I was a charlatan in India

Arti stared blankly at the scene before him.

"Heh...heh heh..."

A hoarse laugh squeezed out of the father's throat.

His withered body began to turn into specks of light, and his filthy lips parted to his ears, revealing uneven, yellowed teeth.

"Great Heaven... I've come...!"

Jagged calves, a sunken abdomen, a chest covered in scars...

Soon, Agni's entire body transformed into a golden streak of light.

It circled once before the lingam of the heavens, as if in a final act of worship, but did not even glance at its daughter before disappearing straight into the air.

"How strange, this old man actually has the leisure to set off fireworks?"

A dry, mundane chatter drifted from a nearby shack.

At the same time, Shenhe also realized the biggest problem.

The infant mortality rate is very high in this godforsaken place.

In India, many families have virtually no sanitation, and their medical knowledge is limited to witch doctors and herbal remedies, making even childbirth a problem.

Even if it is born, it is uncertain whether it can be raised to adulthood.

Judging from Agni's appearance, it's clear that for ordinary people to even reach adulthood is a blessing from Shiva.

In some areas, less than half of the children live past the age of five, while in Varanasi...

He vaguely remembered that this was a city built around the belief in Shiva, and that once the belief was involved, all sorts of people from different classes would mingle together.

India has a clear class system for people, which they call the caste system.

There are four main groups of people in the area, from highest to lowest social status: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras.

Caste not only determines social status, but also the jobs that people can do from birth.

For example, Brahmins are mostly clergy or nobles, while Vaishyas are mostly commoners and merchants.

Therefore, based on his profession, you can basically judge the status of his entire family.

Of course, there is an even simpler way to tell: generally, the whiter the skin, the higher the status.

Intermarriage between different castes is extremely rare, so one can generally make a judgment based on appearance, although there may be occasional errors, but this is generally the case.

In addition, there are creatures called Dalits, who are mainly responsible for lowly jobs, such as handling corpses.

These people are not considered human in the local area; they are considered "untouchables," meaning that even a glance at them would be an eyesore.

But it's a bit different in Varanasi.

After all, even the Shudras have the right to believe. As long as you hold a lingam, we are all believers of the Great Deity.

God knows what kind of family Agni was born into.

If it's a place with terrible medical and educational facilities, you might die in the womb.

No, we need to follow up on this. Just in case there are any problems, we might still be able to salvage the situation.

Right, let's get a body first, since we need someone to do everything, right?

Shenhe attempted to bless himself, creating a body.

But to his surprise, the energy required to create the body was terrifyingly high, almost as vast as the energy required to turn the old man into the Great Heaven.

The reason is simple.

His wish was similar to Agni's request; essentially, both involved fabricating a god.

Even the Three-Phase God wouldn't do something like this, because it's too expensive.

Therefore, when faced with a request like that of Agni, they usually choose to become someone's adopted son rather than forcibly transform a mortal into a god.

It's a ghost story.

Am I destined to live only as a lingam?

No, I want to become human again, I must become human.

Shenhe cursed under his breath as he made up his mind.

No matter what, he must accumulate enough energy to become human.

I don't know how this red energy was obtained.

Almost the instant the question arose, the answer appeared in his mind.

This energy is the "power of asceticism," which is mainly generated through the asceticism of believers, but it did not belong to the Shen River when it was first formed.

Only when he responds to the believer can he receive the penance power created by the believer.

In other words, this lake-like power of asceticism was all painstakingly accumulated by Agni.

I only spent about 80 square meters on him.

Shenhe was also stunned for a moment.

In a sense, this could be considered embezzlement...

This ascetic system not only harms the gods, but also the believers.

If you're ruthless and good at deception, you might actually be able to amass a lot of power.

Right, the most urgent thing is to keep an eye on Agni's situation, just in case anything happens...

Shenhe focused his attention on the bewildered little girl in front of him.

If all else fails, we'll have to rely on you to save the day.

