Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 82

Facing Si Yangshen’s expectant gaze, Qi Ran felt even more at a loss and quickly lowered her head.

She absolutely could not refuse. She felt that if she dared to utter a single “no,” Si Yangshen would ensure she died right there.

“You… you need believers?” Qi Ran considered for a long time before cautiously asking, “If you need them, I… I suppose I could…?”

She remembered that some gods indeed required enough believers to maintain their power; a god who lost their faith would vanish or be stripped of their position. She felt that Si Yangshen must be a god in need of believers otherwise, she wouldn’t have specifically pulled Qi Ran into this illusion while she was sleeping.

Qi Ran’s guess wasn’t wrong. Jin Fei was indeed short on believers. Although she looked down on mortal demons, if one was willing to be her believer, she was naturally happy to provide protection even if that believer had been disrespectful to her not long ago.

“This seat does not need believers,” Jin Fei said arrogantly, despite her inner thoughts. “However, if you have the inclination, this seat wouldn’t mind having one more.”

Qi Ran was someone who often said the opposite of what she felt, so she immediately saw through the goddess’s petty pride. To avoid offending her, she prostrated herself at the foot of the stairs, acting out a scene of devout worship. “I am willing to become your believer and serve you for a lifetime.”

Since Qi Ran had been summoned as a spiritual entity, Jin Fei observed her for a moment and knew she wasn’t being sincere, but merely acting for survival. She let out a cold laugh: “Your heart is impure.”

Jin Fei suddenly vanished from the throne and appeared in front of Qi Ran in an instant. Seeing the other woman begin to tremble, she narrowed her grey eyes and asked with interest, “Why are you still afraid of me? Didn’t the God of Medicine and my human believer tell you? I am the God of Nurturing (Si Yangshen), not the God of War (Si Zhanshen).”

Recalling what Liu Fenyun had said, Jin Fei leaned down slightly and added, “I am a very gentle god.”

Qi Ran: …Like hell I believe you.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, her body suddenly felt light as she was lifted by a force, suspended in mid-air and forced to face the goddess directly.

Only then did Qi Ran get a clear look at Jin Fei’s appearance.

Unlike her majestic white lion form, her human form looked like a refined lady from a wealthy family, impeccably groomed. Her form-fitting light blue qipao traced her elegant curves. Her grey eyes were lazy yet held an underlying majesty. Looking at her… one might indeed be tricked into thinking she had a gentle personality.

Qi Ran barely managed to control her fear by focusing on the goddess’s beauty. She squeezed out a smile and responded to the previous comment: “Why do you say my heart is impure? I am only thinking of one thing right now, how could that be impure?”

“And what, pray tell, are you thinking about?” Jin Fei asked leisurely.

“I am, of course, terrified of you,” Qi Ran replied, sticking to her “broken jar” strategy of blunt honesty.

Jin Fei froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and began to laugh, her voice echoing through the divine hall.

“That is true. From the moment you recognized me, you have been afraid,” Jin Fei said once she had laughed her fill. “But if you are to be my believer, you cannot just be afraid of me. The purpose of my existence is certainly not to be feared by my followers.”

As she spoke, she withdrew her oppressive aura. Qi Ran felt much lighter. After calming down and thinking it over, she admitted: “Actually, I didn’t intend to be your believer. You know I am a disciple of the God of Time…”

“That doesn’t matter,” Jin Fei interrupted. “You can continue to be Qi Niao’s disciple. I have no intention of stealing her student.”

With her diversion failing, Qi Ran could only speak her mind: “But I have always worshipped strength. If you were the God of War or a God of Destruction, I would be very willing to be your believer.”

She had a faint feeling this was a sore spot for the God of Nurturing like forcing a general who dominated the battlefield to stay home and raise children. But if she was going to believe in a god, she had to be clear, or else it would be a sign of disrespect.

After speaking, Qi Ran braced herself to be strangled to death.

However, Jin Fei’s reaction was mild, as if she had expected this. The goddess simply said lazily, “It seems you don’t acknowledge my combat strength?”

Qi Ran bit the bullet and hummed in affirmation.

“This is the first time a mortal demon has been intimidated by me and then complained that I’m not strong enough,” Jin Fei laughed. “Listen, the gods each have their duties. Even the Supreme God doesn’t mandate who must hold which position. Being appointed to a title simply means that god has the best compatibility with that role.”

Qi Ran was even more confused. If the white lion wasn’t the God of War, wasn’t it because she wasn’t good at fighting?

“The God of War has too much to manage. You’ve lived in both the demon and human realms for so many years, surely you know how frequent wars are?” Jin Fei asked. “Although I enjoy fighting and beating people up, I fear war more than anyone. War means victims. Sharp blades eventually break on the battlefield, and a general’s success is built on ten thousand rotting bones. I cannot bear to see the sacrifice of mortals.”

Qi Ran finally understood. She hadn’t expected the white lion, who looked down on mortal demons, to possess such compassion for humans.

She wasn’t stupid enough to voice this doubt, however, and only said respectfully, “My thinking was too narrow. I have offended you.”

Her submissive attitude made Jin Fei a bit uncomfortable, but the goddess asked anyway: “Well? Will you believe in me? If you want to follow the God of War just to spar with her, you’re better off with me. That fat cat is too lazy to fight demons anyway…”

Qi Ran: ? What fat cat? What did she just hear?

