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Chapter 19 — “Looks very touchable—”
Su Cheng was completely awake now.
Although she had already been in a half-dazed, half-conscious state before—
this time, she was close to breaking out in a cold sweat.
“No!”
But their position and proximity left her as if pinned in place by a hooked nail driven straight through her body. She couldn’t gather any strength to rise; the moment she tried, her body wavered and collapsed back down in helpless weakness.
Su Cheng drew in a sharp breath. Fear and a strange, lingering pleasure tangled together, mixed with the overstimulation of her body, sending uncontrollable tremors through her.
The black-haired man tilted his head as he looked at her. After a soft sigh, he lowered his hand and brushed it along the girl’s spasming, slender waist.
“…So you do get scared,” he said with a faint smile. His tone carried a trace of regret. “What a pity—”
Then he gripped her hips and lifted her with effortless strength.
Su Cheng’s breath caught. A soft sound slipped from her throat, and the faint sound of separation echoed like water being torn apart.
Her knees were still pressed against his waist. One hand braced against his chest as she panted for air; the other fumbled to straighten her disordered clothes.
The “deity” pinched her trembling thigh lightly, then casually wiped away the traces on her skin.
Su Cheng jolted back as if stepping on a spring. Her balance was still unstable—she nearly tripped over the man’s bent leg.
She staggered back a couple of steps, finally noticing something was off.
Her previously messy clothes had somehow been neatly restored.
Even her belt seemed to be exactly where it had been before.
“…So that’s how it is,” Su Cheng murmured.
The black-haired man raised his brows in mild surprise, a meaningful expression forming on his face.
“You really are full of surprises.”
Su Cheng let out a tired sigh.
“You might think I’m just making excuses after the fact, but I already suspected this wasn’t real.”
“Not real?”
The deity leaned back against the steps and gave a light laugh, casually pulling up the robe that had slipped to his forearm, covering the exposed half of his shoulder and back.
Then he stood up slowly.
“The temperature you felt. The taste you experienced. Your pleasure, your breathing, your racing heartbeat—”
“Are they not real enough for you?”
He smiled faintly.
“Humans perceive the world through only a few senses.”
He looked down at her.
“What you call ‘reality’ doesn’t have to be material. It can be the resonance of experience.”
His low, melodious voice carried a slow, hypnotic quality.
“What I give you can be deeper than anything physical. So deep… you might even wish to remain there forever.”
Su Cheng took a breath.
“…To put it simply,” she said flatly, “because this is the Church’s territory, you can’t bring your true body here. This is just a projection.”
The deity fell silent.
They stood very close.
Su Cheng lifted her gaze.
What entered her view was a half-exposed, snow-white chest. Layers of fabric hung over taut skin like chains embedded in molten volcanic rock.
His body looked tall and sculpted, muscle lines sharp and refined like ridgelines of snow-covered peaks—rising and falling subtly with each breath, glimmering faintly as if polished.
…It had to be another illusion.
Deities didn’t need to breathe.
“So your influence is limited too,” Su Cheng continued, forcing herself to stay rational. “And I can also deduce—”
She stepped back slightly.
“I’m already a divine favored one. I know at least one thing.”
Gods did not need consent to choose a favored one.
“Even if I was chosen by the Main God and you are only a subordinate deity, the process itself doesn’t change.”
She murmured, thinking aloud.
“So everything you’re doing has a purpose. You wanted me to become your favored one, but then realized I don’t meet the requirement.”
She didn’t know what that requirement was exactly.
But gods didn’t choose randomly based on preference.
There had to be a condition.
Just like—
After she studied legal texts, after she wrote contracts bound with constraints, she was chosen by the God of Law and the God of Contracts.
That “condition” was likely tied to divine authority itself.
“So you tried to tempt me,” Su Cheng blinked. “You wanted me to engage with your illusion. No—more than that. I suspect I needed to exhibit some trait related to… impurity or desire in the process to qualify as your chosen one.”
She exhaled slowly.
“Maybe I needed to abandon certain boundaries because of desire for you.”
For example, allowing him to touch the curse on her body.
Or being seduced into revealing secrets.
And then the condition would be fulfilled.
As for what came after—
Once marked by the God of Lust, she might be executed in the temple. Or she might escape if she was lucky.
Or something even more abstract might happen.
“I don’t know what you want from me, Your Highness.”
Su Cheng sounded exhausted. She turned her head away, refusing to look at him any longer.
Otherwise, just that body alone was too dangerous to look at.
“…But I’m afraid I have to refuse.”
As for everything else—like his attempts to seduce her—she had no real ability to refuse that anyway. That involved divine authority itself.
Unless she was a god, or a favored one of the God of Purity with opposing authority, resistance was nearly impossible.
“…I see.”
The deity let out a disappointed sigh, though his expression showed no real sorrow. He still wore that faint, amused smile.
He curled a finger under her chin, lightly tracing it, then smiled more brightly.
“Good. This is getting interesting. It’s a pity we’re out of time. The annoying ones are coming.”
At that moment, Su Cheng heard a deep vibration ripple through space.
Golden light tore into the hall, mercilessly shattering tangled vines. The crimson mist in the air was swallowed whole by a tide of brilliance.
Countless beams of light exploded outward. The entire room shattered like a mirror struck by force, disintegrating into countless fragments of starlike particles.
