My Days as a God in Ancient Times
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Chu Qiuzhe, who had never experienced the era of cold weapons, was almost scared to death.
"Protective shield activated!"
Suddenly, Chu Qiuzhe found Xiao En's voice to be incredibly pleasant.
"Speak! Who exactly are you? What is your purpose?" Lan An questioned sternly.
His voice was cold and mechanical, without a trace of emotion.
Chu Qiuzhe raised an eyebrow and followed the long sword to see who dared to put a blade to his neck.
In an instant, all the colors of the world seemed to fade away, and every sound went silent. Yet the man in dark robes holding the long sword stood out as if in the highlight of a movie.
Looking at this man’s attire and demeanor, Chu Qiuzhe suddenly felt as if the protagonists from the martial arts novels he read as a child had come to life.
After all, no boy has ever grown up without dreaming of becoming a martial hero.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Chu Qiuzhe had never felt his heartbeat so strong and powerful.
His mind was faster than his actions. "Xiao En, can I fall in love in this timeline?"
The question was so abrupt.
"Ah???" Xiao En, who was also startled just now, hadn’t recovered yet and instinctively replied, "Y-yes! As long as it doesn’t disrupt the time-space order."
Chu Qiuzhe was quite satisfied with this humanized system. What does falling in love have to do with the time-space order anyway?
With his heart pounding, Chu Qiuzhe completely ignored the long sword at his neck. He adjusted his posture in the wheelchair, leaning back casually, resting his chin on one hand, and tapping the armrest with the other.
His lazy and relaxed posture carried an undeniable presence.
Anyone familiar with him would realize that the once spirited and proud youth from six months ago had returned!
Lan An's long sword edged even closer to Chu Qiuzhe's carotid artery, the killing intent in his eyes almost becoming tangible.
"My lord, please don't!" Chen Cuizhi squeezed through the crowd, trembling slightly as he saluted. "Think of the people behind you. If Mr. Chu truly can provide food, killing him would be a grave mistake."
Chu Qiuzhe was a bit surprised to see his half-brother speak up for him.
After all, his origins were indeed hard to explain.
"Imperial envoy, please spare the little immortal!"
"Little immortal, say something! I know you're not a bad person. I drank the milk you gave me yesterday!"
"My lord, we don’t want to starve."
"Immortal brother, will you bring us food today?"
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The surrounding crowd began to stir—some were pleading, while others cowered in fear.
Chu Qiuzhe gave the people a reassuring look before raising his head to meet the prince's gaze.
From what he learned from Chen Cuizhi yesterday, this era was much like ancient China, where imperial power reigned supreme. A prince indeed held the power over life and death.
In ancient times, people formed friendships based on equal status, let alone marriages, which demanded matching social standings.
Chu Qiuzhe's mind spun rapidly. As someone with an unclear background, it wasn’t appropriate for him to advance recklessly. Moreover, to collect gratitude points in the future, he needed a suitable and reasonable identity.
His eyes swept over the crowd once more, noticing the unavoidable, admiring gazes of people who saw him as a divine being.
Got it!
A flash of inspiration struck Chu Qiuzhe. He lightly pushed away the blade with his index finger and said, "Blades are blind. My lord, you’d better show me some respect. After all, I can bring you food and give you everything you desire."
His aura was arrogant and unyielding.
Before anyone could react, he swiftly pulled a lighter from his pocket, ignited it, and loudly declared to the people:
"I am the God of Light, here to illuminate all suffering and save the world!"
Xiao En inside his mind instantly crashed: "???!!!" What does this mean? I’m a high-tech system from the interstellar era, and now I have to help you pretend to be a god?
"Host, calm down!" Xiao En rebooted and stammered, "Please believe in science! We are decent people, not charlatans! Host, wake up!"
Chu Qiuzhe calmly responded, "Do you think my existence here is scientific to these ancient people?"
"Do you think your existence is scientific to me?"
"Do you think there's a way to explain our identity and background to these people?"
Chu Qiuzhe's three questions struck straight to the core, leaving Xiao En speechless. "You’re so dramatic, do whatever you want. As long as you’re happy!"
This internal dialogue lasted only a moment, but it was enough for the villagers to understand his intentions. Their eyes were filled with shock, joy... but none with suspicion. In fact, they even contributed a wave of gratitude points.
Hmm! Very good, the situation is perfectly under control!
As expected of me!
Chu Qiuzhe proudly straightened his back, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. With a composed expression, he looked at the man before him and said, "You can just call me a male god!"
The words sounded a bit frivolous, yet surprisingly not offensive.
The morning light filtered through the thin mist, casting its glow on the earth. The windproof lighter in Chu Qiuzhe’s hand stood steady in the breeze, and his delicate face appeared even more defined and perfect under the contrasting light.
If a true deity descended to the mortal realm, this would be it.
Lan An was momentarily stunned. Looking at the villagers' eyes full of hope and the strange blue flame in this man's hand, he still didn’t believe this man was some "God of Light." However, the villagers' hope could not be extinguished.
