He and It Chapter 44: A God’s Marriage (15)

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Chapter 44: A God’s Marriage (15)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

“Actually, you could refute him.” After they ran out, Yan Yan said coldly, “Astolfo has a lot of trade and commerce, and the culture of the city-state is also open. Not only towards love between men and women, but also for love between gays and lesbians…”

“What love between a man and a woman, and love between the same sex!” Yun Chi cried. “No! Sa’gya and I are just…”

Just, just what?

Yun Chi got stuck for a moment and stammered, “…It’s just family! Dependent family!”

OK.

Yan Yan nodded, and said no more.

If you say it’s family, then it’s family. We can’t refute you after all.

Yun Chi’s face was flushed, and he fanned himself as he changed the subject, “That shopkeeper just said to go to the east side of the city to buy brushes. What does the east of the city do?”

“The east side of the city is a market for livestock, pack animals, cattle, dental hounds, poultry…” Yan Yan replied. “Basically, you can buy everything there.”

Yun Chi sighed, “Then we won’t go higher yet. Come on, let’s go uptown.”

They walked through the lined houses towards their destination, and on the way, Yun Chi also found a few private restaurants. Unfortunately, in the cold climate of the land, they didn’t make fluffy, soft white buns, but rather dense, hard, almost unfermented cakes.

However, the most expensive type of dessert could still almost be called a dessert. The rich wheat flour, mixed with honey, ground spices, dried fruit and egg whites, tasted rich, sweet and chewy. The bakers baked those round cakes in pans, which were very expensive for the common people and they had a customer limit. It was a luxury that could not be bought at will, even with money. Only the nobles of the city-state, or the priests of the temple, could exchange for unlimited quantities.

“Can I have thirty of them?” Yun Chi grabbed a handful of snow-white shiny silver grains and waved them in front of the bakery master.

He shook his head in embarrassment, “Twenty! Twenty! It’s the same all along the street. There’s a ration. We can’t sell more than that!”

“I’ll pay double the price,” Yun Chi said with certainty.

The bakery master rubbed his hands on his apron and looked embarrassed. “This is the priest’s rule. Don’t make me make a mistake!”

Yun Chi “tsked”, hating iron for not being steel. He lowered his voice, “Look, I’m not going to hide it from you. I’ve tasted everything on this street, and only your house is the best. Moreover, I will have to buy some more if I go to someone else’s house later, so I will buy 30 at your house and 10 at the next one. Therefore the total amount hasn’t changed at all! Is that a violation? No, this can only be called more ways for you to earn money!”

The baker opened his mouth in surprise, then his face, darkened by the fire, showed the trance-like look of deep thought.

Yun Chi leaned over, “Thirty?”

Master Bao gritted his teeth. “Okay, thirty!”

Yan Yan stood behind him and silently took the bulging, steaming bag of sweet cakes and stuffed it into his open body, then followed Yun Chi with empty hands, and watched him move on to the next shop.

“Thirty for me?”

“No, no, no, thirty really can’t be sold. Don’t be ridiculous, guest, it’s the priest’s rule.”

“Alas, you see, I’m not hiding anything from you…”

Yan Yan, “…”

After a few moments, Yan Yan took another bag of sweet cakes and put it inside his body.

When Yun Chi was satisfied having fooled the whole street, the two of them flung their hands up, quickly wiped their feet and slipped away.

As they ran to the uptown area, Yun Chi’s vision opened up. This was indeed a veritable residence of the rich. Even the stone tiles underfoot weren’t as dark as at the foot of the mountain. The houses on both sides weren’t haphazardly stacked stones, but more like mansions, spacious and grand, and there seemed to be greenhouse gardens at the back.

The jewelry stores became more frequent and were decorated and brighter. There were more people in them, not only noble ladies wrapped in thick leather, but also men who were dressed in glamorous clothes.

As soon as Yun Chi entered, he was first attracted by the jewelry displayed on the counter, traditional jewelry, such as necklaces, rings, earrings and so on. Yun Chi had many such things on Earth, but it was the first time he came across a flower crown type of jewelry. The main flower crown was made of gold, with silver leaves and dazzling clusters of gold flowers spread around. It almost resembled the real thing, while the stamens of the jewels were red as blood and delicate; really an exquisite work of art.

