The Evil Deity's Second Career - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Zhu, and I am a deity.

Of all the Temples within a hundred-mile radius, mine is the most dilapidated.

No devotees offer me sacrifices. Compared to the nearby God of Wealth’s Temple, which is a vision of gold and jade, mine is truly inconspicuous. Beggars often huddle together to sleep inside.

Sleeping is one thing, but they frequently urinate at the base of my statue before they leave.

Without incense or offerings, my divine power is practically non-existent. I am filled with a silent rage I dare not voice.

The neighboring deities all mock me. Among them, Shi Jia, the God of Marriage, laughs the loudest.

“Zhu, look at you! You reek of urine. It’s absolutely foul!”

Dressed in tender pink robes, Shi Jia covered his nose and mouth with a look of utter disgust. “You’re a deity, for heaven’s sake. You could at least try to pull yourself together. Look at me-this is newly made. What do you think?”

He grabbed his hem and twirled, looking at me triumphantly.

I spared him a lazy glance before my eyelids drooped again.

“Pink is for the young and fresh; how old are you now?”

Shi Jia, who was several hundred years old, turned red with rage and began cursing. “Everyone says I look good in pink! You didn’t even look! What right do you have to say that!”

How could he know that it wasn’t that I wouldn’t look, but that I was so hungry I truly lacked the strength?

Shi Jia huffed a final “Hmph” and left.

On a rainy night, I was awakened by the sound of weeping.

“May the deity open his eyes…”

“Please, show me a clear path!”

I was hungry; I only wanted to sleep.

I pried my eyelids open and saw a woman dressed in white kneeling before me, sobbing uncontrollably.

I hadn’t intended to pay her any mind, but the woman truly wept piteously.

In the end, I softened. Summoning every ounce of my strength, I gave a flick. The wooden staff supporting my statue fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The woman was startled and stared at the staff in a daze.

After a long while, she wiped the tears from her face and bowed to me with deep respect.

“This humble woman understands. Thank you, Great Deity.”

With that, she turned and ran out.

Wait, what? What does she understand? I haven’t even said anything yet!

Because the support was gone, I collapsed to the floor, my clay body shattering into several pieces.

When Shi Jia returned, I was clinging to my last breath while trying to repair my statue.

“How did you… turn yourself into such a mess?”

I ignored him. I expected him to mock me a bit and be done with it, but in the next second, Shi Jia rolled up his pink sleeves, picked up a scattered arm, and pressed it back into place.

Shi Jia acted as if he didn’t see my startled expression and started chatting away.

“Let me tell you, a very important person came to my Temple.”

Seeing that I remained silent, Shi Jia pursed his lips. “I have a strange tale! Do you know of the mortal Emperor?”

“He brought a woman to my Temple to pray for marriage. He wants to share a lifelong devotion with her!”

I glanced at him. “What’s so strange about that? Isn’t that your job?”

Shi Jia waved his hand. “It’s not that. He’s an Emperor! He’s like the one up in the heavens-he has enough Imperial Concubines to circle the Heavenly Palace ten times over.”

I found this somewhat interesting. “So, did you grant it?”

Shi Jia shook his head.

“The red strings won’t connect…”

“I’m honestly afraid he’ll tear down my Temple of Marriage later.”

I laughed at him. “What are you afraid of? You have more than just this one Temple. If he tears it down, let him.”

Shi Jia grew annoyed again, glaring at me with furrowed brows as he shouted, “What do you know! What do you know!”

My ears hurt from his yelling.

“If this place gets torn down, what will you do…”

Shi Jia muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch.

“What are you mumbling about?”

“Nothing! Just get back to work!”

By the time we finished repairing my statue, the sky was dark. Since there was no one in Shi Jia’s Temple, he dragged me to Zhao Caishen’s hall to scavenge some offerings. Zhao Caishen had a warm face and an even warmer heart; I took two deep breaths of the incense and immediately felt light as air.

Zhao Caishen’s business was always booming. Even at this late hour, there were countless people kneeling in the hall.

Shi Jia quietly tugged on my sleeve.

“If we weren’t competitors, I’d kneel too.”

I let out a derisive laugh.

“You have no backbone.”

Shi Jia was so angry he poked me with his finger. “Oh, you’re so noble. Would you kneel?”

“I would!”