Chapter 140: Indebtedness

Under the clear azure sky, the sparkling fjords vanished into the distant horizon. The cold air pierced their nostrils like invisible snow and ice, and the two figures lingering along the coastline simultaneously thought of the phrase: a vast sky and boundless ocean. This was Norway, the land of the aurora and ice, and also the hometown of Afra Schultz.

"I remember Afra once telling me that before coming to Deer Academy, she lived in Tromsø, the capital of Troms County in Norway. If nothing goes wrong, this must be it." Qin Mo rubbed her hands together. Although the clothes she wore had automatically transformed into winter gear, as "The Gateway to the Arctic"—one of the northernmost cities in the world—temperatures here remained below 0°C for five months of the year, and it snowed half the time. The chill could easily be imagined.

Ji Ning took off his fluffy winter hat and placed it on Qin Mo's head, keeping his hands tucked into his pockets as he walked along the coastline toward the urban architecture. "Don't just stand there. Let's find Afra quickly and head back early. This place is certainly picturesque, but the cold is truly bone-chilling."

Although the sun was shining brightly at the moment, the ground was still covered in a thick layer of snow. Every step taken in the heavy snow boots produced a crunching sound. Qin Mo adjusted the hat on her head and then broke into a light jog to walk side by side with Ji Ning.

Seeming to recall something, Qin Mo eagerly tugged at the corner of Ji Ning's coat. "Afra told me that you can see the Northern Lights here, you know."

Ji Ning looked thoroughly unenthusiastic. "It's just oversized fireworks. What's so great about that?"

Qin Mo gave Ji Ning's arm a firm tug. Turning her head, she met a pair of unrelenting eyes. "You can see the aurora here."

Ji Ning nodded helplessly. "Then let's go watch the aurora."

Qin Mo satisfactorily released his swinging arm. "I accept your invitation."

Soon, the two of them spotted a statue located at the city pier. It was the legendary Norwegian explorer who was once famous enough to be featured in Chinese textbooks—Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to navigate the Northwest Passage and the first to reach the South Pole.

The two paused to observe for a moment, and then Ji Ning thought of an imminent problem: where were they supposed to find Afra?

Faced with Ji Ning's inquiry, Qin Mo was well-prepared. "We can go to the police station and look for her. We'll just say we're her friends, visiting Norway and accidentally separated from her."

After asking a passerby for directions to the police station, the two strolled leisurely like tourists. Of course, the reason they were in no particular hurry was not because they were too busy romancing to care about poor Afra; moving only after careful planning was the survival secret taught to them by Deer Academy. Until they confirmed whether this world was simply a replica of the reality, they would not make themselves overly conspicuous.

To be precise, they wouldn't attract Adonis's attention. A moment's thought was enough to guess that the place in this dream most likely to draw Adonis's attention would undoubtedly be wherever Afra was located.

Passing by the entrance of a coffee shop, Ji Ning came to a halt. "I just thought of something. How did you get the money necessary to live in my dreamscape?"

Qin Mo stopped as well. Staring intently at the cakes displayed in the storefront window, she replied, "By handing out flyers to accumulate funds. Once I found you, I didn't have to worry about money anymore."

Ji Ning swallowed hard. "Do you think anyone around here is hiring flyer distributors?"

Qin Mo sighed. "Without a passport or ID card, who's going to hire you? Working off the books isn't that simple."

Therefore, all spiritual entities entering the dreamscape had to abide by its fundamental rules; thus, here too they required food, clothing, shelter, and transportation just like normal people. Walking in the bitter cold was an extremely energy-consuming activity, and after trudging through the snow and ice for half an hour, the priority of finding Afra had dropped a tier for the two of them. Their most urgent task now was figuring out how to fill their stomachs.

Ji Ning pondered for a moment before speaking. "I heard that Nordic countries like Norway have exceptionally good welfare. Even homeless people on the street can go to charitable organizations and get good food."

Qin Mo cast a disdainful look at him. "Do you even have the nerve to accept handouts?"

