🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 17: Face Your Desires
“… … …”
“I already said don’t pull me.”
Su Cheng’s voice came out flat, breathless. She was still dizzy—so dizzy that even standing felt unreliable. That was exactly why she had refused his help.
Xiao Yun lowered his gaze, first to her hand, then to the butterfly tattoo on his own chest. His expression shifted subtly—somewhere between irritation and speechlessness.
Then he suddenly raised his arm.
Su Cheng immediately ducked back.
“?”
Xiao Yun frowned. “What are you doing?”
She had already crouched down. “Sorry, I thought you were about to slap me. And I’m still a bit dizzy.”
“… …”
He let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “If I wanted to hit you, I wouldn’t need my hands.”
He tossed her a rolled parchment. “Enough. If you’re fine, stand up and sign the confidentiality agreement.”
Su Cheng rested for another half a minute. The dizziness faded, and she finally stood, carefully reading it twice to confirm there were no traps.
Then she cut her fingertip and let a drop of blood fall onto the signature line.
The content was simple: she was not to disclose any details of the exam.
“These scrolls are blessed by a follower of the God of Covenants,” Xiao Yun said evenly. “Once you sign your name, you are bound. You cannot violate its terms. Otherwise—”
His red eyes lifted slightly. “I assume you understand the consequences?”
“…I don’t really know much about that,” Su Cheng signed without looking up. “But I won’t go around talking about it anyway. So what’s next? A duel?”
Xiao Yun took the scroll back, businesslike. “Welcome to the Secret Institute. The duel is cancelled. Your opponent is already dead.”
Su Cheng deliberately widened her eyes in surprise.
“Their attendants couldn’t determine the cause of death,” he continued. “So they came to us. But according to school rules, nothing that happens here is made public. You’re safe.”
Su Cheng pinched the scroll lightly. “Safe? Safe from what?”
Xiao Yun looked at her, then changed the subject entirely. “A count’s son dies. The family will investigate. Even if they can’t get information from us, they’ll find other ways.”
After leaving the examination room, the waiting hall outside was filled with mages.
They looked at her with various expressions—admiration, curiosity, calculation.
Su Cheng guessed they had some method of observing the test inside.
Before she could speak, a familiar figure pushed through the crowd with visible excitement.
“…Uncle?”
Lin Zhen had arrived at some point, even dressed formally, as if attending a banquet.
Su Cheng looked confused. “I thought outsiders weren’t allowed in…”
“They normally aren’t,” the mage who had guided her earlier said. “But this is a special case.”
“Chengcheng!” Lin Zhen grabbed her shoulders. “Congratulations—you’re in. I knew you could do it. But now you need to go to the Temple.”
“The Temple? The Church’s Temple?”
“Yes,” Lin Zhen nodded repeatedly. “A priest just came to find me. The Archbishop wants to see you.”
“…”
Su Cheng froze.
In this empire, bishoprics governed regional church districts. The largest cities formed major archdioceses, each overseen by an Archbishop—directly reporting to the Holy City’s cardinal council.
At the very top stood the Red Cardinals, who could even crown kings. There were only twelve in the entire Church.
And the Archbishop of Jinpo City… was one of the most powerful figures in the entire southern region.
Lin Zhen’s heart was practically glowing with excitement. As a merchant, he had dealt with church officials before—but only mid-level clergy. Someone like an Archbishop had never been within reach.
But now—his niece was a divine favored one.
Everything had changed.
The carriage carried them away from the bustling streets into the quiet upper district.
White stone roads rose gently upward. Holy Knights stood guard along the way, while pilgrims walked slowly toward the temple.
Su Cheng leaned out the window.
The temple complex came into view—vast and monumental. White marble structures stretched across the skyline, golden bridges intersecting high above, domes and arches layered like a divine palace.
Clergy moved through the air like flowing shadows. The central tower disappeared into drifting clouds.
At the square, pilgrims knelt in dense clusters under the sunlight, praying fervently.
“Uncle,” she asked, turning back. “They didn’t say why they’re calling me?”
Lin Zhen shook his head. “Probably because they discovered your status as a divine favored one. But that’s just my guess.”
He hesitated. “I heard… the Archbishop might also be one. A favored one. Though I don’t know which god chose him.”
Divine favored ones were rare—but not unheard of in the Church.
Su Cheng stepped down from the carriage.
Holy Knights immediately approached, confirming her identity before guiding her forward.
The path from the square to the main hall was a long staircase of white jade. Pilgrims filled it, kneeling step by step, murmuring prayers with feverish devotion.
This was the Path of Pilgrimage.
Statues lined both sides—towering figures carved with impossible detail. Above, murals depicted ancient battlefields beneath a vaulted ceiling.
As she walked past, Su Cheng slowed, looking up.
Each statue radiated overwhelming presence—so realistic it made one feel insignificant.
