After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 37.1

The sky was dark, and the streets were almost empty. Perhaps due to his physical condition, Luo Jie’s perception had weakened, and he didn’t notice his surroundings.

He saw a shop still lit in the distance. He thought to himself, “At least I can have a cup of tea before continuing on my way.” As he walked over, he didn’t expect someone else to approach from the side, saying the same thing as him.

Hearing that voice, his heartstrings were plucked. He felt a sense of familiarity, like a voice that had echoed in his dreams countless times. Over the long years, it had been continuously beautified and distorted, yet repeatedly returned to its original… that familiar voice.

In that instant, he seemed to have suffered a soul attack. His whole body froze, his hands and feet stiffened. It wasn’t until the other person spoke again that he awoke as if from a dream, realizing he was in the real world, not in a dream or illusion.

“Luo Jie? I’m not mistaken, am I?”

The person said softly, with a tone of uncertainty as if afraid of mistaking someone, but more so with certainty.

Certainty of recognizing an old friend.

Luo Jie trembled again. It seemed that a whole day of battle hadn’t caused as much impact as this one voice.

He turned around with all his might. In the dim lamplight, he saw a young man standing as if in a dream.

The other person looked at him, his face showing joy. He couldn’t help but say, “It’s you, isn’t it? I knew you weren’t dead.”

Dead? Luo Jie’s mind froze for a moment. It took a few seconds to realize that the other person was probably referring to that fake death. In many people’s eyes, the hero Luo Jie was a figure who had heroically sacrificed himself.

Once he understood, he instinctively explained, “No, I’m not dead. That was a fake death.”

Xiu Si showed an expression of “as expected” and smiled, “I knew you wouldn’t die. You’ve lived for over eight thousand years, what situation haven’t you encountered? You even became a hero revered by the world. How could you possibly die so easily?”

Luo Jie was stunned, his mind unable to keep up. “Brother Xiu… have you returned from the abyss?”

He wasn’t sure if this question was appropriate. Its premise was that in the eight thousand plus years, Xiu Si had been in the abyss since falling into it.

Logically, there was almost no chance of survival, not even one in a billion. Yet now he was standing alive before him, able to speak, and seemingly well-informed about worldly affairs.

This, this was simply a miracle. Luo Jie doubted his own eyes.

Regarding this point, Xiu Si thought for a moment and smiled, “About that, it’s a long story. Let’s go to where I’m temporarily staying, and we’ll talk slowly.”

Luo Jie nodded instinctively, as if he had returned to the past. As his gaze lowered, he surprisingly saw the two cats that had helped him earlier on the ground.

Two birds were sitting on top of the cats’ heads.

Four pairs of eyes stared at him simultaneously.

Their gazes were sharp, full of divinity, and exuding rejection.

Earlier, when he was severely injured and unconscious, he hadn’t had time to sense it. Now facing them, he could see clearly.

The two cats… were actually Morax and Inpos, the Abyss Lords who had previously dealt with the Divine Kingdom of Light!

How could these two Abyss Lords be by Brother Xiu’s side, and turned into cats?

Not only that, what was more shocking was what came next.

He looked up and took a closer look. Those two birds seemed to have great backgrounds as well, possessing the divinity of the God of Darkness and the God of Light respectively!

Luo Jie was dumbfounded, especially when the little black bird held its head high. Its chubby, round body somehow released a kind of majesty along with its gaze.

It clearly indicated one thing.

It was none other than – the God of Darkness who once bullied all of heaven!

Ah! Was the one beside it the God of Light?

How could these two sworn enemies be peacefully here together? Shouldn’t they fight as soon as they were under the same sky?

Luo Jie’s thoughts were about to tie into knots. He couldn’t understand what was going on at all. Brother Xiu had fallen into the abyss for over eight thousand years, and they finally reunited today, but how come he was accompanied by four divine-level beings?

While he was still in shock, his expression vivid, to Xiu Si, it seemed he had suddenly frozen in place for no apparent reason.

Xiu Si worried, “What’s wrong?”

Luo Jie still hadn’t reacted.

Inpos pouted and had to walk over to step on Luo Jie with a paw.

–Hey, Father is calling you!

Fa-father!

Luo Jie’s eyes widened, the joy of reunion almost overwhelmed by shock.

Brother Xiu had disappeared for over eight thousand years, and he ac-actually had children!

And four of them, no less!!

Luo Jie trembled all over, almost unable to stand. Children, that meant he had a partner? Who was it?

Xiu Si called out again.

Luo Jie still couldn’t react, his pupils quaking and his face suddenly turning pale.

–Hey hey, Father is calling you! Answer him!

Morax also stepped on him, looking fierce and full of menace.

Morax sternly said: What are you thinking? Father doesn’t have a partner. Heh, foolish hero Luo Jie, after eight thousand years, your eyesight is still as poor as before.

