Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 9

“What is the purpose behind all of this?”

Gazing into Epoh’s eyes, Zhou Qian’s voice was gentle.

Epoh replied, “My believers believe in me. If I disappoint them, I must compensate. I have no other motives.”

Zhou Qian shook his head and laughed mockingly. “I don’t believe anyone can be so selfless.”

“I am not a person; I am a god.”

“Doesn’t a god have motives?”

Epoh shook his head again. “The power of a god exceeds that of humans by far. Humans hold no value to gods. Hence, gods have no reason to scheme against humans.”

Zhou Qian felt there was a mocking undertone in Epoh’s words, but he was momentarily at a loss for a retort.

In essence, Epoh’s meaning was simple.

The relationship between gods and humans could be compared to that between humans and ants.

Humans always looked down upon ants, never contemplating exploiting them. This was because it was meaningless.

In turn, no matter how hard ants tried, they would never understand human thoughts.

So, humans could never fathom the will of gods based on their own perspective.

Epoh’s actions now seemed like someone keeping ants as pets out of sheer boredom. He might benevolently do things for them, even get bitten by them, but there was no ulterior motive behind it.

As events unfolded and seeing the god Epoh repeatedly stabbed in the chest without any reaction, Zhou Qian inevitably reconsidered his judgment on the direction of this subplot.

In many legends, so-called wish-granting gods or immortals would often turn out to be deceivers.

They were either purely playing with human emotions or were up to some devious schemes, ultimately extracting a hefty price from humans.

Zhou Qian initially assumed Epoh to be no different.

But now he was beginning to think differently—perhaps Epoh truly was selflessly assisting his believers in fulfilling their desires.

“They’ve all had their turn. It’s yours now.”

“You can slice me into pieces. I won’t die.”

Epoh’s voice was incredibly gentle, as if discussing lunch plans while allowing others to hurt him.

Zhou Qian smiled warmly. “My God, I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to protect you. Tell me, is there a way to do so?”

Epoh genuinely looked gentle.

While Zhou Qian’s gentleness was clearly an act.

Choosing not to harm Epoh was clearly a game strategy for him.

If there was some ulterior motive behind Epoh’s actions, players obviously shouldn’t harm him.

And if he truly was selfless, indifferent to bites from ant-like humans, then there would be no punishment for players who chose not to harm him. Thus, to avoid pitfalls in the game, the best choice for players would be to not harm Epoh.

Seeing Zhou Qian’s response, Epoh looked mildly surprised.

Curiously, he asked, “What do you want to do?”

Zhou Qian approached, knelt down, and, under Epoh’s pure and naive gaze, held his hand.

“As I said, I want to protect you.”

While Zhou Qian was conversing with Epoh, the other two believers continued to harm him.

Believer No. 1, a young girl with less nerve, didn’t dare use a knife. Seeing Epoh’s indifference, she kicked and punched him a few times while Believer No. 2 attacked him.

Compared to her, Believer No. 2 seemed far more unhinged.

His eyes looked as if they were stained with bloodlust, seemingly intent on venting all his anger, continuously raising his knife and thrusting it into Epoh’s chest.

“Squish,” “Squish”…

Over and over again.

The metallic scent of blood filled Zhou Qian’s nostrils, and throughout this process, he could feel Epoh’s hand getting colder and colder.

Once more, as the bloodied knife was pulled out, a mist of blood shot through the gaze shared between Zhou Qian and Epoh, covering Epoh’s face in fine droplets of blood.

Zhou Qian was sick, incapable of feeling any pronounced anger or sadness.

But because of some nightmarish past, he had always had a strong aversion to blood.

So, Zhou Qian went to the trading hall and spent 5 gold on a towel. Gently, he wiped clean Epoh’s immaculate face.

He realized that Epoh’s facial features were incredibly attractive, almost like a work of art.

Gazing at Epoh, he smiled and said, “Hmm. Clean and beautiful now. I’m very satisfied.”

