Chapter 246: The Heart-Wrenching Pain
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
Lu Chao Chao lay on her elder brother’s back, her tiny arms wrapped around his neck as she looked ahead. Through the bustling crowd, past the towering dense forest, she could just make out the top of a stone statue. The statue was partially covered by a red cloth, with only a hint of bright red peeking through. Along the way, people were handing out incense, candles, paper money, and fresh flowers.
“I heard the Goddess likes flowers,” Lu Yuan Xiao said seriously. “Every year during the sacrificial ceremony, the king gives out fresh flowers for free. All the pilgrims can get one.”
Lu Chao Chao sucked on her milk bottle noisily, her eyes wide with curiosity.
[Flowers? Since when did I like flowers?]
[The flowers outside my cave were for attracting wealth… they weren’t for decoration.]
[The ancestor of swordsmanship is also the ancestor of poverty…]
[Especially when raising seven freeloaders, it nearly bankrupted me!] Thinking of the past, Lu Chao Chao felt a wave of bitterness.
The crowd was vast and packed. From her position on her third brother’s back, Chao Chao could only see a sea of heads. As they passed through the forest, she lifted her head and saw the eighteen-meter-high statue, partially obscured by the red cloth, with people kneeling at its feet.
“Wow, so tall…” Chao Chao exclaimed, her voice filled with awe.
“And that’s not even the tallest,” the fourth prince said with a look of reverence, his hands clasped together in prayer.
To the outside world, the Goddess was a legend, but at the Protectorate Temple, they performed a three-day ritual every year to honor her spirit. The records in the library confirmed her existence.
“Back then, the mountains crumbled, rivers dried up, all life withered, and the world became a hell. The Goddess used her blood to nourish the land, her bones to reshape the mountains, and gouged out her eyes to become the sun, moon, and stars.”
“Her heart fell to the earth, bringing endless vitality.”
“People once built a 108-meter-high statue of her, but it collapsed as soon as it was finished.”
“Then they tried 88 meters. It collapsed again…”
“66 meters, 50 meters, still collapsed…” The fourth prince sighed deeply.
“Her contribution to saving the world rivals that of the Creator king.”
“But after creating the world, the king vanished. People only know of the Goddess, not the king.”
“Though she was mortal, she saved the world with her divine spirit. How could a stone statue bear such merit? The people watered it with their blood, prayed with their foreheads to the ground, and barely managed to build an 18-meter statue for future generations to worship.”
“Her statue depicts her as she was after gouging out her eyes for the sacrifice…”
Everyone looked up at the statue.
At that moment, a guard removed the red cloth.
The ancient, weathered statue that had stood for millennia was revealed. The statue was covered in scars and holes, a sight that was both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. The Goddess had her eyes closed, her hands forming a lotus shape above her head, as if holding up all living beings. Everyone felt a jolt in their hearts, as if she was holding infinite hope.
“For some reason, my heart feels heavy…” Li Siqi touched his cheek, realizing tears had fallen unknowingly.
“It’s a deep-seated reverence.”
“When humanity faced extinction, she brought life, lifting countless mortals,” the fourth prince knelt devoutly, quietly worshiping.
Li Siqi remained silent, regardless of belief or disbelief.
In front of the Goddess’s statue, no one felt anything but deep respect.
“To stand equal to the gods with a mortal body, she is our pride.”
Lu Chao Chao’s gaze fell on the statue, her pupils contracted, and she reflexively covered her eyes. It was as if a piercing pain shot through her soul, unrelenting.
“It hurts!” Chao Chao clutched her eyes tightly, her voice trembling with fear. “Eyes… eyes hurt…”
“Chao Chao! What’s wrong?” Lu Yuan Xiao’s heart pounded with fear.
Before Chao Chao could speak, the crown prince appeared from nowhere and held her in his arms.
Chao Chao was drenched in sweat, clutching her eyes, her small body curling up in pain.
“What’s wrong with Chao Chao?” Lu Yuan Xiao was terrified. He had never seen his sister so frightened. She had only looked at the Goddess’s statue!
[My eyes hurt, my eyes hurt! Why is the pain of gouging out my eyes back?]
She clutched her chest, her breath hitching [It hurts so much… my heart hurts…]
“Ah, it hurts… my heart, Chao Chao’s heart hurts…” She leaned on the crown prince’s shoulder, her little face contorted in pain.
The crown prince’s fingers trembled. Chao Chao had no heart, but her phantom pain was still so intense.
Back then, her calm sacrificial appearance had fooled everyone!
“Chao Chao, Chao Chao, it’s all my fault. Let’s go home, okay? Don’t scare your brother… we won’t look or worship, we’ll just go home!” Lu Yuan Xiao sobbed, tears streaming down his face.
He could hear Chao Chao’s thoughts, and his heart ached for her. She had endured too much pain and suffering.
“What’s wrong with Princess Sunshine?” Li Siqi and the others were shocked.
The usually composed crown prince had red eyes, his voice choked with emotion as he tried to comfort Chao Chao.
Chao Chao said nothing, her hair drenched in sweat.
“You continue your worship. I’ll take Chao Chao to rest for a bit,” the crown prince said, glancing at the statue and recalling the excruciating pain of the past.
Of course, it would hurt. The phantom pain from her sacrifice would follow her forever.
Lu Yuan Xiao’s face was pale as he struggled to follow the crown prince, pushing through the crowd to reach an ancient tree.
Chao Chao was already drenched in sweat, her fingers limp, her face alarmingly pale.
The little girl muttered in a daze, “Chong… Yue…”
In her daze, she seemed to see her disciple, Chong Yue, through the crown prince.
The crown prince held her little hand tightly, whispering, “I’m here, I’m here…”
But Chao Chao, lost in her pain, didn’t hear him.
“Chao Chao hurts…” she said tearfully, her eyes filled with pain.
This pain had never left her in all these years.
Reborn, she had almost forgotten the phantom pain.
“Chao Chao’s eyes hurt, Chao Chao’s heart hurts, Chao Chao’s whole body hurts…”
It felt like her entire body was being crushed.
“Chao Chao, you need to take back your thousand-year incense. It will help ease your pain,” the crown prince said, holding her gently and brushing her fingertips. A drop of golden blood oozed out.
“What’s that smell? It’s so fragrant…”
“It smells like herbs. Breathing it in feels so refreshing, it clears the mind…”
“Wow, such a strong fragrance…” The people kneeling on the ground sniffed the air, murmuring softly.
Every drop of her blood was filled with merit. It carried rich vitality and hope.
The crown prince flicked his fingers, and the drop of blood landed on the statue.
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
The people kneeling at the statue’s feet saw it covered in cracks, looking like it was about to collapse.
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently, and countless small pieces fell from the statue, clattering to the ground.
The people straightened up in fear. “What’s happening? The ground is shaking?”
“Oh my, look at the statue!” someone shouted, their voice hoarse with shock.
“Look, the statue!” The crowd erupted in cries of astonishment, all eyes on the statue.
“The statue is glowing!!”
“No! No!!”
“The statue…”
“Has opened its eyes!”