Original God, I am the only designated Red King God Envoy of Xumi

"—I'd rather not have those benefits." Nashida made her decision without a moment's hesitation. Amber's smile widened upon hearing this: "As expected."

"Then if this innocent person doesn't die, Xumi will suffer a great disaster. What will Nashida choose?"

"..." Nashida was silent for a moment, but after a brief pause, she responded: "I will find other ways to resolve this disaster."

"why?"

"Because life cannot be measured by numbers, sacrificing the life of an innocent person for the benefit of more people should never have happened in the first place. One person's life is very important, and so are the lives of a thousand people. The weight of one person's life is the same as that of a thousand people's lives. He has done nothing wrong, so how can we ask him to die?"

Amber rubbed Nashida's head, and her tone softened a bit: "It's indeed a very Nashida-style answer."

"Before I came here, there was a story about a king who asked his subordinates: Is it okay to kill one man to benefit ten thousand people?"

"The subordinate replied no. When the king asked him why, he replied, 'Killing should be based on the law. No one should be wantonly deprived of the life of an innocent person.'"

"The king said, 'Killing him would save the lives of ten thousand people. Shouldn't this be done? He is innocent, and so are ten thousand others. Which is more important, the innocence of one person or the innocence of ten thousand people?'"

"I replied, 'It's equally serious. Killing innocent people violates the laws of the country. They are violating the laws of the country without realizing it, and they think they are doing it as a matter of course. I am privately worried about the king.'"

"Wang Xiao asked how he should handle the situation. His subordinates replied: 'If it's someone who intends to harm these ten thousand people, punish him. If it's another person, recruit warriors to eliminate him. If it's a group, have law enforcement agencies destroy it. If it's a natural disaster, fight it. If it's a man-made disaster, hold those responsible accountable. If it's a system, reform it.'"

"Solve the problem at the source?" Nashida pondered, pursing her lips with a gleam in her eyes.

"It's like this. Problems like this are best solved at the source, but often the situation isn't so ideal." Amber paused, looking Nashida in the eye. "If you have to choose one of the two, with no other options, how do you choose?"

"...I hope that the one who will be sacrificed will be myself." Nashida responded again, her words becoming more serious, and it was obvious that she no longer regarded it as a simple question.

"If my sacrifice can resolve the disaster and ensure the safety of Xumi, then I am willing to do it." Nashida's eyes were full of determination, and she answered seriously.

Faced with such an answer, Amber just moved closer, stretched out her finger and flicked Nashida's forehead. Nashida covered her forehead in pain, her eyes full of confusion, wondering why Amber did this.

"I don't allow you to do this, Nashida." Amber regretted asking this question. She originally just wanted to derive some topics from General Thunder's behavior of sacrificing a minority for the majority, but she didn't expect to elicit such a response.

"But I am a god, the god of Sumeru. How can I abandon the people of Sumeru?" Nashida's voice weakened. She didn't dare to look Amber in the eye, but she still responded. Amber sighed when she heard it. She didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"If you do this, I will be sad, Nacida." Amber held Nacida's hand. She stared into Nacida's eyes. If she thought carefully, she and Nacida had been together for a long time. Nacida was a very likable person. As a god, she never acted superior. Although she was still weak, she already had the sense of responsibility of a god.

Nashida is very gentle. She is gentle to everyone, to kind people, to prisoners, to those in high positions, and to civilians. This gentleness is her greatest strength, but also her greatest weakness. A gentle god is the highest guarantee, but at the same time, being too gentle is not suitable for being a leader.

Amber likes Nashida very much, not the kind of love that a lover has for her, but more like she has found a like-minded comrade, or like she has met a junior that she can't let go of. After spending a long time together, Amber has unknowingly found a place for Nashida in her heart, and she has just discovered this.

When Nashida suggested that she sacrifice herself, Amber's first feeling was resistance. Admittedly, from a purely rational point of view, that might be the best solution, but she could not accept such an outcome. From this, Amber suddenly realized that Nashida had unknowingly occupied a part of her heart.

At first, she had only heard of the Little Auspicious Grass King in rumors, and she revered the God of Grass as a god. But after her first contact, she suddenly realized that the god of Xumi was so immature. She was also confused and distressed. There were many things she didn't know, and she was very curious about many things.

At that time, Amber probably regarded Nashida as her junior, which was very strange. Amber was not even 50 years old, and Nashida was at least 500 years old, but Amber did so out of habit in the atmosphere of getting along with her.

Or take a walk in Xumi City, or discuss some issues, or enjoy an opera, or do something else. Thinking carefully, most of Amber's free time was spent on Nashida. Unconsciously, she had regarded Nashida as an important person.

