After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 524 An unexpected gain

After the two left, Shen Xu looked at the empty main hall.

Based on the fact that the Hundred Flowers Festival is held every ten years, there won't be too many Flower Maidens in the temple.

After all, only those at the Yuan Dan realm can extend their lifespan, and women with the talent to cultivate to the Yuan Dan realm are unlikely to become the Daughters of a Hundred Flowers. Joining the Hundred Flowers Alliance as a high-ranking member or entering other sects would be their best choice.

But he could sense that the energy within the temple was exceptionally pure. To carve out such an oasis in such a deadly place, perhaps the goddess possessed the power to prolong the life of the Flower Maiden.

Thinking of this, Shen Xu couldn't help but walk closer to the statue in the center of the hall. When he got close enough, he looked up at the goddess's compassionate face.

He was the only one in the hall at the moment, so he didn't have to worry about anyone accusing him of blaspheming the goddess.

"I took it upon myself to bring Qu Lan here, and I hope you won't be offended. To be honest, I didn't want her to come either, but she insisted on coming, and I couldn't persuade her otherwise, so I had no choice but to bring her here."

But I can assure you that I will ensure her safe departure from Hundred Flowers City.

Suddenly, a little girl carrying white flowers ran excitedly into the temple.

But when she saw Shen Xu, she was stunned. She slipped and fell to the ground.

Shen Xu picked up the scattered flowers at his feet and slowly walked to the girl's side.

Just as I was about to help the girl up, I saw her teary eyes and slightly trembling body, so I decided to place the flowers in front of her instead.

"The people here say I'm a guest of the goddess," Shen Xu said, trying to make his voice sound friendly.

"Really? But I've never seen anyone as strange as you before." The little girl sat up and asked, somewhat frightened.

"Am I such a strange person?"

Shen Xu touched his face. Although he couldn't be called exceptionally handsome, he was definitely not ugly.

However, he quickly figured out the reason. Perhaps this girl had lived in the temple since she was a child and had only seen women, so she would find him, a man, very strange.

But another idea immediately popped into his mind.

“I’m from outside, so it’s a bit strange.”

"Outside!" The little girl's eyes immediately lit up.

"Do you know what's outside?" the little girl asked eagerly.

"Of course, but you need to answer one question for me first. Can you tell me how old you are?" Shen Xu said with a smile.

Suddenly, he had a strange sense of déjà vu; he felt like a weird uncle trying to trick a little girl.

"Xiao Feng will be ten years old tomorrow!"

"Ten years old!" Shen Xu's heart skipped a beat.

The Flower Maiden of the Floating Life Pavilion was pregnant ten years ago during the Hundred Flowers Festival. If she had given birth to the child, she would be about the same age as the child in front of us now.

But the dates don't seem to match up; it's clearly impossible for the Flower Maiden to have given birth to Xiao Feng on the day of the Hundred Flowers Festival.

"Now you can tell me about what's happening outside!" Xiao Feng's eyes were full of anticipation.

"Hmm! But you didn't come to the temple to listen to my stories."

"Ah—!" Xiao Feng cried out in surprise, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Flowers!" Seeing many broken white petals around her, Xiao Feng felt a lump in her throat and couldn't help but sob.

Are these flowers important?

Xiao Feng wiped away her tears. "These flowers are for the goddess. Sister Chi Ling is going to scold me again... I can't even do this little thing right."

"It's alright, your sister Chiling has already been punished by being made to face the wall, so she probably won't scold you today."

"Why? What did Sister Akane do wrong?"

"The reasons are complicated, and you won't understand them now. Wouldn't it be too late to pick another batch of flowers now?"

"It's too late!" Xiao Feng's voice was filled with sorrow.

"Then don't be unhappy. Since the past cannot be undone, then think about dedicating the goddess elsewhere."

"Besides, you ruined the flowers offered to the goddess because of me. If the goddess is to blame someone, she'll blame me, not you for spending the whole morning working for her."

Shen Xu could see that the flowers in Xiao Feng's hands were not all of the same kind, and they were all fresh flowers, which meant that the little girl must have put a lot of effort into picking them.

“But I’m leaving the temple tomorrow. I’ve never received the goddess’s favor, and I’m not qualified to stay in the temple.” Xiao Feng lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Leave the temple?" Shen Xu frowned.

He then sat down cross-legged and patted Xiao Feng's hair. "It's alright! Even if you leave the temple, you can still serve the goddess. There are temples dedicated to the goddess outside."

The reason I was able to enter the temple and become a guest of the goddess is because of an old temple keeper who serves the goddess outside. Would you like to hear her story?

"Really?" Xiao Feng wiped away her tears and looked up at him.

“She, like you, came from the temple, but she dedicated her life to the goddess in the City of Flowers. Today, I am here to escort her soul back to the goddess’s side.”

"What is a soul?" Xiao Feng asked curiously.

"You've stumped me with that question. Actually, I don't know what the soul is either, but I can give you a simple explanation."

It is generally believed that all living beings in the world can be divided into two parts: body and soul.

The body is like a vessel, just like the statue of a goddess.

You can't say that the statue of the goddess is the real goddess; the thing symbolized behind the statue is the real goddess, and that thing is a form of the soul.

Simply put, only the soul truly defines you.

"I don't understand! If I serve the goddess as devoutly as Sister Chiling and the others outside, will the goddess bring me back?"

"I guess so..." Shen Xu scratched his head.

But seeing the little girl's somewhat disappointed expression, Shen Xu immediately changed his tune, saying, "That's exactly what I meant."

Not everyone is an old temple keeper, and the outside world is not always a place of devout faith in the goddess.

After seeing the dazzling world outside, it's inevitable that Xiao Feng will forget about the goddess.

"Xiao Feng, did you grow up in the temple?"

"Okay!" Xiao Feng nodded.

"What about your parents?"

Xiao Feng shook her head. "I don't know. My aunts at the temple have never told me about my parents."

"But you are about to leave the temple, and you are so young, who will take care of you?"

“My sisters said that after I leave the temple, many pleasure boats will want me.”

Shen Xu fell silent. Judging from her appearance, Xiao Feng had great potential. In addition, growing up in a place like the temple, Xiao Feng would probably become a top-tier courtesan in the future.

There's no shortage of places to take her in a place like Hundred Flowers City, though it's uncertain whether Hundred Flowers City will even exist after tomorrow.

However, leaving the temple is definitely the right thing to do. If the goddess really goes berserk, the temple will be the first to be hit, and the people inside will have virtually no chance of survival.

Moreover, he did not believe that simply gathering the daughters of a hundred flowers would be enough to awaken the goddess; other methods would certainly be needed.

That method is known to the four major families or the Crimson Origin Sect. He is certain it is not a legitimate method, otherwise it would not have attracted the Blood Fiend Palace to cooperate with them.