Dressed as the last nine-tailed fox

Chapter 372 Your God Doesn't Care About You
Ziyan looked up at the statue of the Creator Ancestor, facing the person with whom she shared a blood feud. Yet, her eyes remained devoid of any emotion. "I used to fear you, then I resented you, but now I finally understand. Even though magical powers may differ, if one always puts oneself first, then all things in the Three Realms will be equal, and everyone should be the most precious to oneself." With that, Ziyan waved her hand.

With a deafening roar, the Temple of the Creator collapsed before everyone's eyes, leaving only the statue standing.

"What...what happened!" The Crown Prince jumped up in a panic, shoved Gao Weiche who was blocking his way, and rushed to the ruins of the collapsed Ancestral Temple. He stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing. "What happened? What on earth happened! How could the Ancestral Temple have suddenly collapsed!"

"No!" The prince reached out his hand, but it was too late to stop the collapse of the surviving statues.

With a muffled thud, the statue of the Creator suddenly cracked open from the very center. The crack widened, and then the statue lost its support, shattering into pieces from top to bottom. The statue then collapsed completely, turning into countless fragments of varying sizes scattered all over the ground.

The prince, who had hoped to at least leave behind a statue, stood frozen in place like a statue, not even having time to retract his outstretched hand.

The ministers who remained on the white jade steps discussed among themselves, "What happened? Why did the Temple of the Founding Ancestor suddenly collapse?"

"We were just one step away from completing our prayer. Could it be that the Creator is unwilling to accept our prayer?"

"The Creator has abandoned the human world!"...

Every word of the discussion reached Ziyan's ears, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Hearing the commotion emanating from Ziyan, and recalling her inexplicable wave of her hand before the collapse of the Creator Ancestor's Temple, the Crown Prince quickly realized who was responsible for the chaos before him. He turned to Ziyan, his anger blaring as he demanded a series of questions: "It was you! Why did you destroy the statue of the Creator Ancestor? How dare you do this!"

"What's there to be afraid of? I've already done it, haven't I?"

"You...you!" Zi Yan's nonchalant demeanor made the Crown Prince stammer, "That's the Creator Ancestor!"

"Even if it is, so what?" Looking at the once luxurious Ancestral Temple reduced to ruins, Ziyan couldn't help but feel delighted. She curled her lips and said, "Besides, it's not even certain yet."

"You! You are absolutely outrageous!" The Crown Prince didn't take Ziyan's words seriously at all. Looking at her smile, he felt that it was a provocation, a contempt for the Creator, and a disregard for humanity. "I originally thought that since you are a woman, I had no intention of arguing with you, but I never expected that you would be so disrespectful to the Creator! Treating the survival of humanity as a game!"

As he spoke, the prince rolled up his sleeves, "I'm going to teach you a lesson today, so you'll remember this!"

"Your Highness!" Gao Weiche was shocked that the Crown Prince was about to make a move. He hurriedly stopped the Crown Prince. Although he had only spent a short time with Ziyan, Gao Weiche knew very well that this being who had existed for hundreds of millions of years was not very patient and had a bad temper. If the Crown Prince really encountered her, he would probably be half-crippled if he didn't die.

Gao Weiche held the Crown Prince tightly around the waist. The Crown Prince tried to break free but found himself unable to move. He said irritably, "Gao Weiche, let me go."

"Your Highness, please calm down." Gao Weiche held the Crown Prince with all his might. "Her name is Ziyan. She is the one that the Supervisor calculated before his death—the hope of mankind."

Gao Weiche quickly explained Ziyan's background in a few words, and the Crown Prince gradually stopped struggling. "Her? The hope of humanity? Are you sure you're not joking with me?"

"This is no joke." Gao Weiche still held onto the Crown Prince's waist, saying earnestly, "Your Highness, truly only she can save humanity; she is humanity's only hope."

But she destroyed the Temple of the Creator!

"Your Highness..." Gao Weiche looked up at the Crown Prince's waist, "In front of the Star Gazing Tower, you said you believed in me. Now, do you still believe in me?"

"I..." The Crown Prince's gaze darted back and forth between Zi Yan and Gao Weiche, unable to make a decision.

……

The Crown Prince was torn between his inner turmoil and his own emotions, but to the ministers below him, it was a completely different story—Gao Weiche was holding the Crown Prince's waist, resting his head against the Crown Prince's back, looking up at the Crown Prince, while the Crown Prince lowered his head slightly to meet Gao Weiche's gaze, his eyes seemingly filled with deep affection.