Being criticized in turn by two cats for no reason, Luo Jie struggled to piece his sanity back together. He finally reacted, slowly looking into Xiu Si’s eyes.

“Alright, let’s go. I also have some things to say… it’s a long story.”

The two cats were dissatisfied, grumbling inwardly. The reason was simple – this guy Luo Jie was their father’s old friend. Now that they had reunited, he would surely take away some of their father’s affection!

Although Father seemed very happy… ah, never mind, as long as Father was happy.

But it still made them a bit sour. The two cats snorted.

On the way, Inpos observed Luo Jie’s physical condition thoughtfully and started discussing with Morax.

Meanwhile. In the subspace.

“I say, what exactly are you two arguing about?”

Buer couldn’t hold back anymore and intervened in Aelioge and Beelzebub’s fight, asking from afar.

Aelioge and Beelzebub turned their heads simultaneously, staring terrifyingly at the black bat tool Buer used to transmit her voice.

“Buer, you’re here?”

Aelioge’s tone was cold, but he looked as if he’d seen mountains of gold and silver, about to burst into flames.

Buer rested her chin on her hand and said, “I am. I’ve been watching your fight for a long time. It doesn’t look like an ordinary fight. Did something happen?”

Beelzebub glared at Aelioge, his eyes saying, “We can’t tell her. This Buer fellow is troublesome in every sense.”

Of course Aelioge knew. He had always thought Buer was a pervert. A long time ago, she had actually stolen a lot of his blood while he was in deep sleep. Was this how siblings behaved?

Yet this guy had self-righteously claimed it was for researching medicine for their father. Father had been missing for so many years; what if his body had developed some problems? How could they treat him in time after finding him without proper medicine?

This explanation was strangely reasonable.

They couldn’t refute it at the time, so they had to give her whatever she wanted, until her requests became increasingly perverted.

But Buer knew space magic, which was their way to return to the mortal world.

Aelioge laughed coldly in his heart and said, “Buer, don’t ask too much. Send us back to the mortal world, and I’ll give you whatever you want, as much as possible.”

Buer exclaimed, looking Aelioge’s human form up and down, “Are you sure you can give me what I want?”

Beelzebub almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Aelioge’s face darkened, “Except my body.”

This pervert, with a brain full of lust for her sibling’s body, had a history of perversions that could never be washed clean.

Buer was very disappointed. The girl’s body rolled over on the bed, her golden hair smooth and not at all messy.

“To help you, give me what I want. Isn’t this the basis of a transaction?”

Aelioge fell silent, then relented a bit and said, “I have urgent business to attend to. I can reluctantly give you what you want.”

Buer was curious. “So what exactly is the matter?”

Beelzebub glanced at Aelioge, as if warning him not to let Buer know under any circumstances.

This guy was a chatterbox who couldn’t keep secrets. If she found out about their concealment, she would surely reveal it to their father.

Of course Aelioge understood, so wasn’t he trying to find a way now?

Seeing their eye contact, Buer became more confused, believing these two were definitely hiding an unspeakable secret.

“Why won’t you say? Is it related to the Aust Empire?”

It wasn’t hard to know that Aelioge had appeared in the Aust Empire last time.

Buer was a demon who loved reading news. She spent all day looking at human affairs. How could she not know about the five demons sneakily seeming to be plotting something in the Aust Empire?

“What are you, Inpos, Morax, oh, and Vassago doing in the Aust Empire?”

It was well known that Abyss Lords couldn’t coexist peacefully, but recent situations seemed to contradict this “common sense”.

Two or three would be fine, but five? It was as if the sun had risen from the west, or the God of Darkness and God of Light had reconciled.

Aelioge remained silent, which made it seem even more like there was some conspiracy.

Buer grew a bit impatient.

In the next second, Aelioge suddenly said, “We’re plotting to conquer the human continent. Why are you asking for such specifics?”

Beelzebub immediately understood and suddenly put on a profound expression, saying to Aelioge, “Didn’t I tell you to keep it secret? Why are you letting her know?”

Seeing they were about to fight again, Buer frowned deeply, “Are you serious? Conquer the continent? What’s the point of that?”

Aelioge spoke frankly, “Of course there’s meaning. We’ll make Father the king of the continent. When Father returns, we can tell him this is the kingdom we’ve established for him.”

Buer was baffled, “Are you serious? Father wouldn’t want us to do this.”

“How do you know Father wouldn’t want it? We are the extension of Father’s humanity. What we want to do is what Father wants to do.”

Beelzebub added.

Buer didn’t believe it. “That’s wordplay. Then doesn’t what I don’t want to do equal what Father doesn’t want to do?”

Aelioge laughed, “Naturally. Human nature is sometimes contradictory. Wanting something yet not wanting it, isn’t that very normal?”

