"But I just noticed something strange..." Looking at Firefly, whose face had flushed after drinking SoulGlad, Hanxing scratched his head awkwardly. "It seems I can't use Star Eyes here..."
"Huh?" Firefly stared at Hanxing in surprise, but could only shake her head. "Then we'll have to wait for him to wake up naturally..."
"Come to think of it, shouldn't the people from the Astral Express be arriving soon?" The question suddenly occurred to Hanxing, and he asked Firefly.
"Probably... about now, I guess?" Firefly replied. "I heard Caelus would arrive at Golden Hour first-that's where we are." Hanxing nodded. "How about we find a place to wait for him?"
Firefly nodded, and Hanxing tore open space with his bare hands. They arrived atop a tall building. "Let's wait here."
Less than a few dozen minutes later, a figure appeared in the sky. That figure in yellow and black was all too familiar. He fell rapidly from the sky and slammed hard into the ground.
"Mm..." Hanxing turned his face away, unable to bear watching his painful plight. "Look, who's that?" Firefly pointed to where Caelus had just landed. A man and a woman stood there.
"Robin and Sunday?" Hanxing looked at the familiar figures. As major celebrities, they had long since been recorded in the data bank.
"So, have you thought of a way to bring them into this?" Hanxing asked Firefly. "Play the victim and join them?" Firefly suggested. Hanxing frowned in thought for a moment. "I have a plan."
"Our goal is to bring the Astral Express into this, so we only need to exploit their hostility. As a faction, we'll compete for the 'grand legacy,' do our utmost to disguise it as a Stellaron, and make moves to seize the Stellaron. They'll have to get involved to stop us."
"That's... not a bad idea." Firefly nodded, then added, "Let's go somewhere else to wait for him, then."
Soon, the two reached a shopping street and sat down off to the side. "Over there, the silver one!" a voice suddenly called from a distance. Several people in suits ran toward them. "She has an accomplice! Get them both!"
"What... is going on?" Hanxing exclaimed as he grabbed Firefly's hand and ran.
"Aren't you... going to deal with them?" Firefly followed close behind Hanxing, a trace of displeasure rising in her heart. "There's no need. Our goal isn't to make an enemy of Penacony." Hanxing said no more and kept running.
This is the only way... Hanxing thought, tearing open space with his bare hands and entering his own space.
"Oh, my dear comrade, you finally remembered me?" A voice suddenly rang out from the Blade of Ending nearby. "Who's there?" Hanxing looked around, eventually pinpointed the source of the voice, and drew the blade.
"Yan... Yan Bai? What are you doing here?" Hanxing stared in surprise at the face on the blade. "What do you mean? Weren't you the one who brought us into the blade?"
"Yeah... but how did you come to be?" Hanxing looked at the figure and asked in confusion. "Because, for some reason, the souls you gathered from Fansha Star merged into one. That's me."
"Then... why do you look like Yan Bai?" Hanxing asked curiously. "Because I didn't know what face to use when I met you. I figured you'd had the most dealings with Yan Bai, so I used his face."
"I see..." Hanxing nodded, and an idea suddenly occurred to him. "Maybe I only need to use Harmony's Tuning to change my face into yours. That way, I can evade our pursuers."
"Suit yourself. I'm just a soul anyway, and nobody knows me." Yan Bai smiled. "Come to think of it, can you control this blade?" Hanxing suddenly grew curious. "I haven't tried. Let me see." The blade promptly flew out of its sheath and cut open a spatial gate.
"It's a little difficult, but I can do it." Yan Bai smiled, then slowly returned the blade to its sheath. "It seems more ingenious ways to fight are coming to mind." Hanxing smiled too, then activated Harmony's Tuning and took on Yan Bai's appearance.
"You look quite a bit like him," Yan Bai remarked. "Thanks." Without another word, Hanxing stepped out of the space.
"Yan Bai? What are you doing here?" Firefly exclaimed, looking at Hanxing, who had appeared beside her out of thin air. "I'm Hanxing. This is the result of Tuning." Hanxing smiled. "Don't run!" The people in suits came chasing after them again, and Hanxing once more took Firefly's hand. "Let's go!"
"Huff-huff-" Hanxing and Firefly panted as they leaned against a wall. The people in suits were drawing ever closer. Firefly readied herself to transform, and Hanxing prepared to draw his blade. The tension was on a knife's edge.
"All right, all right, boys-that's enough." An unfamiliar voice rang out. Another man walked over from the side, looking to be in his forties, and stopped the people in suits.
"S-sir?" One of the men in suits turned around, looking surprised. "What kind of work are you doing?" the man scolded. "Open your eyes and take a good look. Is this girl the wanted criminal we're after?"
"Huh? Who... who is he?" The woman in a suit beside him was puzzled. "You don't know? Brown hair, gray vest-he's the security officer the Family sent to oversee the Charmony Festival," the man in a suit beside her replied.
"I-I see... Reporting to you, sir, we're apprehending a stowaway-this young lady right here. She's very suspicious. It has to be her!"
"Bullshit." The brown-haired man cursed them without mincing words. "Take another good look. The witness report said a silver one, so you went after a girl with silver hair? How is that the same thing? And now you're even chasing guests?!"
"All right, get lost. I'll handle this." The brown-haired man sighed and shooed them away. "Yes, sir!" The group took the hint and left.
"My sincerest apologies for making such a spectacle before our honored guests." The brown-haired man apologized. "I'm Gallagher of the Hound Family. Those idiots are pups I raised."
"They're young and don't know any better. They misunderstood my orders and actually mistook honored guests of Penacony for criminals... Ah, how discourteous. On behalf of the Hound Family, I offer you both my sincere apologies."
Hanxing paused. He didn't know why they had been taken for guests, but he could only play along. "What's this about a stowaway?"
"The Hound Family are the gatekeepers of the dreamscape. We're responsible for a range of security duties here, including apprehending stowaways," Gallagher explained. "We were previously notified that some criminals had infiltrated Penacony under the cover of the festivities. With the Charmony Festival just around the corner, there's no shortage of people with ulterior motives..."
Firefly shuddered and placed a hand against her chest. Gallagher seemed to realize something and spoke again. "Don't worry, miss. I believe this is a misunderstanding. How could such a lovely girl be a stowaway?"
"...Thank you. If you hadn't stepped in to help, I really don't know what I would have done." It had to be said that Firefly's ability to improvise was indeed surprising.
"Don't mention it." Gallagher chuckled. "I have business to attend to, so I'll take my leave. If you need anything, ask a nearby Hound to contact me. I hope you enjoy this sweet dream." With that, Gallagher turned and left.
"That... was close," Firefly sighed, looking at Hanxing. "You're pretty quick on your feet yourself." Hanxing smiled, then turned serious. "Why... did he think we were guests?" "Because... we look harmless?" Firefly joked, only to notice that the embroidered spring blade had appeared beside them at some unknown point, with Yan Bai's face emerging from it.
"For some reason, Penacony seems to have sent an invitation to Fansha Star as well," Yan Bai's voice said. "That's from Basha's memories. He seems to have submitted Yan Bai's information at the time, so you were taken for a guest because you're wearing Yan Bai's face."
"I see." Hanxing understood. "There's that connection too. Looks like we should be able to carry out our plan even better..."