Hera's divine artifact was called Judgment of the Dao. Li Jia had only read descriptions of it in books, but the concept was so vague that she could not imagine what form it actually took.
She had never expected it to be such a badass sword.
Seeing really was believing. This was way too cool.
Li Jia had imagined what Hera's divine artifact might look like. Zeus's lightning spear, Athena's shield, Artemis's Silver Feather Bow, Poseidon's trident-the artifacts of the other eleven chief gods all had distinctive forms.
Hera's alone had only four brief lines:
Subdue three thousand ghosts, judge the Dao at the springs of oblivion.
Sever and destroy reincarnation, build the pagoda anew.
Li Jia had not understood what it meant at the time and had thought the description far too exaggerated. Now, it seemed exactly right.
Cool. Incredibly cool. Unbelievably cool.
Exactly.
A queen deserved a divine sword.
Compared with Li Jia's current Little Yellow Chick body, Judgment of the Dao was enormous. It looked as tall as a television tower.
But why had this divine sword suddenly protected her? After blocking the bone spikes' attack for her, it had simply stood quietly beside her.
Li Jia thought the sword was a little like a Doberman: handsome, protective of its master, and not much of a talker.
Not that she was calling the sword a dog. It was a feeling, a very reassuring feeling.
Little Yellow Chick chirped a couple of times, and Judgment of the Dao obligingly cut her wrist restraints open. Strangely, when Li Jia approached, the flames on its blade that could instantly carbonize all things did not feel hot. They were even a little warm.
Like a candle, with the boiling point up above and no heat down below.
Delighted to regain her freedom, Little Yellow Chick happily flapped her tiny wings and fluttered into the air a couple of times. Then she hugged Judgment of the Dao, which had freed her from her restraints, and pecked it twice-mwah, mwah-in thanks.
Hera glanced at Judgment of the Dao out of the corner of her eye, and Judgment of the Dao trembled inwardly.
"Bring her back already."
Judgment of the Dao obediently crouched down, and Li Jia stepped onto its hilt. The sight was very bizarre.
A Little Yellow Chick stood on a flaming sword.
It was a little... abstract.
Judgment of the Dao dutifully delivered Little Yellow Chick to its master. Hera pinched her by her chicken wing and stuffed her back against her chest.
Its mission complete, Judgment of the Dao returned to its original form.
Its original form turned out to be the ring Hera wore on her hand.
It could become a weapon when needed and serve as an accessory otherwise. That was ridiculously awesome.
Then could the ring on her own hand also...
Little Yellow Chick looked at her chicken wing. A little ring encircled it.
Damn it, how did it grow and shrink along with me? No wonder Hera said I couldn't take it off. I've really never seen this kind of automatically resizing high technology.
She was a country bumpkin.
Li Jia touched Hera's neck, tickling it with her fluffy wing. Hera looked down to see Little Yellow Chick point her wing at her little ring, then at the identically styled ring on Hera's hand.
Hera tapped her little head and used a spoken spell so that only she could hear her words.
Li Jia: "Can it turn into a sword too?"
Hera: "Yes. Essentially, my ring is the primary ring and yours is the secondary ring. It can hold half of Judgment of the Dao's artifact spirit, which amounts to having half its power in your hands."
Li Jia: "Then split off a few more little rings. That way, we can each have a sword. Going out with a sword apiece-what a flex."
Hera: "...What is a flex?"
Li Jia thought for two seconds, then said calmly, "It means being really impressive."
Hera: "Then you're no flex at all."
Li Jia really wanted to sew her own mouth shut. The good things fell on deaf ears, but she caught on to the bad things instantly.
Hera: "There are only two rings, no extras. The secondary ring was fused with my blood and takes half my divine power. If I'm not by your side in the future, Judgment of the Dao will protect you."
Hera spoke very calmly, as though she were talking about someone else's affairs.
A god had given half her divine power to a mortal like her.
Li Jia suddenly felt her eyes sting. What did she mean by all this?
Although she would leave this world once the mission was complete, at least at this moment, she did not want to leave.
There was no reason, no explanation. Her body did not want to, her mind did not want to, she did not want to.
"Your Majesty, you won't be absent from my side. If you're not beside me, I'll come looking for you until I find you." Little Yellow Chick lay against her chest, wheedling. "I'm Your Majesty's acolyte. You're destined to look after me for the rest of my life."
Sensing the little one's happiness, Hera's formerly indifferent pupils trembled almost imperceptibly. She lightly tapped Little Yellow Chick's head again. "Then you'll have to give me something in return."
With that, she tilted her cheek toward her.
Li Jia was speechless. Chief god, are you an elementary schooler? Getting jealous of a sword.
See through it, but don't say it. Under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
Little Yellow Chick puckered up and fiercely pecked the cheek offered to her several times, smearing saliva all over it.
Li Jia could hardly be blamed. No matter how many times she saw Hera's face, it still stunned her. How could anyone look like this?
Seeing Little Yellow Chick staring blankly at her, Hera lowered her head and kissed her head. The setting sun slanted across her profile, her lashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyes. When she raised her hand to brush aside the stray down on Little Yellow Chick's forehead, even her fingertips carried a gentle dampness.
"Whether I live or die, no one will ever be able to hurt you."
Gods did not swear oaths lightly. Once sworn, an oath became a promise.
May the gods show favor and bestow blessings upon their believers.
She had not lied to Li Jia. Originally, there had been only one ring. She had drawn out half her divine power and put it into the secondary ring, so there were now two rings and two Judgments of the Dao. Only when Li Jia was by her side could Judgment of the Dao unleash its full power.
Nothing in the world could threaten her anymore, except Li Jia. Her power was part of Hera herself. If she wanted to kill Hera, Hera would have no power to fight back.
Hera willingly told Li Jia her weakness. She no longer had any trump cards to speak of. Her heart had already gone utterly numb the moment Li Jia said she loved her.
She knew perfectly well that those words had been meant to deceive her, yet it was like missing a step on the stairs, with a little indescribable sweetness hidden amid the panic.
Hera was the goddess of marriage. Even if she had never eaten pork, surely she had seen pigs run.
But the little one still did not understand. That was all right. She would stay by her side in the end, and only with her there would Hera feel happy.
"Li Jia, I'm so lucky. You appeared in my world like a gift."
Li Jia was utterly confused. What madness has gotten into Hera? Confessing to me? Is this the time for a confession?
We need to get down to business!
Little Yellow Chick pecked her hard. Hera's eyelid twitched. What an unromantic little thing.
Hera had used a barrier-screening spoken spell, so only the two of them knew what they had done. All the surrounding air had been sealed off and was motionless. Now she lifted the barrier.