The Statue

Although Gongshu Feiliang hadn’t actually taken action that evening, as a master stone sculptor, he still offered plenty of useful advice.

For example:

“If this is the only meteorite you have, cutting it into many pieces would be a waste. You should prioritize carving one large display piece, then use the leftover scraps to make the smaller items.”

Chen Miemie accepted the suggestion.

At No. 19 Fairy Tale Road, the anomalies held a meeting.

The topic was what kind of large display piece they should carve.

At present, there were two options.

Option One: Carve it into a giant moon. This option received one vote—from Chen Miemie.

Option Two: Carve a statue of Chen Miemie in his [Huangyi] state. This option received eleven votes—all from the anomalies.

Chen Miemie raised an objection. “Why carve a statue of me? The followers of the Eternal Moon don’t even worship things like that.”

Qinghua spoke first. “Our [Moonlight Everlasting] base will only truly bear the marks of the Eternal Moon and become legitimate and authoritative if we have a statue of you there.”

Loop spoke second. “There are more and more group-type followers, such as the Book Anomalies. If everyone can’t see you for a long time, they’ll still be able to see the statue. It will strengthen our sense of unity.”

Bobo wasn’t about to be outdone. It had even learned how to use an analogy. “Even my fried-chicken shop knows to use my image as its signboard. Our new race needs a Chen Miemie brand symbol too.”

Chen Miemie thought about it, but still felt a little embarrassed.

His mindset hadn’t completely changed. Under normal circumstances, he didn’t like standing high above others or accepting their worship.

Unexpectedly, even Xiao Hong joined in.

Red subtitles appeared.

【I also recommend that you make a statue.】

Chen Miemie immediately took her words seriously.

Xiao Hong was more active than Xiao Shuang, but under normal circumstances, unless Chen Miemie sought her out first, she rarely took the initiative to speak.

In other words, whenever Xiao Hong spoke up on her own, it generally meant something important had happened.

‘Xiao Hong, why do you recommend it?’

【Although the commotion you caused earlier was enormous, and Xiao Shuang and I had to spend a great deal of effort cleaning up the aftermath, you did accomplish something neither of us could. You gave the Hundred Cities World a material component of the moon.】

【If it were made into a statue, it might be possible to establish a stable energy-storage anchor. Then, outside of Eternal Moon nights, you could use a very small portion of the power of [Huangyi].】

Chen Miemie’s eyes immediately lit up.

Wouldn’t that basically be an Eternal Moon energy power bank?

Although Xiao Hong had said he could only use “a very small portion of [Huangyi]’s power,” how powerful was [Huangyi]? Even a tiny fraction could produce miraculous results at a critical moment.

‘Xiao Hong, there has to be more to it than that, right? You’re being so proactive—does it have some other use?’

【Yes. Although the meteorite belongs to the Eternal Moon, the Eternal Moon is still a moon. The three of us share a common nature. If you carve physical manifestations of Xiao Shuang and me into the statue, perhaps when we are in the sky, we’ll also be able to pour power into it.】

‘Hmm? What would happen after you infused it with power? Could you possess the statue?’

【What are you thinking? Possession is obviously impossible. But once the energy is fully charged, we might be able to establish a temporary communication channel, allowing the three of us to chat together.】

‘All right. Just for that, I have to make the statue.’

In the eyes of the anomalies, when Chen Miemie chatted with Xiao Hong through the red subtitles, he appeared to be staring blankly at thin air.

Everyone was used to him doing this and didn’t urge him. They simply waited quietly for him to make his final decision.

After “returning to reality,” Chen Miemie completely changed his earlier stance.

“Excellent, excellent. Everything you said makes perfect sense. I’ve decided to make the [Huangyi] statue.”

The next morning, at ten o’clock, Gongshu Feiliang and [Bridge Maiden] returned to No. 1 Fairy Tale Road.

After hearing Chen Miemie’s latest decision, they immediately began designing the statue without a second thought.

[Bridge Maiden] looked suspiciously at the rough sketch drawn according to Chen Miemie’s description.

“Chen Miemie, the [Huangyi] we’re making is a lofty existence who walks the world on behalf of the Eternal Moon. How can you design it according to your own body proportions?”

Chen Miemie shamelessly bluffed, “This isn’t me. This is [Huangyi]. It’s just that people with good physiques tend to have golden proportions, so we happen to look alike.”

