Ji Yuan thought to himself.
For survival, that was the safest choice.
But he truly could not ignore whether others lived or died.
"Just this once. I definitely won't do it again next time."
Ji Yuan said to himself.
He looked at Tingyun, who was about to depart, and called out, "Miss Tingyun, wait a moment. I'll go with you."
Escape from the Star Skiff
He could only take the risk and see whether he could save Tingyun.
Ji Yuan planned to go with Tingyun, then look for an opportunity along the way to find a means of escape.
It was dangerous. Ji Yuan even felt that both of them dying here might confirm the future his system knew.
But—
If he hid away all his kindness and became a coward just because of that danger, then life would not be worth living.
Though he cherished his own life,
His blood still ran hot.
Ji Yuan stepped forward and expressed his desire to act together with Tingyun.
Trade Officials were responsible for inspecting goods entering the Luofu Starfaring Vessel. Procedurally speaking, Ji Yuan accompanying Tingyun to find the buyer receiving the goods could also count as part of the inspection process.
Of course, Trade Officials generally did not do that.
Hearing Ji Yuan say this, Tingyun paused and turned to look at him, unable to hide her surprise.
"Of course, that would be wonderful. This little lady was feeling rather bored going to Exalting Sanctum alone. Having you accompany me would naturally be delightful."
Her fox eyes narrowed as she gently opened her fan, using it to cover the lower half of her smiling face.
Now this was more like it.
Being so eager to get close was more fitting for an adolescent boy.
Tingyun finally felt that Ji Yuan was normal.
She even had the feeling that everything that had happened last night had been an illusion caused by her being constantly occupied with business negotiations.
"This little lady shall play host in Exalting Sanctum. How about I treat you to a meal?"
"Mm, all right."
Ji Yuan nodded in agreement.
In any case, no matter what happened later, they would not be able to eat anyway, so agreeing did not matter.
Seeing Ji Yuan agree, Tingyun recalled his rejection the previous night and smiled.
Had all this change come from staring at her feet for an entire afternoon?
So this little fellow really was, without a doubt, a foot fetishist with a snapping turtle's stubbornness.
For some reason, at that thought, her feet even drew back slightly.
She somehow felt as if Ji Yuan's gaze was fixed on her.
Both feet felt faintly hot.
Ji Yuan and Tingyun boarded a Star Skiff carrying cargo. There were many such Star Skiffs on the Luofu Starfaring Vessel. Their hulls were huge, but there was not much room for people to stay, since most of the space was occupied by enormous cargo holds. Passengers either rode in containers alongside the goods or stood outside and endured the cold wind.
Tingyun and Ji Yuan chose the latter.
Once they reached Exalting Sanctum, other workers would naturally handle the delivery, so Ji Yuan and Tingyun were the only two people aboard.
Standing by the rail, the Star Skiff trembled slightly before rising into the air.
A fierce wind blew in, sending Tingyun's clothes fluttering behind her. It was Ji Yuan's first time riding this kind of cargo Star Skiff, and he staggered slightly at first. However, he had the foundation in martial arts that his mother had taught him, along with the swordsmanship he had learned from Yanqing, and he quickly steadied himself.
At that moment, he saw one of Tingyun's hands reach toward him.
Tingyun withdrew her hand and said with a smile, "I thought you would fall, young sir. I didn't expect a civil official like you to have such good skills."
"Well, it's the foundation my mother beat into me when I was young. She always wanted my sister and me to join the Cloud Knights and become outstanding Cloud Knights, taking over the duties of her and my biological parents. Whenever we did poorly, she could never help but scold us."
"Now that I've run off to the Luofu to become a Trade Official, she'll probably smack my head hard when she sees me."
Ji Yuan smiled at Tingyun as he spoke.
"That truly sounds difficult."
Tingyun said understandingly to Ji Yuan.
Her personality had differed from that of ordinary Fox Folk when she was young, and it had been difficult for her to follow in her parents' footsteps and become a Martial Armaments Officer. In the end, she could only become a trade representative. Ji Yuan, meanwhile, had come from the Yaoging Star-skiff, a place full of battle maniacs, yet he had left to become a thoroughly civilian official. The effort he had put in was no small matter.
Especially at such a young age.
He truly was impressive.
And being liked by such an outstanding young man made Tingyun feel somewhat happy inside.
"It's fine. I just need to train my sister into becoming a qualified Cloud Knights soldier someday." Ji Yuan shrugged indifferently.
