X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerThe next morning, despite having rested through the night, Menglinna still felt no desire to get up.
Silently noting that Nanaya couldn’t hold her liquor, Menglinna began her day’s work.
Though she called it work, there wasn’t much to do—just leading the prayers and then sitting in her office to handle documents.
Because she and Nanaya had dealt with most of the backlog the day before, Menglinna was now exceptionally idle.
Earlier, she had visited Nanaya’s room and found her still dizzy, barely able to stand.
With nothing else to occupy her, Menglinna decided to wander next door to the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Ah, you’re alone today?”
Seeing that familiar face appear, Miaomiaonia couldn’t help but be surprised.
Noticing the other’s little hand already starting to rummage through the files on her desk, Menglinna quickly said, “I’m not here for a commission today.”
“I see,” Miaomiaonia’s voice carried a hint of disappointment, then suddenly turned fearful. “You’re not here to collect this month’s patent fee, are you?”
Menglinna scratched her neck. “That wouldn’t be out of the question.”
“Oh, my poor coins…”
With a heavy heart, Miaomiaonia placed a small pouch of gold coins on the table.
Menglinna pocketed the gold before speaking slowly. “Actually, I didn’t come for the money today.”
“Then can you give the gold back?”
“Of course not,” Menglinna refused outright. “Speaking of which, how much do you know about Higher Beings?”
At the mention of “Higher Beings,” Miaomiaonia’s face maintained its usual careless expression, but her eyes sharpened considerably. “‘Higher Being’ is a very broad term. If I had to say, even the deity you worship counts as a Higher Being.”
Menglinna certainly hadn’t come to chat idly. Her memory of yesterday’s bard was simply too vivid, and given his demeanor, she couldn’t help but worry.
“Do you know of any Higher Being who looks like an elf and enjoys being a bard?”
Miaomiaonia hadn’t expected Menglinna to be so direct and specific. She paused before answering. “We don’t know many Higher Beings, but I can tell you that not many can disguise themselves as humans—or perhaps we just don’t know them. Still, your description is too vague. Can you be more specific?”
After a moment’s thought, Menglinna decided to recount last night’s encounter to Miaomiaonia. “Yesterday, while we were drinking at the bar, we met a bard…”
As Menglinna narrated, Miaomiaonia’s expression shifted from seriousness to cold sweat.
“Is everything you said true?”
Menglinna nodded. “I have no reason to lie to you.”
Miaomiaonia’s face turned pale. “Then according to what you’ve said, we’ve already drawn the attention of a malicious Higher Being. Who knows when they might decide to retaliate!”
“We?”
Menglinna didn’t understand why Miaomiaonia was included.
Suppressing her anxiety, Miaomiaonia explained to Menglinna, “According to your account, we used the sandworm to kill those two, angering that Higher Being. You’re directly involved, and I am…”
“It knows that?”
“Of course. Nothing escapes its eyes.”
For a moment, silence fell between them. Menglinna looked at her own palm before finally speaking. “Then what should we do?”
“We have our work cut out for us.” Miaomiaonia picked up the adventurer’s ledger beside her. “We can’t just sit around. We need to take the initiative and find a way to take that thing down.”
Menglinna pouted. “But it’s a Higher Being. By your own words, they’re practically gods, right?”
Even though she had bullied the “Flame Evil God” quite happily, Menglinna knew not all gods were as pathetic as that one.
“No problem. Old Yahan has done plenty—they’ve even killed the offspring of Higher Beings, more than once.”
Menglinna refrained from commenting.
“I’ll organize the adventurers to investigate the ruins of Old Yahan. I’ll also look into the characteristics you described. If I find anything, I’ll inform you right away.” Miaomiaonia pulled out a pen and handed it to Menglinna. “This is a message pen. If you encounter anything unusual, use it to contact me. Using this won’t leave any traces detectable by Higher Beings.”
Menglinna took the pen and tucked it into her robe pocket. “And us?”
“Prepare as best you can. If possible, I hope you can step up your investigation of that entity. Maybe they’ll slip into the bar again.”
Back at the church, seeing that Naya had mostly sobered up, Menglinna made her drink some tea.
Finally clear-headed, Naya picked up a steamed bun from the table, took a couple of bites, then looked at Menglinna.
Though she had been terribly drunk, Naya still remembered Menglinna had briefly visited her before leaving again.
Something on her mind?
Naya’s thoughts began to wander.
“By the way,” after a moment, Naya decided to ask, “I successfully changed class to Judgment Warrior earlier!”
Menglinna was taken aback, then smiled softly and applauded. “A bit late, but congratulations anyway.”
“Thanks,” Naya nodded. “But in the trial’s illusion, I saw something very strange?”
Without overthinking, Menglinna replied, “The trial’s illusions don’t follow any pattern. It could be a historical battle, or someone’s memory. In any case, it shouldn’t stray too far from reality.”
Naya knew this explanation well, but the more she understood, the more wrong it felt.
“My trial was to defeat the ‘Flame Giant’—you know, the time we went to beat the fire person.”
Menglinna nodded. “For you, that’s practically an open-book exam.”
But Naya gently shook her head. “No, the illusion was completely different from reality. In the illusion, it was a private army that set out to eliminate the ‘Flame Evil God’.”
A clang rang in Menglinna’s heart, but she steadied herself and asked, “Doesn’t that make it easier?”
“It’s not about difficulty,” Naya stared into Menglinna’s eyes. “In that illusion, you seemed to be a man?”
