Bai Tang: Beat Up Jingliu! Hooray!
"Hello, General Jing Yuan! Have you seen my companions?"
When things got awkward, Bai Tang played dumb.
She could fool the Cloud Knights by saying she was looking for something, but there was no way that would work on Jing Yuan, so she switched questions.
"The Nameless are helping us apprehend the Stellaron Hunters. Would you like to see them, Bai Tang?"
Bai Tang: "..." Wasn't that because you tricked them?
"General Jing Yuan, this really is a blessed place. All kinds of ox-heads and horse-faces love coming here."
Jing Yuan ignored the sarcasm in her words and said casually:
"You called me Jing Yuan before. Why have you added 'General' this time?"
Bai Tang: Could she tell him she'd actually been calling him Jing Yuan all along?
"Okay, Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan's expression remained unchanged. Judging by how naturally the familiar name had slipped out, she had probably called him Jing Yuanyuan more often than Jing Yuan. It could bring them a little closer, and it was only a name; he didn't mind anyway.
"Could you tell me who these ox-heads and horse-faces are, Bai Tang?"
He was asking Bai Tang who had slipped in.
This time, Bai Tang didn't play dumb and explain what ox-heads and horse-faces meant:
"The Lord Ravager, Phantylia."
That was within Jing Yuan's expectations. With the Stellaron outbreak, someone had surely slipped in, and judging by the way they were causing trouble on the Luofu, it was most likely Phantylia.
"And Mas... Jingliu."
Jing Yuan hadn't known that. The name Jingliu stopped him cold.
What had his master come to the Luofu to do?
He quickly realized something.
No, something was off about what Bai Tang had said. If he wasn't mistaken, the word she hadn't finished saying before Jingliu was "master."
Bai Tang had more secrets than he had imagined.
The Express crew had said they had fished Bai Tang out of space. She had been covered in blood at the time, looking as though she had just crawled out of purgatory.
They knew nothing about what had happened before then.
"Jingliu should be teaching Yanqing swordsmanship right now."
Jing Yuan: "..."
Surely Jingliu would go easy on him for Jing Yuan's sake...
No, Yanqing really was a swordsmanship prodigy, but if Jingliu knew Jing Yuan had taught him, would she come and beat him up?
"You must be busy, General. Go do your work, Jing Yuan."
Bai Tang was starting to shoo him away. She wanted to find Jingliu. She didn't know whether she could check in successfully, or whether she would get a skill if she did. She wanted Illumination of All Rivers!
She knew swordsmanship, but she couldn't replicate other people's abilities, only produce something similar at best. Skills obtained from a successful check-in, on the other hand, could be used instantly and effortlessly.
For example, she could use Path energy to heal others, but that consumed her own energy. Skills granted by the system consumed none, and came out instantly without any windup.
She had already tested that with Aventurine's skill.
Jing Yuan knew Bai Tang wanted to leave and let her go. He waited, and sure enough, before long, Bailu dragged her back:
"Lie down and behave yourself."
Bai Tang: "..."
Jing Yuan watched cheerfully as Bai Tang argued with Bailu. Bai Tang was clearly holding herself back the whole time, but she finally talked Bailu around and left with a carefree stride.
Bai Tang had left, but Jing Yuan still had work to do. He also had to find a way to coax her onto the Matrix of Prescience. Before that, he needed to build a good relationship with her. She wasn't a wanted criminal, so he couldn't do anything that would upset her.
He was afraid that forcing her would make her miss the Jing Yuan who had looked after her back then and use Dragon Transformation. That would be a real disaster.
She had wanted to revive them even in her sleep. She seemed normal after waking up, but how normal could she really be? He had to keep her calm for now.
Jingliu was indeed very perceptive. She noticed Bai Tang before she even got close. Bai Tang looked around and saw no sign of Yanqing; he had probably gone after Blade.
[Touch to check in]
Before she could speak, Jingliu sent a wave of sword energy flying at her. Bai Tang gripped two swords, blocking it and immediately counterattacking.
Beat up Jingliu! Hooray!
I couldn't beat you before, but that might not be true now!
