The orc tribe was extremely primitive. All of their houses were built from wood and their living conditions were only slightly better than those of the dwarves, who were fond of mining.
When the chieftain heard that the Holy Son’s chosen envoy, sent by the God of Light, had arrived, he brought the members of his tribe out together to welcome him.
The chieftain, Howell Garcia, was a tiger beastman. Round ears grew from the top of his head and a long tail trailed behind him. He wore nothing more than a simple piece of fur, while his body was covered in exaggeratedly powerful muscles that made it look as though his clothes might burst apart at any moment.
From a distance, he did not look as though he had come to welcome anyone. Rather, he looked like he had come to pick a fight.
Howell Garcia’s tone, however, was quite polite. “Respected Envoy, welcome to our tribe.”
As he spoke, he even performed a human style courtesy, though the sight of it was somewhat comical.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming out to welcome me.”
Chao Zhuo was dressed in a loose white and gold cloak that concealed half of his face, leaving only his straight, handsome nose and full, crimson lips clearly visible.
Bai Jiao stood quietly beside him, his expression indifferent. Most of his attention was occupied with dealing with matters in the Desire Realm.
“It is only right that we do so,” Howell Garcia said eagerly. “We have already made all the necessary arrangements for you. You have gone to such trouble to come here, so allow us to show you around first.”
“I’ll trouble you, then.”
Chao Zhuo put on the dignified bearing expected of a Holy Son and gave a reserved nod.
Along the way, he had dispelled quite a bit of the dark power lingering throughout the forest. Bai Jiao had concealed his aura and had not lifted a finger to help him. Instead, he had even allowed Chao Zhuo to kill several demons along the road.
Every time Chao Zhuo injured one of Bai Jiao’s kind, he felt a little guilty. To Bai Jiao, however, it meant nothing at all. After all, mutual slaughter among the demon race was an ordinary occurrence.
“Jiao Jiao, are you back yet?” Chao Zhuo asked quietly.
“Not yet.” Bai Jiao gathered his thoughts. “You go ahead and look around first.”
All the rules governing the Desire Realm were still being established and perfected and getting everything running required an enormous amount of time. Although Bai Jiao had bestowed power upon a succubus the last time, creatures like succubi had their minds filled with nothing but that sort of thing. They were simply incapable of handling any actual work.
“Okay.”
Maintaining his dignified bearing, Chao Zhuo followed behind the beastman chieftain, Howell Garcia, with a composed and solemn posture. Quite a few beastmen followed along as well, most of their gazes fixed upon Chao Zhuo, eager to catch a glimpse of his face.
With Bai Jiao’s tall figure standing beside him and blocking their view, many of those probing gazes were cut off but ultimately, he could not shield Chao Zhuo from all of them.
There was truly nothing much worth seeing in the beastmen’s homes. They were either wooden houses or caves. Eventually, Howell Garcia led Chao Zhuo to a fully constructed temple.
This was undoubtedly the most magnificent place in the entire beastman tribe and it was enough to show just how deeply they revered their faith.
“Envoy, I hope you will forgive my boldness in disturbing you.” Howell Garcia finally revealed the purpose behind his hospitality. “Our beastman tribe has been troubled by the dark power in the forest for a very long time. Recently, it has already spread twenty li and our territory has been encroached upon. I wonder if you could use your power of light to drive away this dark power and clear it from an area of twenty li. In return, our entire beastman tribe will be eternally grateful to you.”
Clearing twenty li would require an enormous amount of light power. Clearly, this was a greedy request.
Light power was extremely difficult to replenish. Every time it was expended, it did not simply return on its own. Even so, Chao Zhuo agreed to their request.
After all, the purpose of this journey was precisely to spread the power of light throughout every corner of the world, allowing every race to experience the blessings of the God of Light.
“Your Excellency…”
The knights all knew that this was an unreasonable request and wanted to stop him.
“Fine.” Chao Zhuo agreed.
He entered the Hall of Light and forbade anyone from following him, taking with him only Bai Jiao, who was now left with nothing more than an empty shell.
