greek gods in new york

34

The Stove Lord in front of him is nothing like the one in the New Year painting.

The Stove Lord in the New Year paintings has a stereotyped image of ancient Chinese people: long beard, slender eyes, a long robe, surrounded by seven or eight children in various poses.In my friend's words, even they can't tell which god is which, anyway, all gods look like this.

But the living Stove Lord is completely different.

Although he is very ordinary, he is very kind.He is an old man who is often seen, but he is hale and hearty, clean and tidy, and his eyes are still bright.

The same goes for the voice.

Seeing me and Pandora talking to each other, he hurriedly waved his hand.

"Young birthday."

The Stove Lord's voice was loud and loud: "I'll call you grandpa, what do you think if your grandpa knows? Isn't this shortening your life?!"

Pandora and I looked at each other: "He thinks whatever he likes!"

Zeus, that old and disrespectful guy, would be fine if he didn't come to cause trouble.

I will never call him grandpa!

"Stove Lords..." Pandora was very surprised, "are they really appointed by region?"

"Can this be fake?"

Stove Lord shook his head and said, "I am No. [-] Stove Lord in the New York District of the United States. If you go a little east, you will be under the jurisdiction of another Grandma Stove King."

Good guy, even Chinatown has more than one Stove Lord!

"Every place has its own customs, and each family has its own customs," said the Stove Lord earnestly. "Worship is different, and the Stove Lord is naturally different."

"Can it still be like this?"

Pandora couldn't help but be speechless: "Then, won't they compete with each other?"

I also agreed from the bottom of my heart: As the god of war, Athena in Greek mythology and my dad often had conflicts.

"Hey, what's there to compete for?"

The Stove Lord has a very good attitude: "We pay attention to each person's ability. Whoever is more powerful will receive more worship. Isn't this a matter of course? Not only the Stove Lord, but other gods are the same. Those who open shops, the God of Wealth worships Zhao Gongming; If you have some power, the God of Wealth worships Guan Gong. What everyone asks for is different, so what they worship is also different. No one can hinder anyone."

Pandora didn't understand: "It can still be like this..."

I probably understand what the Stove Lord means.

Generally speaking, the gods in Asia, Africa and Latin America cannot be understood by the Western mythology system.

An existence like Benji does not have a specific image of a god, and his existence is more like the condensation of a civilized cultural custom.

Strictly speaking, the Stove Lord is different from the old gods in the West.

The cheerful and kind grandfather in front of him is not so much a god, but a collection of human beings' good hopes for life.

When ordinary people worship them, what they worship is not a god, not a specific image.

What they worship is their hard-working life.

"Don't say that."

Lord Stove didn't intend to explain in detail.

He glanced at me and Pandora: "You two dolls, what are you doing here?"

I pointed to the New Year picture in Lord Stove Lord's hand: "This is from Benji."

The Stove Lord understood immediately.

The old man moved his body and smiled.

"It's Benji!"

He weighed the New Year picture in his hand: "What are you looking for? Marriage? Getting rich? The final exam is not acceptable. I don't understand what you are studying."

I whispered: "We are here for a knowledge contest."

Stove Lord: "What are you doing?"

Me: "I don't understand, Grandpa!"

Lord Stove: "I don't understand what you're saying either, little baby."

Ok.

I took some more time to introduce the content of the National Encyclopedia Knowledge Contest for Middle School Students, and by the way, briefly talk about the Outer Gods.

Then he concluded: "In short, Benji said that he can't help, but other old gods with supernatural powers can, so he asked us to ask you for help."

The Stove Lord shook his head.

The old man sighed and patted his thigh.

"The little ones now," he nagged, "don't know how to endure hardships. Unlike us, who work hard at home, they suffer even more when they go to foreign lands. Now, you all want to enjoy happiness and participate in a The game also requires shortcuts."

"But," I muttered in a low voice, "if we suffer any more, won't your hardships be in vain?"

The Stove Lord was stunned: "That's true."

I:"……"

I didn't expect that the old man would agree so much!

However, the Stove Lord, who was sitting on the bench leisurely, still shook his head.

"That can't be helped," he said, "I don't understand knowledge contests. I've lived for hundreds of years, and what I'm in charge of is the one-acre land outside my house. I can't control the things outside. "

After speaking, Lord Stove extended his hand.

The old man touched my head, and then Pandora's.

"Children's family," the Stove Lord sighed, "I have to trouble you to do things about the old gods and the new gods. It's really useless. In the future, I will live well, with a lot of blessings, good food and drink, good health, and a smooth life." , more than anything else."

"Thank you grandpa."

"Get something to eat when you leave, Ah Liang—Ah Liang!"

The young man behind the counter got up impatiently again: "I heard that! You two, grab some snacks from the counter."