"How can asking for help proactively be considered accepting handouts?" Ji Ning decided to find another passerby to ask where churches or charitable organizations were located. He wanted to test the rumors in person and see if foreign vagrants really got to eat steak for every meal.

***

Looking at the passerby who was conversing with Ji Ning while wearing an expression of utter bewilderment, Qin Mo wished she could pretend she didn't know the guy beside her.

As a nation where nearly everyone practiced religion, churches were practically everywhere. Today must have been Ji Ning's lucky day, as there was still a church distributing free food at this hour. Watching Ji Ning's eyes light up, Qin Mo could only mutter that he had no backbone, before grabbing hold of him.

"Help me get a portion too."

The elderly pastor looked with puzzlement at the sturdy young man before him. Though full of questions, his devout faith in God compelled him to hand over a relief meal.

Ji Ning made the sign of the cross over his chest and broke into a beaming smile. "Praise the Lord, could I please get another portion?"

Just as the pastor began to think this fellow might be here to cause trouble, Ji Ning looked at him with utmost seriousness. "My pastor, my wife and I just lost our wallets. Although we have already reported it to the police, we are currently penniless. I trust that the merciful Lord would not let His lambs walk home hungry. My wife is too shy and embarrassed to come claim the Holy Communion, but as her husband, how could I sit by and watch her suffer through hunger? It is written in the Bible: 'Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another.' This is my command."

The elderly pastor, well-read in the Gospel of John, hesitated no longer. With trembling hands, he handed Ji Ning a second relief meal.

Ji Ning made the cross over his chest once more. "Dear brothers, we ought to love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

There was no steak in the food box; Ji Ning could only recognize the salmon, some dried fish resembling black cod, a few potatoes, and some crusty brown bread. That was the entirety of the meal. Though the taste was nothing special, Ji Ning finished every last bite very earnestly. While packing up the food containers, he offered a brief moment of repentance: "Dear God, although I am an atheist, I hope You can forgive this rebellious lamb of mine. Surely, in Your mercy, You won't hold a grudge against me over this meal. Amen."

Qin Mo ate her salmon while watching Ji Ning's repentant act with great interest. Although logically speaking she ought to offer an apology to that merciful deity as well, she figured at least she hadn't lied; moreover, since Ji Ning had apologized, it was equivalent to her apologizing too. Most crucially, if Ji Ning really did end up in hell later on, she wouldn't let him be lonely, even without the excuse of this meal.

"Wipe that smile off your face. Don't grin so cheerfully while eating." Ji Ning poked Qin Mo's soft waist. The exceptional tactile feedback made him want to pull the lovely girl into an embrace, but out of respect for the food, he didn't free up his hands. After all, opportunities were plentiful; he would just find an excuse to hug her shortly.

Qin Mo uttered an "oh," and then smiled even more brightly, resembling a blooming heather flower braving the warm sun in the land of ice and snow.

"What's so funny?"

"Your repentance was far too insincere."

"My level of faith in religion is limited to merely knowing about it; how am I supposed to know the specific rituals? But the way I see it, matters of this sort rely on sincerity of heart—it's pretty much the same principle as burning incense and worshiping Buddha."

"I'm just curious, though, how did you manage to cadge two portions of food?"

"I said I had a thin-skinned wife who would end up like the Little Match Girl if she missed this meal."

Qin Mo swallowed her last bite of bread, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks—whether from the cold or from embarrassment was unclear. She packed away her lunchbox and cast a sideways glare at Ji Ning. "His Lordship the Almighty certainly doesn't like bad children who tell lies."

Ji Ning looked utterly innocent. "Well, I admit the second half was indeed a lie; she certainly wouldn't starve into the Little Match Girl just from missing this meal."

With a crimson flush on her face, Qin Mo reached out and pinched Ji Ning's ear. "Wife this, wife that—saying such things right to my face. You really have no shame."

Ji Ning didn't resist; he simply spread his hands. "It's only a matter of time."

Qin Mo turned her head away and ignored him, though she didn't actually refute the statement. The shy young girl was simultaneously flustered by someone's boldness and angry with herself for her own subconscious daydreams.

He was always trying to take advantage of her, and what was most infuriating was that she didn't even seem genuinely angry. If she acted like this, wouldn't he start looking down on her?