Bai Tang launched a fierce assault, channeling Path energy into her swords for the first time. Frozen Hyacinths followed the ice blades as they slashed toward Jingliu. The ice blades reaped the Moyu Shuang sufferers watching the scene, and every Hyacinth was a bomb.
The two of them demolished the place completely.
Check-in successful.
With the check-in complete, Bai Tang didn't linger. She gave Jingliu a healing Hyacinth to suppress her Mara-Struck condition, then left without a backward glance.
The clearheaded Jingliu watched the direction Bai Tang had gone. The sword style used by the Foxian who resembled Baiheng bore traces of Jingliu's own.
[Bai Tang: Jing Yuan caught me. I'm at the Alchemy Commission now.]
[Dan Heng: Stay safe.]
[Bai Tang: I've confirmed who the Lord Ravager is. It's Phantylia, disguised as Tingyun.]
[Dan Heng: I'll be careful.]
When Bai Tang saw Dan Heng's message, she naturally replied to let him know she was safe, then revealed what she knew so their companions would be wary of Tingyun.
If she had revealed it at the start, who knew whether Phantylia would have exposed herself and disguised herself as someone else, or simply gone berserk and caught them off guard? So Bai Tang had held back.
Now was the time. Even if Phantylia was exposed early, she would only run into Scalegorge Waterscape and make herself a body.
[Bai Tang: Watch out for Tingyun.]
[Stelle: ???]
[Stelle: Is something wrong with Tingyun?]
[Bai Tang: Someone replaced Tingyun. The one wearing her skin now is the Lord Ravager, Phantylia.]
[Stelle: I'll tell Welt!]
Bai Tang sent the messages to put Stelle and the others on guard, then opened her panel to see what she had gained.
Jingliu had already regained her senses and was practicing her swordsmanship over there. The skill really was her ultimate. Wonderful! Next time, Bai Tang would use Illumination of All Rivers in front of Jing Yuan!
As for bonds, having any one of Dan Feng, Younger Jing Yuan, Baiheng, or Yingxing on the team with Jingliu could trigger the High-Cloud Quintet's charged finishing move.
Baiheng? Yingxing? Dan Feng?
Bai Tang scrolled down.
Huh? Jing Yuan's unlocked too.
The biggest difference between Jing Yuan and the others was that he had woken up in his own room.
The check-in photo showed her unconscious, clutching the hem of Jing Yuan's clothes.
Bai Tang: Could she say that wasn't her?
[Number: 12 Identity: Divine General Faction: The Hunt Primary Path: The Hunt Affection: 100 Contact rate: 56%]
The skills section was empty, but under bonds, he could summon the Xianzhou to attack enemies on his own.
Bai Tang: "Wow."
Was this Jing Yuan's love?
Wait, didn't Jing Yuan and Jingliu have a bond too?
Why isn't it here?
She opened the details and saw a prominent word before Jing Yuan's name.
Older Jing Yuan. Then she thought of the Younger Jing Yuan in Jingliu's bonds.
Bai Tang scrolled farther down and, sure enough, found another Jing Yuan.
Bai Tang: She had never noticed there were actually two Jing Yuans.
[Number: 5 Identity: Cloud Knight Lieutenant Faction: The Hunt Primary Path: The Hunt Affection: 100 Contact rate: 99%]
The skills section was empty here too, and Younger Jing Yuan's bonds were the same as Jingliu's.
Next, Bai Tang checked Yingxing, Baiheng, and Dan Feng. Yingxing was asleep holding a wine bottle, Baiheng was sleeping inside a Starskiff, and Dan Feng, like Dan Heng, was submerged in water and couldn't be seen.
Yanqing hasn't met Blade yet, has he?
Should I go farm Yanqing too?
Jing Yuan had sparred with Yanqing, Jingliu had instructed him, and soon Blade and Dan Heng would both go farm him. The High-Cloud Quintet were teaming up to farm Yanqing, so should she join in too?
Though she had phrased it as a question, Bai Tang was already itching to try. She had even drawn her swords; all that remained was to fight Yanqing.
She couldn't fall behind.
She would go find Yanqing to play right now.