Advantage Is Mine: Death to All, Part One

The moment he touched He Zhuoming, Tang Shuyu felt at ease.

A person who dared to cut down a True Deity's statue—Tang Shuyu couldn't imagine anyone in this world braver or more capable than her.

He had been an emperor with great power for a while, and it was true that from birth to now, he had lived a life of being worshipped—but in reality, no one had ever expected 'Tang Shuyu' himself to become a real emperor or a future True Deity.

So Tang Shuyu had never received any corresponding education. He had grown up wild in an abundant material life for a few years, and even now, he was still completely a child—only his temper had matured early.

And not in a positive way.

To Tang Shuyu at this age, He Zhuoming was older, equal, brave, filled with all the beautiful qualities he had never seen before. With just a little contact, she immediately became the ideal adult who could give him a sense of security.

If growing up was an inevitable thing, then Tang Shuyu wanted to become an adult like He Zhuoming.

As he thought about it, Tang Shuyu couldn't help but lean his whole body against He Zhuoming's arm, hugging it.

He Zhuoming was sleeping.

She hadn't wanted to sleep either—they were fleeing for their lives, and wouldn't oversleeping waste too much time? But she was too tired, and hadn't eaten anything decent; a young, hungry body could only draw strength from sleep.

Half-awake, she felt her arm being pressed numb by something; He Zhuoming groggily opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping through the darkness before she finally realized it was Tang Shuyu hugging one of her arms.

Half his body was leaning against He Zhuoming's arm, his long hair falling to the ground, coiling around and covering the back of her hand.

His hair carried a damp, muggy moisture, and it too draped over the back of He Zhuoming's hand.

When she pulled her hand out, she felt the layered strands slide across her skin. There was a thin, taut tangling sensation at the base of her fingers; she reached out in the darkness and felt a few strands wrapped around them, seemingly tied in a dead knot. She picked at them for a long while but couldn't break them.

As she moved, Tang Shuyu was jostled and woke with startling speed, his arm that had been loosely wrapped around He Zhuoming's suddenly tightening—she was yanked off balance, momentarily forgetting about the hair tangled around her fingers.

He Zhuoming turned her head to look at him. "You're awake?"

In the darkness, she couldn't make out his expression, only a blurry shape, seeing his face vaguely tilted upward.

Tang Shuyu blinked, his pitch-black pupils seeing He Zhuoming's face clearly through the darkness without any obstruction.

After a moment, he answered slowly, "Mm... awake."

He Zhuoming: "Rested well?"

Tang Shuyu: "Yes—I can walk on my own now, no need for you to carry me."

No need to carry anyone—He Zhuoming was happy for the relief. She stood up, trying to pull her arm out of Tang Shuyu's embrace.

Tang Shuyu was like an accessory stuck to her arm, rising with her; after standing, he still hugged her arm, and when He Zhuoming tried to withdraw it, he followed by tiptoeing upward.

He Zhuoming looked at him strangely and stopped moving—when she stopped, Tang Shuyu stopped too, still holding her arm.

He Zhuoming thought for a moment, didn't refuse, and let him hold on.

Kids are like that—they tend to depend on adults more easily. With that thought surfacing in her mind, He Zhuoming felt a light, floating pride.

Ever since she had transmigrated, the people she often interacted with were all older than her. Even the childish Lin Qingyun was a head taller, and when he wasn't being childish, he took care of her with an older-brother air.

And he always displayed talents enough to teach her.

But Tang Shuyu was different. Tang Shuyu was so young, and even needed her care and accommodation; his overly obvious dependence gave He Zhuoming the first feeling that she was also an adult.

She had always wanted to become an adult quickly, and now that she had gotten her wish, her attitude toward Tang Shuyu became much more tolerant. If she still had leftover pastries in her pocket, she would be happy to share some with Tang Shuyu.

Unfortunately, He Zhuoming reached into her pocket and found nothing edible.

She gave up reluctantly, instead honestly gripping the wooden sword to use as a walking stick to probe the way—holding the sword in her left hand was a bit awkward, but there was no choice; her right arm was still tightly held by Tang Shuyu, and she couldn't pull it free.

The darkness was silent, with only the sound of the wooden sword tapping the ground and the footsteps of two people.

The repetitive sound was too monotonous, and as she walked, He Zhuoming couldn't help but let her mind wander: What time is it now? Has Xu Feixian woken up? Did Lin Qingyun notice I'm gone?

