Chapter 103: Dog And Deity

    Jin Jiuchi almost rolled out of his throne in shock. He had not expected to see a familiar face around, especially one that could recognize him at a glance! Wait... how did Fatty know him when he was in animal form before?! Exactly what had happened on the other side of the Cycle?!

    Cold sweat poured out of Jin Jiuchi’s skin and his throat tightened in fluster. Now was not the time to ponder about those matters. He could not allow his cover to be exposed!

    "D–Dog?!" He gasped in extreme shock as if he had been affronted by that one word. "Did you just call me a dog?!"

    "The audacity!" Anger surged through the minister’s veins, and his bandaged face contorted into a horrifying visage. He looked like he wanted nothing but to tear Fatty’s spirit to shreds with his own hands. "How dare you! The being before you is none other than Anubis, the supreme lord of the underworld! To associate him with a lowly animal is a grave insult, an unforgivable display of disrespect!" His words thundered through the temple, and then he turned to Jin Jiuchi, bowing deeply. "My Lord, I beseech you to pass judgment upon this wretched soul and command Ammit to devour him!"

    From the depths of the shadow, a menacing growl rumbled from the mythical creature’s throat, sending tremors throughout the air.

    Upon seeing the monstrous amalgamation which he had not noticed beforehand, Fatty let out a high-pitched cry and flopped to the ground like a dying fish. "A–AH—! What is that? What the hell is that?!"

    His blood abruptly ran cold when he recalled the first death condition in this Cycle — never show disrespect to God. Even though he had literally died once, it did not mean that he could lower his guard just yet!

    And what had he done just now? In a moment of carelessness, he had slipped up and called this divine entity a dog in front of his face!

    Fatty gasped as the weight of his error pressed down on him, rendering him unable to breathe. Under this suffocating atmosphere, he prostrated himself to the ground and pleaded in desperation, "I–I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose! Please... please forgive me, merciful God!" So what if the man in front of him bore an uncanny resemblance to the one Xiao Shen was protecting so fiercely? One was a mere dog, while the other was a deity! The difference between them was akin to Heaven and Earth!

    Jin Jiuchi cleared his throat awkwardly. He had blurted out the previous sentence in the heat of the moment because he did not want his true identity as the impostor to be exposed, but it did not mean he wanted Fatty’s spirit to be devoured by Ammit either! If he wanted to know what happened after he fell into the lake of the afterlife, then Fatty was the only person he could turn to!

    "Wait!" He hollered loudly to stop Ammit from inching closer. "Don’t eat! You are not allowed to eat him!"

    "My Lord!" The minister’s voice rose, attempting to persuade Jin Jiuchi to change his mind.

    But Jin Jiuchi merely let out a humorless chuckle in response. He raked his fingers through his hair and shot the mummy a glare, "Am I not a deity? It’s only a slip of the tongue, so why should I be so petty? You too, learn to be more considerate so that you will not grow wrinkles on your bandages, okay?"

    The minister choked on his breath, utterly speechless.

    Fatty: "..." Why did he keep feeling that something was off with this deity before him?

    Alas, before he could dwell on that thought further, he heard the divine entity ask curiously, "Tell me, how do you die? And..." he let out a soft cough, though he could not seem to hide the anticipation in his tone. "Xiao Shen, how is he?"

    Fatty’s body shook in terror at the reminder of his gruesome death, and as if guided by an invisible force, his lips parted to answer. "That night, we were—"

    BANG!

    All of a sudden, the temple gate swung open with a forceful bang, shattering the solemn atmosphere of the trial grounds. Startled, all eyes turned towards the mummy soldier who hurriedly scurried inside, his disjointed movements became more chaotic due to panic. "M–My Lord!"

    "How dare you barge into the sacred trial grounds!" The minister’s fury erupted like a volcanic eruption. If he kept this up, perhaps the bandages around his body would come loose sooner than later. "What urgent matter has flustered you so? Speak!"

    The mummy soldier went on his knees before Jin Jiuchi, his large frame shaking in dread and terror. With a quivering voice, he managed to utter his words. "M–My Lord... the lake of the afterlife... it has been contaminated! A living soul has trespassed into our realm and hid among us!"

