[This is an IF timeline where Zero never deleted his account, while the other four High-Cloud Quintet members and their subordinates help things along. If he hadn't died, Jingliu would have joined the guard under the recommendation of the Cangcheng General from the earlier chapters.]
———
Yingxing and Baiheng looked like they wanted to say something.
Dan Feng took out his jade abacus, tapped on the screen, and quickly compiled a reading list for Jingliu.
It included the best-selling and most representative storybooks from the Xianzhou over the past five hundred years, along with a series of books on psychology.
Seeing how focused Dan Feng was, the two assumed the High Elder was handling official business and could only keep quiet.
They waited and waited until Dan Feng finally put away the jade abacus.
Baiheng scratched one of her fox ears and cautiously said, "Dan Feng... how about you think it over again?"
Yingxing nodded along.
"Yeah. Learning from storybooks? That sounds way too unreliable..."
Dan Feng immediately disagreed.
He had specifically picked the best-selling storybooks.
If they were popular with so many readers, they naturally had something worth learning from.
Even if those methods couldn't be used on the Marshal, she could still treat the plots as examples of what not to do.
Dan Feng shook his head and sighed.
"You two underestimate Jingliu."
Jingliu was an adult over eight hundred years old.
She was the Sword Champion of the Luofu and commander of the Cloud Knights.
She had simply fallen in love with the Marshal.
That didn't mean she'd lost the most basic ability to judge things.
Baiheng laughed awkwardly.
Were they the ones underestimating Jingliu?
'That woman...'
'She is a complete sword fanatic!'
The two kept trying to persuade him until their mouths were dry, but Dan Feng refused to budge.
With the Martial Ceremony drawing near, all six commissions of the Luofu were swamped with work. After their brief gathering, the three of them had no choice but to return to their posts.
The High Elder confidently waved his sleeve and bid Baiheng and Yingxing farewell.
The two exchanged glances and sighed together.
One was a craftsman, the other a pilot.
How were they supposed to meet that person in person and give Jingliu advice?
"At this point..."
A gleam flashed through the foxian's eyes as she took out her jade abacus.
"We can only rely on Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan stood on the rooftop terrace.
A few steps away stood the colleagues protecting the Marshal alongside him.
Everyone wore focused expressions, their eyes fixed on the Marshal without blinking.
Only Jing Yuan stared blankly into space, his thoughts nearly at a standstill.
He kept thinking over the message Baiheng had just sent.
He couldn't help wondering...
'Rely on who?'
'Me?'
Fortunately, the Cloud Knight Captain still retained some reason.
He steadied himself and continued standing with his back straight.
The Marshal sat at the dining table, looking relaxed as he chatted with the person across the screen for an entire system hour.
He didn't look like he was issuing orders.
He looked more like he was chatting with family or friends.
Every so often, he even greeted someone on the other end through the screen.
Jing Yuan quickly came to a conclusion.
It must be the Nameless.
The Marshal had once traveled alongside the Aeon of Trailblaze.
Two years later, he returned to the Xianzhou together with the Aeon of Trailblaze and the Elation Aeon to attend his successor's coming-of-age ceremony.
The good news was that on the day of Thanksgiving Festival, there was finally news of General Daiyang, who had disappeared after the starquake.
The Marshal temporarily parted ways with the Nameless and returned to the Xianzhou.
Not long afterward, the Elation Aeon blew up the Astral Express.
The Trailblaze Aeon flew into a rage and informed the Marshal.
From then on, the Masked Fools were added to the Xianzhou's wanted list.
At the time, everyone believed the Marshal had returned to the Xianzhou to pave the way for his successor.
They thought he would leave again one day.
No one wanted to part with the Marshal.
But they wanted even less to see him continue exhausting himself for the Xianzhou.
The upper ranks respected the Marshal's wishes, and as time passed, they worked more and more smoothly with his successor.
Who would have thought the future Marshal would refuse to take over?
The Marshal indulged him and remained in the Xianzhou because of it.
If Jing Yuan were in his place, he would have made the same decision.
After all, who could refuse a one-day-on, one-day-off schedule?
Just as Jing Yuan was thinking about it, the Marshal suddenly gestured for them to leave.
The two colleagues beside him immediately moved.
Jing Yuan followed.
After everyone left, Zero turned his gaze back to the screen.
He had originally wanted to ask Zandar something.
Coincidentally, Zandar happened to be having dinner with friends.
Through the screen, Zandar introduced each Genius Society member present one by one.
The scholar walked around the table, introducing his friends while also showing his student the lakeside restaurant he had chosen.
After returning to his seat, the student on the screen took a deep breath, as though he wanted to say something.
Zandar pretended not to notice and turned the front camera toward Polka beside him.
"One moment. There's still one more person."
Polka met Zero through the screen.
The two had never met in person.
They had only spoken a few times through Zandar's long-range communication.
One glance was enough.
She had already guessed most of what Zero wanted.
At first, she had intended to go to the Xianzhou and kill him.
Then the First Seat had invited her and given her a token meant only for her.