As if recalling something, he asked Tingyun, "By the way, Miss Tingyun, do you know of any properties for sale on the Celestial Ark lately?"
"Property?"
What was Ji Yuan planning to do?
She thought to herself.
Before she could think further, Ji Yuan had already explained, "My sister will be transferred to the Cloud Knights here in a while. For the sake of convenient lodging, I thought I'd simply buy a house."
At the same time, he quietly took out his phone and looked around.
They should have traveled some distance away from Flowing Cloud Ferry by now. There were fewer Star Skiffs coming and going here. He could begin the next stage of his plan.
As he casually chatted with Tingyun about various happenings on the Celestial Ark, he picked up his phone.
"I see. This little lady has not spent much time on the Luofu, but the Resonant Flame Merchant Guild has people handling affairs here. This little lady will help you get in touch with them when the time comes."
"Then thank you, Miss Tingyun."
Ji Yuan said to Tingyun.
At the same time, he opened the chat interface on his phone.
"I haven't messaged Changchang in a long time. I'll ask how things are going over there."
Ji Yuan was not actually sending a message to his sister. He said that deliberately for the Buli Ren inside to hear.
He quickly composed a message and informed the Cloud Knights.
The Cloud Knights would handle the rest.
As for him, all he needed to do was find a way to escape with Tingyun.
Thinking this, Ji Yuan moved closer to Tingyun.
"Miss Tingyun, actually, there's something I've wanted to tell you since last night."
"Um, I..."
As he spoke, he edged even closer to Tingyun.
From the corner of his eye, Ji Yuan saw another Star Skiff approaching. It was only several dozen meters away from him and Tingyun, and it was flying below them, making it the best target for escape.
"Actually, I want to..."
He suddenly stepped forward.
Seeing Ji Yuan act like this, Tingyun thought he was about to confess to her.
If he really confesses, how should I reject him without hurting his feelings?
Before she could think further, she suddenly felt an enormous force strike her abdomen.
Then her entire body was sent flying into the air.
What was Ji Yuan doing!?
Before she could finish thinking, she felt herself slam heavily onto the deck of another Star Skiff.
Intense pain instantly spread through every part of her body.
Ji Yuan was not about to maintain any gentlemanly manners while escaping by landing beneath Tingyun and cushioning her fall. Not using you as a cushion already counts as me having morals.
Tingyun felt as though her bones were about to break.
But that was not the issue.
She looked at Ji Yuan, who had flown through the air with her and crashed onto another Star Skiff.
"What are you doing!?"
Her face immediately filled with anger.
Tingyun: I Really Deserve This!
Without anyone controlling it, that Star Skiff would either fall or crash.
What was Ji Yuan trying to do?!
Was he planning to destroy this shipment of goods?
For a moment, Tingyun even wondered whether Ji Yuan was a saboteur from another merchant guild, or perhaps even the Interastral Peace Corporation, specifically sent to disrupt Resonant Flame's business dealings.
"If I find out which merchant guild he belongs to, I'll definitely report it to them and properly 'repay' them."
What was the most prominent trait of the Celestial Ark Native?
Holding grudges.
And holding them to the bitter end.
The Celestial Ark's war against the Abundance Followers made that perfectly clear.
As long as both sides had a grudge, one of them had to fall before it could end.
Although the Fox Folk were not native to the Celestial Ark, they had lived there for so long that they had also absorbed that culture.
Tingyun glared fiercely at Ji Yuan, gripping the folding fan in her hand tightly as though preparing to attack him.
She anxiously said to Ji Yuan, "Let go of me quickly. I need to go back and correct the Star Skiff's course. Otherwise, if it crashes, you'll be guilty of a serious crime."
And she had actually felt some affection for this guy just moments ago.
Her heart was filled with regret.
She had trusted Ji Yuan so much.
She had suffered such a huge loss all at once. How was she supposed to deal with this?
At that moment, she felt the pressure around her waist loosen.
Tingyun saw Ji Yuan remove his hand from her waist, and he even wore an expression of relief.
Was this guy taking pleasure in her misfortune?
Tingyun's expression turned fierce.
Ji Yuan did not see Tingyun's expression. Instead, he thought happily to himself:
I finally escaped successfully. I'll leave the rest to the Cloud Knights. And Miss Tingyun, since we escaped this time, she shouldn't die, right? There are so many CGs of her online. Even if she died early in the original story, she must be extremely talented. Then I can mooch off her abilities to survive.
The system notification sounded in his ears once more.
Before you continue