Upon seeing this, the ministers' discussion instantly shifted from the collapsed ancestral hall to the Crown Prince and Gao Weiche.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Gao... what are they doing?"

"I heard that Her Majesty the Empress had considered choosing a consort for His Highness the Crown Prince many times before, but His Highness the Crown Prince refused each time."

"Your Highness is at the prime of your life, yet the Eastern Palace has never had a mistress, not even a concubine. Could it be that... the Crown Prince has homosexual tendencies?"

With each word spoken by the ministers, the Grand Tutor's face darkened further. When he heard the words "the affection for Longyan," the Grand Tutor could no longer contain himself. As the Crown Prince's respected teacher, he could not allow his disciple to be smeared like this. He sternly rebuked, "How dare you discuss His Highness the Crown Prince's private affairs so casually!"

The ministers seemed to realize their mistake only at this moment, and immediately shut their mouths. Those who had been talking excitedly earlier shrank their necks, fearing that they would be 'punished later'.

The Grand Tutor shoved the Prime Minister aside in annoyance and strode upstairs.

Gao Weiche and the Crown Prince remained in their previous positions. The Crown Prince was lost in his own thoughts until the Grand Tutor arrived before him, at which point he was startled by the Grand Tutor's appearance. "Grand Tutor? Why have you come up here?"

"If I hadn't come, I'm afraid your shameful deeds would have spread throughout the capital!" The Grand Tutor rebuked in a low voice, "In broad daylight, under the clear sky, how can two grown men be hugging and embracing like this?"

Seeing the Grand Tutor staring at him with displeasure, Gao Weiche realized that his posture was really indecent in public. He quickly let go of her hand and explained, "I didn't mean to. It was an emergency, so I overlooked some details."

"Whether it was intentional or not, you know it in your heart!" The Grand Tutor stroked his beard and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is of inestimable worth; how can just anyone touch him!"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince couldn't help but say, "Grand Tutor, aren't you... making a fuss over nothing? Lord Gao is here to help me." The Crown Prince had made up his mind.

"Help you! Do I need to hold you to help you? Do you know what those officials down there are saying about you!" The Grand Tutor's face was flushed, whether from anger or exhaustion, it was hard to tell.

"What did they say?" "They said you...they said you..." The Grand Tutor turned his head away, "They said you have homosexual tendencies!"

"What!" Gao Weiche's eyes widened, unable to believe his ears that he had heard such absurd words.

The Crown Prince's sharp gaze suddenly fell upon the ministers below. They were startled, and in unison thought to themselves that they were doomed. They all shrank back, not daring to meet the Crown Prince's eyes, wishing they could disappear on the spot.

"Pfft." Ziyan's laughter broke the deadlock.

Upon seeing that it was a woman, the Grand Tutor's angry eyes softened with a hint of amusement. "And who is this young lady?"

Previously, Ziyan used her magic to make the ministers below her unable to see her, so in the eyes of the Grand Tutor, Ziyan was appearing in his sight for the first time.

"Your change of heart is too quick." Gao Weiche was surprised by the Grand Tutor's change. It was said that this Grand Tutor was well-read and unmatched in the court in terms of knowledge, but was also extremely rigid in temperament. But now it seems that the rumors are really unreliable.

“Her name is Ziyan.” The Crown Prince paused, then said with a hint of helplessness and compromise, “She is the key to dealing with the Black Umbrella Catastrophe, and she is the hope for humanity that I told you about.”

The Grand Tutor's eyes lit up as he looked at Ziyan. "I never expected that Miss Ziyan, who looks so young, would have such great abilities!"

As the Grand Tutor spoke, he moved closer to Ziyan and asked with a smile, "May I ask how old you are, Miss Ziyan? Where do you live? How many people are in your family? Are you married?"

"Grand Tutor, why are you asking these questions?" The Crown Prince tugged at the Grand Tutor's sleeve and said in a muffled voice, "Now is not the time to ask these questions."

"How could it not be?" the Grand Tutor scolded in a low voice, flicked his sleeves, and looked at Ziyan with a smile again. "If you are not married, young lady, why not consider the Crown Prince? I have been teaching him all my life and know his character best. I dare to say that he is definitely a confidant you can entrust your life to."

Gao Weiche's mouth dropped open. He hadn't expected that the Grand Tutor would actually want to arrange a marriage between Ziyan and the Crown Prince. He couldn't imagine how interesting the Crown Prince and the Grand Tutor's expressions would be if they knew Ziyan's true identity.

