The Weight of a Silver Pendant

At this moment, within Li Chunsheng’s home, Liuxia gazed at the silver, tower-shaped pendant she had discovered beneath Li Chunsheng’s bedding, her expression involuntarily falling into a daze.

“Chunsheng… why?”

This particular pendant, with its distinctive shape, was something she had once seen in the possession of her former girlfriend, Mu Shengling, back when Liuxia herself had still been a man.

At that time, Liu Xia had, out of curiosity, inquired about its nature.

Mu Shengling had explained, “This is an emblem of the Temple of Life lineage. Only Saintess candidates and those bestowed with the title of Golden Paladin are permitted to possess it.”

“Liu Xia, if you can become a man worthy of me in the future…”

“Then, sooner or later, you too will possess this—strive hard.”

Inspired by that memory, the former Liu Xia had striven relentlessly.

Yet now, that very same memory resurrected the darker emotions Liuxia had long sought to bury.

During the period when she and Mu Shengling were still together, Liu Xia had introduced Mu Shengling to a junior whom he cherished dearly: Li Chunsheng.

However, on that particular day, Liu Xia had observed a peculiar expression on his girlfriend Mu Shengling’s face as she looked at Li Chunsheng.

Initially, he had not given it much thought.

After all, Li Chunsheng was renowned as the most handsome boy at the Little Sun Orphanage, so strikingly beautiful that it was baffling why he had been abandoned at its doorstep.

From childhood, Li Chunsheng had never lacked special attention from girls his age—a pity, however, that his aptitude was considered exceptionally poor.

‘It seems Shengling has a good impression of Chunsheng. I hope she can help Chunsheng alongside me in the future…’

Yet in the days that followed, Liu Xia realized it was far more than merely a ‘good impression’; he discovered that his girlfriend, Mu Shengling, seemed excessively concerned about Li Chunsheng…

Her concern was so pronounced that Mu Shengling constantly fabricated excuses to approach Li Chunsheng.

‘Shengling and Chunsheng…’

At the time, he dared not believe the suspicion forming in his heart.

Fortunately, his junior seemed quite annoyed by his girlfriend, consistently taking steps to avoid her.

This offered Liu Xia a small measure of comfort, even as he felt a pang of guilt for harboring such dark thoughts about his junior.

All of this had happened so long ago…

Liuxia had kept these matters suppressed deep within her heart until today, when a nightmare involving all three of them, coupled with the accidental discovery of this silver, tower-shaped pendant, brought them rushing back.

“Why does Chunsheng possess this item?”

‘Could it be that he and Shengling truly…’

At this thought, Liuxia felt a searing pain in her heart, unwilling to delve any deeper.

On one side was a junior she trusted, and on the other, a girlfriend she had once loved.

Even if Shengling had ultimately betrayed her…

The young woman still refused to believe that the other person had long since lost all affection for him.

Yet…

Liuxia couldn’t help but recall Mu Shengling’s expression—so cold, so utterly merciless—when, at rock bottom and on the verge of bankruptcy, he had sought her out to ask for some financial support in the form of gold coins.

“Is that so? Then let’s break up… Liu Xia, the moment you become a man who asks a woman for money…”

“You forfeit your right to be a man and are no longer worthy of me…”

Having uttered these words, Mu Shengling turned and departed without a single backward glance, devoid of any lingering attachment.

Only the powerless Liu Xia remained, standing forlornly in the rain, consumed by self-loathing for his own inadequacy.

‘Indeed, earning gold coins is a man’s sacred duty… How could I possibly ask a woman for money?’

‘In the end… I still couldn’t become anyone’s ‘indispensable person’…’

Liu Xia ultimately failed to avert bankruptcy, and at that time, he believed no one was willing to help him anymore.

Soon after, Investigator Liao from District 13 began to pursue him, forcing the disgraced man into a frantic flight.

What followed was Liu Xia’s transformation into a Goblin, and the grave injury he inflicted upon Li Chunsheng, leaving him on the brink of death.

She had believed such a version of herself could never be forgiven, yet Li Chunsheng, miraculously revived, had readily pardoned her.

It was as if he had never held anything against Liuxia.

Following this, the young woman further discovered that she possessed a miraculous healing effect on her junior.

Chunsheng had forgiven her; she was useful to Chunsheng.

These two facts alone provided Liuxia, the ‘useless person,’ with a compelling reason to live.

Perhaps, she could simply continue living this way. Liuxia harbored this anxious hope.

However, the pendant she had found today shattered this fragile aspiration.

