Jingliu sighed, "Baiheng, there's one thing you got wrong."
"He is the most perfect partner."
After hearing this, Baiheng frowned slightly, and even her ears drooped.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
'Jingliu, you're really hopelessly in love!'
'Has Zero charmed you so much that you can't tell east from west anymore?'
At first, Baiheng had thought highly of the two of them.
The moment she learned the truth, she immediately changed her mind.
Their identities and positions were too far apart.
Jingliu was getting the short end of the deal.
In Baiheng's eyes, her friend deserved the purest sincerity and love.
Not a relationship with Zero.
Baiheng's ears unconsciously flattened backward.
It was a sign of dissatisfaction among Foxians.
She hooked her arm through Jingliu's and said quietly, "It all feels so sudden..."
"Jingliu, I keep feeling like it was only yesterday that we were chatting and drinking together."
Baiheng gestured at the height of her waist.
"When we first met, Jing Yuan was still this little."
Jingliu laughed.
"If Jing Yuan heard that, he'd start complaining again."
"He wasn't that short."
Baiheng waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh, come on, I'm exaggerating."
The Foxian paused before continuing, "Oh, I remembered wrong. It wasn't Jing Yuan, it was Yingxing."
"Anyway, that's not the point."
"I never expected you to get married this quickly."
As soon as Baiheng brought it up, she couldn't help sighing.
She glared at Jingliu.
"You didn't tell me anything!"
"I even wanted to help take photos and be there to witness it!"
Jingliu's gaze drifted for a moment.
Zero had never acted intimate with her in front of others.
The closest thing they did was hold hands.
When other Xianzhou couples registered their marriage, they would kiss each other and have photographers record the moment.
If Baiheng had been there taking pictures...
Zero would definitely have felt embarrassed.
He would definitely have tried to change the subject.
Just as she was thinking about it, Baiheng tugged on her arm and said angrily, "Look at that. You're talking with me and still thinking about him."
"I think you're completely bewitched."
Jingliu replied calmly, "How could that be? I wasn't thinking about him."
The corner of Baiheng's mouth twitched.
There was no saving her.
Forget it. If Jingliu said she wasn't, then she wasn't.
If it were anyone else, Baiheng wouldn't say another word.
But this was Jingliu.
Holding onto the belief that those involved couldn't see clearly while outsiders could, the Foxian patiently analyzed things for her friend.
"Jingliu, I've told you before. This is going to be hard for you."
"First of all, he hid his identity and lied to you."
"That's a matter of principle."
Jingliu thought for a moment and decided to speak from Zero's perspective.
"But if someone said they were the emperor of an ancient nation, nobody would believe them either, right?"
Baiheng froze.
She couldn't argue with that.
She got stuck for quite a while before continuing, "Oh, and that guy named Zandar today..."
Jingliu looked confused.
"You mean Zero's teacher? What's wrong with him?"
Baiheng felt like she was watching a piece of iron refuse to become steel.
'This woman only had swords and Zero in her head!'
'She had already been treated like that and still hadn't realized it!'
Baiheng could only shoulder the burden herself and guide Jingliu into analyzing Zandar's true intentions.
"Think carefully about it."
"He told you to protect Zero."
Jingliu nodded.
"I remember. I will do that."
Baiheng stared at her for a long time without speaking.
She felt utterly powerless trying to talk sense into someone in love.
Her ears flattened backward again, and her tail instantly puffed up.
She finally snapped.
"...Who wants to hear your promise? Jingliu, I'm talking about why Zandar said that!"
"I've lived for hundreds of years, and I've never seen a male elder be so rude when... warning and lecturing the woman's side!"
Baiheng wanted nothing more than to grab Jingliu by the shoulders and shake all the water out of her head.
"Jingliu, don't you get it yet? He was trying to put you in your place!"
"And then he said something about how Zero never looks at prices when buying things..."
'What kind of person never checks prices?'
'Someone rich enough not to care!'
'Wasn't that obviously hinting at the gap in their status?'
Seeing Baiheng getting angry, Jingliu quickly raised a hand and patted her shoulder, explaining on behalf of both Zandar and Zero.
"No, Baiheng."
Jingliu pressed her lips together.
She hadn't wanted others to know about Zero's physical condition.
But the person before her was Baiheng.
The closest friend she had, and someone who held deep prejudice against Zero.
Jingliu didn't want Baiheng to misunderstand. After hesitating for a moment, she said,
"Baiheng, Zero's body is different. He absolutely cannot be injured."
Baiheng frowned deeply, "Huh? Isn't he a Xianzhou native?"
'Didn't he have the blessing?'
