Jing Yuan kept smiling, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
His gaze shifted and landed on a gray-haired, golden-eyed man.
The man had been a few steps behind. After hearing what the red-haired youth said, he froze on the spot as though struck by lightning, his expression turning dazed.
Another important figure.
Those two red-haired youths were most likely the Elation Aeon.
'Then who's this man?'
'Could he be another Aeon?'
Jing Yuan couldn't help sighing inwardly.
'Forget it.'
This was a fight between gods. It wasn't something he could interfere with.
Jing Yuan had never imagined that his master would fall in love with a man.
If the Xianzhou hadn't restricted marriage to one man and one woman...
Jingliu would probably have carried her sword straight to the Commission and registered it as her marriage partner.
Now she liked the man before her...
Was it because the Elation Aeon had listed off a string of astonishing titles?
Absolutely not.
This man had to possess something extraordinary.
Of course, even if he were a one-of-a-kind existence in the universe...
Jingliu wouldn't spend all day following him around, much less tolerate him seeing someone else at the same time.
From the corner of his eye, Jing Yuan saw Jingliu lower her head and take out the pastries she had just bought.
When the shopkeeper packed them, they had wrapped them in kraft paper and tied them with twine.
At that moment, Jingliu stared intently at the knot without blinking.
As though the tiny knot had become some difficult problem.
Jing Yuan looked more closely.
Her lips were pressed tightly together, clearly trying very hard not to laugh.
That made him even more certain of his guess.
The Elation Aeon was lying.
But...
The identity of being one of the Xianzhou's high-ranking officials was definitely real.
Jing Yuan couldn't help becoming concerned.
Today, it was high-ranking officials from another world's Xianzhou.
What about tomorrow?
Would members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus appear here too?
His eyes flickered.
How did the Vidyadhara continue their race?
Would calling him Grandmaster work? Could he get him to reveal something?
Jing Yuan curled the corners of his lips and shifted his attention back to the man before him.
Zero maintained the same expression as before, as though the Aeons were discussing someone completely unrelated to him.
He had expected this.
He could trust Akivili with his back.
But if it were Aha...
The two of them would probably both think, Strike first, and stab each other before the enemy had the chance.
The way they were now, each getting what they wanted while making life difficult for the other, was the best way for them to get along.
Just like now.
To the natives of this world, they were on the same side.
If they started fighting each other, wouldn't they just become a joke to everyone watching?
So no matter how angry Zero was, he wouldn't lose his temper in front of outsiders.
What he hadn't expected was for two Ahas to end up together.
He had come to pick up Akivili, not to kill a god.
Wasn't this like visiting a friend's world to gather Sweet Flowers, only to get dragged into farming upgrade materials for no reason?
Even if he really wanted to farm materials, they should at least do it somewhere else.
How could they fight on the Xianzhou?
Besides, what "strongest man"?
He was clearly the strongest human.
Wait... he was actually starting to accept the title "strongest human"...
None of it showed on Zero's face as he smiled and asked, "Had enough fun?"
Jing Yuan thought to himself, 'No wonder Jingliu likes this man.'
The way he spoke was like coaxing a child.
Then the man continued, "Come over here."
The first one to sit down, the Aeon who was presumably from their world, sat right beside the man without the slightest hesitation and said warmly, "Seriously, think about it..."
He first spread his arms, then extended one hand in invitation.
The other Elation Aeon narrowed his eyes and turned to urge, "Akivili..."
Jing Yuan's eyelid twitched.
So he really was an Aeon.
Zero smiled.
"It's been a long time."
Akivili seemed to wake from a dream.
His eyes flickered as he met the gaze of the friend he hadn't seen for many years.
After a long while, the Aeon finally found his voice.
"It's been a long time, Eric."
Akivili stepped forward, pushed Aha aside, and sat down beside Zero.
The first thing he looked at was Zero's neck.
There were no bloodstains.
No wounds.
The almost tangible stare left Zero wanting to say something.
Akivili ignored it and continued staring blankly at his old friend.
The truth of the world had left him at a loss.
He had begun to waver.
He had begun to doubt the path he had walked for thousands upon thousands of years.
Had the choices he made... been the right ones?
Did the efforts of the Nameless, and his own, have any meaning?
Only his old friend, who had suffered the same blow and whose beliefs had nearly collapsed, could answer him.
Akivili came back to himself, remembered the conversation between the two Aeons of Elation, forced out a smile, and said half-jokingly, "That's right. We'd gladly die for him."
The sentence sounded far too strange.
Zero frowned slightly and looked at the Aeon with concern.
Akivili shrugged and pretended to sound relaxed.
"Alright, just kidding."
"We have plenty of time."
"You should do what you want to do now."
"For example, learn more about the Xianzhou here."
He looked around, then stood up and walked toward the opposite corner of the teahouse.
Bacchus reacted quickly. With one hand, he picked up the four or five bags of snacks Zero had bought, while draping his other arm around the shoulders of his other self.
Seeing the three Aeons leave, Jing Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief.
Zero instantly lost all interest in beating around the bush.
He spoke faster, "We came here because of Akivili."
"In one System Hour, we'll leave."
"There won't be any more outsiders coming here after this, so you can rest assured."
After saying that, Zero paused.
Originally, he should have turned the conversation toward the other Jingliu, taken the moral high ground, and compensated the Commission with the spare change from the IPC executive's account.
Now, it was the other Dan Feng who had committed the crime and was living in exile.
What about Jing Yuan?
The youngest of the High-Cloud Quintet, who had looked up to the High Elder as his role model?
He must have taken it hard.
Bringing up old matters now would only reopen old wounds.
Forget it.
He'd just treat it as doing one good deed today.
He wouldn't ask for Patrol Tokens anymore.
He'd leave them with something they actually needed.
Zero softened his voice.
"Now, could you tell me about the miracles of the Reignbow Arbiter?"
Jing Yuan knew his chance had come.
His grandmaster had taken the initiative to give him an opportunity to ask for compensation. Naturally, he couldn't waste it.
He first said, "You've definitely come to the right person..."
Then he put on a troubled expression and subtly implied that he was busy with official duties.
The unspoken meaning was simple: 'I'm the Xianzhou General. How could I lower myself and spend working hours telling you stories? You have to show some sincerity first.'
The other party responded just as subtly, implying that if you were giving a gift, you should give something the recipient actually liked.
Jing Yuan understood immediately.
He first had to know what they wanted.
He cleared his throat and began recounting the deeds of the Reignbow Arbiter from the beginning.
Jingliu casually picked up one of the books Zero had ordered.
She skimmed through it at a glance. After turning several pages, she suddenly stopped and placed the book face down on the table.
When Jing Yuan lowered his head to drink his tea, Jingliu slid the book over.
Zero glanced at it.
"The crimson dragon luxuriates; the verdant pines stand dense."
Seeing that line, he closed the book.
Jing Yuan raised his teacup.
When he looked up again and saw the book in Zero's hands, the smile on his face faded slightly.
"The Ballad of Cloud Chant..."
Jing Yuan lowered his eyes and gently blew across the tea.
Ripples spread across the surface.
He knew he should warmly invite them, as any good host would.
A moment later, as both his thoughts and the tea settled, he simply said, "This is a traditional opera of the Vidyadhara."