Polka's thoughts paused for a few seconds before she reached a conclusion.
The universe had gone through multiple cycles.
'What a...'
'...truly irresistible subject.'
She immediately put the Yaoqing General out of her mind.
As time passed, she gradually noticed something was off.
But she never pointed it out.
Instead, she confirmed her suspicions through bits and pieces of what Zandar said.
Zandar had a student with an absurdly long name.
The scholar was extremely proud of it.
"I came up with that name myself."
It was so long that Polka couldn't even be bothered to remember it.
Translated literally, it meant something like...
Sacred.
Godlike.
The Greatest.
The Eternal Ruler.
Whenever she had free time, she paid attention to what was happening on the Xianzhou.
The person before her deserved the name Zandar had given him.
He was very smart.
When he first met Zandar, he had made the best possible choice.
He had let a scholar with no close relationships and no children name him.
Even if Zandar hadn't intended to stay in contact with him, that name alone would make him keep paying attention.
People naturally cared about kittens and puppies they named themselves.
Not to mention Eric had still been a child at the time.
The moment Zandar answered the video call, he already knew what his student wanted.
He just refused to face reality.
Come on.
The Marshal of the Xianzhou had lived for thousands of years.
What hadn't he seen?
How could he possibly throw away his pride and seek out Zandar over a relationship problem?
The answer was obvious.
Eric hesitated.
For people like him... Not refusing was the biggest problem.
Eric clearly hadn't realized that.
Zandar had absolutely no intention of advising his student or pointing out what he was thinking.
In his eyes, no one was worthy of his student.
He was the kind of parent children found the hardest to deal with...overly controlling.
Worse still, he was exceptionally intelligent and knew his student extremely well.
By the time his student made a decision under his guidance and everything was settled, he might finally realize Zandar's true intentions.
Originally, Polka had planned to go to the Luofu with Zandar to attend the Martial Ceremony.
Now...
She might as well cancel the trip.
She had no interest in wasting time watching the cliché drama of a harsh father-in-law making life difficult for his future daughter-in-law.
Polka set down her knife and fork and teased, "Are you a child? You came to ask Zandar something like this?"
Zero's expression stiffened.
Ignoring him, Polka turned toward Zandar with a look of sudden realization.
"Oh. That makes sense."
It was Zandar, after all.
The scholar had never formed a close relationship.
Every relationship stopped at dating.
Polka picked up her champagne glass.
"Then you've asked the wrong person."
The person on the other end opened his mouth.
"...No. I asked the right person."
Zandar, who had been unintentionally wounded by his own student: "..."
"Are you planning to reject that girl? Then you really did ask the right person." Polka grinned, enjoying the show. "Zandar, you can relax now, can't you?"
Without saying a word, Zandar stood up and walked over to a table by the lake.
They had reserved the entire place, and the surroundings were completely quiet.
Staring at the screen, Zandar said in a gloomy tone, "Eric, no matter what happens, you absolutely cannot let her sleep with you. And you definitely can't end up with an illegitimate child!"
Zero had no idea how to respond.
After a moment of silence, he said helplessly, "How is that even possible?"
Zandar frowned deeply.
"You're still so young... If you end up with an illegitimate child, your family will definitely cut off your allowance..."
The corner of Zero's mouth twitched.
"Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"
"You're not." Zandar shook his head, looking worried. "Even boys need to protect themselves."
He didn't want to discuss relationships with his student.
He wanted even less for him to become further entangled with people from the Xianzhou.
Just a few words were enough to make his student give up on asking.
Then Zandar asked, "What are you planning to do after you go back? Return home? Or keep studying?"
Just as he expected, the student became interested in the topic.
"After graduation, another three years for a bachelor's degree, then two years for a master's."
Zandar nodded.
Eight years in total.
"What about your major? Have you decided?"
Zero thought for a moment.
"Humanities? Social sciences? Business? I'm not sure yet."
Zandar pretended to think.
"Hmm... I think philosophy would suit you."
Money, power, and fame brought satisfaction to most people.
Eric already had all of those.
Material things couldn't satisfy his spiritual needs.
He might as well learn to look inward.
The two talked from majors to universities, then from universities to careers.
The student said he only wanted an easy job with a one-day-on, one-day-off schedule.
As for his annual salary...
He didn't care.
Education wasn't an investment.
It was support.
His family had no expectations of him.
Nor did they expect him to earn back his tuition or living expenses.
Of course, if he could at least make half of what his high school tuition had cost, that would be even better.
They talked for a long time.
Only when an attendant appeared more than ten meters away did Zero realize something.
On the screen, Zandar was saying something to his friends.
A few seconds later, he hurriedly said goodbye to Zero and ended the call.
Zero: "..."
'Wait.'
'How did I end up asking nothing at all?'
'How am I supposed to reject her now?'
Zero stared at the screen showing the call had ended, sighed, then gestured for the attendant to come over.
The attendant handed him a letter.
Zero took it, unfolded it, skimmed through it, found the time and place, then looked at the signature.
It was an invitation from the Imbibitor Lunae.
