Chapter 1428: The Story of Night and Blessing

Xia De's words finally found the point. The unknowable, unhearable, and invisible god behind the pitch-black curtain high above finally spoke.

Of course, although Xia De used the word "speak" to describe it, the source of the sound was actually from all directions: "Not enough."

If the tone wasn't wrong, he even suspected whether the god he was seeing at this moment was his "old acquaintance" from the Sixth Era.

Of course, Xia De didn't say his quite blasphemous thoughts.

Since the God of Night didn't directly refuse, it meant that this matter could continue to be discussed. He squeezed Fiona's hand behind him gently, signaling that this was good news. At the same time, he felt that Fiona was leaning on him with too much force, and he had to use strength to resist so as not to be pushed forward directly:

"I don't know what else mortals need to offer you?" "Decorate my hall."

The god gave an answer.

Xia De clearly felt that the girl behind him became more nervous. After all, they hadn't thought of this possibility from the beginning. But for Xia De, who had "seen" the answer from the future, this meant something quite clear:

"I don't know if we have the honor to use the story of midnight to decorate your hall?" Xia De asked, and received an answer after a while:

"Yes."

A smile appeared on Xia De's face, and he turned to grab Fiona's shoulders:

"No problem, I knew it would work. Next, I still need your help." "What can I do?"

The red dragon girl asked nervously in a low voice. Her face was illuminated by the cat-shaped golden light on Xia De's chest, and there was a helpless expression on her beautiful cheeks.

"When you woke up from your sleep, you gained new abilities because of my ritual. Don't you remember? Besides the power of time, there is also the ability to paint in the night."

Xia De said, looking at her beautiful reddish-gold big eyes:

"I will offer stories to the great one. And you will depict the story as a picture and engrave it on the god's palace. Fiona, no problem, right?"

"No problem!"

The young witch said. Although she was still very worried, she trusted Xia De:

"I have studied painting and have painted portraits for Miss Felianna and Teacher Orlanod before. May I ask, what story is this about?"

"There are no thrilling adventures, nor are there heart-wrenching partings of life and death. This is a story about a princess and a prince, about meeting and pursuing. This is a story about midnight and blessing."

Fiona nodded heavily:

"I understand. Then, should I draw this story directly before my eyes?"

She and Xia De were whispering, as if afraid of disturbing the god high above. But just as Fiona's voice fell, there was a sound from the four walls of the silent Hall of Night.

After a while, six huge grey stone slabs flew from behind the two, and then semi-surrounded them from behind at equal intervals.

The ancient stone slabs filled with miracle elements originally had carvings left by ancient sculptors in some unknown era, but as the stone slabs landed, the surface of the stone slabs returned to smoothness.

These stone slabs were not ordinary stones. No brush or pigment could leave traces directly on them. Only Fiona's ability to paint directly in the night could add new pictures to the god's palace in the mortal world.

Everything was ready, and Xia De prepared to start telling the story from his hometown. And Fiona, standing in front of the huge stone slab at this time, for some reason thought of the past events around the campfire in the Dead Silence Valley.

Although Xia De was telling the story at the time, she was sleeping in the ice coffin the whole time and didn't wake up until after the story ended with a kiss. But later, she also heard Miss Orlanod and Miss Samuel of the Zaras Society mention what happened there countless times.

"But this time, I am the only witness." The red dragon girl whispered to herself in her heart.

Facing the god, Xia De tried to imagine himself as a bard bringing stories to a monarch, and he said:

"This story..."

"... happened in a corner of the long years unknown to anyone, in a distant country unknown to anyone. The girl who seemed to be blessed by the god had a beautiful face and a kind heart, but she also had a vicious stepmother and two ill-natured sisters. The women who were jealous of her face arranged for her to do the most strenuous work, spending the whole day with dust and coal ash, so she was called 'Cinderella'. Our story also begins from this moment."

Xia De's low voice told the beginning of the story. And Fiona, standing behind Xia De, waved her fingers beside Xia De. Pigments flashing with colors like starlight remained on the first stone slab from her fingers.

Xia De paused deliberately, waiting for Fiona to complete the first scene, and the seven-colored pigments painted the bright house, the maid-like girl wearing a headscarf and apron with dust on her face, sweeping with a broom on the left side of the fireplace; while the other three women wearing gorgeous dresses and high heels were talking about something on the right side of the fireplace.

