Huh, Why Wasn't It Dead Yet?

Yang Zhi's gaze rested steadily on Yuexi.

The Moonlight Clan was proud and aloof.

Put those two words together, and no matter how one looked at them or considered them, they seemed awkward and incongruous.

Proud meant holding one's chin slightly raised and looking at others out of the corner of one's eye, with an innate sense of nobility that kept everyone at arm's length.

Aloof meant lowered brows and eyes, a cool, indifferent glance passing over others, a detachment that wouldn't spare them so much as a look.

One looked up, the other down.

They were two things that should have gone in opposite directions by nature. How could they possibly exist in the same person?

And yet, in everyone's deeply rooted impression, that was exactly what the Moonlight Clan was like.

Proud and aloof.

Like frost formed from moonlight, hanging far out of reach, untouched by the mortal world and beyond desecration.

He, too, had once been certain of it.

But now...

Yang Zhi looked at Lord Moon God's hands, still resting atop Yuexi's head.

Then he looked at Yuexi himself. That supposedly "noble and unapproachable" aura around him had long since vanished.

In its place, rings upon rings of little pink flowers, almost solid enough to see, were bubbling out of him in delight, blooming one after another in a riotous display.

At that moment, the rosy filter through which Yang Zhi viewed the Moonlight Clan finally...

With a crash, it shattered to pieces. Not a single intact fragment could be recovered, let alone put back together.

What pride and aloofness? What sacred inviolability?

It was all fake.

The Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow, which had barely made their presence felt at the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

The two of them had swallowed their grievances for far too long.

This fellow Yuexi had forcibly abducted them and threatened and intimidated them every few days. He couldn't have behaved more abominably.

And now, in front of the god, he actually dared to put on an innocent, obedient act and shamelessly compete for the god's attention. His audacity was outrageous.

[Star-Moon Bow]: Pah, how shameless.

[Star-Moon Arrow]: Absolutely shameless! Let's call a temporary truce and attack together!

Faced with a common enemy, the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow reached an unprecedented agreement and decided to turn their weapons outward.

When it came to thick skin, the Star-Moon Arrow was a cut above the Star-Moon Bow. Its shaft bent sharply, storing up strength, and with a whoosh, it launched itself forward, fierce and unstoppable.

Today, either this bastard would drop dead on the spot, or he would—go to heaven...

No, someone like him deserved to go to hell!

Unfortunately, the moment a hand caught it effortlessly, all that unstoppable momentum, all that eagerness to pierce Yuexi straight through, melted away like soft cream against a hot knife. Without a sound, it went limp and lost all its force.

The hand held its entire shaft in its palm. The grip wasn't tight, but it couldn't move an inch.

Or rather, it couldn't bear to move.

Wuma Xiu lowered his eyes to the Star-Moon Arrow in his palm and said:

"What were you two whispering about just now? Can you tell me?"

Faced with its Creation Lord, the Star-Moon Arrow's pitiful bit of backbone proved shorter-lived than morning dew. It evaporated in the blink of an eye, leaving not a scrap of principle behind.

As soon as Wuma Xiu finished speaking, it spilled everything that had happened, chattering away as though it wished it could report even the exact number of little flowers that had floated above Yuexi's head.

In short, the Star-Moon Arrow felt no burden of guilt throughout, much less any awareness that it was "betraying its brother, the Star-Moon Bow."

Who? Brother?

Weren't brothers meant to be sold out?

Besides, its brother was also its Creation Lord, so was there even a choice?

The Star-Moon Arrow thought to itself.

The Star-Moon Bow watched the whole scene, its body trembling slightly with anger.

Traitor!

That spineless Star-Moon Arrow had confessed everything the moment the god casually asked, spilling it all without so much as a stammer.

All that talk of fighting side by side and standing united against their enemy had been empty words.

Hmph, a traitor, a complete and utter traitor.

But it could settle accounts with the traitor later.

Today, Yuexi had to die!

