"Meow!!"
The mouse closed its tiny eyes and fell silent forever.
At the same time, the shrine shuddered all over.
It was about to flee when its body suddenly froze in place, unable to move at all.
By the moonlight, Li Ping'an studied the shrine closely.
"What sort of god are you?"
The shrine seemed to realize that it must have encountered someone not to be trifled with.
This was no ordinary person with vigorous Qi and Blood.
"...This... this humble god... is an Artifact God."
"What is an Artifact God?"
"An object that has become a spirit."
"How did you become a spirit?" Li Ping'an asked calmly.
The shrine answered cautiously, "This humble god already existed in this world before the Great An Kingdom was founded.
"But back then, I was muddled and without consciousness.
"Later, in the dynasty's final years, turmoil swept the land.
"This humble god had already become a spirit, and then I became what you see now."
"Then why did you harm people?" Li Ping'an continued calmly.
The shrine seemed to realize that what it said next might very well affect its fate.
So it answered with even greater trepidation, "This humble god did not want to, either. But to survive, I had no choice but to absorb incense offerings.
"And this humble god had no temple, so I could only resort to this method.
"By... deceiving and frightening others into offering this humble god... giving me a pitiful bit of incense.
"But no one has come here for a long time, and the area in which this humble god can move is extremely limited.
"If this continues, this humble god will have no choice but to disappear."
Li Ping'an's azure eyes were calm and unruffled. He could see that the soul behind this shrine