“Jiao Jiao, you stay here and sit down. I don’t want you to get hurt by accident.”
Thoughtfully, Chao Zhuo led him to sit in a corner of the temple, then glanced somewhat guiltily toward the statue of the God of Light.
He hoped that His Majesty Meredith Adams would forgive his actions. He would definitely complete the task His Majesty Meredith Adams had entrusted to him properly.
Chao Zhuo walked before the divine statue and knelt down, beginning his prayers and confession.
At every moment, he blamed himself for his wavering faith yet there was nothing he could do to change it. All he could do was pray for His Majesty Meredith Adams’s forgiveness.
Chao Zhuo knew that His Majesty Meredith Adams must certainly be able to hear his words and must also know everything that had happened yet His Majesty had never once reprimanded him. That should count as forgiveness, he supposed.
Of course, this was merely Chao Zhuo comforting himself.
“Your Majesty, I have already arrived at the beastman tribe. I will drive away the dark power here for them and expand the territory available for their tribe to inhabit. I believe that after receiving Your blessings, they will have even greater faith in You in the future…”
Chao Zhuo raised his head and looked toward the divine statue, whose facial features were blurred and indistinct. Suddenly, his heart gave a jolt.
Why… couldn’t he see the true appearance of the divine image anymore…?
Chao Zhuo removed the cloak from his body and desperately tried to see His Majesty Meredith Adams’s face clearly. After a long while, he was finally able to see it again. Just as before, the face was kind and benevolent, making Chao Zhuo feel an instinctive sense of closeness and reverence, as though he could not help but bow before it.
【Host, weren’t you unwilling to put that ugly statue of the God of Light on display? Why did you still put it out?】 886 asked in confusion.
“If I didn’t put it out, he was going to stare until he blinded himself.”
Sitting in the corner, Bai Jiao propped his head up with one hand and lazily watched Chao Zhuo’s back.
He still understood that this was not the time to disturb him. He knew where to draw the line. It was just that those people outside were far too troublesome.
Several beastmen who had been secretly peeking inside suddenly felt an invisible force descend upon them. Their eyes were forcibly shut and their faces slammed straight into the ground, making them fall flat on their faces.
A series of pained cries of “Ow!” came from outside but they did not attract Chao Zhuo’s attention.
At that moment, he was holding his divine staff and casting the Grand Light Spell. Golden light rippled outward from his body in circles, spreading in every direction and completely dispelling all the dark power surrounding the area.
This was also thanks to Bai Jiao, who continuously supplied him with new light power while he was casting the spell.
The exhaustion Chao Zhuo had imagined never came. After completing the lengthy Grand Light Spell, he instead felt full of energy, as though his spirit had been completely renewed. He could even continue and dispel another twenty li of dark power.
“Don’t dispel any more. Do you really want them to cling to you from now on?”
Bai Jiao wrapped his arms around his lover, who was still intending to cast more light power and pressed down on his hand.
“Jiao Jiao, you’re back?”
Chao Zhuo turned around in surprise and instinctively moved straight into Bai Jiao’s embrace but then he remembered that they were standing before the divine statue of His Majesty Meredith Adams and he quickly put some distance between them.
The movement only made it look even more like he was trying too hard to prove his innocence.
Bai Jiao raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing? Now that your light power has increased, you want to use me for your own amusement and then run away?”
“Jiao Jiao, what nonsense are you talking about?” Chao Zhuo’s face flushed crimson as he glanced toward the divine statue beside them. “His Majesty Meredith Adams is watching…”
How could he possibly do something involving the Dark God in front of the deity he himself worshipped?
“Let him watch, then. Let him watch.”
For some inexplicable reason, Bai Jiao felt slightly displeased. That feeling was very similar to what he had experienced in the previous world whenever he faced his own spiritual entity, except that this time, the object of his displeasure was his own divine statue.
“No, you can’t. Go sit in the corner for a while, or return to the Desire Realm and deal with some matters first. I’ll accompany you after I finish praying.”
Chao Zhuo refused to let Bai Jiao embrace him, to the point that he almost seemed ready to circle around one of the pillars in the hall with Bai Jiao just to keep his distance.
