Chapter Twenty-Seven: The God of Desire?

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“There’s a smell of blood,” she said in a lowered voice, sweeping her gaze across the living room.

There was nothing unusual about it—just an ordinary layout.

Yu Yue immediately tensed, covering her mouth with both hands to keep from making a sound.

“Bedroom.” Li Luyan moved forward as silently as a cat, though the short blade was already drawn.

The instant she opened the bedroom door, the stench of blood rushed into her face.

Before she could make out the scene before her, everything blurred. A tearing sensation accompanied the distortion of space.

It was a mental sensation, as though something were ripping her soul apart piece by piece.

Li Luyan’s pupils contracted sharply. The scene before her shattered into fragments like a broken mirror.

A violent dizziness seized her, as though she had been dragged into an invisible whirlpool.

In that instant, she felt the temperature around her plummet.

She raised a hand and caught a snowflake drifting down from the air.

Was this a domain?

She narrowed her eyes. After all, she was wearing nothing but a thin nightdress. Was this monster trying to freeze her to death?

Li Luyan’s breath crystallized into white frost in the cold air, and her face already felt numb.

The low temperature had even begun to numb her fingertips.

She spun around, only to find no one behind her.

The bedroom door had vanished, replaced by an endless snowy wasteland.

The blizzard tore at her nightdress, the fabric snapping in the wind and producing an unpleasant rustling.

Yet, strangely, a small wooden cabin stood on this boundless ice field.

It seemed to beckon Li Luyan inside without pause. In truth, her sixth sense was telling her that the cabin was dangerous.

But if she did not go inside, the end result would be freezing to death.

Go in, and she would die.

Stay out, and she would die.

She drew a deep breath. The icy air rushed eagerly into her lungs, yet that very coldness cleared her thoughts for a brief moment.

“Playing tricks…” she murmured, her voice torn apart by the wind and snow.

Suddenly, the cabin door creaked open.

The interior was pitch-black, like a bottomless pit inviting Li Luyan to enter.

She had barely stepped one foot inside when something behind her shoved her forward. Her entire body then plunged into the cabin.

As the small wooden door swung shut, the whole cabin brightened.

The interior was far larger than it appeared from outside—at least three times larger.

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In the center of the cabin stood a chair that was utterly out of place. It was golden and ostentatious, as though its backrest had been carved with the words, “I am wealthy.”

Golden light shimmered across its entire surface, creating a stark contrast with the shabby, gray wooden cabin.

She twitched the corner of her mouth. “What kind of new domain is this?”

The cabin was not much warmer than the outside, but at least it kept out the wind and snow. Still, unless she did something to break the domain, there was only one possible outcome.

Freezing to death.

“If you have the nerve, come out and fight me fair and square.”

Clearly, neither a person nor any other creature had any intention of answering her.

She approached the conspicuous chair, running her fingertips over the patterns carved into its backrest.

But in the next instant, she felt something explode inside her mind.

“Sit down…”

The voice sounded human, yet not human, as though it were whispering directly beside her ear.

She whipped around. Apart from the mottled walls, there was nothing there.

“Sit down…”

“Sit down, and you won’t be cold.”

This time, the voice was even more forceful, as though someone had turned the volume on a pair of headphones all the way up.

Her head spun.

Something had seized control of her and was pushing her toward the chair.

“…No.” She bit down viciously on the tip of her tongue, and the taste of blood instantly filled her mouth.

The clarity returned for half a second before the dizziness began to creep back in.

Was she really going to be forced down onto the chair in this absurd situation?

She hated being forced into anything.

“There’s a third option.” The corners of her mouth suddenly lifted into a stiff smile.

She forcibly controlled her left leg and kicked the golden chair leg with all her strength.

The chair toppled to the floor, and the sensation of restraint vanished with it.

The chair let out a shriek unlike any human voice. “Ah! You big bully!”

Its voice sounded somewhat like electronic speech from a robot.

When Li Luyan ignored it, the little chair actually began to move, righting itself entirely on its own.

“You big bully!” Its voice even carried a trace of grievance.

Li Luyan narrowed her eyes and spun the short blade once in her palm. “A talking chair?”

The golden chair hopped backward twice, as if afraid she might kick it again. Its legs tapped against the floor with a series of sharp knocks.

“Y-you stay back!”

Imagine a chair performing a melodramatic scene about a virtuous woman being forcibly assaulted right in front of you.

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Li Luyan gave a cold snort. “You dragged me into this godforsaken place, and now you’re telling me not to come closer?”

She stepped forward and pinned the chair beneath her foot. “解除 this domain, or I’ll dismantle you and burn you for firewood.”

“Waaah—” The chair actually began to sob. “You’re bullying me! Why can’t I bewitch you?”

?

“Are you even human? I’m bullying you.”

“Th-then you’re bullying a chair.” The little chair seemed somewhat dejected, its voice dropping several degrees. Clearly, it did not possess vocal cords.

“Why aren’t you affected by me?!”

She gripped the backrest and lifted the chair into the air. “What exactly are you?”

The golden chair swung wildly, all four legs suddenly flailing like a puppy’s paws.

“Put me down! You barbarian!”

“Answer my question.” Li Luyan scraped the back of her blade across the chair’s backrest.

“I-I am the Chosen One of the God of Desire!” The chair suddenly straightened its backrest, its voice filled with pride. “I am responsible for selecting those qualified to sit upon the throne!”

The little chair’s voice suddenly wilted. “Although His Divine Majesty is still asleep…”

Li Luyan let out a scoff. “You? You select people with blizzards and illusions?”

“It’s a trial!” the chair cried, rocking excitedly. “Only those with the strongest wills can pass the selection.”

Its tone was brimming with undisguised pride.

Its words came to an abrupt halt as Li Luyan’s blade struck the backrest, leaving a deep gash.

“Ah! My finish!” the chair shrieked. “You violent maniac! Big bully! Barbarian! Lunatic!”

“解除 this domain.” Li Luyan’s voice was as cold as ice. “Otherwise, my next strike will be your leg.”

The chair fell silent at once, its four legs trembling faintly. After several seconds, it muttered in a small voice, “…Why are you being so fierce? Fine, I’ll解除 it.”

“Wait, that’s not right!” The chair suddenly raised its voice.

Under Li Luyan’s gaze, it continued, “You didn’t fall for my trap. I now proclaim you the God of Desire’s—”

Before it could finish, it wilted again. Its four legs trembled slightly, as though cowed by some invisible force.

Its previously noisy voice became stammering and incoherent.

“Wh-why… why do you have His aura on you?!”

Li Luyan frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The chair thrashed wildly, as if it had been scalded.

“No… impossible! His authority was divided among the other High Gods. How could you possibly—”