---o---
Upon hearing someone speak, Stelle strenuously turned her head to look.
Dan Heng pressed a hand to his forehead, looking at the girl perched above him with a hint of exasperation. "Must you sit up there, refusing to move your body and only turning your head?"
"So what! It was hard work getting up here, and no one's making me get down!"
Stelle simply crossed her arms and tilted her head back to gaze at the sky.
Just then, the two people who had spoken walked over.
"And you two are..."
One of them, a white-haired man, frowned as he stared at Dan Heng. Then, he looked up at Stelle, who was sitting on the Iron Golem's shoulder, arms crossed and looking at the sky.
He glanced at Stelle, then couldn't help but lower his head and mutter to the young, red-haired woman beside him.
"Teacher Tribbie, aren't the Holy City's Iron Golems not to be approached casually? Apart from your orders and those of a select few, they're hostile to everyone. How can this young lady climb on top without getting attacked?"
"We don't know either." Tribbie shook her head. Her gaze swept back and forth between Stelle and Dan Heng before finally settling on Dan Heng. Between the two, this man seemed more mature.
"Sir, who are you? Why have you appeared here in the temple ruins? Are you connected to the train carriage that fell from the sky earlier?"
Dan Heng looked at Tribbie with some surprise. He hadn't yet decided whether to reveal everything, but he hadn't expected her to have already noticed the fallen Express carriage.
Seeing that the two seemed a little tense, Tribbie quickly smiled and waved her hands. "There's no need to be so nervous. Perhaps the tone of our questions was a bit sharp. Please rest assured, we mean you no harm."
Just as Tribbie finished speaking, the man beside her added on.
"That's assuming you're not enemies."
Compared to the smiling Tribbie, the man's gaze remained fixed on them with vigilance.
If Tribbie hadn't been by his side, he would have already made a preemptive move to take out Dan Heng, who was gripping his spear.
Dan Heng noticed the man's gaze and proactively stored away the spear in his hands. This action made the man look at him with some surprise, his expression softening slightly.
"We are Nameless Guests from the Astral Express. We come from beyond the sky, so it's normal that you find our faces unfamiliar."
Dan Heng had thought this was just their standard, routine self-introduction. Who would have known that the two people before them would react as if a keyword had been triggered, staring at them in astonishment?
"Nameless Guests?!"
This time, the duo's unusual reaction was so strong that even Stelle, who was still admiring the sky from the Iron Golem's shoulder, sensed something was off and lowered her head to look at them.
"You know of the Astral Express and the Nameless Guests?"
Tribbie and the man exchanged a glance. Instead of answering the question, they began to introduce themselves, their attitudes now much friendlier than before.
The man spoke first. "I am Phainon, from Aedes Elysiae."
Tribbie followed immediately after. "We are Tribbie, the Saintess of Janusopolis."
"The Saintess of Janusopolis?"
Now it was Dan Heng and Stelle's turn to be struck by a keyword. The note Fu Zhu had left them mentioned the Saintess of Janusopolis. However, the name recorded on the note was Tribios. It wasn't Tribbie, but Dan Heng felt that this title of Saintess must be hereditary, and a successor should know something of the past.
With this in mind, Dan Heng eagerly asked Tribbie, "Miss Saintess, do you know of a person named Tribios?"
Upon hearing the name Tribios come from Dan Heng's mouth, both Tribbie and Phainon's eyes widened. The former stated bluntly, "We are Tribios. But why do you know this name?"
Dan Heng and Stelle were overjoyed by the news. They hadn't expected to find a lead on Fu Zhu just a few minutes after arriving. Stelle jumped straight down from the Iron Golem's shoulder.
"My brother said he once spoke with you! You might not remember, but my brother's name is Fu Zhu!"
"What?!"
Both Tribbie and Phainon wore expressions of shock, which soon morphed into something strange as they stared at the two. For a long while, neither of them spoke a word.
Stelle scratched her head, confused. "What's wrong? Why do you have that look on your faces?"
Tribbie let out a soft sigh and said softly, "It has been over a thousand years since I first met Fu Zhu."
Hearing the words "a thousand years," Stelle couldn't help but blurt out, "Holy shit? My brother lived for over a thousand years? Then when can I inherit the family fortune?"
Beside her, Dan Heng's brow twitched violently as he shot Stelle a furious eye-roll.
This is the kind of thing you blurt out at a time like this?
Phainon glanced around before speaking cautiously to the pair. "We cannot confirm your identities for the time being, and matters concerning Mr. Fu Zhu are confidential. This is not the place to talk. Would you please follow us back to the Holy City?"
Dan Heng and Stelle looked at each other, exchanging a glance of mutual understanding before both nodding in agreement.
Right now, what they needed most was information. Even if following these two to the Holy City meant facing some unfair treatment, they both believed that since Tribbie knew Fu Zhu, all misunderstandings would be cleared up as soon as they proved their identities.
"Very well. This way, please."
Phainon and Tribbie led them to the other side of the temple ruins, where an intact section of the structure stood. A considerable number of people had already gathered there. Judging by their attire, some were priests from the temple, while the rest were ordinary people.
After a brief word with Tribbie, Phainon went to arrange for the people to prepare for evacuation. Tribbie, meanwhile, stayed by Dan Heng and Stelle's side to explain some of the matters concerning this place.
As they walked, Tribbie led the two to a caravan composed of several Dromases.
"You will ride the Dromases with us shortly. We are evacuating to the Holy City. This place is no longer safe. Some of the Black Tide monsters have begun to ignore the sunlight and attack the city."
Dan Heng was about to ask what the Black Tide was when one of the Dromases—the most robust of the group—took heavy steps forward, lowered its head towards Stelle, and sniffed her before affectionately nuzzling her with its large head.
"Huh?" Stelle was a bit surprised to be so popular with the Dromas, but she chuckled happily and reached out to stroke its head.
The Dromas immediately took on a comfortable expression, even letting out a purring sound.
Seeing this, Tribbie was quite surprised.
"Strange. MK2000 has only ever been close to us and Cifera. Why is it so affectionate with you now? Could it be because it was hatched by Fu Zhu?"
The moment Stelle heard this, she immediately put her hands on her hips and commanded the MK2000 before her.
"Call me Auntie!"