"You… don't talk nonsense. This is no joke."
"I… still… have something to do, so I'll be leaving first."
Xia Ai'er stammered a few explanations. He turned and flew out of the palace. The shame of feeling like his browsing history had been seen made him wish he could fly from the Rodes Archipelago to the North Continent right now.
"You can't leave yet."
"It seems there's still much I need to teach you."
"I'm truly afraid that if you go out for a stroll, you'll foolishly force your own stance to its death."
Gao Xinaim's movements were faster than Xia Ai'er's. She grabbed Xia Ai'er's long hair and dragged him back.
Xia Ai'er, of course, refused. He truly didn't dare to stay there any longer. This female Monster who could read minds was too terrifying. Even the Calamity Beyonder characteristic within him was activated, and he would rather his hair be torn off than remain.
"You don't think you can really use what I helped you seal to deal with me, do you?"
Gao Xinaim snorted coldly as she watched Xia Ai'er still trying to run. Her power extended along Xia Ai'er's hair, directly suppressing the Calamity Beyonder characteristic within him. Xia Ai'er was so pained that tears welled up, but his damned hair still didn't break.
"Don't waste your energy. Elf hair is very difficult to tear. The stronger the Elf, the more so. The Beyonder characteristic gives hair a very high reinforcement."
Gao Xinaim pulled hard, and Xia Ai'er stumbled backward, caught by her arm around his shoulder. She pushed aside the troublesome strands of hair, cupped Xia Ai'er's chin, and forced his terrified eyes to meet her brown ones:
"You want me?"
Shame...
Intense shame...
The dark side of his heart exposed in a single sentence...
Xia Ai'er's pounding heart echoed like a drum in the empty, deserted palace.
He didn't know why he was acting like an idiot, unable to react. He had been so at ease when he teased Sauron, but now… but now… he just wanted to die… Why hadn't he died yet?!
Gao Xinaim looked at Xia Ai'er, whose eyes were darting away and whose face was so red it looked like it was about to bleed. She curved her lips, held his chin, leaned in, and kissed him.
A touch and then apart...
Xia Ai'er stared blankly at the Elf Queen. His heart pounded even faster.
"What's your name?"
Gao Xinaim asked.
"Xia Ran."
Xia Ai'er replied unconsciously.
"How old are you?"
"Do your two lives combined add up to 100 years?"
Gao Xinaim continued to ask.
Xia Ai'er wanted to turn his head away, but his hair and chin were held tightly. He could only shake his head.
"50 years old?"
Xia Ai'er hesitated and shook his head again.
"So, you're still a baby."
Gao Xinaim's tone lightened a bit.
She was a subordinate god who had lived from the Second Epoch to the Fourth Epoch, capable of accepting that this little Elf, who was still a baby, could be so immature.
"I'm not…"
Xia Ai'er instinctively retorted, feeling too ashamed to say the word "baby."
"Liar."
Gao Xinaim bit Xia Ai'er's pointed ear, and Xia Ai'er's breathing became somewhat rapid.
"Are you still running?"
"Don't want to run anymore? Do you want to stay here, expecting more?"
Xia Ai'er hadn't spoken at all, yet the High Elf had read his thoughts through mind-reading.
"Tell me, just about now."
"How many other women have you been involved with?"
Gao Xinaim dragged Xia Ai'er back to the throne on the high platform. She sat down, held Xia Ai'er in her arms, and asked, gently caressing his cheek.
"Not many."
Xia Ai'er sat somewhat awkwardly on Gao Xinaim's lap, not really wanting to answer such a question.
"You're not lying, it seems there really aren't many."
Gao Xinaim observed Xia Ai'er's expression and nodded.
"You didn't bring those women back; you just wanted to have some fun and avoid trouble, right?"
Gao Xinaim asked again.
Xia Ai'er opened his mouth, feeling his throat somewhat hoarse, but looking at Gao Xinaim's calm brown eyes, he still nodded with difficulty.
He felt like his life was over.
Again.
It was over…
He was just that irresponsible…
"You did well."
Unexpectedly, Gao Xinaim stroked Xia Ai'er's head with satisfaction.
"It seems my worries were a bit excessive. Although he's still a baby, he's already sensible. No wonder I was fooled by your performance before."
Gao Xinaim said with relief.
"You… what… do you mean?"
Xia Ai'er asked with some disbelief.
"Don't you understand?"
"Are you confused?"
"Is it that hard to comprehend?"
"When you were idly toying with those mermaids, didn't I not question it?"
Gao Xinaim flipped her wrist, and a scene from the Rodes Archipelago appeared, showing Xia Ai'er fishing while teasing mermaids.
Bang!
Xia Ai'er smashed the image with a punch.
"You're invading my privacy? Can you not have some moral bottom line as a subordinate god? What's the difference between this and a God peeking into a believer's daily life?"
At this moment, Xia Ai'er's desire to move out and live alone became extremely strong.
It was fortunate that he only returned to the Elf settlement after becoming a Demigod. If he had returned at Sequence 5, his underwear would probably have been exposed.
"First, this is my extra attention to you, otherwise, why would you have this treatment now?"
"Second, believers have no privacy. It's just that Gods are too lazy to look; it doesn't mean Gods will consider the believers' thoughts."
Gao Xinaim corrected Xia Ai'er's two Errors.
"You mean… like the mermaids?"
"But that was…"
Xia Ai'er originally wanted to say that Sauron was human, but he suddenly paused. Sauron, at Sequence 5, seemed to be no different from a mermaid in Gao Xinaim's eyes.
There were no human rights here either.
If it were in the Second Epoch, in the Elf faction, the status of sea creatures would be even higher than that of humans.
"What exactly do you want to say?"
Xia Ai'er struggled for a moment. Gao Xinaim released her grip, and he stood up, looking at the Elf Queen on the throne and asked.
"What do I want to say?"
"You've touched, hugged, and kissed. Is that enough now?"
Gao Xinaim asked, looking at Xia Ai'er with interest.
Xia Ai'er's expression stiffened again. What could he say? Enough? Or not enough?
Whoosh!
Another flash of lightning streaked across.
This time, Xia Ai'er accurately grasped the Elf Queen's kicking calf. He didn't hesitate this time, and his other hand clenched into a fist, smashing towards the Elf Queen's shoulder.
Gao Xinaim still didn't defend. She saw that Xia Ai'er hadn't held back this time and nodded with satisfaction. She raised her hand and gently waved it. A breeze swept by, blowing up her loose long robe along the calf she was holding.
Look?
Don't look?
Damn it, I'm already shameless, why not look?
You have to choose between hypocrisy and shamelessness, right?
I'll be shameless, so what!
Xia Ai'er's attacking motion paused. His gaze involuntarily shifted, and then he saw dark blue scales covering the parts that shouldn't be revealed, like clothing.
I knew it…
Thump!
A heavy blow to the abdomen.