Chapter 246: The Agony of a Torn Heart
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
Lu Chao Chao lay on her eldest brother’s back, lifting her head to gaze into the distance.
Through the sea of people and the towering trees, she could vaguely make out the top of the stone statue.
The statue was draped in a red cloth, revealing only a striking flash of crimson.
Along the way, people handed out incense, wax paper money, and fresh flowers.
“They say the Divine Maiden loved flowers. Every year during the ritual, His Majesty provides them freely. All pilgrims may take one as an offering~” Lu Yuan Xiao explained earnestly.
Lu Chao Chao suckled her milk bottle with a few quick gulps.
[Flowers? When did I ever like flowers?]
[The only reason I planted flowers outside my cave dwelling was for wealth—those were Money-Luring Flowers meant to attract fortune…]
[The Ancestor of the Sword Dao was also the Ancestor of Poverty…]
[Not to mention, raising seven little burdens nearly drained me dry!] Lu Chao Chao lamented over her past, tears of bitterness welling up in her heart.
The crowd of pilgrims surged forward, packed so tightly that she could only see an endless expanse of heads while lying on her third brother’s back.
As they passed through the forest, Lu Chao Chao lifted her gaze. The eighteen-meter-tall stone statue, veiled in red, loomed over the kneeling commoners.
“Wow, so tall…” she murmured in awe.
“This is nothing.” The Fourth Prince pressed his hands together in reverence.
To the outside world, the Divine Maiden was but a legend, yet the National Temple held three days of ceremonies each year in honor of Her spirit.
The Library Pavilion’s records confirmed it all to be true.
“Back then, the mountains crumbled, rivers ran dry, all life withered, and the mortal world became a living hell. The Divine Maiden nourished the land with Her own blood, reforged the mountains with Her bones, and gouged out Her eyes to form the sun, moon, and stars.”
“Her heart… forever remained in the mortal world, bringing forth endless vitality.”
“The common folk once built a 108-meter statue in Her honor, yet the moment it was completed, it collapsed.”
“Then they tried 88 meters—again, it fell…”
“At 66 meters, and even 50 meters, it still crumbled…” The Fourth Prince sighed deeply.
“Her salvation rivaled that of the Creator Lord Emperor Himself.”
“Yet, after creating the world, the Emperor vanished without a trace. The people only remember the Divine Maiden, not Him.”
“Though She was mortal, She saved the world with a divine soul. No mere statue could bear the weight of such boundless merit. Only after the people watered the land with their own blood and prayed with endless reverence did an eighteen-meter statue remain standing—so that future generations could worship Her.”
“The statue was sculpted to depict Her at the moment of sacrifice, after gouging out Her eyes…”
The crowd lifted their heads toward the statue.
At that moment, the royal guards pulled away the red cloth.
A millennia-old, weathered statue stood before them, battered by time.
The statue was riddled with cracks and wounds, a sight so harrowing it struck pain into one’s soul.
With closed eyes, the Divine Maiden held Her hands before Her like a blooming lotus, lifting them high above Her head, as if cradling the lives of all beings.
Yet, upon seeing this, a deep tremor seized every heart, as if boundless hope lay in Her palms.
“For some reason… I feel an ache in my chest…” Li Si Qi wiped his cheek, stunned to find tears streaming down.
“This is awe engraved into our very bones.”
“When all of humanity faced annihilation, She bore the suffering alone and lifted countless mortals from despair,” the Fourth Prince whispered reverently as he knelt in worship.
Li Si Qi said nothing. Whether one believed or not, none could stand before this statue without profound reverence.
“A mortal who stood equal to the gods—She is our pride.”
Lu Chao Chao stared at the statue, her pupils suddenly contracting. Pain lanced through her eyes.
As if a blade pierced her very soul, an agony she could never escape surged forth.
“Ah!” Lu Chao Chao cried, clutching her eyes.
Her small voice trembled, filled with a terror she had never known.
Her chubby hands pressed tightly over her eyes, her tears streaming down in a cascade.
“Chao Chao! What’s wrong?!” Lu Yuan Xiao panicked.
Before she could answer, the Crown Prince appeared out of nowhere and swept her into his arms.
Lu Chao Chao was drenched in cold sweat, curling up in pain, her tiny body trembling violently.
“What happened to Chao Chao?!” Lu Yuan Xiao was terrified—he had never seen his sister so frightened. She had only looked at the statue!
[My eyes! My eyes hurt! Why does the pain of gouging them out return?!]
She gripped her chest with all her might. [It hurts—it hurts so much! My heart… my heart is in agony…]
“A-ah… hurts… Chao Chao’s heart hurts…” she whimpered, face contorted in anguish against the Crown Prince’s shoulder.
His fingers trembled. Chao Chao no longer had a heart, yet her phantom pain remained excruciating.
Back then, she had sacrificed herself with such calmness, deceiving them all!
“Chao Chao, Chao Chao, it’s all my fault! Let’s go home, alright? Don’t scare us like this… We won’t look, we won’t pray—we’ll go home!” Lu Yuan Xiao sobbed.
Hearing her inner cries, he felt his heart shatter—his little sister had suffered too much!
“What’s wrong with Princess Sunshine?!” Li Si Qi and the others were horrified.
The ever-composed Crown Prince now had reddened eyes, his voice choking as he desperately comforted her.
Lu Chao Chao did not respond. In mere moments, sweat drenched her hair.
“Chong… Yue…” she murmured hazily.
In her daze, she seemed to see Chong Yue, her disciple, through the Crown Prince’s silhouette.
The Crown Prince held her hand tightly. “I’m here. I’m here…” he whispered.
Yet, lost in her pain, she heard nothing.
“Chao Chao hurts…” she whimpered, tears welling again.
This pain… had never left her in all these years.
After being reborn, she had nearly forgotten what phantom pain felt like.
“Chao Chao’s eyes hurt… Chao Chao’s heart hurts… Chao Chao’s whole body hurts…”
Her entire being felt shattered beyond repair.
“Chao Chao, you must reclaim your millennia-old incense merit. It will ease your pain,” the Crown Prince murmured as he traced a delicate motion over her fingertips. Instantly, a drop of golden divine blood emerged.
“What’s that smell? So fragrant…”
“It smells like lush grass and fresh morning dew—just inhaling it is refreshing…”
“Wow… such a strong scent…” The kneeling commoners whispered in awe.
Every drop of her lifeblood was forged from boundless virtue—brimming with vitality and hope.
The Crown Prince flicked his finger, sending the divine blood onto the statue.
The people knelt before the worn, cracked stone figure, as if it could crumble at any moment.
Then—
The earth trembled violently. Fragments of the statue began to fall…
Rocks tumbled onto the ground.
The people gasped in fear. “What’s happening? An earthquake?!”
“Oh Heavens, look at the statue!” A voice rasped in shock.
“Look! Look at the statue!!”
The Divine Statue…
Glowed.
No! No…
The Divine Statue…
Opened its eyes!