Zero casually handed his wine glass to a waiter and pulled Jingliu back to their seats.
Earlier, he had spent a full four system hours eating with Zandar.
Only after Zero, Guanliang, and Zandar had completely finished a course would the waiters instruct the chefs to prepare the next one.
At the time, he patiently drank the aperitif, worked his way through the appetizer, side dishes, and main course.
By evening, Hua had selected another formal banquet meal, one very similar in nature to lunch and meant for entertaining honored guests.
Just looking at it made Zero lose his appetite.
He stuffed the red envelope he had taken from Hua into Jingliu's hands, hurriedly drank a few mouthfuls of soup, then told the waiters not to serve him any more food.
After that, the waiters gradually brought the final fruit platters to everyone else.
As the gathering was about to end, Zandar stood up first. Taking Marty and Hui Feng with him, he reminded Zero as they passed by, "Eric, we'll wait for you outside."
"According to Xianzhou customs, you can't meet again before the official wedding."
Jingliu tightened her grip on Zero's hand.
Zero looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he only nodded and watched the three leave.
Soon afterward, five waiters each carried an exquisitely packaged gift bag decorated with a double happiness symbol.
Seeing this, Zero took out his jade communicator and sent Hua a message.
[Wedding favors? Why didn't you prepare one for Matthias too?]
Hua, after seeing the message, "..."
The wedding favors had been specially prepared by her and Guanliang for the bride's relatives and friends.
'How old was Marty already? He still needed a gift?'
'Do you still treat him like a child?'
'Just because he's using a child's body doesn't mean you should indulge him in everything, right?'
Hua endured it and typed a reply.
[Hua: My oversight.]
When Father holds the wedding, let Matthias sit at the children's table.
Zero stared at the message on the screen.
He realized that he might indeed be a little biased.
Then he'd just give him an immortal money tree.
Zero quickly opened a shopping app and ordered the most expensive money tree ornament available.
After paying, he took Jingliu's hand and walked over to the waiters.
Zero accepted one of the bags and carefully checked it. Seeing Tengxiao's name embroidered on a corner of the ribbon, he looked toward him.
Tengxiao immediately sprang up from his chair.
Holding the gift bag in one hand and Jingliu's hand in the other, Zero walked up to him.
"No need for formalities. This is your wedding favor."
Tengxiao's expression turned solemn. He accepted it with both hands and nodded vigorously.
He then delivered the congratulatory speech he had prepared in advance, offering blessings to the newly married couple before him.
Zero smiled and nodded before asking,
"Do you still remember those two followers of the Reignbow Arbiter?"
The moment Tengxiao heard that, he remembered.
The two people Zero referred to had once accused the former marshal of living off someone else and had even tried to convert him into a follower of the Plagues Author.
In the end, however, they were converted by the former marshal instead and became loyal believers of the Reignbow Arbiter.
Tengxiao flashed a bright smile, showing eight teeth.
"How could I forget?"
Zero asked, "Still alive?"
Tengxiao nodded repeatedly.
Zero said casually, "Then keep them around for now. They'll be useful someday."
Although Lan needed to draw hostility from other Aeons and no longer needed special efforts against Abundance...
Who could predict the future?
Maybe the Xianzhou's Disciples of Sanctus Medicus would bring Zero some surprises later. Maybe they would attract other enemies.
It would be best if they could draw hostility toward Lan.
If not... then they could be dealt with.
Zero felt he owed the Aeon too much.
If he couldn't expand Lan's Path, then he'd just feed all the blood he'd drawn before to the other party.
It should benefit an Aeon, right?
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Zero accepted another gift bag from a waiter.
This one belonged to Dan Feng.
Zero looked at him.
"Do you remember the promise we made in Scalegorge Waterscape?"
Dan Feng pressed his lips together.
Back then, Zero had asked him to do three things.
The first had been answering several questions.
The second had been bringing Zero a medical kit.
Dan Feng had only completed the first task.
Zero handed him the wedding favor.
"You still owe me two."
Dan Feng accepted it with both hands and nodded.
As the two passed by him, he uncontrollably recalled the letter Yubie had left for Zero.
Several thousand years had passed, and the Imbibitor Lunae had reincarnated many times.
How much was owed by now? No one could say.
Now that Dan Feng knew about it, he naturally wouldn't continue delaying.
He would fulfill the agreement between the High Elder and Zero in Yubie's place.
Right now, he needed to hurry up and practice the zither.
The waiter handed Zero another gift bag.
After taking it, Zero noticed it was much heavier than Tengxiao's and Dan Feng's.
Most likely Yingxing's.
Looking down at the ribbon, he saw Yingxing's name embroidered on it.
The other man had spoken very little throughout the banquet and seemed quite satisfied with the food.