Nashida's gentle personality deeply attracted her, and she couldn't sit idly by when she needed help. Amber knew very well that her feelings for Nashida were not romantic or anything else, but she couldn't deny that she cared about Nashida very much - perhaps this kind of feeling was more like the feelings between family members.

"I care about you very much, Nashida. If, I mean if the person who needs to be sacrificed is me, what would you think?" Amber looked into Nashida's eyes. Nashida's pupils trembled when she heard it, and she almost subconsciously refused.

"No... This is absolutely not possible!" Nashida didn't know why she felt such strong resistance. She subconsciously placed her free hand on her chest, and for a moment she felt a stuffy sensation in her chest.

Nashida didn't want any innocent people to be sacrificed, including Amber. As for the former, Nashida resisted their sacrifice largely because of a sense of responsibility - she was the god of Xumi, how could she tolerate such a thing happening?

But as for Amber, Nashida didn't know how to describe her current feelings. She was very sure that this was not simply out of a sense of responsibility, but she didn't know how to describe such emotions. If she had to say it, it would be like there was a hole in her heart, empty, and just breathing would hurt.

"This is what it feels like to lose, Nashida." Amber closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. "If you sacrifice yourself, I will feel the same way."

"Promise me, Nashida, that if you really encounter a similar situation in the future, don't make such a choice unless it is absolutely necessary, okay?" Amber's expression was very serious. Nashida hummed sullenly under such a serious expression. She looked very worried for a moment.

Amber felt a little regretful. Her unintentional act completely ruined the atmosphere, and she didn't recover until the two of them returned to Xumi City. Nashida said goodbye to Amber. After Amber and Nashida separated, they returned to the house. From Aji's room, the noisy atmosphere of her and Cole came, which made Amber feel a little out of place.

That night, there was another person tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. She had to handle the admission procedures for Cole and Aji tomorrow, but she couldn't sleep. The events of the day still bothered her.

That night, there was also a god who couldn't relax in the dream world. Nashida looked at the hourglass in front of her. Staring at the hourglass always made her fall into a state of emptiness in the past, but today it didn't work.

Nashida and Amber sighed at the same time in different places. It seemed that they were destined to have no peace tonight.

Chapter 23: Witch's Tea Party

"B, your behavior today is really out of character. Didn't you always consult a fortune teller when you encountered something interesting? Besides the ones that were too burdensome, you've also consulted the entire Witch Society. How come you're so calm today when a new member joins?"

In a brightly lit space, the shadowy figure of Alice sat at the main seat. She joked with joy to another taller member wearing a pointed hat.

"Please don't make fun of me. The fate of those who descend cannot be changed, nor can it be easily peeped into. Just like you said, I don't do divination for beings like N - the burden is too heavy." The tall woman called B had a very mature voice, with a charm that was accumulating over the years that is unique to middle-aged women. She held a teacup in her hand and spoke in a relaxed manner.

"That's not the case. This new member is quite special. If B is interested, you can do some divination with your ability, but you can only look for a short while, not too long..." This time it was N who spoke. Her voice sounded quite young, and the shadow sitting on the chair also looked petite. As she finished speaking, Alice, who was originally smiling, stopped, and B also stopped moving.

"N, you are not joking this time, are you? You know B's character - she will definitely try it if you say so." Alice lost her initial ease. She asked N seriously, and B had summoned the astrology plate as Alice said, ready to start at any time.

"I'm not kidding." N replied in a soft voice. This was clearly a spiritual venue constructed with the help of Alice's ability, allowing the witches who were unable to leave to participate in the tea party without leaving their original places. Therefore, those sitting on the chairs were just shadows.

There was no expression on the phantom's face, but Amber felt a strong smile on N's phantom face. She looked at Amber, and Alice and B also looked at her.

"In terms of age... seniority, you are all my seniors. Logically, I shouldn't say anything to disturb your pleasure, but I am still here. Is it really okay for you to talk about spying on my fate in front of me?" Amber took a sip of tea. She wanted to say "in terms of age", but changed the words to seniority. Speaking of age... some people in this group must still care about it.

"Oh my, oh my, what senior or not? You don't need to be so reserved, just relax. We may need your help if we need to go to Xumi to do some business in the future." Alice chuckled. She told Amber not to be so nervous. Amber just smiled helplessly when she heard that.

The people sitting around this long table are not ordinary people. This is what her perception tells her. A, that is, Alice, has some trading relationship with the beings in the sky and is now responsible for maintaining the borders of Teyvat. And N, that is, the petite woman, is connected to the world. Every change in the world cannot escape her perception - she may also know the most.

