After saying that, Yukong shook her head, then looked at Tingyun again.
"Tingyun, go arrange their paperwork. Since they saved your life, you can show them around."
"Since Lord Helmsman has given the order, this humble girl shall accompany you benefactors and make sure you have a good time."
Accompany them for fun?!
A strange gleam of excitement flashed through Miss Asta's eyes. Her gaze lingered on Tingyun's large tail for a moment before she revealed a 'satisfied' smile.
Tingyun seemed to sense something, and her entire body immediately shuddered. She hurriedly looked around in every direction...
Why had I suddenly felt a chill? Is there something on this Xianzhou that can threaten me?
The young lady who was, in essence, a Lord of Annihilation from the Suiyang Clan could not help but feel uneasy. Ever since she had infiltrated the Luofu, everything had gone smoothly. Even today, when she had nearly been forced to expose something to drive back those Abundance fiends, a group from the Astral Express had appeared and resolved the situation for her.
That was right.
Although Shirou Emiya and the others had not stated their origins, the Antimatter Legion had already kept records on Shirou Emiya and the Little Star Core Spirit.
As for who had filed those records?
Phantom's gaze paused slightly on Shirou Emiya. Even the Iron Tomb, whom she did not dare provoke lightly, had taken an interest in such an insignificant nobody. It seemed he had indeed suffered a small loss at this brat's hands and lost quite a bit of face.
"If that Iron Tomb could be made to suffer, this boy certainly isn't someone to be taken lightly. Later... I'll need to make careful plans. If I can successfully obtain the Jianmu, this boy... can be destroyed with a wave of my hand. When that time comes, I might as well capture him alive and bring him back to the Legion as a gift for Iron Tomb."
As though he had noticed her gaze, that man met her eyes and gave her a dazzling smile. So... she returned it with another dazzling smile.
"Let's hope he can still smile so happily when the time comes."
Chapter 90: She Was Already a Widow. I Couldn't Let Her Remain a Living Widow.
"You actually didn't continue questioning them about their relationship with the Stellaron Hunters. That isn't your style, Lord Helmsman."
After Tingyun led Shirou Emiya and the others away from Sichen Palace, the projection of a white-haired man appeared within the palace. He walked straight to Yukong's side and began speaking with a smile.
"Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters deliberately hacked into the Celestial Ship Department's system and left such obvious traces, making us suspect that the Stellaron Hunters were connected to these people. Based on your usual methods, if you weren't detaining them now, you should at least have forbidden them from entering other parts of the Xianzhou."
"General, you make it sound so easy, but you don't know that there is a capable person among them."
Yukong's expression darkened in an instant. Looking at the white-haired man, she used Imaginary energy to set up a barrier that prevented others from hearing their conversation for the time being.
"One of them possesses hacking skills no weaker than Silver Wolf's, and... he sent me a message..."
"Oh? For you to treat it so seriously, it seems that message wasn't good news."
The white-haired man's expression sank slightly as well, becoming far more serious.
"Could it be related to the Luofu?"
"A Lord of Annihilation has infiltrated us."
As she said this, Yukong's expression even became somewhat ferocious. A chilling sharpness surfaced in her pomegranate-colored eyes.
"She replaced someone close to me and infiltrated our side without making a sound."
"A Lord of Annihilation?!"
The white-haired man's expression became extremely solemn upon hearing this.
"Infiltrated someone close to you... Wait, could it be..."
"Tingyun!"
Yukong looked toward the direction where Shirou Emiya and the others had departed. Her eyes were filled with gravity.
"That person wants to trade Tingyun's current true condition in exchange for access to you through me... Jing Yuan, these people have ill intentions."
"Ill intentions?"
The man named Jing Yuan froze slightly. A moment later, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"They promptly brought us intelligence about our enemy, and they are about to bring news that our friend has likely survived... How could they possibly be ill-intentioned people?"
"Rather, they are plainly here to make friends with me, Jing Yuan. How could people so forthright be unwelcome guests? Yukong, as the saying goes, is it not a joy when friends come from afar? It seems I should prepare some modest wine to welcome these new friends."
"General, that mouth of yours can turn black into white..."
Watching Jing Yuan's manner, Yukong shook her head helplessly. Still, she said nothing further. Among the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou, General Jing Yuan before her bore the title of General of the Divine March. For seven hundred years, he had governed the Luofu without a single leak, his methods astonishing.
He had governed one region, and his achievements had been outstanding.
Though villains had criticized him during his more than seven hundred years in office, he had remained firmly seated, gripping one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals' seats tightly in his hand.
