Chapter Two: A Solitary Prayer

Maybach? That must be the car from the little goddess's family! You actually waited here on purpose just to see me make a fool of myself—are you a devil? And how did she guess I didn’t bring an umbrella? How does she always know?

It was after school, and there were hardly any cars left in the school yard—let alone a Maybach, which almost no one drives. All it took was a glance at the silhouette behind the window for Lu Mingfei to recognize her; he didn’t even need a clear look to know it was the little goddess inside.

How infuriating. If it were Chen Wenwen in that car, she would have lent me her umbrella for sure!

Aaaah!

The bedraggled boy dashed through the downpour, as if venting his rage into the rainstorm. He howled, he shouted, and then the white glare of truck headlights flashed before him.

After a brief hesitation, Lu Mingfei, crossing the street, slammed on the brakes and stopped short. He wasn’t ready to leave for another world just yet.

What a wretched feeling!

...

The door clicked open. His aunt, lounging on the sofa watching TV, glanced at the soaked Lu Mingfei but continued shelling sunflower seeds without missing a beat. She chattered away, “Be careful when you come in—don’t track mud all over the floor. If you bring in water, you’ll clean it up yourself. Can’t even remember an umbrella when you go out—what goes through your head? If you get sick, I’ll be the one paying for it...”

“Uh... heh... right...” Lu Mingfei forced a weak smile, head bowed. Now, not only was his body drenched, but his heart, too, felt waterlogged.

He stared at the muddy spots on the floor and the expensive, dirty shoes tossed aside. Instantly, he pictured Lu Mingze carelessly coming home and flinging his shoes wherever he pleased.

Sigh~

Lu Mingfei wrung some of the water from his clothes at the door, tiptoed inside, and neatly placed his shoes on the rack—arranging Lu Mingze’s shoes too while he was at it.

“By the way, the floor’s dirty. Go clean it up. Move quickly—can’t you handle even this? What good are you?” His aunt’s voice called out again.

“Got... got it...” He shuffled inside, swaying like a wind-up puppet running out of spring, dizziness spreading through his mind.

If nothing else went wrong, he’d probably caught a cold coming home in the rain. Normally, he should have taken a hot shower and had some ginger tea to sweat it out; but he couldn’t. He had to clean himself up, change clothes, and tidy the house first.

He hadn’t even eaten yet. He’d need to find something to heat up for dinner. His backpack was still full of things he’d need for tomorrow—he’d have to check if the books he tried to shield with his body were soaked through, or the teacher would scold him in class, and then the little goddess would probably twist the knife during break.

Ah... so tired...

Loneliness surged like a rising tide. Although Lu Mingfei was “home,” this was not his home. Where was his home? He didn’t even know.

An eagle raised in a chicken coop... is it still an eagle?

Maybe because of his impending cold, Lu Mingfei worked slower than usual. His aunt, still shelling seeds, seized every opportunity to mock him with biting words. Meanwhile, Lu Mingze just lounged at home playing video games—no one cared how loud he was.

Well, after all... this was his house, not mine.

Sometimes Lu Mingfei truly couldn’t understand why his parents left him in such a miserable home. Worse, they vanished without a trace; he didn’t even have anyone to complain to.

If only someone could keep me company...

“So lonely, so miserable, so sad...”

A weary woman’s voice echoed in his mind.

“The suffocating feeling is like I can barely breathe...”

Lu Mingfei echoed without thinking.

“Sigh...” ×2

Two simultaneous sighs, sadness lingering in their hearts, anguish overwhelming the soul. After a brief haze of confusion and pain, Lu Mingfei suddenly realized something was off—the first voice hadn’t been his thought, had it?

And there were two sighs?

What was going on?

“Hm?” ×2

Two puzzled voices rang out, then both fell silent, as if their minds needed a moment to process what had just happened.

When the realization hit—

“There’s a ghost!!” ×2

Lu Mingfei, sick and bedridden, jolted upright in terror, cowering in the corner, coughing uncontrollably. Huddled in the darkness, he was too scared to turn on the light. The misery of illness and the paralyzing fear kept him frozen.

But...

Nothing else happened!

Why was there no follow-up? What was the other party’s situation?

As he calmed down, Lu Mingfei realized the other voice had shrieked as well, sharp and panicked—just as frightened as he was.

Was she truly scared, or just toying with me?

He cautiously observed, like an ostrich poking its head out of the sand—disheveled and ready to bury himself at any moment.

“You... who are you? Why did your voice suddenly appear in my mind?” Lu Mingfei took the initiative to ask.

“You’re asking me who I am?” The other voice sounded confused. To her, Lu Mingfei had intruded into her world, and it was strange that he didn’t know who she was. Yet... his reaction just now hadn’t seemed fake.

“Why shouldn’t I ask?”

“Um.”

The voice’s owner seemed relieved, if not entirely at ease, as if still wary something would be discovered.

“And who are you? Why is your voice in my head?” Lu Mingfei asked.

“I... I’m Nahida. And you?”

After a brief pause, “Nahida” replied.

“Lu Mingze.”

Lu Mingfei answered without hesitation.

“I am the God of Wisdom of Sumeru, one of the Seven Archons ruling over the seven nations of the mortal world,” Nahida declared.

“I am a devil from hell who loves making pacts of brotherhood, then seizing souls in the bargain,” Lu Mingfei replied after a moment’s thought.

“Pfft, what are you saying—devil from hell? Have you been reading too many light novels?”

“Hey, you’re one to talk. Think about what you just said—Archon of the Mortal World? God of Wisdom? Do you think you’ve transmigrated into a fantasy world?”

“Ha, hahahaha!” ×2

Both of them laughed in unison, the tension dissolving. Even Lu Mingfei, sniffling from his cold, felt a bit better; his body didn’t ache as much as before.

“Wait, hang on—you’ve never even heard of the Seven Archons? Where are you from?”

“Me? I’m from Hua Xia, just a regular high school student.”

“Hua Xia? I’ve never heard of that place. Did you make it up, or is it such a tiny spot that I wouldn’t know it?”