Observing this man’s peculiar behavior and the wheelchair beneath him, along with his frail figure that seemed incapable of harm, Lan An thought that killing him would be as easy as turning over a hand.
Slowly, Lan An lowered his sword and got straight to the point, "I heard you can bring food. Where is it? I will pay you silver according to market prices."
Chu Qiuzhe secretly let out a sigh of relief and quickly extinguished the lighter before it burned his hand.
"I don't need money. I’m not short of it. And didn’t I just say I needed people to help me move the grain, then you came at me with a sword." His tone carried a hint of complaint.
He glanced Lan An up and down. "You look strong. You do it. Those guys earlier are as skinny as bamboo sticks."
Lan An frowned. He did indeed come out with a sword after hearing that strong men were needed.
Recently, conmen in the city had been claiming they could summon rain but needed virgin boys and girls for sacrifice, ruining countless families.
Though this man was asking for strong men, during the war, all males aged fifteen to fifty were conscripted, leaving the nation severely lacking in labor.
How was this any different from those deceitful fraudsters?
Chu Qiuzhe was someone who held grudges. The sword at his neck earlier was something he definitely planned to pay back.
Leaning on his chin with a half-smile, he teased, "Hey, tell me, Prince, you’re not scared, are you?"
"Where is the food?" Lan An demanded harshly. In the surrounding ten miles, aside from the coarse rice they brought, it was impossible for there to be any stockpile of grain.
"If you can't bring the food..." Lan An subtly moved his sword again.
Chu Qiuzhe rolled his eyes. This blatant threat annoyed him.
What’s with this guy? Can’t he just talk properly? Why must he always resort to weapons?
What a terrible temper!
"Ahem." Xiao En, having given up, tried to get his host's attention, "Can we focus on serious matters now? Do you still want to keep your legs or not?"
Chu Qiuzhe snorted arrogantly. "In a moment, I will open the gate to the Immortal Realm's warehouse right here. As you can see, my legs are inconvenient, so you'll have to move the supplies yourselves."
He acted like a deity without the slightest psychological burden. Combined with his enchanting looks and natural charisma, he seemed born for the role.
Xiao En mumbled softly, "You're getting into character pretty fast."
"I'll go instead, My Lord," Chen Cuizhi stepped forward and bowed to Lan An.
Though not as strong as Lan An, Chen Cuizhi still had enough strength. Moreover, no one knew what this so-called Immortal Realm was like—how could he let the prince take such a risk?
Actually, as long as a person had good character, anyone could go.
But Chu Qiuzhe was stubborn. "Prince, I only want you to carry the supplies. Did I offend you somehow?"
His light, almost playful tone sent a shiver through everyone present. The implication was clear: if the prince refused, there would be no food.
What should they do?
Especially Chen Cuizhi, who had interacted with Chu Qiuzhe the previous day and thought he had a good temper. Why was he so strange now?
He cautiously said, "Chu... Male God, the prince's noble status makes it inappropriate for him to do lowly labor. Let me go instead."
Chu Qiuzhe grew even more displeased. This rigid class mindset was laughable. He decided to continue playing his role to the fullest. "Can the prince's status be nobler than mine as a Male God?"
Everyone was speechless. Gods stood above all, how could mortals compare?
Chu Qiuzhe sighed and turned to the commoners, speaking gently, "In the eyes of us immortals, no work is beneath anyone. All beings are equal."
Then he looked up again. "You are a prince, likely of the royal family. These people are your subjects. When your people are starving, you can't humble yourself a little?"
If that were the case, then he had misjudged him. That fleeting moment of admiration must have been a mistake.
Though spoken casually, the words struck a chord. "All beings are equal" was the Buddha's teaching! Unintentionally, Chu Qiuzhe's identity as a god became even more solid in the hearts of the people.
The commoners were moved to tears.
Yes, they were starving. Although the emperor had sent relief grain, it was stolen by mountain bandits, and no further aid followed.
Many of them had lost family and friends to hunger.
After waiting so long, all they received was thin porridge made from coarse rice brought by this prince. It was enough to survive but not to be full.
Though they were grateful to the prince, food was still the most important thing.
"I'll go," Lan An said coldly, towering over Chu Qiuzhe. "Open the door."
"Please!"
Chu Qiuzhe coordinated mentally with Xiao En, then snapped his fingers dramatically.
In an instant, a square portal of light appeared on the courtyard wall behind him.
It was dreamlike and surreal.
The crowd gasped in shock and began whispering excitedly—was passing through that gate the path to becoming an immortal?
Lan An's pupils contracted. He knew that behind that wall was just an ordinary villager's backyard.
This was beyond his understanding. Could this man truly be a god?
No, impossible!
Chu Qiuzhe noticed Lan An's strange expression and turned to look. He was shocked himself, he hadn't expected the space-time gate to look so mystical.
Well, now his identity as a deity should be fully established! he thought smugly.
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