Chapter 2882: Red Tape and Etiquette

This was why you couldn't just take health supplements at random.

As the guide who had led the way in the battle that brought down the King of Ye Island, Fu Qian naturally remembered the traces left by that figure clearly, and made a point of checking on them every time he visited.

Originally, the whole thing had been crumpled into a ball, pinched tight between those limbs and claws.

Now, he was certain that in that exact same spot, that one particular trace was missing.

The most reasonable explanation was that after struggling for all this time, Anjing had finally been digested by the Red Moon.

As for the King of Ye Island sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, enduring in silence for days before pulling off a body takeover?

That development sounded inspiring enough, sure, but there was no forgetting the case he had just run into back in the Archipelago.

Old Man Lu and Excellency Kikuchi had proven through personal experience that if you turtled all the way to the end, you would most likely still end up refined.

In fact, the Red Moon had already been steadily showing off the results of that refinement.

Like the chair gifted to him, or the Embrace Armor on his body.

He had guessed back then that this "Mother" was so deft and crafty very likely because she was using the authority of the King of Ye Island to refine consensus or widely circulated concepts from the虛—the illusory—into reality.

Even so, in Fu Qian's eyes, the scene before him still held extra research value. Namely, it further confirmed that even among the New Gods, those meant to die would still die, and the Red Moon had the power to execute them.

Higher entities were hard to kill—he had seen that more than once in past missions.

Even when driven into a dead end, even when their very form of existence had been crushed, they always had all sorts of tricks to cling to life.

To say nothing of the Deity Burial Ground, even the Ancient Tyrant—who had been ganged up on and brutally executed back in the day—had later shown lingering traces of personal will.

As for how they managed that, he had formed a few guesses before.

Much like the endpoint of a cultivation path, the will of traditional higher entities could fuse deeply with the essence of their authority, leaving behind an Imprint inside it that was nearly impossible to erase.

In fact, to Fu Qian, the way Excellency Anjing had been curled up into a ball earlier was likely a similar manifestation.

Without a factor on that conceptual level, just how hard a shell would Excellency Anjing have needed to last this long in the Red Moon's grasp before being crushed?

Still, having said all that, there was one fact he had to accept.

The nutritional supplements he had haphazardly bought for "Mother" seemed to have caused a bad reaction.

Anjing's absorbed abilities, paired with the true name the Red Moon had reclaimed, had come together to create this astonishing sweet home right in front of him.

"Tilanqi..." "Tilanqi..."

Well over a hundred Red Moons were still murmuring to themselves, repeating that name over and over.

"Thank you—"

Not only that, they were even looking his way and thanking him.

That reaction further proved his earlier guess: her turning out like this really was directly tied to him calling out that name back then.

"However, you mustn't call Mother by her name directly."

While clearly delighted by it, the Red Moon even gave him an earnest reminder, as if telling a junior that doing so was impolite.

...

For a grand higher entity like you, where did you even pick up all this red tape and etiquette?

In that moment, even Fu Qian nearly lost his composure.

The Red Moon's voice was warm and soft, yet her tone and demeanor were so down-to-earth that it was easy to tell: since establishing their "kinship," this was the very first time she was "scolding" him.

All he could say was, wasn't she getting a little too into this roleplay? Coming from a "Mother," reminding a little brat like this really wasn't out of line.

Still, plenty of ordinary parents these days didn't even care about that sort of thing anymore. For someone of the Red Moon's transcendent status to make a point of emphasizing it created quite a jarring contrast.

Normally speaking, human ethics should be nothing more than scrap paper to your crowd, right?

"Understood."

Thankfully, Fu Qian didn't suffer from traditional rebelliousness. He agreed right away and waited quietly for the next instruction.

Strictly speaking, this really wasn't like his usual style.

An Ancient Higher Being who seemed to have regained her sanity?

And who even treated him as her double Offspring—both biologically and sociologically?

Just how much was there to talk about, and how many secrets could be dug up here?

Not to mention that the party involved was also a major participant in the Chronicles of the Moon.

No matter how you looked at it, a golden opportunity for a massive leap in mysticism was right before his eyes—too bad there were over a hundred of said party standing in front of him.

Setting aside how to sort out the household registration issue, for a higher entity that placed extreme emphasis on uniqueness, this in itself was an extraordinarily dangerous signal. That was also why, from the very first glance, he had been worried that something had gone wrong from eating that health supplement.

"Good child... you must be tired, right?"

Of course, the Red Moon didn't look worried at all; on the contrary, she was fussing fondly over her "child."

"You've been to so many places lately..."

"And got hurt..."

And it was dozens, even hundreds of portions of concern all at once.

The Red Moons looking his way were speaking different lines, yet there wasn't the slightest sense of noise or chaos.

Instead, they echoed one another in seamless harmony, jointly expressing their worry for a child who had come home late.

So she really had been watching all along?

The injury was from earlier; as far as Fu Qian was concerned, during this scientific expedition in the Archipelago, the changes to his Health Bar had been barely noticeable.

Including when he executed the Tier 2 contender Sha Ming.

Thanks to the extra suppression from the Heart Seal Ring, that seemingly monumental task had been wrapped up with effortless ease.

Of course, part of the reason was that Sha Ming himself hadn't been in great shape.

Although he was already a true Tier 2, losing the Record of True Transcription last time seemed to have affected him to some degree.

Otherwise, dealing with someone like Ibu wouldn't have required so many little tricks.

All in all, the last time he had been injured rather badly was back at the Inverted Lake.

So much so that, in Fu Qian's view, the Red Moon's remark practically proved that as his "Mother," whether she showed herself during the process or not, she was keeping an eye on him whenever she had the free time.

"Actually, I'm much better already. No need to worry."

Such deep care was undoubtedly both touching and enough to make a person afraid to make a wrong move.

Fortunately, Fu Qian held no resentment about living under surveillance; he simply flexed and waved his Left Hand nimbly, showing "Mother" that all his parts were still intact.

"Sit down, you need to rest..."

Too bad the other party wasn't really buying it, immediately demonstrating what it meant when your mom thinks you're tired.

The closest Red Moon among them had even stepped right up to take Fu Qian by that Left Hand, gesturing for him to follow her over to the side and sit down. ...Are you sure about that?

There was nothing wrong with the words themselves—after all, there was already a chair on the Half-Step Moon, and it was even the exact same model as the one placed back on his side.

The problem was, setting aside the fact that someone was already sitting in it—one of the triple-digit Red Moons, no less.

Even if he could squeeze into the remaining space and sit down, theoretically, the moment he sat on it, wouldn't he be sent straight back to the Academy or The Bookstore?

Given the current situation, if he wanted to come back again after that, he would probably have to wait for the next Burial Scroll.