"Well… "
Lin Xi, who had already walked away from the temple, suddenly felt a chill.
He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that there seemed to be a horrifying scream coming from the direction he had left before.
However, when he turned around to look, all he saw was the towering eaves of the temple and the dark shadows of the temples rising one after another.
"Don't be afraid."
Lin Xi's actions seemed to cause misunderstanding among the people around him, and he heard someone mutter something to him.
He was a young page boy who seemed to be only a few years older than Lin Xi (thank God, after inexplicably traveling to this indescribable ancient Sunu society, Lin Xi finally learned to recognize the appearance of the Sunu people).
At this moment, it was bending over, putting new clothes on others who had just crawled out of the cold pool.
Well, rather than calling it clothes, it would be better to say it is a long piece of cloth.
There is no pattern on the cloth. It is rolled up from the waist and then hung down from the shoulders, and finally fastened with a wooden button.
Most of Lin Xi's chest and arms were exposed, and he felt extremely uncomfortable feeling empty and cold under the robe. He curled up slightly in discomfort, still somewhat absent-minded.
If this is a nightmare, why can't I wake up from it
Lin Xi thought painfully in his heart.
"it does not matter… "
The servant boy obviously misunderstood Lin Xi's current situation again. He raised his head slightly and looked at Lin Xi with pity and said.
"Our Star God has always been very kind. He is always very clear when performing divine marriages. He won't... won't dawdle for too long..."
He spoke quickly, lowering his voice.
Taking too long
Lin Xi looked at him blankly, still confused.
The servant boy stared at Lin Xi for a while, with an expression that looked a little envious.
"And you are very beautiful. According to records, the Star God has always preferred this skin color and eyes—" The young servant's voice was almost a whisper at first, but gradually became gentle and high-pitched, "... In the long overlapping time and space, in the ancient past, the long black hair and black eyes of the Mother of Insects were the eternal love of the Star God. The great and noble Mother of Insects, She gave life to Chaos, and gave the Star God soul and love. No matter how time flows, no matter how time and space are broken, the Star God will eventually find his bride, and the Star God will eventually give Her everything he has..."
Lin Xi stood there in confusion. He couldn't understand why the kind servant beside him suddenly started singing a long song after talking to him.
"Actually, I just want to know, what is divine marriage?"
But no matter what, the page boy beside him was by far the friendliest to him of all.
He asked tentatively in an attempt to figure out the current situation, but in the end he didn't get the answer he wanted.
Because at the same time he asked that question, he saw with his own eyes that the pity and sympathy in the servant boy's eyes grew deeper and deeper.
"It was just a ritual, to help the Star God find his beloved lost in the fragments of time and space..."
Hearing the words "time" and "space" from the servant boy's mouth, Lin Xi's eyes lit up and he became more interested, but the servant boy didn't say anything else meaningful.
On the contrary, after hearing the words that the servant had used to comfort Lin Xi, his companions couldn't help sobbing again, as if they had been greatly stimulated.
The crying of the group of young Sunu boys around Lin Xi soon attracted the attention of the older monk, who rushed over and slapped the kind-hearted servant boy hard on the back with a sacred stick in his hand.
"The name and deeds of the Star God cannot be spoken carelessly!"
the monk yelled at the young man.
After he left, the boy shrank his neck and his mouth suddenly became as tight as a clam shell.
Lin Xi originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but since things had come to this point, he could only follow the other person's example and shut up.
The various tedious procedures that made Lin Xi feel disgusted and tired were still carried out step by step.
After being forced to put on a robe, Lin Xi and others were pushed and shoved into another luxurious and tall temple.
The furnishings here are extremely exquisite and luxurious, but the light is extremely dim. The stained glass windows decorated with beautiful vine patterns are located high on the wall near the top of the temple.
Countless exquisite tapestries hang from the ceiling to the ground.
Some older monks came in and checked the Sunu boys who were driven into the temple one by one, muttering something.
Then, they knelt down towards the exquisite and majestic huge sculpture on the other side of the temple.
Lin Xi followed the others and made the same move, but when he looked up, he realized that the sculpture... was a giant insect.
