Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1622 - 74: The Supreme Sun Mermaid and the Innocents’ Guild Members (7)

Chapter 1622: Chapter 74: The Supreme Sun Mermaid and the Innocents’ Guild Members (7)

They looked closely and discovered a red-haired girl crouching in the corner, her head hanging low, her face full of dust, as if hiding there.

"That’s Shi Ying, one of the eight protagonist candidates, also the least favored one..." Lü Shu said, "She’s hiding here, probably with nowhere to go. We’re here to give her a helping hand and help her win the ’Maritime Banquet’."

"Help her?" Lu said, "Her chances of winning don’t look too high, isn’t it better to consider someone else?"

"Alger, Atlanda, Mizushima Kawa Sora, these three certainly won’t do." Lü Shu analyzed in turn, "Bairan, a madman, won’t do. Hui Zi, not very normal either, won’t do. That leaves Tian Yu, Shi Ying, and Hui Bai."

"Isn’t Xi Li one?" Lin Yin tilted her head.

"Xi Li is now part of the Rin Clan, she’s no longer a protagonist, Hui Bai took over." Lü Shu said, "Hui Bai can’t be found. Tian Yu is far off on Sky Island, with a noble status he lacks no companions. And I know very well..."

He softly said:

"A helping hand in times of need is hard."

He seemed to recall some memories and quickly gathered his emotions: "A protagonist wandering in distress is more suitable for us."

After a discussion, the four decided to support Shi Ying for the crown.

"Crash——!" Lin Yin stomped onto the high platform, unfurled a yellow scroll, and began to proclaim loudly, "Everyone, I want to introduce our God. He is the Lighthouse Master, Old God Asasto, one hundred and two..."

While preaching, they distributed bread and water, and immediately, the starving people burst into tears of gratitude.

"Aren’t you afraid the Radiant Mother Goddess will target you with this preaching?" Qianqin pulled Lü Shu aside and asked quietly.

"All the better." Lü Shu said, "Distracting Su Ming’an is one of the objectives too."

Suddenly, a child’s shout came from outside:

"——The army is here!!!"

Like cold water splashed into hot oil, the crowd that had just calmed down slightly due to hope erupted instantly, panic spreading like an epidemic.

"The army? How could they come here?"

"My child! Where is my child?"

Lin Yin’s expression changed, she quickly rolled up the scroll. Lü Shu’s right hand pressed against the black blade at his waist, scanning the doorway with sharp eyes.

"I’m going to kill..." Before Lü Shu could finish, Lu held his hand and gently shook her head.

"Sometimes, faith works better than slaughter." Lu turned her head, looking at the lost people, and shouted, "Who has the offerings of the Radiant Mother Goddess, or decorations, cloth, believer’s garments!"

Qianqin instantly understood, directing the people to search.

"I, I have! My mother left it." An old woman tremblingly took out a small clay statue from her chest.

"This! Will this do? A corner of the old altar’s cloth!" A man tore off a piece of cloth with religious patterns.

"A plate! The plate used to divide the Holy Meal..."

"Here I am! A pendant!"

"My scarf! It was given at the believer’s gathering!"

"This stone chip! There’s half a badge carved on it!"

It’s unbelievable.

Even in the nearly annihilating circumstances of survival, items related to faith were found one after another.

Holding broken and dusty "holy objects," the expressions on people’s faces shifted from fear to plea—once they hated the Gods, but today they must rely on faith to survive.

"Can this work?" A small boy with a dusty face timidly asked behind Lü Shu.

"Once, I visited some nations where faith was more important than life, some inhabitants survived by carrying statues. Shooting them might accidentally break the statues they hold, offending the God." Lu explained with experience.

"What exactly did you use to do before..." Lin Yin couldn’t help but ask.

"I was just an ordinary arms dealer." Lu revealed a gentle smile.

The scent of gunpowder and dust choked their lungs, as people moved step by step outside.

Outside, stood soldiers with cold and vigilant faces, their helmets casting shadows over most of their expressions.

The instant people stepped out, the air froze, time seemed to stretch. The soldiers’ fingers rested on the triggers, needing only a tiny command for tragedy to erupt instantaneously.

The leading men trembled, their faces twisted with fear, yet desperately pressed the statues against their hearts, revealing them under the sun.

On the ceramic statue, the blurred features of the Radiant Mother Goddess appeared "merciful" under the dust. Perhaps for the first time, this high deity provided such "tangible" protection to these poor souls struggling in the dust—in a way neither they nor She had ever anticipated.