But knowing more is not necessarily a good thing. N often refuses to reveal anything directly to others. According to her, this is not allowed by the heavens. As for the mature astrologer who has already taken out the horoscope, that is, B, her ability to peek into the fate star of the descender and maintain it for a short time is enough to prove her unprecedented ability.

In addition to these three people, there are four empty chairs. According to Alice, one of them belongs to M, a fairy tale author whose life span is far shorter, and the other belongs to R, the most powerful alchemist Alice has ever seen, who has not yet arrived.

There is another one named J, whose life span was even shorter. She had already left the Witch Society to spend the rest of her life with her beloved, leaving the title of J to her disciples. However, Alice refused to acknowledge these disciples, and this chair has been vacant only for J until now. Naturally, those disciples are not qualified to attend the tea party.

There was another empty chair, but Alice refused to reveal the person's information, only saying that she was doing something very important, so Amber didn't intend to ask more.

"That's no problem. If you need me, just let me know." Amber replied with a smile. She felt much more relaxed after hearing Alice's words.

"I really admire people like I. Not only do they respect their seniors, but at least they're willing to help them. Alas, unlike my troublesome disciple..." B shook his head slightly. "He's talented, but he works hard, and yet he calls me an old woman every day."

"Really... Although I haven't lived as long as Alice, I haven't reached that age yet." B said this while operating the astrology disk. "But my disciple is also destined to live a hard life. Astrologer is obviously a very lucrative profession, but somehow she always lives in a tight spot. It's really confusing."

Alice and N were obviously used to B's behavior. They just smiled. Amber didn't respond. She looked at the astrolabe in B's hand.

The star plate in B's hand began to rotate, and a complex star map appeared on it, which was dazzling for a moment. Seeing this, Amber had to give up - she really was not cut out for astrology.

"Hmm... let me take a look." B mused, continuing to manipulate the astrolabe. A moment later, she exclaimed, "Oh my! This is amazing! How can such a destiny star exist? And the current Teyvat actually acknowledges her?"

B turned his gaze to N, and so did Alice - she didn't really know much about destiny stars, and N just picked up the teacup and pretended to taste the tea. Seeing this, B and Alice could only shake their heads, as they knew very well that this meant N could not reveal anything.

B turned to Amber with undisguised curiosity in his eyes. Amber could only shrug helplessly, saying that she knew nothing about astrology and didn't understand what was going on.

"However, this destiny star still retains the basic characteristic of being unable to predict its future trajectory. According to my ability, I can only conclude that you are bound to experience a turbulent future." B closed the astrolabe. It seemed that spying on the destiny star of the descender was not difficult for her. She even felt a little relaxed. She didn't know what the group of ordinary astrologers would think when they saw this.

"It's okay. I've already made up my mind." Amber acted nonchalant about it. N, contrary to his usual behavior, nodded secretly. B showed appreciation, and Alice had her usual smiling face, looking relaxed.

"Sorry everyone, I'm late and the experiment has been delayed." During this interval, a shadow slowly solidified on one of the empty chairs. A woman who was also tall appeared. Judging from her voice, she sounded about the same age as B, and she looked more stable.

"Alas, if you had come any later, this tea party might have been over," Alice joked. She paused for a moment before introducing Amber. "This is my new member. Let's call her I. If you need to go to Xumi for work in the future, I should be able to provide you with a lot of help."

"I am the fifth Adventer. We invited her because she is very interesting. Maybe she can make future tea parties more interesting." Alice's tone softened, with a hint of laziness. B agreed with Alice's opinion and emphasized again that Amber was very interesting.

The woman's gaze towards Amber became more subtle, with a strong desire for knowledge in her eyes. Amber had seen this kind of look before, when she was facing Albedo.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce you." Alice tapped her head with her fingers and began to introduce the women to Amber. "I, this is R, a very powerful alchemist. Aren't you also studying alchemy? You can learn a lot from her from now on."

"It's not as exaggerated as Alice said." R rolled his eyes at Alice. "Every profession has its own expertise. I can answer questions that aren't focused on specific branches, that is, more basic knowledge. But since Alice invited you here, you shouldn't need such guidance."

R added a sugar cube to the teacup and stirred it slowly with a silver spoon. "Let me introduce myself. You can call me R, or Rhinedot. I don't have much need to hide my identity. If you know me well, you should know a little about my past. I focus on alchemy in the realm of life, so there's not much I can teach you in other areas."

