"I pull transmigrators to the Beast World. Give them a little push. A little guidance." She twirled. "And they teach my people! They show them that they’re MORE than just beasts! That they can BUILD! Can CREATE! Can beco a TRUE civilization!"
The whiteness shifted again.
Showing images of Lin Zhiying and Wang Xianmo arriving in the Beast World.
Showing them teaching the wolves.
Building structures. Creating tools. Establishing order.
"They were my FIRST real success," Mán Shū said proudly. "I guided them to Sha Chen’s tribe because I knew the wolves had discipline. Structure. The capacity to LEARN and IMPLENT."
"Hmmm. Yes I know them. But they failed?" Xin Yi rembered what Mán Shū had said earlier.
"Not.....failed exactly." Mán Shū’s expression was complicated. "They taught the wolves SO MUCH! But they died before they could spread that knowledge to OTHER tribes. Before the true TEST."
"Test? What test?"
Mán Shū floated closer to Xin Yi, her golden eyes intense.
"Whether civilization can take root in CHAOS. In passion. In wildness."
"The Panthers," Xin Yi breathed. "The Tigers. The Snakes....all of them?"
"YES!" Mán Shū clapped. "See? You understand! The wolves were EASY. They are naturally organized. But can the sa growth happen with chaotic tribes? With passionate, emotional, WILD peoples?"
She circled Xin Yi excitedly.
"That is exactly why I brought YOU here! You’re PERFECT! You’re clever! Resourceful! And you’ve already started teaching them! Cooking! Building! CONSENT!" She giggled. "You’re doing AMAZING, Xin Yi! I couldn’t be any prouder!"
"But wait?! I didn’t ASK for this! I was taking a dump and found myself here!" Xin Yi protested. "I was just trying to—"
"I know, I know!" Mán Shū waved her hand. "But that’s what makes it WORK! If you KNEW you were on so divine mission, you would be weird about it! This way, you just.....do what cos naturally!"
"And the System?"
"MY CREATION!" Mán Shū bead. "Well, one of them. I made several! To guide transmigrators! Give them quests! Keep them on track!" She spun. "Pretty clever, right?"
"The System is PART of you?!" Xin Yi stared at the tiny goddess.
"Sort of! It’s like.....an extension of my will! With its own personality!" Mán Shū giggled. "I made it sassy on purpose! Makes the journey more fun!"
"This is insane," Xin Yi muttered.
"It’s DIVINE INTERVENTION!" Mán Shū corrected. "There’s a difference!"
"So that’s why you’re here," Mán Shū said, her voice softening. "Not to suffer. Not as punishnt. But as a TEACHER. A guide. To show the Beast World that they can be MORE."
She floated directly in front of Xin Yi’s face.
"To prove to my arrogant, pompous, STUPID brother that my creation was NEVER redundant. That the Beastn can stand EQUAL to humanity. That they can build their own libraries, their own art, their own CIVILIZATION."
Her eyes blazed with determination.
"And YOU, Xin Yi, are going to help do it."
Silence.
Xin Yi processed everything.
The divine drama. The fallen goddess. The grand plan.
Then.....
"Why didn’t you just PUT the knowledge in their minds?"
Mán Shū blinked.
"What?"
"Why go through all this trouble?" Xin Yi gestured around. "Why not just... I don’t know... plant the information directly in their brains? Why drag people from other worlds? Why make it SO complicated?"
Silence.
Complete, utter silence.
Crickets literally started chirping sowhere in the whiteness.
"I..." Mán Shū’s voice was small. "I..."
"You didn’t think of that, did you?"
"NO!" The goddess’s face went red. "I an—I DID think of it! But—but that’s not the POINT! The point is—"
"You wanted to get back at your brother," Xin Yi said flatly.
"...Maybe."
"You dragged out of my life because of a DIVINE SIBLING RIVALRY?!"
"It’s NOT—okay it’s PARTIALLY that!" Mán Shū flew in agitated circles. "But also it’s about the JOURNEY! The GROWTH! The genuine connections ford through struggle and—"
"You are just petty."
"I AM NOT PETTY!"
"You’re a petty goddess."
"I AM A DIVINE BEING OF IMNSE POWER WHO—" Mán Shū stopped. Crossed her tiny arms. Pouted. "Okay MAYBE I’m a little petty."
"A little?!"
"But can you BLA ?!" She threw her tiny hands up. "My brother called my life’s work REDUNDANT! He erased from history! He—"
"So you tore out of MY life to prove a point?"
"YES! Wait—no—I an—" Mán Shū groaned. "You’re SUPPOSED to be awed! Grateful! Honored to serve a divine purpose!"
"I’m ANNOYED!" Xin Yi tried to grab the tiny goddess. "You could have ASKED!"
"Mortals never say yes when you ASK!"
"So you KIDNAP them?!"
"It’s not kidnapping if it’s for a good cause!"
"YES IT IS!"
They were fighting now. Xin Yi swatting at the tiny goddess, who dodged easily while giggling.
"I SAID I’M SORRY!"
"No you didn’t!"
"Well I’M SAYING IT NOW!"
"That doesn’t COUNT!"
"I am a GODDESS!" Mán Shū puffed up indignantly. "I don’t HAVE to apologize!"
"Then I don’t HAVE to help you!"
"You—wait—you CAN’T just—that’s not how this WORKS!"
"Watch !"
They stared at each other.
Xin Yi panting. Angry. Frustrated.
Mán Shū pouting. Arms crossed. Floating upside down.
Then...
They both started laughing.
"You are TERRIBLE at being a goddess," Xin Yi said between giggles.
"And YOU ARE terrible at being respectful!" Mán Shū shot back.
"Fair."
They floated there for a mont before the goddess cleared her throat.
"So," Mán Shū said, her voice softer now. "Will you help? For real?"
Xin Yi sighed. "Do I have a choice?"
"Not really!" Mán Shū bead. "But I promise it’ll be worth it! You’ll change a world! Build sothing AMAZING! And maybe, just maybe....." Her smile turned mischievous. "You’ll find sothing here you never had in your old life."
"Like what?"
"PURPOSE!" Mán Shū twirled. "ADVENTURE! ROMANCE! Multiple hot n fighting over you! It’s already happening to you!"
"That last one is NOT a selling point!"
"Agree to disagree!" The goddess winked. "Now go! You have a world to civilize! Beastn to educate! A snake king to reunite with!"
"Wait—I have MORE questions—"
"TOO BAD! Ti’s up! BYEEE!"
Mán Shū snapped her fingers.
And everything went white.
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