Chapter 16

Fu Li stopped thinking.

What did Apollo say?

Living together?

Him and Apollo?

Fu Li's mouth opened subconsciously, but no sound came out. His jade-green eyes went perfectly round.

The telepathic link faithfully transmitted Fu Li's feelings to Apollo.

"Is living together with Apollo real or fake?!"

Apollo: "..."

He knew it would be like this!

This mortal had no idea what gratitude was!

This was a protective measure personally proposed by him, the God of Light Apollo!

Countless mortals and gods didn't have this honor. It was given only to him!

Apollo lifted his chin slightly. "What, are you unwilling?"

Fu Li: "...No, how could I be? It's just that my dwelling isn't as noble as a temple. I'm afraid it would make Lord Apollo uncomfortable staying there."

"The temple is too small for you to live comfortably."

Fu Li tried to appeal with emotion and reason.

The little shabby house had only one wooden bed. Even sleeping there was uncomfortable. How could it be worthy of Lord Apollo condescending to stay?

Apollo curled his lips into a smile. His reasoning was even more solid.

"It's no matter. Experiencing mortal life is also a pleasure. Art comes from life."

Fu Li choked.

He had forgotten that Apollo was also the God of Art.

"Could it be that you don't welcome me?"

Hearing this, Fu Li could only say "you're welcome" with a bitter face.

Could he even say he wasn't welcome?

"In that case, it's settled."

Apollo announced in a very good mood. He looked at Fu Li, anticipation bubbling in his heart.

Pastoral life, if spent with Fu Li, seemed like it might not be so boring after all.

Fu Li sighed inwardly.

Forget it. Living together it is.

Anyway, with the telepathic link connected, Apollo could find him anytime he wanted. Was there any difference whether they lived together or not?

He would just treat it as gaining a roommate with a strange temper and super powerful abilities.

"Since Your Highness insists," Fu Li let his shoulders slump in resignation and revealed a helpless smile, "then I can only impose on Your Highness to temporarily reside in my humble home. It's just that the conditions here are crude, so I ask for Your Highness's understanding."

The tension in Apollo's eyes quietly dissipated upon hearing Fu Li agree.

He straightened his posture and nodded reservedly. "Mm."

Fu Li tidied up the farmland and brought this noble God of Light back home.

The early days were, to put it plainly, chaotic.

Apollo had almost no understanding of mortal life.

Not only that, because he was the God of Art, his vision was exceptionally picky.

Fu Li had never considered living with anyone before, so naturally, the house only had one bed.

He thought about it; ordering a custom bed would require finding a carpenter.

Sleeping on the floor was unavoidable.

Fu Li figured he couldn't possibly let a god sleep on the floor, so he had to sacrifice himself.

Apollo, who was still complaining about the wooden bed, asked, "What are you doing?"

Fu Li hugged his bedding. "Making a floor bed. There's only one bed."

Apollo's frown could have crushed a fly to death.

"Don't sleep on the floor."

Fu Li asked, puzzled, "Then where should I sleep?"

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "The bed, of course. Although your bed has the hardness of rock and the coarseness of gravel."

The disdain in his tone nearly solidified into a tangible entity.

Fu Li twitched the corner of his mouth. Then you shouldn't have insisted on living together.

"However, with me here, this kind of thing can be slept on passably well."

Apollo's words shifted as he waved a hand. A golden light flashed by.

The hard wooden bed was instantly covered with a golden fabric as soft as clouds, exuding the scent of sunshine.

The pillow was fluffy, the bedding silky smooth.

In short, it didn't look like something that could appear in his house.

Fu Li: "..." Thank you, I've been dazzlingly shown up.

Apollo raised his chin, involuntarily raising his voice like a proud little peacock.

"No need to be too grateful, Fu Li."

Having said that, Apollo got onto the bed and settled into a comfortable position. He looked at Fu Li, who was standing beside the bed, and patted the mattress.

"Aren't you coming up yet?"

Fu Li watched as the handsome god before his eyes extended an invitation.

He rubbed his face and resignedly climbed onto the bed.

What did it feel like to have a god sleeping beside him?

Fu Li lay stiffly on the bed, not daring to move.

On him, Apollo was becoming restless with his hands and feet.

He had never imagined that Apollo's sleeping posture would be so poor.

Fu Li quietly shifted away a little distance.

Apollo would immediately cling back onto him.

Scorching breath wafted against his neck and shoulders. Fu Li felt like a lifeless doll.

Perhaps dissatisfied with Fu Li's constant evasions, the sleeping Apollo swung a long arm and pulled the man in the corner of the bed into his embrace.

Fu Li only felt himself fall into a warm, toasty embrace.

What he smelled was the scent of sunshine.

Apollo's golden strands of hair fell onto his face, mingling inseparably with his own hair.

Too close...!

A hot flush rolled over Fu Li's face.

He tried to escape, but Apollo gave him no such chance.

He trapped Fu Li firmly in his embrace, holding him tight.