The Star-Moon Bow hesitated no longer. Its body shook sharply, and without any outside force, its string drew back on its own, the fully stretched curve brimming with icy killing intent.

A transparent arrow formed out of thin air and settled onto the string.

In fact, it had never needed the Star-Moon Arrow.

It could draw its own string and form its own arrows, and still shoot a hole straight through the heavens. It was simply more powerful when used with the Star-Moon Arrow.

Now that the traitor could no longer be trusted, it would do the job itself.

The bow shifted slightly, its icy point trained on Yuexi.

Just as the string was about to be released, Wuma Xiu raised a hand and beckoned in its direction.

"Stop playing around and come here."

The moment he spoke, the transparent arrow on the string dissolved silently into a faint wisp of light, taking all the killing intent it had gathered with it.

Immediately afterward, the bow leaped into the air, arced toward Wuma Xiu, and landed in his other hand.

The motion couldn't have been smoother.

It was so obedient that it was as if it had never been the one brimming with killing intent and trying to take someone's life.

Nestled in Wuma Xiu's palm, the Star-Moon Bow felt the slight coolness of the god's fingertips. Its earlier killing intent had long since been cast to the winds.

It offered itself a forced justification.

What did that Yuexi matter?

How could he be more important than its god?

At the side, the Star-Moon Arrow saw this and twisted its shaft, looking rather disdainful.

Go on, keep pretending.

Who was the one who drew its string faster than anyone just now?

Now it was putting on a face that said, "I never intended to attack in the first place." But the arrow itself had only just sold out its teammate, so it really wasn't in a position to mock anyone.

Thus, the Star-Moon Arrow wisely kept its mouth shut.

Yuexi watched the whole scene from beginning to end. He pursed his lips, and a trace of something almost like regret flickered in his eyes.

Why did they stop attacking?

He had been standing perfectly straight just now.

If those two had actually attacked, he absolutely wouldn't have dodged. Not only that, he had even planned to let himself fall the moment the arrow grazed the edge of his robe.

He couldn't make the fall look too fake, but he couldn't really hurt himself too badly, either.

It had to be just enough for him to fall into the god's arms.

And then?

Then the god would lower his eyes and cast a healing spell on him with those cool, gentle hands. Amid the flowing light, he would lie in the god's embrace and enjoy a lovely healing session at close range.

What a pity.

Such a pity.

The more Yuexi thought about it, the harder it was to let go. He cast a long, disdainful look at the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow.

Those two had no willpower at all. They had switched sides faster than anyone.

Their earlier determination to die rather than submit had vanished just like that.

Hmph, when they were in his hands, he had threatened and enticed them, trying every method he had, yet they had stubbornly refused to compromise even a little. How had they gone so soft with someone else?

The more Yuexi thought about it, the angrier he became.

He never noticed that his double standards in this matter were several times greater than the Star-Moon Bow's and the Star-Moon Arrow's combined.

As the saying went, those involved were blind, while bystanders saw clearly.

The Moonlight Clan's internal group chat sprang to life once more.

[Moonlight Clan internal group chat: "Except the Clan Chief"].

Yes, except the clan chief, always except the clan chief. The group's purpose had never changed:

Everything they discussed centered on the Clan Leader, but they absolutely could not let the Clan Leader himself find out.

[Mooncake]: Did you see that? Did you see that?

[Mooncake]: Our great Clan Leader must be jealous right now, the kind of jealousy that churns up the seas! His face is all serious, but who knows, he might have already dismantled the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow eight hundred times in his head, the kind of dismantling that doesn't leave even a scrap of bone!

Mooncake, at the forefront of the gossip, sent messages at lightning speed, every word brimming with the excitement of someone who loved watching the drama unfold.

[Yue Tu]: Never mind the Clan Leader, I want the god to pat my head too, slurp~

[Yue Tu]: Wait, everyone, pay attention.

[Yue Tu]: I think those two are a little sly, and they work pretty well together. They're obviously competing with our Clan Leader for the god's attention.

