Xyrin Empire-Chapter 651: The Storytelling Doll

The world was collapsing much faster than I had imagined.

Don’t panic, I’m talking about my own daily life and common sense...

Do you believe it? Mercury Lamp was leading her sisters in watching Rose Maiden, Bingdisi was cheating at "Landlord" and her cheating skills were even stronger than Lilina who had No Morals. Uncle Kenser, who always seemed like a good-natured elder, learned to play military chess in less than half a day, and now he can beat all of us hands down. Today, Sylvanas led a team to slaughter all the main cities of the Horde, and tomorrow they’re planning to switch things up, with Magni leading the team to raid the Alliance... freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Putting myself in their shoes, I really can’t understand what fun there is in leading a bunch of violent folks to tear down one’s own game hometown, although as a spectator, watching all this is indeed quite entertaining.

Sure enough, the thoughts of heroes are beyond the grasp of us ordinary folks.

Now the time is late into the night.

Even though this large house has many rooms, it’s still impossible to squeeze so many people into it at once. Sylvanas and the others were just guests invited over by Big Sister, and now those Racial Leaders have returned to their respective inns in Shadow City to rest. As the night deepened, the lively mansion finally settled into quietness, with only the faint sounds of Anwina’s Sin’dorei Elegy drifting through the air...

Lying in bed, I was overwhelmed with emotion. That girl had finally quieted down for a few days, but after exchanging music experience with Sylvanas today, she started singing again...

"Hmm, Humans, what kind of voice is that? It sounds so scary!" Cui Xingshi’s voice came from not too far away. Normally, the strong and stubborn doll girl tried to conceal it, but the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her frightened mood: who would have thought Cui Xingshi was afraid of ghosts?

"It’s fine, house maid," Mercury Lamp said nonchalantly as she packed her suitcase, "She’s a ghost."

"Ghost...ghost...a GHOST!!" Cui Xingshi suddenly exclaimed, causing Chu Mei and Golden Canary to instantly cling to each other. "This house is haunted!"

"What a scaredy-cat. Have you ever seen hundreds of thousands of Dead Souls marching before your eyes? There are Dead Souls among the idiotic Human population, and that woman dressed in black leather armor today was also a Dead Soul."

"Eh—" Cui Xingshi stuttered, yet she still retorted stubbornly, "I... I’m not any... any scaredy-cat! I’m just... just a bit startled, that’s all!"

"Wuwuwu, let’s not talk about this anymore, it’s too scary!" Golden Canary hugged the shivering Chu Mei, looking at her big sister with tears in her eyes, "Will that ghost come into this room?"

"Of course, she will. She’ll wander around the house at night, passing through walls, and even sneak into suitcases... Whaa! Stupid Human! Put me down!"

I held up Mercury Lamp by the collar, shaking her in front of the group of Rose Maidens: "Because if you keep this up, I won’t be able to sleep tonight—taking care of five at once, even a dad would spit blood."

But I really didn’t expect that the Rose Maidens, beings beyond description, would be afraid of ghosts?

"Don’t include me in that," Zhenhong sat regally on her suitcase, looking at me with an odd expression as I held Mercury Lamp hanging in mid-air, who despite flailing around, seemed more like she was acting coquettishly, "I don’t really care much about ghosts, and that maid knows her Noble Etiquette very well. Although she is a Dead Soul, she’s a fine maid. The other apprentice, however, is a little lacking."

I set Mercury Lamp back down on the suitcase: "Nobles really are a bunch of utterly evil people."

So Sayaka, who tries so hard as a maid, doesn’t even pass your standards?

The Rose Maidens, who had been frolicking all day, were still quite energetic now, perhaps being together with their sisters in a friendly manner had them particularly excited. It was past ten at night, and a group of dolls were still chatting away enthusiastically. Even the inevitable drowsiness set by Big Sister for Mercury Lamp at nine-thirty had been stubbornly overcome by this hypocritical fellow. Left with no choice, I had to stay awake—why did they all have to gather in my room anyway?