“You’re driving me away?”
Bai Jiao glanced at the divine statue beside him and wondered if he should simply smash it.
“No. I’m only asking you to sit beside me for a while.”
“Can’t I hold you?” Bai Jiao did not even know why he was insisting on this.
“His Majesty Meredith Adams is watching…”
The instant Chao Zhuo finished speaking, he realized that Bai Jiao had disappeared.
The corner where Bai Jiao had been sitting just moments ago was empty as well and there was no sign of him anywhere.
*
“His Majesty Meredith Adams, you have returned!”
The Great Angel, Carter Pilder, had not seen their new god for a very long time. The moment he saw Bai Jiao, his eyes immediately lit up.
Although they had never actually seen Bai Jiao before, they knew that ever since Bai Jiao had been born, the order of the world had improved considerably. Their admiration and reverence for Bai Jiao remained unchanged.
Bai Jiao asked, “Where are the Holy Sons who were sent down to the mortal realm before?”
“The Holy Sons are all cleaning Your temple, Your Majesty. Is there something You need them to do?”
“Have them all come here.”
Bai Jiao wanted to see for himself whether these Holy Sons who had already been chosen were all as stubborn as Chao Zhuo.
“Yes.”
Carter Pilder was utterly obedient to Bai Jiao and immediately went to summon all of the Holy Sons.
The Holy Sons became as docile as little chicks in Bai Jiao’s presence, allowing him to pass by and inspect them at will yet the eyes with which they looked at Bai Jiao were filled with nothing but fervent admiration and infatuation.
【Host, there are a lot of brainless fans of the God of Light in this world.】
“In other words, no matter who sits in this position, they will love whoever holds it.”
【Yes. Only our little cub truly loves you.】
“But he loves the God of Light too.” Bai Jiao frowned.
This was faith. It was no different from the countless other forms of faith in the world but Bai Jiao did not like Chao Zhuo’s rejection of him.
【Host, the God of Light is also you. You’re overthinking this. It’s not as though you haven’t dealt with a similar situation before.】
Bai Jiao’s possessiveness toward Chao Zhuo was far beyond the boundaries of what an ordinary person could possess.
He understood his own personality very clearly. From childhood onward, he had risen steadily through the ranks, spending far too long struggling and fighting his way through the career group. Long ago, he had already become accustomed to making decisions alone and having things done according to his will.
Bai Jiao frowned and pondered for a while before waving his hand and dismissing all of the Holy Sons.
“Carter Pilder, as for these Holy Sons, let those who wish to return home go back, while those who do not wish to return may continue staying here.”
The affairs of the Hall of Light had always been managed by Carter Pilder in an orderly and meticulous manner. If it were not for the conflicts between the different races, Bai Jiao would have liked to send Carter Pilder to the Desire Realm and the Demon Realm as well, just so he could help manage things there for him.
“Of course. I thank you on their behalf for your great mercy, Your Majesty.” Carter Pilder bowed respectfully.
Sending Holy Sons was a tradition among humans. Most of those who were sent were children who had suffered greatly and Bai Jiao would not sever this particular link.
Bai Jiao asked, “Have you looked into the Prayer Mirror recently?”
He needed to know how far the plot had progressed.
“With Your Majesty present, I would never presume to overstep my authority and do such a thing.”
“I permit you to take a look.”
At this moment, Chao Zhuo was praying. Bai Jiao took out the Prayer Mirror and held it out in front of Carter Pilder, giving it a brief wave before saying, “This is my favorite Holy Son, Chao Zhuo.”
Carter Pilder could only see a simple silhouette. He was completely unable to understand what the God of Light intended and simply assumed that Bai Jiao was introducing him to someone.
“Understood. I have heard of him before. I will remember him.”
In Carter Pilder’s eyes, Bai Jiao was a child who had been born only recently and his tone carried a helplessness mixed with indulgence.
Having completed his task, Bai Jiao sat upon the divine throne for a while before returning to the Hall of Light in the beastman tribe.
