Theresa, It's Time to Wake Up from Your Dream

The Yae Shrine Lord stood far to the side, coldly observing everything.

"Whoosh—"

With a whooshing sound as a long sword was drawn, Theresa was not beheaded as the villagers had expected. What Xia Ling cut off were the ropes binding her hands.

Freed from the ropes, Theresa's body slumped to the ground.

"Elder sister..."

Xia Ling pursed her lips and lowered her head in the direction of the Yae Shrine Lord.

"I'm sorry, Father... I... I really can't do it..."

Accompanied by low sobs, the villagers below the altar began to stir.

"Lord God, why isn't Miss Yae making a move!"

"Time is almost up, Your Majesty!"

The Yae Shrine Lord, his face dark with anger, tried to calm the villagers. "Please be patient, everyone. I guarantee the sacrificial ceremony will proceed as scheduled!"

As he spoke, he strode towards Xia Ling.

"You useless piece of trash!"

He reached out, ready to grasp Yae Sakura's hand, just like in the original story, and end Rin's life.

However, this was the moment Xia Ling had been waiting for.

"So you care so much about your damn gods? Then go down there and keep them company!"

Under the shocked gaze of the Yae Shrine Lord, Xia Ling's slender arm, which had been trembling even when holding the knife, suddenly drew the knife swiftly and slashed upwards, bringing with it a flash of silver light, precisely performing an open-chest operation on the Yae Shrine Lord.

Then, Xia Ling gripped the knife in her hand and stabbed it heavily into his unpleasant face.

Finishing off an enemy is a good habit, especially against an enemy whose strength is vastly different from your own.

As Xia Ling roared, a deathly silence fell over the audience.

Then, it exploded instantly.

"What is she doing? Why did she kill the Lord God?!"

"We're doomed! The gods are going to be angry!"

"Kill her quickly! Only then can the gods be appeased!"

The villagers of Yae Village were immediately agitated, but ironically, despite their harsh words, not one of them dared to actually step onto the altar.

"This is a great disrespect to the gods!"

Xia Ling then caught a familiar voice.

Oh, so it was that old man who suggested Rin sacrifice herself that day.

"Quickly commit suicide and apologize to the gods; perhaps that way you can gain their forgiveness!"

She leaned on her cane and pounded the ground with it, as if trying to embolden herself.

Chapter Thirteen: Theresa, it's time to wake up from the dream.

"Heh." Xia Ling chuckled dismissively, wiping the blood that had just splattered on her face.

Unruly people are like this; they can be easily swayed by one or two instigators, even if the instigator's views are completely untenable.

Conversely, these people who follow the crowd are also the easiest to take advantage of.

"Fine, I'll do as you say. I'll die right now and show you."

As she spoke, Xia Ling turned her hand and held the blood-dripping long knife to her own neck.

Xia Ling's action not only stunned the villagers below the altar, but also made Theresa behind him pause in surprise.

Theresa immediately realized something; she almost instinctively thought that Xia Ling was going to do something to save her life.

"Wait, sister, no!"

Theresa's voice, trembling with tears, rang out from behind. "Sister, run! They can't catch you! Don't worry about me..."

Of course, Theresa wasn't the only one shocked; a certain old guy who had been stirring things up was also shocked.

"Fine, fine, I didn't expect you to still have the desire to atone for your sins to the gods. Then hurry up and kill yourself, and don't anger the gods any further!"

"Wait, before I die, how about you listen to me say a few words?"

Xia Ling gave a cold laugh, and only after feeling all the gazes from below the altar focused on her did she speak:

"Rin's body is extremely weak due to the drug administered by the God Lord. Even with diligent care, she will not live for more than a year."

"I don't care whether I commit suicide or not, but what about you?"

"I'm curious, having lost the last two bloodlines of the Yae Shrine, how do you plan to survive in a world surrounded by demons, and how do you plan to pray for wind and rain when there are no gods to worship?"

It seemed that no one had ever thought of this question before. For a moment, the area below the altar was completely silent, and the group of people began to look at each other in bewilderment.

Looking down at the stunned villagers, Xia Ling suddenly felt a surge of joy. She suddenly realized the happiness of being a comedian.

"Since no one's talking, I'm going to die now~ After all, the God is still waiting for the sacrifice of the Eightfold Bloodline~"

Xia Ling tightened her arm slightly, and a bloody mark appeared on her neck.

"Wait! Miss Yae, there's no need for that."

Seeing that Xia Ling seemed to really intend to give up and live no more, the villagers below the sacrificial altar became somewhat anxious.

"The God Lord is considered to have the bloodline of the eighth level. Now that the God Lord has died on the altar, it can be considered as offering a sacrifice of the bloodline of the eighth level. I think the God Lord should have calmed down by now."

"Yes, yes, isn't the God Lord also of the eighth level of bloodline? Miss Shrine Maiden, there's no need for you to be like this."

With the first troublemaker yielding, people quickly followed suit.

