After a carpet search, the two sides finally found the runaway Sora in a fried chicken shop not far from the ward.
And when they found him, there was still an unfinished drumstick in his mouth.
The two people beside him had been talking when, all of a sudden, a crowd surrounded them in the middle.
Anna had just been about to say something, but Robin quickly stopped her.
Sora brought this on himself, so he could fix it himself.
So the two of them quietly retreated to the side, leaving Sora to enjoy his meal while getting boxed in.
Seeing that, Sora didn't panic at all.
"You shouldn't have come."
"But we still came," the representatives of both sides answered together.
The fried chicken shop owner saw this and thought Sora was some kind of fugitive.
Mainly because this line was way too familiar! It was exactly like those dialogues you only see in movies.
He never expected he'd get to witness a scene like this in real life—he was honestly kind of excited!
And with so many people mobilized at once, including Cangyan's top brass, he couldn't help overthinking it.
He was already planning to confess Sora's "extravagant behavior" earlier, in hopes of leniency.
Under his gaze, Sora calmly set down the bone in his hand.
The bone was spotless—there wasn't a shred of chicken left. With just that gleaming clean bone, Sora could apply to become the universe's "Clean Plate Campaign" spokesperson.
Everyone's eyes were on Sora, waiting for him to speak.
"But even if you came, you won't get anything..."
Sora's mouth curled, and he flashed a Dragon King–level grin:
"...Because I already ate it all!"
"Even if you came, don't think I'm treating, hahahahahaha!"
He might not be as broke as before, but he still knew how to spend.
This whole crowd—roughly speaking, there had to be at least twenty or thirty people.
If he covered all their stomachs, he'd be hemorrhaging money!
Good thing he'd cleaned the food out like a pro. Next, don't even think about squeezing a single coin out of him!
But neither side showed any reaction to Sora's world-shaking maneuver.
They just silently stared at Sora sitting in the center, and the scene turned bleakly quiet for a moment.
It was like he'd unknowingly created an awkward silence—and that atmosphere also made Sora rein himself in.
"Uh, fine. If you guys really want to eat, I can treat."
Can you not make it look like I'm the one who caused this whole scene, okay?
Just as Sora started doubting whether he really had zero sense of humor, the atmosphere finally shifted—
Because someone stepped out at this exact moment, breaking the deadlock!
"Since you said that, then why don't we take this chance to have a proper contest!"
It was Titania. She stepped forward and chose this moment to launch a competition.
"Let's compete—see who can eat more!"
She picked the perfect moment to issue a duel challenge!
Sora had already eaten several portions; if they competed now, he'd definitely be at a disadvantage.
That was exactly what she was banking on, so she chose this moment to speak up.
But Titania's scheme was doomed to fail.
Because one after another, figures moved past her and came to Sora's front, speaking to him.
The Iron Cavalry's representatives!
Even though it had only been a short time since they'd parted, the moment they saw him again, their hearts still surged with emotion.
They had countless thoughts they wanted to tell the person in front of them, but when it came to their lips, none of it could come out.
In the end, only one sentence remained, hovering over the scene:
"Welcome back."
Yeah. "Welcome back" was already enough.
At least—he came back safe.
After that awkward lull, the scene suddenly turned lively.
The Federation group had already made contact with Sora, while the few on Cangyan's side looked a little lonely over there.
"Are all of you seriously going to just stand here watching?"
Xi's words snapped the Cangyan side back to their senses.
She could understand why Feng Liqi didn't go over—her personality was just like that.
But why were the rest of them also showing zero intention of moving?
Don't tell her all those things they said back then were only ever mouth-talk. If that was true, it would be way too interesting.
Xi's words steeled their resolve.
Sure, a reunion after hundreds of years made it feel like this wasn't the right place—
But if they didn't step forward now, Sora would probably get kidnapped away in the blink of an eye.
"I'll go!"
Jin Xing charged first!
She believed that with the tacit understanding between her and Sora, this tug-of-war scene would definitely make it into this Amber Era's "Top Ten Most Moving Xianzhou Moments."
The bond between me and him crosses time, surpasses space!
Jin Xing went in brimming with momentum. She looked insanely confident—every step had that fierce, tiger-like swagger.
Under normal development, Jin Xing would intimidate the other side with sheer presence.
So her performance toward Sora should have been...
