Hearing this, Guanliang stepped forward and stopped in front of the two Aeons.
His tone was familiar, as though he were greeting old friends after a long separation.
"What you're saying..."
"If you're not dead, how could I possibly be dead?"
Guanliang lowered his eyes and met Aha's gaze.
If he could tolerate Zero, how could he not tolerate Aha?
Guanliang smiled.
"You're that person's closest friend, after all. In terms of relationships, who could compare to you?"
"If anything good happened, you'd definitely be the first person he thought of."
Aha leaned back and casually crossed one leg over the other. As He lifted His foot, He left an extremely obvious shoe print on the hem of Guanliang's black robe.
The Aeon looked at Guanliang's expression.
It had not changed from beginning to end.
As expected of His best friend's subordinate.
He sighed.
"This trip to the Xianzhou has been so boring."
Guanliang nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. What a pity. That person wiped out the species you liked."
"Otherwise, the Swarm could have kept you company this time."
Aha raised a hand and brushed back His hair.
"It doesn't matter."
He slightly raised His chin and let out a chuckle.
"Isn't your 'Reignbow Arbiter' still here?"
Lan, "..."
While the man and the Aeon spoke, Lan vaguely sensed Guanliang's malice.
Only then did He remember those days before becoming an Aeon.
Back then, Aha had nearly killed Guanliang.
But... what did that have to do with the Swarm?
The two things had nothing to do with each other.
Lan could not figure it out and could only come to one conclusion.
If it involved the Swarm, it definitely wasn't anything good.
Guanliang, "..."
'As expected of an Aeon.'
He couldn't even refute it.
If he showed any reaction and made an issue out of it, Aha would end up occupying the moral high ground instead.
It was clearly a very ordinary sentence. How had it gotten interpreted that way?
Compared to this, Zero seemed especially human.
Guanliang brought his fingers together and gestured toward the exit.
"Please, 'Elation.'"
Aha stood up and, as if performing a magic trick, produced a miniature jade abacus.
He stepped forward first and placed it in the scanning area.
Guanliang's gaze followed it.
It was an internal access pass used by the Alchemy Commission.
Besides this jade abacus, they also had to undergo facial recognition when entering the Alchemy Commission.
But if this thing fell into an enemy's hands...
If that person happened to be skilled at changing appearances, wouldn't they be able to slip into the Alchemy Commission with ease?
Aha casually tossed the jade abacus to a nearby guard, then wrapped an arm around Lan's shoulders without waiting for a response.
"Where are we going? The Ten-Lords Commission?"
Guanliang pulled himself out of his thoughts and smiled.
"Of course we're escorting you out."
Aha asked with a grin, "What? Guarding against me? Do I look like the type who stabs my best friend in the back?"
Guanliang stopped walking.
He turned around and said with a half-smile, "Aren't you?"
'If you weren't the type to stab people in the back...'
'Then how would Zero have died?'
Guanliang did not look at the Aeon's expression again and continued walking forward.
After leaving the Alchemy Commission, Aha suddenly stepped forward and took something out.
When Guanliang and Lan saw it clearly, both froze.
It was the neutron gun.
Aha handed the neutron gun to Guanliang.
"Ah, what a pity."
"I would've liked to attend such a special occasion too."
"Can't be helped. I have other things to do, so let Lan deliver my blessings instead..."
He suddenly stopped and spread His hands helplessly.
"Forget it. What nice things could this guy possibly say...? Just help me pass along a message instead..."
Lan immediately interrupted.
"You just think he doesn't want to see you."
Aha, "..."
'Lan, do you not pay attention to the situation when you speak?'
Lan continued, "And you think he'll attack you."
Aha, "..."
He couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Yes. If it were His best friend...
The other party would definitely throw an arm around His shoulders and say,
"My dearest friend, with our relationship... how could you attend my wedding using only an avatar? Isn't that a bit too distant?"
Although His best friend had gained a little humanity this time...
That was still Zero.
Back when he led the Empire, he had once told his people, "Kill gods for me..."
What he really meant was...
'You belong to me, so die for me.'
How could someone like that be judged by common sense?
Normally, nobody would start a massacre at a wedding.
But His best friend was someone who set precedents and wrote the rules.
Who knew whether he might suddenly stab Him?
Aha laughed for a long while before feeling puzzled.
He looked at Guanliang, blinked, and asked, "Have none of you ever thought about beating him up?"
Guanliang usually liked wearing wide-sleeved robes. For once, those large sleeves were useful.
