Though the group of people harbored doubts, they had all heard of Shen Chongyan's prowess and left without further questions.
One man looked back at the youth several times. He was met with a fierce glare, but unfortunately, he lacked any real intimidation in his current form compared to his true appearance.
"That person is so annoying, I really want to dig his eyes out."
Shen Chongyan had noticed him too. In the circles he used to frequent, there were many people with different sexual orientations, and many of them were attracted to innocent and beautiful young boys like him.
Everyone appreciates beauty. It's fine to look twice at someone attractive, but if it leads to inappropriate desires, survival depends on one's own abilities.
"If he dares to bother you, just kill him."
"Naturally."
In fact, if his lord hadn't been by his side, he would have chased after them right now and killed that man... no, all of them.
Nip it in the bud.
Hmph!
"Alright, we're going back. Didn't you say you haven't eaten good food in a long time?"
"Mm." He nodded. "Over ten thousand years."
As they walked back, they saw many people busy in the neighborhood, carrying various items around. They were building a wall on the outskirts and dividing the area into functional zones. Fortunately, there were more people now; otherwise, just the few of them wouldn't have been able to manage.
As they neared home, Shen Chongyan encountered Shen Qian and Jin Wenye. They were wearing hard hats and discussing something. Seeing him, Shen Qian asked in surprise, "Xiao Yan, when did you go out? And who is this?"
"Just now. I went for a walk because I was bored. This is my friend." He intended to introduce himself but realized he hadn't asked for the other's name.
The youth cheerfully introduced himself, "Hello! My name is Jin Li."
Shen Qian nudged Jin Wenye. "He has the same surname as you. Is he from your family?"
Jin Wenye: "..."
"No, it's 'Jin Li, the secluded, dark, and winding spring of the mansion, eternally bestowing longevity and escaping perdition'."
No one had ever heard that phrase before, but they understood that this was not Jin Wenye's "family."
"Oh, oh," Shen Qian chuckled. "Young man, why are you dressed like that? It must be inconvenient."
"Not at all." Jin Li spun around in place, quite pleased with his current attire.
How good-looking it was!
Shen Qian actually wanted to remind him that his outfit was too unique and conspicuous, and combined with his face, it could easily attract unwanted attention.
However, seeing Jin Li's expression, he probably hadn't taken it to heart.
He was curious about when Shen Chongyan had made such a friend. It wasn't convenient to ask in front of others, and as he and Jin Wenye had matters to attend to, he didn't press for details.
"Then you two go back first. A Yan, come down for dinner later. Mom and Dad have been worried about you these past few days."
"Okay."
Watching them go upstairs, Shen Qian sighed.
"Jin Ying has been gone for so many days, and he's finally willing to go out."
Jin Wenye didn't know what to say. The current Jin Ying was no longer his sister who courted death daily. She was too mysterious, potentially the one who controlled the life and death of all of them. His feelings for her were too complex.
"Where do you think she ran off to? And what did she mean by those words, that we brought this upon ourselves?"
Jin Wenye shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
The global catastrophe had caught everyone off guard. The system was broadcasting global death tolls daily, along with predictions. This morning, the total global death toll had exceeded one billion. Less than two months had passed since the apocalypse, and during this period, due to rapidly decreasing food supplies and the rampant R virus, it had entered a high mortality phase.
He thought of what that person had said, that she couldn't save everyone.
No one could be saved; this was a disaster for all humanity.
Jin Wenye thought to himself, he didn't want to be a savior, didn't want to save all of humanity. He just wanted to protect the people he loved.
"Mr. Jin, Mr. Jin, Jin Wenye?"
"Ah, what is it?"
Shen Qian lightly bumped him. "What are you spacing out about? Let's go."
"Alright."
—
Mother Shen was extremely surprised to see Shen Chongyan returning from outside with someone. "Xiao Yan, when did you go out? I didn't see you."
"I went out the window."
Mother Shen was speechless for a moment.
Jin Li was particularly enthusiastic towards Mother Shen because he knew she made delicious food. He called her "Auntie" more sweetly than anyone else, and Mother Shen quickly succumbed, going to make him a deluxe bowl of noodles.
As Jin Li ate, he was so moved he almost cried, saying he hadn't eaten such delicious food in a long time. Mother Shen thought he was some kind of orphan and felt incredibly sorry for him.
Seeing them interacting like mother and son, Shen Chongyan felt somewhat redundant.
He chatted with Father Shen and Old Master Jin for a bit. After Jin Li finished eating, he called him away.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jin Li said reluctantly. "I still want to talk to Auntie. She promised to make me roast chicken tonight. Why are you pulling me?"
"Don't you want me to beg for you?"
Jin Li immediately understood his position and became incredibly obedient.
Closing the door, Shen Chongyan asked, "You promised to tell me. Start talking now."
Jin Li was hesitant to speak, mainly fearing his master would blame him if she found out, and also because he had killed this person before. What if he held a grudge?
"Why aren't you speaking?"
"If I tell you, you must not tell the master it was me who told you, and don't blame me."
"What would I blame you for?"
Jin Li thought about it and decided to skip over that part.
"Actually, I don't know much. You were once a prince of an ancient kingdom, named Cang Lanzhou. In the Divine Palace, there's a Hall of Mandates that governs people's destinies. The main hall of the Hall of Mandates is called Yao Zhu. He saw that Cang Lanzhou's national fortune was nearing its end, barbarians were invading, and the people were dying. He decided to defy heaven and change fate. You were just born then, with an extraordinary destiny. Your fortune could extend Cang Lanzhou's national fortune. He passed this information as heavenly secrets to Cang Lanzhou's high priest. The high priest advised your parents to use your life to extend Cang Lan's life. Your parents agreed. You 'prayed for blessings' for Cang Lan in a tomb, but in reality, the high priest was transferring your fortune, causing you to suffer torment since childhood. After you grew up, you secretly learned the high priest's skills, incited him to hunt and kill the young son of the Golden Dragon, which led the Golden Dragon clan to slaughter Cang Lanzhou's people, leaving you as the sole survivor. Someone brought you before the master. She took pity on you and made you a divine attendant. Later, while I was unaware, you climbed onto the master's bed and became my lord."
He was quite frustrated when he said this.
Who would have thought that the divine attendant who was responsible for cleaning the Divine Palace and wiping him down just a few months ago would suddenly become the male master of the Divine Palace?
Shen Chongyan didn't know where to focus for a moment.
He had learned what he wanted to know, and also what he didn't want to know.
"Who is your master?"
"It's her, Zhuo Ying, the Sovereign of the Divine Palace, the first deity in the world, who lives eternally with heaven and earth, shines with the sun and moon, is ageless and immortal, invulnerable and indestructible."