Volume 4: Twilight Galaxy
“Qing Kong actually ran away… Sigh.”
“We thought he’d make history, but in the end…”
“Why run? Why not just face judgment? What if he returns?”
“You can’t say that. He really did accomplish great things back then and he didn’t ask to be transformed.”
“The latest announcement from Zhu Si City said that only those with wavering hearts will be transformed by the god of death, while those with firm resolve will always be protected by the god of life.”
As Shu Xun and the others approached, they were surrounded by discussions about Qing Kong. When they reached the house where Qing Kong had once lived, they saw strange symbols now sealing the two-story building. While some of the curious townspeople observed from a distance, none dared cross the boundary marked by the symbols. It was clear these symbols served some specific function, much like a formation.
The conversations continued. Some of the locals from Xing Chui Town reminisced about Qing Kong’s past, while visitors listened with interest, occasionally sighing or expressing their bewilderment. Many admired Qing Kong for having achieved unprecedented feats despite being a mere mortal. Yet, they lamented how such a figure, with a once-strong will, had ultimately been corrupted, allowing the god of death to take advantage of his weakness.
Shu Xun and the others found a spot and quietly listened, occasionally joining in and steering the conversation in their desired direction. After a while, as time passed, the gathered residents began to disperse, and the previously lively housefront grew quiet. In the warm glow of the setting sun, the old alleyway took on a nostalgic, ancient feel, like a yellowed painting with every brushstroke telling a story steeped in time.
From the locals’ conversations, Shu Xun and his companions gained a clearer understanding of this world. It became apparent that the residents were well aware of the existence of multiple continents. However, due to the pervasive influence of the worship-based civilization, the power structures of this world were not overly complicated.
Each continent housed two main cities. Zhu Si City, the primary city, was the center of worship and offerings, the sacred ground where gods were revered and held in the highest esteem. Wu Shi City, whose name implied “no forgiveness,” was the seat of punishment and judgment, acting as the central hub of military power. These two cities complemented each other, while numerous subsidiary cities fell under their jurisdiction, forming the hierarchical structure of the world.
Zhu Si City’s influence extended through the priests it trained, one of whom was Qing Kong in his earlier role. Priests were seen as embodiments of the gods, responsible for spreading light, healing the sick, and banishing the god of death. Wu Shi City’s influence was represented by military forces like the earlier army—physically powerful soldiers who possessed combat talents and were charged with fighting to protect the living.
As for the so-called god of life and god of death, they represented the opposition between light and darkness. The residents of Twilight Galaxy attributed all positive and uplifting forces—such as birth, growth, health, daylight, light, and warmth—to the god of life. In contrast, negative and destructive forces—like death, disease, night, and cold—were seen as the domain of the god of death.
The natives worshiped the god of life and shunned the god of death. However, Shu Xun and his companions did not hear a clear explanation of how conversion was determined. They only learned that under the holy light, those who had been converted could not hide. Typically, such individuals would be punished by the god of life through divine retribution—similar to how lightning struck and forced people out of the game. In cases where divine punishment was not apparent, judgment could be made by people. For instance, if someone’s personality suddenly changed for no reason or inexplicable events occurred, after verification by Zhu Si City, they could face judgment. Qing Kong was a case of this latter scenario.
Qing Kong was born in this small town, a subordinate area of Zhu Si City, and was well-known in Xing Chui Town. His fame began the day he was born when a large meteor shower fell near the town. Some even claimed that although most of the meteors burned up upon entering the atmosphere, a small one landed close to Qing Kong’s home. Whether this rumor was true or not, no one could confirm, but following that rare meteor shower, the town was renamed Xing Chui Town.
Qing Kong grew up here, later moving to Zhu Si City to study, where he became the only commoner to attain the rank of priest at the city’s academy. Mu Yang, the metal-armored man, was a fellow student and adjudicator. The two created many glories and historical milestones together. However, about a year ago, Qing Kong was discovered to have been corrupted by the dark forces of the god of death. After months of imprisonment and no hope of reversal, he was sentenced to execution in Wu Shi City, with Mu Yang, his former comrade, personally carrying out the judgment.
As for commoners, they are the opposite of “divine beings”. Divine beings are those born with special abilities, stronger than regular commoners. However, both commoners and divine beings can gain greater strength through the god of life’s blessing. As Shu Xun had suspected, the consciousness of this world evolves by absorbing the faith of its inhabitants. As this world consciousness grows stronger, it also transforms its inhabitants. In essence, the consciousness is promoting the evolution of life forms. If Shu Xun’s guess is correct, then Twilight Galaxy is not on the brink of destruction but is, in fact, about to become the first race they’ve witnessed evolve to the next level of civilization.
