Jingliu looked at him, then raised her head to the night sky.
The bright moon hung high above. The scenery felt somewhat familiar, yet it was not the place from old times.
She guessed that the scenery here was similar to Bai Yan's hometown. After all, this was his domain.
Though he had yet to fully control it.
She turned back. "Is this like your hometown?"
"You can see a moon like this on Mid-Autumn Festival night. Not at other times."
Jingliu looked up at the night sky again. Before long, she withdrew her gaze and looked at Bai Yan.
"Your aptitude isn't bad, so why are you still this weak?"
"Our side is facing some kind of disaster. Even if my potential were fully developed, I'd only amount to a slightly bigger cannon fodder. So I decided to keep a low profile and live a little longer.
"Turns out waiting was the right choice. Meeting Master means I didn't wait for nothing."
"Then why do you want to become stronger now?"
"Because this place isn't under those immortals' watch."
Hearing this, Jingliu imagined an ordinary foxian trying to evade a Buli Ren invasion and roughly understood Bai Yan's thoughts.
It was only human nature—or rather, a very sensible approach.
You used however much strength you had. The dreams of hot-blooded youths were ultimately just dreams.
Dreams could not save your life.
Bai Heng...
"Your domain can suppress supernatural powers. Are we only learning techniques from now on?"
"Let me try."
Bai Yan immediately closed his eyes and focused his senses.
As his consciousness sank deeper, the surroundings began to change.
The calm shallow water gradually started to rotate, forming a whirlpool centered on the two of them.
As the fluid shifted, the clear water on the ground receded to the edges of the area, leaving damp flooring beneath their feet.
"Mm! Leave some water!"
Suddenly, Jingliu pressed a hand to her forehead. Her body trembled slightly, as though she were about to have an episode.
Bai Yan hurriedly sent some of the clear water back, leaving a thin film of water beneath their feet.
Jingliu let out a breath and lowered her hand.
"So it was this water. But even when it was gone just now, I felt a little better..."
"I'll work hard."
A smile appeared at the corner of Jingliu's lips as she rubbed Bai Yan's head.
At that moment, Bai Yan felt a premonition in his chest. Time was almost up.
"Time's up?" Jingliu asked.
"Yeah. See you next time."
"Alright."
There was a faint reluctance on Jingliu's face, but when time was up, it was up.
Bai Yan waved, and before long, both of them vanished from where they stood.
The next instant, his bedroom returned before his eyes.
"Yeah!"
He fiercely clenched his fist and pumped it, in a wonderful mood.
The women's clothes no longer felt so embarrassing, and that outrageous mission was merely a bit of tempering.
It was just tempering his heart. That was right, tempering his heart!
With Jingliu as his master, even if I'm a rotten piece of wood, she can carve flowers out of me!
Besides, she personally said my aptitude isn't bad.
Let me be even bolder—Bai Yan has the makings of a Sword Master!
Life was looking more and more promising. Once my divine arts are complete, I'll damn well—
Someone suddenly knocked on the door, forcing him to stop fantasizing.
Just as he was about to open it directly, he remembered a problem: the room belonged to Bai Yan, and only a limited number of people knew about the cross-dressing infiltration mission.
Change clothes, quick!
He switched back to his male voice and shouted, "Wait a moment!"
He frantically undid the buttons, kicked the skirt into the wardrobe with both feet, removed the earrings and put them safely into their box, then ran to the washroom, grabbed makeup remover, and smeared it all over his face before turning on the tap and scrubbing vigorously.
Finally, Bai Yan rushed toward the door while tying his hair into its familiar ponytail.
The wolf of Schicksal's Logistics Department had returned to the world.
He pulled open the door, and a head of golden hair came into view.
Their eyes met, and Bai Yan froze on the spot.
The Atmosphere Between the Two of Them Seemed a Little Strange
Durandal showing up at his door so suddenly caught Bai Yan somewhat off guard.
Bai Yan discreetly glanced at her expression and detected a faint trace of awkward emotion.
This was their first true reunion since graduating from the orphanage.
Seeing that familiar yet unfamiliar face again, Durandal felt a thousand emotions well up in her heart.
