Zhong Hongzhuo’s consciousness sank into a thick, hazy chaos.
He could sense not far from him, Xu Yintang was sitting opposite a deity, the terrifying and powerful aura making him shiver to his bones.
He could hear them conversing, the indistinct voices stirring his brain. He caught a glimpse of the deity’s thick, flowing black robe, flashing past the corner of his eye.
But he couldn’t say anything, couldn’t do anything. The immense presence beyond his comprehension corroded everything the moment it became aware of its existence. He convulsed on the ground like a dying body, blood flowing from the wounds torn and consumed by Little Darling, fresh pink flesh sprouting and wriggling.
If this prey was not to the taste of the cubs in body and soul, they might still be reluctant to give this endless food to Fourth Joy for parasitism.
But since it doesn’t taste good, that doesn’t matter.
They (specifically referring to Second Treasure) also gloated over the unfortunate Fourth Joy, the difficult-to-eat host that couldn’t be consumed no matter how much was eaten, and the workload of parasitism suddenly increased several times.
Fourth Joy’s brothers (specifically Second Treasure) mocked in silence, firmly rooting themselves in the human soul, effortlessly encircling the original territory, extending more branches to absorb more nutrients.
Probably because this human was much more fervent in worshiping Daeis than their mother, Fourth Joy’s parasitism not only encountered no obstacles but also felt the “soil” enveloping its roots trying its best to cooperate with its consumption.
Zhong Hongzhuo didn’t know about this. He didn’t realize how much of his unreasonable anger and jealousy towards Xu Yintang came from being cheated on (he thought), and how much came from being a kin of Daeis.
Especially since Xu Yintang was an unconventional kin, daring to tear and seize the glory of the deity for himself.
Zhong Hongzhuo knew nothing, not even the name Daeis, not calling the one he revered by that name. Just like Aphrodite, Venus, Ishtar, Astarte… all different names, all evolutions of the same deity.
The intense contradictions assaulted Zhong Hongzhuo’s consciousness. He was ecstatic about the sacrifice of the part of himself to become nourishment for the offspring, while the part still holding onto human rationality screamed, commanding his numb body, attempting to escape from this insoluble deadlock.
Once again, the illusion of being sacrificed on the altar surfaced before Zhong Hongzhuo’s eyes, the blood-like flames illuminating the scene. The grotesque creatures danced wildly, their abnormal limbs flailing, their dusky and filthy—not the black of humans, but pure black skin secreting viscous, blood-scented sweat. They tossed their disheveled white hair like clumps of dry grass caught in a gale, opening gaping mouths disproportionate to their faces, emitting pitifully coarse howls.
One after another, incessant.
They were shouting…
At some moment, Zhong Hongzhuo understood their words.
It was the revered name of the Great Mother, pronounced by those grotesque and terrifying creatures as if calling out “Muen’na,” the moon turning cruelly blood-red, bestowing upon the dying offering the “youth” of authority over this altar.
As long as the bloody moonlight in his consciousness never extinguished, his body and soul would remain in their most prosperous and powerful state, never aging, never dying.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Dea ja atlr wbwfca, fafgcji sbeat ybkfv ab atf yegufbclcu cfk ilof, gfpblmlcu lc yfagjsji obg atf lcnjvfg’r gbyera ugbkat. Snfc Itbcu Lbcuhteb, ktb tjv jikjsr yffc ojlatoei lc tlr yfilfor, mbeivc’a ecvfgrajcv atf gjalbcjif yftlcv atlr gfjmalbc atja mbcagjvlmafv jii lcralcmar bo fzlrafcmf.
—Gjflr, bg Zefc’cj, bg jcs cjwf gfqgfrfcalcu Llw, gfujgvifrr bo atf jeatbglas kbgrtlqqfgr jaaglyeafv ab Llw, Llr wbra frrfcalji qbkfg kjr ylgat jcv gfqgbvemalbc, atf mbcrmlbercfrr eclas bo Ktlgv Mibgj equgjvfv jcv equgjvfv jujlc ab atf qgb wjz nfgrlbc, atf ijgufg atf ugbeq, atf ragbcufg atf qbkfg.
Therefore, being born in the first sequence of all authorities, all the powers bestowed upon him had to make way for him.
But beneath this soft and obedient soil of the soul, Fourth Joy knew of another layer of “soil,” coming from a higher level, richer in nutrients but harder to root in than stone.
It judged with its limited knowledge that there existed something called “system”, the same one as the one deep within mother’s soul.
—Although it does not have the honor of being born from the mother’s womb, wouldn’t rooting into the system bring it closer to mother?
Fourth Joy was excited by this thought, disregarding the intense pain as its tender roots collided with the hard shell of the system. The sucker-like root tips densely adhered to the shell, attempting to find a weak point to penetrate.
As far as Fourth Joy’s unformed little baby teeth were concerned, this was an impossible and unacceptable task, but Knife’s power provided assistance at this moment, cracking open a fissure in the system’s indestructible shell.
Extremely tiny, so small that even the system itself reacted only after a delay to the incoming intrusion alarm, but in that moment of delay, Fourth Joy’s roots rushed in, and the piercing alarm turned into unintelligible gibberish, further confusing Zhong Hongzhuo’s already dazed mind.
But at the same time, Fourth Joy also experienced unprecedented chaos.
—Rules.
—Cause and effect.
—The flow of all things.
