Chapter 197
Anyone familiar with Lu Chuan knew he wasn’t great at dealing with blunt questions—at least compared to the things he was good at.
Now, facing the tiny God of Desire, his heart was in turmoil.
Rationally, he knew this “small” god was probably unimaginably old, but how could he answer those innocent eyes with, “I just wanted to see if you’re good-looking”?
That would make him seem hopelessly shallow.
But if he lied, he risked being exposed—the one before him wasn’t human but a god, surely able to tell truth from falsehood.
After some thought, Lu Chuan carefully rearranged his words.
“I wanted to see what my desire looked like,” he said. “Everyone says that approaching the God of Desire may stir up one’s cravings, lead them away from divinity. I wanted to see if that’s true.”
“You didn’t speak the full truth,” the small god said, settling back on his perch, “but you didn’t lie either. Your desire is pure. Stay true to yourself.”
Though tiny, the God of Desire spoke with a natural, innate divinity.
Ah, so cute, Lu Chuan thought involuntarily.
Cang Jiu had said something similar before.
Though their forms differed, Lu Chuan recognized him at once—this was undeniably Cang Jiu.
Sometimes he wished for a camera, to capture such rare sights.
The little god darted a look at him, silent.
Camera? What was that?
All beings found the God of Desire beautiful—of course they did.
But the affection from this mysterious visitor made him strangely happy.
Were this one not himself a god, perhaps he’d already have invited him to serve as high priest.
Lu Chuan had no idea he’d just been seen through completely.
With just a thought, Lu Chuan somehow found himself seated right beside the God of Desire, his once formless body now appearing to have substance.
“I want to ask… in the eyes of the God of Desire, what do I look like?” Lu Chuan asked curiously.
He had wanted to ask this question for a long time.
When others looked at Cang Jiu, they always saw the image that best fit their own aesthetics and desires, which was why they were instinctively drawn to him.
So then—when Cang Jiu looked at others, did he see their outward appearance, or their inner desires?
This God of Desire had spent day after day, year after year, gazing upon the humans of Earth. What he saw—was it the same world humans themselves saw?
“You look like… a small stream.” The God of Desire gave Lu Chuan a calm glance and answered.
Huh?
That was unexpected.
“A stream? Why? Even if you told me I looked like a gold ingot in your eyes, I’d find that perfectly reasonable.” Lu Chuan was baffled.
What on earth did he have in common with a stream?
The God of Desire waved his hand lightly.
In an instant, the place where Lu Chuan stood turned into a valley encircled by mountains, blooming with flowers.
The fragrance of nature and vegetation rushed into his senses, making him realize that he had truly been transported instantly to another place.
This was way more convenient than Doraemon’s Anywhere Door. If only this could be used for business—he’d be rolling in money!
Countless schemes flashed through Lu Chuan’s mind in a heartbeat.
“Your desire is very pure, like a stream—clear and transparent,” the God of Desire said, lowering his gaze to the brook running beside them.
Only then did Lu Chuan notice he was standing at the edge of a stream.
“Beneath your desire are these pebbles.” The God of Desire picked up a smooth, beautiful pebble and placed it in Lu Chuan’s palm. “These stones represent the other things you cherish in your heart. They are hidden beneath your desires, yet they haven’t been swallowed by them.”
The God of Desire had witnessed countless human desires, but Lu Chuan was different.
Some people’s desires were like bottomless abysses—everything precious in their lives was consumed, leaving no trace.
Some people’s desires were like roadside puddles—anything could be tossed in, and after the sun dried it up, nothing would remain.
Lu Chuan looked at the pebble in his hand, and fleeting images passed through his mind—faces of old friends from part-time jobs, customers who had treated him kindly.
Hmm?
He set down the pebble and picked up another.
This time, his mind conjured the scene of his parents taking him to an amusement park long ago, even though their wallets had been stolen three times that day.
Memories he thought long forgotten resurfaced, awakened by each pebble he touched.
So this was the God of Desire’s ability—turning the desires in people’s hearts into entire worlds.
Looking again at the surrounding mountains, Lu Chuan suddenly noticed something was off.
The mountains… were all shaped like gold ingot.
The trees, the flowers, the very grass underfoot—they were all formed of gold, silver, jade, and jewels, only disguised so flawlessly that they seemed real.
