Chapter 229: The Miserable Shi Diwen (4K)

To be honest, Shi Diwen felt his fate was utterly miserable.

His family had begun its decline in his father's generation, and by the time it was passed down to him, it was basically finished for good.

All that remained was the title of "heir of a legendary explorer," which sounded nice but held no practical value whatsoever.

Some nobles would invite him to their homes to hear him tell the stories of his ancestors, but that was only because of his status — they held no real respect for him.

Shi Diwen was unwilling to accept it.

He did not want to live forever in the shadow of his ancestors.

He wanted others to look at him because of himself, not anyone else.

But relying on his own efforts alone, he feared he would never reach his ancestors' heights in his entire life.

So, after much deliberation, he ultimately chose a clever shortcut.

Following his childhood dream, he came here, hoping to inherit his ancestors' unfinished will.

As long as he could walk out alive, he could become the second person after his ancestors!

To truly make his name known throughout the world, to establish his fame, and become a new legendary explorer!

But ideals are plump, while reality is exceedingly gaunt.

Before anything had even begun, right at the start, he was greeted straight away with the grand finale.

Death, flight, fleeing — not a single one missed.

All his companions died, and even he was in a daze, like a walking corpse being controlled by someone.

In the end, only he alone lingered on in this world.

He truly did not want to die.

But as things stood, there seemed to be no way to leave alive.

This fog trapped him, shrouding him within this enormous cage.

His life was simply a tragedy.

And in his moment of confusion, he saw a glimmer of hope for survival.

After being cornered with nowhere to turn, Shi Diwen placed his faith in the divine.

Even though the other party had never shown themselves, even though… all of it might very well have been an absurd dream.

He had gone mad.

Or perhaps not.

But he had indeed heard those sacred words being chanted in his ear, felt the gaze of the divine upon him.

He even saw, at the very end, a living angel…

Only, to Shi Diwen's regret, the angel in his eyes denied him.

"An angel?"

Herbert looked at this middle-aged man whose mind was still a bit unclear, and shook his head:

"Although I don't know why you would think so, I am not the so-called angel you speak of."

An angel?

Heh, who would care for that.

Could Herbert be considered Nie Nasha's angel?

Strictly speaking, he really could be.

Her messenger, carrying out Her commands — that is the duty of an angel.

However, Herbert had no intention of admitting it.

His status was far higher than that of an angel!

【"Isn't this preferential treatment?"】

At this moment, Nie Nasha, who had been silent all night, suddenly popped up to quip:

【"You clearly were quite happy pretending in front of the heroic spirit earlier, so why are you unwilling now that it's him?"】

Hearing the exasperated god's teasing, Herbert slightly raised an eyebrow and laughed inwardly: "Oh? You've finally deigned to speak with me?"

【"Heh."】

The deity merely snorted coldly, not wanting to bother with this annoying fellow.

"Heh."

Seeing that She ignored him, Herbert proactively explained:

"I don't acknowledge the identity of an angel because, with him, I have a more fitting identity."

The conversation between the two in their minds lasted less than a single breath; Shi Diwen noticed nothing at all.

In his eyes, Herbert merely shook his head, then smiled quietly at him.

"You're not an angel?"

Shi Diwen, upon hearing this answer, was stunned for a moment and gaped in some bewilderment.

Not?

He had already taken this notion as a matter of course and engraved it deep into his soul, never once doubting it.

But at this moment, it was as if he had been suddenly slapped awake, suddenly snapping back to clarity.

Hm?

Shi Diwen's eyes widened, and all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.

As if a thin film that had unknowingly veiled his consciousness had been gently pierced, and the world returned to reality.

A few more sparks of liveliness appeared in his eyes, and he no longer seemed as fanatical as before.

"Then if you're not… you wouldn't be joking with me, would you?"

Shi Diwen laughed awkwardly, looking at the white-haired youth before him, still somewhat unwilling to believe this fact.

Could a mortal truly possess such beautiful features?

The youth before him seemed like a figure who had stepped out of a dreamlike painting; every strand of white hair was like the finest silver thread, glimmering with a faint sheen under the light.

