Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 182 The Secret Garden and Homecoming

"At the end of the journey home, there will always be a light burning for you."

"The stars return to the waves, and the lonely journey finally reaches home."

Secret Garden, Angel's Tears Casino.

This place is always bustling yet confusing. Beneath the glitz and glamour, there are unspeakable stories and secrets.

Gamblers laughed as they lost their lives, killers wiped their guns behind the silk curtains, and in the center of this storm,
There is a quiet place, like the only uneroded lighthouse on the edge of the Dream Sea - the Homecoming Hometown Bar.

In front of the bar, Siming was lying lazily, supporting his forehead with one hand, his face was a little pale, and there was a trace of fatigue in his eyes that was about to burn out.

The silver pocket watch lay quietly in front of him, the hands had stopped, and only a card was left inserted under the wine glass, pressing it down like a curtain that would not fall.

Behind the bar, the female bartender Leng Ji was mixing drinks with a smile.

Her slender fingers shuttled between the wine jug and the ice glass, as if playing some silent music.

The silver cocktail shaker emitted streams of light, and the ice cubes hit the wall of the glass, making a crisp sound, as if expressing the words "I'm tired" that he couldn't say.

After a moment, she pushed a light blue cocktail toward him: "Your 'Homecoming'."

Siming slowly raised his eyes, the cynical smile in his eyes was still there, but it was tinged with a hint of bitterness.

He smiled teasingly: "Why, after all this hard work, the prize is just a glass of wine?"

Leng Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of playfulness at the corner of his lips:
"Of course not. The Secret Guild is currently clearing your profits from the 'Dream War'. The things you brought back... were too much. This glass of wine is a personal treat for you."

Siming chuckled, picked up the cup and took a sip.

The wine is cool and slightly sweet, like the first snow in hometown when you first take a sip, but with a subtle bitterness when it goes down your throat, like a silent hug after a long separation, gentle, but hiding scars.

"Where's Celian?" Leng Ji looked up and asked casually, "Natasha went to look for her just now, but the door was locked out."

Siming rolled his eyes, smiled bitterly and sighed:

"Don't mention her. She said 'parting is too painful' and insisted on being alone. A vampire who is hundreds of years old,
The way she portrayed the melancholy of a teenage girl actually made me, the host, feel like vomiting."

Leng Ji chuckled, turning the cup between her fingers, and her tone suddenly became a little ironic:
"Speaking of acting... Celian is just imitating you. Like master, like servant."

Siming's smile paused, the wine in the glass swayed slightly, he slowly raised his head to look at her, his eyes looking at her carefully for the first time.

She was still wiping the wine glass gently, as if she hadn't said anything.

"What's wrong?" Leng Ji's tone was as calm as ever, but he suddenly pointed his finger at the bar.

There was a soft click of his knuckles. "You think I can't see?"

Her eyes suddenly became sharp, like a blade hidden in the snow, quiet, sharp and precise.

"Si Ming," she whispered.
"Every time you come here, you bring a different version of yourself with you. The calm you, the cynical you, the gambler you, the you pretending to be an innocent newbie when we first met... every time is so realistic."

"But do you know when I first discovered you were acting?"

Siming said nothing, just looked at her.

Leng Ji put the cup down and brushed his fingers across the glass, as if he was describing some past event.

"That time you summoned the Mysterious, and said, 'Reflection of Fate.' Your voice didn't waver, and your movements were smooth, but your eyes were empty—only for a moment. In that instant, I knew you were afraid."

She leaned closer, her tone no longer the relaxed one of a bartender, but that of a spectator who knew all the secrets, like the wind brushing past her ear:

"You're so good at making others see 'the you you want them to see.' Unfortunately, you forget that the light of a returning homemaker will illuminate his shadow."

Siming was stunned. He had always thought that mask was strong enough, but in her eyes, it turned out that it had never been concealed.

"When did you find out?" he finally asked in a low voice, his voice as hoarse as the wind that had blown a thousand miles.

"A long time ago." Leng Ji smiled, his expression calm but with a hint of regret.