"But some people just want me dead..."

Xia Ling looked at the old woman, who was already looking away, with a malicious gaze.

"I am a person who respects the elderly and cares for the young. Since the old man has made such a request, if I do not fulfill it, I am afraid that he will have a lot of opinions about our shrine."

"Indeed, I might as well just die."

As she spoke, Xia Ling raised her head again, moving her wrists as if searching for a place to strike herself.

This guy, who usually acts like he's old and arrogant, is finally sweating profusely.

"Wait, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, a villager struck her hard on the back of the head. A hoe made intimate contact with her head, and with a loud thud, her body fell to the ground.

"Miss Shrine Maiden, she has no further objections!"

"Heh... a bunch of ignorant fools."

Looking at the absurd scene below the altar, Xia Ling said disdainfully in a low voice, while sheathing her long sword behind her back.

Just like in the original work, a timely downpour fell as expected.

Seeing that the final step of the plan was finally completed, Xia Ling also showed a relaxed smile.

"Phew, it's finally over... At this rate, we should be safe for a while... right?"

Xia Ling's voice stopped abruptly.

She noticed that the villagers, bathed in the rain, seemed to be behaving strangely.

Or rather, what's wrong might be that this rain has an excessively high concentration of Honkai Energy?

At this moment, Xia Ling could see that the villagers near the altar seemed to be starting to get restless and want to walk onto the altar.

The inability to control one's emotions is one of the early symptoms of Honkai Energy erosion.

Seeing the villagers' fierce expressions, Xia Ling almost couldn't help but curse them out.

"You Hi-maru, you're cheating when you can't beat me, huh? If everyone turns into Honkai zombie squad, what's the point of us playing?"

Given her current physical condition at 14 years old, even with a sharp weapon, she would have no chance of winning against dozens or even hundreds of Honkai zombie.

Therefore, Xia Ling had no intention of drawing her sword at all. Instead, she immediately ran to Theresa's side, put her arms under her armpits and under her knees, and picked her up in a horizontal embrace.

Taking advantage of the fact that the villagers had not yet fully mutated, Xia Ling took the lead and began to escape.

"Why..."

Curled up in Xia Ling's arms, Theresa felt a familiar soft touch on her face, and her eyes showed a deep look of confusion.

Xia Ling, oblivious to her strange behavior, quickly said, "These unruly people have all turned into monsters! We have to leave right away!"

"Don't worry, I will protect you before I die, Theresa!"

"Puff..."

As Xia Ling inadvertently uttered the name, the doubt in Theresa's eyes gradually faded, and her eyes regained their clarity.

"You're actually quite handsome, aren't you? You're making me a little tempted."

"Um?"

Xia Ling stopped in her tracks.

"Theresa?"

"Yes, Sister Xia Ling ~"

Theresa responded in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"That's great! You've finally regained your memory!"

Xia Ling excitedly pecked Theresa on the cheek, ignoring the latter's blushing and embarrassed expression. Xia Ling then reached into her chest and pulled out a device that still carried a trace of body heat and fragrance.

After all, the shrine requires a variety of clothing, and you may need to change clothes several times a day. The only stable place to hide things is inside the front armor.

According to Vill-V, once Theresa regains self-awareness, the Dream Device 2.0 can be used to take her out of the dream.

Then, amidst Theresa's shy, evasive gaze, Xia Ling directly hung the device on Theresa's ear and whispered.

"Then, my dear Theresa."

"It's time to wake up from this dream."

With a dizzying sensation, the two opened their eyes at the same time.

Looking at Xia Ling, who was embracing and gazing at her, Theresa suddenly felt a little shy.

"What's wrong, you little sleepyhead?"

"I... I'm not little!"

"Alright, alright, you're not so young." Xia Ling leaned closer to Theresa's face, a teasing expression on her face. "Then, call me 'Sister Xia Ling' again?"

"Who, who would call you that!" Theresa practically jumped out of bed.

"I... I'll go wash my face and clear my head first."

Leaving behind those words, Theresa fled the room at lightning speed.

Inside the Stigmata Space, Hi-maru was so angry he was about to bite his own tail.

Not only did the operation fail, but they also got a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), and most importantly, the other party escaped.

"These two... actually have the means to actively escape from the dream..."

"Damn it, if only I didn't want to expend too much energy on a dream..."

Looking back on the entire process of his failure, Hi-maru felt a bit angry and itchy.

"You, Xia Ling, don't let me catch you!"

"If we have the chance, we must get rid of this dangerous guy first!"

"Once she's dead, Theresa will be no threat to us."

"The problem is, if I only rely on entering her dreams, it's difficult for me to inflict any effective harm on her..."

"Damn it, if only she could actively connect to the Stigmata Space. Yae Sakura's attention is all on Theresa, so I could secretly send out an avatar with powers to get rid of this annoying human."

"But this guy isn't stupid... why would he give me such an opportunity?"