"——Sing loudly with me!" Qianqin shouted.

She is the Dawn Knight, sincerely grateful for learning the Holy Song. Now, this tedious and dull sacred song has become their lifesaver.

"Kritchens, Kritchens." Qianqin sang.

Following her were more people. They bowed their heads, bodies trembling like sifting chaff under the soldiers’ cold gaze:

"——Kritchens, Kritchens."

They sang along with her in hoarse voices, accompanied by intermittent coughing.

"Knight, Redeemer, Orderly, Chantor, Angel, and Loksa." Qianqin raised her hand, singing loudly.

"——Knight, Redeemer, Orderly, Chantor, Angel, and Loksa."

Like toddlers learning to babble, the elderly and the youths chanted the hymns, tremblingly holding dusty old objects, slowly walking past the dark muzzle.

"Birth, Sun, Flames, and Eyes."

"——Birth, Sun, Flames, and Eyes."

The old men stumbled, leaning on their canes, children grasped the adults’ sleeves, like a group of believers walking the road of hell, led by the Radiant Mother Goddess at the front.

However, Lü Shu knew clearly.

No deity resides here.

"Nancy endured three thousand nights."

"——Nancy endured three thousand nights."

The soldiers’ cold gaze swept across the bizarre "holy objects" clutched by people, like searchlights, their eyes exchanged glimpses of hesitation.

"The Sigh spread the God’s descent tune."

"——The Sigh spread the God’s descent tune."

Singing to praise the Radiant Mother Goddess grew louder, the officer’s eyebrows under the steel helmet furrowed, the hand about to give the order to fire stopped mid-air.

"The hymn blesses the mortal world."

People like a flock of lambs being driven to the edge of a cliff under the silent gaze of soldiers, among countless muzzles aimed at them, moved forward step by step.

"Pray for blessings and wide grace..."

Slowly, tremblingly, like crossing a land filled with mines of death, "ants" moved forward step by step.

"I borrow the blue moonlight to write the Universe’s unknown and vastness."

"You lent me dawn to give my eyes and peace..."

Qianqin’s fingers pressed onto the sword hilt, the knuckles turning pale due to excessive force.

She stood at the doorway, the silhouette of a knight casting a long shadow in the slanting light, like a silent boundary marker separating the silence inside from the clamor outside.

Dust slowly descended around her, silently standing at the edge of a storm.

There is a deity here.

There is no deity here.

...

"The World Lord’s Palace is special, not under the jurisdiction of the Radiant Mother Goddess." A seductive voice came to my ear. "Before Kritchens transformed this place into His fandom... Thanks to the Shitposter Demon’s assistance, only here remains a pure land."

The female demon leaned against the iron railing, her face like peaches and plums, eyes like a gentle spring breeze, wearing a peach-colored long dress adorned with dark lace, heels like transparent swords, and a swaying pink tail behind.

Su Ming’an quietly met her gaze.

At this moment, Su Ming’an had already left the blood pool, and it was not the right time to act; he waited to get the key before seizing the Holy Sword.

"So here they dare to worship the Demon Mother Goddess," Su Ming’an said.

"Exactly." Evelyn suddenly leaned closer, exhaling a fragrance like orchids. "Kritchens can’t do anything to us, only then do we dare to forge the Holy Sword here."

Her hand glided lightly over his chest: "What a pity, the commoners can’t understand. This is clearly the only chance to break the shackles in this world."

Su Ming’an shook his head: "Even for the sake of forging the Holy Sword, one cannot change the fact of doing evil. The deceased will not deserve to die just because the reason is noble."

"Right!" Evelyn laughed, her face turning slightly red with joy at Su Ming’an’s words. "If butchers and executioners like us could also walk toward happiness, what an absurdity that would be. So, the fate of evil people is only death. Only death can make the public slightly forgive the sins of the wicked, and exchange for more valuable tears, to begin mourning the death of the evil ones."

She lifted a plain-colored pipe, took a puff, and gently exhaled: "It seems once the wicked die, the public will forgive them on behalf of the victims, all sins vanish, instead praising the wicked’s righteous valor, enduring humiliation, all for the world."

Warm smoke wafted forward, carrying an exotic floral scent, Su Ming’an immediately retreated, covering his face with his hand, showing clear disdain.

"Oh, you don’t like people who smoke?" Evelyn tapped the pipe and immediately put it away. "I thought it was very cool, very charming, and children usually like it."