Zero handed him the wedding favor and said,
"The desserts here are pretty good. Take some home later."
Yingxing thanked him first.
He had never felt any real connection to historical figures in books, much less a former marshal who had been erased from history and existed only in the stories of friends.
After the initial shock, Yingxing quickly adjusted his emotions.
Then he smiled at the two of them.
"Congratulations..."
His tone was smug.
"Looks like Dan Feng, Jing Yuan, and I are pretty capable after all."
Not to brag, but if it weren't for the strategies the three of them had come up with...
Jingliu would have remained stuck where she was.
How could she and Zero possibly have ended up together?
The named Dan Feng and Jing Yuan, "..."
Capable how? Swapping the genders in a "how men pursue women" guide and giving it to Jingliu?
From Yingxing's extremely jumpy remarks, Zero sensed that something was off.
What exactly had Yingxing, Dan Feng, and Jing Yuan done?
Curiosity appeared on Zero's face as he looked at Jingliu.
Jingliu said nothing and simply reached out to take the wedding favor.
Throughout the entire meal, the foxian had been unusually quiet.
After accepting the gift, she smiled and turned her attention toward Zero.
"That's pretty excessive. Hiding it from us is one thing, but why did you hide it from Jingliu too?"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Zero listened quietly.
After saying that, Baiheng looked at Jingliu.
"Jingliu, I told you not to care about age or seniority, and you really didn't care at all."
'There was a gap of several thousand years!'
'Zero could be your ancestor!'
But what could Baiheng do?
All she could do was smile and forgive Jingliu.
Both Jingliu and Zero were hopelessly in love.
They were already married. What else could she say?
"I thought about a lot of things during dinner, and now I don't even know what to say anymore."
Baiheng looked at Jingliu and said softly,
"Happy wedding. Be happy every day."
Jingliu's expression shifted slightly.
Zero became thoughtful.
Baiheng seemed to have quite a few complaints about him.
After considering it for a moment, Zero decided to step into the role of a kept man ahead of schedule.
He said to Baiheng, "Don't worry, Baiheng."
"Everything valuable in the house is in Sword Champion's hands."
"I can only depend on her and live off her support."
Everyone else's mouths twitched.
Huh? Who? Who's depending on someone else? Who's living off someone else? Living off what?
Only Baiheng's expression visibly softened after hearing this.
Last was Jing Yuan.
His arms were crossed, brows furrowed, and he stared deeply at Zero.
Jing Yuan let out a long sigh.
"I really didn't expect this..."
The two often exchanged memes and argued online. The moment Zero heard that meaningful tone, he knew Jing Yuan wasn't about to say anything good.
So he cut him off directly.
"I remember you once said you wanted to become a Galaxy Ranger."
Jing Yuan could only swallow the string of exaggerated titles he had prepared and nod reluctantly.
Zero said, "Active Cloud Knights and retired Cloud Knights aren't allowed to leave Xianzhou without authorization. They must follow confidentiality regulations."
Besides that, they couldn't have contact with other forces throughout the universe.
Zero looked as though he were recalling something.
"Jing Yuan, the confidentiality period for ordinary Cloud Knights is fifty years. But given your position, yours is probably around one hundred years. Only after one hundred years can you leave Xianzhou."
"If you've decided to become a Galaxy Ranger, then think about when you'll retire."
Jing Yuan froze for a moment.
He really did want to become a Galaxy Ranger.
But for the current Jing Yuan, who was not yet twenty and hadn't even graduated from the academy, that dream was still far too distant.
As distant as a first-year middle school student thinking about what job they'd have after graduating from university.
After a moment of silence, Jing Yuan accepted the gift bag Jingliu handed him and replied softly, "...I'll think about it seriously."
Zero instructed the waiters to pack desserts for everyone present and also ordered several extra dishes suitable for drinking for Jingliu.
After the waiters handed them over, everyone finally left the private room and walked out of the waterside pavilion.
At the entrance, they ran into Zandar.
The scholar was sitting at a tea table, chatting enthusiastically with a waiter.
When he saw them come out, his gaze shifted. It paused briefly on Yingxing before moving to Dan Feng.
The scholar stood up and displayed a level of enthusiasm he had never shown during the banquet.
"This must be... the Imbibitor Lunae, right?"
"The guest relations manager told me that you upgraded me to a presidential suite and even extended it for another hundred years."
"You really helped me out."
"If not for that suite, I honestly wouldn't know where Eric was supposed to stay."
Dan Feng, "..."
Ignoring the gaze fixed on him by force, he managed a stiff smile toward Zandar.
"I'm glad it helped."
Zandar's eyes were full of amusement.
"Eric, let's go."
