Chapter 1 Getting Ready for the New Year

After Hao Ren and the four bearded men left the "Kingdom of Heaven," they didn't teleport directly home but instead appeared near the southern suburbs, preparing to walk back. Firstly, Hao Ren wanted to take this opportunity to buy some New Year's goods. After all, the Spring Festival was approaching, and this was the first time the group of heteromorphs at home would be celebrating it here, so he wanted to make it lively. Secondly... he wanted the Four Heavenly Kings to familiarize themselves with the local customs under his guidance, so they wouldn't have ideas like building a hut under the TV tower again...

The Four Heavenly Kings had already undergone spiritual remodeling when they were staying with Raven 12345, so they now had no difficulty with Earth's languages.

Although the southern suburbs were sparsely populated and remote, it was now close to the New Year, and many residents who worked in the city or were migrant workers had returned one after another, making the usually deserted streets lively. Festive lanterns hung in the shops along the way, and there were stalls selling various New Year's goods on the roadside, filling the air with a strong festive atmosphere even before the New Year had arrived. Hao Ren led the four wandering monks who were looking around in all directions down the street, explaining to them what the Chinese Spring Festival was all about.

The bearded man listened a little absentmindedly, because he hadn't yet recovered from the inexplicable spiritual shock he had experienced during his conversation with Raven 12345. He didn't understand that this was a "symbolic" effect produced after believing in a god, so he was now trying hard to examine whether there was something wrong with his belief in his goddess. Listening to Hao Ren babbling beside him, he couldn't help but mutter, "Speaking of which, when I was talking to that alien god just now... I felt a strange pressure. As a firm believer in the goddess, I shouldn't have special respect for other gods. Could it be that the alien god possesses the power to suppress the spirit?"

Even now, when he mentioned Raven 12345, he couldn't help but use a respectful tone.

Hao Ren thought for a moment. He had never felt any mental pressure from Raven 12345: "Is that so? I was right next to you at the time, I didn't feel anything."

Of course, Hao Ren didn't feel anything. The mental shock felt by the four bearded men was the result of their devout faith. In addition, when the four of them faced Raven 12345, they couldn't help but admit the other party's divine status in their hearts, so they couldn't escape the influence. But when had Hao Ren ever believed in that crazy woman? In his mind, Raven 12345 had been a goofball from the beginning, and any mental shock was automatically immuned by him...

Fortunately, Raven 12345 was really a goofball. Otherwise, the blasphemous thoughts scrolling through Hao Ren's mind would have been enough to get him struck by lightning several times a day.

Speaking of which, the Four Heavenly Kings were still wearing their tattered gray robes, and after a few days, these robes looked even more worn out, which was really eye-catching on the street. Hao Ren was used to seeing them like this and didn't feel anything, but after walking on the street for a while, he realized that something was wrong.

Eyes were on them frequently. Hao Ren was about to turn his head to find the source of these gazes when he saw an old lady walking towards him. It was Old Lady Li from the next street. She grabbed Hao Ren's hand familiarly, and the wrinkles on her face blossomed into a flower: "Little Hao, are you helping the poor?"

Old Lady Li had the sharpest tongue Hao Ren had ever seen before he met the data terminal. He immediately knew what was going on, and quickly waved his hands to explain: "No, no, these... uh, these are my friends. Their hometown was hit by a disaster a while ago, and they just came to seek refuge..."

He didn't dare to say they were distant relatives—none of the Four Heavenly Kings looked like Chinese!

When Old Lady Li heard this, she took a serious look at the bearded men and asked Hao Ren with concern: "...Are they from Ukraine?"

Hao Ren nodded stiffly: "Yes, yes, there was a fierce battle over there... Even the mountains were flattened..."

Old Lady Li's face was full of horror: "Oh my! That's terrible. I've been hearing my grandson say that something happened in Ukraine these days... By the way, you must remember to register them at the police station. We must prevent spies from infiltrating..."

The old lady was quite aware of things in this regard. Hao Ren listened with a face full of cold sweat, and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, yes... You go ahead, you go ahead..." Seeing that the old lady still had something to say, Hao Ren quickly added: "These few can understand Chinese!"

