Chapter 98: Bribery

"Liu A'dou."

Someone was calling him. Liu A'dou groggily opened his eyes. He'd spent hours unfreezing those thirsty Amazons today. Exhausting. Not physically, thanks to Ripple, but emotionally—trying to escape all those clinging women had drained him.

But now someone was disturbing his sleep again, and it sounded like a woman's voice. Annoyed, he muttered, "How many times do I have to say it—I already have a wife. Stop lusting after my looks!"

"…" Athena stood silent. This was the first time she'd met a man this shameless. He wasn't ugly, sure, but compared to gods like Apollo, Liu A'dou was barely passable.

"Liu A'dou, I am Athena. I'm not one of the Amazons."

That sobered him up fast. He opened his eyes fully—another temple. No flashy overcompensating statues this time. Athena wasn't like Zeus looking down from on high; she appeared in person.

"Liu A'dou, I summoned you."

"Oh, it's the goddess of wisdom." Same old trick. First her dad, now the daughter. Why did gods always pull people out of bed?

But he said nothing of the sort. Out loud, he asked politely, "How may I serve you?"

"I require nothing of you. Your wife is my Saint. You are the Pope—appointed by my father, the one who oversees the Gold Saints. I came to give you my blessing. Your wife will remain forever young. I bless your union with happiness, and may you never be parted."

Where was this going? Liu A'dou frowned. What was Athena up to?

"You and your wife are the warriors who will protect the Earth. On behalf of the gods of Mount Olympus, I offer you our deepest respect."

The flattery made him suspicious. Yesterday it was Zeus, now today it was Athena. Both acting overly friendly. Were the Olympians so desperate they had to butter up a mortal?

Honestly, yes. The pantheon had been a mess since ancient times. Civil wars, scandals, and infighting had left them with few true warriors. Now that they'd seen the potential of the Cosmos, they saw hope for a comeback.

"Thank you, wise goddess. My wife and I will not fail you."

"I also bless your future children. They shall bear the blood of Olympus and be honored as such."

A sweet promise. Liu A'dou knew it was nothing more than empty words. But unlike Zeus, Athena at least understood how to win someone over. Zeus gave him a title; Athena offered blessings to the people he cared about. That scored points with him.

"Merciful goddess of wisdom, thank you for your kindness." Even though he and Ada hadn't technically married yet. But whatever. She didn't need to know that.

Athena looked serene and sincere, but Liu A'dou wasn't fooled. She was every bit as calculating as Zeus—just more subtle about it.

That was fine. He could work with this. Playing Zeus and Athena against each other might be the key to securing his own future. Olympus could make a fine supply depot—outfits, materials, even divine blood? It all sounded useful. Better to make friends than enemies with these gods.

Athena smiled. "I'll send you back now."

"Just don't drop me in another bathhouse."

She nodded. This time, she knew exactly where he belonged.

Light wrapped around him, and suddenly Liu A'dou was back—dim lighting, a lingering sweet scent. He sniffed the air. Ada's scent?

Wait. Was this her room?

He cursed Athena silently. Was this her idea of a joke? He turned—and found Ada staring at him wide-eyed.

"Uh… Ada-jie, you've got something in your eye."

"Die!" She kicked him straight off the bed.

"Didn't think you were that kind of man," she said coolly, but there was laughter in her eyes. She was just messing with him.

"It wasn't my fault! It was that little Athena who set me up," Liu A'dou said innocently.

"You're the one who shamelessly told her that we're already married," Ada Wong replied. She was fully aware of Liu A'dou's nonsense but had never commented on it until now.

"Shameless," came a quiet mutter from the corner.

Liu A'dou narrowed his eyes. It was Diana. "Why are you in Ada's room?"

"You're here too, aren't you?" Diana shot back.

Tch. "What's your relationship with Ada compared to mine? You think you're on the same level as me?" Liu A'dou retorted.

"Shameless!" There it was again. Fine. Today, he'd show them just how shameless Liu A'dou could be.

"I'm the man who's going to marry Ada. You, woman—step aside!"

"Man, don't go too far. Just because you've got some strength doesn't mean you can do whatever you want on Themyscira. And what do you mean, 'marry'?!"

Pfft—

Liu A'dou was nearly coughing blood in frustration. This girl grew up surrounded by women and didn't even know what marriage was. Unbelievable. Was there anything in her brain besides combat? "You need to read more books, seriously."

This was clearly the fault of Queen Hippolyta's parenting. Diana just didn't like studying, even though she'd been taught by a top-notch female scholar. But because of their isolation, she lacked even basic common knowledge.

"Did you just call me stupid? I challenge you to a duel, man!" Diana jumped up in her white silk nightdress, landing squarely in front of Liu A'dou.

What the—why is she so temperamental all of a sudden?

"Liu, enough," Ada interrupted, siding with reason instead of emotions. Diana had come to her because she was feeling down over the loss of her comrades. Ada had just managed to calm her down, and now Liu A'dou had to show up and ruin it all.

Seeing Ada's expression, Liu A'dou got the message. "Middle of the night, not the time for a fight. I'm starving—let's go get something to eat."

Outside, the lights were still on, and the reconstruction was underway. But it would take a long time just to clean up the mess, let alone rebuild. The Amazons didn't mourn their dead excessively. They simply gathered the fallen and sent them to the burial grounds—no funerals, no tears. That was the Amazon way. Born to fight, die in battle, and rest with the ancestors. It was an honorable life. Even tombstones weren't necessary—just stab their weapon into the ground to mark they once existed.

Liu A'dou sat on a collapsed wall, holding a bottle of fine wine and a hunk of meat. He couldn't help but let his inner romantic flair surface. "I lift my cup to invite the moon, and with my shadow, we become three."

"From the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai," came a voice beside him.

Liu A'dou looked down to see Queen Hippolyta standing there. Clearly, she had something to say. "You know poetry?"

"Of course. Themyscira may be isolated, but that doesn't mean we're cut off from knowledge. Liu, could you come with me for a moment?" Hippolyta clearly had something important to discuss—just not here.

"Why not, honored lady?" Liu A'dou jumped down from the wall and followed her into the depths of Themyscira.