This was a world born of Lu Chuan’s desires.
It reeked of wealth, yet wealth had not corrupted it.
On the contrary, his desires were controlled—balanced—just enough to form a beautiful world.
In the God of Desire’s eyes, this strange young god before him seemed not yet fully developed.
That stirred a sense of kinship, prompting him to speak first when Lu Chuan drifted near.
Still, this god seemed… a little scatterbrained.
Right now, Lu Chuan was obsessively picking up one pebble after another, almost addicted to the game.
“Ah, found it.” Suddenly, he lifted a dazzlingly colorful pebble, weighed it in his hand, and then placed it into the God of Desire’s palm.
“I didn’t expect to meet you this time.” Lu Chuan rubbed his nose awkwardly. “I have a feeling I’m about to leave, so take this pebble as a gift.”
When he had picked up that stone, the memory that surfaced was of Cang Jiu.
It was one of his most treasured pebbles, carefully hidden—so carefully that he had turned over several others before finding it.
“Next time, let’s meet outside,” Lu Chuan said, as his consciousness began to drift away.
Faintly, he thought he heard the voice of #888.
“Goodbye, God of Desire.”
“Goodbye, Cang Jiu.”
His figure scattered like mist on the wind.
And as he vanished, the pebble in the God of Desire’s hand disappeared as well.
This was a world formed from Lu Chuan’s desires—when the owner left, how could the world remain?
Still, the God of Desire looked at his empty palm, as if a very important pebble had truly been there.
Would he ever meet this unknown god again?
He looked around at his own familiar divine realm, and for the first time, it seemed strange.
Leaving here… going outside…
Could he see that unknown god again?
[Wuwuwu, Host, you really scared me to death.] #888 buzzed anxiously around Lu Chuan. [Please don’t just let your mind wander in front of the God of Desire. Your divinity is unstable as it is!]
Heaven knew how terrified #888 had been when Lu Chuan suddenly resonated with Cang Jiu.
How could something like this happen out of nowhere?
Resonance between gods only occurred when their domains overlapped. When it did, their consciousnesses could merge, even cross time and space itself.
If one of them harbored ill intent and tried to seize the other’s authority during the resonance, the result could be disastrous—both gods might never return.
That was why gods with overlapping domains usually avoided meeting each other altogether.
No god wanted his past exposed—or worse, tampered with—by a rival.
But Lu Chuan was a newborn god, unstable and inexperienced, while Cang Jiu was still in recovery. Neither fully understood the danger, and since no mishaps had happened before, they hadn’t worried about it.
When #888 noticed, it had tried to forcibly pull Lu Chuan back—but this guy’s mind was wandering in a thousand directions. No matter how hard it tugged, it couldn’t reel him in.
“Ahem, but see? I’m fine,” Lu Chuan said, looking around and realizing Cang Jiu was gone.
“Where’s Cang Jiu?”
[He woke up before you. To avoid affecting you further, he left right away. If he had stayed, who knows how long it would’ve taken for you to wake up?] #888 muttered. [Even though he’s still in recovery, his divinity is stronger than yours. Oh, and by the way, all your statues have finished being enchanted.]
Lu Chuan rubbed his nose.
“System, do you like streams?” he suddenly asked.
[What?] #888 froze, not understanding why the host would suddenly ask something like that.
“If I took a beautiful pebble from a stream and gave it to you, would you be happy?” Lu Chuan pressed.
[Host, I’m just a system.] #888 nearly broke down. Now it understood why AI could never replace humans—AI ran on logic, but humans… humans were utterly illogical.
Who could ever predict what they were thinking?
“Sigh.” Lu Chuan lay down on the ground with a helpless sigh, not even sparing a glance at the newly enchanted statues beside him. They couldn’t make him money yet—only once he sold them off would there be profits to grow.
“You don’t understand.” He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart flutter oddly.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a pure money-lover.”
[Aren’t you?]
“I am,” Lu Chuan emphasized. “No one loves money more than I do. My love for it surpasses even my love for life itself.”
[That’s why you’re the God of Wealth!]
“Money is my desire.” Lu Chuan slumped. “So maybe… I’m not as pure as someone once said.”
…Who was “someone”?
#888 felt like it was missing a lot of context.
It didn’t understand!
But regardless of what it understood, work still had to be done.