Su Ming’an thought he had mistaken—it seemed he saw an apology on a demon’s face.

He recalled the book he saw initially "Thirteen Lovers’ Date Records of the Trickster Demon"... Could it be all fabricated by later generations, was He actually someone easily shamed?

"What do you want?" Su Ming’an frowned. "You killed me once, do you want to forcibly turn me into a demon?"

"You’ve refused, one cannot force you." Evelyn pitifully pointed with her finger.

... She wasn’t this gentle before.

"A word of advice, Your Highness, even if casually, do not easily promise anything to demons." Evelyn took a step forward, whispering in his ear, "Earlier you broke your promise, thus I must kill you once. If you make easy promises again, what awaits is not a killer but taking your soul..."

Su Ming’an instinctively wanted to say "Okay," realizing that was also a promise, he fell silent.

"Evelyn Tanados Agrina."

He heard Her laugh, fingers gently tapping his chest:

"Your Highness, must remember my name."

"I won’t tell Hui Chi you went out late at night, but next time, you must compensate me for something~ my master."

...

...The demons in this world are truly dangerous.

Su Ming’an walked down the hallway, thinking of the Demon Mother Goddess’s various deeds toward Yi Song, he felt a shiver. Next time, definitely stay far away from demons, especially these inappropriate ones.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him, he clutched his head, hearing a series of indistinct hallucinations at his ears.

"I love you..."

"I... love you..."

"Ming’an... you are my child, mom will always love you..."

...Who?

He swiftly looked around, but saw only flickering candlelight and the silent plants outside the window, the blue moon unspeaking.

He gasped deeply, leaning against the wall, resting his forehead on the soft floral wallpaper, taking a moment, the voice gradually dissipated from his ears.

...Was it Lin Wang’an? He carefully recalled the voice he heard, feeling very vague. She shouldn’t appear in this timeline unless the Radiant Mother Goddess "kindheartedly" wrote her here as well.

After confirming no one was around, he continued on, just as he was about to return to his room, he suddenly saw a person standing in the hallway.

Blond hair, blue eyes, wearing glasses, holding a scroll book, refined.

...The Imperial Master, Hui Bei.

"If a snail accidentally falls down, what will it do?" Suddenly, Hui Bei spoke.

Su Ming’an immediately halted, looking cautiously.

But saw Hui Bei merely gazing at the scroll book in his hand, muttering to himself: "It will be very embarrassed because it fell flat on its back."

Su Ming’an pondered what philosophy Hui Bei was saying, after a moment realized—Hui Bei might be telling a cold joke.

Standing alone on the corridor at midnight telling cold jokes...

Su Ming’an left speechless, this Hui Family’s Poet Aunt Mei.

Hui Bei however slightly shifted his gaze, watching Su Ming’an’s departing silhouette:

"Why is Little Ming’s backpack always heavy?"

"Because inside there’s a history book, geography book, math book... all heavyweight books."

...

Back in the room, Su Ming’an saw a delicate meal on the table, accompanied by a note: [Since Your Highness is sleeping, I’ve placed the meal aside. If you want it warm, please call my name. —Perlo]

"I remember, Perlo was considered among the top players in the first World Game, Locke..." Su Ming’an recalled that he was a shrewd and intelligent detective youth, but as long years passed, he had turned into a gambling, drinking demon.

Is the Locke before losing memory the genuine self, or is the Perlo who regrew in Luowasha the genuine self? Two people who have become entirely different, can they still count as the same person?

Su Ming’an settled his cloning, lay on the bed, and finally had the opportunity to sleep, he closed his eyes...

Consciousness instantly grew heavier, he realized something was wrong, normal sleep wasn’t like this, he wanted to open his eyes, body seemingly pressed down, sinking into a deep nightmare.

...Was it Hui Chi? As expected he doesn’t want Su Ming’an to wake up, desires keeping power, hence attempting to trap him with a nightmare.

Suddenly, a light appeared before him.

—Su Ming’an succeeded in opening his eyes.

Entering view wasn’t the room, but a gorgeous candy house. Eaves made of chocolate, windows of crystal sugar, cotton candy growing in the garden. The Little King draped in a red shawl held the scepter, standing amidst a crowd.

Su Ming’an realized this was still a dream.

—"The Tenth Story: The Sunfish Won’t Come," is an eternal dream wrapped within "The Eighth Story: Saints and Sinners."

Someone was trapped within the dream.