Dan Feng, the Vidyadhara High Elder Imbibitor Lunae, could arguably be called a worldly dragon who had weathered many storms, if his inherited memories counted.
And he himself excelled at both scholarly and martial pursuits.
With words, he could infuriate a Dragon Preceptor enough to reincarnate into an egg on the spot; with his blade, he could send the flesh and blood of Abominations of Abundance flying.
No matter how dangerous the situation, he never wavered.
But at that moment, looking at Jingliu's face, her smile laced with anger, her anger laced with murderous intent...
Then looking at the glass in Jingliu's hand.
Lightning-shaped cracks spread upward from its base.
It was just short of shattering.
For the first time in ages, the High Elder experienced what it meant to be on pins and needles.
Yet Baiheng, who had started it all, remained utterly oblivious.
Dan Feng deliberately turned away from Jingliu.
He looked at Yingxing, the only person besides himself who could break the awkward silence.
Yingxing said, "What did Abominations of Abundance ever do to you?"
He clearly hadn't gotten the joke, much less noticed the strange atmosphere at the table.
Baiheng, the culprit, refused to give up. Determined to find someone who agreed with her, she turned her sights on Dan Feng and delivered a fatal blow.
Baiheng said, "Dan Feng, how would you feel if someone gave you an Abomination of Abundance?"
Jingliu set down her battered glass, folded her arms, and looked at Dan Feng with an inscrutable gaze.
Dan Feng: "..."
He managed to say, "I'd think it was very unique."
Seemingly quite satisfied with his answer, Jingliu promptly looked away.
Beside him, Yingxing nodded vigorously and chimed in, "Exactly! It's a very unique gift-"
The engineering-minded, hopelessly literal man instinctively wanted to provide an example. He looked at Jingliu and spoke without thinking. "For instance-"
Dan Feng's eye twitched. What would happen if Yingxing actually said it?
He swiftly interrupted his friend. "Baiheng, go check when they're bringing out the hot pot broth."
Seeing that neither of them had gotten the joke, Baiheng gave up and didn't pursue Yingxing's unfinished remark.
"You lot really have no sense of romance. You'll probably stay single your entire lives!"
The Foxian gave a cold snort, tossed out that remark, and swept away.
Dan Feng: "..."
Once Baiheng was far enough away, Jingliu slowly turned toward the High Elder sitting opposite her, who was pretending to be calm. Her red eyes betrayed neither sorrow nor joy as she took the initiative to confront him, saying quietly:
"Dan Feng, you said Abominations of Abundance could be given as gifts."
Dan Feng said nothing, but Yingxing spoke up indignantly. "What does she mean, we have no sense of romance? What did Abominations of Abundance ever do to her? Aren't they unique enough?"
Yingxing shifted the conversation to Jingliu and asked:
"Didn't you give an Abomination as a gift, Jingliu? What did that person say? Were they overwhelmed by the honor? Absolutely delighted?"
At that, Jingliu temporarily lost the urge to confront Dan Feng. Her tone was unreadable. "...I haven't had a chance to ask yet."
As a member of a short-life species, Yingxing had received more than his share of cold looks in his youth. Back then, he had been sensitive and always weighed his words carefully before speaking to others.
As he grew older, he let it go. Malicious remarks went in one ear and out the other, and he stopped caring altogether, adopting a thoroughly laid-back attitude of letting people do whatever they pleased.
Rather than waste time fretting over those gossipmongers, he might as well forge something!
After his astonishing smithing skills earned him the title of Furnace Master, he let himself go even further.
When it came to reading the room, Yingxing did whatever he felt like. And with friends around him whom he could joke and banter with, he was even more relaxed.
Yingxing said matter-of-factly, "Then ask her later! If you ask me, that girl just doesn't get it! She's probably not a Xianzhou local!"
His thinking was simple and direct.
Come on, those are Abominations of Abundance! The sworn enemies Xianzhou natives fight to the death! If a family produced a Cloud Knight who could fight Abominations on the front lines, they'd get a whole page to themselves in the family genealogy!
What Xianzhou native could possibly refuse a gift like that? Who could resist that temptation? Wouldn't a man propose on the spot? Wouldn't a woman rush straight off to register the marriage?
Anyone who could resist was either a spy worth a five-hundred-thousand bounty or an outsider!
Dan Feng watched as warmth gradually crept into Jingliu's previously icy gaze.
Dan Feng: "..."
He breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly impressed. Yingxing really does have a knack for this!
At the same time, he couldn't help wondering whether Baiheng really knew nothing about gift-giving.
With the danger of the Sword Champion suddenly attacking someone averted, Dan Feng couldn't help feeling a little... nosy.
