Daiyang greeted Dan Feng like an old acquaintance, as if they were close friends who hadn't seen each other in years.
Her smile was bright, her tone warm.
"Should I say nice to meet you, or long time no see? 'Imbibitor Lunae'?"
Dan Feng stayed silent.
What he needed to do now was control his facial muscles and breathing during the upcoming questioning.
Then, push all the blame onto Shuhu.
Finally, classify Yingxing's transformation into a Vidyadhara as an internal matter of the Vidyadhara clan.
Daiyang frowned slightly, looking troubled.
"I've interrogated plenty of death row prisoners who committed serious crimes."
"This time, the higher-ups said no torture devices, no bloodshed."
"Isn't that making things difficult? Without tools, I can't get anything out of them."
Daiyang showed an apologetic look, casually tapping the knife onto the table.
She smiled at Dan Feng.
"If I offend you… then I'll have to trouble 'Imbibitor Lunae' to bear with it."
In the corridor outside the interrogation room, Jingliu ran into Chanzhen head-on.
She stepped forward a few paces and spoke calmly.
"I know everything."
One sentence cut off the greeting Chanzhen was about to say.
Chanzhen stammered, "Sorry…"
Jingliu shook her head. "You don't need to apologize to me."
The person in front of her was a hero who had expanded territory for the Xianzhou.
Aside from Zero, no one was qualified to hear Chanzhen's apology.
Jingliu knew Zero had a knot in his heart.
The only ones who could untie it were Daiyang and Chanzhen.
But… judging by her lover's personality, how could he possibly take the initiative to ask them?
Jingliu thought for a moment and said, "I have a question…"
She added, a bit awkwardly trying to cover it up, "Of course, this has nothing to do with what he thinks. This is something I want to ask myself."
Chanzhen nodded quickly, patting her chest as she assured, "Go ahead and ask..."
"When Xianzhou people gain endless lifespans…" Jingliu hesitated, as if she couldn't find the right words, her expression troubled. "Do they resent him?"
Chanzhen blurted out instinctively, "How could that be?!"
Half of the weight in Jingliu's heart lifted.
It seemed Chanzhen and Daiyang shared the same view as her.
Chanzhen frowned. "Why would you ask that… did that person… say something?"
Jingliu slowly shook her head.
"It has nothing to do with him. It's just that when I was leading the Cloud Knights, I inevitably made mistakes, and sometimes heard complaints from those under me."
"Not to mention the Marshal of the Xianzhou."
Chanzhen blinked, looking thoughtful.
The Marshal always spoke directly, never hinting or implying things indirectly.
So it must be that the Empress herself had noticed something.
Both of them had lived for over a thousand years. Some things didn't need to be spelled out.
It seemed the Marshal was still bothered by the Xianzhou people's pursuit of immortality.
Chanzhen thought, as expected of the Empress! So perceptive.
As expected of the Marshal! Such good judgment.
She smiled at Jingliu and began complaining about some of the more troublesome citizens of the Xianzhou.
Jingliu listened quietly and finally felt at ease.
When Zero met them again, they would definitely untie the knot in his heart.
The two chatted for a while, then said their goodbyes.
Jingliu returned home, took out her jade communicator, opened the shopping app, and checked the delivery status.
Countless orders... clothes and accessories she had picked out for Zero.
From custom-made round-collar robes and formal outfits to small items like jade pendants, belts, handmade ties, and shirt clips.
Just as Jingliu was about to exit the app, she noticed a style Zero had never worn before.
Her hand paused.
Jingliu stared at the photo and thought, might as well buy more.
After buying, she went back to making the ring.
At the same time, inside one of the star skiffs in the convoy.
Zero stayed silent for a long time, then stared at Hua with a strange look.
"You've got mara-struck?"
The corner of Hua's mouth twitched.
"…Who's mara-struck?"
Zero still didn't feel reassured.
"Where's the physician you brought? Hurry and have them check your pulse."
Hua sighed helplessly, "We've finally reunited after so long, can't we at least hug?"
Even as she said it, Hua knew the other party would never agree.
