I Have a God Simulator

Tie Sai stood on the city wall, charcoal pencil in hand, adding the final stroke to the painting on his easel.

He let out a long breath, a hint of reluctance in his sigh.

On the sheepskin canvas was a depiction of Crystal City from an angled, bird’s-eye view.

The city was guarded by four tall surrounding walls, each adorned with a towering, straight obelisk. These were totems left behind by the Old Gods. The Yao God had not destroyed them, but instead tasked them with the continued duty of defending the city.

Whenever the Slaughter Flying Locusts drew near the walls, they would be scorched by the blazing fire spewing from the totems.

A road extended outward from the city gate, splitting to the left and right to form the first main ring road encircling Crystal City.

To the west, the main road continuously branched out into smaller paths. A web of routes, large and small, fanned out around the ancient, magnificent city, but they all originated from this one road.

After the Empire fell, the villages along the roadside became completely desolate. Compounded by the ravages of the locust swarms, the wooden houses and farmland were utterly destroyed. Now, only the remains of some stone walls and houses were left, amid a land of sand and gravel.

The wind swept dust and sand into the air, causing these dilapidated villages to flicker in and out of sight, like a mirage.

The local Ghosts said this place wasn’t always like this; the war had changed everything. The Ghosts of the Empire despised the Slaughter Flying Locusts, cursing the monsters and blaming the swarms for completely destroying their homes.

At first, Tie Sai was confused.

’Wasn’t the real reason the Divine War started by the Bos God?’

War was the driving force and the fuel that propelled the Fifth Fearless Empire forward. The Empire’s History was a process of engaging in one war after another.

It was just that this time, the Empire had lost, so everything had vanished into thin air.

’It seems the Ghosts don’t hate war,’ he thought. ’They just hate losing.’

After staying in Crystal City for three years, he realized that such a thought was both arrogant and flippant.

The Old People of the Empire were in no position to question the God they believed in.

The will of the Bos God was the will of the Empire.

They did not dare, nor could they, hate the Bos God who used them as sacrificial offerings. They could only curse and despise the locust swarms, venting all their bitterness and pain on the Slaughter Flying Locusts.

Only after befriending many of the Ghosts did Tie Sai gradually come to understand this conflicted and repressed sentiment.

Some things just couldn’t be said aloud.

It would take a long time to erase the Brand that the Bos God had seared into this world over countless years.

...

Within the Old Empire’s capital, more than half the houses had collapsed, and the ground was pockmarked with craters.

It was as if a giant palm had descended from the heavens and rolled over the once-orderly buildings of the city, causing many to deform, either collapsing or being left askew.

The center of the Imperial Capital was originally the Emperor’s Court, its dome connected to the holy Divine Palace. The tall, majestic Court stood high, surrounded on all four sides by circular staircases and inner walls, like a greatsword thrust into the earth with only its long hilt exposed.

At the top of the hilt was the Divine Palace, perched high like a gleaming, radiant jewel.

Its walls were made of bonded glass bricks, forming a sphere. The top was a single, massive piece of green crystal carved into a vertical eye, representing the God’s gaze upon the world.

In the past, commoners could not approach the Court, let alone the Divine Palace.

All of the God’s decrees were proclaimed through the divine Emperor Sote.

Now, this place had been converted into the Ghost Lighthouse.

Anyone was free to enter and visit.

The local commoners could finally enter the place of their dreams after death.

Tie Sai often went to the lighthouse to consult with Yaopu. He didn’t find the place particularly magical; its interior wasn’t lavishly decorated. Instead, it was designed more to project majesty and reinforce the Emperor’s position above all others.

So, even though there were many stairs inside, the areas and rooms they led to were almost exclusively places only the Emperor could set foot. To him, it seemed more like a labyrinth.

Under the Old Gods’ Divine Power, not only had the local Ghosts’ physical bodies crystallized into glass, but their Ghost Forms had also suffered considerable damage. Physicians who could treat Ghosts were rare, and Yaopu was one of them. As a Ghost Physician, she had chosen to stay.

Drawing his gaze back, Tie Sai studied his painting.

He had stayed in Crystal City for three years for this single piece, and he had personally visited, observed, and measured every scene in the painting. However, the work was packed with intricate details, and a charcoal drawing alone was not enough—it would easily fade.

Therefore, after finishing the initial draft, Tie Sai needed to travel south to Saniluo to borrow a quill and Smoke Ink from Mr. Pawa. Only by redrawing this depiction of Crystal City could it be better preserved for posterity.

Before leaving, Tie Sai found Yaopu.

"I have to leave for a while. I’m going to Saniluo in the south."

"Oh. Are you coming back?"

"I don’t know."

"Well... I wish you a safe journey."

"This is for you."

Tie Sai took a sheepskin scroll from his pack and handed it to her.

The Ghost Physician unrolled the sheepskin and found a portrait drawn on it. It depicted a young woman in armor, her long hair coiled at the back of her head. Her gaze was resilient and sharp, yet a smile played on her lips.

She was gently touching an ethereal Ghost, healing him.

