After the storm in Scalegorge Waterscape had finally subsided—
inside a teahouse in the Luofu's Exalting Sanctum—
"So… Miss Cecilia, you knew from the very beginning that Miss Tingyun was a fake?!"
March 7th's voice nearly blew the roof off the teahouse.
Eyes wide, both hands braced on the table, she leaned so far forward she looked like a cat with all its fur puffed up.
The surrounding patrons all turned to look, but the moment they recognized who was sitting at that table, they hurriedly lowered their heads and pretended they had heard nothing at all.
Who in their right mind would provoke the people who had just driven off a Lord Ravager in Scalegorge Waterscape?
No one was that suicidal.
That was right. After defeating Phantylia, the Luofu, eager to show goodwill, had publicly announced both Cecilia and the Astral Express crew as heroes.
Of course, Cecilia's identity as an Emanator of Abundance had not been made public.
Though the Luofu's upper ranks had mostly let down their guard around her by now, no one could guarantee there were no malicious actors among the general populace.
Still, if Cecilia herself ever chose to reveal it, that would be a different matter.
"Yes," Cecilia said, taking a slow sip of tea. "I knew from the start."
"Then why didn't you tell us?!"
March 7th looked even more shattered.
"Do you know how worried we were?!"
"When I saw that horrible woman stab straight through your heart, I—I almost thought you really…"
Cecilia set down her cup and gently ruffled March's hair.
"Sorry for making you worry. But in that situation, if I'd told you in advance, it would have been easier to give myself away."
"Phantylia is a Lord Ravager—an old fox who's lived for thousands of years."
"As a heliobus, her senses are frighteningly sharp. Her ability to pick up killing intent, to judge someone's condition by their aura—it's all terrifyingly precise. If you'd known I was faking my death, even the slightest moment of relaxation might have tipped her off."
March 7th opened her mouth, then slowly deflated.
It seemed she had been persuaded.
Only Cecilia herself knew that was complete nonsense.
What heliobus instincts? Other than knowing they made useful batteries, how much did she really know about heliobi?
"Jingliu, pour me some tea."
Suddenly, Cecilia leaned back in her chair and casually gave the order to the woman beside her.
Jingliu, seated at Cecilia's side, paused for the briefest moment.
Then she obediently moved.
The tea flowed into the cup, filled exactly seventy percent full—without spilling a single drop.
"Here."
She slid the teacup over in front of Cecilia.
Ever since accepting Cecilia's blessing that day, Jingliu had been adjusted into… this.
Still, Jingliu herself did not seem to harbor much resentment over it.
Though Cecilia had been making her handle every dirty job and bit of drudge work these past few days, Jingliu had accepted it all without complaint.
After all, she truly had benefited.
Feeling the power now flowing through her body, Jingliu honestly thought she could kick five Jing Yuans to death.
And more importantly, she understood Cecilia's intentions.
She still remembered the deal Cecilia had proposed.
So long as Jingliu gave her a chance to treat her, Cecilia would give her power.
Looking back on it now, Jingliu still felt faintly ashamed.
Because this woman was just too kind.
On the surface, Cecilia was always bossing her around, but Jingliu understood: this was the other woman's way of helping ease the illness in her heart.
Three years.
That was the term.
And though Jingliu still had not let go of her hatred, at least for these three years, she would do everything expected of her.
Yes… it was obvious at a glance that Jingliu had been thoroughly conditioned by Cecilia.
The scene made the atmosphere at the table turn subtle.
That woman who had once been colder than a thousand-year glacier, who had looked ready to draw her sword and cut someone down at the slightest disagreement, was now sitting there obediently pouring tea for Cecilia?
Dan Heng's brow twitched.
Out of everyone present, he was probably the least calm inside.
Though he had only met this old friend of Dan Feng's after returning to the Luofu, some instinct carried over from a previous life was screaming at him that this whole situation was deeply wrong.
March 7th raised a hand in a stopping gesture.
"Wait, hold on. Did we miss something? Miss Jingliu, how did you go from… from…"
She gestured wildly for a while and still failed to find a suitable phrase to describe this horrifyingly harmonious scene.
Jingliu cast her a cool glance.
"Is there a problem?"
Her tone was perfectly calm, as though pouring tea for someone were only natural.
"A huge one!" March nearly jumped out of her seat.
"Weren't you trying to cut Dan Heng down before? How did you suddenly become so… so obedient?!"
