Song Jia really wished that she rejected his invitation of visiting a temple.
She was already embarrassed when he wholeheartedly prayed at the lake, even closing his eyes and bowing his head for a long time like a devout believer.
Then, he had stopped at the large statue of the Golden Princess at the foyer of the temple. It portrayed her wearing a simple linen chemise, her golden hair pulled back at the nape, loosely braided in the back to fall to her waist.
An ivy crown was perched atop her head, and in her hands, she held a bouquet of roses. Little crystal droplets attached on the petals sparkled like dew, giving the illusion of vitality.
It was as if at any moment now, she would blink and smile at them, just like Pygmalion's sculpture of Galatea [1] coming to life.
Song Jia looked up at her and felt that Jin Jia was truly too beautiful. If she had been born as a man, even if the princess slept for a hundred years, with that face, she would definitely be that kind of licking dog [2] prince that would wait no matter how long it took for the princess to wake up.
"Ah! What's wrong?"
She was startled when she suddenly found herself inside his arms. He embraced her with such crushing force that Song Jia gave a little wheeze.
"Can you loosen up a little, you're crushing me..."
Although they were not that large, Song Jia was still proud of her cup size. With how much power the male god often used in hugging her, she wouldn't be surprised if instead of being hills, they became plateaus.
But saying the word 'breasts' out loud, especially to a pervert like him, didn't seem right.
"Well, just suffocate me as much as you want..." Wuwu, this grandma is so miserable.
Above her head, she heard his hoarse murmur.
"Rather than you being an illusory myth, I prefer holding you in my arms."
He had seen her in thousands of illusions, seen her smiling at him in approval as he desperately fulfilled his promises like a fanatic worshipper. He was so devout in his faith, she would surely grant his wish.
But whenever he reached out, she vanished in the early morning light, only visiting his dreams and never his reality. She would only appear to him but never stay beside him.
Just like this cold statue, who could only accept their prayers but never respond to them.
He loosened his hold on Song Jia, smiling as she glowered at him. Watching each and every tiny expression of hers...it was so real.
The person who first appeared to him like a ray of sunlight that couldn't be grasped...she was now inside his arms.
He finally caught her.
"Jia, don't step too far away from me. We can't know for sure if those assassins wouldn't send back-up and try again."
When they passed the large statue of the Golden Princess and went to the entrance, as expected, the temple doors were closed shut.
Song Jia asked, "Can you really teleport us inside?"
She was almost certain that the person beside her wasn't Xu Jinhai. Song Jia had never seen Xu Jinhai being so devoted to the Golden Princess before. Having been born in Yujinxiang, Xu Jinhai believed more in the wonders of technology than religion.
Song Jia believed Xu Jinhai could teleport them with no problems. She wasn't so sure about this person beside her.
"Jia, are you scared?" He looked down and teased her.
Seeing her serious expression, like an adorable Qing Leng Xueba [3], he couldn't help but scratch her chin like a cat.
Song Jia swatted his hand away.
She heard him chuckle as he took her hand again, briefly squeezing it.
"Don't worry, you're always safe with me."
Just as his words dropped into her ear, when she stepped forward with her foot, everything around her had changed.
They were now inside the temple.
Song Jia was stunned. All around her were glowing stained-glass windows, even the arched ceiling. It stained the sunlight coming in with different colors, each window telling a different story.
The colors were reflected on the floor, rippling and undulating with the movement of the sunlight. It gave the illusion that you were walking on the surface of a colorful sea.
"Jia, look."
Because of the sacred atmosphere in the temple, his voice sounded reverent and soft.
Song Jia followed his line of sight and saw that he was looking at the first stained-glass window. It depicted the Hunter as a young child lying down on the ground, one arm raised as if he was begging to be saved. In front of him was the Golden Princess.
Song Jia remembered. It was the first time she had met Xiang Feng.
As the two of them slowly walked down the aisle of the temple, they looked at the stained-glass windows as it depicted the time she had spent with Xiang Feng.
There she was with him at the medieval fair, Xiang Feng shielding her with his body as a horse was about to trample her. One of his hands held a small knife, spilling blood in the air.
In the next, Xiang Feng had already grown up, and it showed the two of them facing each other. He was wearing a mask, hiding himself. On his open palm was a puzzle box.
Then, they were in the garden pavilion, being ambushed by assassins...
Seeing that, Song Jia was really glad that she managed to maintain some rationality and dragged them both back to the tower.
Otherwise, not only would she have a funny gravestone, Yueji's bible might be labeled R-19, ah...
The last window depicted the Hunter finally killing the Witch Queen, beheading her with his sword. Although in reality, Xiang Feng had strangled Princess Bai Xue, beheading the villain with a sword was more heroic.
And as Song Jia stopped right at the altar, two life-sized statues entered her gaze.
A grief-stricken Xiang Feng permanently frozen in stone, kneeling on the floor. His arms clutched tightly the body of a dead woman, her long hair spilling into the ground.
Although they were both only statues that were made of stone, the sculptor carved every detail with great care.
The fingers that sank into the flesh, unwilling to let go.
The tears that dripped down his cheeks, falling drop by drop.
His bowed shoulders, caving in like he was about to collapse.
For the first time, Song Jia came face to face with the scene she never saw after she left during her transmigration missions.
The two statues, permanently frozen in their tragic misery, became imprinted in her eyes.
Like a knife stabbing into her heart, Song Jia felt a sharp pain.
It was as if the sculptor was conveying their message like this:
This wasn't the scene of only a single person dying.
This was the tragic death of two people, one in body, and the other in soul.
[1] This is a famous Greek myth, but if you haven't heard of it, it's the story of the talented sculptor Pygmalion who sculpted his ideal woman and fell in love with it. Aphrodite took pity on him and brought her to life, who then took the name of Galatea and became his wife.
[2] 舔狗, tiǎngǒu: Chinese version of the simp insult
[3] Qīnglěng (清冷) is a word meaning cold and cheerless. Xué bà (学霸) is a slang used to refer to a top or perfect student with perfect straight As that every teacher loves.