“Forget it, I’ll ask again after things settle down.” Lu Chuan rubbed his chin. “I’m quite likable, after all.”
#888 wondered if its host had some serious misconceptions about himself.
In the Star Guild, everyone respected Lu Chuan’s abilities. But as for the man himself… well, let’s just say the common verdict was: “great from afar, unbearable up close.”
As long as you didn’t get too close, he was someone people would raise onto a pedestal.
With the statues ready, Lu Chuan began his path of spreading faith.
The statues infused with the God of Desire’s power were carefully hidden inside giant watermelons or jackfruits.
No helping it, the statue was just too big.
There was no way he could hide it inside an apple.
After that, Lu Chuan once again took on Boss Jin’s appearance and went to meet the village chief of the Li family stronghold.
The chief looked as though he had aged more than ten years since they last met, but his vigor and spirit were far better than before.
Different flows of time could be a truly cruel thing sometimes.
By now, the Li family stronghold could no longer be called a “stronghold.”
It should be called the Li family city.
What a terrible pun, Lu Chuan couldn’t help but complain.
Ever since the village latched onto the golden skyscraper’s thigh, everyone in the village had been working together to grow fruit. They even classified the fruit into grades, so they could sell it at higher prices.
Things like renaming the fruit, inventing stories about the fruit, or even cultivating rare varieties that tasted bland but seemed high-class.
In short: only sell expensive, never sell what’s right.
And wouldn’t you know it, plenty of people bought into it.
The villagers of Li family village all struck it rich. Forget leaving the stronghold—now there were crowds of outsiders desperate to join them, only to be refused.
But you don’t forget the one who dug the well after you’ve drunk the water.
All these years, the chief had never forgotten Boss Jin. Unfortunately, Boss Jin seemed to have vanished, always impossible to find.
This had become a thorn in the chief’s heart.
Now, he lacked nothing. His sons and daughters were grown, had families of their own, and were thriving. The whole village revered him—he had led them to prosperity, so in the village his word was law.
At long last, heaven rewarded perseverance. After waiting so long, the chief finally got word.
Boss Jin was coming back to see him, and supposedly to discuss a huge cooperation!
When the chief heard the news, he was ecstatic. He even dyed his hair, put on his best clothes, hired people to clean his house until it gleamed, and almost called all his children back to help entertain the guest. In the end, Boss Jin asked to keep things low-key, so that was avoided.
“Brother Jin, rest easy. Isn’t it just sending out some fruit? No problem.” The chief pounded his chest with confidence. “So it’s just branding? I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t take a single cent from you—the profits from sales will all go to you. You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you…”
The chief never once asked what Lu Chuan intended to do with the fruit. By not asking, he didn’t have to worry about the interests behind it.
For him, simply repaying a debt of gratitude was enough.
The golden skyscraper had always given their stronghold face, always reserving professional shop space for them to sell fruit. Without Boss Jin’s connections, that would’ve been impossible.
In the chief’s eyes, Boss Jin was likely a close confidant of the skyscraper’s true boss. How else could he have been untraceable all these years? Surely some powerful figure had helped conceal his whereabouts.
Lu Chuan had no idea what the chief was thinking—or rather, even if he knew, he wouldn’t have cared.
He was no longer that small-time player of the past.
“Chief, I’d like to see that divine book the village had back then,” Lu Chuan suddenly remembered.
This village really did hold quite a few memories.
To Lu Chuan, only a few years had passed, yet thinking back now felt almost like another lifetime.
“Oh, yes, we have it.” The chief pulled Lu Chuan into the ancestral hall, handing over the book without hesitation. “Take it and read at your leisure. Return it whenever you finish. If you really like it, you can keep it. The gods no longer watch over us, and our village has no believers left.”
The village’s faith had long since faded, replaced by the improving quality of life.
The villagers were living well now—who would willingly return to the hardships of being a poor devotee? Even if one or two remained, they had no voice in the community.
And for reasons unknown, no gods had come to their village in a long time.
[Host, this is an A+ level artifact. It’s probably the best thing in this place.] #888 commented.
“Yeah, that should be right.” Lu Chuan thought for a moment. This village had mainly been used to unlock the Lord title back then, and in truth the difficulty wasn’t that high. If Cang Jiu hadn’t been the one to descend but another deity instead, Lu Chuan and Shen Li probably would’ve killed it together already.