Then Pandora and I were stuffed with a bagful of melon seeds and fried peanuts and left the retro shop.

Standing on the street where people come and go, holding a big bag of food, I understand.

Unlike those old gods who claim to be superior and are full of past glory, "gods" like Benji and Stove Lord who are still loved by ordinary people are more down-to-earth.

At least this old gentleman loves us from the bottom of his heart.

"He's totally unnecessary," Pandora raised a bag of melon seeds in her hand, "It's so kind to us."

In the final analysis, Pandora and I are considered another wave of old god camp, neither will enshrine him, nor have any interest in him.

Looking at Lord Stove's leisurely life, he doesn't care too much about the arrival of "that thing". He belongs to the Leisurely Cloud and Wild Crane School and only wants to live his own life well.

But even so, he is still good to me and Pandora.

"At least much better than Zeus."

I said, and took out a biscuit from the paper bag: "Anyway, Zeus never gave me a biscuit."

Pandora snorted coldly: "It's fine if he doesn't come to eat."

I bit into the biscuit, it was delicious, but...

I looked up at the bustling neighborhood.

"I said," I said quietly, "have we been tricked by Benji?"

Benji's words imply that the owner of the New Year picture can help us, but Lord Stove made it clear that he doesn't understand the content of the quiz at all.

"never mind."

Pandora was also very depressed: "Just take it as a way to relax."

…………

……

Three days later, the match scene.

The competition in the New York Division is about to start, and we arrived at the venue early in the morning.

I came here today, one is to step on the spot, and the other is to draw lots.

Even Loki, who had been absent since the homecoming dance, was rarely there.As soon as we entered the competition area, we saw Benji and the staff standing in front of the lottery box from a distance.

"Who will smoke?" Hermes asked.

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, and in the end it was Rocky who gently pushed me: "Nicole go."

Me: "Hey?!"

Against Aragorn's face, Loki blinked his dark blue eyes.

"This is organized for you," he said, "you have put in the effort, so it's up to you."

Between words, he is affectionate.

The knowledge contest in name is that Kainas built a team and found an instructor. He said this as if he was busy for me.

But in fact, Loki's meaning is very simple: everyone said that I should save the world and defeat the Outer God.

Ok.

"Let me just say that," I said honestly, "I'm not very lucky."

But when you think about it, Meryl, like me, rarely wins a second bottle.The other two students even waved their hands unwilling to take on this important responsibility.

As for Loki and Pandora?A shit stirrer, a human killer, luck will not be much better.

Or I can just touch it.

I had no choice but to go forward.

As soon as Benji saw me, he greeted me with a smile: "Good day, Nicole, have you been to Chinatown?"

I:"……"

Which pot is not open to mention which pot!

"went."

I directly complained: "But the Stove King——"

After chatting with Lord Stove for so long, he didn't say what his name was in the world.

Halfway through my words, I had to make a sharp turn: "I talked to Mr. Zao, and he said that he doesn't understand competitions, so he can't help me."

Benji was not surprised.

"It's ok."

He didn't comfort him, and he didn't continue the topic: "Let's draw lots first."

With that said, Benji handed over the lottery box himself.

I put my hand in.

"The competition area is drawn first."

Benji explained patiently: "New York is divided into three divisions. As long as you win the first place in your own division, you can enter the finals."

I took a ball out of it: "Number three."

Benji: "Good!"

He immediately flashed a bright smile.

The staff next to him also nodded, lifted up the board placed next to him, took out the "Changjie Middle School" sticker, and pasted it under the third competition area.

I saw that the other three columns in the third division had been filled, and all of them were community schools like Changjie Middle School.

In other words, chickens peck at each other in essence.

Good luck!

"Then draw your opponents," Benji said, taking out another box. "Good luck, Nicole."

I reach out again.

Touching around, touching a ball at random: "Number two."

Benji's eyes lit up again: "Good luck, Nicole!"

The staff clicked on the school on the board: "It's 23rd Street Middle School."

23rd Street Middle School...

Isn't that the famous gathering place for poor students!

I heard that this school is about to close down, and it even participates in quiz competitions.

Moreover, their written test scores were also at the bottom of the New York division.

In other words, I won the worst competition area and the worst enemy.

How lucky it is to get such a good start.

I looked at my hands in disbelief: "This, this can't be my luck!"

Benji blinked slyly, and said meaningfully: "It seems that going to Chinatown is still effective, right?"

Um? ?

But Lord Stove is simply——

Halfway through my thoughts, it suddenly became clear.

I understand!

The Stove Lord said that everyone worshiped him to welcome good fortune and prosperity.

Before leaving, the old gentleman patted me and Pandora on the head...

Did he add luck to us? !