Far beyond the concept of energy was an excessive concentration of nutrients. Fourth Joy was confused, unable to discern whether it was devouring the system or being assimilated by it. Its consciousness also became part of the data torrent, being analyzed, dissected, and re-edited, its seedling form collapsing into a hazy mist, rolling and emitting desperate cries for help.
Mom…
Mom…
Save me…
Fourth Joy called out to its mother with the primal instinct of life. It didn’t know why, but as it cried out, it felt a bright light flash before it, soothing its unease and guiding it in which direction to move forward.
Mom…
The sense of safety conveyed by the unspoken words calmed Fourth Joy down. Its mist-like body expanded lightly. Even if massive nutrients surged into its body, its fixed form wouldn’t be overwhelmed again. Instead, it would gradually transform from a small cloud of vapor into an endless fog that obscured the sky.
“Is this okay?” Xu Yintang asked his other self who was giving on-the-spot parenting guidance, nodding slightly. Not only did He not mention that this mess was caused by his child, but He also shook his head again, complaining about Xu Yintang’s parenting principles.
“Letting it go will make its future stronger. Now, preserving its consciousness will only limit its growth.”
He had many, many children like this, casting off the shackles of rationality and consciousness to obtain powerful forces that sometimes even He couldn’t fully control. Insisting on preserving a child’s consciousness like this would only weaken it in the future.
He looked at the other self’s furrowed brow, not understanding Xu Yintang’s thought process and feeling a bit of inexplicable grievance.
In His nest, such children were useless and would only suffer immense pain if they survived.
So Knife has done nothing wrong as before.
Xu Yintang’s entire focus was on remotely controlling the connection between himself and Fourth Joy to soothe and calm the offspring. He temporarily had the leisure to argue about child-rearing issues with someone, while the offspring could only express its anger and dissatisfaction — and a little bit of fear, and there was someone who had the eloquence to explain things clearly.
Fortunately, they had Casey Cat at this moment.
Smart, stable, and articulate, Casey Cat was very worthy of hugs and cuddles.
Casey Cat praised himself in his heart, changed into a dignified and polite sitting posture, and rolled his eyes at Shi Yuebai who was not at all dignified and polite in his mind.
One of them must speak, and the other must use force to intimidate. Shi Yuebai calmly weighed the status of himself and Casey Cat, and handed over the task of negotiation to his soul half.
The greater murderous intent and aggressiveness he unleashes when he is almost completely transformed into a witch can give him a dangerous enough sense of oppression. Although it is almost impossible to kill a “god” who can cross the boundaries of fate. It was still within his abilities to bite the creature who almost corrupted the cub.
In any case, the core idea of all negotiations was to see and settle matters quickly and not to delay the wedding.
Shi Yuebai believed that no matter how full of dirty words Casey Cat was and always stepped on people’s sore spots, he would still not let his guard down at the critical moment involving Xu Yintang.
While declaring this with absolute confidence and expressing complete trust in Casey Cat, he was also, in consciousness, instructing in great detail down to the punctuation marks. Unfortunately, Casey Cat couldn’t block this, so he had to stare at its face, which was exactly like Xu Yintang’s, and forcibly recall the non-existent feline virtues.
“Brother Tangtang prefers cuddly offspring,” it gently swayed its tail tip and spoke softly, “He likes to hold the offspring in his arms, listen to them call him ‘mom,’ and give them what he has never received.”
Tenderness, protection, solace…
All the natural dependencies and love.
“Whether the offspring are strong or not doesn’t matter, he just wants them to love him.”
Xu Yintang could never turn back into a child, so the offspring he hoped for would always, always be obedient children to their mother.
“…No, it’s not what he hoped for.” He pondered, twiddling Knife’s tentacles, as if understanding something, his face showing genuine surprise and a hint of unnoticed joy.
“It seems you have chosen a path that is countless times more difficult than mine.”
He said, and the smoke of his body rose, gradually unable to maintain its human form, the monstrous blood moon becoming brighter and brighter, the smoke flowing with faint shadows flashing like a light kiss on Xu Yintang’s forehead.
“This is not a blessing, just my vision.”
“May you overcome the thorns and meet me again at the end of fate, my dear counterpart.”
His voice became elusive and unrecognizable, echoing deep in Xu Yintang’s soul.
Xu Yintang smiled vaguely, feeling that only at this moment did He truly consider himself as an individual equal to Him.
“I will,” he softly responded, accepting the apology-like moonlight flowing into his consciousness.
This was the purest energy supply, feeding Fourth Joy, repairing its consciousness, which was confused and disturbed by the system’s impact, allowing it to be born into the world as Xu Yintang hoped.
Author’s Note –
The ‘if’ Mother Xu Yingtang: “We should let the children be independent” [serious tone]
Mother Xu Yingtang: “Independent what! My babies must always be mommy’s darlings!”
From an educational standpoint, actually, The ‘if’ Mother Xu Yingtang’s approach is more scientific, isn’t it? [doge]
In the next chapter, we absolutely must finish the wedding! I swear! [Setting the flag]
Yay, wedding! Thanks for all these chapters!! 🙏🤗
Helicopter Mom finally won the battle against Hands Off Mom! Congratulations, Mother Xu Yintang~
First is supposed to be marriage, not the baby carriage. I demand compensation! Give the smutty wedding night!!!!
Haha thank you for the chapter, love this book (even if there’s no real smut)
Idk I kind of want to see Shi Yuebai cry at no wedding. XD XD XD
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING AWESOME!!!!!
Parents’ little chats~
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