Lin Xi admitted that he almost lost his legs when he saw the sculpture. Because the sculpture was too lifelike, whether it was the huge head, the complex and dense compound eyes, the ferocious mouthparts, or the huge wings that were almost ten meters long, they were all carved to be lifelike. Even the colors on the body of the terrifying insect were painted, and the circular eye spots on the edges of the wings flashed with tiny glimmers from time to time, looking like they were inlaid with countless gems.
"Ah, it's Star Butterfly."
Lin Xi muttered softly, but soon he realized that this was not a sculpture of a star butterfly, but a sculpture of a "star god" - just like what Lin Xi knew on Earth, the star butterfly sculpture on the planet Sunu was indeed exactly the same as the insect called "star butterfly".
As for the "Star Butterfly", it is by no means a very beautiful creature. Strictly speaking, it is not only ugly but also evil. However, if you look closely, every detail of it reveals a strange meaning...
Weird, or rather, beautiful.
What seemed ugly at first turned into an indescribable attraction upon closer inspection.
While feeling the whole body trembling, one cannot help but stare at those hideous, sharp and terrifying organs, and then... the entire soul of the person seems to be pulled into the huge compound eyes of the Star God bit by bit.
Then, they were tightly wrapped by the pair of slender and exquisite wings - and finally allowed the other party to spit out light golden silk threads, forming a thick cocoon outside their bodies.
…
Lin Xi looked up at the statue of the star god, and was lost in thought.
Forest-
It was not until someone gently pulled his wrist that he came back to his senses. When he turned around, he found that the Sulu boys around him were looking at him with shocked eyes.
You actually looked directly at the Star God
Someone next to him said in disbelief.
And soon Lin Xi noticed that not far from him, those temple monks, who always had expressionless faces and dark, empty eyes, were also staring at him intently.
Lin Xi's body suddenly became stiff.
He had a suspicion that he had done something wrong again. The way those people looked at him was extremely strange.
This uneasy feeling reached its peak when the monks began to whisper to each other directly in front of him.
Soon, Lin Xi's ominous premonition came true.
The monks were taken directly out of the temple.
“Crunch—”
Lin Xi could hear the heavy closing of the temple door behind him, and the Sunu boys were left far behind.
"I'm sorry, I... I won't dare to do that again..."
It would be a lie to say that he was not panicked. Ever since he was whipped by the monks last time, what Lin Xi feared most was the punishment without human rights in this world he lived in.
The pain was almost worse than death.
"Oh, no... no..."
What surprised Lin Xi was that the monk, who always seemed aloof in his impression, seemed particularly amiable when facing Lin Xi this time.
"We just think you're very... special."
The monk explained vaguely.
"If we're lucky, maybe this time we'll be able to see... God's favor in you. If that's the case, your family and your village will be proud of you." After a pause, he added, "The children who came with you will also be grateful for your existence."
The more amiable the monk was, the more Lin Xi felt that something was wrong.
But in such a world, his feelings and emotions are just insignificant existence. Even if those monks now act friendly to him, this objective reality will not change.
Lin Xi was soon taken by the group of monks to the depths of the endless temple complex.
There is also a temple here, but it is smaller and more exquisite.
Then, silent waiters appeared and took Lin Xi from the monk's hands.
"This is the kid."
An old man came to Lin Xi surrounded by waiters.
Lin Xi subconsciously wanted to struggle, but at this moment, he was shocked to find something strange on the old man - what was embedded in the old man's eye sockets was not a human pupil at all, but a protruding, light brown compound eye of an insect.
Lin Xi was so frightened that he couldn't move at all.
The old man stared at Lin Xi and let out a strange, short laugh.
"… You said he could look directly into the statue of the Star God."
"Yes, we saw with our own eyes that he was staring at the statue of the great and noble Star God, fascinated and infatuated."
"No, I—"
Lin Xi was now truly certain that his previous reckless behavior had gotten him into big trouble.
But before he could even finish his explanation, his mouth was blocked.
"Then we should prepare carefully for him."
Lin Xi heard the old man say this in a calm tone.
