Xyrin Empire
Chapter 749: Time to Prepare to Go Home

Chapter 749: Chapter 749: Time to Prepare to Go Home

I had originally planned to stay a bit longer on the Frozen Continent, but with a chatty Dragon God who might appear again at any moment posing a huge threat, I let Qianqian settle down with her new toy. After permanently freezing the little snowmen that Little Qijing and Alaya had conjured up from several arrays and placing them in the hall of the Ice and Snow Castle, everyone returned to Lin’s temple, with the Teleportation Gate set for the Main Continent.

Although the saying goes that All Gods Temple is omnipresent and one could summon a temple anywhere if willing, for the next couple of days, Bingdisi’s palace had to dock on the Main Continent for maintenance checks and an oil change. The manifestation on other continents was said to be slightly delayed, so we went back as well. Of course, valuing our lives and keeping a distance from the Dragon God was also an important reason for us to leave the continent quickly.

"Is the Supreme Dragon God really that terrifying?"

Qianqian lay on the table, teasing Little Qijing, muttering to herself. Normally reticent, Little Qijing seemed exceptionally excited today, curiously scampering about until Qianqian found her a tangram. Under the little girl’s increasingly powerful arms and teeth, the tangram was quickly becoming more like a sixteen-piece set.

I glanced at Qianqian and held back from saying some things outright: the terror of the Supreme Dragon God wasn’t just limited to his rap machine-like verbal skills; more frightening was his staggeringly disjointed thoughts during conversations. That ability to hop from the culture and customs of the Divine Realm to dozens of other topics before leaping back again wasn’t unfamiliar to us—correct, it was the Qianqian 2.0 Platinum Edition localisation.

Moderation is so important; Qianqian’s whimsical talk could only be seen as cute, but the Dragon God’s topic jumps were a disaster—of course, it was also an unfavourable factor that the Dragon God himself was quite handsome.

A few minutes later, Bingdisi’s Obsidian Temple appeared in front of the Dragon God Castle. Lin sent us to the castle gate, and offhandedly I said, "Aren’t you going to visit? Bingdisi is still thinking about when to gather the Five-color Team again to stir up some excitement at his place."

The timid and cautious Dragon God Girl immediately waved her hands in panic, "No... no need! I still have a lot of work to handle, and visiting the temple of such high-order gods... it always makes me a bit nervous."

Although Bingdisi is an outspoken and friendly type, never really conscious of being in a higher position, Lin is exceedingly cautious and serious. Knowing she truly wasn’t comfortable, and also that Bingdisi’s wasn’t her home after all, we didn’t insist. After saying goodbye to the timid Goddess who spent a crazy morning with her family, we returned to the Obsidian Temple.

"Aha, Chen, you’re back."

Bingdisi was already waiting in the foyer, beckoning us over, "The large crate from Mercury Lamp has already been brought here, and Artemis is over at the temple preparing the Teleportation Gate to link up with the Divine Realm..."

"Uh, is something wrong with me?"

I noticed this female hooligan glancing over me as she spoke, those audacious eyes filled with investigative curiosity, almost as if she might come over to bite me at any moment, which sent shivers down my spine, prompting me to ask.

"Hehe," Bingdisi scratched her head, "I was just checking to see if you’re still alive, without any psychological shadows?"

Me: "?"

"You’ve got nothing to say after meeting with the Dragon God?"

Bingdisi asked with a mischievous smile.

That’s right when I flared up, then angrily looked towards Miss not far from me leaning against a pillar, whistling up at the sky: "Girl Lin! You knew all along so clearly, why didn’t you warn me more!"

Lin Xue rolled her eyes skyward: "Predictions can’t be stated clearly, don’t you know that?"

"But even predictions like this can’t be stated?" I furiously went over and rapped Lin Xue on the head, "Who made that rule!"

Lin Xue dodged and retaliated, clearly dissatisfied at being knocked on the head upon meeting, and then schadenfreude shouting: "It serves you right! It’s your own fault for not heeding Miss’s advice and stirring up trouble! You’re asking for it!"

"Ah Jun, are you okay?"