Qin Mo felt she ought to put on an angry expression so that he would at least understand she was a reserved and proud girl who wouldn't be bewitched by a few breezy sweet nothings. If he wanted to use that particular title for her, the current Ji Ning hadn't reached the corresponding level yet. She tossed her food container into a trash can and marched forward without looking back, refusing to spare Ji Ning even a glance.

Thinking his joke might have gone a bit too far, Ji Ning hurried to catch up, offering a soft-spoken apology: "All right, I shouldn't have joked like that. It was my fault, I won't ever..."

Before he could finish, Qin Mo stopped in her tracks, turned around, and shot him an icy glare. This time she didn't even need to fake it; her eyes were truly brimming with genuine annoyance. She pinched Ji Ning's ear and gave it a sharp twist, and still unsatisfied, delivered a kick to his shin.

What did he mean by a joke? What was that supposed to mean? Did he think what he said was just a joke, and that someone else would become his wife in the future?

"Shut up, I'm really angry right now." Having said that, Qin Mo gave him another indignant kick. Like a sulking child, she deliberately turned her face away, refusing to look at the Ji Ning beside her even as they rounded a corner.

Sensing he should avoid the sharp edge of her temper for the moment, Ji Ning maintained a delicate distance, lagging half a step behind—not blocking her line of sight like an obstacle, yet not staying too far away from the sulking girl. To be honest, this was the first time Qin Mo had ever acted so willful in front of him. Compared to the gentle and rational demeanor she usually showed others, Qin Mo now possessed a touch of childish petulance, which made her look rather adorable. As their relationship grew closer, this sort of almost tsundere behavior would predictably increase; knowing she was favored, she would indulge in a little bit of unreasonable spoiled behavior—this was presumably the unique sweetness belonging exclusively to girls in love.

After walking for over ten minutes, as they rounded a street corner, Qin Mo glared aggressively at Ji Ning. "If I don't talk to you, were you planning to stay silent forever?"

Ji Ning thought for a moment, then replied with the utmost sincerity, "I was reflecting on myself."

The corners of Qin Mo's mouth twitched upward slightly, though she quickly suppressed it. "Then tell me, what did you do wrong?"

Ji Ning had indeed been thinking over the past ten minutes, but he wasn't reflecting on what he had done wrong; rather, he was pondering how to handle the upcoming conversation. Thus, this question naturally fell well within his expectations.

"I was wrong to say it was a joke."

Qin Mo frowned. Before she could speak, Ji Ning continued, looking straight at her.

"I truly shouldn't have called it a joke, because it wasn't one—it was my genuine thought. I simply couldn't find any other title that could describe your status in my heart, so calling you my wife just slipped out. My dearest Qin Mo, in this world, to me, you are the most important person. Perhaps you think saying 'I love you' is too frivolous, but I can find no other emotion to adequately describe how I feel about you. In my brief life, you are the very first echo awaited by a secluded valley, the very first clear breeze awaited by the summer clouds. I love you. No matter how many times, no matter how long, my answer will never change: I love you."

*Level threshold reached. Authorization granted.*

Faced with this heartfelt confession, Qin Mo's lingering trace of anger was long since banished to Siberia. Her star-like, brilliant eyes were red-rimmed. She beckoned to Ji Ning and, predictably, threw her arms around him. The young girl's soft hair was filled with a lingering fragrance, and her exquisite figure trembled slightly. Ji Ning was nearly intoxicated by this familiar and enchanting scent, but a slight, sharp stinging sensation brought him back to reality.

Everything had gone according to his expectations, save for one detail: Qin Mo had used her incisors to leave a tiny "strawberry" mark on his neck.

Qin Mo breathed lightly against his ear, her voice a mix of excited wonder and sudden surprise, as if she herself were startled by her own actions. "This is a small reward."

As he watched Qin Mo walk on ahead with her hands clasped behind her, smiling like a blossom in full bloom, Ji Ning reached out to touch the mark on his neck. He recalled another line that His Lordship the Almighty had written in the Bible:

*Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.*