Chapter 124#
Genesis Eighteen#
Many days ago, when Yu Feichen left, Paradise was holding celebrations for Resurrection Day and Wishing Festival.
Now he had returned, and Paradise was still continuing celebrations for both festivals. The tavern on Sunset Street was still offering discounts. The Godhead had given these people far too long a holiday, he thought.
On the way back to the Giant Tree Inn, he was even sprinkled with petal and leaf rain twice, approached three times asking if he wanted to join the celebration parade, and stepped on by a delivery pigeon once.
Only when he finally returned to that room filled with gift boxes did everything quiet down.
The scent of maple sugar and grapes drifted in from the window. In the treehouse, gift boxes of various sizes stacked from floor to ceiling. Each gift was tied with ribbons. Under the butterfly knots, one never knew what was hidden inside. But all were personally selected by a certain deity.
Opening these things one by one would take who knows how long. Taking them all was also impractical. Yu Feichen selected one box from the pile of exquisite containers based on the most pleasing color. It was a slender golden satin-surfaced long box. When twilight’s luster flowed across the surface, the satin refracted a slight emerald green. He really wanted to give Them something. Their whole life seemed to be about giving, about being demanded from.
When Yu Feichen went out with the gift box, the tree-person attendant emerged. The attendant had wanted to ask how to handle this storage room, whether to move it near your residence, but remembering recent gossip circulating about this person—the other protagonist in the gossip couldn’t be found in anyone’s social network, seemingly not a member of Paradise—the attendant asked one more question: “Should we help you send it?”
Yu Feichen seriously considered this suggestion.
“No need.”
If They wanted it, They would always come. He felt the Godhead unwrapping packages here would look different from usual, more like a real person.
Yet remembering this person’s desireless appearance in the Temple of Twilight, Yu Feichen changed his mind slightly. There had to be something to dangle.
“If no one comes to collect it within thirty days,” he said, “randomly select one and send it.”
“Understood,” the tree-person attendant didn’t understand this approach, but the guest’s requirements must be scrupulously fulfilled—this was traditional virtue, the fundamental reason for the Giant Tree Inn’s thriving business. While secretly recording this new development in the gossip story, while dutifully fulfilling duties, he produced a wide vine leaf: “Please select an address.”
“Landonvalen,” Yu Feichen said.
Tiny vines rapidly spread and extended across the leaf, freezing into text shapes.
Yu Feichen continued: “Temple of Twilight.”
The attendant’s hands holding the leaf trembled slightly.
The recipient’s name that followed made Yu Feichen pause.
Finally he said: “…Anfi.”
“Understood, we’ve recorded it for you,” the attendant put away the vine leaf.
“Thank you.” Yu Feichen left this place.
The tree-person attendant’s eyes blinked. The semi-transparent wing feathers behind swiftly unfurled, quickly disappearing into the lush tree shadows.
When Yu Feichen was about to go down, he happened to meet Windsor and White Pine returning. Of course, that guide was also steadfastly following beside them.
“In-depth interview with former employer: After finally learning where Yu God spent his Reflex Stones, I was actually quite relieved. I always thought his goal was to establish a second Reflex Stone Plaza… Wait, there’s new news: Shocking! The truth is actually this!” At this moment, the guide held a vine leaf newspaper, reading aloud with great emotion. On the newspaper, some vine text was rapidly twisting.
Hearing “shocking” news, White Pine stretched his neck: “What happened, what happened!”
Windsor imperceptibly glanced over: “What occurred?”
“Yu God spent lavishly, sought throughout Paradise with no trace, the mysterious beauty of Twilight Street actually lives in the Temple of Twilight—is it a priest or an emissary?”
The guide excitedly slapped White Pine: “Is it true? Is it true?”
White Pine looked bewildered: “Ah? I don’t know.”
At this moment, a pigeon fluttered over and tossed a rose into Yu Feichen’s arms. Yu Feichen began to suspect what kind of place Paradise actually was. Now it seemed even pigeons couldn’t be trusted.
The pigeon’s wing flapping attracted others’ attention. White Pine turned around, his bewildered expression immediately becoming obedient: “Yu ge, hello!”
The guide “swish” put away the newspaper: “The weather’s really nice today.”
Windsor smiled mysteriously: “Hello, Yu.”
Yu Feichen coldly glanced at them and called Windsor over. Claros said the thirteenth level wasn’t peaceful recently. The intervals between dungeons would be very long. He transferred some Reflex Stones to Windsor, letting him and White Pine arrange things themselves during this period.