Zero nodded and handed over the three packed main dishes and desserts.
Using very little force, he squeezed Jingliu's hand.
"Jingliu, I need to handle some matters with Zandar. I'm leaving first."
Jingliu softly answered, "Mm," carrying the packed bags as she watched her lover leave.
Jing Yuan couldn't help muttering, "This feels exactly like a scene from a storybook..."
Like a romance opposed by family, where one of the protagonists gets taken away by relatives...
Everyone present had sharp hearing. After hearing that, they involuntarily followed Jing Yuan's train of thought.
Dan Feng didn't want to think about it anymore.
The mental impact was too great.
Jingliu had already used a "how men pursue women" guide to chase someone... it was interfering with his judgment too much. If he kept thinking, he felt like he'd reincarnate on the spot.
"...Alright, stop."
Considering her special status might make others uncomfortable, Hua left with Guanliang and Tengxiao.
The remaining five exchanged looks.
Yingxing scratched his head and spoke first.
"Are you all full?"
Dan Feng felt helpless.
"Yingxing, banquets like this aren't meant for eating."
Baiheng's ears twitched.
"How about we eat another meal?"
Jing Yuan immediately raised his hand in agreement.
The four of them looked at the only person who hadn't expressed an opinion.
Jingliu sighed.
"Let's go."
The five boarded a starskiff.
Considering Yingxing's special circumstances, they didn't go to Scalegorge Waterscape. Instead, they headed to one of the residences Dan Feng owned elsewhere.
Even after witnessing the High Elder's wealth before, the other four still fell silent. Under Dan Feng's urging, they entered the estate, which could easily house over a hundred people.
Dan Feng frowned.
Having too much property was also a problem.
He rarely stayed outside and certainly didn't have servants prepare ingredients for all his vacant properties.
There was only alcohol here, no food.
Turning his head, Dan Feng noticed the pastries in their hands and the main dishes Zero had packed for Jingliu.
"Perfect drinking snacks."
Everyone moved quickly and split up the work. Jingliu carried the pastries and dishes into the courtyard and placed them on a stone table.
Looking at the koi swimming in the pond, she took out her jade communicator and opened her chat with Zero.
[Star-Slayer, Why did you pack so much food?]
After sending the message, she saw her own name and paused briefly before changing it.
When she looked again, "Star-Slayer" had become "Wangshu."
Another name for the moon.
Very soon, Zero replied.
[Zero: I knew you didn't eat enough]
[Zero: You guys are probably going to drink together? Consider it drinking food]
Zandar stared at the cat stickers on the screen beside him, looking deeply disappointed.
Their destination this time wasn't the hotel where he had booked the presidential suite, but the Ten Lords Commission.
Since outsiders were present, Zandar could only cough lightly.
Zero sped up his typing.
[Zero: I've got work to do, so I'm heading off]
[Zero: Remember not to drink too much]
Zero put away his jade communicator and slipped it into his coat pocket.
When he looked up again, Daiyang and Chanzhen were staring at him intensely.
The two were quite resentful about missing the banquet and quietly complained.
Zero skillfully soothed them. After calming them down, the group arrived at their destination.
Zandar's gaze darkened.
"Shuhu is inside?"
Chanzhen gave a definite answer.
"Yes. It's a giant tree with a thousand faces and a thousand eyes."
"It once made some outrageous claims, saying..."
Chanzhen paused for a moment before suddenly laughing.
"It said our suffering might amuse it."
"Haha, how interesting."
Zandar smiled.
"That is indeed interesting."
His tone made it impossible to tell whether he was pleased or angry.
He looked toward his student.
Zero looked at the item Daiyang handed him, and faint despair appeared on his face.
"Why are you giving me a whip?"
Like a magician, Daiyang produced another item.
"Then how about this one?"
Zandar looked closely and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Wasn't that still a whip?
He comforted himself internally.
Xianzhou people were far more obedient than Imperials.
At least they didn't...
While the student was slapping people...
Zandar forcibly stopped himself from thinking further.
He urged, "Eric, stop worrying about that. Let's begin."
Zero could only hurriedly put on gloves and take the item from Daiyang.
This was his first time entering a Ten Lords Commission prison.
Tilting his head slightly, Zero revealed a pure and harmless smile.
"Long time no see. Do you remember me?"
At the same time, Baiheng looked at Jingliu.
The foxian was silent for a while before speaking softly, "Jingliu, I learned some things from a friend."
"He... really was a perfect marshal, but..."
Baiheng paused briefly before continuing.
"He may not be a perfect partner."
Jingliu nodded.
"I know."
Baiheng sighed.
"Jingliu, things might be very hard for you."
Jingliu chuckled softly.
"Baiheng, I know."
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