"Anyone who's survived multiple explorations of the Arrow Realm is neither a saint nor a fool."
The Star God said, "Even if there were, it would only mean they were incredibly lucky."
"Luck is a mysterious thing. You can never be sure."
The Star God paused, then said softly, "This is also up to you. If what he did makes you uncomfortable, I can repay this favor for you."
"Tomorrow, Li Wenze will receive a reward for his contributions to the Arrow Realm exploration, and Silver Mercury Ashes worth five million will be delivered to him."
Su Wen shook his head. "No need. I'll repay this favor myself!"
Perhaps the Star God was right, and Li Wenze had his own ideas.
But the three million he had lent Su Wen had been a huge help.
That was enough!
Why think so much about the rest?
Besides, when Li Wenze lent him the money, could he have known the Star God would come and erase his memories?
"All right."
The Star God nodded slightly. "Since you have your own plans, I won't say any more."
"Do you want to return to the organization with me now, or stay here and have fun for a couple of days and say goodbye to your friends?"
"Let's go to the organization!" Su Wen said without hesitation. "I want to see what our organization is actually like too."
An organization founded by the Star God!
And he had invited Su Wen to join, while taking such meticulous precautions.
In a sense, perhaps... everyone qualified to join the Star God's organization was a God-Prefixed Heavenly Mandate Bearer!
He also wanted to see just how many God-Prefixed Heavenly Mandate Bearers there were in Huaxia now.
And... that traitor!
Had the traitor Wind God appeared yet?
If the Wind God had already joined the organization, how strong was he now?
"All right, let's go!"
Before the Star God had finished speaking, a flash of starlight appeared.
The next moment, the world around them changed.
After a moment of disorientation, Su Wen saw his new surroundings clearly.
A large... office...
Although it was different from an ordinary company office, Su Wen's first impression upon arriving was that he had landed a job and was about to start work.
"Welcome!"
A figure who looked like an elderly man appeared before Su Wen, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a colorful mask.
"This is our organization's newest member, and our fifth member!"
The Star God smiled. "You can get to know each other and have a chat."
"I have other things to attend to, so I won't stay with you."
As he spoke, the Star God's figure vanished from where he stood.
"You'll get used to it in time. The Star God... is actually very busy."
The elderly man smiled. "Hello, God of Wealth. We already know the basics about you."
"Let me introduce myself. I'm the Theater God."
Su Wen blinked. "The God of Joy?"
The god of happiness?
Then what was his talent?
Making others happy, or making himself happy?
"Not the God of Joy. The Theater God, as in theater."
The Theater God chuckled. "I enjoy listening to music and watching plays, so sometimes I wonder whether my profession as the Theater God might have something to do with my hobbies."
Su Wen thought for a moment, then said, "I'm the God of Wealth, so I... like money? Right, I like money. Who doesn't like money?"
As the old saying went, money couldn't do everything, but without money, you couldn't do anything at all.
And as society and technology continued to advance, money... was steadily moving toward being able to do everything.
"Yes, who isn't interested in money?"
The Theater God said softly, "Especially in this era. God of Wealth, the Star God holds you in very high regard."
"When he received news of you, he immediately put aside what he was doing and rushed over without stopping."
"To tell you the truth, it was the first time I'd ever seen the Star God like that."
Su Wen chuckled. "Really? Actually, everyone's important. It's just that your abilities may be suited to fighting, while mine is more about spending money."
Then Su Wen changed the subject. "Actually, I know a little about traditional opera, though not much."
"For example, Tang Xianzu's Four Dreams of Linchuan from the Ming dynasty. I've also been to hear the Kunqu opera The Peony Pavilion. It was quite good."
At that, the Theater God sat bolt upright. With a wave of his hand, two padded armchairs flew over.
"Come, let's sit and talk."
"Theater! Strictly speaking, it's a general term."
"Our traditional art in Huaxia can only be called traditional opera. In ancient times, it was called theater, but as exchanges between countries became more frequent, it came to be called traditional opera to distinguish it from foreign theater."
The Theater God paused, then continued, "How much do you know about Tang Xianzu of the Ming dynasty, whom you just mentioned? The Peony Pavilion in particular was an expression of a very progressive current of thought for its time."
"Du Liniang's pursuit of love directly or indirectly broke the bonds of feudal ethics, offering a measure of guidance and inspiration to later generations."
"Oh, and Tang Xianzu's Theory of Supreme Emotion-you know about that, right? If you don't, I can tell you about it."
Su Wen was a little dumbfounded as the Theater God rattled off a whole lot.
He knew only a tiny bit about traditional opera.
He had just been chatting with the Theater God and, seeing that he was interested in traditional opera, had mentioned it offhand.
But as the Theater God's words grew increasingly technical, Su Wen's expression gradually changed.
The Theory of Supreme Emotion-what was that?
Could the Theater God be an old teacher?
Or... a traditional opera artist?
"Grandpa Theater God, have you started cornering people for lectures again?"
A playful voice suddenly came from nearby.
A little boy wearing a cyan mask then appeared in Su Wen's field of vision. When the Theater God saw him, he immediately turned his gaze away.
"Little Wind, after you lost our bet last time, you promised to read the script of Guan Hanqing's The Injustice to Dou E. Have you finished it?"
"..."
The little boy called Little Wind froze. A moment later, he said speechlessly, "Grandpa Theater God, since Big Brother God of Wealth has only just arrived today, can't we talk about something happier?"
The Theater God looked at Su Wen and laughed. "All right! You young people can chat first."
After watching the Theater God leave, Little Wind breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Hello, Big Brother God of Wealth. Welcome to our big family."
"Hello to you too!"
Su Wen spoke cheerfully. The God-Prefixed Heavenly Mandate Bearer standing before him didn't look very old!
An elementary school student?
When the Theater God, who liked teaching people, met an elementary school student for a colleague, things got interesting.
The kid probably hadn't expected that even after coming here, he would still have someone watching over his studies.
"Let me introduce myself."
Little Wind smiled. "Big Brother God of Wealth, I'm the Wind God. Please take care of me from now on!"
Su Wen: "..."