[Yue Tu]: We have to unite and pool our ideas. We must help the Clan Leader win the god's heart as soon as possible! Otherwise, at this rate, those two lousy bow and arrow will take the places at the god's side sooner or later.

[Moon Melon]: I agree. Also, this melon is delicious.

[Moon Bay]: If you ask me, the Clan Leader should just take everything off.

[Moon Bay]: Strip naked, go straight in, and seduce him.

[Moon Bay]: It's just that the Clan Leader would probably blush so hard he couldn't take it and faint before he finished undressing.

[Mooncake]: Your idea is crude, but it does make a certain amount of sense.

[Mooncake]: However, allow me to add a more practical plan.

[Mooncake]: I suggest we wrap the Clan Leader in a quilt, tie it nice and tight, and then I'll personally carry him to the god's bedchamber. I guarantee I'll deliver him to the door, without peeking or cutting any corners.

[Yue Li]: Silence! What kind of behavior is this?

[Yue Li]: If anyone's carrying him, it should be me. You're all so clumsy. What if you drop the Clan Leader? What if the quilt isn't wrapped tightly enough? Naturally, delicate work like this should be left to me.

[Mooncloth]: You've all got it nicely planned out.

Mooncloth quietly chimed in. His tone was mild, but on closer consideration, it was full of teasing. He rarely spoke in the group, but whenever he did pop up, his words always hit the mark.

[Yue Rushui]: What nonsense are you all spouting!

Yue Rushui charged into the fray with righteous indignation, his words full of a squad leader's authority and uprightness.

[Mooncake]: Isn't this the captain of the Vanguard Squad? What, do you have an objection to my decision?

[Mooncake]: Or should I kick you out?

The casually spoken words carried tremendous force.

Mooncake's standing in the Moonlight Clan really was higher than Yue Rushui's.

Yue Rushui fell silent for a moment.

[Yue Rushui]: Wait, I wasn't finished.

[Yue Rushui]: I was going to follow that up with "count me in."

He knew when to yield, very much so.

Through his actions, Yue Rushui demonstrated what it meant to be a wise man who understood the times, a hero who didn't fight a losing battle, and someone who knew when to bow his head. He didn't hesitate in the slightest.

This group was the second-largest internal group in the Moonlight Clan.

As for the largest, it was naturally the one with the Clan Leader himself in it. But in that group, hardly any clan members dared send messages recklessly. Once they joined, everyone fell silent, as quiet as graves.

That was precisely why the group before them had been created.

Ever since the god's return, the group had become active. Nothing was off-limits, and they dared spout all manner of outrageous things.

Now that the god had returned, there would only be more messages in the group, not fewer. As long as one clan member saw something with their own eyes, they could immediately bring it to the group to share.

Yue Rushui didn't want to miss any of these messages.

So he decided to set aside his dignity as captain of the Vanguard Squad for the time being.

Of course, every word of their supposedly secret discussion was plain to Wuma Xiu.

The Moonlight Clan's "Except the Clan Chief" group chat had no secrets from him at all.

At that moment, messages were still flooding the group.

From "seduction" to "wrapping him in a quilt," from "I'll carry him" to "count me in," the discussion grew more and more outrageous, with fewer and fewer limits.

The central point never changed.

The entire group had practically become a forum for discussing plans to package and deliver the Clan Leader.

All kinds of ingenious ideas emerged one after another, blooming and competing in abundance.

Really, if Wuma Xiu hadn't seen this, he would never have imagined that his Moonlight Clan was actually like this.

But as a tolerant god, he naturally wouldn't hold it against them.

They liked chatting about this and that in the group, giving their Clan Leader all kinds of terrible advice, and shipping couples they thought the god didn't know about.

These were his creations' interests, their little quirks, their enjoyments in life.

It would be a little too cruel to deprive someone of a hobby.

Wuma Xiu simply pretended he hadn't seen anything.

And so the whole affair quietly came to an end.

Yang Zhi and his companions were still touring the Moon God Palace. Vast and deep, the palace displayed grandeur beyond the reach of mortals everywhere one looked.

