Chapter 180: Shrine

As an underground operative active in Uta City, Lena had long memorized every street in this land, and even minor renovations were immediately updated in her mind, for even a missing wall or an extra path could be the boundary between life and death.

But now, the street before her was utterly alien and desolate—still bearing the style of Lisu District, yet not a single soul in sight, as if everyone but herself had vanished.

"Calm down—we've entered the Divine Realm." Xiao Lingdang's voice echoed in Lena's mind. Prompted, Lena's professional composure instantly surfaced; she quickly steadied her emotions and observed the unfamiliar street, her thoughts turning to the nature of the Divine Realm.

For members of the Anti-He Xing Front, studying those myths meant to be utterly destroyed was mandatory; in Neon's mythos, deities coexisted with humans but dwelled in separate dimensions—such as the torii gate before ancient shrines, said to be the gateway into the divine domain.

In other words, was there truly a deity here?

"That's right! Finding it on the first day? You're lucky!" Xiao Lingdang gave an affirmative reply, yet Lena felt something was off:

"If a Divine Realm is activated, shouldn't it be by an active deity? But how did He evade He Xing's purge?"

"Who knows?" Xiao Lingdang's tone was evasive, indifferent:

"Maybe He's good at hiding, maybe He just revived, or maybe He's a newly born deity—it doesn't matter. Why don't you ask Him yourself? Hmm, this Divine Realm has a tendency to confuse travelers—I've already marked the correct path for you…"

As she spoke, Lena felt her vision shift: the ordinary alleyway suddenly glowed with a faint luminescence. She followed the glow, but soon realized something was wrong—

"Goddess, haven't we passed this place before?"

"It only looks that way. This Divine Realm selects its entrants—only those who meet the criteria reach their destination. Others who wander in become lost in folded space. But for me, a guiding goddess, this is mere child's play. Just follow the path I showed you." Xiao Lingdang seemed utterly unconcerned. Lena felt uneasy but still followed the glow.

After seeing the same street scene for the fourth time, she finally spotted a path different from the others—and it was this path that triggered a sense of déjà vu.

"This road… suddenly feels familiar!"

Lena didn't pause to recall where she'd seen it before—she stepped onto it. After passing through an alley, a sign she knew all too well came into view—

"Bai Tu Pharmacy?" Lena's eyes widened as she stared at the plump, endearing white rabbit on the sign—and suddenly, every mystery unraveled.

No wonder legends said only the wounded could find it. No wonder Xiao Ye's severe injuries healed so quickly. No wonder the path felt familiar—she'd walked here just two nights ago!

"It feels completely different from the last path, yet upon reflection, it's strangely similar—so this Divine Realm selects only the wounded?" Lena's mind formed this thought, then she remembered a question:

"Goddess, didn't you come here with Xiao Ye before?"

"Maybe. But I don't remember. Though I was awakened a few days ago, my faith then came only from that child—and her condition was poor. I used all my divine power to guide her fate. Afterward, I lost awareness from exhaustion, then revived through your hopes." Xiao Lingdang's tone was vague, yet Lena carefully retraced the events—and found it matched everyone's conclusions.

The Lingdang Goddess must have been the deity hatched from Xiao Ye's faith seed in her final despair—and under this deity's power, Xiao Ye reached the only place that could save her life.

But if so, hadn't she already encountered a deity before the Lingdang Goddess? Was that man obsessed with avoiding insurance the medical deity?

Lena's emotions were tangled, yet she walked toward the pharmacy.

With a soft chime, the pharmacy door opened, and a calm voice reached her ears—

"If you're not in a hurry, please wait a moment!"

Lena looked up and saw the man in the white coat she'd met just recently—now treating a bruised, yellow-haired youth.

Confirming she still wore the appearance of a drunken old man, Lena relaxed slightly and began observing the room.

It looked no different from an ordinary pharmacy. The only oddities were the lack of labels on all medicines, and the beautiful nurse—and the white rabbit nightlight on the reception desk.

"That's not a nightlight! It's a divine statue!" Xiao Lingdang's voice suddenly rang out, startling Lena.

"A divine statue? Isn't the doctor the deity?" Lena was surprised. Xiao Lingdang immediately manifested an exasperated expression in Lena's mind:

"If a deity could truly exist in such a perfect physical form, He'd be beyond comprehension. If this deity had that level of power, He wouldn't be sneaking around opening a hidden Divine Realm."

"Is that so?" Lena, with only fragmentary knowledge of deities, could only laugh awkwardly—but her attention inevitably fixed on the statue. Then she noticed: though the small statue resembled a cheap nightlight, it truly embodied the rituals Xiao Lingdang had described for worship.

The faint, fragrant incense and smokeless candles were offerings. The sign bearing the deity's image was the divine tablet. The healing process was the exercise of the deity's authority. The countless medicines were offerings before the altar.

Though she'd never noticed anything unusual before, now that she understood the rituals of worship, to Lena's eyes, this clinic was unmistakably a grand shrine.

"Don't get wet for seven days. Take one pill daily. Return in three days for suture removal! Total fee: ten thousand two hundred yuan—no insurance!"

As Lena's thoughts churned, Feng Xue's voice reached her again. Watching the young man pay and leave swiftly, Lena began considering how to begin—yet…

"Oh, I didn't recognize you before—you're the one returning the wheelchair and hospital gown?"

(End of Chapter)