Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1352: This Chaotic Hubbub

I also have no idea how many Three-inch Ding Life Goddesses are in the room; there are so many that it is impossible to count them. These little guys have taken over every place that can hold them, including the beams of the ceiling and the tops of the wall clocks. This room is relatively empty, with few pieces of furniture; it was originally a guest room not in use. So, Dingdang naturally assumed it was the reception room to entertain her sisters.

My sudden appearance, of course, startled these timid and jumpy little ones. They first collectively fell silent for a few seconds, then all at once, the entire room of Three-inch Ding Little Ones started to exclaim!

I closed my eyes, feeling like I’ve walked into a chaotic marketplace. My previous worries have finally come true: when Dingdang’s kind surpasses a thousand in number, you’re not far from a nervous breakdown. The way they carry on is just...

"Quiet, quiet, quiet—" I futilely waved my arms, trying to get the Little Ones to settle down. It was easy enough when there was just one Dingdang around; the noise she could make wasn’t louder than a bird chirping. But now, with thousands of Dingdang in the room, my efforts were about as noticeable as a sneeze in a storm. What’s even more daunting is that these Little Ones realized the visitor was one of their own, and instead of being frightened, they warmly crowded around me. I vaguely caught sight of several familiar faces—perhaps remnants of the Little Ones I’d stumbled upon during a Life Goddess gathering in the Divine Realm. I wasn’t certain though, considering these little creatures have faces as tiny as a peanut. In this chaotic moment, I didn’t have time to figure out who was who. By the time I realized, I was already surrounded by these free-spirited Three-inch Ding Goddesses. My vision was filled with a greenish hue, with them hanging on my head, shoulders, clothes, even on my pants and shoe tops. I thought to myself, fortunately, they’re cute in appearance, or else the onset of trypophobia would have me drop dead right there...

"Um... can you all just listen to me..." I continued my futile effort, as a few little things perched on my shoulder and head started to chatter. Due to their proximity, I could hear them amidst the noise: "Whoa! It’s the big guy who visited the Divine Realm last time!" "It’s Dingdang’s big friend!" "Father God said to call him Emperor." "What’s an Emperor?" "No idea. Probably a nickname." "I ate the candy he brought last time. He always has loads of candy!" "But rummaging through someone’s pockets isn’t right, is it?" "Emperor, do you have candy? The bubble-blowing kind from last time!"

All these chirping voices resounded in my ears just in that instant.

And then I heard Sandora’s voice coming from downstairs: "Ah Jun? What’s happening up there? I suddenly heard a loud noise."

I turned stiffly like an old robot, my arms and legs barely daring to move—one wrong move and I would pinch these Little Ones clinging to me. I knew they were much tougher than they appeared, but the frail appearance of these little guys made one treat them like porcelain. I turned toward the stairs and shouted, "It’s nothing—Dingdang’s guests have arrived, brace yourself."

Speaking of which, I struggled my way toward the stairs, thankfully, the Little Ones hanging on my legs were sensible enough to flutter away, allowing me to take a step forward. However, there were still two Little Ones perched on my shoes, sitting symmetrically on top of my slippers, bouncing up and down with my steps, looking befuddled. I heard an unfamiliar voice from my shoulder asking: "Lili, why don’t you come up?"

Lili must be one of the Little Ones on my shoe tops.

Then another voice answered from above my head: "Lili has OCD. She’s definitely trying to stay symmetrical with Mona!"

"What’s OCD?"

"It’s like every creature you make must have an even number of bones, and you never leave the house when there’s an odd number of ivy leaves growing at the entrance. That’s OCD—LuLu knows a lot!"

And now I know that the other Three-inch Ding on my shoe is named Mona, both she and Lili have symmetry OCD. I also know that this group of little guys can never quiet down, as long as they think they’ve found a topic to talk about. I know they will always find new topics, which means I might soon suffer from a nervous breakdown. I know my current look must be bizarre because...

Because when I descended the stairs to the living room, even Sandora, who is usually calm, was dumbfounded.

"Ah Jun, you look like a Tree-man," Sandora said, sticking out her tongue, "Covered in leaves."

"When are you planning to come down," I asked the Little Ones on my shoulder with amusement, knowing that these Three-inch Ding aren’t entirely unreasonably mischievous kids—they are titled Goddesses after all, how could they be completely uncouth? The current situation is just their naturally playful nature emerging, and they have already had their fill of chaos, so I shrugged, "I need to find a place to sit down, there’s two little things hanging on my belt, aren’t you afraid of being cramped?"

Then the little guys dispersed with laughter, aside from the two Three-inch Ding on my shoes who have symmetry OCD: they had been so jostled that they were staring blankly with wide-eyed shock, likely still immersed in a world of four-four time beats.