Big Sister had been watching Lin Xue and me interact with a warm smile all along and finally came over with concern after we finished our greetings, "Lin Xue said you encountered some trouble over there, was that Dragon God tough to deal with?"

"His mouth is tough to deal with."

I said sincerely, then suddenly remembered the nice thing I wanted to show Big Sister and the others, turning my head to beckon at Lilina. Before I could speak, the little girl pouted, pulling out her treasured Magic Mirror.

The translucent Ice Demon Mirror immediately drew everyone’s attention. Feeling those unexpectedly eager glances, the mirror’s surrounding chill wavered, shivering as it said, "Hey! You can’t play like this, if you each took a piece there wouldn’t be enough to go around!"

"Nobody’s going to smack you!"

I knocked on the block of ice that possessed a sweet voice of a girl but somehow had an odd personality and then explained to Big Sister, who was curiously watching, "This is the Magic Mirror—cough, just a name, really. Lilina got it from the Frozen Continent..."

Immediately, I explained the provenance of this talking chunk of ice to Big Sister and others, and everyone was astonished by the miraculous Heart Mirror Lake on the Frozen Continent. Learning that this Magic Mirror was essentially an extension of the Heart Mirror Lake and shared the same abilities and Artifact Spirit with the vast ice fields, even Bubbles who was initially yawning at the side suddenly jumped over, extremely curious to test the mirror’s power to reflect the true self.

With Bingdisi holding up the mirror, Bubbles stepped in front of it and everyone crowded around, curious to see what this little girl’s alternate image would look like.

...

The first image hadn’t even appeared when I promptly corralled the few kids at the scene to one side, followed by Big Sister giving a certain house-bound girl a fifteen-minute lesson on morality.

"I want to try, let me try."

The second one to join the fun was Lin Xue. She stood in front of the mirror for five minutes, but the reflection in the mirror was still her original appearance.

"Is this thing out of power or something?" Miss Lin stepped forward and tapped the magic mirror, "It’s not even making a peep."

"Nonsense!" The magic mirror suddenly spoke up, "You still need to look in the mirror? Is there anything your eyes can’t see through? Professional jealousy, stay away from me!"

Not only was Lin Xue not angry, but she actually laughed, "This thing really has some skills, huh? I didn’t even say anything yet and it already knows my ability, so I guess that counts as a pass?"

"Let her try, let Little Baobao try~~" Qianqian somehow brought Little Baobao over and placed her in front of the mirror. The little girl cooed as she reached out and touched the surface of the Ice Demon Mirror, the cool sensation making her laugh joyfully.

But the image in the mirror didn’t change at all.

I thought the magic mirror was playing some sort of trick again, but the mirror unexpectedly took the initiative to explain, with an unprecedented tenderness and wisdom in its voice, "Children are the most genuine, so what you’re seeing is what you want to know about... Oh no! Get that naughty kid away from here, how did she conjure up a Qi Hammer?!"

The next few people were also curious to try it out, and I have to say the power of the magic mirror was indeed magical. Even though sometimes the reflection it showed was quite surprising—for instance, Bingdisi’s image was that of crossed heavy ancient scrolls and bricks—but as soon as the mirror gave a slight explanation, everyone found that those weird images were actually quite fitting. The mirror’s miraculous ability made me wonder whether it used to tell fortunes under Erli Bridge before it was turned into an artifact spirit; it’s too good at bluffing.

The last one to test it out was Sandora. The golden-haired girl adjusted her appearance, striving to present her prettiest side in front of the mirror, clearly wanting to show her most beautiful true self in front of her lover. Having spent a long time together, I understood why Sandora was so cautious about looking in the mirror: she knew how eerie her Abyss Form was and naturally feared that such a posture might be reflected in front of me. Despite being an Imperial Empress, she was also just an ordinary girl who worried about her lover’s gaze.

Ah, what’s the big deal, anyway? Don’t I have a true form without even a mouth?

"Uh, this... is a bit tricky."

The magic mirror emitted a thoughtful sound, seeming a bit perplexed by Sandora’s dual nature, but the image in the mirror still successfully twisted and gradually combined into a new pattern. Sandora held her breath nervously, while we stared intently at the mirror surface.