Then someone forced his throat and poured some thick liquid into his body.
Lin Xi didn't know what it was, but his instinct told him that it was probably not a good thing.
Soon, Lin Xi found that his body became weak and powerless, and it seemed as if he had swallowed a large ball of fire from his chest to his abdomen, and it became extremely hot.
He groaned and fell to the ground.
Of course, there was no way the well-trained waiters around him would actually let him fall.
They directly grabbed Lin Xi and took him to the small and magnificent temple.
"My dear child, this is a priceless treasure, the milk of God. If you are truly a being favored by God, the milk of the earth will help you release your original aura."
The old man gently stroked Lin Xi's forehead and grinned, a smile that only appeared in the most horrific nightmares.
"No… "
Lin Xi said painfully in Sulu.
When he was completely unable to exert any strength, the simple white cloth on his body was ruthlessly torn off by them.
"What is this for..."
Lin Xi asked in panic.
"To prepare you, don't be afraid."
The waiter beside him said with joy.
Then, they began to decorate Lin Xi, who had no ability to resist and was not wearing any clothes - they mixed thick gold powder into the sticky purple juice of unknown insects, and then used this golden-purple juice to draw intricate patterns on Lin Xi's palms, wrists and abdomen.
Huge gems were inlaid in gold, and then hung on Lin Xi's earlobes and chest. Then there were countless golden ornaments, which were spread bit by bit on the thin body of the young Sunu.
After doing all this, Lin Xi could only collapse weakly on the ground, almost suffocating under the weight of those jewels and gold.
But the old man and the monks seemed very satisfied with what they had done. They stood a little further away and looked at Lin Xi. Lin Xi could feel their burning gazes wandering along his body, which made him feel a chill.
"Don't be afraid. We are decorating you to suit the gods' tastes - this will make your life easier. The star gods love shiny, gorgeous things. Often, they will collect these decorations and then use them to decorate their abodes. Don't worry, this is for your own good, because most of the time, the star gods don't like our blood on the decorations."
Blood? Why... is there blood
Lin Xi opened his eyes wide, staring at the hateful old man and the monk. But the sticky substance he drank before was taking effect in his body, and even though his heart was full of resentment, fear, and confusion, his mind inevitably began to become chaotic, and then he fell asleep to the monks' long-pitched songs.
Lin Xi had a long dream. The dream was so long that it seemed to have experienced the birth and death of a universe. In the endless darkness and time, countless bizarre and fragmented fragments passed by his eyes. In some fragments, he saw a spaceship crashing on a dark and evil planet. A pale young man wandered desperately in the ruined spaceship, followed by countless creeping horrible insects; in some dreams, he saw a somewhat familiar young man who was pulled into the deep underground by an ancient sculpture that suddenly came alive while collecting folk songs in an ancient village, and never returned to the ground; in some dreams, he saw a couple of affectionate lovers cuddling each other, but after falling asleep, the young man's lover grew slender and sharp tentacles on his back; in some dreams. It was still the pale young man who stumbled into the underground clinic with poor conditions, wailing and asking the doctor who was already scared crazy to take out the thing that was constantly squirming in his stomach...
Those dreams came one after another. Sometimes Lin Xi even felt that he was the person in the dream...
And at the end of those dreams, without exception, Lin Xi would see the same monster.
It would use its sharp insect limbs to tightly bind Lin Xi, and then use its huge wings covered with terrifying patterns to wrap itself and Lin Xi together.
Strands of golden silk threads formed a strong and dense net around them.
They melted in the golden cocoon, and then opened their eyes again in another dream—
Forest-
It seemed as if a strange and hoarse voice came from far away.
Deep in the temple, Lin Xi suddenly opened his eyes.
"Well… "
The afterglow of the dream lingered in his mind, and for a while he couldn't even tell whether he was in a dream or in reality.
The unreal feeling was almost the same as if he had suddenly woken up in this strange and ancient world.
Thankfully, the heavy weight of the jewellery weighing on her finally brought Lin Xi back to her senses.
