God’s Descent: Chapter 18

Nightingale and The Rose

“Holy shit!!!” Huang Jinghui ran onto the stage in astonishment, picked up the withered flower, “Task item!!”

“Teacher You, you’re truly a genius! You guessed it long ago, didn’t you!”

Huang Jinghui joyfully danced with the withered flower, almost rushing over to hug You Rongyi and give him a firm kiss, but he was stopped by You Rongyi’s cold gaze. “Give me the flower first.”

Huang Jinghui reluctantly handed over the flower.

You Rongyi took the withered flower and lowered his eyes to examine it carefully.

The petals of the flower had shriveled into pieces, covered in dust, indicating that it had withered for a long time. The stem of the flower was wrapped in a circle of paper, seemingly to protect against thorns.

You Rongyi used his fingertips to gently tear open the paper, and as the paper unfolded, the contents were revealed—it was a newspaper from two hundred years ago.

The large headline of the newspaper was bold and said: [King Moved Deeply by the Golden Nightingale’s Song, Decides to Let the Prince Marry One of the Beautiful Golden Nightingale Sisters!]

Below the big headline was a black and white photo.

The photo showed a pair of similar-looking girls, evidently the Isabella sisters from the performance. They had bright appearances, youthful expressions, curly long hair gathered behind their ears, and were dressed in somewhat ill-fitting plain dresses, giving the impression of humble circumstances.

They each held a rose in their hands, awkwardly standing on the stage, tightly gripping each other’s hands. There was a somewhat bewildered smile on their faces, as if they were stunned by this unexpected favor from above.

You Rongyi’s gaze shifted down to the specific content of the report:

[Tonight, the king will hold a grand Princess Selection Ceremony in the most beautiful Sylviidae Valley Garden in the Nightingale Kingdom, letting the prince decide which Golden Nightingale to marry!] [The Queen will be chosen tonight!]

In the moment of scanning the entire report, You Rongyi’s system panel popped up:

[Instance Background (Nightingale Kingdom History) Completeness: 38%] [The player has preliminarily touched upon the truth of the Nightingale Kingdom’s downfall. Keep up the good work and continue exploring!] [Triggered Quest: Tonight, infiltrate one of the Nightingale Kingdom’s relics on the island (Sylviidae Valley Garden) to find the withered Nightingale Rose] [Quest Completion Reward: 1000 Star Coins]

“Oh my, these sisters married into the royal family later!” Huang Jinghui leaned in, marveling, but then he sensed something odd. “Wait a minute, how did the bodies of these sisters end up in the opera house?”

A singer who married into the royal family, and later their bodies appearing in the opera house, in this twisted, half-human, half-bird state—it was horrifying no matter how one thought about it!

“That’s a question you should ask,” You Rongyi slowly said, “What did the king, who insisted on marrying off the Isabella sisters, eventually do to them?”

As soon as You Rongyi finished speaking, a gust of wind and snow blew in through the open main door, chilling the opera house to an eerie coldness. Huang Jinghui couldn’t help but shiver.

The sunlight slanted in as the door opened, reflecting upward. In the dim opera house, the golden chair of the king who had repelled the Isabella sisters shone brightly, extremely noble, the brightest thing in the entire opera house.

You Rongyi’s gaze swept over the chair, “The opera has ended, as spectators, we should leave. Let’s go. We can’t get any more information here.”

After the two left the opera house holding roses, a figure slowly walked out from behind the opera house.

The figure was not tall. In the faint light, he stood quietly in the snowy area beside the opera house, watching You Rongyi and the other person depart.

He wore a sparkling golden crown with the emblem of a nightingale.

[System Warning: Priest Boss (???) Appears] [Since the NPC’s identity is unknown to the player, no broadcast will be made. Players, please be vigilant on your own.]

After You Rongyi and the other left the opera house, the sky had already darkened, and heavy snow continued to fall. They walked for quite a while before returning to the path they had taken before.

“Let’s go back to Dylan’s house first,” You Rongyi exhaled a breath of white air. “We’re all starving, and we need to eat something. Plus, we need to gather more information from him.”

“Although I really don’t want to see that guy again,” Huang Jinghui thought of Dylan’s family’s strange behavior and felt a bit creeped out, but he honestly said, “But you’re smart. I’ll follow your lead.”

The two followed the same path back to Dylan’s house.

By this time, the lights in Dylan’s house were already on, indicating that Dylan and Angelina had returned.

Huang Jinghui took a deep breath, squeezed his hand, and knocked on the door again after mentally preparing himself.

“Knock, knock—”

The door was opened forcefully from the inside just as the knocking started. It seemed like the person inside had been eagerly waiting for them to knock. As soon as the door opened, Dylan’s face, brimming with a smile, appeared:

“You’re finally back. Did you have a good time on the island today?”

Following that, Dylan noticed You Rongyi, who was wearing feathered wings, and his eyes lit up, “Oh my, you look so suitable in that Nightingale Feather! “

[System Prompt: The island NPC Dylan’s favorability towards player You Rongyi +10, current favorability 85] [Favorability Level Description: Moderately infatuated]

Huang Jinghui, watching Dylan staring at the calm and silent You Rongyi with a fascinated expression, was left speechless—you’re too much of a face con!

