The White Moonlight Disdained by the Male Protagonist of Redemption - Chapter 21.1 (Volume 2)

Ning Yao had a long, deep sleep.

What kind of sleep is called deep? It’s like staying up all night, then sleeping so much that you forget time. When you finally wake up feeling fresh and full of energy, it is already evening—but not the same day’s eevening;it is the next day.

That’s exactly what happened. When she opened her eyes, her body had never felt so relaxed and comfortable.

Because she was well-rested, she didn’t want to stay in bed anymore. Ning Yao opened her eyes and quickly got up. But when she looked up, she was surprised.

This was not her little room.

The golden hall around her was bright and luxurious. Everything was glowing with golden light. Spiritual energy was in the air, and it even seemed to come from the walls and pillars. All the decorations looked very noble and elegant. It was not just about being rich—it was a kind of beauty and quality.

Ning Yao looked around and said, “…Master? Senior Sister?”

No one answered, so she tried again, “Ning Yuzhu? Old Chu?”

Ning Yao stood up and walked quickly toward the door. But before she reached it, her eyes were drawn to the table in the center of the room. There was a neat row of bodhi trees on it.

She walked over and said, “Why are you all showing your real forms in broad daylight? Are you that bored? ”

Then she added, “Stop playing around. Change back quickly—I have something important to say.”

Still, no one answered. Ning Yao was about to pull off a leaf from one of them when she suddenly realized something: the number was wrong. There weren’t four bodhi trees—there were five.

Her eyes grew wide. She happily picked up one of them and said, “Big Sister!”

Just then, a voice called out, “Goddess Ning Yao.”

Ning Yao turned around.

A chubby girl was standing at the door. She had a round face, round hands, and a round body. Her face was kind and full of joy. She said, “Congratulations, Goddess Ning Yao, on becoming a True God. I am Wu Fulai, the god in charge of affairs. I’ve come to take you to meet the Flame Lord Wuji.”

In that moment, all the memories she had forgotten during her long sleep came flooding back. They returned quickly and a bit out of order, but one thing was clear—Ning Yao knew she had become a god.

It wasn’t like she remembered—she just knew. It felt like there was a voice deep inside her that already understood: as long as she woke up, she would be a god.

When Wu Fulai saw that Ning Yao looked a little lost in thought, she asked with concern,
“ Goddess Ning Yao, is something bothering you? It’s okay, you can talk to me. As the god in charge of helping new gods, it’s my job to guide you.”

Ning Yao replied, “Well… I think I lost some memories. But not all of them. It’s like my memory loss is… selective.”

Wu Fulai immediately understood. “Ah, I get it. You remember your people, your family, everything from before—but you only forgot what happened during your ascension, right?”

Ning Yao was surprised. That was exactly what she had been trying to say. She had been wondering how to explain it clearly, and here Wu Fulai said it all in one sentence.

“That’s right! What’s happening to me?”

Wu Fulai smiled and said, “Don’t worry. That’s totally normal. Among those who ascend, at least seven out of ten forget everything related to their ascension at first. The process is just too painful. Your body remembers the pain, but your mind hides it for a while. The memories will come back eventually—but no one knows exactly when.”

She gave an example: “Take me, for instance. I forgot everything too. It took me hundreds of years to remember. Then one day, it all came back—I had survived seventy-nine bolts of heavenly lightning during my trial!”

She placed a hand on her chest and sighed, “Seventy-nine! How did I not die from the pain? Only the heavens know what I went through.”

Ning Yao looked at her with true admiration. “Seventy-nine? That’s so much! You’re amazing!”

She smiled hopefully. “I wonder how many I took…”

Wu Fulai cheered her on: “I bet you’re even stronger than me! You’re so young, and you already became a god. You must’ve endured more than I did. But hey, no rush. Those memories? Just pain. Not important. When they come back one day, you’ll see—they’re not a big deal anymore.”

Ning Yao agreed. There was no need to worry about how she became a god—it must’ve been painful anyway.

As long as she wasn’t sick, she was happy. She nodded with a smile.

Then she looked at the bodhi trees nearby. “My people are all showing their real forms now. I called out to them, but no one answered. Are they okay?”

“They’re all fine,” said Wu Fulai kindly. “When someone becomes part of the god race, they must rest in their real forms for a while. Their spiritual power isn’t as strong as yours, so it takes them a bit longer to fully transform. But there’s nothing wrong.”

She added, “Also, before your ascension, you gave a command—what we now call a god’s decree—that all your people must follow you to the divine realm. They just finished taking shape. It’s normal that they’re still waking up.”