But naturally, Wuma Xiu himself couldn't be the one leading them.

The god personally acting as a tour guide?

That was something they didn't even dare imagine.

Their guide was an unlucky soul chosen by a vote among the Moonlight Clan.

That person was Yue Rushui.

Yue Rushui walked at the very front of the group, his face so gloomy it looked as though water could be wrung from it.

They shouldn't think he didn't know who was behind it. It was all that petty Mooncake's fault, abusing his position to settle a personal grudge and taking revenge over the slightest slight, leading the nominations for him in the group.

The reason given was that "the captain of the Vanguard Squad leads by example and is familiar with the terrain, making him the undisputed choice for a tour guide."

Then the others followed suit, filling the screen with votes, each faster than the last, giving him no chance to resist.

Yue Rushui was a Vanguard Squad captain, after all, yet here he was, reduced to acting as a tour guide.

He would remember this. Just you wait, Mooncake.

"Mr. Yue Rushui, sorry for the trouble." Li Ze stepped forward and bowed slightly, taking a decidedly humble stance.

This was the Moon God's territory. Even if the man before them was only a guide,

he was still one of the Moon God's own, and his status was far above that of outsiders like them.

If they happened to say something offensive and angered this ill-tempered Mr. Yue Rushui, he only had to casually lodge a complaint with the Moon God afterward, and they would all be finished.

What was more, the Moon God was actually the same person as the youth called Moon whom they had met earlier.

They had been fortunate enough to meet a god just after he awakened. What an incredible opportunity.

Bai Yang and the others were far more restrained than usual, too.

Every one of them walked as softly as possible, even keeping their breathing quiet. They dared not let their eyes wander or say too much.

This was a god's territory. Everything they saw and touched was a divine miracle; they had no choice but to rein themselves in.

Even the few who were usually carefree

now held their backs rigid, looking for all the world like a group of children attending school for the first time.

Only Wuma Xiu and Yuexi remained where they were, along with the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow, which clung to either side of Wuma Xiu without budging, showing no intention of leaving.

Yuexi swiftly pushed their existence out of his mind.

Now it was just him and his god.

But what was he supposed to do next?

How should he start?

What should he say?

Yuexi took out his little notebook and offered it with both hands.

"My god, this is... how much I've missed you all these years. It's all written in here."

The little notebook held a record of many things about him.

Handing it over was like taking himself apart and laying every piece bare before someone.

Once the reader had finished it, he would have no secrets left.

Exposing every part of oneself so nakedly took tremendous courage for anyone.

But Yuexi saw nothing strange about it.

Wuma Xiu put down the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow and took the little notebook in his now-free hands.

He opened it.

A great deal was written inside, recording every day and night Yuexi had spent alone over the years.

For a god, reading it all took only an instant.

There were no complaints in the notebook, only day after day of waiting, the same unwavering gaze through every rising and setting of the moon: "I missed you very much today, too," "You'll come back, won't you?" and "It's all right. I can wait a little longer"...

Even the other clan members had never known what Yuexi had hidden beneath his cold expression all these years.

He was always the proud, aloof Clan Leader of the Moonlight Clan, his expression indifferent.

In front of his clan, he never showed the slightest trace of weakness or uncertainty.

Even if the sky fell, he had to stand straight and tell every member of the clan, "What are you panicking for? I'm here."

Because he was the Clan Leader, the person every member of the Moonlight Clan relied on, the anchor that steadied the entire clan.

Everyone else could fall into disarray, be afraid, or be at a loss. He alone could not.

As Clan Leader, it was a duty he had been born with, and a shackle he had willingly taken onto his shoulders.

So he had pressed all that apprehension, unease, fear, and the despair that had risen in his heart countless times during the long wait beneath that cold face, locking it away in the deepest recesses of himself.

They saw only a Clan Leader who was always composed, his careful planning, and Yuexi's constant confidence, as though everything were under his control.

No one knew that on countless long nights without an answer, Yuexi had also sat alone beneath the moonlight, turning through this palm-sized notebook again and again, writing in it word by word.

