Chapter 353

One Hundred Sixty Pages: The Small Messenger (Middle)

Before the secret door was closed, I held it with my hand and asked, “Isn’t Miss Shuāiguì coming down together with Mù Xī?”

Dog Sister stopped her action of closing the door, lifted the somewhat heavy door, and replied, “Oh, why be so formal? Just call me Dog Sister like Xiao Kai does. As for why they aren’t coming down…”

She turned her head and glanced at Mù Xī who was standing by the shop entrance.

“We shouldn’t get involved in your family matters, and I can’t stand that kind of atmosphere… It’s painful to part ways forever, but getting stuck in grief isn’t right either. Little Yīng, that guy definitely wouldn’t want you all to be so depressed.”

“Depressed… Can you still tell?”

I thought I had already managed my emotions well.

“Of course, your scent tells me so.”

Dog Sister relied on that baseless yet surprisingly accurate theory of scent.

“Are you really not coming down?”

I urged again, “We didn’t come here just to see the Grandfather; mainly, we’re here to contact Lord Hái. Maybe there’s a chance to solve your problem of only being able to act independently for eight hours a day.”

Lord Hái’s skill level in divine techniques is much higher than Grandfather’s. If she is willing to help, she could definitely solve the issue, assuming we can actually contact her.

“By the Lord Hái you mentioned… Is it the one who saved me before?”

Dog Sister reacted to Lord Hái’s name.

“Yeah, the one who made you into a dog deity, the second greatest person in the world, and also my master in divine techniques. This is a supreme figure, and once missed, will never be seen again.”

“I’ll go down too. After all, he’s my savior, even though he couldn’t save me completely, I still need to express my gratitude… Mù Xī, close the door, we’re going down too.”

“Okay!”

Mù Xī responded, and as the roller shutter came down with a clatter, the light inside the stationery store suddenly dimmed. Looking up, I could see Dog Sister’s LED eyes glowing with a faint blue fluorescence.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“… Can you turn off those lights? They’re scary at night.”

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

“They’re not lights! This is proof of my soul residing in this avatar, and this is already a very restrained state.”

“If you weren’t restrained, could you increase to 50 watts?”

“It would be possible.”

Her pupils brightened even more, and dog ears and a dog tail sprouted from her body, with blue flames flickering at the tips. A faint blue phosphorescence also floated around her.

“This is my normal state.”

She looked quite formidable, almost like a mid-boss in a game…

But as a guardian spirit, it would be strange if she lacked combat ability.

She was now the high-ranking dead spirit appointed by Lord Hái, temporarily out of the cycle of reincarnation controlled by the Heavenly Path, no longer needing to worry about rebirth. However, she was also bound to Mù Xī; if separated from her, she would disintegrate.

Closing the secret door again, we passed through the dark, narrow staircase, took off our shoes, and arrived at the brightly lit underground temple.

Seeing me enter, Lǐn Huā sighed, “Little Yīng, look at these two…”

In the living room, Grandfather and Grandmother were facing each other.

No, it wasn’t as tense as I imagined. The atmosphere was rather somber. Neither of them wanted to be the first to speak.

Dog Sister frowned and pulled Mù Xī to stand aside.

She had anticipated this awkward scene and thus didn’t want to come down.

I forced myself to say, “Cough, cough, at least this is a real reunion. Can’t you say anything?”

Lǐn Huā also stood next to Grandmother, giving Grandfather a look. At such times, it should be the man… or at least the nominal man, who takes the initiative.

“Moonlight, you look quite good now—”

Ah!

Just as I was about to say “na,” I bit my tongue to hold back.

“Is that all you want to say?”

Grandmother looked disappointed. She shook her head and asked, “I’m not here to quarrel with you. Don’t be so nervous. Once Xiao Kai’s matter is settled, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss past grievances.”

Indeed, there would be plenty of time.

Returning to seventeen years old meant earning decades of life from the Heavenly Path.

“Moonlight, after I come out, can we still be together?”

A subtle moment, a delicate question.

As soon as Grandfather spoke, the scene in the living room seemed to change. There appeared to be a window between her and Grandmother, with a mournful background music…

Perhaps love had faded, as Grandmother did not directly answer this question.

“I haven’t forgiven you yet. Let’s put this topic aside for now… Tell us how we can contact the supreme Lord Hái.”

Grandfather’s disappointment was evident on his face, but he still waved us over.

“Alas, let me take you to the altar of the temple.”

Zǐ Jiàng asked, “Mr. Zhú Běihǎi hasn’t arrived yet. Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

“No need to wait. He knows where the altar is. When he arrives, he’ll come on his own.”