As for himself, the tree-person attendant had already diligently summoned a unicorn carriage to Landonvalen.
Watching the carriage pass through interlaced vine shadows, the guide said: “Looks like it’s true.”
Outside the Temple of Twilight, eternal sleep flowers bloomed densely.
During these past days, Yu Feichen had grown so familiar with this scent that stepping off the carriage, he didn’t even see these snow-white swaying flowers, but instinctively recalled a person with real tactile presence.
Passing through the flower sea, priests were playing with children in the temple plaza, but Yu Feichen might have some aura that made the living retreat. As soon as he arrived, young priests led a chattering flock of children away.
A bit quieter didn’t matter either. Yu Feichen stepped onto the temple plaza. The stone ground’s material resembled the Resurrection Altar. Ahead, the temple stood quietly. Last time he was a rash visitor, this time he came by appointment. The only similarity was he still didn’t know the deity’s specific location.
Perhaps it was the eternal sleep flower’s effect—strangely, Yu Feichen felt no anxiety. He hadn’t last time either.
——As if instinctively believing that just by walking in, through the winding corridors and staggered halls, he would always meet Them.
And in this silent temple, every blade of grass, every tree, including priests and children, still gave him that feeling of… déjà vu.
For many years, he knew his instincts had been thoroughly trained. Once in unfamiliar environments, he was inevitably fully alert, missing no rustle of wind or grass. But here, that instinct seemed to fail.
Yu Feichen felt slightly bewildered. He raised his head. Ahead was the faceless divine statue. The statue’s face had no features, yet seemed to gaze at him. The evening wind blew. Everything was silent and holy.
Just as he looked, a hand suddenly slid across Yu Feichen’s shoulder.
“Who are you looking at?”
The newcomer carried a scent of grass and wood, chest brushing against his back. Yu Feichen immediately walked two steps to the right front, drawing a clear line with this person. Turning around—elf ears, silver eyes—it was indeed the gender-ambiguous God of Life, Sather.
“We meet again,” Sather licked their tooth tips. “Little Yu, who are you looking for?”
Yu Feichen: “Who are you looking for?”
“The person I was looking for, I’ve already seen. Meeting you on the way back is truly a pleasant surprise,” Sather approached him. “How about going on a date next time?”
Yu Feichen: “Are we familiar?”
The God of Life coming to the Temple of Twilight, the person they sought could only be the Godhead.
“Don’t be fierce with me,” Sather seemed hurt, but the wounded expression was quite affected.
“Can’t get Law, can’t get the new god. I don’t want to stay in this Paradise anymore. I’m going to the City of Mist to have fun. Speaking of which, which level does They plan to give you? It seems all thirteen floors already have divine officials. Are they building another level?”
“I’m not a divine official,” Yu Feichen said. “I’m also not interested.”
Sather smiled: “I don’t believe it.”
Whether the God of Life believed or not had nothing to do with him. Yu Feichen turned to leave.
Yet Sather’s voice came from behind again, a desolate sigh.
“Soon, there will be a new flower sea here,” Sather said. “Little Yu, what flowers do you think They would like to see blooming here?”
Yu Feichen had never seen eternal sleep flowers wither, but he heard the subtext in Sather’s words and stopped: “Why change them?”
“Actually, after Resurrection Day, the flowering season has passed. For many years, it’s been my power maintaining their year-round bloom. But today, They said, just let them sleep. "
Sather’s voice grew increasingly ethereal: “Perhaps, They now feel that staying awake is also good. I’m going to bid them farewell. Next time we meet, I hope to obtain your body.”
The divine officials of the Tower of Creation either said strange things or said even stranger things.
Last time Sather said such things, he had never considered it.
Now, the object of his consideration couldn’t possibly be anyone else. In fact, he suspected the Godhead was also temporarily unwilling to see eternal sleep flowers for this very reason.
So, for Sather, Yu Feichen had only one sincere suggestion: “You’d be more realistic pursuing Law.”
Sather was so angry their ears stood up: “Although Law rejected me, he never pushed me toward others.”
Yu Feichen didn’t even acknowledge his accusation, which made Sather unbearable: “How are you lifeless objects all so difficult? What are you?”
Only then did Yu Feichen turn back toward Sather. He stood against the light, his pupils cold and empty, not even reflecting shadows.
“Perhaps,” he said, “I’m human?”
His voice, like his pupils, held an inanimately cold temperature. Even if others couldn’t detect it, Sather had awareness.
“Hmm? I was mistaken? Impossible,” Sather approached him again. The elf’s ears moved in small increments, nose sniffing near his body, laughing: “But the breath of life on you is really faint, even fainter than Law’s.”