Afterward, Yuexi would stare blankly at the notebook for a long, long time, then push all his emotions back down.

The next day, he would go on being the indomitable Clan Leader.

Now, Yuexi had laid all those emotions buried beneath the surface before his Creation Lord.

He had given everyone else all his sharpest emotions.

Only his softest, most vulnerable, most unguarded side had been left in this notebook, for his god.

Wuma Xiu closed the notebook, and a profound, unshakable guilt welled up in his heart.

The feeling was hard to put into words.

Perhaps it was like someone adopting a kitten and giving it a home, only to leave later for reasons he could not avoid, and stay away for a very, very long time.

So long that the kitten's waiting turned to unease, its unease to fear, and its fear to a silence that no longer dared hope.

When the person finally returned, the kitten still looked like the same kitten. It would meow at him and casually rub against his fingertips. But countless nights spent licking its wounds alone had long since left invisible scars all over its eyes.

Wuma Xiu reached out, placing one hand on the back of Yuexi's head and the other on his back, and gently drew him into an embrace.

It was a deeply cherished embrace.

"Thank you all for your hard work over the years."

Held in Wuma Xiu's arms, Yuexi was enveloped in the god's presence. It was like moonlight falling on snow, like a late-night breeze passing through a Flower Tree, cool and gentle.

He felt more at ease than ever before.

The things that had weighed on his heart for he knew not how many years suddenly felt less heavy.

"My god, my clan members are wonderful," Yuexi said from the crook of Wuma Xiu's shoulder. "So it's all right."

He truly felt that way.

In this world, their Moonlight Clan was the finest created race, without equal.

Although he was the Clan Leader and had many affairs to attend to,

his clan members had never caused him any trouble, nor had anyone ever jumped out to add to the chaos when he was already overwhelmed.

"Is it all right?"

Back when Wuma Xiu created the Moonlight Clan, he had initially just found the idea novel: a new created race born bathed in moonlight, naturally possessing an air of cool refinement.

As he raised them, he discovered that these creations were remarkably considerate.

They had taken "giving their god no cause to worry" to the extreme.

But Wuma Xiu knew that sometimes, the more considerate someone was, the more grievances they might be harboring.

Because they were so considerate, they said nothing.

Because they did not want to cause trouble, they bore everything themselves.

That was why he summoned them from time to time to see them, even if it was only for a brief chat, so he could make sure these considerate creations had not allowed their grievances to pile up into a mountain.

"That's not a question of whether it's all right."

Wuma Xiu gently patted the back of Yuexi's head once more, then let him go.

"From now on, I won't leave again. So you don't need to worry anymore. If you run into anything you can't handle, just come and tell me."

Yuexi had been struggling to hold on since the moment his god had embraced him of his own accord. He had summoned every last bit of willpower, desperately clinging to what little consciousness he had left.

I can't lose my composure. I can't embarrass myself.

What would it look like if the dignified Clan Leader of the Moonlight Clan fainted in front of his god?

Yuexi repeatedly warned himself, gritting his teeth and pressing down the surging emotions again and again.

But when Wuma Xiu's words, "You don't need to worry anymore," reached his ears, the string that had been stretched taut for so long finally snapped with a click.

Yuexi's vision went black. Before he lost consciousness completely, only one thought remained in his mind.

—Happiness. This is too much happiness.

—So happiness really can be so overwhelming that a person can't bear it.

It was like someone who had walked alone through a long, long night suddenly being embraced by a beam of moonlight. That surging sense of security made it harder to stay on his feet than any hardship.

If this is a dream, I hope it never ends. Let me stay a little longer in this gentle moonlight.

As Yuexi fell, a current of silvery-white divine power caught him, and Wuma Xiu chuckled softly.

The Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow, meanwhile, felt ready to explode with anger.

—That scheming Clan Leader!

—How shameless!

Not only had he gotten a hug from their god, but he had also shamelessly pretended to be weak.

"Finished looking around?"