Cang Xingshi was not much of a talker. During the sisters’ conversations, she listened more than she spoke. But now, as she watched Mercury Lamp fussing over her box, this Rose Maiden, who looked as gallant as a boy, couldn’t help speaking up, "I’ve been curious since earlier, Mercury Lamp, there seems to be something else in your box... What is it?"

"A stereo system!" Chairman proudly puffed out her chest, "And an air purifier too! Installed by those idiotic humans~!"

Everyone: "..."

"What are you all staring at me for?" I felt uncomfortable under the gaze of the Rose Maidens, led by Zhenhong. "I’m even planning on installing an air conditioner in there in a couple of days!"

Cui Xingshi’s mouth hung open, her expression changing dramatically. After a long while, she pointed at Mercury Lamp and started chastising me animatedly, "This is spoiling her! This is outright pampering!"

Just be jealous and hate me all you want! I bet that all of your boxes put together are not as luxurious as Mercury Lamp’s bed right now—if I wasn’t worried about making Alaya cry, I’d have gotten Little Shui a set of angel fluff blankets!

But seriously, why do you all have to congregate in my room, dammit! Now there’s a whole line of boxes in the corner, isn’t there! Are you planning to take turns smashing me with them when you wake up early tomorrow?

"Hmph, no choice, we sisters have to be together!" Cui Xingshi declared with a pompous hip cock and a cold snort, looking every bit like a spoiled princess. "You, on the other hand, are really a shabby fellow. Despite being so highly praised, you don’t even have a castle!"

Uh, is this the contrary pride of a doll girl coming through? Does Cui Xingshi like castles and palaces?

I had just sighed to myself when someone below tugged at my trousers. "Hey, hey! Uncle, can you tell Chu Mei a story?"

Zhenhong sat on top of a box looking poised and elegant, "It seems occasionally staying up all night for a chat can also be an interesting thing. How about a tea party under the moonlight?"

I was close to tears. Why was it so hard to just get a peaceful night’s sleep? Little Baobao was so easy to coax earlier; just holding her made her obediently go back to her room to sleep. But why were these dolls, who are supposedly hundreds to thousands of years old, each so troublesome?

"Hey, hey! Chu Mei wants a story! I’m too excited and can’t fall asleep today!"

"Mercury Lamp, go tell her a story!"

I pushed Mercury Lamp forward and then turned to get into bed, ready to sleep.

"Why!"

"Nonsense, you’re the big sister! Do you need a reason to tell a story to your little sister?"

Suddenly, Chairman was silenced.

Mercury Lamp glanced at Chu Mei, who looked expectant, and Zhenhong, who had a strange expression, and hesitated. Initially, I thought she would be awkward for a good while, or she might even scold Chu Mei outright, but surprisingly, the little doll actually went over to the bookshelf, took down a big book, and started to prepare a story for her sisters.

A circle formed by the Rose Maidens immediately gathered, their bright eyes uniformly focused on Mercury Lamp, each showing the posture of eager listening. The silver-haired Gothic girl opened up a huge thick book in front of her, getting ready to entertain her little sisters with a story by the light of a small lamp nearby.

Outside the window was the still night, with only the clear moonlight spilling into the room. Little girls huddled next to their big sister, looking forward to tonight’s fairy tale. Seeing this scene, I was suddenly moved.

So after a thousand years had passed, they could finally be like a true family tonight?