Gongshu Feiliang’s attention wasn’t focused on the figure’s physique.

“Are you sure you want to carve a divine halo behind the head? And have the Eternal Moon, Frost Moon, and Rainbow Moon revolve around it?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen the [Shopkeeper]—that is, Lord [Huangyi]—twice. He didn’t have a divine halo behind his head. You made that up, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I designed it on the spot. Is there a problem?”

Gongshu Feiliang was speechless.

“There’s a huge problem. This is a statue of a lofty existence. If you merely want to make it look more imposing, you can exaggerate the pose, clothing, expression, weapons, and so on however you like. But this involves two other moons, so you need to be extremely careful. If Rainbow Moon or Frost Moon possesses a spirit and considers this an overstep or a sign of disrespect, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

Chen Miemie waved his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ve already spoken with Rainbow Moon. I haven’t talked to Frost Moon yet, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Everything’s under control.”

Gongshu Feiliang and [Bridge Maiden]: “...”

Don’t worry? What the hell were they supposed to be reassured about? Where had Chen Miemie found Rainbow Moon to speak with, and what made him so confident about Frost Moon?

The two of them had a bellyful of things they wanted to say, but unfortunately, they couldn’t win an argument with Chen Miemie. In the end, they reluctantly produced a set of blueprints for him.

By the time the precise lines had been drawn on the giant meteorite, it was already noon.

Chen Miemie treated them to a huge tableful of fried chicken in all kinds of flavors.

Gongshu Feiliang loved it. “Where did you buy this? It’s so fragrant, and there are so many flavors. I’ll have to get some next time.”

[Bridge Maiden] barely ate any. She knew what this stuff was. Her hands had once even been temporarily mutated into chicken wings.

“You won’t be able to buy it anywhere else. It was made by Bobo, the head chef at my place.”

“You have a dedicated chef at home?”

Before Chen Miemie could answer, [Bridge Maiden] said quietly, “Dad, if you like it, eat more. You don’t often get the chance to eat fried-chicken anomalies.”

Gongshu Feiliang understood instantly. His hand froze, and the fried chicken in his mouth suddenly felt scalding hot.

He asked hesitantly, “What will happen after eating this fried chicken?”

His imagination had already run wild. He had pictured that if one ate food made by an anomaly who loved cooking, the anomaly might demand an equivalent weight in flesh or some other price in return.

Chen Miemie glared at [Bridge Maiden]. “What kind of nonsense are you saying? I’m the one treating you. How could I harm you? Go ahead and eat. There’s plenty more if it isn’t enough.”

After lunch, Chen Miemie began carving under the guidance of the two masters.

Originally, he had wanted to lend the Four-Leaf Clover Nail to Gongshu Feiliang and let him do the work. Unexpectedly, although the nail wouldn’t break in Gongshu Feiliang’s hands, it couldn’t carve into the meteorite either.

Strangely enough, once Chen Miemie took over, he was able to slowly shave pieces off the meteorite.

This was Chen Miemie’s first time carving stone, but he had a decent foundation. In the past, knitting clothes and wings had already trained him in precise control.

At 5:55 p.m.

Under the guidance of the two temporary sculpture instructors, Chen Miemie completed a statue named [Moon God Yellow Robe].

The statue depicted Huangyi in a yellow robe with the hood pulled up, obscuring the face. Its eyes were two crescent moons, while a massive ring floated behind its head, resembling the orbital path of celestial bodies. Three moons—Eternal Moon, Rainbow Moon, and Frost Moon—revolved along the ring.

In the eyes of Gongshu Feiliang and [Bridge Maiden], even with their instruction throughout the entire process, the statue could only be considered an apprentice-level practice piece. It was crude and utterly incomparable to a work of art.

Chen Miemie, however, was quite satisfied with it.

The moment he said, “Done,”

the room at No. 1 Fairy Tale Road lit up with dazzling moonlight.

The source of the light was Chen Miemie. Once the intense radiance in the room faded,

[Bridge Maiden] and Gongshu Feiliang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Right before them,

Chen Miemie’s eyes had transformed into the same two crescent moons as those on the statue, while behind him rose a halo depicting three moons revolving in orbit, identical to the one on the statue.

“Chen... Chen Miemie, what... what happened to you?”

Feeling the surging power coursing through his body, Chen Miemie smiled faintly at the two of them.

“It’s nothing. I merely had an unexpected breakthrough to [Mystery] 5.”