(1)
“Hey, Xiao Jing, what are you looking at?”
“Uh… I was just thinking, the clothes draped over the deity statue are totally different from the ones later. The colors aren’t pretty enough, not enough gems embedded, and the style is so outdated…”
“Pfft, and here I thought you were thinking about something important. Everyone’s staring at you, you know?”
“Huh?” An Jing turned around and saw the children excitedly locking their eyes on her, while the adults were looking in her direction with some tension.
Obviously, the adults still couldn’t see her.
“I was wondering whether Grandfather ever actually saw the Anhai Deity back in the day.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe adults can’t see Him—only children can. Could it be his imagination? I think that fits how kids think. I mean, when I was little, I used to imagine all sorts of things that only I could see but adults couldn’t, and then I’d fight them and stuff.”
“You still thought like that even after starting junior high, didn’t you, Xiao Jing?”
“N-no I didn’t!” An Jing’s face flushed slightly. “Anyway, what do we do now? It seems like people our age can see us too, right?”
“You’re asking me? How should I know? I thought you were so calm that you must have a plan.”
“Panicking won’t help either, not at a time like this.” An Jing tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Or do you think, if it were Grandfather, how would he imagine it?”
“You should just think like a kid.”
“Right, if it’s a kid’s way… then I should take the initiative to greet them. Then they’ll proudly brag about seeing a deity that adults can’t see…”
“Is that really how it goes? Doesn’t match what I was thinking…”
“Huh? What were you thinking, Xiao Ying?” An Jing turned around, using her back to block those staring gazes.
“Maybe they’d want to fall in love with the Lord Deity or something?”
“You’ve been reading too many romance novels…” An Jing’s eyelids twitched. “Forget it, I don’t care anymore. Let’s just try getting closer, okay?”
“Should we be more imposing?”
“Cough… there’s no way to be imposing in this plain school uniform.”
“If this really is a dream, you should be able to do anything you want in it.”
“But the fact is, I can’t. For example, I want to put on the same clothes I wore when I was a Divine Spokesperson…”
“…They’re on.”
“Eek?!” An Jing looked down in surprise and saw the gorgeous fabric. Then she felt a weight on her head. Glancing from the corner of her eye, she spotted rows of gently swaying pearls.
“See, I told you it would work. As long as you believe you can, you can.”
“Are these the exact same clothes from that day?”
“Yep, and they’re even more dazzling—they feel like they’re glowing.”
“Huff…” An Jing took a deep breath and slowly turned around.
“Xiao Jing, hurry up and make me a set too. What I’m wearing now isn’t really appropriate, right? Even though it’s a conservative swimsuit, it’s still a swimsuit.”
“Uh… like this?”
“That’s a long robe.”
“This way it’s completely covered…”
Some children gasped and loudly told the adults nearby that the deity had changed into clothes far more magnificent than those on the statue—for a god, that should be formal attire.
“So, so pretty, it sparkles!”
“The Lord Deity is smiling at me!”
“Wow, He, He’s walking this way!”
“In the presence of a deity, show respect!” An adult tensed up.
But the children paid no attention; some even waved vigorously as if meeting an old friend.
The old man at the front of the crowd coughed heavily and knelt down piously: “The deity personally descends to the mortal world—we are deeply honored. Please do not punish the children; they simply have a natural desire to be close to the deity…”
The other adults quickly joined in apologizing, while dragging their overly mischievous kids down and telling them not to act too recklessly before the deity.
“The Lord Deity is walking over!”
“Wow, He touched my head!”
“He touched mine too!”
“Up close, what a beautiful face…”
“I think it’s more like cute, isn’t it?”
The ones who said those last two lines were boys around thirteen or fourteen. Compared to the younger children, they understood a bit more.
“Don’t stare directly at the deity!”
“Don’t be disrespectful to the Anhai Deity!” A middle-aged man harshly pulled his son down to kneel—this kid was the boldest, even trying to reach out and touch the deity’s face.
“Lord Deity, did He say anything?”
“Nothing at all—He just smiled and touched our heads. Ah, He’s coming up to me now…” This was the last boy. He looked nearly grown up, with a few fuzzy whiskers at the corners of his mouth. He was quite tall compared to those around him, probably a little over five foot seven.
Compared to the other children, he also seemed the most mature and steady.
Actually, to be precise, this “child” was a few years older than the so-called “Lord Deity,” but still not yet an adult.
“Shi Tou, can you see the Anhai Deity too?”
