He and It Chapter 151: The Serpent of Pharisee (17)

Chapter 151: The Serpent of Pharisee (17)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Xie Ning was utterly dumbfounded.

Though he lived in an age of information explosion and was professionally exposed to various beauties from both past and present, domestic and foreign, perhaps all the beauties he had seen combined couldn’t match the stunning appearance of the woman before him.

Her beauty was unreal, something that shouldn’t exist in this world, yet she, as a person, was vividly present.

Before, he had chuckled inwardly at Echidna’s suspicion. Even if the Gods of Olympus had nothing better to do, what reason would they have to send a “Pandora” here?

Now he couldn’t laugh. It was beyond doubt that if this woman wasn’t some goddess, then she must have been created by the Gods themselves, representing everything beyond nature.

However, compared to Echidna, her beauty seemed…how should he put it? Dignified? Conventional? Xie Ning thought for a long time, feeling that “manufactured” was the most apt description.

Her golden hair, fair skin, blue eyes, red lips, and radiant demeanor, along with her robust physique, all epitomized society’s expectations for a beautiful woman in this era. And Echidna? Perhaps he was fierce and formidable, and possessed all the traits of a demon, but when Xie Ning looked at him, it was like seeing the howling wind on the vast plains, the blazing sunset casting its crimson hue over the untamed wilderness, and the predators roaring under the moonlit night…He was a primal force of life, existing long before the birth of the new Gods of civilization.

…Ah well. Thinking about this was pointless. If she were to become his model, he wondered if he could even capture her beauty in his paintings…

As he contemplated that, Xie Ning turned to Echidna and said, “I think…”

Just three words into his sentence, he stopped, horrified to see the demon’s face contorted in complete rage, with dark venomous lines crawling over his dusky skin. Echidna bared his razor-sharp fangs, and glared fiercely at the woman below.

He looked like he was about to…no, he looked like he was about to tear her apart! Then tear her apart again after she was already in pieces!

“What’s wrong with you?” Xie Ning hastily grabbed him, fearing he wouldn’t be able to restrain the enraged Echidna. He quickly wrapped his limbs around him, as he clung to the serpent and said, “Don’t be angry! I was just speaking the truth about her beauty, but she can’t hold a candle to you in my heart. Don’t be angry, okay?”

Echidna trembled with anger. He stared at the woman below, her confident yet coy demeanor, and easily envisioned all the Gods looking down on him from Mount Olympus, as they watched to see his embarrassment.

He spat out his forked tongue, while arrogant, venomous, incoherent words poured from his lips, as he heaped scorn on the Gods and their supposedly exquisite creation.

“How could I not be angry?!” Echidna exploded furiously. “Am I made of clay, to be dissolved by water? Am I a timid dove, a foolish deer, to be frightened by the flapping of vultures and the howls of wolves? To cower in the forest, waiting for a fate slightly better than death? My domain is inviolable, my treasures untouchable! If you want me not to be angry, Dorus, then I must first slay this gift from the Gods, because she, like a flaunting peacock, dared to come here and display her fragile beauty!”

“Every wrong has its perpetrator!” Xie Ning shouted, as he desperately recited some sage words of advice. “Why get angry over trivial matters? Think twice before getting angry, for getting angry brings illness and no one to help!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Echidna snapped back, oblivious to Xie Ning’s attempt to calm him down. He continued to vent his fury, “And who told you to obstruct my anger in this way? It’s so risky! You know your body can’t match my strength! If I get angry, you should step aside, and never let my rage hurt you. Otherwise, you’re risking a heartbroken death!”

As he spoke, he clung to the youth, and desperately kissed his cheeks and forehead in despair.

…Well, it was still that somewhat foolish Echidna, no change there.

Once they – especially Echidna – calmed down from their tumultuous emotions, the demon, still panting, finally freed himself from the grip of his anger. It was only then he remembered he had a tempting tongue at his disposal.

So, he hurriedly whispered seductive words in the boy’s ear, murmuring some inciting language.

“Dorus, look at this woman. She has only revealed one side of herself, yet she has already wrought such havoc upon us,” the forked black tongue slithered sinuously, and teasingly touched the human’s earlobe. “She must be a manifestation of the goddess Eris, mocking the tears of the Moirai, deceiving Aphrodite into granting her a soul, and being taught by the cult of Kakia how to cause trouble! ¹ Think of Pandora. Think of the disasters in her box. Aren’t the Gods fond of such things? Choosing an earthly embodiment of beauty, yet promising endless misfortune, so that people willingly fall into deception and endure torment!”

