"The weather is particularly fine today; the sand outside is all warm and cozy."
"When I went out, I saw a very, very big lizard. Its tail was so long, and it ran so fast!"
"Lord Divine Remains, does it feel very stuffy inside for you?"
"Do you want me to sing a song for you?"
"I just learned a new one from Daddy recently; it's about the stars."
Every word the girl spoke caused ripples to stir within the mummified corpse's heart.
She had never imagined that the world of the living could be so vivid and interesting.
On this day, Xiaoyun came alone again.
Her small face was flushed from jogging all the way, and fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
She carefully pulled a small cloth bundle from her bosom and unfolded it layer by layer, revealing two shriveled sand jujubes inside.
"Lord Divine Remains, look. These are a small handful of sand jujubes that Daddy spent three whole days searching for."
Xiaoyun's eyes were bright, as if quenched with starlight.
"They are very, very sweet!"
"Xiaoyun couldn't bear to eat even one."
"I gave one sand jujube to Daddy, and... one for Grandpa who is no longer here, one for Mommy who is gone, and one for each of the many uncles and elders who are no longer with us."
"There are two left here, which Xiaoyun brought as offerings for Lord Divine Remains."
Offerings...
The mummified corpse's body suddenly stiffened.
'Does a thing like me... even deserve an offering?'
For a thousand years, she had often heard the Grave-keepers cursing her in the night.
Those voices were once so vivid, filled with the breath of life, but now, those voices were growing fewer and fewer.
Those who once cursed her had also died one by one because of her.
She felt sad.
Not because she was being cursed, but for the passing of those vibrant lives.
But now... Xiaoyun had given her two sand jujubes.
As offerings.
This was the first kindness she had received since she gained consciousness.
"Daddy said that Lord Divine Remains is the skeletal remains of a god."
"When a god is in the world, they protect their believers, keeping them away from calamities and ensuring they are safe and sound."
Xiaoyun softly prayed while enduring the pain.
"The monsters outside are so fierce. Every time Daddy goes out, he comes back with many new wounds on his body."
"Xiaoyun can't help with much; I can only come to let my blood for you to make the seal stronger. That way, there might be fewer monsters outside, and Daddy and the others... might have it a bit easier."
"Xiaoyun doesn't ask for anything else. I only hope Lord Divine Remains can protect my daddy and uncles, so they can return safely every time they go out."
Blood dripped into the grooves with a rhythmic sound, and the girl's face turned pale at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Her voice gradually lowered as she breathed weakly.
After finishing the bloodletting, Xiaoyun's small body swayed.
She leaned against the coffin and rested for a long time before moving out of the god's tomb, step by arduous step.
Deathly silence returned to the burial chamber once more.
After a long while, the coffin lid was slowly pushed open by a withered hand.
The mummified corpse sat up in the coffin. She looked in the direction where Xiaoyun had left, then slowly turned toward the two tiny sand jujubes on the lid.
She reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly, and carefully picked up one of them.
'A god?'
She did not know what kind of peerless existence the original owner of this body had been during her lifetime.
She must have been a gentle and powerful god, possessing countless devout believers.
Even after death, an entire family had guarded her tomb for generations.
But she was not that god.
She was merely a monster born from a corpse, a despicable entity that had stolen a god's shell.
She could bring no hope or protection.
All the deaths in the Western Region, the thousand years of suffering of the Grave-keeper clan, the lives wailing and vanishing in the yellow sands, and the ugly black spots covering the mountains and fields... they were all caused by her.
'What right do I have to be compared to that true god?'
The mummified corpse picked up a sand jujube, hesitated for a long time, and finally put it into her mouth.
She had no sense of taste.
Yet, the residual instincts of this body still allowed her to taste something.
A flavor that was very faint and unfamiliar, yet made her consciousness tremble slightly.
...Is this sweetness?
'So, this is what sweetness is.'
'How can it be so enchanting? It makes my heart ache slightly with fullness.'
The mummified corpse chewed slowly and swallowed the sand jujube.
Then, she climbed back into the coffin.
She began to try and suppress the black spots within her body.
Previously, the spread and proliferation of the black spots would cause her pain as well.
The mummified corpse had tried to actively suppress them before, but her power was insufficient, and she had failed many times.
But now, she wanted to try with all her might.
Xiaoyun hoped for the seal to be stronger, hoped for fewer monsters outside, and hoped for her daddy's safety.
Even if she was just a fake, even if she had no ability to answer prayers at all.
Even if... this was just self-deception.
She wanted to try again.
The mummified corpse concentrated all her consciousness and began to fight against the innate filthy power within her.
"Ugh..."
Pain instantly swept over her.
The black spots seemed to have a will of their own, resisting the suppression frantically.
They squirmed under her skin and crashed between her bones, bringing a tearing, excruciating pain.
It was a hundred times, a thousand times more painful than the bloodletting.
The mummified corpse's body shook violently, but she did not stop.
She thought of Xiaoyun's pale face trying hard to smile, thought of the two sand jujubes she had placed on the coffin lid, and thought of the pure expectation in those clear eyes.
The first kindness in a thousand years.
The first prayer.
The first instance of trust, regarding her as someone who could be prayed to.
Even if she was just a monster, she wanted to... respond just a little.
Even if there was only a tiny bit of effect.
Time passed slowly in the midst of intense agony.
After an unknown amount of time, the mummified corpse finally ran out of strength and collapsed inside the coffin.
She felt that the black spots in her body seemed... to have quieted down a bit for the time being.
She curled up in exhaustion, her consciousness sinking into darkness.
It seemed that the mummified corpse's suppression had indeed achieved a negligible effect.
Few days later, Tuoba Feng returned.
He brought with him the scent of wind, sand, and blood, along with several new wounds.
But he had returned alive.
Upon hearing the news, Xiaoyun ran happily to the god's tomb and whispered to the mummified corpse through the coffin.
"Lord Divine Remains, Daddy is back! Thank you!"
Inside the coffin, the mummified corpse listened to Xiaoyun's joyful voice, and a faint, unfamiliar emotion rippled in her heart.
'Am I... somewhat happy?'
But immediately after, she heard Tuoba Feng's low, raspy voice.
He was outside the burial chamber, making final arrangements with another Grave-keeper.
"A Shan's body... bury it in the usual place."
"Does he have... any family left?"
"No, just him. His father died during bloodletting last year, and his mother... even earlier."
Silence.
A long silence.
Then came Tuoba Feng's voice.
"Understood."
"I'm going to see Xiaoyun."
The sound of footsteps rose and gradually faded into the distance.
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