Being roommates with a god was just too hard on his life!

When he woke up the next day, Fu Li sported a pair of dark circles under his eyes.

Apollo, on the other hand, had slept very well.

Apollo looked at Fu Li in surprise. "Were you so overwhelmed with excitement that you didn't sleep all night?"

Fu Li looked at him resentfully.

I was used as your body pillow all night.

So even the God of Light's sleeping posture could be bad.

Apollo was a bit puzzled. The feelings transmitted to him were too resentful. He reached out and lightly tapped Fu Li's forehead.

Divine power flowed into Fu Li's body.

Fu Li only felt suddenly very sleepy. He nodded, then closed his eyes.

Apollo caught Fu Li's body, letting him rest well.

This mortal really had no idea how to take care of himself.

Sleep well.

Apollo began his day's work.

When Fu Li woke up, it was already dusk.

His stomach was growling with hunger.

He rubbed his belly and yawned.

Outside the window, the setting sun was sinking.

"How long did I sleep...? Better get something to eat."

Fu Li got up. Upon entering the kitchen, he was stunned.

The table was covered entirely with glowing golden food.

Apollo was looking at him proudly.

"Awake? I know mortals need food. Heh, how could such things compare to the gods' fine ambrosia?"

"Enjoy."

Fu Li was famished. He expressed his thanks to Apollo and quickly sat down to eat.

The glowing golden food Apollo had brought was indeed delicious. He ate a lot.

Soon, he noticed something was wrong.

Fu Li started having nosebleeds.

Apollo: "???"

What was going on? Did the food have offensive power too?

Fu Li was also stunned.

What was happening? Could eating a meal cause a nosebleed?

Apollo stepped forward to treat him. As the God of Medicine, his judgment could not be wrong.

After a while, he spoke to Fu Li with a strange expression:

"It was too nourishing. Your body couldn't handle it."

Apollo's perception of Fu Li's fragility was refreshed once again.

So mortals could even get over-nourished from just eating a meal.

Fu Li: "..."

He hadn't expected that either.

A god's meal could be comparable to a super-strength tonic.

And so, Fu Li went back to hugging his mortal barley porridge.

Fu Li's life didn't change because of Apollo's arrival.

He still tended his fields.

Apollo occasionally came to watch him farm.

Watching Fu Li bend over to labor, he suddenly said, "Such low efficiency."

Then he snapped his fingers. The weeds in the field instantly withered and turned to ash.

Fu Li looked at the suddenly "clean" field. Before he could feel happy about the reduced workload, out of the corner of his eye, he saw several vegetable seedlings that had also wilted from the shockwave of divine power.

His heart ached so much he couldn't breathe:

"My vegetables!"

Apollo felt a bit guilty. "...I was helping you."

Fu Li sighed.

Forget it, forget it.

It was help, after all.

After living together for some time, Fu Li discovered that although Apollo was finicky and picky, with a mortifying lack of common sense about mortal life, he was actually quite good as a roommate.

When he clearly stated "Your Highness's divine power is too strong and will hurt the seedlings," although Apollo huffed, afterward, when he came to the field again, he would consciously restrain his overly radiant light.

During meals, Fu Li would use simple ingredients to make home-style dishes. Apollo would outwardly say they had a unique taste, but then eat even more cleanly than Fu Li did.

He couldn't even out-grab Apollo for food.

When Fu Li accidentally cut his finger, Apollo would verbally say "so frail," but the golden light of healing in his hands always landed swiftly and accurately.

The existence of the telepathic link created a strange, unspoken understanding between the two.

Fu Li could sense when Apollo was bored, when he was irritable, and when he kind of wanted to eat the burnt-edged flatbread Fu Li had made.

Although Apollo was often perplexed by Fu Li's "unfathomable" emotions, he didn't dislike them either.

Fu Li noticed that Apollo had recently taken to coming to the farmland to watch him work.

Apollo's stated reason was "to accumulate inspiration for art."

But Fu Li felt that Apollo, sitting at the edge of the field plucking his golden lyre, was very much like a retired old man.

He would never say that out loud, of course.

Occasionally, when Fu Li looked up between his labors, his gaze would meet those molten gold eyes.

Sometimes Apollo would quickly look away, pretending to watch the sky, the clouds, or the birds. Other times, he would openly meet his gaze and raise one eyebrow.

...This feeling wasn't bad.

Fu Li smiled.

He looked out at the verdant farmland. The crops would be ready to harvest soon.

Fu Li walked toward Apollo, who was waiting for him to come home, and raised a smile. "It's finished. Let's go home."

Apollo was briefly stunned, his expression dazed.

Then he nodded. "Let's go home."

"I have a new piece of music today."

The days flowed by in this calm and warm rhythm.

The late summer heat gradually gave way to early autumn coolness.

The crops in the fields entered their final ripening period. Heavy ears of wheat bent their stalks, and the olive trees were laden with green fruit.