He circled around to the other side, and continued his beguiling words. “Don’t let her ruin our lives, Dorus! The happiness and joy we share are envied by many gods. Please don’t sympathize with this woman, just leave her to me to deal with. That way our happiness can last forever!”

The words of the demon indeed evoked a strong bias in Xie Ning’s heart, and expelled the curiosity sparked by Apollo and weakened the halo of divine beauty. In Xie Ning’s eyes, the woman below suddenly seemed like a dim mortal, her beauty becoming mundane and unremarkable.

However, when he heard the last sentence, Xie Ning’s confused thoughts suddenly shook, and  a shiver went down his spine as he realized something.

– Their happiness couldn’t last forever.

He still had a family to return to. When the time came, would Echidna agree to let him leave? To outsiders, he might appear as if he were dependent on the master of the palace and living under Echidna’s influence. But in reality, Xie Ning knew that Echidna relied on him like a withered vine in need of water.

“…Let’s hear what she has to say.” he snapped back to attention, and kept his head lowered to conceal his confusion. “If she can be sent away, then let’s send her away.”

The temptation failed utterly! Echidna was greatly shocked.

Could Dorus truly be the most steadfast person in the world, unshakeable even by him? 

Xie Ning’s heart was in turmoil. Without waiting for Echidna to say anything further, he jumped out of the snake demon’s embrace, and headed towards…I need to do something to distract myself, he thought. Is it time to worry about leaving now? Not yet.

To escape the turmoil in his heart, he slipped away like a fish that refuses to stay in the hand, sliding down the passage Echidna had brought him through. Echidna hurried after, urgently calling out to him.

“Dorus, you don’t have protective scales, nor do you have my copper skin and iron bones. Don’t rush like that!”

Xanthippe stood there calmly, refusing to be felled by the strange sounds around her. The Wine God crowned her forehead with grapevines and imbued her with the courage of wild beasts, which made her fearless like a drunkard.

Suddenly, the bronze door in front of her emitted an opening sound. It lacked the grandeur of moving mountains and filling seas, which indicated that the person entering was probably, the someone called “Dorus” by the Gods, an adversary she should be wary of.

So, she raised her head high, and let her lush hair shine brilliantly under the firelight; sparkling like gold. With a posture akin to a goddess, she greeted her enemy.

A black-haired youth walked in softly.

Xanthippe was somewhat surprised. According to her expectations, artists were strong-bodied men. Human beings who fell in love with demons should also be as robust as stags. However this youth looked overly young and slender. His skin was pale, and his hair and eyes were black, as if he were the youngest son of Night, born under the light of the new moon.

He walked in like that, his eyes full of surprise and admiration as he looked at her. That surprise and admiration were devoid of desire, just clear and sincere. Perhaps it wasn’t the gaze of a man looking at a woman, but of one person looking at another.

“What’s your name?” Xie Ning asked.

Xanthippe, puzzled, furrowed her brows. Athena had granted her versatile wisdom, yet she couldn’t understand the language of this youth.

“He’s asking for your name, you better answer truthfully.” Behind the youth, from the half-closed shadow of the bronze door, came an ancient voice. It couldn’t be described in worldly terms. As a creature crafted by the Gods, just listening to it sent shivers of blasphemous feelings through Xanthippe’s heart, and sliced her soul with ruthless severity.

Echidna, the demon Echidna.

“I am Xanthippe.” She raised her head and tried her best to show her resilience. “I knelt before Kostas, and caressed his chin in supplication. I came here not for anyone else, but for your glory and fame, Echidna! I willingly came here.”

She boldly called the demon by his true name, letting him know her intentions plainly.

Understanding that she wasn’t here to seduce Dorus, Echidna breathed a sigh of relief and sneered at the Gods’ plan.

“Don’t shout my name, that’s not something you can do!” The snake demon stood behind the youth, as he spoke in a chilling tone. “Do you think I don’t know who sent you here? Do you think I’m a fool, to let you and the Gods of Olympus deceive me? Whether you came willingly or not, you must leave Arima, and take your priest with you. I will have him bitten to death by snakes for daring to defy my orders and disturb my peace.”

Xanthippe lifted her head, clear-eyed and courageous, as she faced the golden pupils in the darkness.