Even throughout the entire Xianzhou Alliance, there were very few who could rival him in pure strategic cunning.
Compared to him, she should not casually flaunt her own little bit of cleverness or worry on others' behalf.
This man had more schemes than she did by at least a hundredfold.
"Since that is the case, I won't ask about their affairs. I'll have to trouble you to give them more consideration, General."
"Very well. If there is any news of Tingyun, I will notify you immediately."
"...If something has happened to that child, General, please do not hide it from me."
Yukong turned away so Jing Yuan would not see her expression. Although Jing Yuan could not see her face, he heard the faint sobbing in her voice and could not help sighing.
"If you have time, go get some rest. Tingyun is a bright and gifted girl. Surely Lord of the Bow will bless her in the unseen realm..."
"Official business comes first. General, you should not linger here."
"You secretly did something again, didn't you?"
After leaving Sichen Palace, March 7th and Asta supported Tingyun as they headed away toward the central street of Xuanye Avenue. Shirou Emiya and Welt, meanwhile, trailed them from an extremely distant location.
Standing beside Shirou Emiya, Welt gently adjusted his glasses and silently set up a screen of Imaginary energy.
"There's something wrong with that Tingyun?"
"It goes beyond merely having something wrong with her."
Shirou Emiya narrowed his eyes and smiled as he spoke softly.
"Old Man Welt, things are quite unsettled on this Xianzhou right now. Aside from the Stellaron, quite a few interesting things have infiltrated this place."
·· ···· give flowers·· ·····
"That Yukong is quite a shrewd person. She showed no reaction at all to our illegal entry. At the time, I noticed you must have used some method. But... from what you're saying now, even Yukong hasn't noticed Tingyun's problem?"
"Even the General of the Divine March, one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Emperor's Bow, failed to notice it. How could Yukong possibly notice?"
At those words, Old Man Welt's expression suddenly turned grave.
"What do you mean? The Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Emperor's Bow are Emanators. You mean that Tingyun...?"
"Shh. It's enough that you've guessed. There's no need to announce it. Moreover, that isn't the only trouble that has infiltrated the Luofu. To resolve the Stellaron issue, we will inevitably have to confront these people. General Jing Yuan is the sort who won't act until he sees the rabbit. The bait I cast this time was a gesture of sincerity. If he has any intention, he'll be much more candid when we meet later... Otherwise, given his nature, he will certainly make us into his pawns."
... ... 0
As Shirou Emiya spoke, he could not help laughing again.
"I don't like being someone else's pawn. I suppose that is one of the reasons Acheron dislikes me staying with the Stellaron Hunters."
"With those words, I can finally be certain that you and Otto really cannot get along."
"That may not be the case, Old Man Welt. Otto believes in pure love, and so do I. There is a bridge of communication between us warriors of pure love."
"Bullshit! You can actually say the words 'pure love'? Do you think I didn't notice what's going on between you, Serval, and Bronya? You don't intend to let March 7th and Uchiha Hikari go either, do you? You brat, you're far too promiscuous. When we get to the Current Civilization, keep yourself in check. Don't spend every day flirting with my students."
"Old Man Welt, that's too distant of you. I just want to give everyone a home. Can you really bear to watch Mei remain a widow on Earth? She's already become a widow. I can't... let her remain a living widow!"
"You brat, you really are an animal! Be careful Kiana doesn't slap you to death!"
"It's fine. Once I win over Mei, all Kiana needs is for Mei to beckon, and she'll naturally join us. No one in the Kaslana family can resist that face... If there is one, then I'll put Mei, Kafka, Ei Raiden, and Makoto Raiden together. Does she have the ability to defy five Meis?"
You brat, can you actually become even more of an animal?! Seven.
Chapter 91: Welt: My Enemy-Detection Radar Is Reacting!
I really can pole vault: Kafka, your good girl says she lacks startup capital and plans to trade you to the IPC for some funds.
Kafka: That sounds good. Does she have a foolproof plan? I happen to be short on spending money for gaming recently.
I really can pole vault: Little Wolf, you're stealing Kafka's account again. How about taking a break?
Silver Wolf: Annoying. I'm short on money, and you ran off. Now nobody cooks anymore, and even a cooking robot can't make food that tastes like yours.
I really can pole vault: Call me Brother Shirou, and I'll make something special for you tomorrow.
Silver Wolf: (1-second voice message), Want more?
Mr. Emiya tapped the voice message, and an air of simple-mindedness immediately washed over him.
"Wonderful."
This was the complete Bronya, the complete Bronya, the complete... treasure!