“Beautiful,” he sighed in admiration.

Yan Yan immediately said, “I’ll wait to buy it for you.”

“No, no!” Yun Chi hurriedly stopped. “Sa’gya…”

He coughed a little and softened his voice, “I mean, there is no shortage of this on the island. I  just need the necessities of life.”

Yan Yan understood. It was said that in self-exile, the Lord of the Ice Sea faded into the sea with His main temple. In the second divine era of the past, that temple had been the wealth and power heart of the realm. As His wife, how could Yun Chi lack these shiny and mundane things?

Perhaps, compared to the exotic treasures and priceless treasures that these eyes of His had seen, the smug kings of the kingdoms of Van could not acquire even one ten-thousandth of them even if they consumed their entire life span.

“We understand,” Yan Yan whispered. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Yun Chi walked up to a clerk and asked with a smile, “Excuse me, do you have a comb here?”

The clerk looked up and saw a plainly dressed man standing in front of him. A spotlessly clean man with eyes that looked like they contained a bright star.

He hurriedly stood up, and subconsciously seemed to perceive that the other party was a customer who could not be ignored.

“Comb? Yes, yes!”

The shopkeeper handily brought out a board of shiny and delicate combs. Compared to the plain goods of the previous jewelry store, the combs here were sterling silver, gold, braided with precious stones and tortoiseshell, and carved with floral and animal patterns. They were bejeweled and dazzling; really eye-catching.

“I mean, is there a comb that can comb your hair? I want some.”

The clerk thought about it, and the combs he brought out the second time were mostly polished bone combs, with a warm texture like jade, but much lighter than jade.

Yun Chi immediately spotted the best one, and he fondly put it in his hand to compare. The comb was cool to the touch, with even teeth, and the back of the comb was ethereally white, with a pattern shaped like a snowy mountain, while the handle was crafted very carefully, then wrapped in a smooth, clean porcelain enamel edge.

“Sa’gya’s hair color is really similar…” Yun Chi smiled. “I’ll take this one. Help me wrap it up.”

The western breeze flowed softly around Yun Chi’s clothes. When Yun Chi put the wrapped comb into his backpack, planning to move on to the next item on his shopping list, he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder.

When Yun Chi turned his head, he found that he was greeted by a strange boy who was dressed in luxurious clothes and had a beautiful face. The rich fragrance of his hands and feet made Yun Chi’s nostrils itch and he almost sneezed.

“Uh, may I ask who you are…?” Yun Chi was puzzled. He looked at the man in front of him. His servants were like clouds behind him. It was freezing outside, but he was wearing only a thin brocade coat decorated with a fur collar. Also, his face color was red, and his gaze glaring at him.

Yun Chi’s heart thumped.

Something was wrong. This couldn’t be a god, right?

From where he stood behind, Yan Yan’s eyes were cold, as he stared at this unknown man. He explained to Yun Chi in a low voice, “This is not a god, but the human sacrifice closest to the god he worships, so he can carry the incense of the god on his body. Usually, we would call such people the vicegerent ¹ of the gods, but more often called the divine family.”

Yun Chi’s heart was in doubt, when Nali said with a smile, “I saw the light on you from afar! Welcome to the city-state of Astolfo. I am Nali, the servant of Mountain God Astolfo. And you, which god are you close to?”

The four sides were silent for a moment.

Yan Yan gently pressed his knuckles and pondered his next response.

They had relied on the power of disguise from the earth to enter the city-state of Astolfo without a trace. If Yun Chi answered truthfully, or if he contradicted this naive God-family member by being vague, then the Mountain God Astolfo would be the first to discover the anomaly there, and would then discover Yun Chi’s identity.

That so-called God’s family was just a monstrous creation invented by the gods of the new era in order to survive long enough to escape the laws of the Mother Goddess Irma. The new gods of the third generation were closer to humans than the previous gods, and more greedy for the power of human faith. They wanted to share their almost infinite lifespan with their humans in order to capture their almost eternal memory.

Whoever was most pious, whoever was more able to win the gods’ meager favor and pleasure, was the god’s dependent, and was expected to be the secret key to ensuring that the gods would never dissipate.