Seconds later, the image in the mirror stabilized. On the two-foot square screen, the character for "eat" was written squarely and boldly in black font.

Everyone: "..."

The expression on Sandora’s face was very subtle, not sure whether to cry or to laugh, but there was a bit of relief. Faced with our peculiar gazes, the golden-haired girl could only shake her head awkwardly, shining a golden brilliance before my eyes, and then pointed to her own fingers somewhat embarrassed, "Um, Ah Jun, at this point, I’m actually kind of hungry..."

Everyone very smartly expressed deep empathy and dispersed in a hubbub headed for the dining hall, leaving Lilina to tidy up her precious mirror last. I stayed around too, and after making sure no one else was nearby, I gave the magic mirror a tap on the surface: "Very clever."

"Well, it’s not like I lied to anyone, right? I just reflected that girl from a different angle," the echoing voice of the magic mirror resounded softly in my ears, "Women understand women the best...""Oh, so you count as a woman now?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn’t I? There’s a saying in the mortal world that women are made of water, and my composition is the same as theirs. Just a tad harder!"

The following days were relatively uneventful. Sandora and the Father God had finalized the proposal for reopening the Divine Realm-Xyrin direct passage, leaving the rest up to the specific individuals to perfect the follow-up work. Sivis and Artemis started on the partial reconstruction work of Shadow City, each from their respective bases at the Imperial Nest and the Life Temple. According to the preliminary plans, we aimed to establish a spatial entanglement point near the World Tree in Shadow City, turning it into a "Sacred Domain" akin to the Divine Realm, whereas the real hub of the passage would be set up at the Pyramid Temple of Avalon, where a group of Xyrin Hosts from the Xyrin Nest there would execute direct control. By placing the true control center inside a double-layered Other Space, we ensured the safety of the passage, and symbolically achieved "the Empire controls one end of the passage, and the Divine Realm controls the other." For convenience, personnel could still use the World Tree Temple in Shadow City for Divine Realm teleportation in normal circumstances, but the actual connection work would be completed by the Avalon Temple. The entrance at Shadow City was merely a Phantom Gate.

As for the Divine Realm side, things went as I expected; the Father God entrusted the task to Bingdisi’s family. For one thing, Bingdisi was among the first of the High Order Divine Race to make contact with the Imperial High Level, and understood the current state of the Empire best (let’s ignore Dingdang’s colorless team since they’re just for show - but isn’t Bingdisi also just for show?). It was only natural for her to participate. On the other hand, Uncle Kuwayin had another impressive title: Councilman of Second Rank at the Osiris Council and Governor, a tongue-twisting title that initially baffled us all. Later, Bingdisi succinctly described it as akin to the head of the traffic police, which made us all go ’ah’. In short, the seemingly asthmatic and daughter-obsessed uncle at home was actually an influential figure with real power in the capital, precisely the person in charge of controlling and establishing Void Channels with many Mortal Worlds. Thus, the Father God assigned him the task of rebuilding the Divine Realm-Xyrin passage.

To be honest, I was quite pleased to hear that Bingdisi’s family would be taking charge of this major task, as it meant I wouldn’t have to exhaust myself dealing with new Divine Race officials. It wasn’t out of nervousness; I just couldn’t be sure how to rescue what little remained of my worldview if I met any more of those Divine Race officials who were nothing but troublemakers, slick talkers, nonsense-spouters, chatterboxes, hooligans, and simpletons.

While the establishment of the passage and the exchange of information between the two sides were underway at full speed, others could afford to relax, but Sandora and I certainly couldn’t enjoy such tranquility. Every day, the latter had to use her Emperor authority to confirm various work reports coming from Shadow City, while I had to busy myself using my friend privilege to deny Bingdisi’s ridiculous suggestions. In just three days, I had already shut down Sister Bing’s twenty-one gang names, six extortion headings, three applications to form a Divine Race-Angel Envoy joint looting team, fifteen calls to trash other people’s temples, and the motion to standardize the equipment of bricks and Wolf Fang Clubs for the future Divine Realm and Xyrin envoys. This was one tough job that left me breathless, because every time Bingdisi came to announce her new ideas, she would also give me a bear hug with those mortal-crushing bosoms. It was a risky job too, since Sandora was always present when Bingdisi embraced me.

