The sound of boots squelching through mud echoed through the silent forest.
The moment Yue Rin stepped into the swamp, her guard rose. The air here felt damp and heavy, and the ground seemed determined to swallow her whole. More importantly… she did not want to run into that giant toad again. Not even a glimpse of warty skin or a distant croak.
She moved carefully, weaving around dark pools and waterlogged patches that looked shallow until you noticed how still they were. Each time her sole sank, cold mud oozed up around the edges like greedy fingers. It slowed her down far more than usual, and the irritation built with every step.
Reach the shrine first, she told herself. Get my bearings. Pick a direction. Leave before night falls.
As her boots got stuck again, Yue Rin had to grit her teeth and yank them free with a small burst of strength. The suction made a wet pop, and she nearly pitched forward.
"Annoying," she muttered.
The swamp forest wasn't like the woods she came from. Here, the trees grew with twisted roots that arched above the mud like ribs, and drooping moss hung from branches in limp curtains. The air smelled of rot and stagnant water, and the deeper she went, the quieter it became.
Too quiet.
No insects. No birds. Even the wind seemed reluctant to pass through.
Every so often she spotted drag marks across the mud, wide, shallow streaks as if something heavy had been pulled through the swamp. She avoided those without thinking twice.
Nope. Not my business. Not my problem.
After what felt like far too long, the trees thinned just enough for a shape to appear through the haze ahead.
The shrine.
What stood in front of her was a truly pitiful structure, stone walls mottled with moss, a roof half-caved in, and an entrance that looked like it had been chewed on by time itself. One door hung off its hinges at an angle, creaking gently when the breeze brushed it. The other door was simply gone.
Yue Rin stared at it for a moment and honestly wondered how it hadn't fully collapsed yet.
She glanced around, scanning for any sign of the spirit beast she dreaded.
Nothing.
No croak. No ripple in the water. No heavy presence.
Yue Rin didn't know enough about it to judge its habits, so she just decided she was lucky and didn't question it too much.
Standing in front of the shrine stirred a flash of memory, mud splashing, breath burning, her legs moving on instinct. She'd fled the toad by running the way that crooked, half-hanging door pointed.
So to her right.
She was about to head that way when another thought slipped in.
Since that spirit beast isn't here… maybe I can check inside.
Just in case.
She doubted there was anything valuable left, but curiosity was a stubborn disease. And honestly, she could use shelter for a few breaths.
Yue Rin stepped through the ruined entrance.
The Inside was somehow worse.
The floor was uneven, with cracked stone slabs that had shifted and sunk. Puddles gathered in the lowest places, reflecting a broken ceiling where roots had started to creep through like long fingers. Rotted wood, shattered bowls, bits of wax, lay scattered in corners, half-buried under damp debris. The air smelled of mold and old smoke.
At the far end stood a statue.
A woman with six wings carved behind her like a halo of feathers, and a pale ribbon wrapped over her eyes. Her hands were raised in a poised, solemn gesture, as if caught mid-prayer. The craftsmanship was fine enough that even the folds of her sleeves looked soft.
And unlike everything else in the shrine, the statue gleamed.
Not a scratch. Not a chip. Not even a stain.
It looked… protected. Untouchable. Like the filth around it didn't dare cling to it.
That surprised Yue Rin, but only a little.
"This is kind of cliché," tilting her head as she spoke.
For a heartbeat she squinted at the wings and the blindfold and the prayer posture, and an odd thought surfaced.
An angel, huh?
In a cultivation world?
Maybe it wasn't an angel. Maybe it was just some ancient 'celestial maiden' depiction. Or maybe the people who built this shrine had strange tastes.
In any case, it didn't have much to do with her.
She wasn't sure if gods truly existed in this world, or if 'gods' were just powerful cultivators. Either way, standing around contemplating it was a waste of daylight.
Yue Rin began searching.
She checked the corners, the broken shelves along the wall, the remains of a side chamber. She even lifted loose stones and prodded at gaps with her fingers.
Nothing.
The place had been ransacked clean. If it had ever held valuables, they were long gone.
After searching every nook and cranny, she let out a breath and accepted defeat.
"Alright. Fine."
Before leaving, though, she paused. A little curiosity still itched at her.
Yue Rin walked up to the statue and slowly pressed her palm against the cool stone.
…Nothing.
She tried again, pushing a thin thread of Qi into it, the way people did in novels to 'activate' hidden mechanisms.
Still nothing.
"Wasn't this the moment the statue reacts, grants me powers, and I make a contract with a mysterious deity or something?" Yue Rin sighed, pulling her hand back. "Seems I'm out of luck."
