Chapter 134
The Little Priest of the Gods (Part 4)
Mu Cai woke up from a deep sleep, feeling a little sore around his waist and a soft weakness throughout his body. He didn't want to move at all while lying in the comfortable bed.
Thanks to this unusual feeling, Mu Cai instantly recalled what had happened last night.
Late at night, the flickering candlelight by the bath, the rippling waves, the arms wrapped around his waist, and the sound of heavy breathing in his ears.
A light blush immediately spread across Mu Cai's pale cheeks.
Last night, when the god's actions toward him became more and more presumptuous, Mu Cai finally understood. Although he had very little exposure to such things since childhood and was slow to catch on, it didn't mean he didn't know what was going on.
Mu Cai originally thought that God only wanted to relieve his desires and asked if he needed to call for a consort.
A consort is a type of priest, usually performed by women, but also by some handsome young men. They usually serve higher-ranking priests in temples. Some of them maintain their purity and marry warriors of the city-state or symbols of the gods as spouses.
After Mu Cai made this suggestion, the god, who had been fooling around on him, stopped but did not let him go. Instead, he hugged Mu Cai even tighter and whispered in his ear:
"You have offered yourself to me, and I have granted your wish. You are mine. Why would you hesitate to commit to such an act with me, then suggest someone else instead?"
"After enduring more than two months of drought, the abundant rainfall will speed up the emergence of locusts from underground. When the devil's messenger crosses, the life-saving grains that your people have painstakingly grown will soon disappear. If you're willing, all these can be solved."
"All I want is you."
"..."
His deep, coaxing voice sounded like a demon tempting humanity to offer up their souls in exchange for a deal. Mu Cai thought about his own status as a divine sacrifice while worrying about the impending locust plague.
Under this dual shock, he agreed to the divine will in a stupor, forcing himself to hang onto the edge of the bath, issuing a broken groan.
Now, recounting the scene from last night, Mu Cai felt a hot blush on his face, the coolness brought by the downpour unable to cool him down.
He didn't give thought to the whereabouts and actions of the other person involved.
The oracle priest was struggling to calm his emotions. Outside the sleeping quarters, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
Mu Cai turned his head to see a seemingly frantic divine servant dash into his bedroom. The servant's face was one of urgency, trying hard to articulate, "Honorable Oracle Priest, the lord has commanded the army. Master Themis is heading toward the temple with them! They claim the deity is a demon and must be exorcised!"
________________________
Perseus's mood was extremely bad at the moment.
He had been by his beloved Cai Cai’s side, watching his peaceful sleeping expression, anticipating the moment when his beloved would open his eyes to see him first thing. But no sooner had he heard the rumble of hooves echoing from afar, he knew they were coming for him while he still waited in the innermost chamber of the temple.
The direction pointed directly at this temple named 'The Chaste Maiden'.
One could tell they didn't have good intentions.
And it seemed they were coming for him.
Perseus sat by the bed framed by light gauze curtains, listening from miles away to the unified shouting of the huge army:
"Slay the demon, protect the priest!"
"Slay the demon, protect the priest!"
"..."
Listening to this ground-shaking and passionate outcry, the demon god Perseus only found it laughable.
This rabble intended to separate him and Cai Cai? How could the power of mere mortals be compared to that of the gods!
The sounds grew ever closer, nearly reaching the temple, and Perseus' massive bat wings fluttered.
They were so close now that even the weak humans could hear their voices. The demon god did not want his beloved, who had been overly fatigued the previous night, to be woken. Hence, he made a decision.
He would go out and meet these presumptuous humans.
And he would see who had the ability to see through his disguise.
However, now, Perseus paid the price for his arrogance.
Hovering in the air, his long horns rose from his head and his large bat wings fanned wide, nearly blocking the sun.
Despite appearing imposing and awe-inspiring in his true form to the humans below, he knew that he was forced to reveal his true form because he couldn't maintain his disguise.
Only at this moment did the demon god admit that he had indeed underestimated these two humans.
Themis grasped the priest's staff firmly, his eyes, like molten gold under the sunlight, fixed on the demon god in the sky. He struck the ground heavily with his staff and loudly commanded, "Attack!"
The soldiers on the ground immediately mounted their horses, surging forward like a flood. They launched a volley of arrows, each aflame, from different directions toward the demon god in the sky.
Perseus couldn't help but laugh.
It seemed that not only was he struggling, the humans below were also in a predicament. What harm could their wooden arrows cause him? They weren't even as damaging as the spell cast by the golden-eyed human who coveted his Cai Cai.
Demons are not gods because they usually represent a certain original sin. Perseus' original sin was pride; he had stumbled several times in the past because of it, yet he still hadn't learned his lesson.
Perseus' bat wings whipped up a violent wind, instantly knocking down all incoming arrows. Some even flew back at high speeds, knocking the archers off their horses. Silently, they fell to the ground.
When the violent wind subsided and the dust settled, the demon god in the sky looked at the ground with his dark pupils. Raising his hand, he prepared to end this confrontation with these unimpressive humans.
Although this time Perseus was quite injured, he also discovered some problems.
For example, the golden-eyed human below possessed a power that obviously should not belong to human beings. When he was fighting this human, he noticed that while the power seemed very different from his, it actually originated from the same source.
What was going on?
Perseus pondered for a while but couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.
Anyway, once the two people below fell, he could freely investigate.
After all, corpses cannot fight back.
With arrogant thoughts, Perseus prepared to strike them down with the final thunderbolt, his bat wings flapping behind him.