This power was cultivated by your father, so using it on you is like returning it to its rightful owner.

It's a bit strange to have a little girl take care of her own father, but there's no other way right now.

With my own power to cultivate myself, it shouldn't be too difficult to provide her with some support and help her gain a foothold in human society... right?

Shenhe hesitated for a moment.

I wonder if there are any other extraordinary powers here.

After all, since someone has already appeared with a linga that can respond to believers, there's no reason why he should be the only special one.

First, bring her in, like you would with Agni...

Shenhe tried to initiate communication, but was told, "Arti is not your believer yet, so communication is impossible."

Left with no other option, he tried a different approach: to bestow blessings upon himself.

"Let me control the incense ash beneath me."

"...As you wish."

The process of blessing oneself feels strangely awkward.

The power of arduous cultivation required to fulfill this wish was terrifying, directly eliminating about a third of it.

The reason is simple: unlike the one-time miracle that made Agni younger, this is a permanent acquisition of extraordinary power.

Moreover, if one persists in practicing, one can gradually become stronger, and even transcend the ordinary and attain sainthood.

In other words, if the old man cultivates diligently his whole life and doesn't become greedy, he can probably acquire two or three abilities.

Shenhe silently performed the conversion.

What he didn't know was that even without greed, the old man couldn't obtain any extraordinary power.

Shenhe can manipulate incense ash because he belongs to the Linga and possesses divinity.

In addition, incense ash itself is also used as an offering to him, so it is relatively inexpensive.

If it were fallen leaves, soil, or Ganges water, that amount of energy would be far from enough.

Of course, when God truly bestows blessings, it's not that the amount of hard work you put in will directly translate into the amount you receive.

After all, what you take away becomes your own power.

Moreover, there are countless instances of people taking what they like from others and misappropriating it.

As he directed it, the damp, clumps of incense ash beneath him trembled slightly, separating themselves from the surrounding filth and floating gently into the air.

This process was not easy, and was even somewhat clumsy.

After a long time, the incense ash was barely pieced together into a crooked line of writing.

"Arti, believe in me, and I will provide you with protection."

Shenhe kept the text up while secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

It's so difficult to even move a bit of incense ash, how can you expect blessings?

There's no other way; surviving is the priority, so let's just make a promise first...

I never imagined that even after becoming a god, I still couldn't escape the cycle of working for someone else.

Arti opened her small mouth, her amber eyes wide open.

At her age, it's too early for her to be exposed to faith, especially since her father has never paid attention to her growing up.

Those grayish particles looked somewhat clumsy, not like gods, but more like the graffiti of playmates who ran wild together.

Occasionally, some drops would even fall off, which I would then try my best to cover up.

believe?

Protection?

These words, as distant as grand promises in a picture book, should not appear on this polluted riverbank, written for her with dust that could collapse at any moment.

Arti gripped the edge of the sari tightly.

Unlike her father, she felt somewhat uneasy.

My father prayed to this "Great Heaven," tormenting himself daily, until he eventually vanished without a trace.

Must I also suffer that kind of pain?

This is so strange, this is not normal.

Perhaps the clay sculpture in front of you is not a "Great Deity" at all, but just an evil spirit, or perhaps you are hallucinating from being too frightened.

Her father often said that she wasn't very bright and was like a block of wood.

but……

Blessing.

This might mean food and water, or even a bed.

Otherwise, what would she eat and where would she sleep, being a girl all alone? Wouldn't there be stray dogs, or something even more terrifying than stray dogs?

Arti bit her lip and stared stiffly at the clay sculpture in front of her.

It was dusty and crudely shaped, a far cry from the exquisitely carved statues in the city. Only the part illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun was tinged with a warm glow.

If it's the Great Heaven... it should be highly revered, right?

Arti hesitated.

Just then, a slightly stronger gust of wind swept by.

Splash!

The incense ash characters finally gave way, completely disintegrating and mixing with the soil, becoming indistinguishable.

The words disappeared.