Who is being conquered?

"Thank you... thank you..."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum. After hastily taking the handkerchief, she lowered her face again in a hurry, her slender fingers restlessly fiddling with the hem of her clothes.

Seeing Bai Jun making an "OK" gesture at her, Wei Ba slowly revealed a smile.

This kid really knows how to handle women...

But after a while, it noticed that Bai Jun was still making the "OK" gesture at it, and his lips were moving, saying something.

Wei Ba observed closely and discovered he was saying—it's your turn to appear.

With an extremely displeased "tsk," the green flames flickered a few times, and it reluctantly drifted towards Huo Huo. After a moment of hesitation, it gently patted her hair with its flame, offering awkward comfort:

"Did you hear that? Stop crying. You're useful, you're very useful. The paper figures you usually fold are also very powerful, and they always help me a lot in battle."

"Wei~ba~"

Huo Huo, touched, hugged Wei Ba tightly. The sobbing sound scared the green flames, causing them to instantly fluctuate.

"Hey, hey, hey! Get away, get away! I'm not your body pillow, you know!"

Although it spoke harshly, it only struggled symbolically a couple of times before letting Huo Huo continue to hold it. It wasn't until it noticed Bai Jun's teasing gaze from the side that it instantly bristled again.

"Wh-what are you looking at! You little white-haired brat!"

"What do you mean? Aren't you two getting along pretty well?"

"You don't know anything! We... we... Tsk, anyway, I'll definitely take this little scaredy-cat's body in the future."

Bai Jun chuckled, teasing Wei Ba, who was baring its teeth. He didn't forget their earlier agreement, but only after Huo Huo's mood improved did he pull Wei Ba over and ask, "Alright, tell me what you meant just now?"

"What did I say? I don't remember... I remember, I remember! It was just a joke, don't be angry!"

Whistling and subtly shifting its gaze, Wei Ba intended to get away with it. However, upon noticing Bai Jun's increasingly dangerous expression, its survival instincts immediately prompted it to change its tune.

Hearing this, Bai Jun's expression returned to normal. "Stop with the nonsense and hurry up and tell me. I want to go back to sleep early."

"Didn't you say Suihuang almost killed you? But the result is that you're alive and well, and you haven't lost your will. And that's precisely proof that Suihuang approves of you. Otherwise, ordinary people would have been burned to death the moment they came into contact with Suihuang. Do you really think Suihuang is as fond of eating your emotions as our ordinary sparks are?"

Wei Ba sighed, drifting lazily to the top of Huo Huo's head, and began to explain to Bai Jun at a leisurely pace.

"You should know, sparks actually have no emotions or consciousness. At first, we just drifted aimlessly in the galaxy, revolving around Suihuang. It wasn't until we came into contact with the Nameless who traveled extensively through the galaxy that sparks that interacted with people gained human emotions and consciousness. And this small portion of sparks quickly spread throughout all sparks through Suihuang."

"And Suihuang is the primordial fire of the stars, the origin of us all. At the same time, we are also a part of it. In other words, Suihuang is actually the collective consciousness of all sparks. It possesses its own independent thoughts, but ultimately, it belongs to the collective consciousness of all sparks."

"So, do you understand now? Suihuang itself is not an ordinary spark. It's not interested in your emotions, nor does it want to seize your body. The fact that you survived already means it has approved of you, and this emotion has naturally been passed on to all sparks... Speaking of which, haven't you noticed that all the sparks treat you very well?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Jun realized it was indeed the case. The Suiyang he had encountered in the past had always been friendly towards him. He hadn't yet met a Suiyang that actively attacked him.

But it was still very strange. Back at the Flame-Wheel Forge Palace, as long as the barrier shielding Suihuang was removed by the mechanisms, Suihuang would bewilder the people in the hall and recreate the scene of the Great Calamity of Fire. And since it said it had already approved of him, why did it burn and consume his life force every time... Even though the old man also possessed Suihuang's power, and he used it with ease and comfort.

"I know what you want to ask. Simply put, Suihuang is both an individual and a collective. Therefore, when it communicates with outsiders, it often manifests as the sparks that are similar to that person. It's normal for you to think its changes are significant. Even I haven't seen Suihuang's individual thoughts many times. As for what you called 'almost taking half your life'... that must be a problem with your constitution being unable to withstand it, right? And I don't know if it's just my imagination, but are you really a Xianzhou native?"

