Located in Aurum Alley was a restaurant called Moonsea Pavilion.
Honestly, when Liuge first saw the restaurant's name, he was so stunned that his whole body went numb.
For a moment, Liuge thought he had transmigrated again and arrived in ○, another game from the same company.
But then he thought about it. Moonsea Pavilion wasn't a restaurant!
Only then did he come back to his senses, relieved that he had not transmigrated again.
"This restaurant has quite a distinctive name!"
Liuge looked at the three words Moonsea Pavilion on the sign and spoke slowly.
"I wonder if they have a Cocogoat working as a server inside."
"A Cocogoat?"
Tingyun found that rather strange.
Was there such a species in the universe?
"It's nothing. Just take it as me talking to myself."
Liuge smiled and went in first.
Seeing that, Tingyun pondered briefly before following after him.
The interior was somewhat old-fashioned, yet it exuded a rich antique charm. At first glance, it felt elegant and soothing.
"Welcome. A table for two?"
A young Foxian girl in an apron walked up to them.
"Yes."
Liuge nodded.
"Do you have private rooms?"
"Yes, we do."
The girl nodded and led Liuge and Tingyun into a private room at the back.
After casually looking through the menu for a while, Liuge handed it to Tingyun.
"Tingyun, you should order. I still don't know what's good here."
"Since that is the case, I shall do it."
Tingyun took the menu, looked it over briefly, then expertly listed several dishes.
Only after the Foxian girl left did Liuge and Tingyun begin chatting.
For a while, the two talked about everything under the sun, thoroughly enjoying themselves!
Meanwhile, inside the General of the Xianzhou Mansion.
Jing Yuan looked at a message he had just received, his brow tightly furrowed.
It was a report from the Construction Commission.
It described how, over the past few days, quite a few mechanical puppets within the Construction Commission had seemingly come to life and begun consciously attacking craftsmen.
At first, they believed it was caused by malfunctions, but as time passed—
The abnormalities among those mechanical puppets grew increasingly frequent.
Until today, after the Dan Ding Division suffered an incident of mara-struck corruption, a large-scale mechanical puppet riot also broke out at the Construction Commission.
Fortunately, the craftsmen had left behind contingencies and temporarily shut down those mechanical puppets.
However, no matter how one looked at it, something was wrong. That was why they had sent word to Jing Yuan, requesting that he deploy some Cloud Knights Army troops in preparation for any further trouble.
As Jing Yuan looked at the report in his hand, a trace of suspicion flashed through his eyes.
Something really had gone wrong on the Xianzhou lately.
First there was Lord of Ruin: Phantylia, then the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus stirring up mara-struck corruption. Now even the mechanical puppets at the Construction Commission had mutated, as though they had been granted living consciousness.
Setting everything else aside, the matter of them seemingly being granted life alone was deeply suspicious.
"These changes... could it be..."
As though he had thought of something, Jing Yuan immediately rose to his feet and swept out his right hand.
"Deliver my verbal order. Investigate every district immediately. Do not let a single suspicious person escape notice!"
"Yes!"
The next moment, a Cloud Knights Army soldier accepted the order and withdrew to relay it.
Jing Yuan rubbed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
If it really was as he suspected, then the Xianzhou had encountered a truly troublesome matter this time.
"What is wrong, General?"
Yanqing looked at Jing Yuan's expression and asked curiously.
"It is nothing. You may withdraw for now. Let me have some peace..."
"Yes!"
Yanqing froze for a moment, then immediately left.
Watching Yanqing's retreating figure, Jing Yuan let out a long sigh.
At that moment, aboard the Astral Express, everyone had gathered in the observation car.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Pom-Pom's voice rang out over the broadcast. "The warp is about to begin! Please find a good place to stand so you do not fall over! And passenger March 7th, please stop standing there and challenging yourself, pom!"
"Hehe, brave March fears no hardship!"
--My life has been worth it!
After finishing their meal with Tingyun, Liuge stood outside Moonsea Pavilion, chatting as they walked.