"......!" Amber widened her eyes. She didn't actually know any of the people at the tea party very well, but she did know this Rhinedot.

"...Kanria's chief alchemist 'Gold'." Amber whispered, and when Rhinedot heard this, she curled the corners of her mouth.

"You do know." Rhinedot put down the silver spoon and picked up the teacup. She blew away the steaming tea and took a small sip. "But there's no need to talk about these past achievements now. From what Alice has said before, you're seeking the truth of the world. That seems to be the same path as mine."

"However..." Rhinedot paused, "I won't reveal any of my findings to you. My findings may not be correct. This will affect your understanding and, in turn, your conclusions. You must rely on your own strength to complete the journey. Only then will you come to your own unique answers."

"—With more answers, the probability of success increases." Rhinedot seemed to be hinting at something, but she didn't elaborate. "I look forward to the day when you come up with the answer."

"I understand." Amber understood Rhinedot's approach. The collision of different ideas would lead to more insights. Two identical answers often did not have such an effect. "Speaking of which, I wonder if you still remember Albedo? I met him in Mond."

"Honestly speaking, he helped me a lot, so I did him a favor."

"Oh?" Rhinedot's voice was filled with surprise. "He's actually my disciple? I certainly remember him. He's my most outstanding creation, 'Cretaceous Layer.' In a way, I treat him like a son."

"How is he doing now?" Rhinedot asked Amber, and Amber told him the information she knew one by one. The other members did not disturb the two.

This tea party seemed like just an ordinary tea party. Several members chatted with each other about random topics, and Amber gradually relaxed and lost her initial restraint.

Until the end of the tea party, Amber did not get any important information, but being able to get to know these very powerful beings cannot be said to be a complete failure.

Chapter 24: Opportunity for the Plan

In front of the office of the Grand Sage at the top of the House of Decrees, the contemporary Grand Sage Azar stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the constantly rotating simulated star map on the dome of the building.

"How is the plan going?" Hazard didn't turn around. He asked the middle-aged man standing behind him. The middle-aged man responded respectfully.

"Great Sage, the plan has stalled. We've developed a suitable method, but we can't find a suitable body. The body must have some connection with a true god, but..."

"..." Azar sighed deeply, "But such a body doesn't exist right now, right?"

"...Yes." The middle-aged man was silent for a moment before responding. There was a strong sense of unwillingness in his words. The plan had come to this point, but it came to a standstill because of such a reason, which made him really unwilling to accept.

“If we continue research based on the current methods and launch a new generation of methods, how long will it take?”

"It's hard to say, but it will take at least ten years."

"Ten years..." Hazard frowned, his eyes full of embarrassment.

The God-Creation Project—this was their current plan. Looking across the seven nations of Teyvat, which nation didn't have the protection of a god? Even the Wind God, who usually didn't care about things, had performed miracles, and he had the power to alter the landscape of Mondstadt.

Most of the other gods are like this too. Each of them possesses absolute power, a power that mortals cannot resist. Inazuma has the narrow blade of the Unthinking Blade created by the God of Thunder with a single sword, Liyue has the rock spear that forms a mountain with a casual throw of the God of Rock, and around Nata in the Fire Kingdom, there is the Windless, Desolate Land, and Silence Sea created by the God of Fire. The gods of other countries are generally the same - except for Xumi.

The god of Sumeru is only a little over 500 years old, which is a span of five centuries for humans, but not for gods. The god of grass is too weak. In Azar's opinion, he does not have the power to protect Sumeru. They also had a powerful god, the Great Compassionate Tree King, but she is dead.

It was like every other nation held an absolute killer weapon, but Xumi alone didn't. How could he feel at ease? Xumi must also possess such a powerful god! Since the Little Auspicious Grass King wasn't one, then they would create one themselves!

——But it is one thing to say, and another to do it. This plan has been going on for hundreds of years, hundreds of years of research, hundreds of years of accumulation, and passed down from generation to generation by generations of great sages over hundreds of years. It was not until Azar's generation that a real huge breakthrough was achieved.

Hazard originally thought that this ambition would be realized in his own hands, but he still underestimated the difficulty of the experiment. He is now over 70 years old and has a head full of white hair. He is not sure how long he can live, but he undoubtedly sincerely hopes for the day when the god will be truly born in his hands.

"Ten years... is too long, truly too long. And that's a conservative estimate. Even if I use every possible means to prolong my life, I may not be able to make it that day." A look of anguish crossed Hazard's face. "—So the only solution left is to find a suitable body?"

"I'm afraid so, great sage." There was deep helplessness in the middle-aged man's words. If possible, he didn't want the plan to reach such a dilemma.

