The God of Wealth Withdrew Into Himself

"Grandpa God of Wealth, why is your temple so dilapidated? Is it because no one comes? How about I come here often to keep you company from now on?"

Elena kept talking, and then suddenly her hand stopped.

Something seems off.

It seemed like she hadn't heard a response from the Grandpa God of Wealth for a long time.

"Oh no, will the Grandpa God of Wealth find me noisy?"

She muttered something under her breath, her tone tinged with apprehension.

"No."

The God of Wealth remained silent for a long time, then suddenly said:

"Would you like to hear a story? My story."

After listening to the other party talk so much, the God of Wealth suddenly felt a desire to speak.

"Great! I love listening to stories. When I was little, I would always pester my mother to tell me one before bed." Elena's eyes lit up, then she remembered something and quickly added, "But could the Grandpa God of Wealth wait a little longer? I'll be done wiping soon."

A few minutes later, she sat on the haystack, her back ramrod straight, her hands neatly placed on her knees.

The God of Wealth looked at her earnest expression and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Five hundred years ago, there was an empire Saint Soren...

The God of Wealth told Elena his story.

From how he was worshipped by thousands, to how the empire flourished overnight, and then how it gradually decayed, until finally the emperor drew his sword and shattered his Deity Statue...

Elena's expression shifted from anticipation to shock, then to surprise, and finally to anger.

This is my story.

After the God of Wealth finished speaking, Elena stood up abruptly.

"Grandpa God of Wealth, they're all bad people!"

She was so angry that her face turned red, and she paced back and forth in the temple.

"They're already living a good life, yet they keep asking for more; they're simply insatiable!"

After walking around, she turned back, looked at the Deity Statue of the God of Wealth, and spoke with a tone of disappointment and frustration.

"And also, Grandpa God of Wealth, how could you be so... They wanted it, and you just gave it all to them! That's where you went wrong!"

She got more and more excited as she talked, walking from inside the hall to outside and back again, listing all the faults of the mortals and the God of God of Wealth.

The God of Wealth, who had already stood up, slowly squatted back down as he listened.

He buried his face in his knees and stopped talking.

He's going to... shut himself off.

At this moment, not only did he want to withdraw into himself, but Elena did too.

Oh no, what did she just say?

How dare you criticize the Grandpa God of Wealth here? Do you have a death wish?

Elena immediately knelt on the ground, kneeling perfectly, as if she had knelt there many times before.

"Grandpa God of Wealth, I was wrong."

"No, you did nothing wrong. Get up. I was wrong about That Matter."

The God of Wealth is sitting with his knees drawn up, leaning against the wall.

He thought about that That Matter for a very long time, and in the end, he had to admit one thing.

The fault never lies with ordinary people.

It is their greed, their folly, that makes them want to take a mile after getting an inch.

But if he hadn't been so accommodating from the start, if he hadn't given away all those things he shouldn't have, the Saint Soren Empire might never have ended up like this.

As Elena said.

He shouldn't have achieved all of them in the first place.

But for now, it's alright.

No one makes offerings to him, he receives no incense, he no longer hears anyone making wishes in his ear repeatedly, and he no longer worries about who made a wish or who didn't.

Are you... hungry?

The God of Wealth knows that mortals need to eat; they are fragile and will die if they don't eat.

I'm... a little hungry.

Elena touched her stomach, feeling a little embarrassed.

Normally, she would never say such a thing.

After chatting for a while, she found that this Grandpa God of Wealth was really easy to talk to, as gentle as an ordinary elder, which made her involuntarily think of her mother.

Thinking of this, a pang of sadness suddenly welled up in her heart.

She... misses her mother so much.

Just then, four or five fruits appeared out of thin air in front of Elena.

Different colors, different sizes, different aromas, each one plump as if just picked from the branch.

"They were just picked; eat them when you're hungry."

Elena was stunned.

She looked down at the fruit in her arms, then looked up at the Deity Statue, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Holding the fruit, she knelt down again with a thud, kowtowing even louder than before.

"Grandpa God of Wealth, what have I done to deserve your personal attention in picking fruit! I've decided that I'll stay here for the next few days, and I won't go back until I've cleaned your God of Wealth Shrine to the finest spot!"

Of all the legends of the Gods Elena had heard, none had ever been as Gods and kind as the Grandpa God of Wealth, whose voice was so pleasant.

"Get up, stop kneeling. Picking fruit is something I can do with a simple reach; it's very easy."

"Although it's simple for you, it's a godsend for me. The two meanings are different."

After Elena finished speaking, she lowered her head and picked out the largest fruit from her bosom, placing it in front of the altar.

"Grandpa God of Wealth, you should eat too."

After doing all that, she picked up the remaining fruit, sat down on the pile of straw, and began to eat it in small bites.

They ate slowly, savoring every bite.

The dilapidated temple was quiet, save for the sound of rain and her soft chewing.

The God of Wealth sat in the shadows, watching the fruit placed on the altar. She had wiped the dust off the altar, and the fruit was simply placed in the center.

These fruits were picked from the fruit trees growing behind the God of Wealth Shrine. For over four hundred years, he has watched these fruit trees grow from saplings into towering trees, from sprouting leaves to flowering, to bearing fruit, and finally the fruit falls to the ground to rot, turning into nutrients to nourish the trees, so that they can flower and bear fruit again the following year... and so on, in an endless cycle.

However, he only ever looked at them; he never ate them.

Gods do not need to eat.

But this time, it seems like it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Elena watched helplessly as the fruit she had placed on the altar vanished into thin air.

She was taken aback at first, then grinned and secretly smiled.

Hey-hey.

She said it herself, the Grandpa God of Wealth is really kind.

The rain was drizzling at night.

In this dilapidated temple, there were no incense sticks or candles for lighting, not even an oil lamp.

As soon as it got dark, everything around became utterly gloomy.

Elena huddled on the haystack, resting her chin on her knees.

The God of Wealth raised his hand and waved it gently.

In the darkness, many golden lights suddenly appeared, twinkling in the air, illuminating the entire dilapidated temple with a soft yet bright glow.

At the same time, the surrounding air also warmed up a bit.

Elena, lying on the pile of straw, curled the corners of her mouth upwards.

Grandpa God of Wealth, that's wonderful!

She secretly vowed to herself that she would clear all the weeds around the temple first thing tomorrow morning.