Chapter 143 Just a little bit more

Shi Xianyu found it hard to put into words.

Her deepest heartache was him, yet she could not bring herself to speak of it.

Lowering her gaze, Shi Xianyu said softly, "It's nothing. I just feel that being an immortal is quite difficult."

The attendant deity replied, "The Sovereign has already done exceptionally well. Ordinary mortals lack the courage to venture alone into unfamiliar worlds, let alone face those ghosts and spirits."

He paused, as if recalling memories of the past, and continued, "At least the previous master of the Immortal Palace did not possess such courage."

Hearing this, Shi Xianyu asked him, "Have you always been the attendant deity? How many masters have you served?"

The attendant deity was slightly startled. "Why does the Sovereign suddenly ask about this?"

"Just curiosity..." Shi Xianyu said slowly. "I was wondering, before the Immortal Palace even existed, did the attendant deity exist? Who were they? Did they have names?"

The attendant deity fell silent. After a moment, he replied, "Millennia have passed, and this humble servant no longer remembers clearly."

"You seem to know how to do everything..." Shi Xianyu smiled at him. "I feel you are far more capable than I am. Why did you become my attendant deity? Why... why don't you become an immortal yourself?"

He lowered his head, keeping his hands tucked inside his sleeves. "The attendant deity is merely a servant who attends to the deity. Even with magic and spiritual power, one cannot be considered a true immortal. As long as the Sovereign restores the Immortal Palace, with its aid, the Sovereign will undoubtedly grow closer to becoming a true deity in the future. As for this humble servant, I am merely an attendant deity, far inferior to the Sovereign."

"Is the mission of the attendant deity simply to take good care of the Immortal Palace?" Shi Xianyu continued to ask. "Can the attendant deity have a life of their own?"

He asked, "I am not sure what the Sovereign means by 'a life of one's own'..."

Shi Xianyu thought for a moment and said, "Things like settling down, starting a family, falling in love, for instance. Can an attendant deity fall in love?"

The attendant deity: "............"

"Can they not?" She tilted her head to study him. "Staying in the Immortal Palace all the time without falling in love or making friends—wouldn't that feel very stifling?"

A trace of gloom flickered in the depths of the attendant deity's eyes. Keeping his head lowered, he answered, "This humble servant is one with the Immortal Palace. The palace belongs to the Sovereign, and this humble servant's body and soul belong entirely to the Sovereign. This humble servant does not know what it means to feel stifled; I only wish to restore the Immortal Palace as soon as possible."

The more Shi Xianyu asked, the more confused she became.

If he truly was just an immortal palace steward like a machine, how could Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan, and the dark shadow be explained? Did he have no emotions? Did he not understand love?

Could it be that all of this was just her misunderstanding? Her own wishful thinking?

The attendant deity asked, "Many new fish have recently been added to the Wishing Pond. Would the Sovereign care to take a look?"

Shi Xianyu raised her eyes to look at him. "I know you are anxious to restore the Immortal Palace, but right now, many plants are being raised in the Spirit Herb Garden whose uses we do not know. The eight alchemy cauldrons in the Alchemy Pavilion have yet to be ignited, and the grand protective mountain array has only just been set up, with no divine beasts guarding its two core nodes. There are simply too many things to be done. We don't need to rush the restoration of the Immortal Palace overnight."

Lowering his head, the attendant deity said, "The Sovereign's words are entirely correct."

Ignoring the pond of fish behind her, Shi Xianyu turned and walked away in silence.

Watching her retreating figure, the attendant deity thought silently to himself: Just a little more... only the very last bit, and the grand undertaking will be complete...

This should have been the outcome he had longed for eagerly for so long. Why was it that now, looking at her departing back, his heart was filled with such boundless attachment and reluctance to part?

Could it be that, through repeatedly accompanying her into the mortal realm, he had truly developed those forbidden passions and desires for her?

......

Shi Xianyu went to the Spirit Herb Garden.

Using her phone, she photographed every single plant in the Spirit Herb Garden, jotted down their reference numbers, and later took them out to be printed and bound into a booklet. Along the way, she also paid the utility and internet bills for her great-great-grandfather's old residence.

