God Slayer

But Wang Jiaxin seemed to have been possessed. Her eyes held only the lines of words on the paper, completely ignoring everything around her.

Beside Wang Jiaxin was a monster that Shen Yu had never seen before. It had no legs and used its hands to crawl on the ground, the clothes on its arms torn to shreds.

The two exposed arms were not weak at all; perhaps because it had to use its hands to crawl, they were somewhat muscular.

Its hair was messy, covering most of its face, and the dirt all over its face made it impossible to recognize its appearance.

"Qin Xunu..."

Wang Jiaxin uttered the first sound.

Shen Yu wanted to stop her, but it was already too late. The monster did not even spare Shen Yu a glance. It had achieved its goal and had no need to stay here any longer.

"Is a beautiful fairy... in heaven..." Wang Jiaxin was still murmuring.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the monster grabbed Wang Jiaxin's ankle and dragged her forcefully toward the wardrobe.

Shen Yu hurriedly grabbed Wang Jiaxin's wrist. "Wang Jiaxin!"

His voice was much louder than usual.

But Wang Jiaxin's current state was extremely like a soulless trance, and Shen Yu could not wake her up. If Wang Jiaxin did not struggle herself, Shen Yu had very little chance of winning a tug-of-war against a monster.

He thought calmly for a second. Hearing Wang Jiaxin continue to recite the nursery rhyme, he reacted instantly and snatched the paper from her hand.

At that moment, Wang Jiaxin shuddered and regained her senses.

Feeling a tight grip on her ankle that made her bones feel as if they were about to shatter, she looked down and realized in horror.

"Ah—, ah—, Shen Yu, save me, save me..." Wang Jiaxin immediately grabbed Shen Yu's hand tightly, her legs struggling non-stop.

Shen Yu held onto the bed frame tightly, gritting his teeth as he said, "Don't let go."

Wang Jiaxin nodded while crying.

But they had apparently underestimated this monster; their strength was no match for it.

Shen Yu's hand slipped, and he was dragged along with Wang Jiaxin for several meters, approaching the wardrobe.

"Ugh." Shen Yu's back throbbed with pain.

His expression was somewhat pained.

Wang Jiaxin saw the situation clearly. One of her legs had already been dragged into the wardrobe. If Shen Yu did not let go, she would definitely drag him down with her.

"Shen Yu, let go, let go." She turned her head and said to Shen Yu, tears streaming down her face.

Shen Yu gritted his teeth, uttering two words from between his lips: "Shut up."

Wang Jiaxin could only cry; she had no other choice.

Seeing half of her body already inside the wardrobe, as if entering another space, she knew that if Shen Yu did not let go, he might also be dragged in. In desperation, she could only use force to pry Shen Yu's hand away.

"Shen Yu, you don't need to save me..." She was still terrified, her tears falling entirely out of fear.

Shen Yu did not let go, nor did he speak. He kicked the edge of the wardrobe with his foot, finding that he was not sinking in like Wang Jiaxin, which meant that Wang Jiaxin would disappear right before his eyes.

"Qin Xunu, Qin Xunu, is a beautiful fairy in heaven..." Shen Yu cast all caution to the wind and began to recite the nursery rhyme.

"Is rotten decay on the earth..."

He would not let go of Wang Jiaxin. He wanted to see where Qin Xunu would take the two of them.

Sure enough, the moment he recited the nursery rhyme, his legs also began to sink in just like Wang Jiaxin's.

"Shen Yu, are you crazy?!" Wang Jiaxin did not expect Shen Yu to go to this length for her.

Shen Yu did not answer, continuing to recite the rest of the nursery rhyme.

A powerful force dragged them inside. Shen Yu only felt his head spin, and in his daze, he seemed to hear a voice call out "Master".

It was Wang Jiaxin's voice.

But when he opened his eyes again, not only was Wang Jiaxin not beside him, but there was also no one else around.

He was on a street.

The street was incredibly desolate, the wind biting cold, and the yin energy thick.

Shen Yu was very familiar with this street; it was a street in Penglai Immortal Village.

Unlike the current Penglai Immortal Village, there was no heavy snow here; a silence of late autumn enveloped him.

Suddenly, villagers began to appear behind him, running in a hurry. They passed through Shen Yu's body, running toward Youshen Tower.

"The deity has arrived, the deity has descended!" they shouted as they ran.

Their voices were almost frenzied: "The crops that have been barren for half a year finally have hope!"

It seemed they could not see Shen Yu. Thus, Shen Yu appeared to be in someone's memory, or at some point in the past of Penglai Immortal Village.

Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, then followed them to Youshen Tower.

Youshen Tower seemed slightly different from the current Youshen Tower.

Shen Yu observed at the entrance for a moment, finding that the entrance of Youshen Tower had no steps, whereas the current Youshen Tower had steps at least six meters high.

The entire village seemed to have crowded here. Fortunately, they could not see Shen Yu, which allowed him to smoothly squeeze to the front.

Shen Yu frowned slightly, seeing a high platform on the first floor. On it was a person dressed in priestly attire, kneeling on the ground, devoutly looking up at the sky.

"May the great deity have mercy on us," he said.

Thus, everyone around knelt down. "May the great deity have mercy on us."

They spoke in unison.

"Just getting through this winter is enough." The priest's voice was so devout that even Shen Yu felt a trace of pity for him.

Shen Yu frowned slightly. If the harvest was bad, why didn't they prepare early instead of entrusting this matter to a so-called deity? Wasn't that too absurd?