I looked, feeling quite amused, and cheerfully bent down to grab the two little ones and placed them on the coffee table, where they took turns hopping in place: proving that even an immortal can get disoriented after a long journey.

But I guess Dingdang’s resistance to disorientation is higher than her sisters because I often put that little thing in a large water cup and shake it vigorously... After the first time she was put down, she’d spin on the table for a minute before finding her bearings. Now she can pounce and bite after two or three seconds of a shake, evidently having been refined to the extent she could stand two days in the eye of the storm with the same nonchalance as scoring eighty points on the Ma Zhe exam... Um, this is off-topic.

Speaking of Dingdang, I began searching for the familiar little figure amongst the pile of Three-inch Ding because I seemed to have heard Dingdang’s chattering amidst the Slap Goddesses just now, but the task proved quite challenging. These little guys are so tiny, and they particularly enjoy clustering together, even stacking up like a human pyramid; each one favors the same clothing color. Amongst her sisters, Dingdang instantly became indistinguishable amongst the crowd—so I can only pick off the Little Ones clean off and call out my collectible Goddess’s name, "Where are you Dingdang?"

I felt my finger being tightly hugged: "Dingdang is right on your hand! Ah Jun, why did you throw Dingdang out?"

I lowered my head, finding the familiar little Dou Ding on my hand was indeed my Dingdang—the little one I’d inadvertently plucked off my head to set aside a moment ago. "...didn’t notice!"

"Mind the order, mind the manners, mind the tasks Sister Goddess instructed before setting off!"

Finally, someone among the Little Ones came out to maintain the situation—a slightly more composed looking little one flew to the highest point, loudly addressing the other Dou Ding. The Dou Ding chatter quickly settled onto the sofa, tea table, floor, and cabinet, gradually quieting down. The Three-inch Ding high above had neat shoulder-length hair and large eyes—large relative to her entire size—appearing quite commanding. She looked around at her sisters, nodding with satisfaction: "Very good. Everyone’s visiting Dingdang’s new home for the first time, make sure not to create trouble. Lingdang, stop eating other people’s fruits; you need to control your appetite!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Uh, it’s fine," I quickly gestured toward the stern Three-inch Ding in the air, "In this house, appetite is the one thing you don’t need to control." Saying this, I glanced at Sandora, thinking the main reason was this kind of topic would emotionally wound Her Majesty, potentially to a point where she would physically wound you...

"Greetings Emperor!" A bunch of Three-inch Ding with festival-like cheerfulness greeted me messily, before turning to Sandora, "Greetings Emperor Sister!"

"Shouldn’t it be Sister Emperor?"

"Mona thinks just Sister will do."

"Or maybe Emperor Sister? Seems plausible too..."

"Lingdang thinks we should call Sister Your Majesty Emperor!"

"Lingdang, you’re too silly. Just don’t speak—Rachel thinks we should call Her Majesty Sister! Anyway, she’s Big Sister! Very, very big!"

I’ve also discovered something: once these Three-inch Dings gather together, they love discussing topics—they can dive into any subject with great enthusiasm, instantly forgetting everything in front of them.

But I don’t find this annoying at all, and Sandora is smiling happily as she watches this group of Little Ones. The accumulated irritation from our time in Shadow City seems to disappear entirely thanks to these cheerful little beings. Normally, having just Dingdang is enough to keep the family atmosphere lively. Now we have... have...

I held Dingdang up in front of me: "How many people are here exactly? It looks like thousands!"

"No way," Dingdang proudly puffed out her small chest, relatively well-developed for her size, "It looks like a lot, but there are only over a thousand. This is the first group to arrive; other sisters are on their way..."

I guess that’s true; often, intuition can be misleading when estimating numbers—especially when such a large group of Three-inch Dings is gathered together, making it harder to determine accurately. I looked around, finding that all the Little Ones were honestly keeping about a meter’s distance from me; for them, it’s a considerably far distance. Some stood, some sat, many peeked over the back of the sofa, revealing only their little heads. Countless curious eyes were looking this way. Earlier, the dignified Three-inch Ding landed on my coffee table and bowed like an adult: "Dou Dou greets you! Dou Dou is the oldest sister here and therefore the leader! I’m happy to be a guest at the Emperor’s place. Sister Goddess asked Dou Dou to convey a message to you, but since I forgot it, there’s none!"

I reckon the dignity of a Three-inch Ding ends here.

"Well, no need for formalities, just make yourselves at home and play freely," I said to these Little Ones. Some were already impatiently flying around the living room out of curiosity. For them, even roaming under the sofa felt like exploring. I had a slightly serious expectation for "Life Goddess group diplomatic visit to the Imperial Capital" (really, only slightly), but now that expectation is completely shattered: these Little Ones are here for fun. You might as well see them as lively kids visiting the house. They’re, first and foremost, Dingdang’s friends, and only second are Life Goddesses. My job is just to host thousands and thousands of naughty kids. "Uh, there might not be enough space here. Once everyone’s arrived, there won’t be any room left. I’ll open a Teleportation Gate to Shadow Space later, Dingdang’s temple is over there..."