However, another question remains: what about the invaders? StarPlay Entertainment’s detection results couldn’t have been wrong—there were indeed signals of invaders on the three highly intelligent life planets. Yet, they hadn’t found any trace of them. Could it be that the world consciousness suppressed them? Or perhaps, like “Deep Blue Sea”, they were imprisoned somewhere?
Once the townsfolk dispersed, Shu Xun cast an invisibility charm on himself and tentatively touched the door of the house. Instantly, he felt a strong repelling force. The intricate patterns on the door lit up, radiating a surge of energy. Shu Xun quickly withdrew his hand, and the patterns dimmed again.
“It prevents external entities from entering. There may be other functions too. The energy is enhanced by the patterns. I could break through by force, but that would likely alert the natives.” Shu Xun looked at the house, hesitating. Though he hadn’t interacted much with Qing Kong, he didn’t think Qing Kong was the type to leave any clues behind in his own home. Thus, forcibly breaking in might not be worth the effort. “Let’s head back to the inn. Today wasn’t a total loss. At least we’ve learned more about Qing Kong’s past.”
Lie Yang, eager for action, looked disappointed. But just as he turned to leave, his eyes lit up, and he pointed excitedly at a corner of the wall. “A mouse hole!”
The previously disheartened Gray also brightened at this, both of them turning their gaze to Shu Xun.
Shu Xun: “…” He nonchalantly walked by, pretending not to notice anything.
But moments later, a blue-gray, round, fluffy creature stood in front of the mouse hole. It twitched its whiskers before resolutely squeezing itself into the tiny hole. After the blue-gray fluffball disappeared, Lie Yang couldn’t help but sigh, “Looks like Shu Xun’s mouse form isn’t just for show.”
Gray glanced at the unremarkable mouse hole, then at the size of the fluffy creature, and nodded decisively. “Mm!”
Meanwhile, Shu Xun, nearly wedged into the crack in the wall, was doing his best to wriggle forward. With one final push, he tumbled into the courtyard, kicking up a cloud of dust that had gathered in the long-abandoned space. The fluffy creature quickly stood up, shook off the dust, and made its way toward the house.
Luckily, the house in the courtyard wasn’t sealed with the same patterns. It seemed that while the patterns were powerful, they were also intricate and required a physical surface to attach to, a vulnerability unlike formation spells. This allowed Shu Xun to sneak in through the mouse hole.
He pushed the door open just enough to squeeze through. Qing Kong’s room was just as Shu Xun had expected—neat, ordinary, with nothing out of the ordinary. If there had been any clues, the soldiers who arrived earlier had probably already taken them.
The fluffy creature tapped and poked around the room with its tiny paws, jumping and climbing in hopes of finding something. Eventually, under the table, it discovered a hidden compartment. Inside was a small sketchbook, no bigger than two palms. As Shu Xun flipped through it, he found simple line drawings. Though the figures were drawn with just a few strokes, their features were strikingly accurate, and the expressions were vivid, capturing the emotions of the subjects with remarkable precision.
Since the sketchbook was small, Shu Xun quickly flipped through it, discovering that it featured only two characters in various scenes. One showed one character cooking while the other snuck food, only for the cook to turn around and catch the culprit red-handed. Other scenes depicted the two training together, fighting alongside each other, and embarking on adventures—moments that spanned everyday life to life-and-death situations. The drawings were simple, yet every stroke seemed carefully thought out, perfectly capturing the emotions of each scene. Even through the drawings, one could feel the artist’s changing emotions.
Closing the sketchbook, Shu Xun understood that it was likely drawn by Qing Kong. The sketches chronicled Qing Kong’s time with Mu Yang, subtly reflecting Qing Kong’s feelings for him. For some reason, Qing Kong had hidden the sketchbook, along with his feelings for Mu Yang. By the time Qing Kong left, the other protagonist in the sketches had probably never seen the book or learned of Qing Kong’s affection.
Shu Xun hesitated for a moment, contemplating giving the sketchbook to Mu Yang. But after recalling the circumstances of Qing Kong’s departure, he decided to return the book to its hidden compartment. After tidying up the table, Shu Xun resumed jumping around the room, searching for anything else of interest. By the time the fluffy creature finished its search, it had become completely covered in dust, having unwittingly cleaned the entire room with its excellent dust-absorbing fur.
Shu Xun: “…” The fluffy creature padded out of the room, only to shake itself off in the courtyard, causing another cloud of dust to rise into the air.
