The Three-Legged Toad bounced back and forth miserably between Lin Qi's fingers. As it let out strange "croak croak" cries, it also shouted with glee at his misfortune, "With friends like that, croak, you really are, croak, unfortunate!"
The Golden Scorpion King was practically on the verge of tears. "I don't have many friends! They all say I'm too stupid, so... I only have a few friends even stupider than me! But these idiots—this idiot—why did he beat me into this state?"
Gently patting the tearful Golden Scorpion King, Lin Qi sighed kindly. "No one has it easy! Though you're a god, just look at you—you're only a weak lower-tier, lower-rank god! It couldn't have been easy for you to survive the ancient divine war, could it?"
The Golden Scorpion King burst into loud sobs. "Hard! It was so hard! I was beaten until only half my head remained. If Spire hadn't saved me, I would have been smashed to pieces long ago! Boohoo, I nearly died, and my mission failed too!"
Raising his brows, Lin Qi smiled curiously at the Golden Scorpion King. "Your mission? Ah-ha, what mission did you have?"
The Golden Scorpion King shook his head and returned to his original form, becoming a large golden-blue scorpion no more than two meters long. Dim golden-blue light flickered through his compound eyes as he lifted his head to gaze at the sky, muttering in a low voice.
"It's been too long, and half my head was smashed apart. I've forgotten far too many memories!"
"Uh, my master, I think? The master who raised me from a tiny newborn scorpion—her final request to me was... she asked me to come here, to where? Anyway, to go somewhere and protect the bloodline of her family!"
"But I failed!" The Golden