Being protected by a god was naturally a good thing. Once Qi Ran overcame her fear of the God of Nurturing, she was quite willing to become her believer. This time, Jin Fei didn’t nitpick, fearing she might actually scare this believer away.

Before sealing the contract, Qi Ran suddenly remembered something and asked, “Will you… also enter my sea of consciousness?”

She hadn’t forgotten the time she tried to possess Meng Nie, the moment she entered Meng Nie’s sea of consciousness, she had been brutally beaten by a giant white lion. It had left her with psychological trauma.

Jin Fei snorted. “If you’re so afraid, I won’t do it just to be unappreciated.”

“I’m not afraid! I’m not!” Qi Ran said quickly. “But I have one small request…”

Before Jin Fei could get angry, she explained rapidly: “It’s like this. I’m planning to turn over a new leaf and atone for my sins. If you sense me wanting to do evil again, could you stop me immediately?”

This wasn’t an unreasonable request. Considering she was a colleague’s disciple, Jin Fei agreed: “Fine. Go clean up your sea of consciousness and make a tidy spot for me.”

She pulled out a thick register, turned to a certain page, pricked Qi Ran’s finger, and drew a drop of blood onto it. Qi Ran felt her spiritual body suddenly grow warm; a gentle heat sank from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, instantly making her feel at peace.

With the contract set, Qi Ran’s consciousness was sent back to her body.

She opened her eyes and instinctively looked at the finger that had been pricked. She saw a small, five petaled blue flower mark gradually fading away. When it vanished completely, even the wound from the blood letting was gone.

The other three didn’t know Qi Ran had become a believer of the God of Nurturing, and she was too embarrassed to tell them she had sought divine protection.

Jin Fei was as good as her word. Once Qi Ran tidied her sea of consciousness, the goddess placed her demon form inside. Whenever Qi Ran entered her consciousness, she would see a giant white lion lying lazily, looking like a guardian deity.

Qi Ran had never served anyone before, but she was very fond of taking care of demon beasts, whether young or adult, gods included. Now that she was no longer afraid, she would visit her consciousness during breaks to pay her respects to the white lion and even brush its fur.

As it happened, Jin Fei loved being pampered by her believers. At first, she wasn’t used to this mortal demon visiting her constantly and found her annoying, but within two days, she had surrendered to Qi Ran’s grooming skills.

One day, while Qi Ran was brushing, Jin Fei even sprawled out shamelessly in front of her, allowing her to brush her belly.

The goddess’s nonchalance made Qi Ran a bit awkward. When brushing, she had to mentally pretend the goddess was actually Xian Lihua or Ruan Ju otherwise, she wouldn’t have the courage to touch her.

It wasn’t until Lian Yi and Liu Fenyun’s menstrual cycles had passed that Jin Fei conjured a path for them to leave.

Liu Fenyun still remembered the “human village” the system had mentioned. Before leaving, she couldn’t help but ask Jin Fei: “Are there humans living here?”

“Yes, but they are all my believers. When I conjured these ancient ruins, I temporarily hid their traces,” Jin Fei said. “Once you leave, they will return to their normal lives.”

Liu Fenyun smiled. “You really do like humans.”

When they were traveling before, they had ridden on Yu Qingyue’s demon form. Now that Yu Qingyue and Luo Binglun had left together, they needed a new mode of transport.

Liu Fenyun had a Wangyun horse kept in her herb garden. The four discussed it before leaving and decided to give the horse to the only human, Meng Nie.

General Meng sat on the horse, whipped it to catch up with the three demon aura shrouded women, and grumbled, “I never thought the day would come where I’d be the weakest one on the team!”

“You aren’t weak, you’re just a different species from us,” Qi Ran, having recovered her demon energy, had the spirit to joke with her.

Without a flying mount, and since none of them had been to this region before, they relied entirely on the system’s map for directions.

“Three hundred miles further west, we will enter the territory of the Great Hua Kingdom, Shengkun City,” Liu Fenyun said while checking the map during a break on the evening of the fifth day. “We’re still far from the Demon Realm. Shall we go there to rest?”

She wasn’t tired, but Lian Yi and Meng Nie likely couldn’t keep up, and the horse needed rest too.

“Good idea. It would also be best to find a way to get Senior Sister Qing and the others back,” Qi Ran agreed. “The situation at the Demon Realm border is much more complex than the human realm. Great and small demon kings occupy various lands. If Senior Sister Qing and the others were here, we’d save a lot of trouble.”

“But we need a transit pass to enter the city!” Lian Yi reminded them. “Last time we entered Qifeng City, we used Priestess Luo’s pass. Now we only have General Meng’s, but given her identity, it’s not appropriate.”

Liuzhi Country and Shengkun City were both human cities. A few years ago, they were allies, but since Liuzhi had sent a Prince Consort to the Di tribe’s Zhuhuang Country, they were now effectively enemies. Shengkun City would never allow a general from Liuzhi to enter.

“No, we can use mine,” Qi Ran pulled out a transit pass. “Master Liu and I will disguise ourselves as traveling physicians to enter. You two will just have to dress up as our disciples.”

“…You seem very practiced at this,” Meng Nie couldn’t help but roast her. “But if we do that, Shengkun City will send their own doctors to verify our identities. Can your medical skills pass their inspection?”

Qi Ran curled her lip. “No problem. If I didn’t know medicine, I would have died in the human realm long ago.”