"Of course...! If anything, I've been looking forward to it for ages." With his wife making such a request, Zhang Xiu naturally considered it his bounden duty. For a moment, his voice almost failed him, but fortunately, no one else noticed.
He had only been nineteen before transmigrating and had never even held a girl's hand. Now that he was here, not only did he have a wife, but he was about to graduate from virginity, too.
If anyone calls Honkai: Star Rail anime Warhammer again, I'll fight them! Transmigrating into Honkai: Star Rail is amazing!
For a moment, Zhang Xiu was so restless with excitement that he even wanted to go solo Phantylia and speedrun the whole thing. The tiny scrap of reason he had left, however, reined that impulse in.
Zhang Xiu, oh, Zhang Xiu, have some dignity! Isn't it just making a recruitment animation with the Aeon of Abundance, your wife Yaoshi? Wait...
Zhang Xiu's excited expression froze. He suddenly realized that his wife was an Aeon. How did Aeons reproduce, especially the Aeon of Abundance?
She isn't going to dig out my cells and combine them with hers, is she?
At that thought, he looked down at Yaoshi, who still had the appearance of a little girl, in his arms. He was about to ask when she shook her head, seemingly already aware of what he was thinking.
"What are you two talking about?"
Nearby, Jing Yuan's conversation with Stelle and her two companions had ended. Hearing the commotion behind her, March 7th turned to look at them.
"Shoo, shoo. Kids should stay out of this. Don't go pestering adults with questions." A faint blush crossed Zhang Xiu's cheeks as he waved March 7th away.
She planted both hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. "Hey! I might be a lot older than you, you know! What can't I know about?"
"I'm not telling you anyway... Are you done talking? I heard we're going after Blade and Kafka now?" Seeing that Jing Yuan's projection had disappeared, Zhang Xiu turned to the most reliable member of the group.
Welt nodded. "That's right. Still, I can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right."
Welt lowered his head and pondered for a moment before his eyes lit up. He looked up at the others. "I've got it! There was something strange, a very small detail-he deliberately skipped over Blade during our conversation!"
"If the Cloud Knights captured a member of the Stellaron Hunters, they could simply use him as a lead to pursue Kafka. Why ask us to draw her out?"
"Are you saying Blade escaped the Xianzhou's control, Welt?" Zhang Xiu raised his eyebrows as he offered that possibility.
Stelle, standing nearby, followed the thought to its natural conclusion. "He's using us as bait..."
"Exactly. If Jing Yuan wants to lure out the Stellaron Hunters, we're his only bait, since we've been in contact with Kafka. That's why he went about asking for our help in such a roundabout way-
"Because he can't let anyone know Blade escaped."
"Huh? I thought General Jing Yuan was just a nice old guy, but he's actually thought that far ahead? What a thousand-year-old fox..."
...The Seat of Divine Foresight, Luofu.
"Lord Diviner, you heard my conversation with them. What do you think?"
Jing Yuan stood behind the raised platform, an elegant young boy at his side. Before him was the projection of a pink-haired little shorty.
"What do I think? The Heavenly Dao is vast and distant; the human heart is hidden and subtle. Do you want me to cast a divination for these visitors and determine whether their intentions bode well or ill?" Fu Xuan stood straight, one hand on her hip, with no courtesy whatsoever in her tone.
Jing Yuan chuckled and shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I'm quite certain the Astral Express has nothing to do with this matter. There's no need for us to probe their intentions. As long as the bait is taken and the fish is hooked, that will suffice."
"That was my proposal, wasn't it, General?" Fu Xuan seemed to straighten her back even further as she spoke.
Before her, Jing Yuan nodded repeatedly, as though indulging a child. "Yes, fortunately, you have the pearl of wisdom firmly in your grasp, Lady Fu. Everything that follows will depend on you as well."
At that, a smile curled at the corners of Fu Xuan's lips. "Hmph. Then you should step down sooner."
"The time isn't right yet. Should anything unforeseen happen, I must bear responsibility as general. I can't simply walk away now and leave you in an unjust position, Lady Fu."