Was Yun Chi a divine relative?

No, he was not.

Yan Yan held the sapphire. He wasn’t blind, and saw how desperately the Lord of the Ice Sea cherished Yun Chi, just as a dying dragon cherished its last treasure.

— You may be a God’s family, but he is the entire heart of a God.

I am sorry that you disturbed him and pressed your curiosity to ask him this question, and now the end of you and the mountain are placed on his next answer. There is nothing I can do but to see how fate will throw up the gold coins in His hand…

Countless eyes silently opened in the darkness of the land, and stared at Mount Astolfo, at the protagonist of this little conversation in the mountain town.

The wind spirits also gradually gathered in the sky above the city, gathered the clouds, disturbed snowflakes, sneered and approached the ignorant beings.

“Me?” Yun Chi scratched his head. “I, um…”

Oh no, how did he recognize me? He said I have light on me. Are there any special senses with a God’s family not? Anyway, I certainly can not say Sa’gya’s name. In addition to Sa’gya, who else can I say?

I can’t, haha to muddle through? Or answer, “You have the wrong person. I don’t know what you are talking about” …I don’t know why, I always feel that if I talk like this, there will be more trouble next. My intuition is not good, ah.

Yun Chi’s lips opened and closed. His brain was spinning everywhere, and finally, with a frown on his face, he barely uttered a, “West, West Wind…”

You can help Sa’gya to take the blame for this time. I will go back to him to blow the pillow wind to make him give you a pay rise. Ah, blah, blah, blah! What blowing pillow wind! ² Blah, blah, blah!

His surroundings immediately became as silent as death. Yan Yan’s fingers flicked away like electricity, his jaws pointed at the sky. He didn’t to say anything.

Nali opened his eyes and exclaimed, “West Wind?

He shook off the attendant behind him and eagerly approached Yun Chi, saying, “That’s the legendary Wind God man! Such a rare guest, please come to our gathering, please!”

Yun Chi said out of breath, “A gathering?”

“Yes, a gathering of the God’s family members. After all, the days in the temple are too…boring, but the Gods are gracious enough to allow us to gather in the territory from time to time, and this year it’s my turn to be the host.”

Nali was overjoyed, “You know, the Wind God is always unpredictable, and today I was lucky to be able to visit His family members.”

Yun Chi looked at Yan Yan in horror. You said that the gods of this city-state are very few, how come even the assembly is out now!

Yan Yan also hadn’t expected this kind of thing to appear out of nowhere. If he had known, he would have avoided the uptown area and waited for the God’s family member to leave…

Under Nali’s delighted eyes, Yun Chi pushed back, “Ah, no. I’m glad you invited me, but I’m really…honestly, I’m a very introverted person. I don’t dare to be that much of a god…God man. Just go ahead…”

Nali stared at him with an odd expression.

Yun Chi was looking at him all wrong. Nali said confused, “You are thinking too much. How can the God Lord come to an assembly of mortals? Only in the festive temples do we have the opportunity to listen to the Lord’s precious words…”

Yun Chi didn’t expect that and asked in confusion, “What do you mean by ‘God’s favorites’?”

Nali suddenly laughed, looked at him and said, “The Westwinders must be very fond of you, right? There are so many living beings on the land of Kaleva, so many humans struggling in the winter. The gods only live in the dome of the sky, and not one in 100,000 people can get the voice and guidance of the gods, but we have the right to communicate directly with the gods. Is this not a heavenly blessing?”

Yun Chi was so bewildered that he forgot to decline and let Nali pull him forward. He heard the boy say with emotion, “When it comes to the most favored god, it’s Roche, the God of Storms. It’s said that if a human sacrifice to him can safely pass through the test of wind and tsunami, he can reach the Storm God Palace he built at the end of the world to serve the god himself…”

Yan Yan stared at the arm of the God-follower and whispered to Yun Chi, “Human, do you want me to take him…?”

“No,” Yun Chi frowned slightly. “I kind of want to go to that gathering.”

He really wanted to know. Even the God of Storms set up that kind of test, and even these God-family members could slurp and admire it…What exactly was the so-called God-family? What was there?