Chapter 621: Ask Him to Send You a Gift

In the evening, the family gathered around the hearth, not for warmth but for prayer.

Enna took the statue from the corner of the wall, wiped it repeatedly with a clean cloth, and then placed it in the niche.

The statue was small, palm‑high, made of wood, crudely carved, but one could see a standing man holding a sword with simple patterns etched on the blade, and a wild boar at his side.

It is a statue of Fulei, the god of abundance and peace.

Ying Ge knelt at the front, her small hands clasped, eyes closed, murmuring words.

Alf knelt beside her, posture upright, lips moving slightly but making no sound.

Enna and Xi Ge Li De knelt at the back, heads bowed so low their foreheads nearly touched the ground.

The firelight fell on the statue, the wood grain flickering in the flames, and the tiny Fulei seemed to come alive, its eyes gazing at the family kneeling before it.

"Great Fulei," Enna's deep voice echoed in the Wooden House, "grant us a bountiful harvest, bring spring early, let the snow cease, and let the earth sprout crops again."

"We are willing to offer the first sheaf of wheat, the first lamb, and the first jar of honey wine."

The family responded in unison, their voices soft yet devout.

After the prayer, Enna put the statue back.

Xi Ge Li De stood, brushed the dust off her knees, and went to the hearth to add a few pieces of firewood.

Ying Ge still knelt there, eyes closed, lips moving, whispering something unknown to Fulei.

"Ying Ge, get up," Xi Ge Li De called.

Ying Ge opened her eyes, stood, and ran to Yu Lin's side.

Yu Lin sat on a low stool by the hearth, watching the statue.

Ying Ge climbed onto the stool beside him, swinging her legs, and asked:

"Yu Lin, which deity do you worship?"

Yu Lin shook his head, "I don't worship any deity."

Ying Ge blinked:

"None? You don't believe in deities?"

"I don't, because I know them; there's no need to worship."

The Wooden House fell silent for a moment.

Enna's hand hovered in the air, and Xi Ge Li De almost dropped the water jug she was holding.

They looked at each other; someone opened their mouth, then closed it again.

Know the deities? No need to worship?

If anyone else had said that, Enna would have driven them out long ago.

But when Yu Lin said it, his tone was calm, not pretended, but completely natural, as if it were the obvious way!

Enna didn't know what to say.

She thought Yu Lin was bragging; after all, the gap between humans and deities is as distant as heaven and earth, as insurmountable as life and death!

Yet Yu Lin spoke so earnestly that it left no room for rebuttal!

What if... hmm, that shouldn't be; if he knew the deities, they wouldn't have met in the snow!

Perhaps the stories just told made him insert himself into them!

Ying Ge didn't overthink, just asked curiously:

"Then do you know the god Fulei?"

Yu Lin looked at her and smiled faintly:

"Someday I'll have him send you a relic, how about that?"

Ying Ge's eyes lit up, "Really? Is it really possible?"

She leapt off the stool, ran to Yu Lin, tilted her head back to look at him, her face full of excitement, "What will the god Fulei give us?"

"You'll find out then," Yu Lin said.

Ying Ge clapped her hands in delight, ran back to her mother, tugged her sleeve and said, "Mom, did you hear? Yu Lin said the god Fulei will give us something!"

Xi Ge Li De patted her head, smiled helplessly, not knowing what to say.

She thought Yu Lin was coaxing the child, but as long as the child was happy, there was no need to expose the truth.

Ying Ge asked several more questions, all about the deities.

Where do the deities reside? What do they eat? Do they feel cold? Do they get sick?

Yu Lin answered each in turn; some answers were earnest, some casual, some just a smile without words.

Ying Ge listened with great interest, firing question after question like a rapid barrage, until Xi Ge Li De urged her to sleep, at which point she reluctantly released Yu Lin's sleeve.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Yu Lin said.

"You must tell us tomorrow!" Ying Ge stuck out her pinky.

Yu Lin paused, then extended his pinky and hooked hers.

Ying Ge climbed onto the bed, slipped into the blankets, closed her eyes, a smile still lingering at the corner of her mouth.

The firelight fell on her face, warm.

She soon fell asleep, breathing evenly, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, unaware of what she was dreaming.

The Wooden House grew quiet, only the crackle of the fire and the low howl of wind and snow outside.

Days passed one by one.

Yu Lin said they'd stay only a few days, leaving when the snow lessened.

But the snow never lessened, never stopped, never vanished.

Spring never came.

A month passed, two months passed................ three months passed, and the snow remained.

Yu Lin lived at the Enna Family's for three months.

That morning, Enna and Xi Ge Li De were taking inventory of the food.

The supplies in the cabinet were dwindling—only a few strips of dried meat remained, half a bag of flour, a few stalks of pickled vegetables, and not much salt.

Enna took out each item one by one, placed them on the table, then put them back one by one. He sighed.

"Only enough for three days," he said.

Xi Ge Li De stood beside him, looking at the pitifully little food, her brows furrowed.

"Didn't you say you were going hunting today? Bring back some meat."

Enna nodded: "I'll go soon, but what about the vegetables? Not eating vegetables will make you sick, and if we get sick in this situation..."

He didn't continue.

Everyone knows that getting sick in this weather is tantamount to a death sentence.

Xi Ge Li De bit her lip and thought.

"When you go hunting, I'll take Alf out to look for some wild vegetables or tree bark."

She paused, then cursed, "What the heck is this weather? I've never seen a winter like this—is the god punishing us?"

Enna didn't answer; he didn't know the answer either.

Xi Ge Li De leaned against the wall, gazing at the endless white snow outside, and fell silent for a moment.

Then she turned her head, lowered her voice, and said to Enna, "What if... we ask Yu Lin to leave? If he leaves, these supplies would still be enough for us..."

Enna looked at her, his brows knitting, and he shook his head: "No."

Xi Ge Li De opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

"Letting him leave in this situation would mean he'd die in the snow."

"He's been living with us for so long; Ying Ge likes him, and Alf likes him too."

"He's already our friend; we can't treat a friend like this. At worst, I'll hunt a few more game and bring them back so he can stay."

Xi Ge Li De looked at him for a long time, then nodded: "All right."

"I only hope that spring—"

She didn't finish her sentence.

The outside door was pushed open, cold wind rushed in, swirling snowflakes, blowing the stove fire askew.

Yu Lin stood at the doorway, covered in snow, holding something in his hands.

"Ying Ge, look what I brought back."

Ying Ge stood in front of him, her cheeks red from the cold.

"Wow! So many fish! And deer! Fruit!" Ying Ge crouched on the ground, touching the biggest fish, whose body was thicker than her arm.

She looked up at her mother, her face full of excitement:

"Mom, can we eat fish today?"