“Listen to me!” she spoke firmly. “I banished all cowardice just to see you! Perhaps there is a god who summoned me here. it’s the unavoidable fate that the goddess who made me admire you and gave me boundless courage. I may not have a golden cup in my hands, but my heart is filled with the bitter wine of happiness. As a result of this dishonorable admiration, I may be slandered by the world, and deemed a negative influence on women. However I know that I am guiltless. Living beings revere Olympus’ sacred mountain, so why can’t I admire the ancient gods and let their wild spirits illuminate me?”

Her gaze was like a bright flame and her posture resolute, just like a noble goddess piercing through the dark underworld.

If Echidna were a deity of the sacred mountain, he would surely descend to the mortal realm with pride for such reverence. If he were a young hero, he would be impulsively consumed by such admiration. Even if Dorus hadn’t come here, hadn’t come to his side, and revealed to him the beauty of true love, he would still eagerly swallow the poison wrapped in sugar, thirsted for it, using the venom to nourish his long-dead snake heart.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs. He had already tasted the sweetest ambrosia of the world. Thus, Xanthippe’s words not only failed to move him, but also triggered the snake demon’s fierce murderous intent.

“Since you speak so eloquently,” Echidna extended his body over Xie Ning, as his forked black tongue darted out. “Then it’s a reasonable request for you to offer your life, isn’t it?”

Xanthippe trembled. She saw the true form of the demon. Witnessed his human body and snake tail, his dark skin, shattered golden eyes, eerie tattoos, and poisonous fangs…They all made her dizzy, yet the courage bestowed upon her by the Gods kept her standing unwavering.

“If this is my fate, I accept it gladly,” she said firmly. “But I beg you not to forget why I came here. I didn’t come to oppose you.”

Xie Ning hadn’t fully recovered from his astonishment at “What? The beauty likes Echidna?” but upon hearing their conversation, he couldn’t help but raise his head, surprised. “Didn’t we just agree on something?”

Echidna’s eyes glanced downward, and muttered sullenly, “We didn’t just agree.”

“No, I mean it,” Xie Ning emphasized. “Don’t kill her. She’s standing right here, alive. Her crimes don’t warrant death.”

Echidna pursed his lips, and grumbled stubbornly, “She’s not human. She’s a creation of the Gods, not a progeny of parents!”

“She has a personality. She can cry and laugh,” Xie Ning emphasized. “Even if she’s like a living doll, I can’t bear to send her to the garbage dump. I’m not a sociopathic lunatic!”

Echidna murmured angrily and stubbornly said, “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Xie Ning ignored him. He approached and communicated with Echidna, while speaking in Mandarin. It had been a long time since he practiced, and his understanding of the native dialect had become very clumsy. He advised Xanthippe, “Miss, leave. You’re not Pandora. You have a choice. It’s okay.”

Xanthippe looked at him, and a great shock suddenly surged in her heart since she had always regarded this young man as the rival obstructing her mission. Even though the Gods wanted her to serve that terrifying demon, and had injected her heart with unique courage and enthusiasm, she still felt anxious about the future. Unexpectedly, she received a gentle reception in the palace.

“I cannot leave here!” Seeing Dorus’ admiration for her, she quickly changed her approach, instead pleading with that human. She understood that immediately gaining a place in the demon’s heart was an impossible task. Now, her future depended entirely on Dorus.

“I willingly gave up everything to come to Arima. If I go back now, I will not only lose my reputation but also my name. I will become a beggar’s slave, spending the rest of my life in tears, without freedom, only clinging to the dignity of others for a bit of food and clothing. Please don’t let me fall into such a plight, Dorus! Like you, I am favored by Apollo. Perhaps I don’t have your talent for painting, but look at the gifts I bring. I am not worthless!”

With that, Xanthippe opened the chest she had brought. Just as the Forge God shaped her body from marble, Apollo also endowed her with a talent for sculpture. She took out the clay sculptures she had crafted, and under her hands, the Three Graces came to life, dancing gracefully. The dynamic body movements and flowing folds of their garments contrasted cleverly with the serene and elegant faces of the goddesses.

Xie Ning exclaimed, “How long have you been learning? For how many years?”

“I have never learned,” Xanthippe honestly replied. “I just have this hobby.”

Oh, another natural talent. Put them in the modern world, and those sculpting majors would feel inadequate…

Xie Ning was speechless. He held the sculptures in his hands, and examined them closely. Actually, compared to painting, sculpting had a lower entry barrier. It was like when you were a child and molded a round, three-dimensional apple out of clay, which wasn’t difficult. But drawing a round, three-dimensional apple on paper was much harder.