    "What?!" Both Jin Jiuchi and the minister exclaimed in shock, albeit for a different reason altogether.

    Jin Jiuchi almost broke out in cold sweat again when he heard the mummy soldier’s report.

    A living soul... was it talking about him?!

    ***

    Twenty hours ago, outside the door of the afterlife

    "Jin Jiuchi...?"

    Shen Nianzu stood frozen with his gaze fixed on the lifeless man in front of him. Time seemed to halt as he struggled to wrap his head around the surreal scene. W–What was going on? How could he...

    Tremblingly, he reached out once again to press his fingers on the side of Jin Jiuchi’s neck, but the results remained the same.

    He could not sense any pulse, as the man was no longer breathing.

    "How could it be possible..." he whispered in disbelief. His breath seized in his throat as icy coldness spread to his limbs, making him tremble all over. They had barely separated for a handful of minutes, so how could Jin Jiuchi die all of sudden? Moreover, when Shen Nianzu found him, he was still alive and kicking, and they had even fought with each other! In fact, he even showed signs of getting the upper hand!

    Shen Nianzu refused to believe that Jin Jiuchi would be so weak to die from that little beating! Thus, the only possibility was...

    He shifted his gaze to the colossal stone door before him – the gateway to the realm of the afterlife.

    ’Calm down, Nian,’ he told himself as he attempted to suppress the tremors on his body. He recalled that Anubis was a God associated with the underworld and judgment of the souls. Though he still had no clear idea why Anna mistook Jin Jiuchi as her deity, did the man’s sudden death have something to do with this door?

    He furrowed his brows in thought. He could not shake off the feeling that things were spiraling out of control in this Cycle. What Jiang Shun said previously was correct; mid level Cycles would not force the players to the brink of death as they only needed to do some hard labor to complete the task. At most, they only needed to suffer a bit, but dying was unlikely.

    The previous Cycle was an exception where two third-time Intermediate players met their demise, and this Cycle too...

    He shook his head and decided to shelve the thought for the time being. Now was not the time to dwell in this problem. He had to investigate what lay behind this stone door and find out whether there was a way to resurrect Jin Jiuchi from death!

    He glared at the man and spoke through gritted teeth, "I have not obtained the answers I want yet, so don’t you dare die in this place!"

    In the next moment, a black and thick rope materialized in his open palm. As though resonating with his inner desire, the rope moved to tie itself around Jin Jiuchi’s middle a few times. Gripping the other end firmly in his hand, he dragged the man towards the door, murmuring to himself, "How should I open this..."

    All of a sudden, the hair on his body abruptly stood on the end, as he had sensed the presence of another person at the end of the corridor!

    Turning his head sharply, he demanded, "Who’s there? Show yourself!"

    A soft chuckle echoed through the air as Wind revealed herself, her eyes filled with both hatred and determination. Due to the lack of light and the fact that her whole attention was focused on the little boy in front of her, she had failed to notice the lifeless body lying not far away. "Do you think it will be so easy to get rid of me? I will kill you this time... even if it means I have to kill everyone in this Cycle!"

    Any trace of temperature dissipated from Shen Nianzu’s pale purple eyes, replaced by a frosty glare. Earlier, he had not answered Wind’s questions at all and had deliberately misled her into thinking that he was JJ. He reckoned that she would have given up upon sensing the disparity between their strengths. Who could have guessed that she would be so stubborn as to chase after him here?!

    "I warned you, Dance of the Wind. You are no match for me," he said coldly.

    However, upon seeing Wind standing there with an air of ease and confidence, a sense of foreboding gripped his heart. Something felt terribly wrong here. "What are you planning to do?" he hissed.

    "Haha!" Wind let out a manic laugh, then in the next instant...

    Something tiny whistled through the air, catching Shen Nianzu’s attention in an instant. His pupils dilated sharply as he recognized what it was.

    — It was a mini bomb!

    BOOM!

    A deafening explosion rocked the surroundings, causing the very foundation of the temple to tremble.