He tucked the neutron gun into his sleeve and smiled.
"You're joking. How could we possibly fight him?"
Aha nodded thoughtfully.
Understood.
Only His best friend had ever beaten up the Hunt.
Guanliang could not be bothered to waste more time on the Aeon. Before leaving, he said with a fake smile, "The Xianzhou has a saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"Since you've come to the Xianzhou, please follow the rules here as well."
"Don't make things difficult for us."
After boarding the starskiff, Guanliang frowned deeply. One hand repeatedly shook the part of his robe Aha had kicked, while the other took out his jade abacus and asked Zero for his location.
After sending the message, he switched back to his memo.
Inside was a list of unfinished work.
For example, cleaning up the mess left by his former boss.
And dealing with hidden problems within the Six Commissions.
If he could persuade Zero to stop drawing hatred toward Lan, that would be even better.
Lastly, there was his resignation letter, which he had revised countless times.
Every time he edited it, the timestamp changed with it.
When had he typed the first word?
He had long since forgotten.
Guanliang only vaguely remembered that Zero had still been the general of Yaoqing at the time.
Who knew what nonsense Zero had done again? He had been so angry that he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. So he opened his memo.
Soon, Zero replied, saying he needed to go back and pick up a few things.
Guanliang snapped out of his thoughts. When he saw the address, his frown deepened.
It was Zero's most frequently used residence. The place was tiny, only a few hundred square meters. Its only advantage was the location.
One could walk directly to the Divination Commission.
Zero said he was picking something up... but what?
That property couldn't even hold much.
Guanliang gave the address to the driver and put away the jade abacus.
Outside the starskiff, the two Aeons fell silent for a moment.
Lan watched the starskiff leave before turning to look at Aha.
"Back then, you didn't kill Shuhu."
He stared steadily at the Aeon and asked,
"Why?"
A faint trace of confusion appeared in Aha's smile.
As though He had already forgotten the matter.
Or perhaps He had never considered the question at all.
He tilted His head.
"Does it matter?"
"It does," Lan said firmly.
At the root of everything, Shuhu had been the fuse that started it all.
Aha had known the truth beforehand, so why had He left Shuhu alive?
Was it for amusement?
Or... for the severely injured Marshal?
Aha stared at Him for a moment before shaking His head.
"You're not much like the successor he raised."
His best friend only cared about results and never cared about the process.
Looking only at the result, His best friend had died.
Yet Lan, as His best friend's successor, was asking such an unimportant question.
What? If He answered, would Lan really believe Him?
'Wait...'
'Lan had absolutely no sense of humor. Of course he'd believe whatever he was told!'
Aha looked straight ahead, His gaze fixed on empty space as if recalling something.
"As for that question..."
A moment later, He tilted His head.
"I don't know."
Lan's expression remained calm.
"I understand."
"It was for the Marshal."
Aha looked deeply uncomfortable. His brows knitted together, and His expression became strange.
He couldn't help asking, "Has nobody really beaten you up before?"
Lan glanced at Him.
"No."
Aha immediately pointed at Lan.
"So that's it. You actually dare insult my best friend by saying he's not human..."
Lan, "..."
Meanwhile, Guanliang stepped over the threshold, crossed the courtyard, and entered the reception hall.
The first thing he saw was a cake tower made entirely of paper credit notes, nearly reaching the ceiling.
Beside it sat a bouquet of peonies.
Guanliang sneered.
For an occasion like this...
If Zero made a move, it would be at least one hundred million Patrol Tokens.
And the flowers should at least be larger than the flowerbeds on Xianzhou streets.
One look was enough to tell it had been given to Zero by Jingliu.
'Zero, and you said you came back to pick something up? Pick up what?'
'You're just showing off your relationship!'
Guanliang cursed Zero in his heart.
After cursing him for a while, Zero entered the reception hall pulling a suitcase.
Guanliang crossed his arms.
"What's this...? Planning to skip the wedding ceremony and go straight to the honeymoon?"
Zero glanced at him and casually stored the suitcase in the system inventory.
"No."
"Take me back to the hotel later."
After speaking, Zero walked toward the cake tower and bouquet.
In an instant, they disappeared.
Guanliang frowned and followed him out.
"We're going back to the hotel? To see Zandar?"
"If I remember correctly, didn't you just get married a few days ago?"
They quickly boarded the starskiff.
Once the partition rose and blocked off the driver, Zero sighed.
"Something came up."
