"Hey, Brother Lucian!" Baiheng immediately flashed a dazzling smile that was almost blinding. "I brought you Starfish Vintage—have your tastes changed?"
Upon hearing this, Lucian was slightly stunned.
'You came all the way here, with all those bandages on your head, just to give me wine?' Lucian thought, feeling speechless.
Seeing Baiheng's current condition and hearing her bring up the wine he had casually mentioned during their past chat, he couldn't help but make a bold guess.
Was the reason she had never visited again in the past two years because she went to find Starfish Vintage?
"Your head... What happened?" Lucian did not pay attention to the wine but instead asked about Baiheng's injury first.
"Ahh, I just fell while walking..." Baiheng said with a grin, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. "It's alright—it's just a scratch! It doesn't hurt at all and will be fine in a couple of days."
Even though she said that, Lucian was not stupid and knew that this kind of injury could not have come from just a mere fall.
In the first place, the foxians had the blessing of Abundance from birth, so even if they weren't that strong, any injury they sustained should heal quickly. Given this, for Baiheng to need bandages meant her head must have been, at the very least, pierced through, not just scratched.
"Master, who is it?"
Just then, Jingliu appeared behind Lucian, asking curiously.
"Sister Jingliu! I bring good stuff, everyone gets a share!"
Seeing Jingliu, Baiheng spoke cheerfully and immediately offered another bottle of wine from her other hand.
As Lucian glanced at the bottle of wine, sure enough, just like him, it was also the wine Jingliu had casually mentioned before—Stardust Tears.
"You..."
Jingliu was slightly surprised, never expecting that something she had casually said to brush Baiheng off two years ago would actually appear before her now.
Honestly, she could not deny she was truly moved.
Looking at the bandages on Baiheng's head, she must have suffered quite a lot, yet she still smiled brightly the same way, her eyes always brimming with warmth.
"You..." Jingliu frowned, her gaze falling on the bandage covering Baiheng's head, then at her pale complexion. "What happened to you?"
"Ahahaha, fell while walking..." Baiheng laughed awkwardly while scratching her nose. "You know I'm always unlucky."
"Fell while walking?" Lucian chimed in, then huffed. "It's more like you crashed your starskiff again."
"Hehe, I knew I couldn't hide it from you—hiss..." Baiheng said while waving her hand carelessly, but the wide movement tugged at her injury, causing her to flinch and grit her teeth in pain. "W-Well... I ran into an asteroid belt on the way. Turbulent storms then tossed me around, so my starskiff crashed, and when I escaped... I tripped and hit my head."
"You lied." Jingliu said with a serious expression. "Your injuries... It's because you went to find these two bottles of wine, didn't you?"
"No, no, no, I just got them on the way!" Baiheng quickly shook her head. "I had missions to fight abominations where these two wines were anyway, so when I remembered that you liked them, I just brought them."
Upon hearing this, Lucian and Jingliu exchanged silent glances.
They both knew it was a clumsy lie—after all, they were well aware that the Xianzhou Yaoqing had been fighting elsewhere for the past two years.
In other words, Baiheng had deliberately gone out of her way to search for their favorite wines.
Clearly, it was because she had once been saved by them that she was so determined to repay that kindness through these wines.
Understanding this, it was hard for Lucian and Jingliu not to be moved.
"Thank you... Come drink with us."
Jingliu sighed, then took the initiative to invite Baiheng inside.
At first, she had thought this foxian woman was a threat—a seductress skilled in sweet talk—but she couldn't deny she was touched by her act.
So sincere, so passionate, so willing to give—there was no reason not to accept someone like that.
Soon enough, the three sat together, raising their cups in a toast.
However, each time Baiheng tilted her head back to drink, she grimaced in pain, making her look rather comical.
"Come, let me fix your head." Lucian beckoned with his hand.
"Brother Lucian, are you calling me stupid?" Baiheng pouted, looking displeased.
"He meant it literally—fixing your wound." Jingliu said with a chuckle.
She knew that no matter the injury, once it was wrapped with her master's miraculous bandage, it would be as good as new.
"Let me say this first—your clothes will disappear as a side effect, but I promise I won't look." Lucian explained the side effect bluntly, afraid of being misunderstood.
"Mm, I trust you." Baiheng nodded, cooperating obediently.
Not wasting time, she was wrapped like a mummy in the next moment and tossed onto Jingliu's bed—Lucian had even thoughtfully left her a set of new clothes.