Tactics, combat understanding, stream-of-consciousness... Back then, the two of them had endless topics to discuss. Once, the orphanage caretaker caught them not sleeping, still staring at each other at two in the morning, and scolded them fiercely for a long while.
Durandal had once thought that if things could continue like that, if they could grow up and become warriors together, spending their lives fighting Honkai until they defeated it, how wonderful that would be...
But he ran away.
Now, that boy was looking at her without the slightest regret on his face.
"Lady Durandal...?"
"..."
Seeing Durandal stagger half a step back from that form of address, Bai Yan found it nothing but amusing.
Don't come looking for me when there's nothing wrong, and don't come looking for me when there is. Every time you do, I'll give you a little jolt.
That way, you won't get the mistaken idea that coming to me costs nothing and start dropping by whenever you feel like it.
Bai Yan did indeed like Durandal's type, but beauty could not fill his stomach.
And it certainly could not serve as a resurrection token.
You walk your broad road, and I'll cross my single-plank bridge.
You play your high-end matches, and I'll be my little shrimp.
Everyone had their own potential, and there would always be differences between people.
Yet Durandal's heart was incredibly strong. Not even such a powerful mental attack could drive her away.
With an extremely unnatural expression, she asked, "Um... is the new Bai Yan related to you?"
"My younger sister."
"Where is she now?"
"I don't know. She might have plans with someone. I've only known her for a short time, so we aren't very familiar.
"So I'm sorry, Lady Durandal, but I don't have any intelligence on that."
Durandal clenched her fists.
"You... don't use that form of address."
"Understood, Lady Bianca."
"..."
Durandal was confused. Something felt off.
After thinking for a moment, she immediately flew into a rage.
Shouldn't I be the one giving him the cold shoulder?!
Though she had never given anyone the cold shoulder, nor did she know how to.
Durandal grabbed Bai Yan by the collar, and her anger flared up at once.
"Bai Yan! Are you deliberately trying to annoy me again?!"
"How could I be?"
"The way you address me!"
Bai Yan said lightly, "At work, you should address people by their positions."
She pointed at Bai Yan's clothes. "Are you working dressed like that?!"
"I'm generally on call twenty-four hours a day, ready whenever needed. The Intelligence Department isn't particularly strict about clothing."
As if he could not see Durandal's angry expression, he continued speaking calmly in a cryptic tone.
"My work is rather special, so it's inconvenient to disclose more. Those who understand, understand; those who don't, I can't help them.
"Though you're the captain of the Immortal Blade, we belong to two separate departments that have no authority over each other."
Durandal was out of options. She even began to wonder whether she was the one at fault, and her grip loosened involuntarily.
Bai Yan distantly took two steps back.
"It's late. If there's nothing else, I'm going to rest."
However, Durandal pressed a hand against the door.
She walked past the doorway on her own, casually found a pair of slippers, put them on, and entered the room.
The question lingering in her subconscious had not been resolved. She felt that she should come in and take a look; the clue should be related to Bai Yan.
A younger sister who had been separated for years? It was too abrupt. She could not understand it. Why had she suddenly been found now?
Mm, perhaps she had simply reached the age to join Schicksal? But why join? Was Bai Yan, as her older brother, not worried that his sister might be in danger?
With all sorts of guesses, she had no leads at all and could only trust her intuition that she should enter.
Bai Yan was startled and hurried after her. But he could not physically stop her and could only worry helplessly.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
After following her into the room, Durandal looked around in confusion but found nothing.
Bai Yan relaxed slightly and stepped forward until he was beside Durandal.
"May I ask if Lady Durandal has some urgent matter that requires my cooperation?"
As everyone knew, the same move could not be used on a Saint Seiya twice.
So Dumb Goose was already immune to it, though her expression was hardly pleasant.
"...Is that all you want to say?"
"I'm very weak, so please don't bring up joining your squad again."
"I didn't say that!"
"Just a precaution."
Bai Yan noticed Durandal was still looking at him, so he added, "Your growth has been even more impressive than I expected, whether in strength or other aspects."
"R-Really? But I still feel like I'm not quite enough..."
Before you continue