Only, what he did not expect was that about half a moment later, a woman dressed in white descended from the sky, slowly landing on the sacrificial platform. She had an exquisite face, her gestures elegant and immortal, her face showing benevolence and compassion for all living beings.

"The deity has manifested! The deity has manifested! Please save us, deity!" They began to kowtow to this so-called deity.

Shen Yu looked at her face, feeling a bit familiar. Recalling carefully, he remembered where he had seen it—it was in the backyard of Youshen Temple, inside the small abandoned room, the stone statue inside.

Qin Xunu.

So this was Qin Xunu.

"I love all living beings." Qin Xunu spoke, the divinity on her body almost impossible to conceal. "I was just passing by and will not stand idly by. Rest assured."

She said those words and then departed.

"Thank you, great deity, thank you, great deity." The surrounding villagers began to kowtow in gratitude.

The scene shifted to the villagers cheering amidst fields heavy with fruit.

Thus, the deity had indeed existed.

Shen Yu looked at them, watching them begin to grow lazy, begin to enjoy themselves, leaving the fields barren and weeds growing rampant. They pinned their hopes on that benevolent deity.

The second year, facing empty fields, they began to pray to the deity again.

This time, the deity who came was still Qin Xunu.

Qin Xunu hesitated slightly at first, but they were very good at acting, crying and saying that the deity could not ignore them, that they believed in her the most.

"I cherish you," Qin Xunu spoke again, showing that she helped them once more.

The third year was the same, but this time there was a variable.

That priest knelt before Qin Xunu, devoutly and sincerely saying, "Please stay. We are willing to worship you forever."

As soon as he spoke, the area below the sacrificial platform was filled with the villagers' echoing voices.

"Please stay. We are willing to worship you forever."

Shen Yu looked at them, then at Qin Xunu's difficult expression.

If it were him, he would have abandoned these villagers in the second year, rather than letting them demand more time and time again.

Don't stay. For the first time, Shen Yu wanted to speak to the Qin Xunu who appeared in this space.

Unfortunately, the deity could not hear him. She reached out her hand, scattering golden light. "I consent."

Thus, the villagers' cheers echoed in his ears again.

The third year, the fourth year, the fifth year, the sixth year...

Demands, endless demands.

Shen Yu watched them squander everything, feeling that disaster was about to strike.

So in the seventh year, Qin Xunu's matter became known to the Heavenly Emperor in heaven. Shen Yu saw that in the dark of night, unknown to anyone, Qin Xunu knelt on the ground to atone for her sins to the Heavenly Emperor.

The high and mighty deity, because of this group of bottomlessly greedy people, knelt in the mud.

The Heavenly Emperor stripped her of her magical power, saying she should not have done so.

Qin Xunu shed her first tear.

Without her magical power, she could no longer provide for the villagers, and she did not even have the ability to leave.

Receiving no response from Qin Xunu, they unanimously believed that Qin Xunu did not want to help them. Qin Xunu's explanation was useless; they only thought it was her excuse.

They locked Qin Xunu up, locking her in Youshen Tower.

They hoped Qin Xunu could realize her mistake and then repent.

But they did not know that Qin Xunu truly no longer had the ability.

She began to lean against the window of Youshen Tower, waiting for the three meals delivered daily, whether they were cold steamed buns or leftover rice and soup.

This deity had long since turned into an ordinary mortal.

She was locked in a prison, day after day, year after year.

She counted the stars to pass the days, relying on the snowfall to calculate the years.

Shen Yu's eyelids trembled, and an indescribable heartache rose in his chest.

Until one day, a hole was broken in Youshen Tower, and someone climbed in, holding her hand and saying they wanted to take her away.

Qin Xunu ran with that person, running and running. Shen Yu watched them run to the village entrance, almost about to leave, but in the end, they were caught.

Qin Xunu was a deity of heaven; how could she be close to a mortal? How could she hold a mortal's hand? The villagers had come to understand.

Because Qin Xunu loved this mortal, she decided not to help them anymore.

They locked Qin Xunu in Youshen Tower again.

And took the young man away.

Shen Yu could only see what Qin Xunu was doing, not knowing where the young man had gone. He saw Qin Xunu kneeling on the sacrificial platform, watching the falling snowflakes, shedding a single tear.

Then the snow fell heavier, and the villagers surrounded Qin Xunu on the sacrificial platform, beautifully claiming to present precious items to her.

They opened the wooden box, displaying the contents inside for Qin Xunu to see.

Shen Yu wanted to get closer to see what it was, but a vague, invisible force prevented him. Thus, he only saw Qin Xunu knock the box over.

Falling to the ground, the snow fell in clumps. She knelt on the ground crying, and the villagers left triumphantly, leaving her alone there to repent.

But in the end, Qin Xunu clutched her chest and cried, her wordless cries only making Shen Yu feel her immense sorrow.

Qin Xunu coughed up mouthfuls of fresh blood, her eyes full of divinity also shedding bloody tears.

The fresh blood blended with the snow on the ground, dyeing a patch of white snow red. She fell onto the snow, the snowflakes covering her.

——

The scene then changed again, to the villagers kneeling before Youshen Temple, begging the deity to forgive their sins. The snowfall at this time was exactly the same as the day Qin Xunu died.

Clearly, Qin Xunu was about to be able to go home, but the villagers caused her to die on this snowy night.

Shen Yu's expression was complex. ||CHAPTER_SEPARATOR