The closer she got, the more that condindent stride turned... awkwardly coy!
And when she reached Sora's side, she even blurted out:
"Um, um... d-do y-you... you still remember me? Hehe..."
In an instant, it was like everyone watching had their worldview shatter across the floor.
What was with that fangirly line?!
Was this really the Fangyuan Dragon Lord who'd always been overflowing with presence and acted with thunderous decisiveness?!
In the past, the Dragon Lord was always bold and sweeping in every setting—heroic in action, wild in style, hugely popular across all of Cangyan.
And now you're telling them this squirmy, bashful creature is their Fangyuan Dragon Lord?
Who would believe that?!
Fake! This was absolutely fake!
Jin Xing couldn't be bothered with what the Cangyan onlookers were thinking. Right now, the only thing she cared about was what was in front of her.
So much time had passed since then—did Sora still remember her?
But of course he did. Even if a hundred years passed, the bond between her and Sora wouldn't change one bit!
He would recognize her!
"Oh!" Sora's eyes widened, looking like he recognized her.
See?! See?! This is our bond!
Jin Xing stopped being bashful, puffed her chest out again, and her whole spirit returned to how it used to be.
"You're Chenxing, right? How could I forget?"
Pfft.
Jin Xing suddenly felt like a sword had stabbed straight through her chest.
The next second, she walked right into a corner and started drawing circles.
There was no bond at all. It was all lies...
Fangyuan Dragon Lord—Sunk!
Ah—Sora looked at Jin Xing crouched in the corner drawing circles and immediately felt this was going to be difficult.
Did I take the joke too far?
And his reaction also made the other people peeking from the side understand: Sora hadn't forgotten them.
Getting that confirmation, they finally let out a breath.
Good. Good.
Now that they had a positive answer, the rest of them naturally wouldn't be as constrained and awkward as Jin Xing.
They exchanged glances, then surged forward together.
"Long time no see..." Ahri walked in front, smiling at Sora. "Sora-gege."
The entire place fell into silence in that instant.
Especially Anna—she stared at Ahri, who looked several sizes larger than her from every angle, her eyes full of disbelief.
Then, connecting it to the other's Denizens of the Abundance identity, that line became even more baffling.
No—! You look way older than me. No, you look older than Sora by several rounds.
How dare you call him "big brother"?! I've never even called him that...
Ahem.
Anyway, Ahri calling Sora "big brother" shocked everyone present.
After all, Ahri had been their guide before, and their relationship hadn't gotten that tense.
And precisely because of that, it made them even more stunned.
More importantly—when the hell did Sora and this Foxian even meet?!
"Did I skip a chunk of the plot somewhere?"
Otherwise why was there suddenly such an incomprehensible ultra-development?!
"I get it!" Just then, Unkyō clapped her hands and spoke up.
Everyone's gaze snapped to her.
What do you get now, you little—
"She's definitely planning to use the her fox ears and tail to make Sora forget to go home!"
Back in the IPC, there had once been a poll asking:
In the universe, who could resist touching those special parts on demi-human species?
And the answer was: nobody could resist!
And she didn't even think a single Foxian was enough—she even specifically added a setting:
A Foxian little sister calling Sora "big brother"!
Under such repeated assaults, anyone would hook after a single "gege"!
"What a terrifying offense—what a horrifying threat!" Unkyō unconsciously took two steps back.
That offense was way too strong. She couldn't even imagine what kind of methods the Federation would need to use to withstand it!
Facing the "threat" Unkyō described, Titania stood there with arms crossed.
"Relax. That guy is my nemesis—how could he be easily bewitched by a move like that?"
Did she not know Sora?
There was no way he'd be conquered by some Foxian little sister offensive!
"But..." Fenille wanted to say something, but Titania cut her off immediately.
"No 'but.' I trust him!"
"But they're already getting close over there..."
Fenille pointed toward Sora and Ahri, who had already started getting close.
Huh?!
Titania froze, and when she looked again, she realized the situation over there seemed completely different from what she'd imagined.
Sora was already talking with that Foxian, like they were resonating with each other.
"I can't believe it's really you, Ahri."
Sora stared at Ahri—who was nearly as tall as he was now—his face full of disbelief.
That little girl who used to only reach his waist had, in the blink of an eye, turned into such a mature woman.
And the reason he could make such a comparison was because an immeasurable amount of time had rushed past.
