Chapter 606: We Actually Didn't Invite You

With Yu Lin's arrival, the Gods' gazes all fell upon him.

Those who were drinking set down their cups, and those chatting paused their conversation.

"Yu Lin!" Thor was the first to react, stood up, strode over, and threw his arm around Yu Lin's shoulder; his palm, the size of a Palm Fan, slapped his shoulder, producing a muffled "bang—".

"You arrived just in time! We were just planning to hold a banquet!"

Yu Lin let himself be led toward the garden; he didn't struggle.

The Gods showed little surprise at Yu Lin's arrival, or rather, that surprise quickly turned into a familiar, natural acquaintance.

He had lived here for many years, and he held a place in the Hall of Heroic Spirits.

One could say he is also a part of this place.

At least the Gods think so.

"Yu Lin! Try this, I saved it especially for you."

"Alright, thanks, ha."

Yu Lin sat down in the garden, took the cup handed over by Shi Kou Di, and clinked it with Thor:

"Looks lively enough,"

Then his gaze fell on the corner.

Loki sat there alone, far from everyone, his back against a column, one leg draped over a stone stool, holding a silver goblet.

He took no part in anyone's conversation, and no one came to speak with him.

He simply sat there, drinking, watching the bustling crowd in the garden, like an observer.

His face was half-lit, half-shadowed, a faint, half‑present smile tugging at his mouth.

Yu Lin looked at him.

Loki met his gaze, froze for a moment, then bared his teeth and made a motion of opening his mouth to bite the air.

Fierce and impatient, as if saying, "What are you looking at?"

After the gesture, he turned his head away, no longer looking at Yu Lin, and tipped the goblet to gulp a mouthful.

Yu Lin smiled faintly.

At that moment, footsteps came from the direction of the Golden Palace.

Fu Li Jia descended from her quarters, walked through the garden, passed the laughing Gods, and came to stand before Yu Lin.

She wore a silver‑gray long dress, her hair tied with a white ribbon.

The Gods fell silent, their eyes all fixed on her.

"Yu Lin," Fu Li Jia began, her voice reaching the Gods' ears:

"You don't need to swear an oath."

"Why?" Yu Lin raised an eyebrow.

"Because we all know," Fu Li Jia said, looking at him with gentle eyes:

"You're too lazy to do those things; it's obvious to everyone."

"Rather than causing trouble, you'd rather think about what to eat today and where to go tomorrow."

"Isn't that so?"

One of the Gods let out a laugh.

"If that day ever comes," Fu Li Jia continued, "and you do something out of character, we'll first suspect that Loki impersonated you."

The laughter could no longer be held back.

Thor laughed uproariously, "Right, right!"

"Exactly!"

Yu Lin set his cup down, looking at Fu Li Jia:

"You hold me in such high regard? Then thank you for—"

Bang!

A deafening crash interrupted Yu Lin's words.

Everyone turned their heads; Loki stood in the corner, the goblet before him smashed onto the table, wine splashing across it, flowing down the edge, dripping onto the stone slab like tiny patches of blood.

His expression turned grim, the faint smile at his mouth long gone, leaving only a cold, hard, stone‑like look.

"Fu Li Jia, shall I leave?"

Fu Li Jia said nothing.

The Gods also remained silent.

Loki stood there, watching them, his gaze sweeping over Fu Li Jia's face, then Thor's, then TiEr's, Fulei Ya's, Bader's, Hai Mu Da Er's, and so on, finally lingering a moment on Yu Lin's face before moving on.

He turned and walked toward the garden's exit.

His footsteps were heavy, each step firm, as if competing with someone.

After a few steps, he stopped, not looking back.

"I'm really leaving," he said, his voice coming from ahead, tinged with a clenched‑tooth tone:

"Are you sure you won't stop me?"

"I'm Odin's brother!"

The Gods exchanged glances.

No one moved, no one spoke.

Thor scratched the back of his head, TiEr looked down at his boots, Fulei Ya combed the air with a golden comb............... Fu Li Jia stood motionless, expressionless, like a stone statue.

Silence lingered for a long while.

"Loki,"

Thor finally spoke, speaking very honestly:

"We actually didn't invite you."

Loki's back stiffened.

"You — this bunch — damned fellows —"

"Wait for me!"

He flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

This time he walked quickly, his robe stirring a wind that blew the roadside flowers every which way.

His silhouette vanished at the garden's end, vanished between the pillars of the Golden Palace, vanished where sunlight could not reach.

His footsteps grew farther and fainter, until they could no longer be heard.

The garden fell silent for a moment.

Then Thor raised his wine cup, "Come, come, come, drink, drink!"

The Valkyries began wiping the wine cups again, the fountain began to splash again, and sunlight began to flow between the columns again.

In short.

The banquet began.

The clinking of wine cups, the sizzle of roasting meat over the fire.

The gods laughed, drank, and enjoyed this eternal afternoon undisturbed by any shadow.

After three rounds of wine, after five flavors of food.

Bader set down his wine cup and looked at Fu Li Jia.

"Mother," he said, "really nothing can harm me anymore?"

The gods fell silent, all eyes turning to Fu Li Jia.

Fu Li Jia did not speak.

She bent down and picked up a stone from the ground.

Then she raised her hand and flicked the stone toward Bader.

The stone flew past his ear, stirring a breeze that moved a few strands of his golden hair, landing on the grass behind him, rolling twice before stopping.

Bader stood there motionless, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

He was unharmed, not a drop of blood, the stone didn't touch him in the slightest.

Indeed, all things had sworn an oath, so even an ordinary pebble could not harm him.

"Look," Fu Li Jia said, "nothing can harm you."

Bader laughed, turned to the gods, and opened his arms.

"Big guys, come give it a try!"

Thor was the first to stand, snatching a dining knife from the table and hurling it at Bader.

The knife spun in the air, its edge flashing cold light, flew to Bader's front, turned, slid past his side, and lodged in the column behind him, humming.

Fuleiya pulled the gold hairpin from her head, hesitated, then threw it. The hairpin traced an arc in the air, flew to Bader's front, and lightly fell into his palm............

Those weapons halted before him, turned, fell, dissipated—none could touch him, none could harm him.

All things had sworn an oath, and all things kept that oath.

The gods also laughed, laughing louder and louder until their laughter shook the dome of the Golden Palace with a hum.

This scene.

It was exactly like the first painting in those ruins.

At the back, the God of Darkness, Huo De Er, sat alone.

He could not see, so he did not participate.

He simply sat quietly in the corner, listening to those laughs, to the sound of weapons tearing through the air, to Bader's laughter.

His fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, as if counting something.

After a while, he stood up and felt his way to the side.

He did not go toward the laughing gods, but went in another direction.

"Yu Lin," he sat down beside Yu Lin, turned his head, and his sightless eyes faced Yu Lin's direction:

"Do you have any way to let me see?"