Tingyun

In a corner outside Cloudford, there was no one left.

The fire in the outer harbor has been extinguished, and the charred cables are piled up beside the pier, with a few wisps of white smoke still rising slowly. An abandoned crane hangs in mid-air, its hook swaying in the wind, occasionally hitting the steel frame with a dull thud.

Phantylia stood in the shadow of the crane, a wisp of black flame swirling around his fingertips.

She had been waiting here for a long time.

According to the original plan, the people from the Astral Express should have been trapped at the dock by the Mara-Struck Cloud Knights. She would then appear as Tingyun and lead these uninvited guests to safety. Once she gained their trust, the rest would be easy.

But now, only a few lifeless, emaciated bodies remain on the dock.

A Cloud Knights emerged from the shadows Mara-Struck and conveyed a Remembrance to her: the Astral Express Crew was attacked, and a young man in a trench coat intervened and resolved the battle in the blink of an eye.

Jingxing.

Interastral Peace Corporation Traditional Projects Department, P47, Fu Xuan's lover, a distinguished guest of the Xianzhou.

Phantylia pulled up the file sent by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. The resume on the paper was quite respectable, mostly in clerical work, with a combat strength assessment of good, and the notes specifically mentioned his dependence on Curio.

She chuckled softly.

She'd seen plenty of those guys in the company who wore suits and made their way in the universe with their Curio and smooth talk. Even if a P47 was treated with great respect on Xianzhou, how much real ability could he possibly have?

Phantylia put away the file, and the black flame at her fingertips quietly died down.

The Ambrosial Arbor has taken root, and the Stellaron has been properly placed. The Astral Express Crew is an important part of her plan, and that young man surnamed Jing might bring some unexpected surprises.

She straightened her collar, swished her tail, and turned to walk into the night.

A startled cry suddenly came from the alley entrance.

A Foxian- woman, looking flustered, stumbled out and nearly bumped into March 7th. She braced herself against the wall with one hand and pressed the other to her chest; her hair was slightly disheveled and the hem of her clothes was stained with black ash.

"Hey, watch out!" March 7th instinctively reached out to steady her.

The Foxian- woman steadied herself, looked up at the group of people in front of her, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you, young lady. There was some trouble at the dock just now, and I almost got lost while trying to avoid it."

Are you alright?

"It's nothing serious." The woman smoothed her hair and bowed slightly to March 7th. "My name Tingyun, and I work at the Sky-Faring Commission, responsible for receiving visiting merchants. You all look unfamiliar; may I ask how you should be addressed?"

"So you're staff from the Sky-Faring Commission." March 7th released his grip, patted his chest with a smile, and said, "My name is March 7th, and I'm a passenger on the Astral Express. This is Welt, this is Xing, and the gentleman in the trench coat behind us is Jingxing. We just arrived at the Xianzhou."

"The Astral Express?" Tingyun's gaze swept over the group before finally settling on Jingxing. "I apologize for not greeting you sooner. I was just thinking that you all seem to have an extraordinary air about you, and you must not be ordinary passengers."

"Haha, it's alright!" March 7th waved his hand. "But quite a few monsters did appear at the dock just now. Luckily, Jingxing intervened, otherwise we would have had to put in a lot of trouble."

"Is this Mr. Jingxing?"

Tingyun smiled and bowed to him.

"I've long admired your name. Although I work at the Sky-Faring Commission, I've heard of your reputation before."

Jingxing glanced at her and replied with a smile, "Miss Tingyun, you flatter me."

"After all, you're the company's P47, this isn't an overstatement." Tingyun smiled, her gaze lingering on Jingxing's face for a moment. "I heard you have a close relationship with Fu Xuan?"

"Yes, my wife."

This straightforward answer made Tingyun pause for a moment.

"Fu Xuan is truly blessed."

I think so too.

March 7th turned her head to the side and muttered under her breath, "This guy really has no shame."

Xing responded earnestly, poking March 7th's cheek as she said, "Indeed, so embarrassing~"

But Jingxing's heart was already on edge. Just now, he had seen through the Foxian- woman's situation.

That's strange.

The face, fox ears, and tail were all fine, and even the subtle changes in expression when speaking matched the Foxian in his Remembrance. But in his vision, the Imaginary Energy surrounding this body appeared exceptionally rigid, as if someone were holding a meticulously crafted painting and trying to cover up the original draft.

The disguise was excellent, but unfortunately, it couldn't escape those eyes.

Jingxing didn't know who the other party was, nor was he interested in making any judgments based solely on the strange phenomenon before him. He only noticed that the energy covering that layer of disguise was exceptionally vast, almost perfectly concealed, yet it still gave him a sense of oppression.

This level of skill is something that ordinary people on their Pathstrider can never achieve.

He mentally reassessed the distance between them.

If it really came down to a fight, Jingxing was confident he could handle it, but what about the people around him...? Besides, the other side was clearly observing them too, so it wouldn't be worthwhile to make a rash move.

Jingxing put his hands back into his trench coat pockets, and with a slight flick of his fingertips, an Imaginary Energy quietly fell into the crack in the stone beneath his feet.

Far away in Vaksya, the Imaginary Tree casts a faint shadow.

Several bluish-gold roots spread along the cracks in the stone slabs, circled the corners of the walls, and silently extended to both ends of the alley. The roots intertwined, gradually weaving into a closed circle.

The sounds outside the alley gradually faded away. The dockworkers' chants, the footsteps of the patrolling Cloud Knights, and the rustling of the night wind through the eaves were all kept outside the circle.

Jingxing withdrew his hand and continued chatting with Tingyun.

"I'm familiar with Cloudford." Tingyun turned around, its tail swishing gently. "There's a small path ahead that can bypass the blockade. Please follow me."

"Alright, then I'll trouble Tingyun." Jingxing readily agreed.

"The road ahead is narrow, please be careful."

Tingyun walked ahead with light steps, occasionally turning back to remind them. She had clearly prepared for this area, knowing exactly where there was water on the ground and where there was debris piled up against the wall.

March 7th followed Xing closely, lowering her voice. "Don't you think tonight is a bit strange?"

"No, apart from a lot of monsters, everything seems pretty normal, right?"

On March 7th, he opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words.

Jingxing at the back of the group.

He kept an eye on the figure ahead.

The other party's disguise was almost flawless; even the rhythm of their tail wagging while walking was perfectly timed. However, the subtle power emanating from them always made Jingxing somewhat uneasy.

Such a powerful individual deliberately went to the trouble of disguising himself as a Sky-Faring Commission Bureau, actively approaching the Astral Express.

There's clearly more to this story than meets the eye.

"Mr. Jingxing," as if noticing the gaze, Tingyun suddenly turned around, "You seem quite interested in this place?"

"I rarely come to Cloudford, so I'm just taking a look around."

"There are many interesting places in Luofu. Once things are over, I can show you around."

"Then there's no need," Jingxing politely declined.

He looked up at the end of the alley. There was a dim light there, and the light fell from the top of the wall, just illuminating the shadow at Tingyun's feet.

He clenched his fist in his pocket.

The thin thread suddenly tightened.

Golden-blue roots crept silently up her ankles along the shadows before disappearing beneath the ground.

Tingyun continued walking calmly ahead, seemingly already plotting how to lure this group into his plan.

Jingxing watched her retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

If she can't resist anymore, he can make her the first test subject of his new ability.