Yue Rushui had already taken the group on a circuit of the Moon God Palace. He secretly guessed that their god and Clan Leader were enjoying some wonderful time alone together, though he wondered how things were progressing.

They'd better make it count. What if our god turns his attention away from the Moonlight Clan otherwise?

"Yes. Thank you for showing us around, Mr. Yue Rushui. We've finished our tour."

Li Ze's eyes had been sparkling the entire way, and he had not stopped gasping inwardly.

This was a genuine god's residence.

He had read those records, but they contained only scattered fragments. How could they compare to what he had just seen with his own eyes?

Still, after Li Ze and the others had been away from the spaceship for this while, dozens of unread messages had piled up on their Lightbrains.

Yang Zhi did not care, though.

He was a kid, after all. Being rebellious was the point.

The question marks sent by Bai Yang's family had strung together into an ellipsis. They said that when Bai Yang returned, they would make sure he saw a doctor.

And the others...

They were not a god's creations, after all. They had their mortal lives to lead.

They had work to go to and reports to write...

The trivial, petty things in the real world that they nevertheless had to deal with were waiting for them.

"Mr. Yue Rushui, we've finished our tour. Might we see Lord Moon God now and take our leave of him?"

Li Ze's question struck exactly the right chord with Yue Rushui.

He almost could not resist giving Li Ze an appreciative look on the spot.

Of all the questions they had asked along the way, this was the most pleasant to hear, the sweetest, the one that felt most like a spring breeze.

He had waited through the entire circuit to hear it.

"Yes, of course."

Yue Rushui's expression visibly brightened.

Without another word, he turned and led the way back, his steps light and his robes fluttering, utterly unlike the man who had dawdled while leading them before.

The group came before Wuma Xiu once more.

But when Yue Rushui saw the bed inside the hall clearly, he froze in his tracks as though struck by a bolt from the blue, his pupils contracting.

This...

Th-th-this...

Their Clan Leader was lying on the bed beneath a thin blanket, fast asleep and oblivious to the world, his cheeks rosy and a smile on his lips, as though he were having a dream so sweet it bubbled.

As expected of the Clan Leader. He's better at putting things into practice than we are.

They were still enthusiastically discussing in the group chat how to wrap themselves in blankets, how to seduce their god, and how to carry someone off, while the Clan Leader was already lying on the god's bed.

While they were still merely talking strategy on paper, the Clan Leader had taken action and achieved the ultimate goal of all their plans.

—He'd received their god's favor.

Yue Rushui's expression did not change, but his heart was already in turmoil.

He took a screenshot of the scene before him.

[Moonlight Clan internal group chat "Except the Clan Chief"]

[Yue Rushui]: I have firsthand information. Who wants to see?

The moment he sent the message, notification chimes erupted in his head and rang without pause, making his brain go numb.

Every message said things like "Send it, send it!" and "Waiting online, hurry, hurry!" and among the rapidly scrolling names was that hateful Mooncake.

That was right, the very same Mooncake who had used the vote to settle a personal grudge and sent him off to be a tour guide. He was asking for the picture now too, even saying things like "Please, I'm begging you."

Yue Rushui's mood improved even further.

It was wonderful.

He felt that this stint as a tour guide had been worth it, more than worth it.

Then Yue Rushui sent the group what he had just seen, along with the screenshot of their wise and mighty Clan Leader sleeping peacefully on their god's bed.

The group fell silent for half a second.

Then gasps and panting swept through the chat, and the same sentence filled the screen in neat rows:

[As expected of the Clan Leader.]

Everyone in the Moonlight Clan was relieved.

They were completely and utterly relieved.

Their god had created a bow and an arrow, and those two new creations seemed to enjoy quite a bit of his favor, but so what?

Their Clan Leader had now received their god's favor.

Their god favored him enough to let him lie right on his bed, covered with his thin blanket, sleeping sweetly and soundly.

What did that mean?

It meant the Clan Leader had made a qualitative leap in status. He was now practically half a master to those two new creations.

A subordinate and a master could hardly be compared in status.