I really can pole vault: I'm on the Xianzhou too recently. One more pair of chopsticks won't hurt. Remember to bring your own eating utensils when it's time to eat.
Silver Wolf: Hilarious. You mean serving food in my tablet?
I really can pole vault: I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that. Actually, there's still a tiny bit.
Silver Wolf: Heh.
Putting down the tablet in her hands, Silver Wolf leaned back tiredly. Her gaze inadvertently swept over her chest, and she could not help narrowing her eyes.
"Dog bastard. You didn't say I was small when we met before... Once I develop properly, just wait until you regret it."
"Sorry for the abrupt visit. These are specialty dishes from the Luofu Xianzhou. Please have a taste."
Early on the second day after arriving on the Xianzhou, a white-haired man dressed in Cloud Knight armor abruptly visited the inn where everyone was staying.
"Shaomai, crystal shrimp dumplings, char siu, steamed cakes... Anyone who didn't know better would think we'd arrived in old Cantonese territory."
After inviting the white-haired man into the inn, Shirou Emiya could not help twitching at the gifts brought by the General of the Divine March.
"Especially these rice noodle rolls... They're simply the soul of it all."
"Oh? Your hometown also has food like this?"
"Who are you looking down on? Want your brother here to serve you another ten or eight dishes right now? Then I'll personally make Chef Liu Maoxing's Three-Egg Shaomai, Reincarnation Spring Rolls, Steam-Pot Porridge, Killer Rainbow Dumplings, and Master Chef Logan's greatest pastry: the Four Gods Seafood Eight Treasures Soul-Calming Buns."
The moment Shirou Emiya spoke those names of dishes that had already begun piling on the grandeur, the white-haired general's eyes contracted. He stared at Shirou Emiya without hesitation and spoke with a solemn face.
"Brother Emiya, from the moment I saw you today, I felt that you looked exactly like my younger brother who was separated from me many years ago. Why don't we set up ten or eight tables here today, then slaughter a chicken, burn yellow paper, and become sworn brothers?"
"You, General of the Divine March, want to freeload off me, the cook, and you even came up with such a lofty excuse?"
"You jest, brother. I truly only find you familiar-looking."
"If you truly find me familiar, why not give me a few Alliance Jade Omens as a meeting gift?"
"If brother is truly willing to become sworn brothers with me, Jing Yuan, then I, Jing Yuan, can certainly offer Alliance Jade Omens."
When the white-haired general's words fell, even Welt's expression could not help tightening slightly. Shirou Emiya raised his brows and carefully sized up the suddenly visiting white-haired general.
"The General of the Divine March truly is no ordinary man. I had only hoped that you could cooperate candidly with us. I did not expect one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Emperor's Bow to be willing to lower himself like this and directly seek a deeply bound alliance with us."
"When I was young, I once longed to become a Nameless. Unfortunately, the Astral Express had disappeared for a long time by then, and the Xianzhou was constantly at war. Even in recent years, after hearing that the Express had resumed its journey, I have remained burdened with countless matters and unable to leave..."
Jing Yuan spoke to the group with what seemed like a measure of genuine emotion, invisibly drawing closer to them. Sure enough, after those words, even Old Man Welt's expression softened slightly.
"Let's return to the main matter, General Jing Yuan. Since you already know our identities, I assume you also know why we came."
"You came for the Stellaron. Jing Yuan naturally understands. I am indebted to you all for warning us about the Lord of Annihilation. Jing Yuan should not trouble you, but... the Luofu currently lacks troops and capable hands, and I must also remain in the center to coordinate the various matters. Therefore... I need to ask you for an elite force."
As he spoke, Jing Yuan could not help sighing inwardly. Back when the Cloud-Piercer Five were gathered on the Luofu, how magnificent they had been. Within the Hold-Life Clan, Dragon Lord Dan Feng commanded the Luofu Dragonkin, and none could rival his prestige.
Within the Cloud Knights was his master Jingliu, the Luofu Sword Master and one of the foremost figures in the Xianzhou Alliance.
Then there was Ying Xing of the Crafting Division, who had earned the title of Hundred Crafts, and Bai Heng, the genius starship pilot of the Celestial Ship Department.
Finally, there was himself, a Cloud Knight General with a fair amount of strategic talent.
If it had been back then, why would they need to seek outside aid? General Teng Xiao, one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals, would not even have needed to act. The five of them repeatedly achieved great victories: driving back Buli Ren fleets, destroying the alliance between the Huayin Clan and the Wing Makers, relieving the crisis of the Yuque Xianzhou, and defeating the living planet "Jidu Mirage."
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