“What is Law?”
Sather licked their tooth tips again: “He was originally a half-human… mainframe, or intelligence brain? Anyway, that sort of thing. He only likes his RGB lights. Back then, his relationship with humans was quite poor. What about you?”
Yu Feichen recalled the past.
He still remembered One Two Three Four Five Six Eight, and the Commander.
“Very good,” he said.
Sather smiled as if hearing an overly perfect fairy tale.
“Not pursuing people’s pasts is a virtue of Landonvalen. How does Landonvalen have so many damned virtues? I hope next time we meet, you won’t lie to me again,” Sather said. “I’m leaving. The person you’re looking for is in the temple.”
The elf’s figure disappeared into the flower sea, merging with it.
A snow-white petal suddenly fell—the first.
On the mountaintop, wind rose. The flower sea swayed. Light petals lifted high like feathers, then drifted down like belated rain.
The eternal sleep flowers covering the mountain peak suddenly withered completely.
Perhaps some change truly was about to happen.
Yu Feichen thought he still hadn’t answered Sather—what flowers did he think the Godhead would like?
But he didn’t know either. Forget it. Gods love worldly things as They pity humanity, without favoring any particular kind.
He entered the temple, not deliberately seeking anything, as if just casually strolling, going to places he wanted to go. In the ethereal hall, songs echoed. Yu Feichen felt familiar again, but his memory of such minutiae had never been good. In the end, only some fragmentary pieces floated through his mind.
This melody—he had heard Anfield hum it on a snowy night in Oak Valley, and heard it in the Godhead’s deep memories during the final mark. It was something symbolizing the deity’s past. He now knew the Godhead came from a temple more magnificent than the Temple of Twilight, a continuous temple where many obelisks stood. Actually, the Tower of Creation also had this obelisk shape.
After millions of years, did the Godhead still miss Their homeland?
Yu Feichen encountered the Godhead in the temple’s back garden.
This place stretched endlessly. At the center was a rectangular lake surface with rippling light, surrounded by white stone construction. Standing here, through the temple’s staggered architecture, one could still see the distant shadow of the faceless divine statue.
Before coming, Yu Feichen had hastily supplemented knowledge about Landonvalen and the Temple of Twilight. This place was called the Twilight Pool. True to its name, the scenery was most beautiful at dusk.
The entire sunset reflected in the pool. Clouds were patches of orange-red and purple. The water’s edges refracted brilliant golden luster.
The golden-haired deity stood quietly by the lake, like a beautifully shaped silhouette, a painting that an ebony easel frame could pass down through generations.
Deity—deities were probably such things. When approaching, even breathing unconsciously lightened. Though in the eternal sleep flower’s scent, Their panting had once been as lingering and urgent as misty rain.
They seemed to be thinking of other things, only suddenly returning to awareness when Yu Feichen drew very near.
“Good afternoon,” Yu Feichen said.
“Good afternoon,” the Godhead looked at him, eyes carrying a hint of smile, as if seeing him was some unexpected surprise.
Suddenly, Yu Feichen knew why he found that gift box pleasing—because the deity’s eyes were this color.
——Then he saw this deity’s gaze move down, looking at the box in his hands.
Yu Feichen counted silently.
One, two, three. Still looking.
He was certain They were very happy.
And truly wanted it.
Besides giving it to Them, there was no other option.
The slender satin-surfaced box reached the Godhead’s hands. They looked at it a while before opening it.
Inside the box lay a verdant green vine—a seedling. The box was gold with emerald green tints. The vine was the opposite—green with golden accents.
They placed the vine in Their palm. This thing suddenly seemed to come alive, affectionately coiling around Their wrist. The Godhead pulled it off. The soft vine body climbed up the sleeve again.
“Did you choose this? It’s one I really like,” They said.
Yu Feichen thought to himself that you probably really like everything in the entire treehouse.
“What is this?” he said.
“Maxim Vine,” They said. “After it grows, it curls up when hearing reasonable maxims, laughs at unreasonable maxims, shakes its leaves when hearing lies, and when hearing truth… blooms a very beautiful small flower.”
This vine was quite busy.
What he had carried all the way from Paradise to Landonvalen turned out to be a lie detector, still in juvenile form with incomplete functions.
If it were adult form, They would have to watch Their words today.
Under the sunset, watching the Godhead play with the vine, Yu Feichen said nothing. He actually had many things to ask. But facing the Godhead, his ridiculously scarce patience suddenly became more than sufficient.
Let Them play a bit longer.