Whether Li Chunsheng had a connection to Mu Shengling, or to the Paladins themselves… either possibility rendered Liuxia’s position exceedingly perilous.

‘Compared to those individuals, what was she to her junior? Merely a failure, a detestable Goblin. Was her minuscule usefulness now truly worth Li Chunsheng abandoning those people, or even confronting them?’

“When that time comes… what should I do?”

Liuxia instinctively recoiled from contemplating the question, her gaze drifting aimlessly as if searching for something to distract her thoughts.

Suddenly, the wall clock in the room chimed.

“Ah, it’s four o’clock already. Time to make dinner for Chunsheng…”

Liuxia’s eyes dimmed as she murmured, resembling a mere automaton.

She had only woken in the afternoon; had she truly been lost in thought for such a prolonged period?

‘He should be back soon, shouldn’t he? After all, Chunsheng mentioned his job doesn’t require overtime…’

Liuxia, feeling disoriented, made her way to the kitchen, retrieved ingredients from the refrigerator, and began to cook.

She sought to bury the thoughts she wished to avoid by immersing herself in activity.

As time slowly passed, the aroma of the cooking food began to permeate the entire room, patiently awaiting its master to savor its deliciousness.

Liuxia, too, sat quietly, much like a new bride, her heart brimming with anticipation for her husband’s return.

Time slipped away like sand through her fingers, and Liuxia’s resolve wavered increasingly.

It was already well past her junior’s agreed-upon quitting time; even accounting for travel, it shouldn’t have taken this long.

‘Chunsheng, why isn’t he back yet?’

The conjectures she had forcibly suppressed began to resurface within Liuxia’s mind.

‘Could it be that Chunsheng went to find the Paladins?’

Indeed, she was, in her own estimation, a failure: not only incapable of producing gold, but also a monster who harbored an instinctual desire for him.

Such a being, if allowed to remain, would only bring calamity…

Liuxia stumbled towards the kitchen, seizing a chef’s knife. The blade’s surface reflected a visage utterly different from her former self.

‘Should the current me perhaps offer myself up to Chunsheng willingly?’

‘Would such a me be more valuable to Chunsheng?’

A commoner cleverly outwitting and capturing an incredibly cunning Goblin, capable of transforming into a woman.

‘That would surely be a great achievement, wouldn’t it?’

‘Or perhaps, he would personally bring the Paladins to her doorstep, delivering her final judgment?’

Unconsciously, Liuxia drifted towards the apartment door beside the kitchen, her vacant eyes fixed upon it—as if her ultimate fate lay just beyond.

‘Could I truly accept the end he brings me with equanimity?’

The young woman pondered quietly, then suddenly noticed the knife she had carried from the kitchen.

Ah, why had she brought the knife?

‘Did she intend to harm Chunsheng?’

“No…!”

Liuxia vehemently shook her head. Even though she had become a monster, she had never truly harbored a desire to harm her junior.

In truth, it was…

‘She simply didn’t want to be abandoned while still alive, did she?’

Gazing at the tightly shut door, Liuxia felt an inexplicable urge to weep.

Yet, when one’s sorrow reached its absolute peak, perhaps tears simply refused to fall?

Such was Liuxia, who merely stared blankly at the door.

“I’m sorry, senior, I lack the courage to hand myself over alive… I…”

As Liuxia reversed her grip on the knife, her hand trembling as she raised it towards her own neck, she suddenly heard footsteps echoing from the hallway outside the door.

Only one person… it was Li Chunsheng.

‘Why now, of all times, had he returned?’

Liuxia panicked. She had contemplated death, but never imagined dying in front of her junior.

The thought of her junior witnessing her near-death state, her instinctive struggles, and the potential trauma such a grim sight might inflict upon him, sent a sharp pang through Liuxia’s heart.

‘Since I’m already useless, I shouldn’t further harm those around me, should I?’

Liuxia returned the knife to the kitchen and waited silently by the door for it to open. Having momentarily abandoned her intent to end her life, she noticed more details.

‘Chunsheng’s footsteps today are exceptionally vigorous… has he reached Bronze-tier?’

‘Has he received a promotion from the Temple? In that case… perhaps a Paladin is stealthily concealing their footsteps behind him?’

‘Then… it might not just be one person…’

These conjectures made Liuxia bite her lip, a knot of apprehension tightening within her. As the footsteps outside grew nearer, she instinctively clutched a long-handled ladle.

“He’s here!”

The front door swung open instantly, revealing that familiar face.

“Senior, I’m back!”

A joyful voice emanated from him.