Jingliu's kiss slowly moved downward.
When it reached his neck, Jingliu clearly felt Zero's body stiffen.
She immediately stopped.
Zero raised his hand and once again pressed the back of the person in his arms.
He lowered his eyes, staring at the top of Jingliu's head.
At one moment, he really wavered.
'Just a little more...'
It seemed that humans and gods were ultimately different.
An Aeon was indeed an Aeon.
If he could truly abandon his emotions and become a god without sorrow or joy, he wouldn't be like this… this painful.
If it weren't for him, Jingliu wouldn't have had to go to the battlefield like the other Cloud Knights.
She wouldn't have had to kill comrades who had fallen into mara.
She should have lived easily and happily.
Jingliu should have had, like most Xianzhou people, a perfect life in the conventional sense.
If everything could start over… they wouldn't meet.
He himself might not even live long enough to meet Jingliu.
Zero softly asked, "If time could turn back, what would you do?"
Jingliu controlled her strength and slowly left a bite mark on the side of his neck.
She said, "I would… meet you earlier."
Zero murmured, "…Is that so?"
Jingliu's gaze burned as she stared for a moment at the red mark she had left on his neck, tapping it lightly with her fingertip.
She pressed her lips together.
"Your clothes… won't cover it."
Zero smiled at Jingliu.
"It's fine."
Jingliu met his gaze, almost sinking into those gentle eyes that seemed to accept everything.
In front of others, the most intimate thing Zero and Jingliu had ever done was hold hands.
They never showed affection in front of other people.
Jingliu respected Zero's feelings and rarely left marks in such obvious places.
But this time… it seemed different.
It felt like no matter what excessive request she made, Zero wouldn't refuse.
Just as she was thinking this, Zero asked again, "Jingliu, is there anything you want?"
Their eyes met.
Most of the light was blocked by his coat, making the view dim, except for Jingliu's eyes, which were bright.
Those red pupils made it hard to look away.
Jingliu's lashes trembled slightly as she leaned forward and gently kissed his lips.
Zero froze for quite a while.
Jingliu unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
A slight pain came from his collarbone. Zero came back to his senses and let out a somewhat helpless sigh, reminding her, "In a while, I still have to go meet two people."
"Jingliu, can you go to the Ten-Lords Commission and pass a message to Dan Feng for me?"
Jingliu stopped.
She thought to herself, 'Is now really the time to talk about serious matters?'
Jingliu expressionlessly bit him once, her tone unreadable, "Who are you going to meet?"
Zero explained gently, "The Marshal of the Xianzhou, and Zandar, the First Member of the Genius Society."
"Forget it, you don't need to pass a message. Just meet Dan Feng once."
Dan Feng knew that the Vidyadhara were not safe.
Although the Dragon Transformation Art could turn someone into a Vidyadhara, it all had prerequisites.
Only someone like Dan Feng, who understood the power of the High Elder, had a chance of succeeding.
Dan Feng cared about his friend's life, but the Dragon Masters might not.
A new Vidyadhara transformed from a human… would they create a second one?
Other than bringing Yingxing to Hua, Dan Feng had no other choice.
He learned about the special nature of Zero's flesh and blood. Whether as a friend or as the Vidyadhara High Elder, he would conceal the truth from Hua.
And now, Hua had probably already met Yingxing.
Fortunately, the Xianzhou happened to need a technical talent like Yingxing.
Yingxing was safe.
And fortunately, Yingxing knew nothing.
No matter how Hua tried to probe, she wouldn't get anything out of him.
Next… it would depend on how Dan Feng performed during questioning.
As long as he didn't praise "Abundance" in front of the Ten-Lords Commission, Zero could suppress the matter.
However, considering Daiyang and Chanzhen were in the Ten-Lords Commission…
Zero felt it was necessary to have Jingliu make the trip.
Just in case one day his cute subordinates ended up making some kind of specimen.
Jingliu buttoned up the top button of his shirt, helped him put on his coat, and finally brushed his hair to the side of his neck to cover the mark.
"When?"
Zero put his hand into his coat pocket, then reached out again to hug Jingliu.
He touched a knife and a ring box.
Zero immediately put the ring box into his system inventory, ruling out Lan as the option.
'Aha, it's you again.'