While he had been away, quite a few beastmen had secretly caught a glimpse of Chao Zhuo’s true appearance. Howell Garcia in particular had, just as described in the original story, fallen in love with Chao Zhuo at first sight.
The plot was proceeding very smoothly up to this point. As long as Chao Zhuo completed this mission as an envoy, he would be able to completely break free from the fate of being the protagonist.
Chao Zhuo’s prayer proceeded in fits and starts and even Bai Jiao, standing nearby, could tell how distracted he was.
The task of clearing away the dark power had already been completed. Chao Zhuo had also finished thanking the God of Light for his gift and was now simply waiting for Bai Jiao to return.
Bai Jiao did not disturb him. Instead, he took out the Prayer Mirror of the Dark God from behind him.
Prayer was naturally not something unique to the God of Light. Every day, countless people also prayed before the Dark God’s Prayer Mirror, although almost all of them were making wishes.
For example, right now, Bai Jiao heard the prayer of a dwarf who was on the verge of becoming a member of the demon race.
“Evil Lord Bai Jiao, please grant me the power of destruction, so that I can kill all those dwarves next door who stole my mine and resources. If I succeed, I will definitely offer up my heart.”
Bai Jiao felt that the dwarf’s request was quite reasonable. He tapped the Prayer Mirror a few times and bestowed dark power upon the dwarf.
The dwarf who received the power was ecstatic. He immediately rushed to the house that had been taken from him, slammed the door open with a single palm and directly killed the two dwarves who were celebrating inside.
There were no laws in this world. The dwarves had even less sense of justice or fairness and as a result, the number of people who converted into believers of the Dark God was the greatest.
“Jiao Jiao, what are you doing?”
Chao Zhuo stared at everything happening inside the Prayer Mirror in disbelief, the panic in his eyes not yet concealed.
Bai Jiao answered concisely, “Listening to the prayers of my believers.”
“You gave him power and let him kill those other two dwarves?”
“Mm.” Bai Jiao put away the Prayer Mirror. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Do you think there was something wrong with that?”
“Of course killing people is wrong.” Chao Zhuo answered without the slightest hesitation.
“But if he did not kill them, he would be killed by them instead. Did you watch everything that happened from beginning to end?”
Bai Jiao suspected that Chao Zhuo had triggered some new plot mechanism designed specifically to make them argue. Perhaps the rules of the world wanted him to make room for the beastman chieftain, Howell Garcia.
Chao Zhuo blinked, a confused expression gradually appearing in his eyes. He did not even understand what had come over him. Somehow, he had taken things out of context and begun questioning Bai Jiao.
“Kind Holy Son, I am the Dark God. In what capacity do you intend to restrain my actions?”
Bai Jiao put away the Prayer Mirror and stood up.
He was somewhat taller than Chao Zhuo and his build was larger as well. As he walked toward Chao Zhuo, the latter inexplicably felt a faint sense of oppression.
“Jiao Jiao, I…”
Seeing the lines that appeared before him once again, Bai Jiao simply read them aloud.
“Chao Zhuo, you say that you love me yet deep down, you still harbor prejudice against the demon race. You questioned me without distinguishing right from wrong. Is this what you call love?”
It seemed that the Heavenly Dao would never be satisfied unless it managed to make the two of them break up.
According to the script given to him by the Heavenly Dao, Bai Jiao should have turned around and left at this point but when he saw the panic on Chao Zhuo’s face, along with the movement of his hand as he tried to reach for him, Bai Jiao instead grabbed Chao Zhuo and pulled him directly into his arms.
Bai Jiao lowered his eyes and asked in a low voice, “Chao Zhuo, do you really love me?”
Chao Zhuo had only just begun to understand what love was. He had no idea how things had suddenly become like this.
He had clearly thought everything through beforehand. He would not interfere with anything Bai Jiao did as the Dark God but just now… what had he been doing?
“Can’t you answer now? You’re still thinking about your God of Light. You’re unwilling to be with me.”
Bai Jiao sealed Chao Zhuo’s lips with his own, giving him no opportunity to refute him.
