Salted Fish Zombie

Chapter 64.1: Flower Servant (12)

August 25, 2023 by Wyrd

Yenan Wang gazed in surprise and asked, “Are we going now?” He shook his head, “Yes, we should go tomorrow. It’s already afternoon, and going there now wouldn’t allow us to properly tend to him.”

The Holy Maiden furrowed her brows. “In his current condition, you still want to keep him away from the Flower God’s temple, letting him go mad outside and disturb people’s minds?”

Yenan Wang fell silent for a moment, then replied, “Tomorrow, I’ll take the flower attendants from the Yenan Wang Clan to the Flower God’s temple.”

Since the beginning of the auction, Yenan Wang had always followed the Holy Maiden’s instructions. This was the first time he openly opposed her decision.

Even the players could sense the Holy Maiden’s authority. He should also be aware of this.

But he was still doing it.

On one hand, it was due to the position of the Yenan Wang Clan in Furen County.

Being able to purchase the two most prominent flower servants from the auction, it was natural that the clan’s strength was exceptional, ranking among the top in Furen County.

On the other hand, he cherished Ning Su greatly.

He believed that Ning Su would definitely meet the god, becoming the next generation’s Holy Son.

He couldn’t let anything go wrong with Ning Su. He had to send him to the Flower God’s temple in the best condition possible.

Yenan Wang adopted a firm yet polite tone. “It would be more convenient to send him together with the others at that time. Please understand, Holy Maiden, that this old man’s heart wishes to offer the best Flower Attendant to the Flower God.”

The Holy Maiden remained silent for a while, then spoke coldly, “So, you’re still taking him?”

With such a significant matter, it was easy for her to change her mind.

Yenan Wang immediately moved to bring Ning Su along, but unexpectedly, Ning Su didn’t come.

Holding the cage, facing the direction of the Flower God’s temple, he said, “I, I have come to worship the Flower God.”

“You’re not worthy!”

“You dare to worship the Flower God? How unlucky!”

“Hurry up!”

In Furen County, anything that dishonored the Flower God would be promptly destroyed.

The fact that the Holy Maiden wanted to take him to the Flower God’s temple, and that Yenan Wang wanted to take him home, already filled people with panic.

Surprisingly, he still wanted to participate in the worship event?

Someone gave Ning Su a push, and then someone else pushed him again.

“Get lost!”

“Don’t delay our worship of the Flower God.”

“You’re not qualified to worship the Flower God!”

“Don’t push people!” Zhu Shuangshuang shouted, “Don’t be mean!”

Su Wangsheng said to Ning Su, “Let’s go back. Tomorrow we will be able to worship the Flower God. You can do whatever you want in the Flower God’s temple.”

Zhu Shuangshuang knew that Ning Su was as stubborn as a dried fish, and she knew how seriously and devoutly he worshipped the Flower God. Afraid that he would not leave, she said to him, “Su Su, let’s… let’s go. Without the worship event, no one can worship the Flower God.”

Ning Su tightly held onto the cage, his fingertips tracing the black patterns.

He turned his head toward the statue, his gaze distant and clear.

Zhu Shuangshuang suddenly felt it was ridiculous. Among these thousands of people, the only one who could face the statue was him, and yet they treated him as if he had claws and fangs, as if he was unworthy.

She wanted to shout loudly, forcing them to open their eyes and see clearly.

But she knew that this group of fanatic believers wouldn’t listen.

They distinguished between what was true and false, allowing a slight sense of reverence for the Flower God. It was as if this extreme fanaticism and willingness to accept unusual occurrences could somehow serve as evidence of the genuine purity of their faith in the Flower God.

The statue stood tall in the temple.

In its profound darkness, its figure was revealed, outlining its form, and the crimson at the corner of its eye faintly flowed.

Ning Su held the lily flower.

Only Zhu Shuangshuang and Su Wangsheng followed him.

Ning Su was at the forefront, with the two of them following from a distance.

Walking on, Su Wangsheng suddenly heard the sound of someone sniffing.

It might have been Ning Su in the distance, or perhaps only Zhu Shuangshuang.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Zhu Shuangshuang said in a muffled voice, “Little Taoist, do you know? In the last instance, Ji Mingrui scolded him, and only after kneeling down did he forgive Ji Mingrui.”

Although, a significant part of the reason was because Ji Mingrui decided to give him his points.

Su Wangsheng understood Zhu Shuangshuang’s meaning. He said, “I know. Dai Dong pushed Gui Sheng once, and he almost choked him.”

“Don’t be fooled by his constant begging for help and acting like he wants to hug someone’s thigh. Despite acting like a freeloader, he has pride in his bones and can also feel wronged.”

Yet today, even with so many people scolding and pushing him, he didn’t cause a scene at the Flower God’s temple.

Zhu Shuangshuang remarked, “Is this the true power of faith? Then I don’t have faith in the Flower God yet.”

Su Wangsheng glanced at Zhu Shuangshuang and quickly approached Ning Su, patting his shoulder. “Ning Su, are you okay?”

He was worried about Ning Su. Zhu Shuangshuang was already feeling so bad for him that she was sniffling, and she was afraid that Ning Su might also feel uncomfortable, suffocated, or wronged.

The young man turned his head, his eyes shining, and said to him, “I’ve seen His eyes.”

Su Wangsheng was taken aback. Not only did he not see any grievance in those eyes, but instead he saw the light of joy.

A significant event had taken place, and the joy in these eyes still managed to stir Su Wangsheng’s heart.

After a while, Su Wangsheng finally found his words. “What’s it like?”

Whose eyes was he asking about? At this moment, he must be referring to the statue’s eyes, or perhaps the Flower God’s.

