He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter Seventy Three - The God and his Guardian

Author's note; A big thank you to claira232 for this awesome book cover. I haven't decided if I will use it, torn between this and my own creation... but I am sharing it here regardless. I'll happily accept offering for the other books though!

Within the Holy Lands, there have always been a small number of people that could be said to be blessed by the God. These people are recognised through the little gifts they are born with; an unshakable weather sense, an ability to read the stars, able to soothe even savage beasts with a song. The one who was found to have the greatest of gifts was believed to be host to the Living God.

When Hu Zhen Kang was a child, the priests came to look for the body of the Living God and his father had faith that it was his second son, Hu Zhelan who held the deity in his soul. Hu Zhelan was very gifted, able to find lost things and lost people, surely no other child was quite as special as he. Hu Jia was excited, fathers and sons already occupied the government as officials, to have their blood be upon the highest seat within the land would guarantee their fortunes for a lifetime.

However, the priests did not choose Hu Zhelan, another child was chosen, one who was said to have 'feelings of fate,' the odd ability to know where he or others or even items should be at the most opportune time. What feelings? Surely Hu Zhelan's gift was greater than these 'feelings.' But however opposed Hu Gengxin was (although he could not voice this for fear of angering the priests and the God), he was silenced when the large, pale eyed boy of just four years of age told him he should visit the river beside Hu Jia immediately. When he did, he pulled out Hu Zhelan, moments from death; his son had been looking for a cousin's lost bracelet. Hu Gengxin always held his tongue after this, yet Hu Jia still looked on feeling as if the pot of gold had been snatched from beneath their noses!

Having grown up in that ill wind, Hu Zhen Kang had become an official, like his father before him, but holding onto the belief that the seat of the Living God should belong to Hu Jia. Hu Zhelan was too old now to be considered, he held no bitterness and was in love and loved by his childhood sweetheart. They were due to wed soon. However the gifted often came to be in Hu Jia and his own son held promising early signs and his wife was pregnant again. Yet these children would be overlooked while the host of the Living God still breathed.

And then the Emperor of the Empire that surrounded them, sent a strange proposal to the Holy Lands; the Emperor wished to make the Living God his Empress. "He is aware that His Holiness is a man?" joked Official Quan.

"Perhaps his eyes are as poor as his Empire!" Official Sun quipped.

"Now, now, let us not anger the dragon nor belittle the tiger," said Official Xiao. "We will peacefully decline. The Living God cannot leave the Holy Lands just as the Emperor cannot leave the Empire. As such, even were the Living God a woman, would not make for a fruitful marriage."

The other Officials agreed with Xiao, he was an elder and widely respected, but still they mocked the Emperor behind closed doors.

Official Hu was allowed to pen the rejection, but unknown to others, he penned two; one for others to agree to, one to send. His harsh words had the reaction he desired and his spies sent word that thanks to pillow talk, General Jun was on the move.

The Living God made his scheme easier when he declared that he needed to travel south, to the Summer Temple in order to find the Guardian. The Officials were excited and pleased by his words, for had they all not been seeking the Guardian since the rebirth of their God? Official Hu was especially pleased and allowed this knowledge to leak into the hands of their enemies. And now all he had to do was sit back and wait...

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It is said that for every Living God, there is a Guardian. Not all Guardians were said to have the capacity to protect the body of the Living God and not all Guardians were said to be able to care for the spirit of the Living God. It was thought that perhaps the Guardian was simply the host of the second Living God's beloved wife's spirit (the first had been an adult priest who kept his body pure). Unable to live without her, she was reborn as he was.