At that, Dan Heng's hand tightened slightly around his teacup.
Could they maybe not drag him into this out of nowhere?
Did March have any idea how terrifyingly strong Jingliu was now?
Jingliu, on the other hand, stayed completely unbothered. She did not even look at Dan Heng.
"That's a different matter."
"A different matter?" March blinked in confusion. "What different matter?"
At that point, Stelle spoke up in her usual flat tone.
"It means…"
"Miss Jingliu kind of belongs to Miss Cecilia now."
Pfft—
March 7th nearly sprayed out her tea.
"W-what do you mean, belongs to her?! Stelle, do you hear the kind of outrageous thing you just said?!"
Stelle looked perfectly innocent.
"Was I wrong? She pours tea for Miss Cecilia and runs errands for her. Doesn't that make her a servant?"
"That is not the point!" March hurriedly cut her off, cheeks turning faintly red. "The way you said it sounds way too easy to misunderstand!"
At that point, Cecilia threw an arm around Jingliu's shoulders and offered an explanation.
"We're good friends, of course. Good friends help each other out."
To that, Jingliu nodded with complete cooperation.
"Yes. We're friends."
Only Welt adjusted his glasses, and a glint of knowing wisdom flashed across the lenses.
As the one in the group who looked the oldest and certainly had the most experience, he could more or less guess what had happened.
There had to be some kind of deal between Jingliu and Cecilia.
And judging by Jingliu's current behavior, the terms of that deal were probably… extremely interesting.
Still, since neither of the people involved intended to explain, he would not pry.
Respecting other people's pasts was one of the most basic rules aboard the Astral Express.
That said, there was, in fact, something else Welt was very concerned about.
He cleared his throat.
"Now that Phantylia's matter is settled, there's something I'd like to ask you, Miss Cecilia."
Cecilia lifted a brow. "Go ahead, Mr. Yang."
"The weapon you used in Scalegorge Waterscape." Welt paused, and his gaze sharpened behind his lenses. "That weapon—Black Abyss White Flower—if I'm not mistaken, then that should be…"
He left the sentence unfinished, but his meaning was obvious.
As someone who had once lived through the Honkai, Welt was all too familiar with that Divine Key.
Black Abyss White Flower.
The Sixth Divine Key.
Forged from the Herrscher of Death's Core, a weapon that possessed both creation and destruction.
The problem was—
how could something from his world appear here, in this world?
No matter how vast the universe was, that should not have been possible.
Cecilia, however, remained entirely composed, as though she had expected this question all along.
"Mr. Yang really is knowledgeable," she said with a smile. "Yes, it's exactly what you think."
Welt's pupils contracted slightly.
Exactly what he thought?
What was he even supposed to have been thinking here?
"What I think?" Welt's voice, rarely, showed a trace of instability. "Miss Cecilia, do you even know what it is I think?"
"You're wondering where Black Abyss White Flower came from, aren't you?"
"Yes." Welt drew in a quiet breath, trying to keep his tone level. "As far as I know, Black Abyss White Flower is something born in my world. It was made from the Herrscher of Death's Core. It should not exist here—not in this world."
Cecilia gave him an answer.
"What you may not know, Mr. Yang, is that this Black Abyss White Flower was made for me by my Dear Theresa."
Theresa made Black Abyss White Flower…
Even knowing it was not the same person, hearing that familiar name again still made Welt waver.
Cecilia continued:
"My Dear Theresa was the person in this age who had gone furthest along the path of Erudition. After discovering certain parallels between worlds, she once tried to observe other planes where versions of us existed."
"And this Black Abyss White Flower was created after she studied the product of one such world and reproduced it based on what she observed."
Welt… was genuinely starting to buy it.
He knew full well his home was not merely some simple parallel world, but concepts like bubble worlds and alternate branches of reality were hardly unfamiliar to him.
He had been here for some time already and still had not found a road home.
And yet the Theresa of this world could already do something like this?
In the end, because of everything Cecilia had already said and done, Welt found it incredibly easy to believe her.
[Ding! Your lie has been accepted as truth by Welt; the lie has become reality!]
[Erudition authority has increased slightly. The price of Divine Keys, Herrscher Cores, and similar items has been cut in half. New items have been unlocked in the system shop. You have gained 10,000 Constructive Narrative Points.]
[Current remaining points: 222,909]
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter155)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
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Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
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I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
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Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
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Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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