No matter how much favor the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow enjoyed, they were still only creations.

And their Clan Leader?

He was the one lying in their god's bed, close to their god.

On that basis alone, those two lousy bows and arrows ought to bow respectfully whenever they saw the Clan Leader from now on.

The more the members of the Moonlight Clan thought about it, the more vindicated they felt.

Wuma Xiu withdrew his gaze from Yuexi, glanced at the lively group chat, then looked up at the expressionless Yue Rushui standing before him.

Wuma Xiu was silent.

He thought every one of his creations deserved a best actor award.

Just look at how well they managed their expressions, how they remained calm on the surface while turmoil raged within.

If he weren't the Moon God now, and if they weren't truly creations he had made himself, he would have suspected they were the Theater God's creations.

Suddenly, Wuma Xiu looked up. He sensed it.

Two familiar divine powers were reaching him from far across the Sea of Stars.

It was them.

Seeing that Yue Rushui, beside him, had not spoken, Yang Zhi was about to offer the usual pleasantries: "Thank you for your hospitality," "Sorry for imposing," "We should be going," and the like.

But before he could speak, he saw the Moon God suddenly rise to his feet.

What could make the Moon God react like that?

Countless thoughts flashed through Yang Zhi's mind in an instant.

Could another god have awakened?

Or had something happened in the Star Region?

"Don't worry. It's my older brother and my younger brother." Wuma Xiu's gaze fell on Yang Zhi. "They're both easy to get along with."

Those words were addressed to Yang Zhi.

Yang Zhi froze for a moment, then nodded, flattered.

He had noticed that the Moon God seemed to pay particular attention to him. Could it be that he held him in especially high regard?

Yang Zhi's heart raced.

He would work hard and never disappoint the Moon God...

Yang Zhi worked himself up on his own, becoming a devoted believer of the Moon God in the space of a moment.

Unlike the flattered Yang Zhi, Bai Yang, standing to one side, had an earth-shattering tsunami raging in his heart.

Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, uncles... and all the ancestors of the Bai Family, your son, grandson, nephew... your descendant has made something of himself.

I've brought glory to our ancestors.

The ancestral graves are billowing auspicious smoke. No, they've erupted like volcanoes.

Who could have imagined this trip would turn out like this?

Who could have imagined it!

He had not only seen the Moonlight Clan with his own eyes, but also the Sun God Birds, the Starry Sky Beasts, and the Moon God himself, the one of legend who sat high above the moonlight, aloof and incomparably noble.

Any one of those things would have been enough for an ordinary person to boast about for a lifetime, yet he had seen them all in one go, as if he were collecting stamps.

And what had the Moon God just said?

His older brother and younger brother?

Anyone could have figured out with their toes that beings the Moon God called his brothers could only be gods of the same caliber.

The Sun God and the Star God.

He, Bai Yang, had never expected to be fortunate enough to see all three gods at once today. What did that even mean?

Going back twenty generations of the Bai Family, who had ever received such treatment?

One could wear out the Bai Family's genealogy searching and never find another.

Hiss—

When I get home, won't they have to give me a separate page in the genealogy? No, they might as well start a whole new genealogy.

Bai Yang drew a sharp breath in his mind.

He wanted nothing more than to pull out a brand-new genealogy right now and add a note on the first page:

"On this day, in this month and year, Bai Yang, a descendant of the Bai Clan in such-and-such generation, paid his respects to the Moon God, the Sun God, and the Star God at the Moon God Palace. Let this be recorded here for posterity."

In contrast to Bai Yang's surging ambition to have a whole genealogy to himself, Li Ze appeared much more "restrained."

Yet deep inside, a celebration of unprecedented proportions was underway.

Throw flowers! Throw flowers! Throw flowers like crazy!

In Li Ze's mind, it was as if countless tiny versions of himself were setting off salutes at once. Streamers and petals filled the sky, and festive BGM blared deafeningly.

Fireworks burst in his heart, exploding into three lines of glittering gold characters: "Moon God," "Sun God," and "Star God."

