A goddess dwells in my heart.

Chapter 4 Naming the Goddess

Lu Zheji rummaged through his house and found a handful of loose silver and a few small silver notes.

Just as he was taking stock of his meager possessions, a clear and ethereal voice echoed in his mind:

"Are you preparing to flee?"

"How could that be? Am I the kind of person who lacks responsibility?"

Because of the blessing of "Swordsmanship on a Narrow Path," he was directly rendered useless in terms of magic. This meant that the great man had invested nine years to carefully cultivate the potential of the Holy Body of Magic, which was gone overnight.

When facing Huang Siye just now, he used the excuse that his soul had just recovered and still needed to be recuperated, and he was afraid that there would be a problem if he used magic. He managed to get away with it.

But this excuse won't last long. By then, not only will they be unable to avoid filling in the gaps, but they might also make more enemies if things aren't handled properly.

If they packed their valuables and fled, firstly, they would have to face both the pursuit of the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion and the wrath of that mysterious big shot; secondly…

As Lu Zheji tossed the last few pieces of silver into his money pouch, he explained to the goddess in his mind, "That big shot did me a favor after all. Although I, Lu Zheji, am not exactly a gentleman, I don't like to be ungrateful. Since she has lost a disciple with a holy body of magic cultivation, I'll give her back a martial arts genius; that will do."

He's not looking for money to run away, but to activate the "Demonize Your Heart" blessing. To quickly increase his combat power, he needs to devour a demon's heart, but in Chang'an, summoning a demon is no easy task.

Before his awakening, he had absolutely no connection with the elite families of Chang'an, and had no shady connections whatsoever.

Huang Siye's statement that he "maintained his integrity and did not indulge in the vices of a playboy" was actually a statement made with high emotional intelligence.

The reality is that he was too withdrawn and isolated by that circle.

His mental illness impaired his memory, causing him to be face-blind and voice-blind; he would even forget his classmates' names if he didn't mention them for a while. To avoid embarrassment and trouble, he simply isolated himself and almost never interacted with his classmates.

As a result, even after graduating from the academy, his classmates didn't even know he was the son of the Prince of Zhenbei; they just thought he was some strange person with a bit of background.

The only person he was familiar with was the physician at the academy who was in charge of treating his spiritual illness; after all, it was difficult for a patient and a doctor not to meet.

However, keeping demons is a capital offense in the Great Wei Dynasty, and it is practically useless in general social interactions.

Fortunately, Lu Zheji had deliberately left an Easter egg in order to bestow the blessing of "Demonizing Your Heart".

In the world of "The Record of the Goddess", the pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep raised by ordinary people can absorb a trace of spiritual energy. The only difference between them and the monsters in the secular world is that their cultivation has not yet reached the realm. Strictly speaking, they can be called zero-realm monsters.

He certainly couldn't get a blue whale, but getting a cow shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Lu Zheji weighed his money bag and found a total of ninety-odd taels of silver. As the son of a prince, his wealth was pitifully poor.

The imperial court provided him with a monthly allowance of twenty taels of silver as a hostage, and covered all his needs for food, clothing, lodging, and training resources at the academy.

This treatment was actually quite good, enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably in Chang'an. But as far as he could remember, the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion had never given him a single penny, not even a maid or servant to serve him; they truly didn't support him at all.

In previous scrapped designs, he had considered having players be randomly reincarnated, with initial stat allocation requiring a balance between family background, appearance, and innate talent. Now, thinking back, it's a good thing that this setting was scrapped; otherwise, such a royal identity, full of side effects, would take up too much space and be a huge loss.

Lu Zheji chuckled self-deprecatingly, got up to leave, and paused as he passed the half-person-high bronze mirror in the room.

The person in the mirror had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and a handsome face with a touch of sharpness. It was exactly how he looked before he transmigrated, only younger, with more vigorous and heroic spirit between his brows.

"Here comes the part that takes up even more space. It's a good thing this design was scrapped, otherwise it would have been completely useless."