"How did you know what I look like?"

Yaopu’s voice was full of surprise. "Can you perform Spirit Communication?"

"No."

Tie Sai smiled. "I’m a painter. A painter can always see the model he wants to paint."

"Farewell, until we meet again."

The painter shouldered his bag, walked out of the high tower, and went to an arched cave entrance. He boarded an Earth Traveling Boat and journeyed underground, avoiding the Slaughter Flying Locusts on his way south.

Yaopu watched her friend depart through a window in the high tower.

She opened the sheepskin painting again.

On the back was a line of small text.

—To the most beautiful woman in my heart.

Yaopu sighed. "What a fool."

...

After a long and bumpy journey, Tie Sai finally reached his destination.

The Pawa Mansion in the inner city of Saniluo, directly across from the fountain.

The legendary traveling storyteller, Pawa, was no longer young. His hair was half-white as he sat in a rocking wicker chair, sipping a glass of honey water by the fire.

What made Tie Sai envious was the lady standing beside him—Pawa’s wife, Jody. She still looked young, as if only in her twenties, with a delicate and spirited beauty.

"It’s finished."

Tie Sai handed the sketch he had drawn to the couple.

On the paper, Pawa and Jody were nestled together, a simple but heartwarming scene.

"It’s beautifully drawn, Mr. Tie Sai, thank you."

Jody was delighted. She sealed the drawing in resin and mounted it on the Wall.

Pawa, however, narrowed his eyes, crossed his legs, and said, "Tie Sai, you look like you have something on your mind. Why don’t you tell me about it?"

Tie Sai smiled and said it was nothing.

Jody handed him a glass of honey water and said with a smile, "If you need any help, we’ll be there for you."

After a moment’s hesitation, Tie Sai finally spoke. "I have a friend, and he’s in love with a beautiful girl..."

After hearing the story, Pawa said coldly, "Are you an idiot?"

"You think you’re being romantic, free-spirited, and stylish, don’t you?"

"Leaving a painting for the woman you love, making her sad and wistful, only for her to go find another man to comfort and hold her. Is that what you want?"

"No, that’s not it..." Tie Sai said, flustered.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"I just... I don’t know what to say..."

"Tell her the truth."

Pawa cut him off. "Remember, tell her the truth."

Jody chimed in with a grin, "My husband is right."

"Go. While you still have one last chance." Pawa waved his hand impatiently. "I don’t want to watch a tragedy or a farce. Go do what you can do."

"I understand..."

Tie Sai slung his pack over his shoulder and ran out.

Jody called out a reminder, "Don’t forget your quill and Smoke Ink!"

With a flick of her finger, a bundle flew toward the man at the door.

"Oh, right! Okay, thank you!"

...

Riding a Fighting Shovel Armor, Tie Sai flew for half a month before returning to the high tower in Crystal City, where he rushed straight to the Ghost Physician.

"You’re back so soon?" Yaopu said, a little surprised.

"I..."

Tie Sai mustered his courage and declared, "I want you to marry me!"

"Eh?"

Yaopu froze for a moment, as if she hadn’t processed what he said.

"You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen."

"Oh, so you like how I used to look."

Tie Sai said honestly, "Yes. Ever since I saw your face while Sketching, I haven’t been able to forget it. I fell in love with you. It didn’t actually take three years to paint this city; I just wanted to spend more time looking at you."

"I see."

Yaopu paused, then said cautiously in a low voice, "But... I’m a married woman."

"Huh?? What?"

Tie Sai looked as if he’d been struck by lightning, his smile freezing on his face. "No, that’s not... Why did you never say anything?"

"You never asked."

"You’re lying! You’re Lying to me!"

"I’m not Lying."

Yaopu spread her hands. "My husband’s name is Fabiani. He’s an Archaeologist. He doesn’t have much money and he’s a bit stubborn, but he’s a very good person."

"I’ve never heard that Mr. Fabiani has a wife!" Tie Sai’s composure shattered, his face turning deathly pale.

"That’s because he said he didn’t have the money for a wedding and that we’d have one later," Yaopu explained with Patience. "Archaeologists don’t make much money. He’s out in the wind and rain all day; it’s not easy for him. That’s why I also applied to become a Martial Cultivator, so I could save up a little more money for us to get married."

Tie Sai clenched his fists and asked one last, unwilling question, "Why did you marry him?"

Yaopu tilted her helmet up slightly, seeming to think it over for a moment.

"I forgot."

"..."

"Back then, we had known each other for two days when he proposed. I thought he was nice, so that was that."

"No... I don’t believe it..."

"But it’s the truth. We even registered at the Yan City Hall. Mayor Tonghai and Commander Boutu both came to congratulate us at the time."

"I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it!"

Tie Sai ran out, roaring, and tore his painting to shreds, sobbing his heart out in the rain.

...

That night, Tie Sai painted his masterpiece, *Lying*.

From that day on, the painter Tie Sai’s style changed dramatically, a complete departure from his previous realistic and weighty art style.

His works became gloomy and abstract, with most of them depicting and celebrating the tragedies of love between men and women.