Once we get out, what do we do with this young villain? He was locked in a secret chamber as a sacrifice, so the Pear Garden probably didn't welcome him either, but she couldn't just keep dragging this kid along...

He Zhuoming had now completely started thinking of herself as an adult responsible for things, and everything in this world became troublesome precisely because it required responsibility, so with just a little thought, she felt vexed.

Her brow furrowed in worry, but the young Tang Shuyu beside her was completely unaware.

He only felt that the quiet was nice, that being able to stay close to He Zhuoming was nice. Although the days trapped here were bitter enough, lacking delicacies and fine silks—once he got out alive, he would definitely have those people killed—strangely, when he was with He Zhuoming, the originally detestable environment became bearable.

The little emperor who had never been properly educated didn't yet know that there was a saying in the world: love makes a meal of water.

He was just experiencing happiness stripped of material things when he heard He Zhuoming let out a long sigh above him.

Tang Shuyu: "Are you unhappy?"

Hearing this, He Zhuoming wanted to reply that who could be happy trapped in a hellhole like this—but thinking that Tang Shuyu was just a child, the words changed at her lips: "No, I'm just a little worried."

Tang Shuyu pressed: "Worried about what?"

He Zhuoming ruffled his hair, messing it up. "Adult worries. Even if I told you, a child wouldn't understand."

Tang Shuyu pouted. "Is it about your boyfriend?"

He Zhuoming was vague: "Sort of..."

Tang Shuyu snorted. "Why isn't he with you? Does that even count as a friend?"

He Zhuoming: "He doesn't know I came here... ah, I wonder what he's doing now. I kind of miss him."

She kept saying things Tang Shuyu didn't like to hear; his face could barely hold its expression, and only after a long moment did he reply with a distant voice: "But I'm with you now."

He Zhuoming: "That's different..."

After saying it, she thought about it and muttered, "Kid... why do you talk like you're in a soap opera? No being this precocious!"

With that, she tapped Tang Shuyu's forehead with the hilt of her wooden sword—she didn't use much force, so Tang Shuyu didn't feel pain at all. Taking advantage of He Zhuoming's poor vision in the dark, he freely made an angry, sulky face.

Tang Shuyu: "What does 'soap opera' mean?"

He Zhuoming: "It's a type of TV drama... like the plays you have here that tell love stories, I guess. Do you have opera performances or something like that here?"

Tang Shuyu answered coolly, "Never noticed. And I may be young in age, but I'm actually not a child anymore."

He Zhuoming laughed at that—Tang Shuyu quickly caught that laugh and said, "You don't believe me?"

He Zhuoming spoke earnestly, feigning maturity: "Only children say they're not children anymore."

Tang Shuyu: "I'm really not!"

He Zhuoming nodded, dismissing it: "Fine, fine."

Tang Shuyu lifted his head, his dark eyes fixed on her. "You're humoring me?"

He Zhuoming patted the back of his head. "No such thing~"

She refused to admit it, and Tang Shuyu felt gloom inside. Thinking that she was still missing her useless boyfriend, the gloom nearly escalated into anger, burning and gnawing at his heart.

Tang Shuyu asked in a low voice, "Am I... am I really that similar to Lin Qingyun?"

He had wanted to say 'your boyfriend', but the moment that phrase came out, it felt like He Zhuoming and that person were on the same side, while he stood alone on the opposite side.

That feeling was unpleasant, so Tang Shuyu quickly changed his wording.

He Zhuoming didn't notice the subtle shift in his address and nodded in reply: "Super similar. Although you have different surnames, your faces look almost like twins."

"But you can't really be twins! Because Lin Qingyun is a bit older than me. Ah, do you have any older brothers or cousins?"

Tang Shuyu didn't answer; instead, he asked, "Then how old are you?"

He Zhuoming: "Fifteen. You?"

Tang Shuyu: "I won't tell you."

He Zhuoming shrugged it off. "You're such a smart-aleck kid."

Tang Shuyu calculated in his mind: He Zhuoming was fifteen, Lin Qingyun was a bit older, maybe around seventeen. He is seventeen now, but in twenty years he'd be thirty-seven, while he himself would only be twenty-seven.

Good. Advantage is mine.

Tang Shuyu felt much better and hugged He Zhuoming's arm, saying, "I'll call you Xiao He."

He Zhuoming immediately refused: "No way!"

Tang Shuyu was dissatisfied: "Why not?"