Benji nodded approvingly when he saw that I suddenly realized.

He took back the lottery box: "I hope this good luck will continue until the finals."

I:"……"

Immediately, I couldn't be more moved.

The Stove Lord is the real grandfather, Zeus is really useless!

35

Lord Stove touched the heads of me and Pandora, and bestowed us with super good luck.

Not only the weakest competition area and the weakest opponent were drawn by lottery, but also the topic that Hermes had asked us to practice was drawn during the impromptu speech.

There is no suspense in winning a preliminary round in New York, and its difficulty is not as high as the mock competition organized by Hermes.

In short, there is one sentence: luck is close to you, and it goes very smoothly.

As a result, after several of our team members won, they didn't feel any excitement.

"It's too unreal..." This was Meryl who felt that there was no challenge.

"It turns out that luck is like this..." This is Pandora's meaningful tone.

"It really feels like I can win while lying down..." This is incredible to me.

Pandora and I looked at each other after sighing.

Decided!If he can enter the general competition, he will go to Chinatown to hug Lord Stove's thigh before leaving.

Pandora breathed a sigh of relief: "We still won in the end, we have to celebrate."

Me: "Huh?"

Pandora: "Heffi... Let me say, my stepfather, I hope to invite you and your father to have a meal."

I:"……"

I immediately widened my eyes.

Now Pandora's nominal stepfather is Hephaestus.

Hephaestus invited Ares to dinner?

"He, they," I said incoherently, "won't they fight?!"

Meryl, who was listening, was at a loss: "Isn't Maggie's stepfather Nicole's uncle? The relationship between the two brothers is not good?"

Not only is it bad, but my dad has cheated on her dad!

Pandora has a nonchalant expression on her face.

To participate in the competition today, Pandora finally took off that heavy makeup.

I have known her for a few months, and this is actually the first time I have seen her in real life.

A beauty is a beauty, but after seeing Aphrodite with her own eyes, Pandora's appearance was at best a little higher than Catherine's.

The point is that the makeup has been removed, but the person has not changed.Pandora's rebellious temperament is too flamboyant, it can be said that even if she doesn't dress up as Sha Matt, the Sha Matt's aura leaks out everywhere.

"It's not that you don't know him."

Pandora, who was wearing light makeup, still dismissed it: "Don't you know what kind of character my stepfather is?"

Also, too.

Just read the fairy tales.

Hephaestus, the god of fire in Greek legend, is Aphrodite's "dog licking" to put it bluntly.He has a good personality, and he doesn't blame Aphrodite who cheated, and he doesn't dare to provoke Ares who is in the limelight.

Overall, a good man, er, a good god.

Both of them are divorced now, and after so many years, Hephaestus should also know about my dad's situation.

He is a clear-headed god, he won't... embarrass a fool, right?

Thinking of this, I gradually relaxed.

"It's my family who wants to invite you," I said seriously. "You and your stepfather are from other places, and we are native New Yorkers. Why don't you come to my house on weekends?"

Pandora was startled, and then curled up the corner of her mouth: "Alright."

That `s a deal.

I made an appointment to come to the door, and I explained it to my father as soon as I got home.

My dad didn't mind, he didn't even react when he heard Hephaestus' name, just nodded silently.

However, things don't always go so smoothly.

On the weekend, my dad was cooking in the kitchen, and I was feeding Xiao Ke dog snacks, while whispering to him that some old acquaintances would come next, so don’t be too aggressive.

Halfway through the conversation, the doorbell rang.

I immediately stood up: "I'm going to open the door!"

In the kitchen, my dad gave a cold "hmm".

I threw all the remaining snacks to Xiao Ke, and took a step forward.

Before opening the door, I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was half an hour before the agreed time, and it came so——

All thoughts stopped abruptly after I opened the door.

It wasn't Pandora and Hephaestus that came.

Standing in front of me was Zeus with a suit and leather shoes, neat hair, and a bright smile on his handsome face.

Meeting my astonished gaze, Zeus waved at me with his hands empty: "Long time no see, Nicole."

I will close the door without saying a word.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Zeus pressed the door lock, and at the same time crossed one foot into the crack of the door.

Me: "My dad is here, I'm going to call my dad and Xiao Ke!"

Zeus did not back down: "My two sons don't call me at family gatherings, is it appropriate?!"

I turned my head directly: "Dad——"

Zeus: "Hey, Nicole, wait!"

Taking advantage of my turning my head to let go of the door, Zeus stretched his hands in.

Even if he lost his divine power, Zeus was still very strong.He grabbed me and didn't forget to cover my mouth.

"Good Nicole, good Nicole," Zeus smiled apologetically, "Say something nice for me, it's not easy for our family to be reunited."

Who is with your family!