His face was as if carefully sculpted by the most outstanding craftsman; the exquisite features combined together radiated a kind of irresistible, handsome beauty.

And compared to this irresistible beauty, what made Shi Diwen feel even more inferior was the holiness emanating from the other party.

The youth seemed to be shrouded in a layer of holy radiance; this radiance was not a dazzling brightness, but a soft halo that could seep into the depths of one's heart.

This halo seemed to emanate from the depths of his soul, giving one the feeling that he had transcended the mortal world.

His temperament was outstanding; elegance and nobility seemed to be innate.

His bearing was upright, like an ancient and majestic pine, yet between his words and deeds there was still a lively charm, with every gesture exuding grace and nobility.

After looking carefully for a while, Shi Diwen actually became somewhat absent-minded.

"……"

Shi Diwen was neither a magical creature nor a woman, and would not develop any special feelings because of Nie Nasha's blessing.

But even without that fatal attraction, the charm Herbert was radiating at this moment was enough to make mortals dazed.

This was an extremely hard-to-describe charm.

As Herbert's strength grew, his own charm was constantly increasing and improving.

After absorbing materials from various monster girls, his body had also picked up some of their temperaments.

The arrogance of dragons, the gentleness of sea maidens, the bewitchment of devils, the mystery of angels……

These complex temperaments intertwined, making Herbert appear especially mysterious in others' eyes, and full of a unique charm.

If it were only this, then although Herbert's temperament would still be astonishing, it would be far from the stunning effect at present.

The most important thing was that the increasingly powerful holy force on him had successfully suppressed these "demonic strangenesses."

When people saw Herbert, their first impression would only be that this person was incomparably pure, as if the embodiment of holiness.

But when they looked carefully, they would faintly perceive that special demonic strangeness on him—and when they did so, they had already fallen into Herbert's charm trap.

From the moment "curiosity" arose, one had already become his prey.

"Hehe."

Herbert knew Shi Diwen had taken the bait, and chuckled twice to startle him out of his daze.

"Finished looking? Do you still think I'm joking?"

"Uh!"

Shi Diwen suddenly came to his senses, and at this point also realized something was off.

"……It was indeed my rudeness."

This youth was not an angel.

The other's expression had both the holiness and nobility like an angel's, and the vitality and liveliness belonging to mortals.

Herbert winked at him, his eyes full of playfulness, and asked: "Now, what do you think I resemble?"

My friend, want to play a game with me?

The kind with no prize for guessing.

Guess whether I'm joking with you?

Guess right and there's no reward, but guess wrong……hehe.

!!!!

Shi Diwen shivered, forcefully suppressing the unease in his heart, turned his head to look at the centaur heroic spirit standing quietly at the side, and asked, changing the subject:

"You are not an angel, but this my lord should be a heroic spirit, right?"

You saying you're not an angel is one thing, but this one should at least be a heroic spirit, right?

Although Shi Diwen did not have much exploration experience, his family kept a large number of written records, and he had known all kinds of knowledge about magical creatures since childhood.

He was a genuine expert in magical creature studies.

And the centaur before him was undoubtedly a heroic spirit warrior that should exist in the divine kingdom.

Before Herbert could open his mouth to explain, upon hearing herself being mentioned, Sofia immediately frowned.

"……Hmph."

Actually, during this whole time, she had been staring at Shi Diwen with a very "kind" gaze, trying to silently convey her own thoughts—a warning.

How dare you stand?

What is your status?

When my lord is conversing with you, how dare you not show your respect by kneeling?

But hindered by Herbert's indifferent attitude, she did not voice a warning, only trying to stab this etiquette-ignorant fellow to death with her gaze.

My lord may not care, but can you not care?

She snorted when Shi Diwen asked, and loudly asked Herbert:

"My lord, this fellow knows too much. Do I need to make him forget all of this?"

He knows too much, he should be dealt with!

Today he dares to ask my identity, tomorrow he'll dare to rebel.

This one already has the path to his own death, he absolutely cannot be spared!

Kill!

"Ah?"

Shi Diwen:!!?

Wait!

What do I know?