The man before her also fractured—his form dissolving into ash-like shards.
“A foolish clown—”
A cold, indifferent voice echoed.
The fragments hovered midair, swirling like a rising tide.
The robust male body dissolved completely, replaced by shifting shadows and indistinct, layered forms.
Then everything vanished.
Su Cheng collapsed onto the ground, feeling as if something had been forcibly pulled out of her mind. The world before her eyes sharpened into clarity.
The prayer hall had returned to normal.
The divine horse statue stood once more. Its black stone base was entwined with green vines, surrounded by glowing blue lotus-like crystals.
Ancient inscriptions lined the base, carved in high relief, unfamiliar yet solemn.
In the quiet sanctity of the hall, the blue-green tones radiated life. The earlier crimson corruption was gone without a trace.
This was likely the hall’s true appearance.
“…And you.”
A cold male voice came from behind her.
Su Cheng turned around.
A silver-haired man stood within the temple.
His hair shimmered like a frozen river of moonlight. His pale skin radiated a soft, sacred glow, as though bathed in divine radiance.
She couldn’t clearly see his face, only that he was tall and heavily dressed.
A high collar tightly wrapped his neck. A white battle robe covered his body, embroidered with golden patterns spreading across his broad chest.
The fabric clung too tightly, outlining powerful shoulders.
Su Cheng’s gaze paused.
It drifted down to his waist, where a white leather belt cinched a taut, lean line of strength.
“If you keep looking at me like that—”
At that instant, Su Cheng felt the hairs on her neck stand on end.
His voice was cold—like ice flame pouring down her throat, freezing her organs into spasms.
“This will be the last time you use your eyes.”
He spoke flatly.
“You arrogant fool. If not for your firm will resisting darkness, I would not allow you a second desecration—”
Su Cheng immediately recognized who he was.
“Sorry—Your Highness! I’m really sorry!”
She clutched her head and stood up unsteadily.
“I’m not fully conscious right now. Actually… I wasn’t fully conscious before either.”
Lin Yun had indeed done something inappropriate to the statue. If anyone was to blame, it was him.
But if she ended up offending the real deity because of this, that would be far too uneconomical.
“I was just admiring the statue outside. I think it’s beautiful. Wanting to touch it was just… a normal reaction to something aesthetically pleasing.”
She turned slightly.
“See? I also like this horse statue. I’d want to touch it too.”
She pointed at the central divine statue.
“Honestly, I’d probably want to touch this one even more—it looks very t—”
The temperature in the hall dropped sharply.
Su Cheng’s words cut off instantly.
For a brief moment, she felt an overwhelming divine fury erupt from the figure.
Like a tidal wave of rage crashing down on her.
Su Cheng: “?”
What?
Did she say something wrong again?
“…Also, I really don’t know why the God of Lust is here. I swear I don’t want this either, or I’d be dead by now.”
She paused.
“See? I’m still alive. So I’m not lying. You know I’m the favored one of the God of Contracts—”
Before she could continue, her vision went dark.
The silver-haired man vanished.
Su Cheng: “……”
The God of Lust trying to recruit her as a divine favored one was already bad enough—but doing it in the Church’s territory?
Was this targeting her specifically, or just a petty rivalry between gods?
Either way, she needed to clear her name.
More importantly, none of this had anything to do with her.
Then she noticed the noise.
The previously silent hall was now filled with chaotic murmurs.
She turned around and saw dozens of clergy members crowding both doors—at least forty or fifty people packed tightly together, craning their necks to look inside.
They seemed hesitant to enter, as if afraid of something, so they kept jostling at the entrance in a ridiculous pile.
“…Huh?”
Their eyes were shining with fervor, fixed on empty space.
“The High Priest manifested!”
“Was that real?! Not an illusion?”
“It must be real! I just wish my spiritual perception was higher…”
“Forget it, seeing his face would’ve knocked me out anyway…”
“That would’ve been worth it!”
Young clergy members buzzed excitedly.
Then some of them noticed Su Cheng.
“…Is she the divine favored one?”
“Maybe. She triggered the statue earlier…”
“I thought that was because—”
Su Cheng could faintly hear them.
They had only seen the God of Purity appear.
And since they seemed unaware of the God of Lust’s presence, they apparently believed the God of Purity had come because of her.
“By the heavens!”
The knight squad leader who had guided her earlier finally squeezed through the crowd.
“My lady, how did you end up here?”
Su Cheng smiled wryly.
“You might not believe this, but from my perspective, you all led me in—and then suddenly disappeared.”
“What?” the squad leader looked stunned. “We were walking outside the whole time. We just passed by the entrance—and then you suddenly went inside! I even called out to you! Then the door here was sealed.”
Su Cheng: “……”
So she had been forcibly “controlled” by the God of Lust.
“How could I possibly lead you in?” the squad leader shook his head. “This is Lord Cessia’s prayer hall. It’s still under restoration and not open to the public—”
Su Cheng’s mind jolted.
“What?”
She knew that name.
“You mean this is the prayer hall of the God of Purity? Here?”
“Yes,” the squad leader frowned.
“Isn’t that his statue?”
He pointed at the divine horse statue in the center of the hall.
Su Cheng: “?”
Su Cheng: “………………”