Back then, this person had even cut open their own carotid artery… how could they easily let someone get close? How could they give anyone a chance to touch such a vital spot?
Especially now, when the guardian wanted to leave them again, there was no way they'd get close to Hua.
Hua possessed the memory-erasing "Feather Dust."
As expected, Zero's expression stayed indifferent, and he rejected the request with a perfunctory excuse.
"Men and women shouldn't touch."
Hua took a deep breath.
She knew what came next would be a tough battle.
Before, the guardian would play word games.
If you examined things word by word, you could spot clues.
But now, the other party might lie to her.
Hua narrowed her eyes.
"Akivili was right."
"You really are a proper young lady."
Zero lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, speaking casually.
"They're not from the Xianzhou, so it's fine if they can't speak our language. But why can't you speak properly either?"
Hua thought, 'Who exactly can't speak properly here?!'
Zero asked again, "How do you plan to handle this matter?"
Hua's expression didn't change. She smiled.
"Wipe out his entire clan."
Zero, "…"
'Do you have to go straight to tearing the roof off like that?!'
He pressed his temple, as if getting a headache.
"Is that how I taught you to use what I taught you?"
Hua pretended to be helpless.
"Shuhu appeared on the Xianzhou Luofu, and even entered Scalegorge Waterscape…"
"If it were yesterday, I would've treated this as a lie from the Masked Fools."
After speaking, Hua shook her head and sighed.
"No, even the Masked Fools couldn't make up something like this."
The Xianzhou was the safest place in the entire universe.
Whether people or goods, anyone wanting to reach the Xianzhou had to submit an application in advance and pass a series of strict inspections before entering.
Many outsiders didn't even meet the minimum requirements to apply.
But what about Shuhu? It escaped two Xianzhou campaigns, then reached the Luofu, bypassed countless inspections, and appeared in one of the most important locations of both the Xianzhou and the Vidyadhara... the Scalegorge Waterscape.
How was that any different from a three-year-old child breaking through more than a dozen security checkpoints alone and successfully assassinating a national leader with a toy water gun bought from a shop?
When Hua first learned of this, she only felt embarrassed.
After hearing the truth from Yingxing, she didn't even know what to say for a moment.
Who would've thought Shuhu could withstand neutron radiation? No one could have imagined that.
Right after, a question arose in Hua's mind.
Why was Shuhu still alive? Had it come into contact with the guardian's flesh and blood?
The guardian wouldn't answer that question.
Next, it could only be left to the Ten Lords Commission.
Let them pry open Shuhu's mouth.
Hua pulled back her thoughts and changed the subject.
"We've just reunited after so long. Why are we only talking about work?"
Zero asked good-naturedly, "Then what do you want to talk about?"
Hua instantly became alert.
She suspected the guardian was going along with her… just to leave them again.
Her face showed nothing as she smiled and asked, "Speaking of which, how did you two get together? Who pursued whom?"
Zero didn't hesitate.
"She pursued me."
Hearing this answer, Hua wasn't surprised at all.
If the guardian could take the initiative to pursue someone… then even the 'Calamity of Destruction' could save the sea of stars.
"Oh? When she pursued you, what gifts did she give?"
"I'm guessing it wasn't just a flower or a grass-woven ring."
"How could such low-cost efforts be worthy of my father?"
Hua let out a light laugh and threw the guardian's own words back at him.
"You don't believe that kind of nonsense about love being enough to live on water, do you?"
Zero, "…"
He began to recall the gifts Jingliu had given him before they got together.
Zero excluded that peach blossom and that flower crown, searched through his memory, and remembered that Jingliu once used the excuse of treating him to floating goat milk to transfer him some patrol tokens.
He replied, "She transferred me patrol tokens."
Hua, "…"
'Does the Xianzhou lack your patrol tokens?!'
Zero paused, then added, "Oh, and the severed limbs of Abundance monsters."
Hua, "..."
'You got won over just like that?'
Hua and Zero stared at each other.
She hesitated for a long time, then finally forced out a sentence.
"How about we just talk about official matters again."