Buer clenched her fists and said firmly: Father wouldn’t be like this.

Beelzebub raised his chin, “That only shows you don’t understand Father. How could Father not have ambition? Who doesn’t want to conquer the world and have everyone submit to them? Father just hasn’t said it out loud, but actually yearns for it inside. Yet you directly deny Father’s ambition. If Father knew you thought this way, he would surely be very hurt.”

Buer was about to be confused by these two. After thinking for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “Really? Father actually has that kind of ambition?”

Aelioge lied fluently without hesitation, continuing to embellish, “How can you still doubt? Do you think you can interpret Father however you like just because he’s not here?”

The right of interpretation is also the right of discourse, a very important power, especially crucial in ideological warfare. As the possessor of the [War] authority, how could Aelioge not understand how to manipulate it?

Buer, sandwiched between two seemingly reasonable arguments, began to doubt herself.

Could it be that she had misunderstood, and Father actually had the ideal of conquering the world?

Was Father’s continued absence because she hadn’t conquered the world yet?

Buer’s thoughts ran wild.

Seeing the moment was right, Aelioge struck while the iron was hot, “So help us return. We need to complete the mission as soon as possible.”

Buer paused. “You gathered together for Father’s ideal?”

Beelzebub nodded. “That’s right. Otherwise, who would want to act together with them?”

Buer thought that made sense, “But Beelzebub, wouldn’t conquering the continent be a matter of minutes for you?”

Beelzebub was strong, his pure combat power probably second only to Baal, and his authority was terrifying. He was meticulous and shrewd. If he wanted to conquer the continent, did he need to cooperate with Aelioge and the others? Wasn’t it something one demon could handle?

Beelzebub seemed to see through his doubts and said, “Humans nowadays are not ordinary, especially a certain secret society. I prefer to do things I’m sure about.”

“What a meticulous guy,” Buer grumbled inwardly.

But she was mostly convinced by Beelzebub.

Indeed, Father never said he didn’t want the continent. If we conquer it, what if Father would be very happy?

Buer was happily imagining, but when she thought about how Father still hadn’t been found, her face immediately darkened again.

If Father wasn’t found, what use was anything they did?

As Buer fell silent, the two demons opposite her understood even more.

Aelioge further said, “Moreover, this is also to find the mastermind behind Father’s disappearance.”

Buer’s expression suddenly changed. She had just been lying on the bed, but now sat up.

“The mastermind. Are you saying it wasn’t an accident back then?”

Beelzebub: “It wasn’t an accident. Nine times out of ten, it was done by some god.”

Buer’s heart burned with rage, and she finally said the words that secretly delighted the two demons.

“Fine, I’ll send you back right now!”

Aelioge and Beelzebub exchanged glances, both revealing expressions of success.

Meanwhile, at Xilin’s Antique Shop.

“So… Brother Xiu, you don’t know how you got out of the abyss either?”

“That’s right. I don’t even have memories of those eight thousand plus years. It just felt like time passed in the blink of an eye.”

“It’s indeed very strange.”

In the oil lamp-lit antique shop, two long-separated friends were conversing.

Xiu Si spoke openly, naturally sharing, almost without concealment.

But Luo Jie kept hesitating, because the two cats opposite him would occasionally make faces at him. The red cat pulled out a board from somewhere, and the grey cat wrote on it, gesturing behind Xiu Si’s back, warning him what he couldn’t ask about.

Luo Jie had never seen such a scene. He was greatly shocked, perhaps considering that these two had saved him, so he owed them a favor.

Oh no, a demon favor?

But he was also truly shocked and numb. How could he have known that Brother Xiu was actually the creator of all current Abyss Lords?

Even Baal and Agares were Brother Xiu’s children.

Luo Jie never expected this. Back then, he knew Brother Xiu was creating beings and had seen a bit, but he hadn’t paid attention to the specifics. Who knew that the little one always sticking to Brother Xiu back then would later become Baal, the demon god who slaughtered through the world.

And that small thing always shyly hiding in Brother Xiu’s collar turned out to be Agares, the great sage who shocked the world.

Without knowing the answer, one couldn’t possibly imagine the connection.

Luo Jie’s emotions went through ups and downs, and he was still shocked numb. Turning to look at the unknowing Xiu Si in front of him, he felt even more heartsick.

Brother Xiu, your children have become so formidable, yet you still don’t know. Because they’re afraid you’ll learn about their dark history, they even want to rewrite history books.

Your shadow is behind any major event that has happened these days, be it the Divine Kingdom of Light or the otherworld gods. They were all successfully resolved thanks to you. Although the world knows nothing of this, you yourself don’t know either.

“Is something wrong?”

Seeing Luo Jie fall silent, Xiu Si couldn’t help but ask.