“Gaia, are you hungry?”
Gaia shook his head.
The lips, drained of blood, looked like withered flower petals.
“Still, eat something. The driver said it will take a while to get to the Rov Medical Center, passing through the center of Soro City…”
Liuyu looked out the window, the rest of her words disappearing in her throat.
The carriage sped through a wide square.
The entire square was built with large pieces of marble, and in the center of the square stood a ten-meter-high white marble statue.
The statue had wings on its back, with fully extended white feathers that almost covered half of the sky.
In its left hand, it held a pure gold scepter with a sun on the top, and in its right hand, it held up a silver crescent moon, looking down solemnly–
Full of pity, love, and sharpness.
In that instant, Liuyu felt as if all her darkness had been seen through by that gaze, with nothing to hide.
“The statue has appeared! The statue has appeared!”
“The statue has appeared! The statue has appeared!”
At that moment, a bright light burst from the center of the square, and Liuyu subconsciously closed her eyes.
The carriage abruptly stopped.
The driver jumped off the carriage in a panic, and countless people, whether they were wearing coarse cloth or luxurious silk, rushed to the edge of the circular square and prostrated themselves on the ground:
“May the God of Light be above!”
“May the holy light bless the earth, bless you and me…”
Liuyu opened her eyes.
The edge of the square was filled with people, and numerous carriages stopped on the sides of the road. They all bowed nine times towards the central statue, like fanatical believers worshipping a holy mountain–
She looked at Gaia.
Gaia’s face looked strange. He covered his chest with one hand, as if there was something that surprised and puzzled him. Gradually, white spots of light appeared on his body, just like… holy light.
No!
This couldn’t be happening!
Liuyu’s hair stood on end, and her intuition told her that things couldn’t continue like this, otherwise, Gaia…
She pounced on him and smashed into the young boy.
“Bang—”
The girl smashed with all her strength, directly smashing Gaia into the carriage wall, making a dull sound.
Gaia reached out to try to push away the soft body in his arms, but unexpectedly, he was entangled even tighter. The other person was like a soft yet tough vine, tightly wrapping around him, and the soft silk brushed against his bare skin, causing him to frown:
“Bella?”
The white light on his body disappeared with this sound.
Liuyu turned her head and looked outside the window: the holy light on the statue had also disappeared.
So, she needed to attract Gaia’s attention?
She thought deeply.
The glass bead she kept close to her body gradually cooled down, and the posture that had almost burned her skin a moment ago was no longer present.
The believers were manically praying, crying and laughing, as if they were possessed.
“Bella?”
A gentle breath blew onto her neck, and Liuyu realized that the usually reserved boy’s brow was faintly displeased and resentful.
She didn’t back away, but instead tightened her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder:
“Gaia, I’m sorry, I was scared just now.” She sobbed softly and whispered, “Something strange happened just now, Bella was startled…”
The believers murmured like buzzing bees in her ears, buzzing.
“Do you feel anything strange?”
Gaia, as if distracted, “looked” up and said, “There’s a voice calling me… very… warm.”
Liuyu’s face was expressionless, but her body trembled uncontrollably:
“Could it be… the devil? I heard that the devil eventually bewitches people’s hearts. Gaia, let’s go, okay?”
She tried to stand up, stumbled, and fell again.
Gaia groaned, his face growing paler, and the girl sobbed:
“Gaia, I’m sorry, it’s not that I… My foot twisted… Let’s hurry to the medical center, okay? It’s… it’s scary here.”
“No, it’s not the devil,” Gaia said.
He pushed away her hand, sat up, and turned to face the window as if he really could see, “Bella, listen, they are praying, praying to God.”
“Jitta is praying for her daughter to meet a good man next spring.”
“Mosang is praying for his sow to give birth to a litter of piglets next year.”
“Sang Chev is praying for his youngest son’s illness to get better soon.”
Liuyu suddenly thought of a possibility and asked in astonishment, “Can you hear everyone’s prayers in their hearts?”
Gaia nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head.
“No, not everyone–” The boy’s slender fingers floated above her heart, “Liuyu, I can’t hear yours, yours alone.”
“I can’t hear what’s in your heart.”
“…Oh. Gaia, my foot hurts. Let’s go to the medical center, okay?” Liuyu sobbed expressionlessly.
“Fucking hacker!”
He actually had mind-reading abilities?!
Chapter 4: The Favor of the Gods
Outside was still a raging frenzy, but inside the carriage, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
“Gaia.”
Liuyu decided to verify her own guess, whether it was mind-reading or something else.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
