Chapter Seventy: The Ritual

A magical artifact of six rings, bought for less than two million? Are prices really so low abroad? Black Dragon felt a surge of excitement; if that was the case, wouldn’t cross-border trade be incredibly profitable in the future?

“That shouldn’t count as a failure, I think…” Black Dragon mused. “It’s like installing software on a computer—this Eye of Truth has almost completely fused with my body. I only forcibly halted the process at the final moment. If I consciously chose to, it could replace my right eye at any time.”

“But I don’t intend to do that, not until I understand the situation more clearly. Unless it’s absolutely necessary… I’d rather keep my original eye. After all, I’m actively studying optics and biology now; in the future, I can keep improving and strengthening my own vision. There’s no need to use this somewhat unsettling Eye of Truth.”

“…Very well,” Ding Xuewen nodded. Since Black Dragon had his own opinions, he wouldn’t press the matter.

Given the urgency of Yu Xiaomin’s condition, they ended their discussion and prepared to go abroad immediately to conduct the ritual for invoking the deity.

…

To be honest, the ritual prepared by the Summer Institute was quite an eye-opener for Black Dragon. Facing the direction of Freya’s divine realm, they set up an incense table with a statue of the goddess, an incense burner, and offerings. Wisps of smoke curled up from the incense sticks.

“Academician Ding, are you sure this is really going to work?” Black Dragon couldn’t help but point out as he noticed the staff preparing to burn joss paper and set off firecrackers. “Isn’t this ceremony a bit too much like our own customs? Will a native goddess like Freya accept it?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Ding Xuewen smiled. “Mr. Huang, you might not know, but all the tens of millions of Freya’s devotees in our country worship her this way. As a gentle goddess of minor divine power, Freya is quite easygoing and doesn’t care much about the precise details of rituals. What matters to her is the sincerity of her followers’ faith and prayers.”

“Besides… they say one must adapt to local customs, but if the newcomers outnumber the locals, then the customs that should be followed are ours. Deities are practical and flexible. So long as we stick to our ways, the ritual should naturally follow our customs.”

“I see.” Black Dragon nodded thoughtfully. He sensed there might be a deeper intention behind this—perhaps the reason the country hadn’t suppressed Freya’s faith was to see if, through their own culture and incense, they could assimilate her and tie her fate to the nation’s.

…

Yu Xiaomin’s injuries were grave. Burned by dragonfire and infected by magical elements, his entire body was severely swollen. Even after every possible effort, he was barely clinging to life, unconscious and almost gone.

In his state, he certainly couldn’t offer faith to Freya on his own. Reluctantly, Black Dragon would have to act as an intermediary.

“Kind Freya, hear my prayer—I need your help!” Black Dragon raised his head high, closed his eyes, and chanted toward the direction of Freya’s divine realm.

He had always been curious—how was it that mortals could communicate with distant gods or devils in such a simple way? As long as one sincerely and repeatedly called the deity’s name, aloud or in the heart, there was a chance the deity would hear.

What was the principle behind this? Technically, how was it even possible? Surely this was technology far beyond cell phones and radio—at least several eras ahead of 4G or 5G, perhaps only achievable after the legendary mastery of quantum communication.

“Freya, hear my prayer!”

…

“Again… Freya, hear my prayer!”

…

“Again and again…”

…

“Are you there or not? Say something!”

…

Black Dragon persevered for a while, but received no response. With a sigh, he turned to the others, “Maybe I’m not sincere enough, or maybe she’s not online right now… Anyway, I didn’t sense any reply.”

…

Everyone fell silent. Freya’s refusal to answer was clearly unexpected.

“What now?” Black Dragon asked. “Should we try another god?”

“…Another god?” Ding Xuewen considered, consulted the other academicians, and finally shook his head. “No, the other gods are too unfamiliar and too dangerous. We can’t entrust Xiao Yu’s soul and faith to them.”

“Let it go? How can we?” Black Dragon’s expression fell. “Are we just going to watch him die?”

…

“There’s nothing we can do…” Ding Xuewen sighed. “Mr. Huang, please believe me—our feelings for Xiao Yu are no less than yours. Of course, we want to save his young life. But there are things we must consider more deeply. This isn’t the time for us to meddle with unknown gods. Many sacrifices, we just have to grit our teeth and endure.”

…

Alas…

Black Dragon could only sigh inwardly, left speechless. He knew that in the face of these sudden, world-shaking changes, the nation had surely lost many heroes in the past half year. Compared to them, Yu Xiaomin’s life was no more precious.

For the greater good, for the safety and interests of the nation and the people, some sacrifices were inevitable.

Yet people… are prone to wild imaginings.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Black Dragon’s mind—if one day, for the greater good, I too must be sacrificed, would I accept it calmly? Would I have the courage to do so?

Before he could think further, Black Dragon shook his head violently—don’t dwell on it, don’t dwell on it. Once seeds of doubt are sown, they’ll eventually bear bitter fruit and bring disaster!

Never make pointless assumptions when there’s nothing wrong. Why worry about so many what-ifs?

Huang Ze kept shouting inwardly, clearing away stray thoughts, reinforcing his resolve.

“Mr. Huang…”

Everyone watched Black Dragon anxiously. They could sense that ever since he began to doubt if his heart was really his own, his mood had clearly changed—he was no longer as optimistic and steady as before.

Even Ding Xuewen began to wonder if the ancient nomadic tribe that sold them the Eye of Truth had tampered with it—after all, it seemed to be the root of all this trouble.

“Huang Ze! Huang Ze!”

As Black Dragon’s psychological counselor, Gao Ying kept calling his name, trying to soothe him, but with little effect. Black Dragon didn’t even glance at her.

Finally, she gritted her teeth and made a wild suggestion, “Mr. Huang, perhaps we don’t have to rely on the gods to save Yu Xiaomin. There is another way!”

“The devils! We could make a deal with the devils!”