After a few days of work, my lung capacity significantly increased, and Sandora had bitten calluses onto my arms.

Among the four leaders of the Star Domain Divine Race, I had already met three before. One was Jiajia, who was as lively and clever as Dingdang but a bit mischievous. Another was the Dark Goddess who ruled over the ultimate darkness of all realms, yet was mild and reserved in her speech. The last one was the Supreme Dragon God—sunny in appearance, yet in essence, he was like a human-shaped rap machine with endless chatter. Just a few days ago, the final leader also met with us.

Leader of the Light God System, Sovare, was said to be one of the most unassuming, even the least noticeable individuals in the Divine Realm, yet he was also Father God’s most capable assistant and currently the most dedicated government official of the Divine Race (according to Bingdisi’s dad). He came to the Obsidian Temple to pay a visit due to Bingdisi gathering a large number of Independent People for a suspicious assembly near the garden; that is to say, he came to snitch to Bingdisi’s father—you have to understand, it’s no small matter when the daughter of a second-grade councilman of the Osiris Council leads a bunch of gods in wreaking havoc every day.

That fortunate meeting left a deep impression on me of this serious-faced individual, dressed in an elaborately tailored Divine Robe with meticulously styled golden curls, looking every bit the classic gentleman from the Middle Ages. He didn’t talk much but was quite amiable, strict with his own behavior, yet he tolerated Bingdisi secretly pouring glue into his teacup. He was disciplined but not inflexible in our conversation. In short, Sovare was a standard gentleman, adhering to strict self-regulation and showing as much tolerance as possible to others while taking his and others’ work very seriously. When I met with this amalgamation of the last vestiges of decency in the Divine Realm, I was reviewing some scrolls that only heaven knows what they contained, and I was on the brink of dozing off. However, this very act led Sovare to hold the "New Generation Leader of Xyrin Apostle" in high regard upon our first meeting.

It’s not that he overreacted. You have to understand, if you were visiting and encountered a mischievous Little Princess doodling in the hallway, a Queen in the dining room clattering dishes and cutlery with her bites, a Queen in the garden chasing butterflies with a shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft gun, and a Second Princess scampering up and down the corridor, only to end up hanging from a chandelier, you’d also be moved to tears when you finally spot a King who’s actually reviewing documents seated at the end of your journey, even if that King is only half-heartedly stamping approvals.

Sovare was surprised and relieved to see that there was someone at Bingdisi’s home actually doing something productive (Sandora, you really can’t pick a better time to eat), and I was overjoyed to finally meet a god who seemed to have some sense. We talked a lot, touching on heavy topics that ultimately focused on one question:

How do you manage to survive among a family of problematic individuals and still maintain some dignity?

Sovare showed me the last glimmer of hope in the Divine Race, and yet, Lilina commented that the honest Light God leader stepped into the biggest pitfall of his life—although I don’t know what she meant, why do I feel slightly annoyed?

During our occasional free time, we also visited other places, like the lava-flowing floating continents and shadow-covered lands. Despite not knowing what was so fascinating about those eerie locations, Qianqian enjoyed exploring them immensely. She collected an astonishing number of treasures, but we never saw another marvel like Heart Mirror Lake. I began to worry if the rumors that "Xyrin Leader and his family are plucking the Divine Realm clean, led by the biggest problem child" had spread, and if all the gods and buddhas had started to watch their own backs... It’s really unsettling to have Bingdisis around!

Nevertheless, we didn’t come to the Divine Realm just for sightseeing. As days went by, we had almost dealt with everything here, and the channels between us were about to be stably opened. Our exchange of information with the Divine Race was nearly complete, and the vanguard sent to investigate the remnants of the Old Empire wouldn’t be able to return with concrete news any time soon. It’s fruitless to wait here, and it’s almost time to head home. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it with recommendations or monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)