The Fifty-Third Painting: Starlight

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PS. Here’s today’s update, and while I’m at it, let me put in a call for votes for the “Qidian” 515 Fans Festival. Everyone gets eight votes, and voting also rewards you with Qidian coins. I’m begging for your support and appreciation!

Xiao Jin was dragged off by the mainframe to work, while Sang Sang roamed freely through the Star Web with his avatar, wandering until he unknowingly arrived at Starlight Road. The entire street was enveloped above, below, and on all sides by twinkling stars of every conceivable color.

“Saint of a Hundred Flowers.” As Sang Sang spoke, a half-transparent star shaped like a flower bud hopped into the center of the road. The petals unfurled and swallowed her whole.

This was a tiny planet where flowers bloomed year-round, regardless of season. Anonymous visitors found themselves halted at a plaza surrounded by a dense array of blossoms—anyone with trypophobia would do well to mentally prepare before coming here.

Judging by the décor, the Saint of a Hundred Flowers clearly preferred technology to nature. Countless images hung at varying heights: some still, some in motion, some two-dimensional, others multi-dimensional and hyper-realistic. Most depicted the Saint herself; a smaller number displayed faith-related media about perfume, incense, and botanical extracts. The largest multi-dimensional live projection at the front showed her participating in an interview. In the display, the Saint wore a platinum gown and held a white sacred flower reminiscent of a lily, appearing both holy and dignified.

“Recently, the hottest topic has been dominated by a certain candidate for sainthood, all because of a prank at the creative exhibition that caused someone to become pregnant. The incident has escalated to the sanctity of life and reproduction. What’s your take on this?”

The Saint of a Hundred Flowers straightened her back further, her expression solemn and earnest. “According to statistics, in the past ten thousand years, several dozen advanced life forms have perished—and that’s just among the registered races. Countless unregistered or less sentient beings have vanished entirely. So, the propagation of life is sacred. Any prank that touches on reproduction, even if it passes the mainframe’s review, should be condemned as attention-seeking.”

“So, you aren’t pleased with Sang Hongye’s frivolity regarding the sanctity of life?”

“Yes, but I judge the act, not the person. Sang Hongye comes from a lower civilization, still just a child who doesn’t understand much. It’s understandable she took reproduction lightly. The responsibility lies with her guardians and mentors—they have ruined a future Saint.”

“From your words, it sounds like you have high hopes for Sang Hongye.”

“I do. Everyone knows her origins. Coming from a lower civilization to the Temple is no small feat. In a short time, she’s become the first in two centuries to excel at refining, placed second in the physical test despite no foundation, and created a faith work that passed the mainframe’s review. All these achievements prove she is extraordinary.”

“A genius—a truly remarkable child.”

“We cannot judge her by the standards of our own level of civilization. In her world, a secondary civilization, adulthood comes at thirty. Sang Hongye, in her early twenties, is the equivalent of someone in their sixties or seventies for us. While not yet an adult, she is not a child either.”

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“There are quite a few candidates in their sixties or seventies, and Sang Hongye is still outstanding.”

“Yes, because she participated in the opening of the God’s Tomb, where she advanced her laws by one or two realms. If she had taken her exhibition piece more seriously, passing the soul test would not have been a problem; she’d truly be a strong contender among the seeds.”

“That God’s Tomb, the one used to break through to the Profound level? She participated just to advance her laws? That’s rather—” The host trailed off, but his expression made it clear the next words could only be “regrettable” or “wasteful.”

Watching this, Sang Sang narrowed her eyes. “Killing with kindness, is it? The art of conversation—change the tone and the words just a bit, and though everything is technically true, it can still make others resent the person being discussed. I thought it was just for Senna’s sake, but it seems they not only want to keep me from becoming a Saint, they’d rather trample me completely.”

“Sang Sang.” Xiao Jin on her shoulder suddenly woke up, his main body returning as he tugged at her earlobe. “I’ve discovered some big news.”

As soon as Sang Sang returned to her private space, Xiao Jin leaped off, transforming into the flowing-robed form of a great sage, his eyes lively and clear. Only the deliberately unchanged electronic synthesized voice still marked him as an intelligent being. “We don’t need to worry about your scandal spreading anymore.”

“What good news is this?” Seeing Xiao Jin’s smiling face, all of Sang Sang’s frustration and anger melted away. She couldn’t help but smile, conjuring up some dried fish snacks in her personal space to feed the god of the web.

Xiao Jin nibbled the fish, a bit of tail sticking out from his lips, slowly drawing it in without hindering his speech. “Someone’s exhibition work was found to be cheating—the one where whatever someone says comes out the opposite of what they’re thinking.”

Sang Sang resumed feeding him spicy meat slices. “The Temple investigates these things very strictly; the mainframe is everywhere. How could anyone cheat?”

Simulated spices made Xiao Jin’s lips red and his eyes water. “They used an artifact condensed from the essence of reality and illusion. We worker AIs don’t know the exact method, but the mainframe plans to release the news in an hour. That candidate’s qualification will be revoked, and the mentor who helped will face trial by the Tribunal— even the civilization that provided the artifact will be sanctioned.”

“That serious?” Sang Sang had heard the Temple valued integrity, but for a single exhibition piece to implicate an entire civilization seemed tyrannical. “Still, he brought it on himself. He could have just asked his mentor for advice—why involve the mentor directly?”

Xiao Jin sniffled. “Not everyone is as smart as you, Sang Sang, able to learn everything instantly. Apparently, he was so desperate he was crying and threatening suicide. The mentor, who’s also a relative, couldn’t bear it and stepped in, thinking it wouldn’t be discovered. But someone lodged a complaint with the mainframe, suspecting the work wasn’t unique. Upon verification, it turned out it was indeed the product of two people’s efforts.”

Sang Sang handed him some milk to ease the spice. “Xiao Jin, what job are you doing to have access to confidential information in advance?”

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Xiao Jin stuck out his tongue, licking a ring of milk from his lips, then raised his head proudly. “Because my processing speed is much higher than other AIs at my level, the mainframe transferred me to the information gathering department. I get to see tons and tons of information for free, and now I can finally be of real help to you.”

Sang Sang gently covered Xiao Jin’s mesmerizing eyes. “Don’t you know, Xiao Jin? Just by being here, you’re already a huge help to me!”

“Stop with the garbled nonsense.” Xiao Jin covered his face, shrinking down to just ten centimeters tall and perching on Sang Sang’s shoulder, his left foot stepping on his right, then right over left, back and forth.

Sang Sang scratched his tiny feet. “Is it against the rules to tell me this news?”

Xiao Jin lifted his feet and caught them himself. “I’m your AI now, same permissions as you. If you know, it’s not against the rules.”

“But I can’t tell anyone else,” Sang Sang asked. “Would it break the rules if I asked you to spread the news?”

Xiao Jin shook his head. “As long as it isn’t false information, it’s not against the rules. There are even rewards for exposing the darkness.”

“Good.” Sang Sang cupped Xiao Jin in her palm, asking, “Do you have a way to spread the news without being discovered?”

“Not yet,” Xiao Jin lowered his head, but quickly looked up again. “But I can ask someone else for help. I have a lot of AI friends on the Star Web with independent identities. Aside from lacking a soul, they’re as much a part of the myriad races of the cosmos as anyone else.”

PS: Double update today! Next chapter drops at 8 p.m. Don’t forget to recommend and bookmark after reading, sisters~~~

[515 is almost here! Hoping to climb the 515 Red Envelope leaderboard and give back to the readers with a “Red Envelope Rain” and promote the novel on May 15th. Every bit of support counts, and I’ll keep up the updates!]