While washing dishes to pay off her debts, Fulisina received a verbal reprimand from the shop owner, and she also realized a problem.
It seems she doesn't have a room to rest in...
And so, the [ Sleepless Earl ] teahouse, which had already turned off its lights...
Bathed in moonlight, Fulisina, Blake, and Screwllum sat in a corner, looking utterly forlorn from afar.
To prevent them from being mistaken for suspicious individuals by the patrolling Cloud Knights and sent to the Palace of Astrum, Fulisina also gave them an invisibility buff.
Screwllum didn't dare say a word. It hadn't expected that these two were just as penniless as it was, meaning that none of the three of them needed to sleep.
"Sigh~"
Blake and Fulisina looked at the milk tea shop on the opposite bank. The holy light of salvation was right there, but in the dead of night, they had no reason to disturb that person's rest.
Nothing happened that night. Since it was a rare opportunity to come to the Xianzhou, Fulisina was bound to want to wander around.
Unlocking the [ Eternity ] blessing, she arrived at the Artisanship Commission, where she saw Luocha and Sushang, who were also there.
"Um... Hi~ We meet again?"
I never expected the reunion to happen so quickly, and then this scene unfolded:
"Hey, Luocha, you've only told half of the story about [ Propagation ]. Keep going, it's quite interesting. How strange, even Aeon can die? Aren't they invincible?"
"There is no absolute invincibility in the world; this is merely an exaggeration from a mortal's perspective. However, the fall of [ Propagation ] does indeed transcend mortal standards; He perished at the hands of other Aeon."
"Oh? It seems... you also know about the Swarm Disaster?" Fulisina's interest was piqued; after all, she was an elf who had lived through that era.
"I know a little bit."
Sushang shook her head. "I don't understand. They're all Aeon, why do they have to fight and kill each other?"
This statement stumped Luocha, who even began to doubt Sushang Xianzhou's identity as a celestial being:
"You... are Xianzhou native...? Putting aside the other Aeon, you must know the story of Lan and the Yaoshi, right? Isn't the Alliance's long-cherished wish to destroy the Aeon Yaoshi?"
"Of course I know!" Sushang retorted stubbornly. "Well, I know a little. My mother supervises my sword practice all day long, so I haven't had much schooling..."
"Well... let's change the subject. Since you don't even know about the blood feud between the Hunt and the Abundance, explaining things is too much trouble."
"Hey~ no way! I do know a little about [ Eternity ] and [ Destruction ]!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Sushang caught a glimpse of Fulisina's ears twitching out of the corner of her eye.
"Um... um, I've heard Uncle Ye mention it a bit. It seems Nanook blew up a planet that worshipped the Yite..."
"Okay, let me change the subject: I haven't heard you explain what's in this big box yet?"
Luocha smiled slightly, "Then I will repeat it for Miss Sushang: this white box is a [coffin], commonly known as a [funerary], specifically used to hold the remains of the deceased."
"The deceased? You... aren't you a merchant?" Sushang was momentarily confused.
"This is also part of the business of the merchant journey. I was entrusted to escort this coffin back to the Xianzhou along the way. Ah, for those Long-Life Species can easily live for thousands of years, [death] is probably a distant concept."
"No, not really. For Cloud Knights, death is commonplace on the battlefield. But we don't have the custom of using boxes... uh, coffins to hold the deceased."
"The custom of the Xianzhou native bidding farewell to their compatriots is to enshrine their names and Jade Abacus in the Hall of Karma of the [ Ten-Lords Commission ]," Sushang explained to Luocha. "Furthermore, the Foxian and the Vidyadhara each have their own farewell rituals."
"I have seen fox warriors place their deceased kin in Starskiff, letting them drift towards distant stars... They call this [ Return to the Vastness ]."
"Um... if I may ask, what is the Church's way of bidding farewell to its fellow citizens?"
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all natural laws. Whether they are heroes who die on the battlefield or elderly people who pass away, they will all be sent to the Holy Sepulchre of the Church to ensure the safety of their remains."
"Life has its limits, and all life has its finite lifespan. Even Aeon cannot be considered Permanence and will eventually reach the moment of death." Luocha looked at the coffin beside her.
"Uh, if I may ask one more question... do you know the person in the coffin?"
Sushang's intuition told her that the relationship between Luocha and the contents of the coffin was definitely not ordinary.
"Know."
Seeing that her guess had been confirmed, Sushang continued to ask, "Friend?"
Luocha denied the answer, "No."
"Then... a lover?"
"Haha~" Luocha was amused by this remark, "What are you thinking, young lady? Have you been reading too many novels? The person lying in the coffin is not related to me at all; we've only met once."
"I made a promise to someone by chance, so I have no choice but to go."
"Let's end our conversation here. You've all had enough rest."
The three had only taken a few steps when they saw a brown-haired girl surrounded by Mara-Struck Soldiers.
Seeing this, Sushang Chang, bursting with a sense of justice, drew her sword and charged forward. "Let's go together, quickly finish off these guys, and save that girl!"
"Didn't Miss Sushang say yesterday that she would leave any danger to you?"
"I... I'm outnumbered! Please, I'll give you both a 'Heroic Act' award after this is done!"
As Sushang was speaking, Fulisina instantly fired another shot, killing the Mara-Struck Soldiers. Watching the battle end in the blink of an eye, Sushang felt that this scene was very familiar, as if she had witnessed it yesterday.
She rushed over and helped the equally bewildered brown-haired girl up. "Girl, are you alright?"
Upon seeing the bloodstains on the other person, Sushang froze for a second. "Ah... I'm sorry, I didn't see the bloodstains, I thought it was nothing... So you're a mechanical puppet."
"The loom is broken and won't move. You're Cloud Knights... very good, please escort me to the Earth-Balance Commission."
"Oh, I'm sorry, gentlemen, we might have to wait a bit... This girl is a puppet judge of the [ Ten-Lords Commission ] that I mentioned earlier. As Cloud Knights, I must prioritize following her instructions."
Luocha and Fulisina spoke at the same time, "We have some medical knowledge. May I try to treat your injuries, young lady?"
Leave it to me.
"Oh dear, you guys don't know, she's a puppet... you know, a cyborg. Should we send her to the Earth-Balance Commission? It's not that I doubt your medical skills..."
Luocha and Fulisina exchanged a glance, and the former was the first to make a "please" gesture.
"Ahem... For something like repairing puppets, [ Eternity ] is the perfect choice. Before that... what was her name?"
" Xueyi."
"It might hurt a little." She picked up her staff, pointed it at the Xueyi's abdomen, and gently touched it.
"It's no use... My body is a machine-made creation, not made of flesh and blood."
"Ingenuity or flesh and blood, which do you think is closer to [ Eternity ]?"
Bang!
A warm energy enveloped the Xueyi from the inside out, and once it recovered, all the injuries to its body disappeared.
"Amazing, how did you do that?"
Xueyi felt her body transformed, the internal components more sensitive than ever before.
"This, this..." Sushang was stunned. Luocha explained to her, "Miss Sushang, this is definitely not medical skill, but..."
"A little bit of [ Eternity ]."