IBHON 07

Chapter 07

Using the Divine Form Escape Talisman, I had now successfully arrived at a location a thousand miles away from the Ma family.

This time, the plan to escape the marriage had gone very well.

It’s just… it would have been perfect if I hadn’t ended up appearing mid-air.

Plummeting rapidly, in a flash of lightning, I quickly used another Divine Form Escape Talisman toward the direction I wanted to go. This time, I appeared standing on the trunk of a giant tree.

Although this spot wasn’t ideal either, it was still much better than being suspended in mid-air. I had to admit—I really admired my own cleverness, remaining so calm in such a dangerous moment.

The Divine Form Escape Talisman is a one-time-use item for long-distance travel. It can transport you to a random location a thousand miles away. Fortunately, it always moves you roughly in the direction you’re facing.

I rubbed my hair, which had faded from pink to a light red. There was still one talisman left in my Spatial Ring. If luck was on my side, I would appear in the city where the protagonist lived.

“What? Aren’t you trying to hide from the protagonist? Why would you go to his city?”

Do you think I want to? The next item I need to absorb happens to be in the Demon Forest near the protagonist’s house.

It was already very late, and I didn’t plan to use another talisman tonight. I’d wait until morning to deal with that. For now, I just wanted a good night’s sleep.

I was perched on a tree trunk, surrounded by branches and leaves for protection. This place was very safe; I didn’t have to worry about monsters attacking.

But there was one thing that worried me.

What exactly was in the box Max gave me? Could it be… some forbidden item?

With my heart pounding, I took the box out of the Spatial Ring.

Should I open it?

What if it’s something I’m not supposed to see?

Ah, whatever. I stopped overthinking. I pressed a mechanism on the box, and it opened automatically.

Inside was a colorful bead, engraved with a huge character: “Ji” (Season).

A bead? Why a bead? Could this be the Ji God Bead?!

I jumped in shock. Why was the Ji God Bead here? Could it be that Lin Xiaoya’s mother was a previous-generation God Bead wielder?!

My mind was in turmoil. Apart from the first-generation and current God Bead wielders, I hadn’t really fleshed out the others.

The Thirteen God Beads were obtained by the God King from a strange and dangerous place on the Divine Demon Continent. Each bead contained immense energy, granting its wielder terrifying power.

But a bead only chose its own wielder. If it didn’t recognize someone, no matter what, that person couldn’t use it. Therefore, the God King decreed that anyone recognized by a bead would become part of his direct royal guard.

The status of the God King’s royal guard is higher than even the five Domain Lords of the Divine Realms. Since I now had the Ji God Bead, why the hell was I still worrying about escaping a marriage?!

And more importantly, inheriting the Ji God Bead would completely cure my illness!

I was ecstatic.

I reached for the Ji God Bead, but the moment I touched it, my head started spinning.

“W-why… is this so… damn…” I didn’t even finish speaking before I fainted, falling naturally from the tree.

Did it hurt? I didn’t know. In unconsciousness, I felt nothing—but I was sure it must have been excruciating.

I must have triggered some kind of mechanism, activating an illusionary spell.

I really didn’t expect there to be an illusion on top of the bead. The world is treacherous.

But this seemed to be something Lin Xiaoya’s mother left for Lin Xiaoya. If she intended for Lin Xiaoya to have the Ji God Bead, why would she put an illusion on it?

Maybe she was just… bored? Very likely.

“Child, you’ve come.”

“Who’s speaking?” I looked around. I was trapped in an illusion, and since it was set by Lin Xiaoya’s mother, and she called me “child,” the voice must belong to her.

“Mother, is that you?” I softly asked, hoping she would respond quickly. The Ji God Bead was still outside, and I had fallen from the tree—what if a villain appeared now? I’d be robbed of both my property and… worse.

“Child, are you blaming me?” A beautiful woman appeared before me, her expression sad, like a wronged wife abandoned by the world.

“Why would you say that?” I swallowed. She really did resemble Lin Xiaoya—a perfect mold. No wonder Mark became such a doting father.

“You always called me ‘Mama’ before.”

“Hah!” Did I actually set Lin Xiaoya to call her that? I hadn’t programmed that!

“M-Mama…” Well, after ‘Father,’ there’s now another strange and embarrassing title.

“Ah, you really said it,” the woman said, covering her mouth in surprise. Seeing her incredulous expression, I realized something!

No wonder everyone reacted like that when I called Mark “Father” before. Lin Xiaoya had actually never said it.

“Mother, weren’t you dead already? Why are you here?”

“Xiaoya, isn’t that a bit rude to say?” The woman looked like she wanted to lecture me.

I rolled my eyes, saying nothing. Even though I had lost my mother long ago, I didn’t want a lecture.

“I’m just a lingering image left behind,” the woman pouted. I actually found this a little cute—she was, after all, a mother-level figure.

“So why did you leave a lingering image here?”

“For you,” she said, pointing at me, crossing her arms. “I’m here to tell you something.”

“Something?”

“Only members of the Four Seasons Family can control the divine dragon—or rather, the Ji God Bead. And you are the last generation of our family.”

Four Seasons Family… why does that sound like some kind of punk gang? Well, I think I named it myself.

“Also, as a member of the Four Seasons Family, our bodies naturally contain 24 elemental attributes. Many of them are mutually conflicting and extremely volatile. But don’t worry—if we don’t cultivate, nothing happens.”

“Hmm… I guess you’re telling me something I didn’t already know.”

“You know!? How do you know? I never told you before!”

Looking at the woman’s extremely shocked expression, I chuckled. As the author, of course I knew these things—they were all set by me.

“I think our family left behind a skill book and four weapons, which you probably don’t know about.”

“I know about that. I actually need them right now.”

“You know about it too? Did someone send you a dream!?”

“No, don’t overthink it. No one sent me a dream. The reason I know is that I’m no longer the Lin Xiaoya you’re familiar with.” My soul inside my body was no longer the same.