"This is an ancient story about a long, long time ago, when there was an old King who had seven sons, yet didn’t know to whom he should pass on the throne... So began the struggle for succession known as the Holy Grail War, where seven princes, empowered by the Holy Stone Seed from Sinapus, summoned their own Servants—powerful Magic Girls... They fought for a treasure called Dragon Balls, for it was said that only by gathering all seven Dragon Balls could the legendary Holy Sword appear, and only he who could pull the sword from the stone would qualify to be the heir to the throne. However, the Guardian of the Holy Sword was the powerful Ultraman, and the victorious prince from the Holy Grail War was no match for this guardian. He furiously went to question his father, the King, asking why, even though he had become the last heir to the throne, he still had to obtain the unreachable Holy Sword to inherit the throne. The old King, disappointed, looked at his child and said, ’Because only through the cruel battles can the bloodline of the King awaken, and only then can you transform into a Super Saiyan, and the ruler of the Kingdom can only be a Super Saiyan. What a pity, my child, it seems you don’t share my blood...’ The prince, proven not to be the King’s offspring, was instantly heartbroken. He ran to Reflection Cliff and swore to the heavens that he would obtain the throne with his own hands. But just as the prince raised his sword high, a fireball suddenly fell from the sky, and the Imperial Landing Pod crashed onto the prince’s only following Servant... Losing his only subordinate, Lancer, meant he could no longer compete for the throne, leaving the prince completely disheartened. But just then, the landing pod suddenly opened, and out came a conspirator from outer space, QB—a bizarre creature looking like a mix between a cat and a rabbit—who guided the prince to seek out an old man with a white beard at the bottom of Reflection Cliff. Only the old man could grant him strength, but since QB had traveled through time for so long, Reflection Cliff had dramatically changed. The old man had long invested in a printing company, made a fortune by selling ’Ao Tian Jue,’ and had no desire to guide newbies on their quests anymore..."

I woke up with my heart filled with complex emotions: "Little Shui, is this the kind of stuff you read every day?"

"Hmm, this was just given to me by Lilina, it seems quite interesting."

"What’s the end of the story?" I continued with my heart still heavy.

"...At the end, His Holiness the Pope overcame the prince who had fallen into the Dark Nalu, becoming the World King and starting the century-long war against the Plapumi Interstellar Federation, to be continued..."

...How brutally must a story unfold to arrive at such a grand conclusion?

"Wow, what an interesting story!" While I was in a somber mood, only Chu Mei was still cheerfully exclaiming, "Big Sister has never told me such stories before! They’re so fun!"

Was she happy simply because "Big Sister was telling herself a story?" Still just a child, but do you really understand the meaning of this ridiculous fairy tale?

"Okay, that’s it for today, let me think," Mercury Lamp said earnestly as she closed the book and gently tapped her little head, "the dumb humans told me when they read me stories, I should learn to think about the meanings behind them... You also have to share what this story helped you understand, otherwise, you’re the dumb ones!"

I was instantly enraged: What profound message could there be in the nonsense concocted by Lilina!

And yet, Cui Xingshi actually began to ponder with great effort, and then, slapping her palm, said: "The victorious prince didn’t turn into a powerful Super Saiyan, so all the other losers must be even weaker, which means none of the King’s seven sons were his own flesh and blood!"

Wow, so Lilina’s story had such a dark undercurrent? What kind of karma did the poor King face in his past life?

"There’s more, there’s more!" Golden Canary, always priding herself as the smartest among the Rose Maidens, did not want to be outdone by the noisy sister beside her, "The landing pod crushed a Magic Girl named Lancer, but the prince right beside her was unharmed, so the prince must have already become a Super Saiyan! But the King didn’t acknowledge it, which means the King didn’t want to give up his throne! So the prince is the true Royal bloodline, and it is the King who is fake!"

Oh wow, was it necessary for your ridiculous story to be so meaningful, Lilina?

"Ah, it turns out all seven princes are genuine, the King had them fighting each other actually just to eliminate the true heir! That Ultraman was also a monster set up by the King!" Cui Xingshi immediately exclaimed, then standing proudly atop a box, waving her little hands wildly, "What a terrifying King indeed!"

I’m sorry, nefarious scheming King, to call you poor earlier. My apologies.

"If possible, please forget this story right now!"

