NOVPUB
Chapter 239: Chapter 239: He is Her Most Devout Believer
From learning the true identity of the panda-masked girl and discovering the whereabouts of his younger sister, to truly setting foot on the land of Jiang City, China, Chen Shu spent over two months.
During these months, he did many things.
Like completely concealing the truth behind the rainy night his parents died; like succeeding his father’s title and becoming the youngest First-class Duke in Suli’s history; like turning the young, frail King who had just ascended the throne into a puppet completely under his control; like secretly assassinating the clergy in the Church who harbored dissatisfaction toward him.
Apart from these, Chen Shu spent most of his time in the studio, admiring the sole painting he owned.
The studio within the castle, which was nearly a hundred square meters large, was surrounded by murky green walls intricately carved with complex patterns, a place servants were usually forbidden to enter.
Thick, dark red drapes covered each window tightly, and only the faint candlelight from the candelabra provided a bit of illumination.
However, one evening two months ago, the cleaning servants suddenly discovered that their master, having returned from a trip, briskly walked into the studio, his eyes flickering like flames, ablaze with excitement.
For the first time, the lavish and sparkling crystal chandelier came into effect; the white light it cast illuminated the entire dark and profound studio in an instant.
The servants were stunned by the sight inside the studio—on the walls all around, dozens of portraits of a young girl were hung, large and small.
All were painted by their master over the past three years.
Without exception, the girl in the portrait wore a retro, opulent gothic dress in dark colors, with layer upon layer of lacy black tulle supporting the skirt, and countless embroidered crimson roses bloomed upon the hem.
Behind the slender girl, each portrait featured a pair of huge, unfurled pure black wings. Moonlight scattered silver gleams on every feather, lending the girl a ghostly aura of the night, filled with a sense of shattered solitude.
Yet, each portrait depicted a girl with a different face.
Or rather, it seemed as if the painter himself did not know what the girl truly looked like. Mere imagination fueled his brushwork, and while every face was exquisitely beautiful, they all lacked soul.
That night, however, the servants saw the master stay in the studio the whole night until dawn.
And when the studio was opened afterward, they found that all the portraits on the walls had been torn and shredded. Boot prints remaining on the torn scraps of canvas and paper seemed to prove that someone had danced wildly on these chaotic fragments the night before.
In the vast studio, only a single painting remained on the central easel—the portrait painted overnight.
The dress of the girl in the portrait was the same as before, but this time, the face featured an Eastern look that had appeared for the first time, with eyes that held soulfulness.
——
Ever since learning about the existence of gods three years ago, and hearing of the tale of that Fallen God, Chen Shu felt for the first time that his erstwhile indifferent self had found a purpose in life.
Someone said that there is only one fate for a fallen god—to be imprisoned in the deepest reaches of the Netherworld to suffer punishment.
Erasing all traces of the past, transforming from a high and mighty deity into a creature of Hell, not even a human being.
But if one could cultivate into a Demon, it would be possible to go to the Human Realm, reincarnating through a human body compatible with one’s soul.
Chen Shu was convinced that the Fallen God must have long since come to the Human Realm, just residing within a human body, so he had since been searching for likely candidates.
Until two years ago at the Abis Boxing Competition, where he saw the girl wearing a panda mask who crushed all her opponents for seven consecutive nights.
A strong intuition told him that this panda was the one he was looking for. However, before he could get from Suli to the UK, the girl had vanished without a trace.
The hope that had just ignited was extinguished, until a text message two months ago made his numbed and silent heart burst to life with fevered beats.
In the following days, Chen Shu searched almost madly for all the information he could find about this girl named Lu Sheng from Jiang City, China.
The girl was unremarkable before coming to Jiang City, but after arriving, even though she tried to contain her brilliance, it could not be hidden.
Coming to Jiang City must have been a turning point—the profound change in the girl was surely because the body had been occupied by a new soul.
Thus, Chen Shu hadn’t only arrived in Jiang City today.
Two months ago, he had been there and had seen the girl’s profile as she alighted from a car outside that villa.
Although the girl had not noticed him at all, he had felt the tremor in the piece of Black Feather in his palm.
The soul inside the girl must be that Fallen God!
Almost instantly, Chen Shu was certain.
Unable to contain his excitement, he then made clear his next objective.
He would sweep away all obstacles, obtaining identity, wealth, power, status... even the entire country.
Then, he would find a way to get close to her, to become the person most intimately connected to her.
He wanted to take the girl away from those commonplace humans and return with her to Suli.
He was willing to offer her everything he possessed.
He alone was her most devoted worshiper.
If now constrained by this mundane world, then only he was worthy of her, only he could allow her to do whatever she wished without any concerns.
Even if the power of a god was sealed, even as a human, she could remain unencumbered by any person or thing. High above all, viewing lowly humans as mere ants.
And at present, that man called Li Muchen was the biggest hurdle.
Making the girl grow disgusted with him would just require some minor tricks.
Such as creating one misunderstanding after another, allowing suspicion to take root and fester in both their hearts.
Therefore, in the coffee shop, Chen Shu watched the scene before him. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
The girl was making eye contact with the man named Li Muchen. Although there was no emotion in her eyes, she must be displeased.
Li Muchen, seeing how he had been so close to her just now, could not possibly have no thoughts about it. At the very least, he must harbor some animosity towards him.
But he was a benefactor who had helped the girl a lot, a friend. If Li Muchen harbored animosity towards him, that would be very unreasonable.
Chen Shu diverted his gaze, casually asking: "What’s wrong, Shengsheng? Do you know this person?"
Unexpectedly, Li Muchen did indeed walk towards the girl; yet there was not the slightest doubt or displeasure in his eyes.
And after the man stopped in front of her, the girl actually spoke first: "Weren’t you in a meeting? Why did you come over so suddenly?"
"It’s okay. The meeting’s over."
Li Muchen looked at Lu Sheng, his gaze focused and gentle, "Did you come to have coffee with friends? I told you it would get colder tonight, why are you wearing so little?"
Saying so, Li Muchen took his suit coat from Chen An’s hand, lowered his head, and carefully draped it over the girl’s shoulders. Only then did he seem to notice Chen Shu, briefly lifting his eyes.