"It's the Second Seat."
Guanliang immediately understood.
"That scholar wants Polka Kakamond to conceal your name and appearance?"
Zero shook his head.
"No. It's for..."
He paused.
It was for the Creation of the Universe.
It was for ascension into a higher dimension.
Claiming it was to change the fate of a lower-dimensional world...
In the end, it was simply for himself.
Zero said softly, "It's for research."
He leaned back against the seat.
"Besides, debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay."
Guanliang roughly understood.
Some people held weddings to recover the gift money they had previously given others.
Zero didn't lack Patrol Tokens, and neither did the invited guests.
The truly special group, the one that required the Xianzhou's close attention, was the collection of Genius Society members invited by Zandar.
In Zero's view, people like them wouldn't give gift money.
At the very least, they should provide technology instead.
At such a critical moment, could Zero really end up owing favors to his guests?
Wouldn't that be as absurd as Zero finding a broken-down aurumaton, sending it to the Artisanship Commission for repairs, and even paying for the repairs himself?
Well, it was still possible.
Unless that aurumaton was Marty.
Guanliang did not agree with Zero's thinking.
Zandar harbored ill intentions toward the Xianzhou and understood Zero extremely well.
Would someone like that really allow other geniuses to help the Xianzhou and share technology?
In the end, Guanliang said nothing.
Remembering the purpose of his trip, he took the neutron gun from his sleeve and handed it to Zero.
The man usually looked calm and indifferent, but he visibly froze when he saw the neutron gun.
Zero accepted it.
After examining it for a while, he said softly, "...There are no usage records at all."
Zero fell into thought for a moment before smiling.
"...Interesting."
The next moment, the neutron gun vanished.
Guanliang could not make sense of it.
Zero had no intention of explaining either. He simply asked, "Guanliang, if someone indirectly killed you, and you got another chance, what would you do?"
Guanliang knew he was talking about Aha.
He looked deeply at Zero.
"I'd kill them, of course."
Zero asked again, "Then if someone killed you thousands upon thousands of times, what would you do?"
Guanliang replied, "I'd carve them into pieces."
Zero continued, "What if neither you nor the entire sea of stars could bear their death?"
Guanliang narrowed his eyes.
"Then I'd hide my strength and wait for the right opportunity."
"No matter what, I'd stab them once."
"After all... as long as I don't kill them."
Zero laughed.
"Exactly..."
"How interesting."
"Aeons... can actually have feelings too?"
The two fell silent for a moment before Guanliang suddenly said, "What? You believed Aha's nonsense? You really think He sees you as His best friend?"
Zero rested his chin on one hand, turned to look at Guanliang, and smiled.
"Now that's a strange thing to say... I clearly have lots of best friends."
The corner of Guanliang's mouth twitched.
"Your standards for best friends are way too low. Do I need to remind you? Aha almost killed us before."
Zero nodded.
"Good point. A best friend who only approaches me through an avatar isn't worth keeping."
"Only one who interacts with me using an Aeon's true identity qualifies as a best friend."
"It'd be even better if He could help me."
A bad feeling immediately rose in Guanliang's heart.
"You're still thinking about drawing hatred toward Lan?"
Zero raised an eyebrow.
"What else?"
"Should I have Xianzhou people risk their lives to act out this play?"
Guanliang understood.
So you plan to make an Aeon act instead?
Zero seemed quite interested as he discussed the soft-rice-man persona he had mentioned before.
While Guanliang forced himself to listen to Zero explain how he would live off someone else, he cursed him repeatedly in his heart.
'Zero, where exactly did you get this idea from?!'
'Do you have anything to do with the words "soft-rice man"?!'
'No wonder you went looking for Aha!'
'The former Marshal being a kept man...'
'That's an absolutely huge joke!'
'Aha would definitely help you!'
'No. The moment I finish cleaning up your mess, I'm resigning immediately!'
Guanliang endured it the entire way. After delivering Zero to the hotel, he had the driver return to the residence where the Marshal was temporarily staying.
He walked from the courtyard to the pond, then through the covered corridor into the study. Speaking rapidly, he explained Zero's plan.
Hua slowly shook her head.
"That's not the important part."
Guanliang asked, "Then what's the important part?"
Hua picked up a photo frame from the desk and showed it to him.
Pointing at the barely visible mole at the corner of Zero's eye in the photo, she said in a serious tone, "It's Father's mole."
"It has the look of financial ruin."
Guanliang, "..."