Though I Die Nine Deaths, I Shall Have No Regrets

“Shen Yu, I have just deduced the heavenly secrets. If you continue to press for answers, disaster will surely befall you.”

Yun Shu lowered her eyes, looking at him.

“Do you still wish for Me to clear your doubts?”

Shen Yu was incredibly intelligent; how could he not hear that the Divine Lady's words were meant to make him back down in the face of difficulties?

“Divine Lady, my sole wish in this life is to be Your vanguard and the blade in Your hand, dedicating my meager strength to You. Though I die nine deaths, I shall have no regrets.”

Kneeling on the futon, he looked up at the veiled Divine Lady before him. A watery mist shimmered in his eyes under the candlelight, yet his voice was exceptionally firm. “To receive even a shred of Your pity is already the fortune of three lifetimes for Shen Yu. Please, guide me.”

“You asked Me just now if I worry about a hundred years from now.” The Divine Lady raised her eyes to look out the window, the forehead ornament between her brows glowing softly. “I can tell you that I indeed have worries in My heart.”

Shen Yu was slightly taken aback. His Adam's apple bobbed, and only after a long pause did he carefully choose his words: “If there is any place where You have use for me, please command me as You wish. I will certainly do my utmost.”

He consistently exercised restraint in his phrasing, expressing his devotion to the Divine Lady without appearing overly aggressive.

The Divine Lady slowly walked around the altar, her snow-white hem gently brushing against the stone tiles as she moved, leaving not a speck of dust.

She stopped three paces in front of Shen Yu. Her gaze fell upon his face from above as she said softly, “The karma of heaven and earth is such that a single pull can affect the entire body. Though I am a deity, I cannot fully calculate the intricate web of karma in this world.”

“I originally thought that by bringing things of the Heavenly Palace and the future to the mortal realm, and by granting a blooming prosperity, a bountiful harvest, and favorable weather, all living beings would be delivered from their sea of suffering.”

“But My Master told Me that by intervening so frequently in mortal affairs, averting disasters, introducing things that should not belong to this era, and even interfering with the succession of dynasties, I might ultimately bring catastrophic ruin to this mortal world.”

Shen Yu's eyes suddenly widened, and he spoke urgently, “Divine Lady, please do not think this way! If not for Your protection, Your blessing of the Divine Seeds, and Your gift of countless pieces of precious knowledge, the people of the north would surely still be living in misery. How could they have such a comfortable life now? You clearly possess boundless merit!”

He was a mere mortal and could not see as far as a deity, but he could see that since the Divine Lady's descent, She had spared no effort to change the plight of the common people, allowing tens of millions to live with dignity.

If even this was wrong, then what could possibly be right?

The Divine Lady sighed softly. “Shen Yu, the root of the disease lies in the very things I have bestowed upon you all. Have you ever considered that if the concept of a sovereign remains in your hearts, then these Divine Seeds, the future knowledge I taught you, and even the Body Tempering Technique and the method of entering the Dao will eventually become weapons for a single person or a group of people to enslave the masses, causing them unspeakable suffering?”

Shen Yu clenched the futon with his fingertips, his voice slightly hoarse. “Then, in Your view, Divine Lady, how should this world be?”

“Reform is the only way to break this deadlock.”

The night wind swept through the hall, causing the light blue bead ornaments on the Divine Lady's clothing to chime softly, exceptionally pleasant to the ear. “The mountains and rivers of this mortal realm do not belong to Me, nor do they belong to any mortal nobles. They belong to the myriad living beings who inhabit this land.”

Shen Yu knelt frozen in place, suddenly feeling his eyes burn with heat. It took him a long while before he could utter a complete sentence.

“I understand.” He bowed deeply.

A flicker of complexity passed through Yun Shu's eyes. “Reform is by no means easy. If you fail, you will die.”

This was her second time warning Shen Yu.

If she were truly a deity, she naturally would not have warned him a second time. But she was not; she was human, a living person with emotions. Facing someone who had always followed her devotedly, how could she not feel a trace of compassion?

Shen Yu had been skilled at reading people since childhood. How could he fail to notice such undisguised concern? A sense of profound fulfillment flooded his heart almost instantly.

At the same time, he became even more steadfast in his resolve.

“Shen Yu is willing to inherit Your will, Divine Lady, to seek the welfare of the common people under heaven. Even if I die for this cause, I shall have no regrets.”

After his words fell, a long silence enveloped the hall.

Yun Shu also knew that it would be incredibly difficult to find a second person as suitable as Shen Yu in this world. She raised her hand, and a book with a red cover gradually materialized in her palm. “This is a book compiled by people of the future. In the future, if you encounter anything you do not understand, you may flip through this book, and perhaps everything will suddenly become clear.”

She had traded for this book from the Cultivation System, offering a regular supply of pomegranate seeds as the condition.

The Cultivation System and its host were clearly troublemakers and extremely hard to kill. Otherwise, how could the Great God have locked them in the dark room only to release them again, letting them continue to cause chaos?

Therefore, whenever there was something that required breaking the rules to accomplish, the Cultivation System was the first thing that came to her mind.

And the Cultivation System did not disappoint her.

Upon receiving the pomegranate seeds she provided, the Cultivation System swiftly procured the book she wanted, and it was brand new.

However, this was only to be expected.

Ever since she bought that temple from the Cultivation System—the one equipped with modern smart home appliances—she had already guessed that the Cultivation System's connections probably left her own Foodie System dozens of streets behind. Procuring a book would be as easy as a breeze for it.

Shen Yu could not resist opening the book. The very first line of text that caught his eye left him dazed on the spot.

“Adhere to the people-centered philosophy of development, let the people be the masters of their own destiny, take the people's aspiration for a better life as our goal, and build a harmonious society...”

Though the words were silent, they were deafening.

Just as he wanted to continue reading, a hand as fair and translucent as white jade closed the book in his grasp.

“This path is long and must be taken step by step,” the Divine Lady's voice rang in his ear, calling his mind back. “One must not rush.”

Hearing this, Shen Yu carefully tucked the book away and bowed deeply to the Divine Lady once more. “I shall respectfully follow Your teachings, Divine Lady.”

“Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival of the mortal realm. Since you have been waiting for Me in this temple, you must not have reunited with your family.”

As she spoke, Yun Shu leaned down, holding a small plate of snow-skin mooncakes on her fingertips, and slowly offered it to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu instinctively looked up, his gaze falling upon the plate.

He saw several round delicacies neatly arranged on the dish. Their translucent skins resembled congealed fat, faintly revealing hints of pale pink and green fillings within, and they emitted a very sweet fragrance.

He had never seen such exquisite food.

“Divine Lady, is... is this for me?” He held the small white jade plate, disbelief in his eyes.

“They are just ordinary mooncakes. The spirit fox has also caused you quite some trouble lately, so take them,” the Divine Lady said.

Watching this scene, the little fox turned its back on Yun Shu and Shen Yu in anger, squatting in a corner and drawing circles.

It had begged Yun Shu for so long before, yet she had refused to buy snow-skin mooncakes for it. Now, she had actually bought them to give to Shen Yu!

Favoritism! It was going to give her the cold shoulder for a whole minute!

Outside the grand hall, a tall figure stood silently in the dark shadows untouched by the moonlight. He exuded an indescribable loneliness, and it was impossible to tell how long he had been watching.