As he spoke, Jing Yuan's fringe fell over half of his other eye as well, concealing the look within.
"If you'd handed the Stellaron Hunter over to me sooner, we wouldn't have this problem now. I really don't understand what you're thinking..." Fu Xuan was about to sigh when something suddenly occurred to her:
"Jing Yuan! Could it be... Did you let him escape on purpose?!"
At her words, Jing Yuan paced behind the platform, turning sideways to Fu Xuan. "Me? How could I possess your gift of foresight, Lady Fu? The Cloud Knights failed to guard him properly, and I bear responsibility."
"Hmph. I understand. Affairs on the Xianzhou are complicated, and your energies are bound to fall short at times. Besides, we took in a group of Skydeep just recently. If I hadn't been supporting you from below..." A little pride swelled in Fu Xuan's heart, and she even closed her smiling eyes.
Unfortunately, she was too short. Had she been a little taller, she might have seen the amusement at the corners of Jing Yuan's eyes.
"Speaking of which, at the next Six Chariots Selection, you ought to honor your promise to recommend me as your successor, shouldn't you?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Of course, of course. I know. I have important matters to attend to." Jing Yuan reached out and pressed "End call" on the screen atop his desk.
"Everything that follows will be in your exceptionally gifted hands, Lady Fu."
Watching Fu Xuan's projection vanish with a bewildered expression, Jing Yuan sighed. "Ah... Troubles aboard the Xianzhou, paperwork on my desk, and weeds in the flower beds. Only these three things can never be cleared away completely, no matter what."
"General, Diviner Fu's desire to take your position is known to every passerby." Yanqing, who had remained silent at his side for some time, finally spoke.
"She is very capable, yes, but her temperament still needs some polishing. Once that blunt disposition has been worn smooth, I might consider retiring."
"Speaking of which, what have those Skydeep been up to lately?"
"Them? Some of them were secretly plotting something, but the rest of their people dealt with them directly." Confusion showed in Yanqing's eyes. "It really is strange."
Jing Yuan, however, was not surprised in the slightest. "Had they not done so, I'm afraid the Marshal would have sent us a written order to dispose of them after taking them in."
"Well, General, this Stellaron business isn't necessarily all that troublesome. If someone escaped, we just need to capture him again." Eagerness shone in Yanqing's eyes, and his face was full of confidence. "Just give the order, General, and I'll relieve you of your worries immediately."
To his surprise, Jing Yuan refused outright. "I know you're impatient, that you want to do something and accomplish something. But now is not the time." He walked over to stand before Yanqing.
"If you seek the title of Sword Champion, you must not draw your sword recklessly, especially not to fight a dangerous criminal."
Those words instantly stirred Yanqing's competitive spirit and dissatisfaction. "General, do you really think I'd lose to that Blade?"
"I'm asking you to be patient, Yanqing." Jing Yuan looked toward the distant chessboard. "There is one mystery that, so long as it remains unsolved, leaves this game at a stalemate. That mystery is the Stellaron."
"How did it conceal itself, evade the Sky-Faring Commission's searches and the Divination Commission's predictions, and where has it been placed?"
Yanqing, however, could not wait. "I think the fastest method would be to capture both Stellaron Hunters and send them to Diviner Fu for questioning."
"I've already entrusted that task to our guests from the Astral Express. There's no hurry. Once the greater situation has settled, you will have your chance to put your abilities to use."
Who was Yanqing? A prodigy not even fourteen years old, whose path had been smooth sailing all along. Hearing that Jing Yuan would rather entrust such an important task to outsiders than to him naturally left him feeling aggrieved.
Unable to suppress his impatience, he slipped away from the Seat of Divine Foresight with quiet steps when Jing Yuan turned around.
"You're the person I trust most. There are some matters I can only feel at ease entrusting to you. Yanqing, there's a task..."
Jing Yuan turned his head, only to find that the boy had already disappeared. He promptly sighed.
"That child..."
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