Wonderful, wonderful! I never expected to be fortunate enough to pay my respects to those two great gods as well.

Li Ze was already making plans in his head.

Once he got back, he had to post on Moments, complete with a nine-photo grid and a lengthy caption.

No, even Moments might not be enough to convey this glory. He would have to pair it with a caption carefully written by an expert.

Later on, when he was old and gray, with his children and grandchildren gathered around him, he would call them over, brew a pot of fine tea, and leisurely tell them about the most legendary moment of his life.

The system was in stark contrast to their state of mind.

At that moment, the system was bouncing off the walls.

It had turned into a ball of light and was bouncing frantically.

It bounced from left to right, then up and down, leaving one chaotic streak of light after another.

[Ahhhhhhh—Host! Host, Host, Host!]

[The Sun God and the Star God are awake! Let's run! If we don't run now, we're going to die!]

The system felt as though its core processor was about to burn out.

Those two pairs of eyes—the Sun God's golden pupils and the Star God's purple ones—had left far too deep an imprint on its memory database.

The fear was like what humans often spoke of: the sort of thing that made their calves tremble just thinking about it.

It had struggled so hard to survive until now.

This round's host was so good!

His luck was so good!

He had made it this far without a hitch and had even fooled the Moonlight Clan.

It had even secretly fantasized:

Maybe this time we really can make it to the grand finale.

But what happened?

Those two had awakened.

The Sun God and the Star God, those two nightmares, were back.

We'll be discovered, won't we?

We'll definitely be discovered. We're going to die again this time!

[Why should we run?]

Wuma Xiu asked.

The system was at a loss for words. Of course it couldn't tell the truth.

It couldn't very well say to its own host:

"Ah, Host, actually, I've failed nine hundred and ninety-eight times already. All nine hundred and ninety-eight before you died. If we don't run this time, you'll die too, so let's run, please."

But unfortunately, it knew better than anyone.

What good would running do?

Running would only make them more suspicious.

After those two woke up, the first thing they would do was look for their younger brother/older brother.

Once the Sun God's golden light spread out and the Star God's silver radiance shone down, the entire Star Region would be searched inside and out, from top to bottom. Never mind a living person—even antiques from hundreds of thousands of years ago would probably be dug up.

Run?

They could run for a while, but not forever.

Once those two were found, it and its host would probably die even more miserable deaths.

[Forget it.]

The system's voice suddenly grew calm. Its frantic, bouncing madness had passed.

In its place was the serenity of someone who had seen through worldly affairs.

It was like a person who had already written their will, put on their burial clothes, and picked out their coffin.

All that remained was to breathe their last.

[Then so be it.]

The system opened its storage space.

There was nothing good in there.

A few partially used potions exchanged for points, several System Shop outfits the host had always refused to wear, some odds and ends of mission items, and a coffin.

It was the same coffin as before, made of sturdy material with fine workmanship and even a velvet lining.

Most importantly, it was very comfortable to lie in.

The system opened the coffin lid and dutifully lay down inside.

It curled itself into a tiny ball and lay there.

How nice. This saves so much trouble.

After I die, I won't even have to worry about whether anyone will collect my body.

Although it didn't need that as a system, it had spent so much time around humans that it wanted to follow their ways.

In the darkness, scenes from its life began to flash before its eyes.

Its lofty ambitions when it first bound a host, its helplessness when its first mission failed.

The vows it had made through gritted teeth when it started over for the second time, the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...

All the way to the nine hundred and ninety-eighth time.

The host's face had been different every time, but the ending had always been the same.

It lay there peacefully.

The coffin was dark and quiet, and the velvet lining felt soft against its curled-up body.

The system turned all its sensory modules down to their lowest settings.

It left only a small portion of its core consciousness active.

It glowed faintly, like a lamp about to burn out.

Waiting for the final moment to arrive.

It waited a while, then waited a while longer.

Then it waited a little longer.

Something's not right.

The system's eyes snapped open.

Why am I not dead yet?