One day, Apollo watched as Fu Li sun-dried the last batch of harvested beans and suddenly spoke:

"Winter is approaching. You need to store some meat."

Fu Li nodded; he was indeed considering this problem.

Relying solely on grains and vegetables would make surviving the winter a bit difficult.

He had originally planned to use the surplus grain to trade for some cured meat or live poultry at the market.

"Tomorrow, I will take you hunting."

Apollo's tone was as casual as suggesting a stroll the next day.

Fu Li froze for a moment.

"Hunting? Me?"

With his slender arms and legs, he couldn't even draw a bow.

Apollo glanced at him, the look in his eyes carrying Fu Li's most familiar "you useless mortal" sentiment.

"With me here, what are you afraid of? Someone under my patronage would not be bad at hunting."

At worst, just going through the motions would do.

Fu Li: "..."

This reasoning was getting more and more absurd.

Early the next morning, Fu Li unusually did not wake up from within Apollo's embrace.

Apollo had procured two horses from somewhere, and carrying simple bows, arrows, and packs, he truly led Fu Li into the woodlands at the outskirts of Mount Hymettus.

Apollo truly lived up to his name as the God of Archery, his skill utterly transcendent.

Fu Li barely saw his movements before a plump wild rabbit in the distance dropped to the ground at the sound.

The efficiency was astonishingly high.

Fu Li's main task was collecting the game.

Occasionally, under Apollo's guidance, he tried to draw a bow suitable for beginners.

"Raise your arm higher, straighten your back and waist, follow the arrow with your gaze... Yes, just like that, steady your breathing..."

Apollo stood behind him, close enough that Fu Li could feel the warm breath brushing past his ear as he spoke.

Apollo's hand covered his on the bowstring, slightly adjusting the angle.

"Now, release."

"Whoosh—"

The arrow flew out crookedly, hitting a tree trunk a dozen steps away.

It missed the targeted prey by a mile.

Fu Li was somewhat discouraged.

Apollo, however, let out a light laugh, low and pleasant.

He teased:

"Strength is acceptable, but your aim needs much more practice."

He didn't let go of his hand. Instead, maintaining that posture, almost half-embracing Fu Li, he drew another arrow and set it on the bowstring.

"Watch closely, Fu Li."

His breath came closer, golden strands of hair even brushing past Fu Li's neck.

Fu Li's body stiffened slightly. Sensing the aggressive emotion from the other end of the telepathic link, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

The arrow shot out like a shooting star, precisely hitting a wild pheasant peeking its head out from a bush in the distance.

"Wow..."

Fu Li exclaimed in admiration subconsciously.

Apollo was very satisfied with his reaction. He released his hand, stepped back half a pace, and raised his chin slightly:

"A trivial skill."

At that very moment, an aura of divine power, as cool and clear as moonlight, silently permeated the area.

Apollo and Fu Li turned their heads simultaneously.

In the forest clearing not far away, there stood a tall, slender, and vigorous figure at some unknown time.

Silver armor, long golden hair tied behind her head, a silver bow on her back, and a quiver of arrows at her waist. It was the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis.

She was staring at them intently, unblinkingly.

There was no expression on Artemis's face, and the aura around her was cold enough to freeze the air itself.

She had clearly been here for a while, having taken in everything: Apollo teaching Fu Li archery hand-in-hand, Fu Li's exclamation of admiration, and Apollo's proud and intimate "trivial skill."

Apollo's movements stiffened almost imperceptibly, then he straightened his spine and subtly moved Fu Li behind him.

He met his sister's gaze:

"Artemis, what are you doing here?"

Artemis's gaze slowly swept over the two of them.

"I came to patrol my woodlands. As for you, Apollo, since when have you developed such a strong interest in teaching a mortal to hunt? We meet again, Fu Li."

Seeing her focus shift to Fu Li, Apollo furrowed his brows:

"He needs to stockpile meat for winter. As his patron, I naturally have the responsibility to ensure his survival."

The reasoning was high-sounding.

"Apollo, you're not yourself."

Artemis spoke softly.

Apollo: "?"

What was different?

Fu Li: "?"

What was different?

Artemis: "You've grown accustomed to mortal life. This is something you have never done before."

"Art needs to come from life."

Apollo argued.

Artemis looked at him quietly. "Art naturally comes from life, but can't you hear the music you've been playing?"

"You have fallen into a romantic affair."

Fu Li blinked. Wasn't love one of the eternal sources of inspiration?

Fu Li, steeped in modern music, completely did not understand what playing love songs meant in Ancient Greece.

Apollo retorted without thinking: "Love is a primordial voice of the world. I am rational. I know what I am doing."

"Rational?" Artemis smiled. "It's truly a joy to hear that word from your lips."

"Since you have come to my woodlands, accompany me in the hunt."

Just as Fu Li felt he was about to be sent away again, Artemis proposed they travel together.

Just for preparing for winter, he was actually going to be accompanied by two deities.

Fu Li felt the pressure was immense.