Wei Ba curiously floated next to Bai Jun and sniffed him vigorously. The faint yet strong scent of Yaoshi on him was something that almost only fellow Xianzhou natives possessed. If he were of another race, he definitely wouldn't have such a scent. So... it must be its imagination?

Bai Jun gently pushed away Wei Ba, which had drifted too close to his face, and nodded thoughtfully. "I understand... Thank you for clearing things up."

"You're welcome. Anyway, if you use Suihuang's power too much, you'll find out sooner or later... I'm tired. Little scaredy-cat, hurry up and take me back." Wei Ba huffed narcissistically, wiggled its green flames, and instantly retreated back into Huo Huo's tail.

Silence fell upon the scene once more, leaving only Bai Jun and Huo Huo.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Bai Jun, still immersed in the information Wei Ba had just revealed, suddenly noticed a bright gaze fixed on his cheek. He lowered his head, and his gaze met Huo Huo's, who was staring at him blankly.

"Gah? Ugh, uh... I, I'm fine..."

Huo Huo's face suddenly turned as red as an apple. She shyly lowered her head, then stiffly and slowly stood up. Without looking back, she said, "S-sorry, I have things to do, so I'll be going now. Thank you again, really, really..."

After speaking, she didn't dare to wait for Bai Jun's reply and turned around, running into the distance like a gust of wind. Her speed was faster than most well-trained Cloud Cavalry.

"Is this girl actually a rabbit?"

Bai Jun clicked his tongue in surprise, watching Huo Huo disappear from his sight in the blink of an eye.

"Ugh, I'm so, so tired..."

"You're tired? You didn't look like you were running that fast just now."

Huo Huo, who had run all the way to the entrance of Yōqiú Prison, slowly reduced her pace, drawing a merciless remark from Wei Ba.

"It's all your fault! It's because you suddenly disappeared, that's why I was left alone with Lord Bai Jun!" After reconfirming that the gifts for Lady Xue Yi and Lady Cold Crow were not mixed up, she walked towards the gate.

"You were calling him 'that guy' at first, how did you change your tune so quickly? 'Lord Bai Jun~' Aren't you embarrassed?"

Wei Ba suddenly appeared, poking her slightly flushed cheek with a mischievous grin.

"No way! Because, because... I'm not talking to you anymore!"

"Smiling as brightly as a flower, I'm too lazy to look at your silly face."

Huo Huo, whose face was becoming increasingly rosy, snorted and turned her face away, ignoring Wei Ba. Looking at the handkerchief she held tightly in her palm, Wei Ba just snorted lightly, muttered something, and retreated back inside.

Huo Huo touched her cheek but couldn't feel anything. She didn't think her smile had changed from its usual state.

Her footsteps grew a little lighter, but soon her smile froze.

At the edge of her vision, Lord Xue Yi was staring at her expressionlessly, almost piercing a hole through her face. For some reason, this made Huo Huo break out in a cold sweat. After managing an awkward smile and fumbling for a moment, she timidly asked:

"Lord Xue Yi, why are you staring at me like that..."

"I just felt a strange aura... No, it's nothing. I'll trouble you with this."

Xue Yi's hesitant expression lasted only a moment before returning to normal. She took the storage box Huo Huo handed over and, as usual, reached out to gently pat her hair.

But this time, Huo Huo subconsciously flinched back. She quickly explained, "Uwaa, s-sorry, Lord Xue Yi, I'm just a little tired."

"Is that so? You must remember to rest well."

Xue Yi didn't think much of it. She carefully held the storage box and quickly walked towards a quiet spot.

Seeing this, Huo Huo finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then took out her notebook and headed towards Lord Cold Crow's room.

Her tail behind her sighed with emotion, saying in a voice Huo Huo couldn't hear:

"Tsk tsk, the little scaredy-cat has quite a few rivals. It looks like her future path will be exceptionally bumpy~"

ps:

For those who don't understand what Suihuang is, you can refer to the relationship between the Seven Demon Pillars and Goetia in FGO.

Note: Goetia is a collective of the seventy-two Demon Pillars, but he still possesses independent thought. However, as a collective of the seventy-two Demon Pillars, Goetia's personality and nature encompass seventy-two different aspects. Because Goetia is both an individual and a group, when conversing with outsiders, he often manifests a "Demon Pillar" similar to the person he is interacting with, hence Goetia being described as a "mirror."