Upon feeling the ill-intentioned gaze of the spirit, he immediately felt a chill run down his spine, his body trembling uncontrollably, and felt a searing pain at the back of his head.

He reached back to feel it, and the sore spot seemed to be horseshoe-shaped… Hiss, why that shape?

Suddenly, some painful memories began to slowly surface…

"Hmm?"

Herbert, meanwhile, glanced rather oddly at the centaur Young Lady who was reacting a bit too strongly, blinked, and suddenly realized something?

Is she… feeling competitive?

Because she realized he might become my subordinate, so Sophia felt her position was being challenged?

Surely not?

You, a legendary being, actually worried that some poor high-ranking fellow might shake your position.

"Hehe."

Herbert smiled, beckoned Sophia over, and when she came behind him, gave her bottom a light pat.

Sophia:!!!

The same spot stimulated again, Sophia's body trembled slightly.

"My lord, you…"

"Hold it in, don't let him notice."

Herbert didn't explain to her, but secretly gave the order, his hand's motion unchanged, continuing to gently stroke her.

Because of the angle, Shi Diwen couldn't see exactly what Herbert's hand was doing, only saw him gently soothing that irritable spirit.

"As you can see, Sophia is indeed a spirit, but she has nothing to do with the deity you mentioned. She is now merely my servant."

Upon hearing Herbert's words, Sophia excitedly raised her head, wanting to express her gratitude.

"My lord! I… mm!?"

But before she could speak, her cheeks twitched, and she lowered her head with clenched teeth.

She looked as if she was weeping with joy from overwhelming emotion.

Herbert laughed inwardly, secretly continuing to soothe the proud spirit.

Quite the thrill, actually.

And besides Shi Diwen, this unfamiliar spectator, there was actually another witness present, or rather… the aggrieved party.

【"No way, you just snatched her away like that?"】

The Trickster God's head was full of question marks.

That's my spirit, you know!

Fine that you took her in, I don't care.

But you had to do it right in front of me?

Are you picking a fight on purpose?

"Don't get so worked up."

Sure enough, doing this kind of depraved thing in front of the aggrieved party is the biggest thrill.

【"No way, are you even human!?"】

Am I human?

This is actually a very philosophical question.

After going through so much, can Herbert still be considered human?

After absorbing the materials of so many magical creatures, he might be hard to categorize as a mortal anymore.

Herbert might be human, but Herbert being human also seems unlikely.

But actually, it's not a big deal.

At least Herbert thinks he is.

Herbert took his claim over Sophia as a matter of course, but for Shi Diwen, the impact of those words was considerable.

His muddled brain couldn't quite process it.

What kind of being has the right to become a spirit's master?

Just how noble an identity must one be to achieve this?

He suddenly realized something, and cautiously lowered his body, bowing respectfully to Herbert.

Herbert watched his actions without stopping him, letting him kneel respectfully, laughing inwardly.

Not too dumb after all.

Shi Diwen raised his head and asked reverently, "My lord, you… who exactly are you?"

For his question, Herbert had long prepared an answer.

"Elsewhere, I have many other identities, but here, I am Herbert, the lord of Aelda."

"Lord?" Shi Diwen stared blankly at Herbert, not expecting to get such an answer.

Just a lord?

"Yes, you may address me as such."

"Welcome to my domain, the Aelda Territory, a place of redemption hidden within the mist."

Herbert winked at the still-dazed Shi Diwen and smiled:

"And you are the first human citizen here."

……

Shi Diwen sat blankly by the spring, following Herbert's instructions, drew water, and silently washed the filth from his body.

His mind was now nothing but a haze of confusion.

What happened? Who am I? Where am I?

How on earth did he blunder his way into becoming a citizen of this place?

While Shi Diwen was utterly baffled, Sophia was equally perplexed by this outcome.

"My lord, why did you spare that mortal?"

She didn't understand.

A frail human, a mortal with no use whatsoever — why keep him around?

"If I may speak frankly, he is not needed here."

To her question, Herbert merely shook his head slightly, raised an eyebrow, and asked in return, "You truly didn't notice?"

"On his body…"

"There rests the favor of a 'divine spirit.'"

(End of this chapter)