The picture Fiona drew matched the living background of the era she was in, the Fifth Era. It was just that, as the protagonist, the girl had a dragon tail hidden in her skirt, which was different from what Xia De thought.

"If Cinderella was really a half-dragon, why would she need any prince?" Xia De thought in his heart and continued the story:

"The prince of the kingdom had come of age, and he was going to hold a ball, inviting all the beautiful girls in the country to choose his wife from among them."

Xia De stood with his back to Fiona behind him, facing the god behind the curtain on the high platform. The god's gaze had always been on him, which made him worry about the influence on the cat on his chest, but at least from now on, the cat was sleeping quite sweetly.

"Cinderella's stepmother and sisters also received the invitation, and they prepared for the ball that night in high spirits. Cinderella, who wanted to attend the ball, was arranged to do heavy work and could only stay at home alone with a heavy heart. The night began, the castle on the hillside was brightly lit, and all the beautiful girls in the country were ready to show their elegance and beauty. Cinderella was cleaning at home alone, looking at the night and missing her deceased mother."

Fiona painted quickly behind Xia De.

This time, the picture was divided into left and right parts, and the contrast and distinction were made through colors. The background on the right was the deep night, without even a moon, but the castle at the high place...

... even had that...

... figures walking toward the castle and carriages, which also had unusually bright colors; the background of the picture on the left was a slightly brighter indoor, but with Cinderella, whose clothes were monotonous in color, as the center, grey-white occupied the core of the left picture, making the picture that was clearly bright look unusually gloomy.

The God of Night said nothing, and the witch behind him was painting seriously. Xia De narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling every detail of the story. This was actually not difficult. After all, every Saturday in 1854, he would talk about this topic with Dorothy and Leisia.

"She was sad alone, sad for her fate, and pained by her life. That night, the moonlight was just right, and the silver moonlight shone on Cinderella's face from the small window in the kitchen. She heard the nightingale singing melodiously and heard the night wind blowing through the treetops. So she came to the outdoors to relax. While sobbing, she praised the night tonight, and then prayed to the silver moon toward the night. The night responded to the sad girl. In that thick night, the old woman holding a magic wand was waiting for Cinderella's arrival."

Fiona hadn't heard this story either, so she hesitated whether she should draw this scene too. But seeing that Xia De didn't pause, she knew the story was still going on.

She was also curious about the follow-up of the story and was very happy to be able to listen to the story with peace of mind.

"'Why are you crying'—the old woman said."

Xia De pinched his throat to speak in a different tone.

"'I also want to attend the prince's ball'—Cinderella looked up at the castle on the hillside. 'Don't cry, don't be sad, I will help you'—the old woman said."

Xia De described the content of the story, but in order to highlight the theme related to the night, he added a sentence himself: "Why do you want to help me, why do you want to help me, this poor girl?"

"Because you praised the moonlight tonight, so I promise to help you, my girl. This is the promise the night gives you. Look, what is this—the old woman said, finding a pumpkin, a big mouse, and four small mice. As she shook the magic wand in her hand gently, in Cinderella's surprised expression, the pumpkin turned into a carriage, the big mouse turned into a chubby coachman, and the small mice turned into four jujube-red horses."

Fiona behind Xia De seemed to exclaim in a low voice, and Xia De continued:

"Oh, there is one more thing." The old woman said again. She pointed her magic wand at Cinderella, so the tattered clothes turned into a dark blue evening dress like the night, and the ill-fitting shoes with patches turned into crystal shoes shining like stars.

Xia De paused, signaling Fiona that she could start painting:

"But you must remember one thing"—the old woman said—"the gift the night gives you can only last until midnight, so you must leave the castle's ball before midnight."

Fiona painted the third picture quickly. This picture was not divided into two parts, but with the small castle on the hillside in the upper right corner as the background, in the courtyard of the small house, the pumpkin carriage, the chubby coachman, and the mouse horses were beside Cinderella in tattered clothes, and the old woman holding a magic wand was smiling kindly.

The picture frozen in the night, clearly still, but as if it could move in the next moment. This was the original version of the initial *Cinderella* story, but unfortunately, Xia De still couldn't get it this time.

"Will this be a story that makes people happy?"

When Fiona finished painting this picture, she asked Xia De softly. ===== CHAPTER 1429 =====