Chapter 3

Chapter 3

For some reason, his face darkened the moment he heard that. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and left.

Utterly baffling.

I tossed and turned all night without sleeping. The next day, I still rose early and went through every nook and cranny I had missed the day before.

There seemed to be quite a few passersby in the village, people like me.

They were starving and dressed in rags, a stark contrast to the tall, well-fed locals. Even the occasional scholar on his way to the imperial exams looked only slightly better than a beggar.

With my own eyes, I watched one scholar stretch his mouth out to an absurd length and drink tea right from a young woman’s hand. The woman covered her face with gauze, her figure bent, a rich fragrance wafting from her.

That intense scent… I felt as if I had smelled it somewhere before.

But after I stood there in a daze for only a moment, the figures ahead vanished. I followed in the direction they had gone and found myself before a stretch of shrines. Most of the things enshrined within them were oddly shaped, some even nothing but a chaos of lines and grotesque forms.

Among them, the shrine to the east was the tallest.

The incense offerings here seemed especially prosperous, because there were so many offerings that they nearly drowned the altar. The altar itself had a strange design, its sides carved with unfamiliar runes, making it look very much like a set of scales.

In the center of the shrine was a creature that seemed neither fox nor rat, its entire body covered in cold, gleaming scales. I had no idea what sort of worship this was. On top of its head sat a small, unremarkable idol, wrapped tightly in red cloth.

It looked… terribly lonely.

The thought had only just crossed my mind when a gust of wind blew through, and the little idol rolled with a clatter right to my feet.

Huh?

I was just about to kick the thing away when an aged sigh sounded behind me. “The Deity never takes the initiative to choose believers.”

I turned around and saw that it was the old man who had given me the pig’s ear yesterday.

Seeing the wariness on my face, he did not mind in the least and smiled. “Since The Deity has chosen you, it is also your good fortune. Take it with you. The Deity will bring you help.”

Help?

I shook my head. “I don’t need help.”

“Ah, young lady, you shouldn’t speak so absolutely.” With that, the old man patted his belly and left with a hearty laugh.

After he was gone, I picked up the little idol. I had not expected such a palm-sized thing to feel so heavy in my hand.

“Forget it. Since we’re both alone, you might as well keep me company.”