A moment later, Believer No. 2 seemed to have grown tired. He withdrew his knife and sat down to rest.

However, Believer No. 1 didn’t feel she had vented enough and slapped again.

Judging by the force behind it, this slap was bound to swell up Epoh’s face.

Suddenly, Zhou Qian rose to his feet and grabbed the hand of Believer No. 1.

Looking coldly into her eyes, he said, “Think about the child in your womb. Accumulate some good karma for it. If you do too much harm, be careful; it might be born deformed.”

Having spoken, Zhou Qian faintly felt that something was amiss.

A rustling sound emanated from behind him.

Turning around, he saw the branches and leaves of the giant tree begin to stir.

This towering tree occupied half the space of the entire palace.

The Great God Epoh seemed to have sprouted from this tree, with most of his body wrapped in stems and leaves. Now, those vines on him began to move, appearing alive. For a moment, they didn’t look like branches but more like snakes, the kind that devoured people.

At this point, Believers No. 1 and No. 2 didn’t dare to act recklessly and quickly retreated to the edge of the lake.

Zhou Qian also took a few steps back but still remained quite close to Epoh, not going too far away.

So, the subsequent eerie scene was clearly and completely seen by him.

Blood had flowed over Epoh’s face and body, and naturally, the vines wrapping him were stained too.

However, with the tremble of the vines, they seemed to suck and swallow, and the blood on them disappeared.

There were several gaping holes on Epoh’s forehead, cheeks, shoulders, and chest, all caused by the knife.

Suddenly, a few moving vines, like tentacles, rose up and shot into those holes. During this, Epoh’s complexion became paler, without a trace of blood.

The entire situation was eerily bizarre, as if the tree had thrust its tendrils into him to suck out his blood.

Suddenly realizing something, Zhou Qian looked down at Epoh.

A long, bare leg stretched out, lying on the ground.

Previously, this leg was soaked in blood, and there was a lot of blood on the ground around it. But now, many leaves had moved over the leg and the ground, leaving behind a clean leg and a spotless ground.

After that, his leg regained its shine, and the blood on the ground also disappeared.

So, were these vines not just sucking the blood but also healing Epoh?

With that thought, Zhou Qian felt an ominous feeling.

He had just held Epoh’s hand and sat next to him.

Now, his face, hands, and body were also stained with some of Epoh’s blood.

Wouldn’t those vines…

His heart chilled. Lifting his head, he saw a massive branch sweeping towards him!

On the mobile screen:

“Fuck! Is Qian Ge gonna die?! My million dollars!”

“The other two believers won’t escape either! They injured the Great God and have lots of blood on them!”

“Qian Ge was wronged. He did nothing!”

Ever since witnessing Dong Xiang’s death, Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang had been in prolonged silence.

The scene was too bloody, more real than countless horror movies they had watched.

Dong Xiang might truly be dead. The entire game seemed controlled by some mysterious power.

They suddenly realized that these players on the screen, including themselves, the gamblers, couldn’t escape.

At this moment, seeing Zhou Qian in grave danger, the two couldn’t help but speak up.

Inside the game, the three players on the opposite shore of the lake also cried out in alarm.

Gao Shan said, “Those leaves turned into snakes. Look, aren’t they opening their mouths?”

Qi Liuxing asked, “What’s going on? Will everyone who goes to the opposite shore die?”

Yun Xiangrong shook her head. “No, it seems that as long as you get stained with the Great God Epoh’s blood, you’ll be attacked. So, when we cross, we shouldn’t hurt Epoh or touch his blood. We should be fine then.”

Qi Liuxing couldn’t help but ask, “So, was Zhou Qian’s approach wrong? Was there no need to appease the Great God?”

Gao Shan’s voice rose. “This is bad. The vine is close to him! Why doesn’t he…”At this moment, Gao Shan, Yun Xiangrong, Qi Liuxing, along with Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang outside the game, were all thinking the same thing—Why isn’t Zhou Qian dodging?

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