However, Xanthippe’s talent still left Xie Ning pondering for a while. After he looked at her, he sighed inwardly as he contemplated the vast difference in abilities between individuals. He spent his days laboring in the palace, his fingers stained from charcoal, only to encounter a true genius who casually said, “I’ve never learned, it’s just a hobby,” which threw him back into the embarrassment of learning to paint.

Painting and sculpting had many similarities. Since Xanthippe was so talented in sculpting, she undoubtedly wouldn’t lag far behind in painting.

“Can you… teach me?” Xie Ning’s mind was filled with mixed feelings as he looked at Xanthippe. This was his only thought. “When you are working, what are you thinking? How do you approach it?”

He really wanted to understand. What he most wanted to know was this – what went through a genius’s mind when they were creating? Their perception of beauty, and how they attained such an acute and astonishing ability to replicate it? 

Xie Ning lived in a very constrained manner. In the modern world, he never dared to ask those with exceptional talent that question. He’d feared that by doing so, he would appear envious and exposed compared to those superior creators. In this world, since he wasn’t a contemporary, and no one here knew who he was, Xie Ning finally gathered the courage to modestly express his confusion.

“Can you teach me?” Xie Ning said. “Stay. No problem.”

Echidna didn’t say anything. He felt that Dorus’s belief in his artistic talent was actually quite weak. Many times in the past, he could always find numerous flaws in his already exquisite artworks. He firmly believed that diligence couldn’t bridge the gap of talent, and effort could only  compensate. Therefore, he had to work twice as hard, which resulted in various minor ailments on his young body. It was only later, when Echidna applied divine ointment for him, that they were completely healed.

Was this woman’s talent making Dorus feel low-spirited?

“Her talent must be a gift from the Gods,” Echidna sighed in compassion. “You don’t have to feel lost about this, Dorus. Look, even if you don’t have a divinely gifted talent, your artwork is still outstanding in this world!”

Xie Ning looked up at him. He wasn’t crying, but his eyes shattered Echidna’s heart more than tears could.

The snake demon hurriedly embraced the human, as he cuddled his beloved priest. “Alright, if you want her to stay, I can’t say a word against it. She can stay on the periphery, but she must conceal her form. Don’t let me see her, or I will soon have this god’s creation destroyed!”

And so, Xanthippe narrowly escaped death and was not expelled from the palace, becoming a castaway of the Gods.

Due to Echidna’s increase in the thick fog in Arima, unless or until there was a forced breakthrough, the Gods had no way to peer inside, so she never suffered punishment from the Gods for failing her mission.

Out of gratitude, she never brought out her greatest leverage against the palace’s owner to try and sow discord. She knew Dorus’ background. Before her arrival, the goddess Athena had explicitly told her, “Echidna deeply loves that human, but does he know that his human isn’t from this era but from thousands of years later? Dorus will eventually return home. His ties are not severed. He will always miss his loved ones back home.”

After that day, Xie Ning sought her out many times, but the topics weren’t about Echidna. Instead, they revolved around Xanthippe’s innate talent for art, which she had never systematically learned. When they could communicate somewhat fluently, Xanthippe looked at him and confessed the truth she knew, while also asking the long-buried question in her heart.

“Why did you save me?” The creation of the Gods asked. “I am your rival. If the demon accepts me, your authority will be weakened. Yet, you still kept me. Why? Is it just for ‘art’?”

When he heard her words, Xie Ning was initially taken aback. He hadn’t expected that even the Olympian Gods knew where he came from…But then again, they were such a gossipy bunch. If one God knew, it was as good as the entire Pantheon knowing.

“What rival…?” Xie Ning genuinely felt tired of arguing. “I’m not in a relationship with him. If you want reasons, you remind me of someone.”

“Who?” Xanthippe asked.

He Muyao, he said in his mind, the little genius He Muyao.

“An old acquaintance.” Xie Ning smiled vaguely, and brushed it off. “It’s nothing.”

After some thought, he continued, “Another part of the reason is probably that where we come from, you don’t have to be a noble goddess, princess, or priestess, nor do you have to be the wife of a slave, captive, or beggar.”

“What can I be then?”

“You don’t have to be anything,” Xie Ning said, “Just be an ordinary person. Lie down wherever, do what you like. You don’t have to be too noble or too humble. Most of us live like that. Although there are many things that can’t be satisfying, the margin for error is much higher than here, without reaching the extreme of ‘today a king, tomorrow a slave.'”

“Your life…only has two choices, extreme choices, and I find it quite regrettable,” Xie Ning gestured. “So…cherish your talent, that’s all.”