"Maybe it was the look on your face the first time you lied to me, or the first time you didn't finish your drink. I can't remember."

She stood up straight, put the wine glass in the right place, and returned to her unerring calmness and elegance.

"But it doesn't matter," she whispered. "I don't care who you play." "Because, no matter how you play it - you will always come back and drink that 'homecoming'."

Siming closed his eyes, as if lurking deep in the alcohol, sinking into a dream from which he had never fully awakened.

He exhaled quietly, as if to expel the fatigue that was entangled deep in his chest.

After a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind and raised the shimmering diamond - the Brilliant Star Diamond.
The surface of the gem reflects rainbow light like a vortex in the sea of ​​stars, like a heart shining with the light of its own destiny in the dark night.

His voice was low, yet it concealed seriousness. "Well, you said before that the Brilliant Star Diamond can improve our Mystic's Fate Star Chart... How exactly does it work?"

Leng Ji stopped wiping the cup in his hand, leaned against the bar, and gave a meaningful smile.

She seemed to have anticipated that he would change the subject, and did not intend to ask further questions. She just smiled faintly:
"Star diamond? That thing is indeed rare. If you want to use it, it depends on whether you can withstand its light."

She paused, then spoke in a lighter tone, "However, when the boss comes back, she might be able to help you. The things you brought back from the Sea of ​​Dreams this time... are quite valuable."

Siming's gaze then fell into the distance, his eyes seemed to cross every light in the Homecoming Tavern, drifting towards the sea of ​​dreams that was still surging with the warmth of memories.

He spoke quietly, his voice low and low, "Indeed, we gained a lot on our journey. But we also... lost something very important."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was as if a string was plucked and the air froze for a moment.

He slightly withdrew his gaze and asked casually, "By the way, where are Alison and the others? They came back, submitted their mission report, and then separated from me.

They haven't been at the Homecoming Tavern these past few days. What happened to them?"

Leng Ji's smile deepened, with a hint of subtle ridicule in his tone:

"Maybe soon, you'll be able to ask them in person what they've been up to lately."

Just as Siming was about to ask another question, Leng Ji suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around and leaned over to take something out of the secret cabinet under the bar.

It's a message in a bottle.

Inside the transparent glass, a piece of pale yellow letter paper was rolled up, and the edge of the envelope was faintly shining like the tide.

The cork was sealed securely with a rune spelled with dream language.

She gently placed the bottle in front of Siming, her tone a little lower than before: "And this. A message in a bottle from the Sea of ​​Dreams.

It clearly states: 'It can only be opened when the crew of the Lost are assembled.'"

She stared at the sleeping letter, a rare trace of seriousness and awe appearing in her eyes.

"I've already informed Alison," she added softly, "just wait a little longer."

Siming looked at the letter in the bottle, with a glimmer of light in his eyes.

He gently slid his fingertips across the bottle, as if he could touch the once familiar nautical chart and the memories that had long since sunk into the depths of his dreams through the cold glass.

The light in the bottle is like a living thing, flickering, like the ebb and flow of the tide, as if waiting and calling.

He didn't say anything, but just put the wine glass aside gently, folded his hands on the bar, and looked at it for a long time.

Leng Ji looked at his profile, her eyes moved slightly, but she didn't say anything more. She lowered her head and continued to organize the wine rack.

He passed his fingers through the wine bottles and murmured softly, "The messages from the Sea of ​​Dreams are never simple. Especially this time, it actually tracked down the lights of the Homecoming Tavern..."

Siming remained silent and slowly closed his eyes.

The glass bottle trembled slightly in the dim light, as if to reawaken a long-forgotten story.

He knew that hidden inside was a chapter that had not yet ended - perhaps it was a farewell, perhaps it was unfinished.

He placed his hand gently on the bottle, as if to comfort it, but also as a response that he didn't want it to be lonely for too long.

And the sea of ​​dreams is still breathing quietly.

"The message in a bottle of fate wanders across the endless sea of ​​stars."

"At the moment of opening, the lost ones once again face the truth."

(End of this chapter)