Isn’t this my past life?
Menglinna would have dismissed it as a coincidence, but clearly Naya didn’t think so.
A private army, with me leading it—wasn’t that exactly the scenario from when she’d gone to fight the Lava Evil God in her previous life?
Feeling a twinge of guilt, Menglinna averted her gaze. “Just a coincidence. Same name, same face, that sort of thing…”
Naya suddenly reached out and grabbed her cheek. “Then why are you so guilty!”
Caught off guard, Menglinna cried out, “Are you accusing me of being a man? Then come feel for yourself!”
As she spoke, she unbuttoned the front of her robe.
At Menglinna’s bold move, Naya only glanced and looked away. “I’ve already felt before… I’m not accusing you of being a man now.”
“Then what are you trying to do!”
Naya narrowed her eyes, watching Menglinna warily. “I’m just curious why you reacted so strongly to my question.”
Under Naya’s sharp gaze, Menglinna felt like a mouse stared down by a hawk. A chill ran down her spine as she shrank her neck and replied, “It’s because your way of asking was too weird. Anyone would be scared hearing that tone…”
Naya didn’t confirm or deny, simply looking at her in silence.
Bringing up her reincarnation now would be too abrupt. Menglinna had no intention of revealing it, so she changed the subject, talking about the Higher Being.
Naya clearly saw through Menglinna’s attempt to divert, but after hearing a few words, she realized the issue with the Higher Being was indeed serious, so she set aside the previous topic for now.
“So you’re saying we’re now targeted by a Higher Being?”
Menglinna nodded. “According to Miaomiaonia, that’s the case.”
“From what you’ve said, Miaomiaonia doesn’t seem to be deceiving us.” Naya stroked her chin. “Then should we go drink at the bar again?”
Recalling how she had barely managed to carry the drunk Naya back to her room, Menglinna still shuddered. “Let’s skip that.”
Naya understood her implication. “You’re complaining about me?”
“No,” Menglinna instinctively denied, then scrambled to cover herself. “The Higher Being is too dangerous. Rushing to find them like that would be too risky.”
Naya shook her head. “Some Higher Beings aren’t as powerful as you imagine. There are even man-made Higher Beings.”
Menglinna was more surprised that Higher Beings could be artificially created than by Naya’s calmness. “You knew that?”
Naya said softly, “In the lab at Yahan Central Hospital, the documents clearly stated that if humans can access higher-dimensional knowledge and observe higher dimensions through special means, they can ascend to the ranks of Higher Beings.”
Menglinna understood her meaning. “But such a Higher Being wouldn’t be very powerful?”
“Approximately?”
Menglinna was about to nod, but then recalled the javelin the bard had tucked behind his back. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
No way—even if it was just a projection, that thing was an absolute game-changer. There was no way that Higher Being could be too weak, right?
“But regardless, we need to head to the ruins of the divine temple… that would be acting rashly.”
Naya didn’t argue. She trusted Menglinna’s judgment, but more than that, she could see from Menglinna’s expression that she knew something.
Since she wasn’t willing to talk now, then Naya would wait.
Sooner or later, Menglinna would open her heart to her.
……
As Miaomiaonia had said, she was indeed trying her best in her own way.
The Adventurer’s Guild, with no new dungeons appearing, decided to open up exploration of the Old Yahan ruins.
However, the entrance wasn’t under the Hunter’s Workshop in the desert, as Menglinna knew, but an underground passage not far outside Yahan city.
It was said to be an escape tunnel left by Old Yahan. One had to travel a distance inside to truly reach the ruins.
Contrary to her imagination, most of the Old Yahan ruins were filled with fodder skeletons and undead. The sandworm they had encountered before was nowhere to be seen.
Setting down the report, Miaomiaonia gave a wry smile. “It seems my actions were too big and already alerted that Higher Being. Finding its traces in the ruins will likely be very difficult.”
“That’s not your fault. Did you find any information on that entity?”
Not surprised by this outcome, Menglinna was more interested in whether they had found any clues about the Higher Being.
“So far, we’ve only found a few beings with partially matching characteristics, like the shape-shifting ‘Chameleon’ and the poetry-loving ‘Hamali’.” Miaomiaonia patted the stack of documents beside her. They weren’t many, but each was thick.
Looks like further confirmation of that entity’s identity will have to rely on new discoveries in the ruins.
……
When the two returned to the church, everyone was gathered in a circle.
As the matriarch, Menglinna found it strange and stepped forward to look.
Standing at the pulpit was a young priestess, seemingly no older than thirty. She had been preaching something, but upon seeing Menglinna, she immediately ended her speech.
The nuns dispersed like startled birds, leaving only Menglinna and Naya standing there, facing the priestess.
If Menglinna remembered correctly, this priestess wasn’t part of their church. Given her demeanor, she was probably an inspector sent by the central church.
Before Menglinna could speak, the priestess took out a letter from her person. “Miss Menglinna, this is a letter entrusted to me by your old pal to deliver to you.”
Caught off guard by such a personal matter, Menglinna awkwardly took the letter.
Probably just some pointless stuff…
Menglinna tucked the letter into her pocket and continued to look at the priestess.
As if to show she was impartial, the priestess produced another letter. “Candidate Saintess, this is a letter from the church I was asked to bring to you.”
Naya politely thanked her and also placed the letter in her pocket.
Your next favorite story awaits! Don't miss out on What Are You Looking At? That's My Wife! – click to dive in!
Read : What Are You Looking At? That's My Wife!
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