Dan Feng couldn't resist asking, "Was it that person just now? The junior you mentioned who's never been on a battlefield?"
Jingliu nodded in confirmation.
Just as I thought, Dan Feng mused.
Recalling the Diviner's name and appearance, the High Elder's thoughts grew tangled.
He thought of an old acquaintance he had never met.
What exactly was this feeling? Joy? Sorrow? Or... regret?
Those emotions did not belong to "Dan Feng."
Nor could he make sense of their flavor.
Dan Feng forcibly reined in his thoughts and turned his attention to his friends instead.
He knew the temperaments of the other four very well.
Yingxing... mostly couldn't be bothered, and anyone he didn't get along with got a blunt retort.
Jingliu was cold on the outside and warm within, unlike Baiheng and Jing Yuan.
Baiheng and Jing Yuan were lively and had friends everywhere, yet they maintained just the right boundaries with others and never brought strangers to the five friends' gatherings.
But when that Diviner had entered earlier, Jingliu had frozen for a moment, her face revealing... a faint awkwardness only those who knew her well could spot.
It reminded Dan Feng of Jingliu on the battlefield.
Back then, her icy expression had intimidated quite a few soldiers who had been chatting.
Startled, Dan Feng had hurriedly found an excuse to bring her into another, empty tent.
Jingliu had spoken in a tone... she had never used before.
She asked, "If I were to give someone a gift, what should I give?"
Dan Feng at the time: long-life species, Starskiff, staring at Jade Abacus.jpg.
It was like seeing a hardened, unyielding man with shoulders as broad as a double-door fridge charge up to you with a grave expression and an imposing air. You'd think there was some urgent crisis, only for him to ask in a soft little voice, "How do you embroider?"
First, Dan Feng was stunned. Then he asked, "What are their hobbies?"
Jingliu remained silent.
Seeing this, Dan Feng asked another question. "What kind of person are they?"
Jingliu fell silent again. Just as Dan Feng decided to try a different question, she spoke.
She said, "He's a... very good person."
As the saying currently trending on the Jade Abacus goes, listening to your words is like listening to your words, Dan Feng thought.
"Give him something he's never seen before..."
Dan Feng racked his brains. What did a High Elder like him know about gift-giving? Many such matters were handled by members of his clan.
He suddenly remembered something he had heard while treating wounded soldiers.
"For example, I heard about a Cloud Knight who was planning to give his lover a dead Abomination of Abundance."
Jingliu said nothing and stared at him, then abruptly said:
"He isn't my lover."
Dan Feng: "..."
Isn't that protesting a little too much? I was only giving an example. I didn't even ask what their relationship was!
As though afraid he wouldn't believe her, Jingliu emphasized it again. "He isn't my lover. He's just a junior I know."
Dan Feng... glanced at Jingliu, whose murderous intent was rising without her even noticing, and could only nod.
Jingliu looked thoughtful. "He works at the Divination Commission and has never been on a battlefield. An Abomination of Abundance... would certainly be something new."
Dan Feng instinctively felt something was off. He had only been giving an example, and whether that gift was actually a good idea... he honestly didn't know. So he suggested that she ask Baiheng.
Jingliu nodded and turned to leave the tent, only to run into Yingxing, who was working in logistics...
As for what gift Jingliu had given, or whom she had consulted, Dan Feng knew nothing at all.
Today, he finally learned the truth.
Jingliu had never gone to Baiheng. Instead, she had happened to run into Yingxing, who was no better at this than Dan Feng.
Yingxing, meanwhile, saw absolutely nothing wrong with it and was still racking his brains to offer Jingliu ideas.
"How did you prepare the Abomination?"
From Jingliu's expression, Yingxing could tell she hadn't put any effort into it. He immediately advised her in earnest:
"How could you give someone a gift without putting any thought into it? Why not arrange it into a shape Xianzhou natives would like?"
Jingliu listened very attentively. She asked, "How about chopping up the severed limbs?"
Yingxing said, "Would anyone still recognize it if you chopped it up? And if the whole shipping box was full of blood... would the shipping depot even accept it?"
Jingliu understood. "Then I'll freeze the severed limbs in ice as soon as I kill it."
Looking as though he had found a promising student, Yingxing nodded and said with satisfaction, "He could even display it at home!"
A server who happened to pass by to refill their sour plum drink stared in horrified disbelief, slowly backing away, looking as though they wanted nothing more than to flee and report them to the Cloud Knights.
Dan Feng: "..."
The High Elder forced an awkward but polite smile, intending to explain things to the server. Instead, they fled faster than a rabbit and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Yingxing shook his head. "What does Baiheng know? No one knows more about gift-giving than I do."
Dan Feng closed his eyes briefly. "...Right. No one knows more about gift-giving than you."
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