However, just as he was about to raise his hand, he found himself bound by a powerful force.
It was then that Perseus realized he was entangled in intricately woven golden threads, so fine they were barely visible to the naked eye. They wrapped around him, encasing him in a golden cocoon.
Infuriated, he looked down and saw that the humans he had previously scattered were now forming a magical array that emitted a golden light.
It was that golden-eyed human!
A part from the staff in hand, Themis held the priest's rod, his pupils flowing like liquid gold. He stepped upon a glowing circle, constantly transmitting his magical power to the golden formation before him.
Themis was young—only sixteen—and it was his first time participating in such a massive battle. Supplying the massive magical array with his power alone, his face reddened from the strain.
His golden eyes were glowing as he gritted out through clenched teeth, "Your Majesty! Now is the time! Aim for the demon's brow—it's his weak point!"
The demon god never expected the golden-eyed human to see through his weaknesses so easily. Turning his eyes back to the ground, Perseus saw the human monarch raising his bow.
The bow was mighty and vast, and the arrow on the string made Perseus shrink back.
The arrowhead gleamed brightly like gold, and on the snowy tail feathers, a bundle of ever-burning fire was kindled. On closer look, it resembled a phoenix enveloped in flames.
Perseus recognized this arrow.
It was none other than the God Slaying Arrow!
It was once used by a brave warrior to cause the downfall of a high-ranking deity and was eventually sealed away.
Who would have thought it would end up in the hands of this human king!
Perseus would never simply accept his fate without a fight.
Cross chose his angle and drew the bow.
The young monarch’s arm muscles bulged as he drew the bow, and when the bow was fully drawn, the golden arrowhead shone brilliantly under the sun. It illuminated an eye-catching ray of light, darting towards the demon bound by golden threads.
The God Slaying Arrow whistled through the wind, aiming precisely at Perseus' brow.
The people on the ground held their breath at this moment, their eyes rigidly following the fiery arrow as it sped forward.
However, just as the golden arrowhead was about to pierce the demon king’s brow, Perseus, who was nearly cocooned by the golden threads, suddenly smirked.
The next moment, the demon god, with his long horns and huge bat wings, vanished from the sight of the crowd.
The sudden transition happened too swiftly, leaving the people yet to react.
Themis had never imagined that this demon had a contingency plan in place, furiously slamming his staff on the ground.
However, even a demon couldn't dissipate into thin air without trace, unless he was forced to retreat back into the demon world.
This thought somewhat relieved Themis.
As long as the other party was gone, he would have a chance to reapproach his teacher. He'd have ample time before the demon returned.
With that in mind, Themis looked up, only to see Mu Cai standing not too far away, his face pale and shaking.
________________________
When Mu Cai woke up again, he still found himself in his own bed.
But by now it was already nighttime, candles were lit up in the chamber. His head felt a bit groggy as he just woke up and before he could adjust, he heard the young boy's clear voice beside the bed, "Teacher, you're awake."
That was Themis.
The teenager sat by the side of the bed, his priest's rod beside him. A pair of eyes, flowing like liquid gold, were focused on him.
Mu Cai's emotions were quite mixed right now.
Today, he saw his own student collude with the city-state's ruler to suppress a God.
No, perhaps 'God' was no longer the correct term.
When the Oracle Priest hurried to the scene, he was unwilling to admit what he saw. Despite the face bearing a striking resemblance to a God, the entity had horns and bat wings like a demon.
In Mu Cai's understanding, demons are usually nefarious. However, the Oracle Priest had never seen Perseus, the supposed demon, do harm. In contrast, this entity solved the drought in the city-state and even promised to address the potential locust plague.
The Oracle Priest couldn't help but be confused.
Should such a demon also be exterminated? Can such an entity even be considered a demon?
The aforementioned priest was sat on a soft bed, half of his body illuminated by candlelight. His long eyelashes cast downwards, and the brilliance in his eyes akin to the silver galactic river in the summer night shimmered as if holding back tears.
Themis clenched his fist.
Was his teacher upset? Was he crying?
Was he crying over that demon?!
Just as Mu Cai was grappling with his shaken faith, he suddenly felt the light in front of him fade. Lifting his head, he found Themis had climbed onto his bed, kneeling before him. Themis' hands rested on his shoulders, and his eyes, golden like flowing honey, were firmly fixed on him.
A dangerous signal.
"Teacher, are you worrying about the demon?"
Mu Cai found himself at a loss for words.
However, it seemed as if Themis didn't expect an answer.
"You are the Oracle Priest, revered by the people, my guiding beacon. You shouldn't worry about a demon! The only reason you're having these thoughts is that you've been deceived by the demon!"
As Themis spoke, he gripped Mu Cai's shoulders tighter, a fervor burning in his eyes. "The demon has left impurity inside you, which is why you fainted on the battlefield and only just woke up. You need to be exorcised."
Upon hearing these words, the previously dazed Mu Cai woke up from his stupor. A red flush spread over his snow-white cheeks. "How...how do you know...no, you can't...I'm your teacher..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw his carefully nurtured student rip off his usual polite disguise. The expression on Themis' face became somewhat frantic: "Why?! Why can the demon touch you, and I can't?! Just because I'm your pupil?"
Looking at Themis' twisted expression and wild eyes, Mu Cai tenderly cupped his student's face. "Themis, you're lost."
However, the young pupil would not heed his teacher's words of caution. Instead, he retorted, "Then, I need your help even more."
With those words, Themis bowed down and kissed the wide-eyed man before him. Overcoming the man's struggles, he pushed his teacher onto the bed.
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