“They are the Seven Radiant Gods,” a Holy Knight explained quietly.
Su Cheng nodded slowly.
Seven subordinate gods of the Light God—ancient warriors elevated to divinity after legendary deeds.
One statue drew her attention first.
The God of Labor.
Simple attire, steady gaze, crowned with leaves. Tools in hand—saw, tongs, spindle, and a short sickle. Strength hidden in restraint.
Then the God of Courage—armored, blades crossed in challenge.
Then the God of Mercy—eyes lowered, expression sorrowful, holding scripture and grain.
Finally—
“The God of Purity.”
Su Cheng’s attention sharpened.
This one appeared frequently in the early part of the novel.
The protagonist had once broken into a temple and accidentally entered this god’s hall.
The description had been… unforgettable.
Pure soul. Unshakable faith. Untouchable divinity.
A figure of absolute sanctity.
The protagonist had desecrated the statue—spoken filthy words, even touched it.
And the God of Purity had taken offense.
At first, sending followers to kill him.
Later… intervening personally.
According to spoilers, she killed him multiple times.
Fans argued endlessly about her—some demanding her death, others screaming for the protagonist to “defile” her.
Su Cheng exhaled slowly.
“…Which one is the God of Purity?”
The Holy Knight gestured forward. “This one.”
Su Cheng looked up.
The statue was enormous.
A towering, impossibly beautiful figure stood before her.
Dark curls cascaded under shadowed brows. Eyes deep as still water. Every feature carved with devastating perfection.
Clothed in layered ceremonial armor and long robes, the figure’s posture was composed, restrained—almost ascetic.
Hands held slightly open, as if offering a blessing… or an embrace.
Su Cheng went silent.
Her gaze drifted.
The craftsmanship left nothing to imagination. Every muscle, every contour, every line of strength beneath the fabric was rendered with divine precision.
For some reason, her first thought was absurdly inappropriate.
…This statue looks like it would feel good to touch.
Then—
The statue’s eyes lit up.
White flame ignited within the carved pupils.
The entire hall froze.
A pressure descended like a collapsing tide.
Pilgrims screamed, collapsed, or dropped into frantic prayer.
Holy Knights drew weapons in shock.
The statue turned.
It was still stone—yet somehow, it was looking at her.
And in that gaze, Su Cheng felt it.
Anger.
Or something worse.
“…I didn’t do anything!” she blurted out.
The flames faded. The statue returned to stillness.
Silence shattered into chaos again.
Su Cheng stumbled back.
“What just happened?” she whispered.
A Holy Knight beside her looked equally unsettled. “That… was a warning. You must not harbor blasphemous thoughts before a divine statue.”
Su Cheng frowned.
So it really could sense thoughts?
Then wouldn’t everything about her—this entire world being a novel—already be exposed?
Unless it only sensed fragments… or something was interfering.
She stared at the statue uneasily.
“…All the statues here,” she asked slowly, “are male?”
“Yes,” the Knight replied.
Su Cheng: “…”
She didn’t know why, but that answer made everything feel even stranger.
They moved on.
Yet midway through the corridors, the Holy Knights disappeared.
Su Cheng stopped.
She was alone in a silent chamber.
And in the center stood another statue—a winged horse.
White as snow. Horned. Muscular. Majestic.
It looked like it could break into motion at any moment.
Something about it—
Was attractive.
Su Cheng froze.
“…Do statues even have gender?”
No.
Something was wrong.
Her thoughts were slipping.
The air turned red.
The ceiling split open like a wound. Crimson vines poured down like veins, spreading across the hall. The light turned the entire world into a blood-colored haze.
A voice slipped into her ear.
Soft.
Beautiful.
And wrong.
“Look at yourself…”
“You desire it, don’t you? Desire is not the problem. The problem is suppression.”
Words slid through her mind like living things.
Then she saw him.
A man stood within the red mist.
Black curls, loose crimson robes, skin glowing like polished pearl under bloodlight.
His beauty was almost painful.
Eyes like burning obsidian, rimmed with molten gold.
A smile like temptation itself.
“I am your courage,” he said softly, “to face what you deny.”
Vines coiled behind him like living arteries.
“You should learn to acknowledge your desires.”
He plucked a ripe red fruit.
Juice spilled between his fingers like liquid dusk.
Drops fell into silence.
Su Cheng’s heartbeat grew louder.
Too loud.
Her throat went dry.
Her rationality began to fracture under something warm, invasive, and persuasive.
“Look deeper,” he murmured. “Your desire is pure. Honest. Unashamed.”
He stepped forward.
The fruit burst beneath his foot.
Juice splattered like wine across marble.
And he smiled.
Su Cheng swallowed hard.
“…I think I’m going to have a problem,” she muttered.
Because she recognized this scene.
The God of Desire.
And in the original story—
This was where everything began to go wrong.