The altar is used by mortals to offer sacrifices to deities for blessings. Why is Grandfather himself a deity, and why is there an altar in the temple…

However, when I followed Xiao Kai earlier, I secretly explored the entire temple using a touchline, and I hadn’t seen that altar. The largest room in this underground temple was a super-sized changing room according to Grandfather’s size classification.

There were truly hundreds of sets of women’s clothing. Originally, it wasn’t hard to understand, waking up every day as different ages and sizes, preparing enough clothes was indeed necessary… But what about all those cosplay outfits?

Grandfather led us to the shoe cabinet at the entrance of the temple.

“It hasn’t been visited in a long time, it might be a bit dirty. Change into outdoor shoes first.”

Lǐn Huā exclaimed, “Below? Isn’t this temple already quite deep? Is there space below?”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit small for a temple? Although it’s not big, it’s more like a temple. In the past, believers would gather there.”

Hearing Dog Sister say this, Grandfather sighed, “Believer gatherings, how nostalgic, haven’t happened in a long time.”

Although he asked us to change shoes, he himself was still wearing fluffy cotton slippers.

She probably didn’t have outdoor shoes, after all, she hadn’t left the temple for over a decade.

“After all, you’re not acting as a deity anymore. People visit occasionally, just like visiting elderly people in a nursing home.”

Dog Sister’s words were more tactful. Nursing homes don’t restrict elderly people from going out, but this place is more like a prison, at most a high-end political prisoner detention center.

Quickly putting on the shoes, Sister Lěi looked around and asked, “So, where are we going down?”

“The important places are always hidden by mechanisms. Watch closely.”

Grandfather reached out and touched the wall lamp at the entrance. A weak divine power reaction indicated the password spell.

Then he reminded, “Small animal, don’t sit on the stairs, come down quickly!”

“Woah!”

The staircase leading to the stationery store slowly rose. Yòu Zi, who was lying on the stairs, was startled and quickly jumped down from the rising steps.

Underneath this staircase, there was another downward staircase.

The steps were made of elegant stone plates, spacious and well-lit.

The lighting here was powered by divine energy, so it was very bright.

“Below is my altar, the center of this temple.”

Descending further, we entered a wide space about three to four meters high, roughly the size of a park square. Upon reflection, the altar was directly under the square, and there should be no buildings above it…

I suddenly thought, “Grandfather, could this altar have the function to rise to the surface? Like opening the ground of the square?”

“No, you’re imagining things. This isn’t some Earth Defense Force base!”

“Oh.”

The walls of the temple were made of stacked stone bricks, neatly arranged with decorative patterns.

Around the temple, there was a circular artificial water pool. Below the pool, environmental lights powered by divine energy were installed. The lights shone through the water, casting ripples on the ceiling. In the center of the temple stood a raised platform, with a round female profile carving in the middle…

This carving was unmistakably familiar.

Sister Lěi recognized it instantly.

“Ah! Isn’t that Chairman?”

Grandfather waved his hands frantically to deny.

“No, no, no. This is my altar! That is my previous appearance!”

Although there were slight differences, this carving bore a striking resemblance to Xiao Kai and Mother, with over ninety percent similarity.

So, the appearance of the goddess of beautiful girls is indeed a single lineage?

“But this feels like the final boss battle scene!”

Nodding in agreement, Sister Lěi asked, “So, do we need to communicate with this carving to contact Lord Hái?”

“No, look up. The key to the temple’s formation lies above.”

At the center of the circular dome, a massive divine technique array glowed with red light, resembling the holy mark bestowed by Xiao Kai.

That was the core mechanism of the temple, enhancing the blessings of believers and providing benefits to the deity.

As a miniature temple, I also had a similar mechanism within me.

Grandfather boasted, “Through this, we can contact the Divine Court! In the age of gods, deities not only moved between various temples but could also directly reach Asgard, which you call the Divine Court. However, the Rainbow Bridge was sealed by the Heavenly Path, making that route inaccessible.”

“These details don’t matter. What’s crucial is whether we can contact that great deity and confirm Xiao Kai’s whereabouts… Ling Meng, hurry up.”

Grandmother urged, but Grandfather scratched his head apologetically.

“In fact, I’ve tried contacting that person before, but never received a response. It’s better to have Xiao Yīng try, since she is Lord Hái’s student…”

Xiao Kai had also said that Lord Hái never responded to Grandfather’s calls.

Probably because my situation made Lord Hái look down on Grandfather’s actions.

“There’s no choice, let me give it a try.”

Just as I prepared to connect with the temple’s core, Lǐn Huā pointed at the altar and loudly warned, “Wait! Look over there!”

A dazzling light column appeared there.

Not.

Even saying light column wasn’t quite right.

The space at the center of the altar seemed to be stretched taut like rubber, showing intense distortion and collapse.

It felt as if something was about to pierce through this world…

“Be careful, something seems to be coming out!”