(However, Suihuang here is a fan-created setting. This can well explain why Suihuang is so powerful yet still unable to independently become a Lord of the Path. It's because the starlight itself has no thoughts, and the emotions it consumes are mixed and varied. Since it lacks a strong desire for any particular Path, it naturally cannot independently become a Path. Of course, if the official lore changes later, there's nothing that can be done about it (￣▽￣)~*)

Chapter 68: Is Living With a Superstar Wrong?

Life these past few days seemed to have returned to its usual calm, two-points-one-line routine.

Go to work, slack off, go home.

However, compared to before, there were still changes worth noting.

For instance, every morning Su Shang would drag him along for morning exercises. Occasionally, they would run into the lively and cheerful Guinaifen. Tingyun would always find various excuses to forcibly drag him to work at the Tianbo Division. Qing Que, instead of playing the Imperial Jade Card Game with him like before, would simply exchange a few pleasantries and then leave in a hurry...

In the evenings, Huo Huo would sometimes invite him to exorcise spirits, ostensibly to supervise her efforts to overcome her fear and deal with spirits independently. But in the end, either her tail would save the day, or he would have to step in.

"Swish swish swish..."

He was diligently scrubbing the collar of his shirt with his hands, wearing a black apron, and feeling troubled by the stubborn stains.

Even though it had been soaked in detergent for half the night, the blood splashed from the spirit was too stubborn, still leaving a faint brown mark that wouldn't fade.

"Sigh, it's quite an expensive shirt. It's a shame to just throw it away."

He sighed in distress. The radio placed on top of the washing machine suddenly crackled to life, then began broadcasting the Luofu morning news on schedule.

[This is Luofu Morning News. Good morning, viewers. We will now bring you the latest daily updates.]

[First, let's introduce the main content of today's program. The date for the Universal Tour Concert has arrived, a traditional tour spanning the entire universe to spread the brilliance of Consecration, as preached by followers of Consecration. All proceeds from this concert are transparent and public, with everything donated to the people in war-torn regions, praying for a beautiful future for the universe.]

[Among the most noteworthy Universal celebrities, the superstar who has captured the galaxy's attention, the recipient of numerous top honors, Miss Guinaifen, whose heavenly voice is known throughout the realms, will also arrive at the Xianzhou Luofu today. She will perform hymns at the Universal Tour Concert in the coming days.]

[The Luofu Tianbo Division will broadcast the grandeur of this tour throughout, sending music and good wishes to the thousands of stars in the universe.]

Bai Jun's Jade Omen suddenly chimed with a notification. Bai Jun, who was washing clothes, showed no change in expression. He slowly stood up, deliberately wiped his hands on a towel that was clearly a few sizes too large, took off his apron, set them aside, then turned and shut off the radio with a "click."

The room fell silent, leaving only the incessant ringing of the Jade Omen.

He picked up the Jade Omen and scanned it. The notification displayed a time of 4 AM and the sender was Huo Huo.

[Little Underworld Messenger: I'm sorry, I clearly decided last night that I would deal with that spirit myself, but in the end, my hands were still trembling with nervousness, and I messed it up... ]

[Little Underworld Messenger: But thank you again for your help last night, Bai Jun! I've been troubling you a lot these past few days!]

[Little Underworld Messenger: (////▽////)]

Doesn't she sleep at night? No wonder her dark circles are always so prominent.

Bai Jun silently reached a conclusion and planned to find an opportunity to advise her to get less sleep and take better care of herself. Otherwise, over time, it would eventually develop into a serious condition that would take decades to recover from without proper care.

The messages below the screen were even more direct. The sender's name clearly revealed some information.

[Real Name Online (Not Jing Yuan): Miss Guinaifen is expected to arrive at Luofu around 9 AM. I will be going to welcome her with Yukong. We have many related matters to discuss regarding the concert, so you don't need to come for the welcome. Get your leave approved at the Department of Earthly Rulings in advance. I will inform you when you can meet her in the afternoon or evening.]

[Real Name Online (Not Jing Yuan): Oh, of course, if you can't wait and want to meet this superstar early, I can understand. Just come to the C3 reception room on the third floor of Shence Mansion. You know the drill~]

"She's arriving today? It feels like these past few days have gone by so quickly..."

He closed the Jade Omen with a huff, Bai Jun mused about time. He unhurriedly walked to the window, opened it, and the dazzling light directly pierced into the room.