Destroying it to see if anything was hidden inside crossed her mind for half a breath, then died immediately. The fact that the statue was perfectly untouched while everything else rotted around it answered what would happen if she tried.
Either it's protected by a formation… or it's an artifact… or it'll just curse me on the spot.
No thanks.
Yue Rin turned toward the exit.
Then stopped.
"Wait. I'll try one last thing."
She walked back, stood in front of the statue, and mimicked its posture. She closed her eyes and, with the confidence of someone who had read far too many novels, began reciting a simple prayer she'd read.
"May the unseen witness my sincerity.
May misfortune avoid my steps.
May fortune find my hands, and spirit stones fill my pouch.
Let my road be smooth, and my days be long."
As the last words left her lips, Yue Rin suddenly felt something shift inside her, like a thin, weightless thread being drawn. Not ripped out. Not torn. More like… offered.
Her eyes snapped open and she took a step back in alarm.
Sweeping her awareness through her body, showed that nothing felt damaged or missing.
She breathed out a slow sigh of relief.
"…Was that what they call faith?"
In the novels she used to read, some beings operated on 'faith' instead of Qi. But since coming to this world, she hadn't heard anyone mention it. Not once.
"Then does that mean deities actually exist here? and there are ways to grow stronger beyond cultivation?" Yue Rin was suddenly fascinated, and the thought made her pulse quicken.
But then she stared at the statue again, confused.
"So… did I pray to you? or the one you're praying to?"
She snorted. "And would either of you actually make me rich?"
The statue, of course, did not answer.
Yue Rin stared at it, unimpressed.
"Stingy god, don't you know I'm a transmigrator? Even if I'm not the only one, my soul should still be rarer than normal ones, right? My faith should be valuable!"
She complained, voice low but sharp.
The moment the last word left her mouth, Yue Rin felt it.
A pressure.
Not heavy enough to crush her, not strong enough to make her knees buckle… but unmistakable.
She suddenly felt like the statue was looking at her.
Yue Rin froze, her mouth going dry.
…No way. Is it really that petty?
Yue Rin didn't dare hesitate and dropped to her knees so fast they splashed muddy water onto her hem. She bowed her head and knocked her forehead to the floor.
"This junior's tongue was reckless, I spoke without respect. If I have offended a senior or a revered presence, please forgive this junior's ignorance."
Due her face being pressed aganist the stone, her voice came out muffled.
She stayed like that.
Not moving. Not breathing too loudly.
Waiting.
Where was her pride?
Currently hiding in the deepest corner of her mind, wrapped in a blanket, pretending it didn't know her.
After a long moment, the pressure eased.
The feeling of being watched… faded.
Yue Rin raised her head carefully and looked at the statue. It was the same as before, silent, gleaming, serene.
She let out a slow breath of relief.
But inside her mind, she couldn't help complaining anyway.
Do you have so much free time that you sit around listening for people to mock you?
Yue Rin didn't know what that presence was. A god, a remnant, a formation, or something else entirely. But even if it turned out later to be a weakling, she still wouldn't blame herself for kowtowing.
She chose the safer option.
After getting up, Yue Rin didn't waste any more time. She hurried out of the shrine, not wanting to invite further trouble.
She couldn't help cursing her fate as she went.
Protagonists always got opportunities from moments like this. And even when she felt that presence and kowtowed, part of her had gotten excited.
Doesn't that mean it noticed me?
Doesn't that mean I'm special enough to be looked at?
But it left nothing. No gift. No blessing. No glowing treasure falling into her lap.
If anything, it just felt… petty.
Outside, the forest had begun to darken, shadows stretching longer between the trees. Yue Rin immediately headed in the direction the broken door is pointing at.
She moved quickly, unaware that a single white feather had drifted down from somewhere and slipped through a small gap beneath the flap of her backpack.
Just then, she heard a voice from another direction.
A voice she thought was familiar.
"You disgusting monster, let go of me!"
Yue Rin didn't even turn her head.
She'd learned her lesson last time.
But as she kept walking, the voice cracked, turning into something shakier.
"Someone… someone please help me!"
It sounded like they were about to cry.
Yue Rin slowed despite herself, teeth grinding.
Do you really have to be that pathetic? Just crush your token if you're in too much trouble.
She kept walking for three more steps.
Then stopped.
Her expression tightened like she'd bitten something sour.
"…Tch."
Yue Rin turned toward the sound.
Not because she was suddenly a good person.
For all she knew, it could be a trap.
But she also knew herself.
If she truly walked away and someone died screaming, she wouldn't sleep well.
Yes.
That was the only reason.
She wanted to sleep well.
Nothing else.