Looking at the human's back as he left, Pallas Athena turned to her father.
"All-Father," she said, warningly, "you have given that child too many privileges. I do not believe that you are wise enough not to see the hatred that runs rampant in his heart."
Zeus smiled disapprovingly and said, "He is just a man. He has never held a sword or a heavy shield. What can his brush and paper do?"
"He will certainly go to find the Earth Mother," said Athena. "When Echidna was waging a rebellious war, Gaia also opened her magnificent eyes and vaguely looked at her descendants."
"The oath of the gods only reserves his right to walk on the earth." The king of gods propped up his head and said, "You can watch him. If the child pleads with the Mother Earth and asks her to send him to Tartarus, then I will allow you to use the power of thunder to break his leg bones and sentence him to the sin of never being able to walk on two feet again for the rest of his life."
Athena nodded and left.
"Doros, what are you going to do?" Standing at the exit of Mount Olympus, Aphrodite looked at Xie Ning worriedly.
Xie Ning looked at the goddess and smiled. He was ready for a long journey, just like when he first came to this era, carrying a drawing board, a bag, and holding a Pegasus in his hand.
"Thank you," he whispered, "thank you for speaking up for me, taking me in, and blessing me... I don't know what I would have done without your support. But now, I have to go on my own."
The goddess of love and beauty was staring at him. All the creatures in the world were lost in her beauty, but the eyes of this young man were always clear and melancholy, because he already had a heart-wrenching love, and his heart was filled with more beautiful lovers.
"Then take care of yourself," Aphrodite sighed, "I hope you know that I wish you victory in my heart."
Xie Ning lowered his head in gratitude, then he stepped onto the saddle, straddled the back of the Pegasus, and soared into the clouds of Olympus, heading towards the earth and the human world.
The Pegasus flapped its wings vigorously, and the strong wind blew Xie Ning's hair, but he didn't feel that cold. He looked down, and the mountains were like undulating green waves, and the rivers flowing into the sea divided the land like an irregular color plate. The kingdom inhabited by humans was condensed into a small fist, and the capital was like scattered white stones and pearls, rolling on the endless land.
He continued to fly down. According to rumors spread by some minor gods, the great disaster brought by Echidna had already been made up by the gods. The rivers and seas corroded by venom and the mountains and forests burned by fire were all restored to their original state. The dead souls also returned to the human world in dreams. Because too many dead souls would overwhelm the palace of the underworld, Hades agreed to let them go.
The Pegasus was circling in the sky, and out of fear, it refused to get too close to the Ali horse. Xie Ning had no choice but to let it land in the distant forest, then loosen the reins and walk over by herself.
The area was deserted, and the former underground palace had long been completely uncovered during Echidna's riot, leaving no trace of the people who once lived there.
The garden that Xie Ning had spent so much effort to take care of, the starry river of night pearls, the throne that Echidna often circled around, the small bed he made for himself, and the geothermal springs... all were destroyed, leaving only a circle of black earth exposed to the sun, as black as a dull eye, with a faintly recognizable figure lying on it. That was the trace of Echidna putting him there when he was poisoned.