Bai Wei's Demand

"First of all, I want to emphasize that the outside is not heaven, and I am not an angel." Lai Er sat cross-legged, in a posture like a child king. "Of course, compared to this place, the outside is indeed like heaven, and compared to you, I am indeed like an angel."

Lai Er's words puzzled the children. They felt as if he had said something, yet also as if he hadn't, but they dared not question him because he was Angel-sama.

For the villagers, angels have always been noble and mysterious.

They rarely came to the village, and even when they did, it was only to collect the golden seeds, and they hardly spoke a word to them. There seemed to be a tacit understanding Angel-sama: they were responsible for planting, and the Angel-sama were responsible for taking them away—that was how it was.

But the Angel-sama in front of us was different. He didn't come and go on the same day. Instead, he stayed here for several days without taking any seeds. He even proudly shared his possessions with the villagers.

These were things they had never seen before: a "Divine Staff" that could ignite a fire with a mere wave, "Medicine Candy" that could boost their spirits when chewed, and of course, the most impressive of all were several "severed Broken Finger" that could not be destroyed no matter what.

Then the Angel-sama threw these "Broken Finger" in front of them, saying triumphantly, "Whoever can break this, you can pick whatever you want from my pocket... except for those potions, of course."

The Angel-sama's baggage filled them with longing. The items mentioned earlier were all taken out of the Angel-sama's baggage. They couldn't imagine what other treasures were inside. So they tried their best to destroy the "Broken Finger," but no matter how they tried to cut with a knife, smash with a stone, or burn with fire, they couldn't destroy the severed Broken Finger, or even "injure" it.

Lai Er was delighted by their efforts, so Lai Er would give them a few sweet candies after each session. To them, this was a gift from the Angel-sama, and they accepted it with utmost respect and trepidation, which made Lai Er smile even more.

"Hmm... where were we yesterday?" Lai Er shook his head. "Does anyone remember?"

"I... I... I remember," a child raised his hand. "What did you say, 'old asshole'..."

"Oh, Rhine," Lai Er remembered. "There's a lot to say about Rhine. It's really... well, it's hard to put into words."

The children looked confused again.

Is there something to say or nothing to say?

"Of course, I'm quite familiar with Rhine." Lai Er thought for a moment and found a starting point. "Let's talk about their magic! Rhine's magic is one of the best in the world."

Then Lai Er started talking to the children about the Rhine, which naturally left the children there completely bewildered.

For the first time, they realized that the heavenly kingdom outside was very, very large, and not just one kingdom.

There is the Rhine, there is Holy Sound, there is the Lyra.

People from different regions have different lives, but most of those lives are difficult for them to understand. For example, they don't know what musical notes mean or what a machine is, so Lai Er can only start by explaining the Rhine to them, since it is the easiest church to understand among all the churches.

Even so, the children still exclaimed in amazement when the magic was mentioned.

They had never seen magic before, except for the "fire wand" that Lai Er had used to show off, which they considered to be magic, and very magical.

When Lai Er mentioned the Rhine God, a child couldn't help but ask, "Is the Rhine God the god of heaven?"

"Yes."

"Then He is our god too?"

"Ah, no." Lai Er shook his head. "The Rhine God is just the god of the Rhine people. Heaven... no, there are several gods in the outside world, and different gods have different followers."

Do believers all know their God?

"Of course."

"Then..." the child asked in confusion, "Who is our god, and why don't we know?"

"Because you have no gods," Lai Er said. "The people here have no gods."

"We don't have gods?!" the children asked in terror. "Have we been abandoned by the gods?"

"Of course not... Damn it, why are you all so concerned about gods?" Lai Er waved his hand, deciding not to talk about gods with these guys anymore. "Let's talk about something else, um... do you know what I do?"

"You are an angel."

I mean my job.

Do angels need to work?

"Of course I need it, I'm a businessman."

What is a merchant?

"It's someone who pays money and delivers goods at the same time."

What is money?

Lai Er: "..."

He then remembered that Contract Land never paid to collect seeds from here.

After a long and laborious explanation, the children finally understood what the merchant meant, and then excitedly asked, "So what are you selling?"

"There are many." Lai Er became even more animated when talking about his main business. "I am the most outstanding businessman in the world, Gold Merchant. Do you even know what Gold Merchant is? The number one Gold Merchant in gold, silver and bronze. You have no idea how powerful I am outside. My current achievements are all thanks to my hard work and a little bit of luck. Now I have the most profitable job."

"The highest-paying job?"

"Yes," Lai Er said with a smile, "I've started trafficking people..."

He suddenly froze halfway through his sentence.

He looked at the child in front of him who was looking at him with expectant eyes, but the image of another group of children he had seen in those prisons that night flashed through his mind, and the words that were on the tip of his tongue suddenly stopped.

"Angel-sama?" the children asked. "We didn't hear you clearly what you said you were selling."

Lai Er was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just some kids' things, toys and stuff."

The children here didn't know what toys were, but they could sense that Lai Er's mood had suddenly become somewhat depressed, so they immediately panicked, thinking that they had done something wrong, and quickly apologized.

"Why are you apologizing?" Lai Er shook his head, shaking off the strange thoughts in his head, and clapped his hands, saying, "Let's talk about something else, um... do you want to go out into the world?"

"Going to heaven?"