Chao Zhuo wanted to explain to Bai Jiao that he had felt as though something had been controlling him just now and that those accusations had not come from his true intentions at all but Bai Jiao’s movements were simply too forceful and domineering.
As Chao Zhuo pushed against him in a manner that seemed almost like rejection while secretly welcoming his closeness, the fronts of both their robes gradually became disheveled.
The white prayer robes fell onto the spotless floor, spreading out and leaving behind a space large enough for them to roll upon.
Bai Jiao pressed down on Chao Zhuo from behind, forcing him to raise his head and look toward the divine statue seated above them.
Was he angry?
Not really.
After all, Bai Jiao knew that what had happened was not truly Chao Zhuo’s own intention.
But the plot still had to be acted out. Bai Jiao simply wanted to carry it out in the way he preferred.
“Mm… Jiao Jiao, no. Not in front of the divine statue.”
Chao Zhuo refused to look at the statue and struggled to sit up.
The tail belonging to a succubus teased him from the front, causing his already sensitive, fair skin to flush red. Marks left behind by Bai Jiao the previous time still remained upon his skin.
Bai Jiao’s current identity was that of the villain. He had no concern for benevolence or morality and naturally, he had no intention of showing mercy.
“I want your God of Light to watch carefully. I want him to see exactly how I sleep with his believer right in front of him.”
At the moment he was penetrated, Chao Zhuo could not help but raise his head, his gaze meeting the statue of Meredith Adams above him.
The stimulation made him climax almost instantly yet unlike his tightly wound thoughts, his body remained intensely aroused, clinging tightly to Bai Jiao behind him.
“Zhuo Zhuo…”
Bai Jiao’s kiss landed on Chao Zhuo’s shoulder.
Perhaps he had simply decided to give up resisting. Perhaps he had finally come to his senses. Or perhaps it was the influence of the succubus’s bodily fluids. Whatever the reason, now that things had reached this point, Chao Zhuo stopped struggling and instead began to respond to him, only tears streaming continuously down his face as he remained unwilling to raise his head and look at the divine statue above him.
After an entire day and night, the beastmen were astonished to discover that the dark power in the forest had indeed retreated by twenty li. The temple, however, remained completely silent and the Holy Son still showed no intention of coming out.
They did not dare approach and disturb him. When they realized they could not see what was happening inside the temple, they could only obediently wait outside, waiting for the Holy Son to emerge so that they could offer their thanks.
It was not that no one had tried to deliver food or water. Unfortunately, they could not even manage to knock on the door.
It was only after three full days that Bai Jiao finally let Chao Zhuo go.
Holding the unconscious elf in his arms, Bai Jiao used light magic to clean him thoroughly before healing him. At that moment, he received a message from the Desire Realm urging him to return.
In the original story, Chao Zhuo’s mission as an envoy lasted an entire year. In other words, it would only be after a year that they could openly be together. His continued presence beside Chao Zhuo had clearly affected the progression of the plot, so he ought to give him a proper farewell.
“Zhuo Zhuo.” Bai Jiao bit gently onto Chao Zhuo’s lip. Seeing his eyelashes tremble slightly, he finally said, “I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?” The moment Chao Zhuo heard this, he immediately opened his eyes and wrapped his arms tightly around him.
“You’re not angry anymore?” Bai Jiao raised a hand and pinched his cheek, knowing that he had gone a little too far.
“I’m not angry. Where are you going?”
Chao Zhuo had resigned himself to his fate. He had fallen hopelessly in love with a demon and had indulged everything that demon did.
He simply could not bring himself to be angry. Besides… he had inexplicably been very aroused just now as well, although he was too embarrassed to admit it.
Bai Jiao’s gaze darkened slightly. “I’m going back to be my Dark God.”
“You’re not coming back?” Chao Zhuo asked anxiously.
“Perhaps we should spend some time apart. I don’t want to hurt you.”
The longer he stayed, the more he wanted to bind Chao Zhuo to his side and never let him go.
Chao Zhuo opened his mouth, only to discover that he could not say anything.
The force controlling him this time had been much stronger, allowing him to clearly sense that he had been manipulated.