Jingliu sighed.
"He really can't be injured."
Hearing that, Baiheng backed down.
Looking down, she said irritably, "Jingliu, this is going to be hard for you."
"As the saying goes, nobody is perfect."
"I just asked Baizhu, and I couldn't get a single bad word about him out of her."
"Zero might be a perfect, flawless Marshal, but that doesn't mean he'll be a perfect lover."
"He's been sitting in that position for thousands of years."
No matter how much prejudice Baiheng had against Zero, she couldn't help but admire him.
She sighed.
"Jingliu, that's thousands of years."
"I don't have a lifespan that long, but even I know..."
"The way he thinks can't be changed."
"A person like him won't lose himself in romance, and he definitely won't put you first."
Jingliu asked, "So what?"
Baiheng hugged Jingliu's arm, her voice low.
"He lied to you."
"I just don't think it's worth it."
"You deserve the best person."
Jingliu smiled and turned to meet Baiheng's gaze.
"Baiheng, in my eyes, there is no one better than him."
Seeing the Foxian still puffing her cheeks, Jingliu continued, "You don't understand him."
Jingliu lowered her eyes, hiding the emotions within them.
Zero would fulfill all of her wishes.
Even death.
A faint smile slowly appeared on Jingliu's face.
"People experience all kinds of emotions."
"But when he's with me, he has never shown me any negative emotions."
"He thinks about me all the time. Whenever we meet, he always comes up with new ways to surprise me."
When she finished speaking, the smile disappeared from her face.
Baiheng's brows relaxed, but Jingliu let out a deep sigh.
"He told you before that he lived off me and depended on me."
"He wasn't joking when he said that."
"He gave me a great deal of property."
Jingliu looked straight ahead, her voice so light it seemed it could be carried away by the wind.
"In this relationship, he's gentle, courteous, generous... He respects me and never goes against my wishes."
"He is the most perfect lover."
Baiheng said nothing.
After hearing all that, she realized the problem.
As the saying went, nobody was perfect.
As long as someone was human, they would make mistakes and have flaws.
Not to mention people in love.
Jealousy and arguments were common.
But the Zero Jingliu described... aside from hiding his true identity, there wasn't a single fault to find.
Zero was too perfect.
It felt like an act.
Every move he made seemed modeled after the image of a "perfect lover" from the star network.
Jingliu turned and met Baiheng's eyes.
Those red eyes were dazzling.
She spoke slowly and clearly, "But I don't need him to be perfect."
"Baiheng, you said he wouldn't put me first."
At that, Jingliu smiled.
"That's normal. As the Sword Champion and as a Cloud Knight, I wouldn't put my lover first either."
"Otherwise, wouldn't the front lines fall into chaos?"
Baiheng's expression turned complicated, and she pouted.
"I thought you were lovestruck."
Jingliu laughed.
"How could I be?"
"Neither Zero nor I are people who lose ourselves in romance."
"In both our hearts, there are things more important than each other."
"If I ever stood against the Xianzhou, Zero would not hesitate to fight me."
Jingliu paused briefly.
If Zero regarded only her as his anchor in this world...
That would be far too dangerous.
With a tone almost like a sigh, she said, "I don't spend all day thinking about how much he loves me."
"I only hope... that he loves himself more."
Baiheng widened her eyes and hugged Jingliu's arm tighter, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
Jingliu was extremely grateful that she had met Zero at exactly the right time.
If she had met the Zero who served as Marshal, she still would have been drawn to him.
But what about Zero?
He loved all Xianzhou people, but he would never love any one person in particular.
He was destined not to stop for Jingliu.
Only after leaving behind the identity of Marshal could he briefly turn his attention toward the Sword Champion of the Xianzhou.
Only then could he try, without reservations, to love someone.
The same was true for Jingliu.
But she couldn't separate public and private matters as clearly as Zero could.
No matter how noble her words sounded... Her heart was biased.
But now was not the time.
When she was no longer the Sword Champion and no longer a Cloud Knight.
When she was free from her current identity.
The Xianzhou would gain one more retired Cloud Knight with some skill in swordsmanship.
When that day came, she would be able to openly favor her lover with a clear conscience.
Baiheng stared at Jingliu for a while before suddenly asking,
"Tell me, if he were the one pursuing you, what would it be like?"
After thinking for a moment, Jingliu replied, "I don't think it would be any different."
Baiheng shook her head, causing her ears to sway as well.
"How could that be? I bet he'd be like the stories Jing Yuan reads and just throw money at you nonstop..."
Before she could finish, Dan Feng arrived with Yingxing and Jing Yuan, carrying drinks.