Passing by a supermarket, she instinctively stepped inside, out of habit wanting to replenish the supplies in her spatial storage, since all the food and water she had previously stored had been given to Ye Liuyun.

After wandering around for a bit, however, she realized she didn't seem to want to buy anything at all.

Those snacks on the shelves that she once loved most now looked completely unappealing. On second thought, it seemed... she hadn't eaten anything in several days.

Shi Xianyu quietly touched her abdomen—she wasn't hungry.

Ever since returning from the Changle Palace, aside from absorbing a few breaths of spiritual energy near the Spirit Gathering Furnace, she had eaten nothing at all. Her constitution had quietly changed, and her reliance on food and water was growing less and less.

At the checkout counter, a young girl was secretly taking pictures of her with a phone, whispering excitedly to her friend, "Look at that pretty young lady! Her aura is just stunning! Is it because the water and air in this longevity village are so good? Let's stay and play here for a few more days!"

Shi Xianyu: "............"

Her hearing seemed to have become sharper as well.

When she first became an immortal, she used to look forward every day to the moment when she could drink the wind and sip the dew like Shen Xiao, becoming transcendent and refined. Now that she finally had a taste of what it felt like to be a deity, she didn't feel particularly happy about it.

Quietly walking away, she picked out some candies and toys that children liked, paid for her items, and left the supermarket.

Returning to the Immortal Palace, Shi Xianyu did not see the attendant deity anywhere. Just as she stepped out of her bedchamber, a sudden, violent tremor shook the ground! Even the cranes on the mountain were startled into flight!

Startled, Shi Xianyu looked around, but the tremor quickly vanished, and everything returned to peace as if nothing had ever happened.

The attendant deity flew over from the direction of the Spirit Gathering Furnace and bowed to her.

"What was that just now?" Shi Xianyu asked in bewilderment.

The Immortal Palace had always given her a sense of safety and comfort, but that fleeting moment just now had filled her with sudden panic—it was truly terrifying, as if the Immortal Palace might shatter apart in the next second!

Yet the attendant deity's expression beamed with joy as he reported, "An underground earth dragon has turned over; the Sovereign need not be alarmed."

"An earth dragon?" Shi Xianyu asked blankly, "Where did a dragon come from?"

The attendant deity explained, "This dragon is not a literal creature, but refers to dragon veins. The surging of subterranean dragon qi caused the Immortal Palace to shake, but it will cause no harm to the palace. Please rest assured, Sovereign."

Half-doubting, Shi Xianyu looked at him.

Trying to change the subject, the attendant deity noticed the shopping bag she was carrying and asked, "What has the Sovereign purchased?"

"Oh, gifts for the children in青山城 (Qingshan City)," Shi Xianyu replied indifferently. "I don't recognize any of the plants in the Spirit Herb Garden, so I'm planning to go ask Daoist Priest Shen for guidance and check on the children over at his place while I'm there."

The attendant deity asked, "How long will the Sovereign be gone? When will you return? Do you have any instructions for this humble servant?"

Frowning slightly, Shi Xianyu felt somewhat unaccustomed to his attentiveness. "...I don't know how long I'll be gone, and I don't have any special instructions. Just bring me my sheep."

Following her instructions, the attendant deity summoned the big-horned sheep.

Without sparing him a single glance, Shi Xianyu mounted the sheep and rode away.

The attendant deity: "............"

......

Qingshan City had a statue of Shi Xianyu.

After entering and exiting a few times, she had gradually gotten the hang of it. As long as there was a statue in a world, drawn by the power of faith, she could connect the space-time of the two worlds herself even without the attendant deity's help.

Riding the sheep back into Qingshan City, the children in the courtyard recognized her and immediately ran over to surround her.

Sweeping her gaze across the group, Shi Xianyu asked, "Is Daoist Priest Shen out again?"

The children chorused that he hadn't returned.

Xiaoman squeezed into the cluster of children, several white mushrooms tumbling off his head in the process. While frantically trying to pick them up, he looked up and asked her, "You look like you're in a bad mood."

Shi Xianyu touched her face. "Is it that obvious?"

All the children nodded in unison.