Although he also thought that the feathered outfit suited Teacher You.

Suddenly, an angry female voice came from inside the house: “Gege! I said tonight, I won’t allow these two outsiders to continue staying in my house! I hate them!”

You Rongyi glanced at the system panel; there was no prompt. His eyes moved slightly.

“Angelina,” Dylan turned around, trying to persuade her helplessly, “They have nowhere else to go, and they’re just staying for the night. They haven’t disturbed us…”

Angelina shouted loudly, “Make these two outsiders get out of my house!”

After saying that, she angrily ran upstairs with knocking sounds. Dylan looked at Angelina’s retreating figure, sighed with a headache, and then turned to You Rongyi with an apologetic gesture, “Sorry about that. Angelina is too wary of outsiders.”

“I left food for you on the dining table; please help yourselves first.” Dylan said helplessly, “I need to go upstairs and talk to this stubborn little girl.”

His gaze lingered on You Rongyi’s face for a moment, and he spoke softly again, “Don’t worry tonight; I’ll try to persuade Angelina. You can still stay here.”

After Dylan chased after Angelina’s figure and went upstairs, You Rongyi withdrew his gaze and stepped into the house.

Inside the wooden cabin, everything was arranged neatly, much like the day before. The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, providing a warm atmosphere. On the dining table, there were roasted chicken, baguettes, and carrot beef soup—a visibly sumptuous feast.

However, it was also visibly untouched.

Huang Jinghui was quite hungry, but his first reaction to this table of food was not an increased appetite but a slight nausea. The thought of why Dylan, an NPC who fundamentally didn’t eat these things, prepared so much food for them gave him an indescribable sense of discomfort.

“Eat.” You Rongyi remained calm, just like yesterday. “After eating, we can ask Angelina and Dylan about the Sylviidae Valley Garden.”

“Angelina!?” Huang Jinghui swallowed a piece of bread, surprised, “You want to ask her? She seems very hostile towards us. Will she be willing to be questioned by us?”

“Very hostile?” You Rongyi raised an eyelid, “Not necessarily.”

Huang Jinghui was taken aback, “She almost kicked us out. Isn’t that hostility?”

“Her favorability toward us is 40 and 45, both above the favorability threshold that triggers attacks. It’s a normal level for negotiation.” You Rongyi calmly analyzed while leisurely tearing and eating the bread. “Moreover, except for the first encounter when her favorability decreased, despite her loud scolding just now, the system did not prompt us that her favorability had dropped.”

“Wait, you mean…” Huang Jinghui suddenly realized, “She scolded us so harshly just now, but it was—”

You Rongyi said indifferently, “—an act.”

“She acted so fiercely!” Huang Jinghui asked incredulously, “Then why did she pretend?”

“We’ll find out when we ask.” You Rongyi lowered his eyes, “Let’s see if she’s willing to tell us the reason.”

After the two finished their meal, Dylan also came down from the second floor.

“Angelina agreed to let you stay.” He said gently, “You don’t need to worry tonight. Rest well here. How was the food? Did you enjoy it?”

“Very delicious,” You Rongyi replied politely. “Thank you for the hospitality.”

“Really?” Dylan looked pleased, “I made it myself. It’s a good thing you liked it.”

“Did you make it? It tasted great, and I liked it very much.” You Rongyi briefly responded, then shifted to the main topic. “I would like to inquire about the Sylviidae Valley Garden. What is it?”

“Sylviidae Valley Garden?” Dylan hesitated upon hearing You Rongyi’s question, looking somewhat troubled. “This is one of the ceremonial venues… I’m sorry, but we can’t discuss related matters with outsiders.”

Huang Jinghui became nervous as soon as he heard this— if they couldn’t get map information from NPCs, their infiltration tonight would be in jeopardy! He looked at You Rongyi with some tension.

Teacher You, what should we do?

Even Huang Jinghui himself hadn’t noticed that this level 60 veteran was subconsciously following the commands of the newcomer, You Rongyi.

You Rongyi lowered his eyelids, and his long lashes trembled slightly. “Is it that Dylan, like Angelina, also thinks I am an outsider not worthy of trust?”

“Of course not!” Dylan looked flustered for a moment and hurriedly waved his hands. “I don’t mean that about you!”

Upon hearing this, You Rongyi raised his eyes, gazing at Dylan, his eyes subtly shifting. “Then why are you unwilling to tell me?”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling. It’s a rule of our islanders…” Dylan looked uneasy.

“Dylan,” You Rongyi said softly, “I thought that by putting on Dylan’s Nightingale clothes, I also became half an islander.”

He let his long lashes fall with a hint of melancholy. “I thought I was also part of Dylan’s family, but it seems that Dylan doesn’t feel that way.”

Dylan was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red, and he almost stood up in a fluster. Huang Jinghui watched in amazement.

This is definitely a beauty trap! It must be a beauty trap! Teacher You, your tone is too tempting! Who can resist this!

Why are you so skilled at this ah!

If you're enjoying the story don't forget to support the author! You can also support me on KOFI for site maintenance, raws purchase or as an energy boost~ 

Join discord to get notified whenever a new chapter is uploaded since I'm  incapable of keeping up with a schedule~