The old lady immediately straightened her face and walked away as if nothing had happened. Hao Ren knew in his heart that in a few days, the news that his family had several international friends would spread to the surrounding five districts and ten counties—old ladies loved to spread this kind of news, and Old Lady Li had a large number of children and grandchildren scattered around...

Although the bearded man didn't quite understand what Ukraine meant, he still stepped forward and asked, "Did we cause you any trouble?"

Hao Ren waved his hand: "It's okay, I'm used to it. You guys are still okay—when Wang Daquan first lived here, it wasn't just the old ladies who were alarmed. Two old Red Army soldiers on the street almost prepared to contact the community police to form a residents' defense team..."

The bearded man thought of Izhaks' human form and actually nodded in agreement: "I can understand. He would be under close surveillance even in our place."

Hao Ren's mouth twitched a few times as he looked at the tattered clothes on the bearded men: "You may not like to hear this, but can you change these clothes? The main thing is that these robes of yours are too eye-catching. It's easy for people to send you to a shelter if you go to the city."

He was just saying it casually, and he thought that the Four Heavenly Kings wouldn't agree. After all, they advocated "asceticism," and these old clothes must have a story to tell. But he didn't expect the bearded man to nod happily after hearing this: "Okay, then thank you in advance."

Hao Ren was greatly surprised: "Aren't you guys on the path of asceticism? Isn't changing into new clothes in conflict with asceticism?"

The bearded man was very puzzled: "How can changing into new clothes affect asceticism? Luxury houses can nourish the body, delicacies can please the palate, and beauty can soften the will. What use are good clothes? Isn't it just a layer of fabric? No matter how comfortable it is, how can it affect anything?"

As soon as Hao Ren heard this, he felt that something was wrong. He instinctively felt that good clothes were also a kind of luxury and enjoyment, but after carefully thinking about the bearded man's words, he found that he was speechless: Yes, no matter how gorgeous the clothes are, they can only make others look good. For these ascetics, the eyes of the world are precisely the most useless thing. All luxury and enjoyment based on the perspective of onlookers does not exist for them!

Hao Ren suddenly had a deeper understanding of the true ascetic spirit of these Four Heavenly Kings, but he was still a little curious: "In that case, why don't you change into better clothes?"

The bearded man looked down at himself and shrugged: "Because we don't have money. The church only issued these kinds of clothes."

Hao Ren: "..." In his life, he had never seen more honest guys than these ascetics!

Immediately, he led the Four Heavenly Kings to a nearby clothing store. It happened to be the year-end clearance sale, and he bought them clothes that fit the local environment and current season at a very cheap price.

Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. After changing into new clothes, the Four Heavenly Kings immediately looked much more energetic. The bearded man wore a cotton coat in the Tang suit style, and with his European face, he looked like an international friend who was about to come and invest when he walked on the street. The other three were also more impressive than the other, perhaps because years of solitary cultivation had given them a kind of calm and steady demeanor that ordinary people didn't have. Hao Ren even unexpectedly discovered that the young nun was a very pretty lady—he hadn't noticed it because she usually covered half of her face with a hood all day long!

The group bought a lot of things for the New Year before leisurely walking home. This time, no one came up to ask Hao Ren if he had just returned from poverty alleviation in Ukraine. When they arrived at the door of their own house, Hao Ren found that Lily and Vivian were also standing in front of the door with large and small bags. The latter was taking out her keys from her bag to prepare to open the door. He greeted them from afar: "Lily! Vivian! Did you come to buy things?"

Lily turned her head and saw Hao Ren. She happily put the things on the ground and ran over: "Landlord, landlord! The bat and I bought a lot of things for the New Year!"

Hao Ren frowned as he walked forward with Lily: "Uh... I just bought New Year's goods too."

"Did we buy the same things?" Vivian, this wife-and-mother-type vampire, twitched her mouth in pain: "That cost a lot of money..."

Hao Ren quickly comforted Vivian: "It's okay, it's okay, it's the New Year, and we have a lot of people this year, let's celebrate! By the way, I have year-end benefits from Raven 12345..."

As Hao Ren spoke, he opened the door and entered the house, pouring out all kinds of New Year's goods from his personal space or the large and small bags that Lily was carrying, filling a table and a floor. Finally, he solemnly took out a small box:

"Come and take a look, come and take a look, Hercules almost died on this thing back then... I got a box back..."