The effect of the damn medicine gradually wore off. Lin Xi gathered some strength and climbed up very reluctantly. He then found that he was placed on an incredibly large stone bed. In addition to the gold, silver and jewelry that were originally in the way on his body, the gaps in the stone bed were also filled with glittering gems and gold.
There was silence in the temple, and the light was very dim, with only two faint candles above the stone bed emitting a faint light. Lin Xi maintained his original posture and carefully observed his surroundings. Apart from his breathing, there was really no movement here - there seemed to be no other guards outside the temple.
So... if possible, maybe he could use this opportunity to escape from this damn temple
Once this thought appears, there is no way to extinguish it.
Lin Xi panted and propped himself up and moved to the edge of the stone bed, but just as he tried to jump off the bed, his neck suddenly tightened.
Lin Xi was nearly pulled to death. After he finally recovered, he raised his hand and touched his neck in disbelief. Then he realized that the heavy thing on his neck was not a necklace, but a collar made of some precious metal - with a heavy chain tied to the back like a dog collar.
“Ka-ka…”
The shackles were not only on his neck, but also on his wrists and ankles. The only difference was that the shackles on his limbs looked thinner and were inlaid with large gemstones of rich, vulgar colors.
"These bastards..."
Lin Xi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Those damn Sunu people not only drugged him, but also put such heavy shackles on him - Lin Xi didn't think this was just for fun or some kind of bad taste.
Especially considering what the monks said before...
The color gradually drained from Lin Xi's face.
He tried hard to recall the information about Sunu that he had learned on Earth, but for some reason, his memories of Earth seemed to be melted by something and became extremely vague.
A strange feeling of panic gradually spread in Lin Xi's heart.
"No… "
He muttered to himself.
I clearly remember it before...
He should have an elder brother, his elder brother's name is...what is it...
What... is he
The harder Lin Xi tried to recall, the more his head ached.
Eventually, the headache spread from his head to his back and then to his abdomen.
The feeling of being burned by fire spread through his body again. The little strength that Lin Xi had accumulated with great difficulty disappeared in an instant.
His body trembled violently, and then he fell heavily back onto the stone bed.
"Woo woo..."
A whimper of pain escaped from his tightly closed lips.
Then... the light gradually brightened.
Lin Xi stared blankly above himself with his eyes open.
The two red dots of light, as faint as candle flames, gradually began to change and turned into the eyes of some giant creature.
Circular patterns gradually emerged from the shadows, and the fluorescence they emitted even allowed Lin Xi to see the entire appearance of "Him" floating above the temple.
That's... Star Butterfly.
Lin Xi thought blankly.
A living star butterfly.
It only took one glance to recognize this - no matter how vivid and lifelike the sculptures he had seen in the temple before were, sculptures were still sculptures.
The sculpture is completely different from the real star butterfly.
The almost evil ugliness and the extreme beauty are intertwined with each other. Evil, darkness, nothingness, madness... these elements together make up this terrifying creature.
And now, the creature was flapping its wings, slowly descending towards him.
Now, Lin Xi can even see countless reflections of himself in its compound eyes.
He could also smell the damp and cold scent of Star Butterfly.
He could even clearly see the milky white saliva slowly flowing out of the star butterfly's hideous mouthparts.
“Lin… Lin… Lin…”
What’s even more terrifying is that Lin Xi even heard its call.
It was some kind of human voice, rough and strange.
But it also contains a kind of ecstasy and infatuation that cannot be described in words.
"Woo woo woo..."
Lin Xi heard a whimper, and it took him a long time to realize that it was actually his own crying of fear.
His vision gradually darkened.
It was the star butterfly that was slowly wrapping him up with its wings...
The familiar scene made Lin Xi a little dazed.
Lin Xi's breathing gradually became heavy because the star butterfly's wings were gradually tightening - a layer of light golden silk thread gradually took shape on the outside, and then tightened little by little, solidifying into a solid cocoon shell.
"Forest… "
He heard Star Butterfly mumbling in his ear.
That calm and joyful voice actually sounded familiar.
"finally found you."
He said.
That's not Star Butterfly
—This was Lin Xi’s last thought before his consciousness fell into darkness.
The author has something to say: Extra 1 is in Chapter 39