“Yes, I can see… very clearly.” The boy said, bowing his head voluntarily as if enjoying a small hand gently stroking it. “The Lord Deity said… uh, no, it was the one beside Him…”
“The earliest Mortal Spokesperson. You may respectfully address her as the Near-God Attendant.” The old priest turned back. “Show some respect; she is at least our great-grandmother.”
“Ah, but she looks so young…”
“Those who stay by the deity’s side naturally retain eternal youth.”
“Great-Grandmother the Near-God Attendant says… she’s hungry.”
“Is the Lord Deity… dissatisfied with today’s offerings?”
“The deity… He says He wants to eat the same food as us.”
The old priest shot to his feet and shouted urgently: “Quickly prepare a banquet for the Lord Deity!”
An Jing stood on her tiptoes, touching the last boy’s head. The latter wore a devout expression, his muscles unconsciously tensing.
Someone nearby whispered—
“Being touched on the head by the deity is a blessing for children.”
Whether it was a blessing or not, An Jing had no idea, but standing on tiptoes to pat someone’s head was really exhausting.
“Huff, I’m hungry.”
“How can you be hungry already?” An Jing glanced sideways at Zhu Ying, but before she could say another word, she heard the boy beside her shout loudly. Not directed at them, but at the adults who couldn’t see them.
Zhu Ying caught half of it and immediately ground her teeth in anger: “What ‘Great-Grandmother’? How am I a great-grandmother?!”
“Just let them call you that. There’s no way to explain…” An Jing said helplessly.
At that moment, the old priest suddenly raised his voice, his tone tinged with fear: “Is the Lord Deity dissatisfied with today’s offerings?”
An Jing glanced at the whole chicken—she couldn’t even tell if it was cooked—along with a pile of steamed buns covered in ash, and all sorts of pastries that looked pretty but tasted terrible. She immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum.
She muttered quietly: “This stuff looks completely inedible… right, Xiao Ying?”
“Yeah, after all, it’s from the altar. That’s for looking at, not for eating…”
“Maybe we could reprocess it?”
“But that chicken… even if you reprocess it, it’s probably not edible, right? Feels like it’s not from today…”
“Uh, it’s normal for offerings to sit on the altar for several days…”
“Just give us some normal people’s food!”
As the two grumbled, the adults suddenly started bustling about. Zhu Ying tilted her head and watched, then chuckled: “They seem so nervous and reverent.”
“They’re meeting the god of their faith, so why are they so scared?”
“Maybe the feeling of awe toward a deity has more fear in it? Otherwise, they wouldn’t make the statues so terrifying.”
“Is that believing in a god or not?”
“Believing, but not the kind of belief that’s trust?”
“So hard to understand…” An Jing shook her head. When she lifted her eyelids, she noticed the tallest boy was still staring at her. As soon as she moved her gaze toward him, he panicked and looked away.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. A deity isn’t anything particularly scary. You don’t need to be so nervous.” An Jing stood on tiptoes slightly and patted the boy’s shoulder. “If you say something, will the other children listen?”
“Probably…”
“Then gather all the children who can see me. Don’t worry—it’s nothing major, just a casual chat before the meal.”
“Yes… Lord Deity.”
“No need to use such respectful language. Deities are like people—they have thoughts and feelings. Anyway, just be casual.”
“Mm, being casual is good.”
An Jing’s words didn’t have much effect, but what Zhu Ying said made the boy’s expression relax considerably—probably because he felt his “Great-Grandmother” wouldn’t harm him…
“By the way, bring me a chair, okay? And one for Xiao Ying too—two chairs.”
“Got it! I’ll go get them right now!” The boy hurried out, but not before saying a few words to the old priest who was offering incense.
The wrinkles on the old priest’s face relaxed: “The Lord Deity is not what we imagined…”
“Uh… yeah. He looks pretty approachable. Although He’s very beautiful, aside from that, He seems no different from the female classmates I meet at school.”
“Nonsense! How can a deity be compared to mortals? Even if the Lord Deity allows you to relax, you must not overstep your bounds.”
“I-I know…”
“You’ll come of age next year. You can’t be as clueless as those little brats.”
“Y-yes.”
“Of course, it’s fine to be appropriately close. After all, the Lord Deity probably doesn’t want us believers to be so afraid of Him.” The old priest smiled kindly. “It seems He is actually a gentle god…”
“Yeah, Grandfather. And He’s much prettier than the statue we made…”
“I know, you brat. All you focus on is that kind of thing. Don’t stare at the deity’s face, and even if it’s just an ordinary girl, don’t keep staring at her face, understand?”
“U-understood!”