From Dingdang’s habits, I know that when Life Goddess thoroughfares happen individually, they tend to teleport directly to their friends’ side. They call it a "human-shaped beacon." Judging by this situation, Dingdang probably received the teleport request at home, and suddenly a large group of Little Ones was stuffed into the house. They probably haven’t seen the magnificent sights of Shadow City yet.

However, I quickly realized that this group of Little Ones wasn’t paying much attention to what I was saying: they had already started their own tour of the big house. A large number followed Dingdang, who was introducing her sisters to the surroundings:

"This is the TV, though I don’t know the principle behind it, it’s amazing!"

"This is the clock, though I don’t know what it’s used for, it’s amazing!"

"This is the air conditioner, though I’m not sure what it does, it’s amazing!"

"This is Ah Jun’s coat, Dingdang’s sleeping place!"

That Three-inch Ding was eagerly introducing her living environment to her encircling sisters. Even though I couldn’t see her expression, I could imagine her current proud and self-satisfied look. A group of Three-inch Dings kept exclaiming "Oh my!" at everything they found curious, including the family members’ slippers and the wastepaper basket in the corner of the room. Sandora and I glanced at each other, seeing mutual helplessness in our eyes. Meanwhile, the few Three-inch Dings who still stayed beside us were running around the coffee table. I suddenly remembered I hadn’t asked about the whereabouts of the other family members, so I casually grabbed a Little One: "Do you know where the others went?"

"Out catching other sisters!" The Little One, caught by the wings and lifted into the air, continued stepping for several seconds before reacting, blinking repeatedly as she spoke. "Because when we arrived, the window was open; Dingdang didn’t clearly explain to everyone, so some sisters ran outside!"

Suddenly, I was drenched with cold sweat: "Why didn’t Dingdang say something earlier!"

"Because you didn’t ask," the unfamiliar Three-inch Ding Goddess declared confidently.

I thought the things I was worried about had happened so easily: the free spirit and high level of mobility of these Little One Goddesses made everything hard to predict! Just as I was getting ready to go outside to find the others, a familiar, lively laughter suddenly came from the courtyard—the ones who went out to catch the goddess had returned.

The first to run in was Qianqian. She wore a big sunhat and carried a huge net on her shoulder—a child’s net for catching butterflies and dragonflies. She looked like she had just returned from a spring outing. Behind Qianqian were the household’s little girls, and then Xiao Xue and Lin Xue followed. Subsequently, there were the Tiaozi Five and Big Sister; everyone carried a large net on their shoulders, looking as if the whole family had just gone on a group spring outing. In the back were the fox and the nanny, Sister Jier. The fox had disguised herself: that mass of big tails seemed to be hidden with Demon Art, and she wore a sunhat like Qianqian’s. As soon as she entered, she threw her hat aside, her ears twitching, clearly uncomfortable about being restrained.

I noticed that the fox had some dark patches on her face, looking rather disheveled.

"Caught them all, caught them all!" Xiao Xue called out eagerly and kicked off her shoes as she ran barefoot with loud ’pitter-patter’ steps, scaring away several Three-inch Dings. She set a gigantic Insect Box on the coffee table and opened the door. Then I saw more than a dozen green figures darting out, followed by the thunderous applause of countless hand-size goddesses throughout the living room... Alright, it was more like buzzing applause.

Looking at Qianqian and the others’ insect catching nets on their shoulders and the Insect Box on the coffee table, I felt like my worldview of the past twenty-odd years had been thoroughly shattered...

"Oh, Dad, you’re back?" Xiao Xue finally noticed me sitting on the sofa and Sandora on the other side. The naughty kid gleefully pounced on me and snuggled for a bit. "Dad, your daughter made a contribution! All the runaway Sister Goddesses are back, and no incidents to shatter ordinary people’s worldviews!"

"Actually, there was a bit of a collapse," Big Sister, having changed her shoes, walked over with a troubled smile. As soon as she sat on the sofa, several curious Little Goddess landed on her head, chirping away: as expected, Big Sister’s affinity was pretty obvious. "Around this season, a group dressed to the nines catching dragonflies in the city’s park—although the Little Ones weren’t seen, we caused quite a stir."

Lin Xue, holding a bottle of Fresh Orange Juice, plopped herself beside me: "No worries, I’ve already explained to those two reporters that it’s performance art enthusiasts experiencing life..."

I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead: "You might as well not explain."

Miss rolled her eyes at me, suddenly feeling something beneath her. Hastily, she retrieved a dazed Little One from under her backside: "Ah! Shoot—I think I sat on one!"(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)