He casually handed the letter back to the attendant and accepted Dan Feng's invitation.
Dan Feng wasn't surprised when he heard the attendant's reply.
He looked at the differently sized wooden boxes in the hands of more than a dozen attendants and couldn't help smiling bitterly.
He had sacrificed too much for his friend.
Every one of those treasures had come from his private collection.
Dan Feng looked away, led the attendants forward, and met up with the other four High Elders.
Thanks to the Martial Ceremony, the High Elders finally had a chance to reunite.
The five of them had all brought gifts for one another.
After opening everything, they realized the Imbibitor Lunae had truly spared no expense this time.
They exchanged glances.
They all understood.
Dan Feng was doing this for the Marshal.
The Marshal rarely attended events.
Who wouldn't want to leave a good impression on him?
The Imbibitor Lunae was already a formidable fighter.
There was no need for them to deliberately hold back for his sake.
'So this was for...', The High Elders all began guessing.
"For that... Cloud Knight Captain?"
"What's his name again?"
"Jing Yuan."
"He's the Sword Champion's disciple."
Dan Feng shook his head.
"No."
His expression turned serious.
"It's for my friend, Jingliu."
The High Elders looked at one another.
'Jingliu.'
'The Sword Champion of the Luofu.'
She needed them to go easy on her?
They found it strange but didn't look into it further.
Xianzhou people.
This sort of thing wasn't unusual.
One of the High Elders looked conflicted.
"Does the Sword Champion know?"
"She doesn't seem like the type to..."
'...take shortcuts.'
The High Elder swallowed the words before they came out and changed them halfway through.
"...She doesn't seem... that smooth."
Dan Feng shook his head.
"It isn't about winning."
Jingliu could send someone flying with a single strike.
How was she supposed to pursue someone like that?
By threatening him?
The Marshal wouldn't fall for that.
Dan Feng paused before continuing, "It's so that... she'll look a little better while fighting."
The High Elders couldn't help thinking, 'What is this, a peacock showing off its feathers?!'
'Who cares whether a duel looks good or not?!'
Another High Elder spoke bluntly, "The Marshal's been on battlefields. Fancy flourishes and sword tricks won't impress him..."
"It'd be better if she just finished the fight faster."
Dan Feng held out his hand.
"Oh? Then give me back that painting."
The other man's expression immediately turned awkward, and he quickly changed his tune.
"Well... it's the Marshal! Of course he'd appreciate it!"
His eyes turned as he said, "Besides, ice and water together would look even better, wouldn't they?"
The others joined in.
"That's right, Imbibitor Lunae."
"Sparring in the snow would look beautiful."
"What a pity. Both you and the Sword Champion are on the Luofu."
Dan Feng suddenly understood.
'That's right.'
He slowly withdrew his hand.
An idea formed in his mind.
The next day, Dan Feng arrived early at the place where he had arranged to meet the Marshal.
Jingliu wore a Cloud Knight uniform with a light-colored cloak over her shoulders.
Cloud Knight Captain Jing Yuan stood beside her.
Dan Feng walked over and stood at Jingliu's side.
Looking straight ahead, and mindful that Jing Yuan was still underage, he lowered his voice and quietly asked, "Did you read the storybooks?"
Jingliu's eyes shifted away.
Not at all.
She didn't want to waste her friend's good intentions, so she simply said, "...I did."
Dan Feng didn't notice his friend's expression.
Hearing that answer, he let out a sigh of relief.
"That's good."
After waiting for a while, the Marshal arrived.
This time, he had changed his style.
He wore a black dress shirt with black slacks.
Zero caught sight of Jingliu standing to the side.
His gaze lingered on her for a brief moment before calmly moving away.
Dan Feng stepped forward and exchanged the usual greetings with the Marshal.
The Marshal seemed rather dissatisfied with him.
He barely responded and couldn't even be bothered to smile.
Dan Feng couldn't help sighing inwardly.
The Marshal might not accept another invitation next time.
The group walked along the path.
At some point, snow began to fall.
Dan Feng casually glanced at Jingliu.
His friend pursed her lips, reached up to untie the knot, and removed the cloak from her shoulders.
Jing Yuan and Dan Feng instantly realized what she was about to do.
Both of them froze.
The Cloud Knight Captain looked dazed.
'Baiheng... you thought too highly of me.'
The High Elder stared in disbelief.
'I really did tell you to read storybooks...'
'But I absolutely didn't tell you to pursue the Marshal like this!'
'Wait... with Jingliu's personality, having her play the heroine was already unrealistic...'
'No! The Marshal playing the heroine would be even more unrealistic!'
Under the stunned gazes of the two, Jingliu stepped forward.
The cloak rested over one arm.
She cautiously raised her other hand and gently brushed away the thin layer of snow that had settled on Zero's shoulder.
When she looked up again, she met a pair of eyes whose emotions she couldn't read.
Lowering her gaze, her eyelashes trembling slightly, Jingliu draped the cloak over Zero's shoulders.
After adjusting it properly, she softly said, "Done."
She simply... wanted to shield him from the wind and snow.