However, it seemed to be nighttime on the Xianzhou now, and the sky had grown somewhat dim.
"Liuge, by the way, have you remembered where you lived on the Xianzhou?"
Tingyun suddenly asked.
Liuge was taken aback.
That was right. He had been running around all day.
He had completely forgotten about that.
"No, I haven't."
Liuge shook his head, then smiled.
"It's fine. I can stay at an inn. I'll remember eventually."
"Is that so?"
At those words, Tingyun nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Um, how about going to my home? My house is rather large, and there are plenty of guest rooms. You could move in right away."
"Huh?"
Liuge paused, and the look he gave Tingyun became somewhat strange.
"D-Don't misunderstand. It is mainly because I am often busy at the merchant guild and rarely go home, so that is why I asked."
Tingyun immediately explained herself.
It was as though she feared that if she explained too slowly, Liuge would get the wrong idea.
"So that's how it is!"
Liuge heard that and thought for a moment, but he still felt something was off. Just as he was about to speak—
"Liuge, so you're here?!"
A crisp voice suddenly rang out from nearby.
A petite girl holding a grilled meat skewer came walking over.
The satisfied smile on her face turned into delight the moment she saw Liuge.
It was Qingque!
Throughout the day, Qingque had not known what happened at the Dan Ding Division. Fu Xuan had practically kept an eye on her while making her work, and she had only just gotten off work.
So the moment she clocked out, she came to Aurum Alley to look for food.
When Tingyun saw Qingque arrive, she frowned slightly.
She had already made inquiries today.
The person who had reported Liuge missing to the Cloud Knights Army a month ago was this little girl from the Divination Commission.
She guessed there might be some connection between Qingque and Liuge, but it was merely a guess. Perhaps they were only neighbors.
"Oh, Qingque. You came here to eat too!"
The instant Liuge saw Qingque, the scene of playing Diyuan Qiongyu with her earlier that day surfaced in his mind, and he nearly put on a pained expression again.
"Hm? Isn't this Lady Tingyun? What, you know Liuge too?"
Only then did Qingque notice Tingyun standing beside him, her eyes filled with confusion.
"Hehe, this humble one received Young Master Liuge's kindness when my merchant vessel returned. Speaking of which, Young Master Liuge is this humble one's benefactor!"
As she said that, Tingyun turned her gaze toward Liuge.
"Isn't that right, my benefactor~?"
Hearing Tingyun call him her benefactor, Liuge felt his entire body go numb and tingly.
What did people live for?
Liuge could now tell anyone clearly: people lived so they could hear Tingyun call them her benefactor in person!
--My life has been worth it!
Seeing Liuge's whole body shudder, Qingque poked him irritably.
"Hey, hey, Liuge, isn't that a little much? It's just a form of address, yet you look like you've lost your soul!"
"W-What do you mean, lost my soul? Don't slander me out of thin air!"
Liuge instantly straightened up as though she had struck him in the spine, speaking with righteous indignation.
Qingque curled her lip at his reaction.
Meanwhile, Tingyun was almost unable to hold it in anymore.
Liuge was far too amusing!
Yes, in Tingyun's eyes, Liuge's current foolish appearance was genuinely entertaining.
As for Qingque, Tingyun found her rather bothersome standing here.
"My benefactor truly is interesting."
Tingyun opened her Six-Ribbed Folding Fan, using it to half-cover her face, though she could no longer conceal her smile.
"By the way, what were you two talking about just now?"
Qingque bit into her grilled meat and directly changed the subject.
"Oh! It's like this. I just returned to the Xianzhou, but because I lost part of my memories, I forgot where my home is!"
Liuge immediately explained the situation to Qingque.
"Then Miss Tingyun said that she often works overtime at the merchant guild and rarely goes home, so if I didn't mind, she would let me stay at her place!"
Upon hearing that, Qingque's gaze settled on Tingyun.
That look made Tingyun's body stiffen slightly, and the smile on her face faded a little.
"Oh ho, you often work overtime and don't go home, huh~"
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