"Messenger of God Please, let me be your guide around the city," the immortal cultivator pleaded once again.
The persistent immortal continued following me everywhere I went.
So annoying.
Why was this fool so determined to follow me everywhere?
"Young Hero, you should accept his offer, okay? Accept it. It isn’t easy to find someone willing to help you. Then we can start completing missions. Become a hero and save people."
"I am no hero. I am not saving anyone," I said in a tone of defeat.
The system was so suffocating.
Everybody was so unbearable.
Rolling my eyes, I clasped my hands behind my back and walked straight ahead as though I already knew where I was going.
Footsteps echoed behind me.
I already knew it was the annoying immortal, Casper , faithfully following wherever I walked.
Meanwhile, Ella—my fake daughter—walked quietly beside me.
Such an annoying name.
Who gives a man the name Ella?
It’s so confusing.
It needs to be changed.
"Daughter, since I am your father, I think I should change your name. How about Jingling? Jingling suits you far better than Ella."
"Sorry, I love my name, Ella. It’s a beautiful name. I’ve grown up with it, and I’m already used to it," Ella said with a bright smile.
A chill crawled across my skin.
Just looking at the expression on his face annoyed me.
"Whatever. Since you insist on keeping such an awful name, I’ll forget about it."
As we walked through the streets, I watched people going about their daily lives.
A little girl stood by the roadside selling sweets.
"One silver coin each! One silver coin each!" she shouted.
I ignored her and sighed.
Eventually, I stopped.
Since I had no idea where the nearest inn was, I supposed I would have to let Casper be useful for once.
"Casper , please do me the honor of finding an inn for me."
"Yes, Messenger of God!"
Casper immediately bowed several times, repeatedly chanting my title.
I rolled my eyes.
How pathetic
He really had the personality of a loyal dog.
Without another word, I followed him, allowing him to lead the way toward the inn.
We hadn’t gone very far before the dumb panther hiding inside me suddenly jumped out.
The little beast dashed straight toward a candy stall.
"Hey! Come back here! Where are you going?"
I hurried after it, but I still couldn’t catch the panther.
It leaped onto the girl’s table and immediately started licking the stick candy.
"I thought you were a carnivore. You only eat meat. You even ate the flesh of those dead immortal disciples. Since when did you start liking sweets?"
The panther merely let out a growl and glanced at me before happily continuing to lick the candy.
"Hey! You! Stop right there!" the little girl shouted, her face turning red with anger. "You’d better pay for the candy your pet is licking!"
Well...
I didn’t have a single silver coin.
The jewels I had given the city guards were fake anyway. I wondered how long it would take them to realize they were nothing more than enchanted gems created with my demonic energy.
I looked toward Casper .
"Casper , could you do me a favor? Help me pay the little girl."
"Anything for the Messenger of God."
Before I could even finish speaking, Casper hurried over, took out five silver coins, and handed them to the little girl.
The girl’s eyes immediately lit up.
"Then your little pet can eat as much candy as it wants!" she said happily.
I shook my head and ignored the human girl.
"Let’s continue."
Following Casper ’s lead once more, we finally arrived at the inn.
A tall building stood before us with a large wooden signboard hanging above the entrance.
So this was an inn.
I looked at the place with obvious dissatisfaction.
Can I really stay here?
Is it even clean?
What about the hygiene?
Hmm...
Keeping my thoughts to myself, I stepped inside after Casper .
I found a seat and sat down.
Almost immediately, two beautiful female attendants walked over.
They wore heavy makeup—bright red lipstick, thick eyeshadow, and rosy blush covering their cheeks.
I looked at them and almost felt like vomiting.
They were unbelievably ugly.
Even Ella—a man dressed as a woman—looked prettier than they did.
...Not that I intended to compliment that annoying fellow.
It was simply that, by mortal beauty standards, these servants looked rather eccentric.
Perhaps this was just what human men considered beautiful.
Thinking that, I quietly took my seat.
After a moment, one of the servant girls bowed politely and walked over to me.
I shot her a cold glance.
"Do not come too close to this king."
The servant let out an awkward cough before forcing a smile.
"Young Master, what would you like? Are you checking in? We can arrange a room for you as long as you pay. As for food, we have red soup, pork, noodles, steamed buns, meat dishes, and many other specialties."
She listed one dish after another.
"I want pork," I said. "Bring me meat. Every meat dish you have. Bring me noodles, steamed buns—everything."
"I am absolutely famished after going so many days without a proper meal."
The servant bowed and left to prepare the food.
While we waited, Casper sat beside us.
The panther still refused to return to my body. Instead, it stood proudly on top of the table, looking around like an ignorant little fool.
"Messenger of God," Casper asked, "can you tell me... what does God look like? I have always wanted to see God, but I’ve never had the chance. Do you know what God looks like? What is the immortal world like? What is Heaven like?"
I gave Casper a blank stare.
This troublesome immortal was becoming more of a pest by the minute.
Question after question.
He wouldn’t stop talking.
I forced an awkward smile.
"The immortal world..."
"It is a world beyond the mortal realm," I said, lying with a perfectly straight face.
"It is a place where even cats can speak and sit beside God. God is merciful to all living creatures."
Casper ’s eyes sparkled.
"Oh! So that’s why you have this little panther cub with you."
"Yes," I replied with a smile that never reached my eyes.
I patted the panther’s head.
The little beast immediately lifted its head, asking for more affection.
With obvious disgust, I pulled my hand away.
Honestly...
For a king like me to be petting an animal...
How ridiculous.
A short while later, the servant girls returned with the food.
One dish after another was placed on the table until it was completely covered with meat.
Without hesitation, I picked up my chopsticks and started eating.
"This isn’t very good," I commented as I took another bite. "But I’ll endure it."
Even while insulting the meal, I continued eating.
By the time I finished, I had emptied twelve bowls of food.
The panther cub had also enjoyed its share, finishing two bowls of pure beef.
Ella only ate a single bowl of noodles with a few slices of beef on top.
Casper didn’t eat anything at all.
When everyone had finished dining, the waiter approached our table with a polite smile.
"Young Master, it’s time to pay."
Only then did I realize my current predicament.
I didn’t have a single coin on me.
Not one.
I was now a broke king.
A king without money.
A king without a throne.
Ah...
What a miserable life.
"Casper ," I said shamelessly, "could you pay the bill for me? In Heaven, we do not use money. Everything is provided by God. We don’t have such strict rules like you mortals."
Casper smiled without the slightest hesitation.
"Messenger of God, don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything."
Just like that, he paid twelve thousand silver coins.
Such an expensive meal.
I clicked my tongue before chuckling softly.
"Thank you, Casper ."
For this king to thank someone...
People should treasure such a rare moment.
I almost never thanked anyone.
Of course, my gratitude didn’t mean I was planning to repay the twelve thousand silver coins he had just spent on me.
In the middle of my thoughts, a loud scream suddenly echoed through the inn.
A commotion broke out upstairs.
A woman came running down the stairs in panic, tears streaming down her face.
"Someone’s dead!"
"Someone has been murdered!"
"Help!"
"I’m next!"