"...If that divine messenger were still around, perhaps we could try to win her over. Although she's from the desert and the Red King's divine messenger, she's at least from Xumi," the middle-aged man said abruptly. "It's better than the idea proposed by 'that guy'. While the candidate he suggested does have a connection to the gods that can't be ignored, he's not from Xumi after all, and can be hard to trust."

The "guy" the middle-aged man was talking about was none other than the one who was expelled from the Sumeru Order. His name was Dotore, and he was currently the second "Doctor" among the Fatui executive officers. He was an absolute genius, but also an absolute sinner. He defied the order and conducted human experiments continuously for research, for which he was expelled. Somehow he joined the Fatui after being expelled.

Dotole contacted them some time ago. He seemed to know their plan very well. He first belittled them for spending a hundred years on a research that was not too difficult. He also said that he knew they had reached a bottleneck because of the problem of the base body. He had a "doll" made by the God of Thunder, which was the best base body.

Humph, how could this guy know their respect for life? The Great Compassion Tree King had always advocated valuing life over wisdom. Consequently, they hadn't resorted to direct human experimentation or overly drastic measures at many crucial points, significantly slowing progress. But the undeniable truth was that this guy had the bodies they desperately needed.

But they found it difficult to grasp the man's mind, so they did not agree immediately.

"...What did you say?" Azar widened his eyes and looked at the middle-aged man. At this moment, his aura changed, from that of an old scholar to a great sage who had been in a high position for many years and was awe-inspiring without even getting angry.

This momentum startled the middle-aged man. He couldn't help but wonder if he had said something wrong. "Your Excellency, Great Sage, I think this is better than the method proposed by Dotole."

"Not this one, but the previous one!" Azar's tone became more serious. The middle-aged man couldn't help but sweat. He didn't dare to delay and spoke again: "Your Excellency the Great Sage, I think it would be better if that divine messenger was here. Although she is the divine messenger of the Red King, she is at least a Xumi person."

"Yes! That's it! This is a turning point!" Azar became slightly excited, but this reaction only made the middle-aged man feel puzzled. After pondering for a moment, he spoke cautiously, "But, Great Sage... that divine messenger has disappeared. It is said that he is investigating how to eradicate the Dead Zone."

"...You don't need to ask about this, I have my own way." Hazard narrowed his eyes slightly. He realized that he had revealed some words that were not easy to say, so he decided to teach the middle-aged man a lesson.

Hazard looked into the middle-aged man's eyes, and the expression on his face quickly transformed into an extremely gentle smile. He stroked his graying beard and spoke to the middle-aged man in a softer tone, "Ah, I really envy you for still being middle-aged and healthy. At my age, my memory is not so good, and I forget things easily."

"Can you tell me what I just said? I can't remember."

The middle-aged man almost subconsciously lowered his head to avoid Hazard's gaze. Although the tone was gentle, it made him feel as if he was holding a tube of refrigerant in his arms. The fact that he could reach this position was enough to show his intelligence. He immediately responded to Hazard's inquiry.

"Replying to the Great Sage! I've been feeling unwell lately, experiencing intermittent hearing loss! I'm deeply ashamed that I can't answer your questions!"

"Well... that's a shame." Azar smiled with satisfaction. "But with this illness, it's difficult for you to do your job. So, I'll give you three days. Go find the person I ask you to find later and get some medicine to recuperate. And also, take care of the paperwork."

"..." The middle-aged man lowered his head, his face pale. Was this a sign of dismissal? Or worse? He pursed his lips, mustered up his courage, and tried to ask, "Great Sage, what procedures do you require of me?"

Hazard did not answer. He just walked slowly from in front of the man to his side. Every time Hazard's feet landed on the floor, it was like knocking on his heart, making a thumping sound.

"You have been working in this position for twenty years and have rich work experience. The House of Lords never mistreats any capable person, so you don't have to worry." Azar knew the power of silence very well. He deliberately waited for a moment before announcing the answer. The middle-aged man felt as if he had been pardoned when he heard this. In just this short period of time, his forehead was covered with sweat.

"I heard you have a son who's already in his twenties, recently graduated from the Ordination College, and is struggling with his qualifications and difficulty joining the research team he's hoping for, right?"

The middle-aged man slowly raised his head upon hearing this, a look of disbelief in his eyes: "Great Sage, what do you mean?"

"The research project team of an old friend of mine, who I'm very close to, is in need of someone like this. The aforementioned procedures were indeed completed for this very purpose. Although it's a bit hasty to jump into this level of research all at once, young people just need to gain experience, don't you agree?"