[Huh?] #888 stuttered. [Host, this divine book seems a little off. Flip to the last page.]
Lu Chuan did.
The god’s entry on the last page suddenly changed.
[God of Desire]: One of the righteous gods, born from the desires of all living beings under heaven and earth, master of the Authority of Desire. The god has no fixed form, but reflects the hearts of mortals. Upon encountering, one must not stir desire, not give rise to greed, not harbor fear, and not become an enemy.
Ritual method: Unknown.
The rest was all “omitted.”
Lu Chuan: …
What the heck? Might as well not have written anything at all.
[It tried its best.] #888 sighed. [This should be a book capable of recording the aura of any deity that came to the village, providing rules so those who worshipped could prepare sacrifices according to divine preferences.]
Unfortunately, its power was too weak to record Cang Jiu’s strength.
As soon as Lu Chuan flipped past the last page, another one appeared from thin air.
[God of Wealth]: One of the righteous gods, born from the world’s fortune and qi, master of the Authority of Wealth. All beings of value may be assessed.
Ritual method: Offering money.
Taboo: Owing debts unpaid.
Lu Chuan: …
“Ahem. Well, this thing does have some skill after all.” He stowed the book into his system space. “It’s not of great use, but I can’t leave it lying here. If someone else found it, that’d be bad. Better take it.”
After bidding farewell to the chief, Lu Chuan went to see the Blood King.
When the Blood King saw him, he was shocked, because he realized Lu Chuan’s physical stats had reached the level of a god. Excited, he almost wanted to fight him right there.
Lu Chuan politely refused, instead asking the Blood King to have his men deliver the fruit. He even handed the biggest statue directly to the Blood King.
This statue wasn’t hidden inside fruit at all.
The Blood King’s eyes were quickly drawn to the aura radiating from it.
His battle lust surged wildly.
Soon, though, he forced his desire back under control.
“A fine item. This bears the aura of the [God of Desire]. That one was targeted by the Main God System for ages, and yet you still managed to get something connected to Him?” The Blood King chuckled. “If it’s something like this, then I’ll join your little cooperation.”
Anything tied to the [God of Desire] was bound to draw strong enemies.
“Not only that,” Lu Chuan smiled, “this statue is also the same [God of Wealth] idol that’s been causing such a stir lately. If you carry this with you, Executors and master-ranked players alike will come after you in droves.”
“Oh?” The Blood King’s interest piqued. “And you’re giving this statue to me?”
“Of course.” Lu Chuan’s words slithered like a demon’s whisper. “Once you bind with it, it’s yours. As soon as you become a [God of Wealth] believer, you can strike whomever you want. And if one day you grow tired of it, you can always leave. Ending the faith costs a lot of gold, but you’re hardly lacking in that. For you, this is the most suitable choice.”
Lu Chuan wasn’t lying.
The Blood King’s palace was dripping with gold—Lu Chuan had practically drooled when he first saw it.
Gold like that was child’s play for him.
Tempting the Blood King into his faith system had been carefully considered.
No helping it—his early believers had all been dirt-poor nobodies. He needed one heavy hitter to hold up the façade.
And the Blood King was a perfect candidate.
He had his own power, he could fight, and he was loaded.
What god wouldn’t be thrilled with a believer like that?
“So you’re a [God of Wealth] follower.” The Blood King narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been scheming this for a while, haven’t you?”
“I just understand what you want, that’s all.” Lu Chuan shrugged. “For the God of Wealth, anything with value is wealth. Your greatest value is your combat strength. Letting you put it to use—what’s wrong with that?”
For this reason, Lu Chuan had even prepared the largest statue, infused with both his and Cang Jiu’s divine power. Even the Blood King would feel a little dazed by it.
“Fine.” After a moment’s thought, the Blood King agreed. “I’ve got plenty of gold anyway—trying it won’t hurt.”
Lu Chuan grinned broadly.
Perfect.
The Blood King’s wealth is mine now too.
![[ABO] The Little Mute Had His Thoughts Heard by the Villain’s Whole Family](https://i2.wp.com/panda-translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/images-2.jpeg?resize=151,215 "[ABO] The Little Mute Had His Thoughts Heard by the Villain’s Whole Family")
