Phantylia: Could You Be the Xianzhou Marshal?!

Something wasn't right, was it?

Surely something was wrong here?

Yukong sank into thought as she read the report: [Suspected sighting of the Marshal sampling snacks in Aurum Alley].

She thought it over, then looked at the message Phantylia had sent.

Oh, right.

Yes, Phantylia.

Surely nobody actually thought Phantylia had been staying hidden, right?

As early as the first time Jiang Yao had shown off his cooking skills.

Phantylia had already reported every last detail about Jiang Yao to Yukong.

Although, after the Conductor had helped capture Kafka.

Yukong had told Phantylia to stop monitoring Jiang Yao and switch to hosting him.

Still, Jiang Yao's behavior...

Well, there was nothing wrong with reporting it.

Everything about it felt strange.

Seriously, what kind of Nameless visited a place just to cook there?

Could there really be something wrong?

So Phantylia had reported it to Yukong.

Yukong hadn't thought much of it at first.

So he cooked. So his cooking tasted good.

What was the problem?

But what if she considered it alongside the Marshal sampling snacks in Aurum Alley?

Even Yukong's brain froze for a moment.

The information had come from Aurum Alley.

Someone suspected to be Marshal Hua had arrived in Aurum Alley.

He was sampling the local snacks...

And wanted to mingle with the people and share them with everyone!

Yikes.

How should she put this?

Marshal Hua really was capable of something like that.

It was just...

They hadn't received any notice, had they?

And surely Marshal Hua wasn't that free?

Not every general was like their Divine General!

Let alone someone as busy as the Marshal!

Could the Marshal have learned about the Luofu's recent situation and come specifically to intimidate any would-be troublemakers?

That didn't make sense either.

There was no need to shoot mosquitoes with a cannon or have the Lightning-Lord cleave through minor mobs!

Surely the unrest on the Luofu over the past few days wasn't hiding something else.

Or some lurking threat capable of destroying the Luofu.

Had the Marshal realized it was beyond the Luofu's ability to handle and come because of that?

Yukong considered many possibilities, but she didn't slow down, first sending Phantylia a message.

She asked Phantylia what was going on.

Then she hurried to find Jing Yuan as well, covering both bases.

As luck would have it, Jing Yuan was discussing with Fu Xuan the startling information that had emerged after Kafka's escape.

They were also reviewing Kafka's reasons for doing what she had done.

And examining the chain of events from before the Stellaron's eruption up to the present.

To deduce who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Yukong's arrival, along with the news that Marshal Hua had come to Aurum Alley to sample snacks and even share them...

Yikes.

Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan were somewhat bewildered too.

The report was absurd.

But precisely because it was so absurd.

It instead gave the illusion that there might be some truth to it.

Still, it really didn't add up!

Even if he was the Marshal, he wasn't traveling incognito.

Surely he would at least notify the local general when visiting the Luofu?

So what exactly had happened in Aurum Alley?

Jing Yuan gave Fu Xuan a look.

Fu Xuan understood.

Matrix of Prescience, activate!

Aurum Alley.

At the stall beside Delicious Supreme.

"The Xianzhou Marshal came to the Luofu, and to Aurum Alley at that."

"That makes no sense! I didn't see him either!"

"He's eating snacks? And wants to share them?!"

"Why does this sound so familiar?"

"..."

Phantylia read the message Yukong had sent.

A question mark flashed in her eyes.

She looked at Jiang Yao, who was focused on cooking.

Then glanced at her phone again.

Could you be the Xianzhou Marshal?!

Phantylia sank into thought.

Phantylia sank into confusion.

Phantylia looked at the current High Elder.

Phantylia looked at Jiang Yao's face.

Hey, actually... now that she looked!

By heliobus standards, he was quite handsome too.

Her gaze moved down to his chest.

Flat and unremarkable.

Hmm...

There did seem to be rumors that the Xianzhou Marshal Hua cut a dashing figure.

Yes, flat as a board.

So...

Surely not?

"Everyone, we're almost at Aurum Alley!"

Inside the Starskiff bound for Aurum Alley.