Bai Jiao dressed him, carefully smoothing out every wrinkle in his clothes. Finally, he pressed a kiss to the corner of Chao Zhuo’s lips before disappearing from before him just like that.
*
【Host, you really look like a scumbag who runs away after getting what he wants.】
“I think I look more like the one who got used.”
Bai Jiao’s expression was listless. “If he hadn’t chosen such an identity, we would have already been together.”
Why would there have been all these complicated twists and turns? Why would they have needed to act out some fake, tortured love story?
Chao Zhuo was definitely secretly crying right now, thinking himself into a mess.
Bai Jiao looked toward the Water Light Mirror. As expected, Chao Zhuo was indeed wiping away his tears.
Bai Jiao could not stand seeing him cry under normal circumstances but appearing before Chao Zhuo again at this moment would definitely interfere with the progression of the plot. At the thought of this, he frowned deeply.
With that in mind, he went through the original story once again.
The book mainly revolved around Chao Man Hill becoming an envoy and winning the admiration and affection of the leaders of most of the races. The satisfying part of the plot was that although Chao Man Hill was adored by countless people, he never spared any of them even a glance. Even when facing the Great Angel Carter Pilder, he never once lowered his proud head.
“Do I just need to make everyone fall in love with Chao Zhuo, while Chao Zhuo remains indifferent to them and then the plot will be considered complete?” Bai Jiao pondered. “Then, in the end, I can give him the God of Light’s divine core.”
【Probably.】886 began thinking as well, though it could not come up with anything.
After Bai Jiao left Chao Zhuo, Chao Zhuo seemed to become an entirely different person. He rejected the beastmen’s warm hospitality and set off once more with the knights.
The beastman chieftain, Howell Garcia, had fallen in love with Chao Zhuo at first sight and offered to accompany him on his journey.
Chao Zhuo neither refused nor agreed. He simply left.
As though he had received some kind of inspiration, he began moving forward without stopping, taking a journey that originally required an entire month and forcibly reducing it to seven days by using his light power.
Bai Jiao naturally had not been idle during these days either. Whenever he had something to do, he would place the Water Light Mirror beside him and check whether Chao Zhuo was in any danger or whether anything had happened. Beside his ears, he could hear Chao Zhuo’s confessions and prayers, day after day without interruption.
He watched Chao Zhuo travel to the elf tribe, sit beneath the Mother Tree for an entire night before leaving. He watched Chao Zhuo tame a ferocious dragon when he set out again, then sit upon the dragon’s back and accelerate his journey even further. Finally, he watched Chao Zhuo travel to the dwarf tribe, where he encountered the dwarf who had previously prayed to the Dark God.
A journey that should have taken a whole year had been forcibly shortened to a single month by Chao Zhuo.
Bai Jiao thought Chao Zhuo would kill the dwarf who had already fallen into the demon race. He waited for quite some time but Chao Zhuo showed no intention of making a move. Instead, the ferocious dragon beside him could no longer restrain itself and wanted to rush forward and tear the dwarf apart. Fortunately, Chao Zhuo stopped it.
Chao Zhuo walked up to the dwarf and crouched down before him.
“I can tell you about a new mine but you have to exchange a secret with me.”
Sensing the threat, the dwarf bared his teeth at him.
“Damnable Holy Son of Light! Have you come here to enforce that bullshit justice of yours?”
Seeing that the dwarf was impossible to reason with, Chao Zhuo frowned but his voice remained gentle.
“Tell me where the passage to the demon realm is. Otherwise, I will kill you.”
The dwarf froze. He was nearly scared witless, taking several steps backward as he stared suspiciously at Chao Zhuo.
The person standing before him was clearly surrounded by an aura of light, so why did he seem to carry the shadow of the Dark God everywhere he went?
His expression, his manner, even his tone of voice, it was as though the Dark God himself had possessed him.
Seeing the representative of the demon race whom he had planted among the dwarves being threatened like this, Bai Jiao finally had a suitable reason to appear.
“Holy Son, is making things difficult for my subordinate also a task assigned to you by the God of Light?”