Even if I didn't know that Pandora called the police to chase away Zeus who was eating and drinking, I wouldn't believe such words, okay?

A few months ago, I left without saying "you have to save the old gods", which made me confused and at the same time threw the responsibility on Loki.

A few months later, he suddenly appeared again like in the past, and kept saying that the family was reunited.

Where have you fulfilled the responsibility of being a father and a grandfather!

When I think about it, I feel uneasy.

When Lord Stove saw me and Pandora at the first sight, he could say that he felt sorry for the two of us for taking responsibility.

Zeus is good, Pandora and I are just tool people in his eyes!

God is better than God, and the individual is pissed off.

I frantically pushed his hand away.

Xiao Ke, who was eating snacks in the room, had already stood up.

In order to prevent Xiao Ke from really rushing out to bite Zeus, I had no choice but to close the door with a sullen face and stand in the corridor to talk to him.

It's not because Zeus was bitten, but because he was bitten and my family has to pay for it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'll come and see my granddaughter," Zeus said confidently, "What's the problem?"

"If you don't tell the truth, I'll let it go!"

"There is business, there is business!"

"You really are uneasy and kind!" I was furious.

Zeus was also upset: "Then should I talk about the business, or not?"

After speaking, he showed the majesty of the father of the gods in the past, and said majesticly: "In the end, you should blame me first? Girl, you are so close to the new god, I haven't said anything yet!"

He still said what he wanted.

It turned out that it was for the relationship with Xinshen.

Although I have long been used to Zeus's bluffing appearance-now he has no supernatural power, and reprimanding him with such a loud voice is just a show.

"I don't know the new god. I know the new god is Loki," I retorted. "If you have any questions, you can ask him!"

"I heard that New God has developed some kind of equipment, and it's impossible for Loki to tell me. Girl, do you know?"

The equipment of Xinshen means BB, right?

I froze for a moment, then subconsciously looked towards the door of my house.

This made Zeus immediately vigilant: "What do you have at home?"

Me: "... Loki's cotton doll is here, no matter how arrogant you are, I can not only call the police, but I can also call Rocky to confront you in person!"

Of course it was impossible to tell him the truth!

In my bedroom, there is an alien detector given by the god of video games, which is the fetal model BB in a petri dish.

As early as the first time I took out BB, Hermes reminded me not to tell Zeus about it.

Between Zeus and Hermes...

Of course I choose to believe in Hermes.

Although Hermes may not be much more reliable than Zeus, at least the gods in Greek mythology have really helped me, and they have done their best in the knowledge contest.

He even treated us to pizza!

As for Zeus, he has done nothing but make promises and boast!

"Nicole."

Obviously, the way I started the topic was too clumsy, and Zeus didn't believe it.

He restrained his old and unscrupulous expression and tone, and became extremely dignified.

"You don't really believe that Loki will treat you 100% right?" Zeus even patted me on the shoulder, "Don't forget, he is the god of deception."

Came to my door to sow discord?

Between the words, Zeus revealed one thing: he came for the new god.

And not only for the new gods, Zeus did not have 100% trust in Loki.

Theoretically speaking, they are both in the camp of the old gods, so there is no need to be so wary.

If there's anything that sets Loki apart from the other Old Gods...

He is very close to the new god.

I quickly pieced together a rough idea in my mind.

Although both the new gods and the old gods dislike "that thing", there are contradictions among them.

I raised my eyebrows: "That's not true. But even if Rocky is only [-]% nice to me, he still helps me choose courses, participate in competitions, and study. A few times when foreign gods came to my door, he helped me repel them. What about you? You keep saying that our family is my own grandfather, how much sincerity do you have for me?"

Zeus: "..."

The father of the gods in Greek mythology was speechless in front of me.

Humph.

Let him know what's going on, stop talking nonsense.

If he dares to say that I love you and I am for your own good, I will really call my dad to drive him away.

"You go quickly."

I put a cold face on my face: "I am also working hard when I say that I want to go to Harvard; I am also doing it when I say that I want to defeat the Outer God. What else do you want? Don't make trouble for me—"

"—Zeus?"

Halfway through my words, Pandora's voice came from behind me.

Zeus froze.

I looked back over Zeus's shoulder, just in time to see Pandora and the astonished face of the man behind her.

The strange man was dressed formally, with a clean suit on his body, apparently well prepared for today's visit.

It's just that he's rather apologetic, and he has a slight limp in one leg, like my godfather Fernando, when he climbed the stairs.

Ah oh.

It even bumped into Pandora and Hephaestus.

Zeus laughed awkwardly and turned his head: "Pandora, long time no see—"

Pandora frowned, and said without thinking: "Nicole, let Xiao Ke bite him!"

Zeus: "...you one or two, are you going to rebel?!"