He shook his head, tucked his money bag into his pocket, and strode out the door.

……

Chang'an City, East Market.

Lu Zheji found a restaurant that looked decent enough and stepped inside.

"Oh, young master, you're here!" The waiter, with his sharp eyes, immediately came forward and quickly wiped the table. "What would you like to eat? Our signature dishes are braised pork knuckle and steamed sea bass..."

Lu Zheji sat down and ordered a pot of tea. "No rush, I want to ask you something."

"Please speak."

"Do you know how one can buy a whole cow in Chang'an?"

The waiter's smile froze for a moment: "Young master, aren't you putting me in a difficult position? Slaughtering oxen without permission is a serious crime. Our restaurant is a legitimate business; we don't have that kind of connections."

He sized Lu Zheji up and down, his gaze lingering on the academy's blue robe for a moment before he suddenly understood: "Young master, you must be a son of an official who has just started studying at the academy, right? You're used to being a local tyrant in your own territory, but here in Chang'an, before the emperor, there are strict rules."

Lu Zheji quickly changed his tune: "I don't eat beef, I was just asking casually."

The guy chuckled and said, "I know, I know."

Just as Lu Zheji was about to get up and leave, he saw the waiter winking at him and immediately understood. He took out two taels of silver from his sleeve and stuffed it into the waiter's hand.

The waiter quickly took it, glanced around, pulled Lu Zheji to a corner, and stuffed another tael of silver into Lu Zheji's hand, lowering his voice even further:

"Young master, I cannot accept all the money. To be honest, I really don't know where to get a whole cow, but I can show you a way."

"explain."

"A few days ago, I personally witnessed a group of students from the academy having a meal here. They brought two fine ox legs and had the kitchen prepare them. It's clear that the ban on the private slaughter of oxen only applies to us common folk. Those nobles at the top have plenty of ways to circumvent it. Young master, you might want to ask your classmates about it; perhaps they'll find a way."

Lu Zheji understood perfectly; he guessed that some young master wanted to eat beef, and then the cow accidentally ran over and died.

He frowned and asked, "Since privately slaughtering oxen is a serious crime, it's one thing for the sons of officials to enjoy it privately, but why can they do it so openly? Aren't they afraid of giving their political enemies ammunition against them?"

The waiter pursed his lips and whispered, "Hey, young master, you don't know this, but those students were drinking and chatting the other day, and I overheard a bit. They said that this ban isn't actually that strict; as long as there's a plausible excuse, it'll be fine. They also said that this ban is an outdated thing from hundreds of years ago, and that it was only in effect back when the Great Wei Dynasty was in poor condition."

"Things are not like they used to be now. It's just that later emperors, for some reason, dared not touch upon the ancestral laws. Now that the Goddess Palace is in power, it seems that they have similar considerations and have not touched this old law either."

He sighed, "These days, if a commoner like me wants to eat a bite of beef, I'd probably have to wait for the Goddess to grant her wish. But the Goddess hasn't shown herself for over a hundred years; how could she possibly appear for such a trivial matter?"

Lu Zheji nodded, thanked him, and the shop assistant happily pocketed the silver and went back.

……

On the way back, it was almost dusk.

Lu Zheji walked along the increasingly deserted street, silently communicating with the resident in his mind's eye:

"People of this era seem to habitually refer to your successor as a goddess. Historical records only mention your surname as Qiao, without mentioning your given name. To avoid confusion, how about I give you a name?"

Silence reigned in her mind's eye. On the top floor of the Bronze Sparrow Terrace, the goddess, bound by chains, knelt with her eyes closed, as if she hadn't heard a thing.

Lu Zheji didn't seem to care and continued, "If you don't refuse, I'll take that as a yes. Let me think about it..."

Should he call her Da Qiao or Xiao Qiao? He subconsciously pictured the goddess's graceful figure wrapped in a platinum gown, especially the pose with her hands tied behind her back, which accentuated a certain curve of her body.

Hmm, Xiao Qiao is clearly not a good fit...