Rays of a lantern's light shone on Xin Feng's face. It woke him up from his peaceful sleep, as it got rid of the darkness made by his eyelids. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in the very same place that he would never forget in his lifetime. The same amount of sunlight, the color of the grass, and lastly, the smell of barbeque.
'Was that all part of a trial?' He asked himself, as he realized that the situation seemed similar to the first trial. Great torture, the hope of returning home, and more torture. Xin Feng sighed, knowing that he was set up for a load of physical and mental pain once more.
*Cough* *Cough*
A voice that was very familiar to Xin Feng, sounded. He didn't notice it before, but the goddess lay on the ground as well, bleeding. Seeing her with injuries in front of his feet, was not what he hadexpected.
'Is this al real?!' He thought in bewilderment, before he leaned in closer to the goddess, to check on her injuries.
*Cough* The goddess spat out more blood.
"He's coming..." She muttered, before she continued. "That damned demon will let his children take over my entire domain."
Xin Feng was shocked from her statement, and asked in concern. "He won…?
"Yes... And he's coming here to take over my domain, completely. My domain will have no authority when I'm death, which is why every living being under my domain is doomed"
"Here... Take this." The goddess summoned a transparent vial on her hand, which contained a transparent liquid. "It's my body's last divine liquid. A sniff should heal any injuries, and if things come to worst, drink it all." She continued to explain to him, as she placed the vial on his hand, and wrapped her arms around it. The vial glowed brightly for a few seconds, before it disappeared from their hands.
"Where did it go?" Xin Feng asked, when he couldn't feel the vial anymore.
"It's bound to your soul. Only you are able to use it, and just like the inventory option you had, you can make it appear at will." The goddess uttered with her last strength, before her head fell on Xin Feng's hand. She was longer alive, which was apparent by the fact that she wasn't breathing anymore, and the set of yellow particles escaping her body and fading away with the air.
'Looks like she has left her avatar, before disappearing into oblivion. A tragic ending, which will also affect me. I still hate her though. If it wasn't for her, I would've at least died with ignorance.'
*Sigh* 'Now I have responsibilities to bear, knowing that I have the option and the capabilities to keep my family safe. Wait, do I have the capabilities…? Right, I don't them any longer." Xin Feng felt miserable as he realized that Balance wasn't with him anymore and he didn't have his supernatural strength. He let the vial with the goddess's last divine power appear within his hand, as he thought. 'This should give me a few more years to live to find a solution. There should be a key to solve this upcoming calamity…'
'I don't want to die yet, especially when I just got home.' Xin Feng clenched his hand onto the vile, determined to make the best out of what the goddess had given him. The goddess had already fell from his hands, and was lying on the ground in cold blood. Suddenly, within a five-meter radius of Xin Feng, it seemed as if glass ruptured. It was an illusion, that Xin Feng hadn't noticed until now. It broke, and the people that weren't around him, were visible as they were supposed to be. The situation inside the area that used to be covered with the temporary illusion, had gotten visible to the surrounding people as well. The two people that they didn't notice before, was suddenly seen by them, as they finally noticed that one of them was bleeding.
"Somebody, call an Uber!" A young woman that wasn't too far from them, yelled out loud to try to salvage the bleeding woman.
"It's useless! She's already dead…" Xin Feng replied to the young woman, before he stayed silent, in wait for the police. He didn't want to leave the scene and head home immediately, as that would cause more problems and waste more time of his that he needs to reunite with his family.
After two hours, the police finally came to check on the scene. They asked Xin Feng some questions, which he replied by saying that he ate some weird food of hers and found her like this when he woke up after falling unconscious. An officer brought him to the hospital, to validate his claims, and after a few hours in the hospital, a doctor did confirm that Xin Feng experienced some type of food poisoning. With the evidence of the doctor, Xin Feng was no longer a main suspect, and was set free from their surveillance without the need to pay for a body checkup.
Before Xin Feng had transmigrated, he hadn't visited his parents for a week. After he had transmigrated, he had experienced a life without them and a few of his friends for more than two years. He was a dedicated author, which was why he wasn't too outgoing, and had only few friends. Out of the hospital, he let his car drive to him, and when it had arrived, he went in the direction where his parents stayed, to pay a visit to them. They had a higher chance of dying earlier than his friends, which was why his priority was to visit them first. They were his parents after all, who took great care of him, and took time to prepare him for the harsh society.
*Ding* The sound of a doorbell and not a system, ringed.
"Jessica! Can you check who's at the door?" The voice of an elderly woman was heard.
"Sheesh! Who even comes at this time?! Why can't things be like four years ago, when people couldn't go out so easily!" Aggressive footsteps could be heard from someone who was descending the stairs.
…
"Steven?" Her annoyed expression turned into one of confusion, the moment she saw her brother. "Aren't you supposed to be on a date or something?!" Her annoyed expression appeared once more before he could say hi.
"What?" She didn't even give Xin Feng a chance to speak, as she continued. "Did things not go well, so you decide to look for mama's support? Why can't you just stay single like me and let mom and dad take care of you? Tch! Dumb brother."
"Yeah, yeah. Your brother sure is an idiot." He patted his little sister's head who was only four years younger than him. "You know, I almost forgot that I had a sibling…"
"Anyway, my date went very well if you were wondering… So don't you worry, little Jessy. I won't be turning into a lonely old hag who lives from their parents fortune in the future, just like you~" He teased his little sister, as he squeezed her cheeks. After he squeezed her cheeks until they were red enough, he walked towards the living room, to greet his parents, who were watching the television.
"Ah… Little hamster, what brings you here today?" Xin Feng's mother asked.
"Nothing much. I just missed you all after drowning myself in my book."
"Oh my! Jessy, let's go and bake some cookies from the dough we had left."
"How many chapters did you even write to confuse them with reality?" Xin Feng's mother held his shoulder with a mother's concern, before she reassured him, "Don't worry though. As the saying goes. A snack a day keeps the fatigue away."
"Those are some wise words from your mama, you know. Look at where that brought me." Xin Feng's father heartily laughed, as he slapped his round belly. "Come, sit with me and let's watch this new movie while we wait for them to finish baking"
…
One and a half hours passed by, and the cookies and movie were finished. Xin Feng movie was quite satisfied with the movie, and couldn't believe that a classic movie about cars had turned into one with a secret galactic-operations that had spaceships made faster by the main characters. The four of them spend the night cheerfully with cookies and hot cocoa, and when it was past twelve, they decided to end their small family gathering. On their way to their room, he followed his parents to their room, to wish them a good night. He then went in the direction of his sister's room to tell her about the calamity that would happen. They were good buds after all, who didn't keep secrets from each other.
"Yooo! Why do you keep forgetting to knock the damn door?!" Jessica covered herself with a blanket, before Xin Feng had fully opened the door. Xin Feng knew the rule of privacy, which was why he opened the door slowly, instead of hastily.
"I got something important to talk with you about. Can I come in? He asked, as he walked towards her.