The High Elder said with certainty, "If it were Zero, things wouldn't have progressed this quickly."
Baiheng stood up and handed out cups to everyone.
"I don't believe it."
Dan Feng first poured fruit juice for Jing Yuan, then filled drinks for the others.
"Baiheng, have you heard the rumors about him and the Aeon of Elation?"
Baiheng wrinkled her nose.
"I heard they're very close."
Dan Feng said nothing. After pouring the drinks, he sat down.
That was the Aeon of Elation.
The fact that Zero could get along with an Aeon like that showed he wasn't simple at all.
To put it bluntly, birds of a feather flock together.
Besides, Zero had an extremely strong sense of pride. Even if he liked Jingliu and realized his own feelings...
Would he actively pursue her and confess?
Absolutely not.
Zero would never give Jingliu a chance to reject him.
He wouldn't confess. He would only guide things from the shadows.
When it came to brains, sword-obsessed Jingliu was no match for Zero.
Zero would only guide her into realizing her own feelings and then have her pursue him instead.
Would that make things move faster?
No.
The answer was exactly the opposite.
Things would move even slower.
Dan Feng had figured it out by now.
Zero was undefeated on the battlefield and flawless in handling government affairs.
But when it came to relationships, he would come to Dan Feng whenever something happened and ask for advice.
If things dragged on until Zero regained all his memories and returned to the mindset he had in Scalegorge Waterscape...
Then he wouldn't even consider romance anymore.
If Zero had taken the initiative... the two of them might not even be holding hands yet.
Dan Feng let out a long breath.
Timing, circumstances, and people... none of them could be missing.
After clinking cups with his friends, he suddenly remembered a question that had puzzled him for a long time.
Dan Feng couldn't help asking, "Why did all of you think one hundred thousand patrol tokens a month was enough to live on?"
The other four, "..."
They looked at Dan Feng without saying anything.
The High Elder continued, "When I said you could choose the amount yourselves, why did you still pick one hundred thousand?"
Baiheng laughed awkwardly.
"Because poverty limits our imagination."
"Even in our fantasies, we only dared imagine one hundred thousand patrol tokens."
Yingxing's mouth twitched. He stood up while rolling up his sleeves.
"...I'm going to fight all you rich people."
Jing Yuan set down his fruit juice and slapped the table as he stood.
"Yingxing! Count me in!"
Jingliu remained seated, holding her wine cup.
After taking a sip, she asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Dan Feng dodged Jing Yuan's and Yingxing's attacks while answering casually, "I'm considering how much property to leave Yingxing."
Yingxing suddenly froze.
He looked completely confused.
"Huh? Why leave it to me?"
Jing Yuan stopped as well.
Dan Feng steadied himself and lowered his head to straighten his slightly messy sleeves.
"Not entirely for you. It's also for my reincarnation."
Yingxing was completely lost.
He sat back down and couldn't help asking, "Then why leave it all to me?"
Instead of answering, Dan Feng looked at Jingliu.
"Jingliu, I trust you. You're not the type to abandon your friends for love."
Jingliu frowned slightly.
"...What does this have to do with me?"
Dan Feng raised a brow and joked, "Of course it has something to do with you. Just don't report me."
"If I give it to Yingxing, I can avoid inheritance tax."
Jingliu sighed helplessly.
"Zero works for the Divination Commission. What does this have to do with him?"
Yingxing understood.
So it was just moving money from one hand to the other.
Then it was fine.
Dan Feng thought for a moment.
"After asking all of you, I finally have an idea. Leaving ten thousand... no, one hundred thousand patrol tokens a month should be enough."
Once the Vidyadhara solved the problem that had troubled them for so long, there would no longer be a High Elder among them.
The Imbibitor Lunae would naturally no longer need to support a large staff of attendants.
That way, Dan Feng could distribute his excess wealth to those who needed it.
His friends believed one hundred thousand patrol tokens a month was enough to live on.
In that case, he would leave assets to his reincarnation that generated only one hundred thousand patrol tokens in monthly interest.
Yingxing's mouth twitched.
"Forget it. You should leave your reincarnation a bit more. One hundred thousand a month... isn't enough."
That was Dan Feng... That was the Imbibitor Lunae.
Yingxing knew he hadn't seen much of the world.
But he knew that every time his friend spent money, it was at least in the millions and sometimes tens of millions.
If it became one hundred thousand patrol tokens a month...
That wouldn't be a downgrade in spending.
That would be self-torture.
After hearing this, Dan Feng considered it for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Then I'll leave several tens of billions. That way, the daily interest will be tens of thousands of patrol tokens."
The other four, "..."