Ning Yao was relieved. “Then let’s go. We shouldn’t keep the Flame Lord Wuji waiting.”

Wu Fulai smiled brightly. “This way, please.”

As soon as they stepped out the door, Ning Yao saw something she had never seen before.

She walked forward a few steps until she reached a railing about waist-high and looked down. “Are we… on a tree? This whole palace is on a tree?”

Wu Fulai stood beside her with a proud smile. “Yes! The palace is big—but the tree is even bigger. This is the Ancient Tree of Truth in the god realm. It has been here since the beginning of time, when the first ancient gods created the world.”

“Every time a new god is born, Flame Lord Wuji gives them a place to live. This is the one he picked for you. What do you think?”

Ning Yao gave a smile like someone who had never owned anything so valuable. “This… is it really mine?”

Wu Fulai laughed, “Of course it’s yours! From now on, this Ancient Tree of Truth is your divine home. The whole tree and everything on it belongs to you.”

To be honest, it was amazing.

They were now standing on a huge branch near the top of the tree. It was wide enough to hold a whole palace, and the branch stretched out so far she couldn’t see the end of it.

Below, there were many layers of other branches, big and small. On those branches were towers, walkways, and halls, mixed with glowing leaves and misty lakes made from dew. Spiritual energy flowed through everything like wind.

This Ancient God Tree was so tall, it looked like it could touch the sky and stand beside a mountain.

Wu Fulai added, “I’m glad you like it. The Flame Lord thought carefully before choosing this for you. He was worried you might feel disappointed—after all, before you became a god, you were the master of a whole mountain. Now it’s just a tree. The difference is kind of big. But you’re so easygoing; you didn’t even complain.”

Ning Yao answered honestly, “It’s not that I’m easygoing. You just don’t know what that mountain was really like.”

“Oh? Is that so?Wu Fulai laughed”. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. That was the hard part—this is your reward. Come on, let’s go down and take a look at your new home.”

On the way to the Flame Lord Wuji’s divine palace, the two of them chatted the whole time.

Wu Fulai was a natural talker—once she started, she just couldn’t stop.
“These past few thousand years, the new gods who’ve ascended are all super young. Not just young, but crazy powerful too! Makes us older gods feel the pressure, I tell you.”

Ning Yao was intrigued. “How many new gods have ascended recently? ”

“You’d be the fourth,” Wu Fulai replied. “Ever since that old Music God ascended fifteen thousand years ago, it’s been all young ones.”

Ning Yao asked, “So… who’s the strongest god?”

Without thinking, Wu Fulai started to answer, “Oh, that’s obviously—”

Then she suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Her expression froze for a second, but she quickly recovered and gave a bright smile, showing off her high emotional intelligence.
“Of course, it’s you! You just turned six thousand—barely an adult by bodhi standards. Your spiritual energy is pure and powerful, and you’ve got a great personality to boot. Honestly? You totally outshine the others.”

Ning Yao chuckled. “Fulai, that’s a bit much, isn’t it? Can I really believe all that?”

Wu Fulai grinned. “Guaranteed.”

Ning Yao laughed again, but deep down, she knew… Fulai hadn’t been planning to say her name first.

Still, it didn’t matter. Everyone had their secrets. She wasn’t going to interfere.
“By the way, since I’m going to see Flame Lord Wuji soon, should I bring anything?”

By now, the two were much more relaxed with each other—no more stiff titles, just friendly chat. Fulai gave her a reassuring nod.
“Don’t worry about it, YaoYao. You don’t need to bring anything. When you meet him, he’ll give you your official title and maybe chat about your future role. That’s when you’ll officially become a high god in charge of your own domain.”

Then she got a little nosy. “Is there any god role you want? Like, anything you’d love to be in charge of? ”

Ning Yao didn’t even hesitate. “I want to be the God of Wealth.”

“Oooh! That one is still vacant.”

Ning Yao’s eyes lit up. “Really?! So I can just tell him that’s what I want, right? ”

Fulai blinked and waved her hands. “Well, not exactly. I’m just making conversation. The actual position is decided by Flame Lord Wuji himself—he probably already made his choice. It’s best not to argue, you know? Just be agreeable; it makes you seem mature.”

Ning Yao smiled. “You’re actually really nice, Fulai. I’m learning so much.”

Fulai gave a modest giggle. “Aw, it’s nothing.”

She added, “When you meet the Flame Lord, just answer his questions honestly. It’s okay to talk a bit more; don’t be too stiff. He may be the leader of all gods, but he’s really easygoing.”