The Divination Commission's one and only tile master.

Qingque had taken on the role of guide for the Astral Express Crew, showing Welt, Stelle, and March 7th around.

As for this cushy assignment that let her slack off while enjoying free food and drinks.

Qingque had naturally been happy to accept.

"Speaking of which, Aurum Alley used to be quite prosperous."

"But it fell on hard times later."

"The snacks there are still really authentic, though."

"Qiongshi Bird Skewers, Dream Tapir Rolls, songlotus cakes, and hot floating goat milk are all famous Luofu snacks."

"Of course, if we're talking about the very best food on the Luofu, that would have to be Supreme Flavor Garden."

"It really was a shame you didn't have much of an appetite yesterday."

Qingque rubbed her belly, which had already finished digesting its meal.

A blissful expression appeared on her face.

They had made a special trip to Supreme Flavor Garden the previous evening to treat the Astral Express Crew.

Unfortunately, the Astral Express Crew hadn't had much appetite and barely ate.

Most of the food had ended up in her and Bailu's bellies.

The taste had been absolutely incredible!

Normally, on her salary as the Divination Commission's tile master, she wouldn't even dream of eating her fill there!

Even now, Qingque could still savor yesterday's flavors lingering in her mouth.

If she hadn't needed to go to work, she wouldn't even have wanted to brush her teeth.

"That's not necessarily true~"

Stelle waved a hand.

Had they lacked an appetite yesterday?

The food simply hadn't been to their taste!

"Here, look at her."

Stelle pointed at the listless March 7th.

"Believe me, she'll be back at full health any minute now."

Stelle planted her hands on her hips, looking so confident in her divination skills that even the Lord Diviner would have to call her teacher.

"Huh? Why?"

Qingque had actually noticed that all three members of the Astral Express Crew seemed a little down.

That was why she had been trying to liven things up.

She hadn't expected Stelle to be the only one who perked up.

"Because you shouldn't meet someone too extraordinary when you're young~"

Stelle drew out her words, her tone carrying a different, deeper meaning.

Qingque's eyes immediately widened.

She looked at March 7th in disbelief.

At the same time, she rubbed her little hands together.

She looked just like the melon-stealing zha in Lu Xun's writing.

She could smell some juicy gossip.

"Huh, wait."

Qingque was just about to fish for more details.

When a rapid series of message alerts made her phone vibrate.

She glanced at her phone.

My coworkers? And my tile buddies?

Could someone have failed to find me and gone after my tile buddies instead?

Is there more work?

Please, no...

Huh?

Wait, that's not right!

I'm on a paid business trip right now!

The Lord Diviner said so herself!

What am I afraid of?!

Once Qingque realized this, she cheered up.

Then she took another careful look at the messages.

"Uh?"

"Huh?"

Qingque rubbed her eyes.

She couldn't believe the messages she was reading.

One person could be mistaken.

But could everyone be wrong?

Qingque scratched her head.

"Huuuh?!"

"Everyone..."

"Um..."

"It's a little... anyway, it's not a bad thing."

Qingque was utterly bewildered.

She couldn't even get a single sentence out properly.

She had to break it into four.

"Our Xianzhou marshal seems to probably, maybe, possibly be in Aurum Alley."

Qingque's voice was still full of doubt.

In her world, until recently...

The Lord Diviner had already been as high up as it got.

Then she had met the general a little while ago.

That had updated her boss list.

Whoa, who would've thought an even bigger one would show up today!

Whether they were her coworkers or her tile-playing buddies...

Everyone who knew she was heading to Aurum Alley...

Had asked her to help snap a photo...

That just showed how popular Marshal Hua was in the Xianzhou Alliance!

"Marshal Hua..."

Welt sounded wistful, almost melancholy.

Although he had the feeling that the Honkai was still chasing him...

The moment the name Hua came up, it was especially reassuring.

Well, at that point, Welt still had no idea just how thoughtful the duo of Asta and Jiang Yao could be.

To cure his PTSD...

They had actually gone to great lengths to accidentally prepare a whole feast of Honkai beasts for him. O.o