I felt if these two kept discussing, the pure Rose Maidens would be completely corrupted by Lilina’s dark worldview. I finally leapt out of bed, snatched the big book from Mercury Lamp’s hands, and declared, "Good kids need to go to sleep now! Immediately, this instant! I have to get up early tomorrow for a meeting!"

"Tsk, arrogant dumb human."

Mercury Lamp muttered discontentedly but obediently crawled into her box. She hesitated for a moment before bidding everyone, "Good night."

With a "click," Mercury Lamp closed her large box, which had been modified to be nearly as luxurious as a mini-villa.

The other Rose Maidens also retired to their own "beds," and one by one their boxes closed with a clicking sound, until only Zhenhong remained. The golden-haired doll, with one hand on the lid of her box, looked up at me from a forty-five-degree angle.

"What’s wrong?"

"Thank you," Zhenhong said softly, "Thank you for loving Mercury Lamp so much."

With those words, the room finally became completely quiet.

It was now midnight.

"Kids can be such a hassle," I said with a wry smile, glancing down at the deceptive fairy tale compiled by Lilina, and suddenly noticed a line of text on the title page.

"To Mercury Lamp, a gift for eternal happiness—Lilina. Also, Big Sister, please spare this book. I’ve already removed plenty of inappropriate stuff."

Dingdang above! Lilina, if you knew this would happen, why publish the book at all!

I couldn’t help but laugh and cry as I placed the deceptive fairy tale produced by Lilina back on the desk, which had now nearly become exclusive to Mercury Lamp, filled with the storybooks that the little doll usually read. Although writing remained a problem, Mercury Lamp had an unexpectedly keen interest in reading stories, which had surprised me initially, but having gotten used to occasionally telling bedtime stories to Pandora, Visca, or Little Baobao, I felt no pressure—what’s a Loli if not a Loli, right?

Strictly speaking, though, Mercury Lamp probably didn’t count as a Loli anymore.

Looking at the quiet line of boxes under the window, I showed a faint smile.

This must be the first time in centuries that the sisters were reunited, just like when they were first created—no, even that was different.

Back then, Mercury Lamp could only be an abandoned object, placed on a dusty shelf, watching her sisters receive our father’s affection. She was the only one of the doll girls who never received any attention from Father, not even the chance to be placed together with her sisters. How long had she waited for a reunion like today?

Usually, you’d see Mercury Lamp with an icy demeanor, her face eternally showing impatience when mentioning her sisters. Indifferent eyes, yet when they finally got together, she clearly tried so hard to change herself, even engaging in "telling stories to her sisters," an activity completely out of character for her, revealing her undeniable desire to get along with everyone.

Even Mercury Lamp has a fear of loneliness, doesn’t she?

Emotions are such a complicated thing, even when they come from a doll. When confronted with them, I find them altogether too troublesome.

Whatever, as long as Mercury Lamp is happy.

With that irresponsible thought crossing my mind, I lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over my head—next, let me see if a certain little one has nearly been scared to tears by Alaya.

Gradually focusing my spirit, I naturally sank into the depths of my soul. As my eyes closed, specks of light slowly emerged before them, and as my perception of the material world around me turned into abstract descriptions, a sense of psychological weightlessness enveloped me.

This was a spiritual power skill I had learned from Alaya a long time ago. You could see it as introspection of your own soul world, but its greater use was to check whether that boorish angel hadn’t sleepwalked off during some utterly confused moment.

This wasn’t something that had never happened; when Alaya sleepwalked, it certainly wasn’t a trivial matter.

An endlessly white space with no direction—that’s the so-called spirit world. In Alaya’s eyes, this world was an excellent home, but for a being like me, who was not an energy life form, discerning this world as white was no small feat. This was unrelated to the strength of power but solely determined by cognitive habits.

However, now, within this white space that was supposed to be void of anything, there was another "thing" present.

A white girl curled up in a ball with her eyes tightly shut.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) and support me with your recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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