugged, and overflowing with primitive masculinity?

(⊙□⊙) Wait! Did my animal-hide skirt really fly up that high when I taught you martial arts? Why didn’t any of you tell me?! Were you all enjoying watching me expose myself?!

(╰ ︿ ╯) I’m warning you! Stop talking right now, or I’m going to lose my temper!

Neil covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking continuously as tears of laughter gathered in the corners of his eyes.

“Hahaha.” Beneath the tree, Yitamo laughed happily, and the pink aura surrounding him surged along with his amusement.

It had not yet reached the level of love, but his affection for Shang Ke was clearly rising at an alarming rate.

Neil looked at Yitamo, then at Shang Ke, a speculative gleam flickering in his eyes. I wonder what interesting things would happen if this human and this god fell in love? At the thought, he secretly moved one finger. A red thread of energy spiraled outward, one end winding around Shang Ke’s wrist while the other drifted toward Yitamo.

As the red thread disappeared, Yitamo and Shang Ke both paused for an instant. Then, as though nothing had happened, one continued chatting while the other continued silently complaining.

Neil leaned back against the tree trunk with an intrigued smile.

The Love God could not force two people who felt nothing for each other to fall in love, but if mutual affection already existed, he could use his divine power to intensify those feelings. Watching the faint pink aura around Yitamo gradually become more substantial, Neil silently snapped his fingers in satisfaction. When he looked at Little Mask beside him, however, Shang Ke seemed no different.

Little Mask was also a deity, so Neil could not directly see how his emotions were changing. He was not in any hurry. Feelings needed time to ferment, and he estimated that it would not be long before he saw the results of this budding love.

Neil had no idea that this impulsive prank had just offended three formidable powers at once: a War God, an evil god, and the future ruler of the strongest empire on the continent… One could only imagine the miserable price Neil would eventually pay for it.

Yitamo politely declined the invitation to stay for dinner. Before leaving, he made one request of Tima. “Would you be willing to give me a pendant of God Uno like yours?”

Tima hesitated briefly before happily agreeing.

As Shang Ke watched Yitamo leave, an inexplicable sense of loss suddenly arose in his heart.

After the three-day ball ended, neither the Shu Clan nor the other candidates rushed to leave, because Yitamo had not yet chosen his future consort.

Most outsiders believed Tima had the greatest chance of being selected. Yitamo was frequently seen with her and treated her very differently from the other candidates. The only mystery was why he had yet to publicly announce his final choice.

Tima, however, knew very well that there was no romantic love between herself and Yitamo. If anything, his interest in God Uno was unusually intense. He carried the pendant she had given him everywhere and frequently took it out to toy with it.

Tima did not care about the title of royal consort. As long as she established a good relationship with Yitamo, the purpose of this journey had already been fulfilled. But as the only girl receiving conspicuous favor from the prince, she naturally became the target of the other candidates’ jealousy—and was soon attacked.

Half a month after the ball ended, the usually healthy Tima suddenly fell ill. Among the Shu clansmen traveling with her were several apprentice healers who had studied medicine under Shang Ke, but their training had been too brief. They could handle minor illnesses and injuries, yet serious diseases were beyond them.

Yitamo summoned a royal physician to examine Tima, but even he could not determine the exact cause.

After returning to the palace, Yitamo considered issuing a royal proclamation seeking a renowned physician for Tima.

“Yitamo.” At that moment, a familiar voice sounded nearby. He turned and saw that Shang Ke had appeared beside the windowsill at some point.

“Uno.” Delight flashed through Yitamo’s eyes as he quickly walked over.

“Can I ask you for a favor?” Shang Ke looked at him seriously.

“Tell me what you need.”

“I want to know how many different deities are worshiped by the candidates who took part in this selection.”

Yitamo immediately understood. “You mean someone is secretly using a deity’s power to harm Tima?”

Shang Ke nodded.

“The register is on my desk. Come with me.” Yitamo beckoned Shang Ke along and headed toward the study.

When Yitamo opened the register, Shang Ke appeared beside him and leaned over to read the names listed inside.

Shang Ke’s head was only a fist’s width from Yitamo’s chest. It reminded Yitamo of their first meeting, when Uno had pressed close to him in much the same way, concentrating intently on whatever he had been trying to examine.

Yitamo’s gaze traveled over Shang Ke’s translucent body. Although it was only a spirit form, the taut definition of his muscles and the beauty of his physique were still plainly visible: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long, powerful legs. Even the ancient, primitive animal-hide skirt around his hips somehow gave him a distinctly wild, sexual appeal.

Without meaning to, Yitamo began imagining what he would look like with a physical body: bronze skin, firm muscles, powerful legs, lithe and strong like a leopard…

At the thought, Yitamo’s breathing grew faster and heat began spreading through his body.

“Yitamo, thank you. I’ve finished looking through the register.” Shang Ke raised his head: ( °ˇ°)

“Would you like me to make you a copy?”

“No need. I’ve already memorized it.” Shang Ke floated upward. “I’ll head back first. If I need anything else, I’ll come ask you for help.”

“Mm.” Yitamo’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward the fluttering animal-hide skirt around Shang Ke’s waist.

But before he could get a clear look at what was underneath, Shang Ke’s figure vanished from sight.

“Ah… when will he finally become an embodied god?” Yitamo murmured softly.

After returning to the Shu Clan’s residence, Shang Ke rapidly sorted through the deities in his memory and narrowed the possible culprit down to several suspicious candidates.

“His register is incomplete.” A familiar voice interrupted Shang Ke’s thoughts. The imposing figure of War God Saya appeared before him.

“What?”

“If you want to know about the deities in the royal capital, you should ask me.” Saya stared fixedly at his face.

Shang Ke: ( °△°)!

“You’re willing to tell me?” What happened to us being enemies?

For some inexplicable reason, Saya felt slightly irritated. “If you ask.”

“All right, then.” Since Saya was apparently feeling so helpful… “How many deities are there in the royal capital?”

“One hundred sixty-seven.”

Shang Ke: “What?!” (⊙Д⊙)!

“One hundred sixty-seven.”

How can there possibly be that many?! Yitamo’s register had contained only twenty-three, but that did not mean only those twenty-three deities were possible suspects. In other words, Shang Ke now had to expand his investigation from twenty-three candidates to one hundred sixty-seven!

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