The sky was clear blue today.

Scattered white clouds floated in the air like fruit pits, much higher and smaller than summer clouds. Under such a clear and refreshing blue sky, a breeze blew past.

Undoubtedly, it was a clear and pleasant day. Bai Jun quickly changed his clothes, wrote a week-long leave request, and then left his home.

Some time later, after entering the public office of the Department of Earthly Rulings, he handed the written leave request to Da Hao, who was sitting at the desk. It was likely that Jing Yuan had smoothed things over with his superiors in advance, as the latter did not seem overly surprised. He simply said "Take care" and lightly slid the leave request into a drawer.

Recalling their interactions over the past few years, Da Hao had indeed developed a new understanding of this man named Bai Jun. His work efficiency alone indicated that his identity was certainly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Perhaps he had a special mission, requiring a special individual to blend in with the crowd? Maybe he was a Sky-Fighter from Shence Mansion? Or perhaps he held some other formidable position that Da Hao was unaware of? In any case, such a person could not be content to remain a mere ordinary attendant.

After greeting his colleagues, Bai Jun left the public office. Adhering to his principle of enjoying leisure time by listening to music in entertainment districts, he went to the Sanyou Bookstore to browse recent newspapers and novels. Afterward, he planned to go to Buye Hou for a cup of tea, but he didn't feel particularly enthusiastic.

So, he wandered aimlessly through the streets of Changle Heaven. Soon, to his surprise, he discovered that Changle Heaven seemed to be celebrating some kind of festival today, as it was unusually lively.

The markets in Changle Heaven were not usually this bustling.

Centered around the main avenue on the south side, the scene was a sea of people and countless agricultural products. Piles of golden wheat, vibrantly colored berries and apples, and large pumpkins were visible in wooden crates.

These crops, representing abundance and generosity, looked more magnificent and charming than jewels in a treasure chest. There were no clerks by the wooden crates, making them seem like mere displays. Passersby would casually pick a piece of fruit, take a large bite, and enjoy it heartily, with no one stepping forward to stop them.

On the north side of the street, many vendors shouted loudly, selling small items like figurines and music cards. One stall, an auction booth for autographs, had the largest crowd. Faint shouts could be heard.

"An autograph from Miss Guinaifen herself! This is a rare item that's priceless but hard to come by. The previous owner passed away and specifically requested it be given to another fan of Miss Guinaifen before they died, which is why it's up for auction!"

The scene before him made Bai Jun gradually realize that this was likely the effect of the concert tour. He hadn't expected its influence to be so widespread; it seemed he had underestimated this concert.

He spent the day wandering aimlessly, and as the afterglow of sunset still lingered in the western sky, night quietly descended from the east.

As if urged by the approaching night, lights began to flicker on one after another along the streets of Changle Heaven.

After dinner, seeing that the time was about right, Bai Jun headed towards Shence Mansion.

Having visited too many times, the Cloud Cavalry guards at the entrance recognized him and let him pass directly, allowing him to walk straight in. He skillfully navigated around the long corridor that stretched across the courtyard, bypassing the main entrance and instead opening a small side door.

It wasn't that the main door was forbidden to be opened from this side, nor was he trying to do anything sneaky. It was simply a faster way to reach Room C3 and avoid the sight of numerous Cloud Cavalry members in the main hall. He wasn't accustomed to being surrounded by a crowd while going upstairs.

The reception room was brightly lit, and muffled voices could be heard from within, indicating that the meeting had not yet concluded.

Bai Jun inwardly grumbled that he might have arrived too early. However, leaving now would be troublesome, so he found a quiet spot to sit, praying that the tedious meeting would end soon.

Suddenly, Bai Jun, idly fiddling with his fingers, noticed something in the corridor on the other side.

A group of men and women in suits, dressed differently from the Cloud Cavalry, stood there. Most of them had their hands clasped in front of their abdomens, standing silently against the wall. The faint scent of gunpowder and blood emanating from them suggested they were Guinaifen's security team.

Leading the group was a middle-aged woman who appeared to be a manager. She wore a clearly well-designed professional suit. While its style seemed ordinary, the material was high-end and expensive. Her black hair was dyed to a glossy sheen, but wrinkles were visible on her face. However, her figure had not deteriorated, and there were even signs of her having exercised.

Her posture and expression indicated that she was a well-bred, dignified professional, likely the leader of this team.