A few minutes later, Baiheng came out dressed, and now that she was fully recovered, she was once again bright, dazzling, and radiant as before.
Especially her smile—it was so sunny, so warm, and so infectious.
"Yay! Full health revival!" Baiheng grinned and raised a victory sign, looking a little childish.
"Well, now you're much easier on the eyes." Jingliu remarked casually, unable to help but smile.
In the next moment, Baiheng suddenly darted over to Lucian, hugging his arm and bursting with praise.
"Brother Lucian, you can not only repair starskiffs but also heal injuries—you're amazing!"
"With you around, I don't have to fear getting hurt! It feels so safe!"
"If I were as strong as you, I'd definitely inherit the spirit of the Nameless, travel across the starry seas, and quickly board the legendary Astral Express!"
Baiheng's eyes shone as she spoke of the Nameless endlessly—her left arm clung to Lucian's, her right hand pointing to the sky.
Lucian, infected by her cheerful, positive energy, could not help but laugh.
Truly, with such a lively and beautiful woman at his side, it was impossible not to smile.
Baiheng was practically a cure for depression.
Jingliu, seeing Baiheng's closeness with her master, surprisingly sat silently by, watching their interaction with a calm expression.
If it had been before, she would have immediately driven Baiheng away for daring to cling to Lucian's arm, but now...
"A little more liveliness at home isn't so bad..." Jingliu muttered quietly before lifting her cup and draining the Stardust Tears brought by Baiheng in one go. "Baiheng... do you want to join the Heavenly Ascendant?"
Hearing such a sudden question, Baiheng froze for a second, then pointed at herself.
"...Me? Can I...? But if I join... (you'll be unlucky and might die.)" Baiheng replied hesitantly and paused after saying 'join,' not daring to say the rest.
"You just said yourself that with me around, you don't fear getting hurt." Lucian chimed in, smiling calmly. "So? What's your answer? Will you join us? Just so you know, it's unprecedented for Jingliu to invite someone on her own initiative, y'know."
Upon hearing this, Baiheng stared blankly at him, then slowly turned to the nonchalant Jingliu.
Truthfully, she had never expected or imagined anyone would invite her to be part of their group, so when these two actually invited her to their group—not just any group, but the group of the two legendary sword immortals she idolized—she was utterly at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.
Baiheng lowered her head for a moment, then quickly raised it.
"I will! I will join!" Baiheng exclaimed loudly before tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you... Thank you for not fearing my curse… I'm... I'm so happy, hiks…"
Her eyes filled with tears, yet her mouth curved into a smile—the contrast made her look quite comical—but thankfully, her beauty was striking enough that even a comical expression looked good on her.
"I promise I won't drag you down!" Baiheng continued with a determined tone and hugged Lucian's arm tighter through her tears.
Seeing this, Jingliu could no longer stand it and stepped forward.
"Enough..." Jingliu said helplessly while prying Baiheng off Lucian. "You look ugly when you cry, so smile more from now on."
"Heehee~" Baiheng wiped her tears, then giggled with a dumb-looking grin.
Seeing her like this, Jingliu had wanted to be jealous, but how could she be now?
Baiheng was simply impossible to dislike.
'Forget it...' Jingliu thought silently, feeling helpless. 'If Master liked her, then I can accept her...'
Just like that, from this day onward, Baiheng became part of the Heavenly Ascendant and was no longer a starskiff ace pilot of the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
Of course, just like in the original story with the High-Cloud Quintet, Baiheng also became the darling and mascot of the Heavenly Ascendant.
Day by day, Lucian, Jingliu, and Baiheng fought side by side across countless battlefields—but Baiheng was mostly only responsible for cheering, mainly because Lucian and Jingliu worried she would get herself killed.
It couldn't be helped.
From what had happened before, if Baiheng ever flew a starskiff and went out of their sight, she would definitely crash. Her jinxed mouth was, after all, legendary—if she ever spoke a bad omen, even if not one hundred percent, ninety-nine percent would always come true.
In fact, rather than legendary, her jinxed mouth was practically already reaching the realm of the divine.
Fortunately, Lucian himself was a conceptual, cheating existence, able to protect her from harm.
As time passed, the three of them had unknowingly already spent ten years together, becoming closer and closer.
===
One ordinary evening, Baiheng suddenly ran up to Lucian with a big smile, proudly waving a ticket in front of him.
"Lucian, I won a hot spring discount coupon! Let's bring Jingliu and go soak together!"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]