Zero hesitated for a moment and didn't take out the ring.
He tilted his head. "Can you go now?"
Jingliu seemed a bit unhappy. She lowered her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Alright.", Jingliu paused slightly.
She vaguely sensed something hard on Zero.
It seemed to be… a knife?
Jingliu reached into Zero's coat pocket.
She took out the knife and asked coldly, "Why are you carrying a knife?"
Zero, "..."
He opened his mouth, but only managed to say two words.
"For self-defense."
Jingliu pointed at the bloodstains on the knife.
"What about the blood on it?"
Zero, "..."
Whether he said it was his or someone else's, neither would be easy to explain.
He said stiffly, "I didn't wash it clean after cooking."
Jingliu's expression grew even colder, "The Xianzhou prohibits carrying controlled weapons, yet you brought it into Scalegorge Waterscape."
"Do you have any other weapons on you?"
Zero shook his head.
Jingliu personally searched him all over. After confirming repeatedly that there were no other weapons, she finally withdrew her hand.
The two of them held hands and walked outside.
Outside Scalegorge Waterscape, it had long been sealed off by the Cloud Knights, with a convoy stretching as far as the eye could see.
Just before parting, Zero called out to Jingliu.
He hesitated for a moment, took out a ring from his pocket, and placed it in Jingliu's palm.
"This is… a gift for you."
Since it was originally prepared as a proposal ring… even if he didn't plan to propose… he should still give it to her, right?
Jingliu thought, 'Who gives a ring like this?'
But fortunately, Zero hadn't beaten her to it.
Jingliu returned the ring and held out her hand, signaling him to put it on for her.
Zero slowly held Jingliu's left hand and placed the ring on her middle finger.
He watched the curve that appeared at the corner of his lover's lips.
Watched her bid him farewell.
Zero was the same as before.
Just like when Jingliu had asked him whether he was willing to continue being protected by mortals, he remained silent.
Zero only responded with a smile.
He stood there, watching his lover leave.
Only after her figure completely disappeared did he turn and look at the guard who had been waiting for a long time.
"Let's go."
In this final stretch of time… go meet Hua and Zandar.
Under the guard's guidance, he bent down and entered a starskiff.
Hua smiled and opened her arms toward Zero, as if waiting to embrace him.
"Long time no see, my dear…"
"Father..."
Zero, "..."
'Mara-struck?'
———
[Ten-Lords Commission]
Jingliu quickly met Dan Feng, who was waiting for questioning.
After meeting her friend's gaze, she gave a slight nod and directly brought up Zero's name.
Dan Feng said nothing, only nodded knowingly.
Seeing this, Jingliu said no more.
She lowered her head and rotated the ring on her finger.
Dan Feng followed her movement and also lowered his head.
On Jingliu's hand was a pigeon-blood red ring of excellent quality.
Dan Feng could tell that Zero had put effort into selecting the main stone and its cut.
The main stone matched Jingliu's eye color.
But the gemstone set on it was too large, its width looking about the same as Jingliu's middle finger.
Even with the emerald cut, which minimized its apparent size, it still looked somewhat out of place.
When worn, the pigeon-blood red gem tilted to one side.
This ring didn't match Zero and Jingliu's aesthetic.
Perhaps it had some other special meaning?
Jingliu adjusted the gemstone to the center.
The swordmaster who had created the undefeated legend of the Cloud Knights on the battlefield looked as if she had just noticed Dan Feng's gaze.
She showed a hint of surprise, then in an extremely calm tone, took the initiative to introduce the ring on her hand.
After hearing it, Dan Feng felt puzzled and asked, "Isn't it a proposal ring?"
Jingliu shook her head, "No, he said it's just a gift."
"Fortunately, he didn't get ahead of me."
Dan Feng's expression was hard to describe. "…You're planning to propose to him?"
Jingliu nodded. "Yes."
Soon, the one man and one dragon ended their conversation.
Dan Feng said goodbye to Jingliu and entered the interrogation room of the Ten-Lords Commission, coming face to face with Daiyang.
While recalling his conversation with Jingliu, he met Daiyang's eager, fault-finding gaze, as if examining some lifeless object.
At that moment, Dan Feng finally came back to his senses.
'Wait.'
'Jingliu, who asked you about that?!'