He had intended to wait for the Crown Prince to appease the Grand Tutor, but after noticing Ziyan's slightly impatient expression, Gao Weiche hurriedly advised, "Grand Tutor, His Highness the Crown Prince is right, now is really not the time to talk about these things."

Gao Weiche's obstruction instantly enraged the Grand Tutor. "What business is it of yours? Do you want to monopolize the Crown Prince and prevent him from ever marrying? Let me tell you, don't even think about it! He is the only heir of the royal family, bearing the responsibility of continuing the family line!"

Then, the Grand Tutor gave the Crown Prince a fierce look, "As long as I live, neither of you will ever do anything shameless!"

"My relationship with the Crown Prince is completely innocent!" Gao Weiche didn't expect the matter to involve him and quickly denied it.

"Grand Tutor!" The Crown Prince's eyes held a hint of reproach, and his tone was tinged with embarrassment as he clarified, "What are you saying? I have no homosexual inclinations! And it's impossible for me to have feelings for Lord Gao that go beyond those between a ruler and his subject!"

The Grand Tutor adopted a knowing expression and asked, "Then what were you doing, hugging and cuddling just now?"

“We weren’t hugging…” the prince said helplessly, “You must be seeing things.”

"Am I seeing things?" The Grand Tutor waved his hand and pointed at the ministers below him, saying, "And what about them? Are their eyesight failing them too?"

"We didn't see anything!" Sensing the murderous intent emanating from the Crown Prince, the ministers unanimously shrank back and shook their heads in denial.

"You?" The Grand Tutor couldn't believe he had been betrayed so easily, and his beard bristled with anger. "Fine, since you dare not ask, then I will! Since His Highness has no interest in Gao Weiche, why has the position of Empress remained vacant in the Crown Prince's palace?"

"I have just not met the person I like yet. What I want is not just a Crown Princess, but a soulmate, just like you and your wife, Grand Tutor." The Crown Prince's expression was serious and sincere, and his tone was pleading. "Grand Tutor, the Black Umbrella Catastrophe has already descended upon the world. Now is not the time to discuss these matters of love and romance."

"Very well." The Grand Tutor sighed. "You are someone I taught. No matter what you have done, what you want to do, or what you are capable of doing, I should be the one who supports you the most." The Grand Tutor nodded and stepped behind the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince glanced gratefully at the Grand Tutor, then walked up to Ziyan and asked, "Please enlighten me, Miss Ziyan, on how we can save humanity?"

"Is that all?" Ziyan clicked her tongue, somewhat disheartened. "I thought this farce was going to go on for a while."

"Miss Ziyan." The Crown Prince ignored Ziyan's interruption, staring at her intently, repeating each word slowly and deliberately, "Tell me, what exactly is the way to save humanity?"

“It’s not difficult.” Ziyan smiled. “Just like I did just now, destroy the Temple of the Creator Ancestor and all the Temples of the Creator Clan in the human world.”

"This!" The Crown Prince looked troubled, casting an incredulous glance at Gao Weiche. After receiving a nod from Gao Weiche, he asked in bewilderment, "Why do this? The Creator Ancestor created the Three Realms. Without the Creator Ancestor, there would be no human world. People spontaneously built Creator Ancestor Temples in various places out of gratitude, mourning, and prayer. This is the origin of the Creator Ancestor Temples. Isn't it absurd to say that destroying the Creator Ancestor Temples is the only way to save the human world? Not only do I disagree, but the people will also disagree."

Has he responded to you?

"What?" The prince didn't understand Ziyan's meaning.

"I say... you're so devout, has the Creator ever responded to you?" Seeing the Crown Prince's puzzled look, Ziyan explained, "Since such a huge event as the destruction of the human world has prompted you to pray to the Creator for salvation, you must have asked him for something before. Bowing once on each step, up to ninety-nine steps, is enough to express your devotion. So... has he ever responded to your prayers, which are so devout?"

"If I complete the ninety-nine steps of prostration today, the Creator might answer my prayers."

"No, even if you knock on nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, he won't respond to you." Ziyan's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Your god doesn't care about you."

“But you don’t need to be sad,” Ziyan comforted kindly. “He doesn’t just care about you, he doesn’t care about the whole world.”

The prince wanted to refute, but he had never heard of the legend of the Creator God descending, and for a moment he didn't know how to refute it. "How could he not care? Yes, how could the Creator God not care about the human world?" The prince's eyes brightened, and he retorted, "He created the human world; if he didn't care, why did he create it!"

"If he cared, how could he allow the Black Umbrella to wreak havoc on humanity?" Ziyan questioned. "The people are suffering from disasters, why doesn't he show himself to save them?"