"No, it's the outside world... Ah, if you think it's heaven, then it's heaven." Lai Er looked at the children with hopeful eyes. "Go to the places I just mentioned, Rhine, Holy Sound, Lyra, go to these places."

The children looked at each other, and then one of them asked timidly, "We are not angels, we cannot go to heaven."

"I already said, it doesn't matter," Lai Er said. "Anyone who wants to go can go."

He turned around and pointed to the mist outside the village.

"From here, it only takes half a day to get to the outside world," Lai Er said. "There you'll find what I was talking about, and the real sky. Yes, there shouldn't be a yellow sandstorm above us, but something much more vast and boundless."

"But we can't leave here," the child said. "If we leave the fog, we will die."

"Who told you this?"

"Mom and Dad."

"Damn it, that's all fake." Lai Er unconsciously raised his voice. "This damn fog is not a necessity. On the contrary, it's superfluous and will harm your health."

What is health?

"... Who is the oldest person in your village?"

"Village Chief!"

"How old is your village chief?"

"Age?"

"I mean... the season."

The No Man's Land has no seasons, nor any months or years. The seasons referred to here are the times when the Contract Land collects the Seed of Covenant. Lai Er had already inquired and found that the two seasons here roughly correspond to a year outside, and the villagers also use this to calculate their age.

"The village chief is already eighty seasons old!"

"Yes, yes, it's been eighty seasons!"

The children answered.

"Eighty seasons, which is forty years old," Lai Er said. "That means the oldest person here is only forty years old, but do you know how long people outside can live?! I've seen several eighty-year-olds, which means that here, they can live to be one hundred and sixty seasons!"

"One hundred and sixty seasons..." the children exclaimed in amazement. "Is that the lifespan of an angel?"

"What angels! Those are people, the most ordinary people, just like you." Lai Er's voice grew louder, a hint of anger in his tone. "They can live so long only because they don't have to eat sand here every day!"

The children naturally sensed Lai Er's anger, and one after another they knelt down and kowtowed to Lai Er in apology.

Even their parents rushed over and kowtowed with them.

At that moment, Lai Er couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness, like punching cotton.

This is not the first time.

These days he has tried several times to "lure" these children away, just like Ha Luo took him away five years ago.

But Lai Er didn't really want to take the children away; after all, he didn't have time to raise them right now.

He was just rehearsing so that when he returned home in the future, his wife and children would be willing to leave with him.

Unfortunately, no matter how well things went beforehand or how pleasant the relationship was, the process would get stuck when it came to the step of "Let's go out into the world."

This inevitably reminded Lai Er of the scene five years ago when his parents knelt before him, and his wife, who had just given birth, and their newborn child were wailing.

But so what?

He did nothing wrong!

He just wanted to pursue a better life. He didn't want to stay in this desolate place where the average person could only live to be thirty. He just wanted to see the outside world!

After arriving in the outside world, he became even more convinced that he was right. So now, what he wants to do most is to prove to his parents, his wife and children, and the whole village that he is right, and he is willing to do anything to achieve this.

But is that enough?

Why can't these guys understand me?!

Lai Er was practically yelling at these guys, "Don't call me an angel, I'm from the same place as you!"

He really wanted to say that, but he couldn't. At least not until he got Visas-sama's permission could he reveal his identity, so he had to keep it to himself.

Never mind.

As he looked at the terrified children in front of him, he tried to comfort himself.

They're just a bunch of hopeless fools. Let them rot and stink here forever, as long as he can take his wife and children with him.

All I need is to take my wife and children with me.

"Alright." At this moment, a cold voice rang out, "You may all leave."

Lai Er turned around and saw the envoy from the Contract Land who had brought him here standing behind him.

Although the two had spent several days together in the village, they hadn't interacted much. Lai Er still didn't know his name, and he hadn't come to talk to Lai Er. At most, he would just watch him from a distance, as if he were being monitored.

Now that he has arrived, Lai Er has a premonition that his rare peaceful life is about to come to an end.

Sure enough, after dismissing the villagers, the messenger stood in front of Lai Er, looked him up and down, and then slowly said, "It seems you are indeed just a servant of the tongue."

Upon hearing this, Lai Er was immediately startled.

Although he had told the messenger several days earlier that he was merely a servant of the Tongue, he had not left because Visas-sama had instructed him to stay and await news. Naturally, the messenger wondered, "Could this guy be the Tongue?"

But now, the other party can confirm his identity.

Could it be that they have found the real tongue, that is, Visas-sama?

"My master has sent you to deliver a message to Tongue-sensei," the messenger said. "Although you have not left, the time has come, and we need an answer. My master wants to know what Tongue-sensei is thinking now, otherwise... let Tongue-sensei prepare to accept the 'Obedience of Heavenly Voice.'"

Is this a threat?

This is a threat!

Lai Er panicked immediately, after all, Visas-sama hadn't contacted him for several days, and he couldn't reach Visas-sama either...

"Have him take you to the scene." Just then, Bai Wei's voice rang in Lai Er's mind, "That's my condition."

Lai Er was slightly taken aback, then immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, Visas-sama is back.

After exchanging a mental message with Bai Wei, Lai Er said to the messenger, "Tongue-sensei has also contacted me."

The messenger frowned. "He contacted you, when?"

"Then you can leave it alone," Lai Er said, feigning calmness. "My master has one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

Lai Er said, enunciating each word clearly, "I want to see the 'Obedience of Heavenly Voice' with my own eyes."