He Zhuoming replied with a faint, adult-like ease: "Because I'm older than you. You should call me older sister."

Tang Shuyu: "..."

He Zhuoming added, "And if you call me Xiao He, I won't respond. I mean it."

After a long moment, Tang Shuyu reluctantly squeezed out, "Sister Xiao He."

He Zhuoming was also dissatisfied: "Why is there still that 'Xiao' in it?"

After her complaint, she grew suspicious again: "You really don't have a relative named Lin Qingyun?"

Because among everyone He Zhuoming knew, only Lin Qingyun always called her Xiao He.

Tang Shuyu looked so much like Lin Qingyun, and even his habit of addressing people was the same; He Zhuoming couldn't help but suspect it was some kind of blood inheritance.

But Tang Shuyu denied it very unhappily: "I have nothing to do with him at all!"

He Zhuoming was busy probing the path and had no time to think deeply. She said, "Are you an only child?"

Tang Shuyu: "...I have a few half-siblings."

He Zhuoming was surprised. "Your family has quite a lot of people! How did you end up captured in here?"

This time Tang Shuyu didn't speak. He Zhuoming didn't notice the shift in atmosphere and even lowered her head to glance his way; but the corridor was pitch black, and even with her head down, she couldn't see Tang Shuyu's expression.

Thinking it over, she guessed: "Did you forget?"

Tang Shuyu clutched her sleeve, crumpling it in his grip, and only after a long while answered: "I haven't forgotten. There's nothing to say. Sacrificing to the True Deity—living sacrifices have always been a thing."

His mood suddenly plummeted because of this topic, as he remembered that he had already been affected, and now perhaps he was no longer human.

Even if he followed Xiao He out of the shrine, could he escape the Gu Ye Deity? After leaving the shrine, there were layers of sect guards outside, and soldiers of the Xia Kingdom's palace...

He Zhuoming, meanwhile, was reminded of the Earth Immortal worshipped by the Pear Garden, who acted twisted and eccentric, and felt somewhat uneasy.

She earnestly instructed Tang Shuyu: "I think you have great potential to become a True Deity. When you become one, make sure to abolish living sacrifices... and don't let tree branches grow inside people's bodies, okay? That really hurts."

Tang Shuyu answered sullenly, "I'll try."

That is, if he could become a True Deity himself, rather than something else wearing his skin becoming one. But—

Tang Shuyu reached back and touched his own back; the wound left from the broken branch on his spine had already scarred.

Xiao He's words did remind him, though. Since having his body turned into breeding soil was so painful, how could he not let the people he hated experience it too? If he ever got the chance to get out alive, he'd make all those people grow into crabapple trees!

The two each had their own thoughts, each with their own worries, when He Zhuoming spotted a faint white point of light ahead.

Her spirits lifted immediately. "There's light over there! Maybe it's an exit!"

*

Tang Shuyu cupped his face with both hands, his mind wandering—the assembly was nearing its end, and this year's karma had passed by the skin of its teeth, just barely on the edge of life and death.

Though he was zoning out, he could feel the other True Deities occasionally sweeping glances at him.

If he looked back and their eyes met, Tang Shuyu could hear what the other person was thinking. This was one of the reasons it was hard for Tang Shuyu to feel respect for his colleagues—when their eyes happened to meet, the inner thoughts he heard were little different from those of ordinary mortals.

Like just now, Lin Ji had a serene expression but was actually thinking about the melodramatic story of Liang Yi being entangled with his eighth reincarnation's wife across three lifetimes.

Zhi Xing looked solemn but was thinking about having hotpot with his subordinate gods tonight.

Liang Yi was chatting and laughing with three True Deities while inwardly thinking about where to walk his dog tonight.

Feng Hai wore a shy smile while thinking about when Tang Shuyu would fall so he could claim that Star-Gazing Tower in the Xia Kingdom.

...

Boring.

Utterly boring.

Death to all—a bunch of old relics.

Tang Shuyu smiled as he clinked glasses with them and raised his hand to take a perfunctory sip of the divine nectar.

This kind of thing was also in the Pear Garden's stockpile. According to others, it was extremely delicious—but Tang Shuyu could never taste anything, so no matter how delicious something was...

Tang Shuyu's hand turning the cup paused, and his eyelid twitched slightly.

There were other True Deities present, so he showed no trace of anything wrong in his expression—he kept his smile, long lashes lowered to cover his pupils, and pretended to take another casual sip.

...There was actually a flavor!

He could actually taste things now!?