They avoided to look at the statue’s eyes. They hadn’t even examined its face, and a hasty glance was enough to make them feel like their heart was about to burst.

Ning Su pursed his lips and smiled, not answering the question.

Su Wangsheng was once again puzzled.

All the players were trying their best to believe in the Flower God, and there were two who succeeded the most.

One was Ning Changfeng, who noticed the system’s clue early and started earliest. He was already a devout believer.

The other was Ning Su. He devoutly worshipped every morning.

There were people talking about him behind his back. Saying that he’s not a well-known player, just someone who had been in the game for a short time. Could he really accomplish having faith in the Flower God?

Su Wangsheng and Zhu Shuangshuang had always believed in Ning Su, believed that he would truly achieve it. He had always been able to do what others couldn’t easily do.

However, at this moment, Su Wangsheng felt that there’s an issue with Ning Su’s faith.

Certainly, there’s something wrong somewhere.

They had just returned to the courtyard not long ago, and Yenan Wang also hurriedly returned right after.

The first thing he did upon returning was ask Ning Su, “Are you really not willing to choose another flower? I’m not scaring you. This is a matter of great importance.”

He forcefully stopped the Holy Maiden from taking Ning Su to the Flower God’s temple, negotiated for a chance to go there again tomorrow, all with the intention of having Ning Su change to a different flower.

Regardless of whether he believed in the Holy Maiden’s words, it was better to just let Ning Su get a different flower.

“There’s still time to choose again. If you go and choose another one, I’ll have people prepare a whole table of meat for you, alright?”

“I won’t change.” Ning Su replied, “Even if it’s a matter of life and death, I won’t change it.”

No matter how Yenan Wang opposed it, Ning Su was very stubborn in his decision.

Yenan Wang was extremely frustrated. Finally, giving up and leaving.

When Ning Su was about to return to his room, he stopped at the tearoom of Hua Feng and opened the door.

Ning Su said, “It’s my flower, no matter how much they call Him a demon. Only I can nurture Him.”

Hua Feng replied, “But do you still want to nurture them?”

Ning Su nodded, “Yes!”

A faint smile appeared on Hua Feng’s pale face. “Then we’ll do it together.”

Regardless of whether they were contaminated by demons or not, they were going to nurture them.

The second thing was to go to the Flower God’s temple. Many players were still awake late into the night.

Zhu Shuangshuang soaked her feet in the creek, feeling her own blood vessels.

Her skin was very soft, but when pressed, the solid veins would block it.

“Taoist Priest,” she paused for a moment, her voice low, “My blood vessels are so hard. Are human blood vessels like this?”

She’s not a medical student, so she didn’t have a clear understanding of how blood vessels work. But at the very least, they should be soft, right? The blood vessels on the back of her hand should be pressable, temporarily halting the flow of blood.

However, at this moment, the blood vessels were as hard as stones.

Zhu Shuangshuang pressed the blood vessels on the back of her hand for a while, then traced them from there to her arms, neck, and face. Suddenly, she felt a soreness in her blood vessels and a sense of panic in her heart.

The blood vessels were so rigid, defying the human physiology weaving through her body.

Was she still human?

Su Wangsheng’s voice came from another room, “Don’t panic, this is only temporarily. Once we leave this instance, everything will return to normal.”

In the next room, Ning Su was making clothes for two children.

“You can go and beg for food when you go out.”

Ning Su was about to go to the Flower God’s temple to serve the flowers. Based on the current information, he can absorb the two children and store them in his inventory.

The system relegated them as his skill weapons. But Ning Su had never thought of them as mere items.

They had souls.

Thus, Ning Su decided to let them stay outside.

It’s better for them to be beggars in Furen County than to be trapped within the system.

They didn’t have the clothes in Furen County. One was wearing a white T-shirt modified from Huaiyang Village’s clothing, and the other was wearing a little princess skirt. Ning Su improvised clothes for them.

Gui Sheng leaned against Ning Su’s arm, rubbing his soft hair against him.

Manman lay on his leg, raising her head as Ning Su skillfully sewed the clothes.

“Mom, if you’re in danger, we’ll come to save you.”

“Yes!”

“I won’t be in danger.” He handed the pink clothes to Gui Sheng and the red ones to Manman. “You two should beg for food properly outside and behave well.”

Gui Sheng repeated: “Beg for food earnestly, live as a good person!”

Manman: “...Rest assured, we won’t go hungry, and there’s still the Dark Swamp.”

In the neighboring room, Hua Feng’s chest was wrapped in bandages.

“Big brother, I’m about to go to the Flower God’s temple, and do the things you’ve done.”

“I’ll finally know what you’ve experienced inside.”

In the neighboring room, two players sat in silent opposition.

In the later part of the night, all players entered the realm of dreams.

Before sleeping, Ning Su glanced at the lily flower again. “You haven’t appeared in a long time.”

The four-petaled blood flower was still the same as before, not growing larger at all, silent, without any response.

The Flower God’s temple was not only the most magnificent and solemn building in Furen County, but the tallest one too with nine floors.

Yenan Wang personally brought them to the Flower God’s temple.

There’s the main entrance with the statue, and a side entrance through the underground passage from their courtyard.

In the underground passage, Zhu Shuangshuang and Su Wangsheng exchanged a glance, sensing that major families might be secretly heading to the Flower God’s temple as well.

The Flower God’s temple and the Dark Swamp were Furen County’s holiest places, where only the Holy Maiden and Flower Attendants were allowed. Normally, only the Holy Maiden was present at the Flower God’s temple, while Flower Attendants were only present during the welcoming period and the Flower God Festival.

In fact, that was not exactly the case.

That’s just what ordinary people knew.