Time made girls grow, made them mature.
Sora could only barely catch a trace of her old self in the corners of her eyes.
But if he remembered right, at the very end back then, Bolue made the ABUNDANCE blessing resonate and caused all Borisin and Foxians to lose human form.
That change was irreversible. Even after they came out of Rahu's stomach, they were still a bunch of huge foxes.
Yet from what Ahri looked like now, it seemed she'd found a way to solve it.
Even though, right now, Sora still had questions in his heart with no answers.
But as long as she was safe, that was already Sora's greatest comfort.
After meeting Ahri, Sora's gaze locked onto the people behind her.
Only... the person standing in front of him now—Sora really didn't recognize her.
"Maybe if I change my hairstyle, Mr. Sora will be able to recognize me."
Yu Yi didn't hesitate. She directly swung her sword and cut off her hair.
Countless black strands fell to the ground, setting off her face with sharp, heroic lines.
And that androgynous face immediately made Sora think of someone from the past.
"It's you!"
It's Yu Qi, the brat!
No—wait, he isn't a brat anymore.
Sora swept him up and down carefully. If you ignored the clothes and a few physiological traits...
Then what stood in front of him was basically just a grown-up Yu Qi.
"That's right. It's me."
"Damn, you actually kept it from me for that long!"
Sora truly hadn't expected there'd been a tomboy following around at his side back then.
"Master only had two disciples. Back then the situation was special, so I had to step in immediately. I had no choice but to keep it from you for a while, sir."
Still, that counted as a small matter. After all, Sora didn't really care about his friends' gender.
But when it came to Yu Qi, Sora still couldn't help feeling emotional.
"Didn't expect the biggest change after we meet again would be you."
Not just gender, not just looks—even the personality had changed drastically.
Sora could hardly believe the person in front of him was the Yu Qi from before.
"If I stayed as immature as I used to be, wouldn't that be letting down the guidance you and Master gave me, sir?"
Back then, in youth, she'd put "dignity" above everything.
Now, after so long, after so much, after seeing so much, she'd long since washed away the lead and all the flash, her original heart unchanged.
After the two of them reunited, Sora's gaze naturally shifted to the last one.
"I really didn't expect you'd still be alive..."
Sora looked at the white-gold flame burning before him, his tone full of surprise.
Back then, Xi had merged with the Flame Lord, and in the end, amid the rampage of the Path of VORACITY, she'd completely split into countless flames.
Normally speaking, Xi should've split apart and disappeared for good.
But somehow, Sora was seeing this guy here again.
"You could say this is another kind of rebirth."
The reason Xi could awaken again all relied on one person's efforts.
"If you're really that curious, ask that person."
Xi shifted aside, revealing the azure flame behind her—its fire reduced to the smallest possible flicker.
No need for more. Sora had already recognized who it really was.
"In a reunion scene like this, someone who can still be this cowardly—there's probably nobody else besides Feng Liqi."
Yeah. Only she would still hide behind others in this kind of setting.
Only she would be this unreliable.
But toward Feng Liqi, Sora didn't say much. He only said one thing:
"You did great back then."
Feng Liqi's flame trembled, actually swelling a little larger.
"If it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't be able to meet here today."
Even if this idiot used the most passionate tone to say the most timid words—
You couldn't deny that without Feng Liqi, their odds of escaping Rahu's stomach were pitifully low.
If she hadn't gathered the Mount Buzhou relics and formed a sky-canopy, Sora probably could've only taken a few people and fled from there at most.
So Feng Liqi had already exceeded Sora's expectations back then.
"All of it was your doing, Feng Liqi."
Hearing those words she'd been thinking about for hundreds of years, Feng Liqi finally stopped hiding.
That tiny azure flame gradually expanded, finally becoming a figure scratching her head with a stupid grin.
"Hehe, it's not that good... hehe... say a couple more nice things, will you...?"
Seeing this, everyone could only helplessly spread their hands—like, we don't know this person.
The one who ruled Cangyan was the Fearless General, not this Feng Liqi who could only grin like an idiot.
With that, Sora had basically shown his face to all the people in Cangyan who'd been fixated on him.
You could say—aside from the Dragon Lord still crouched in the corner drawing circles—everyone else was pretty satisfied with this reunion.
As for what to do about the Dragon Lord's gloomy mood?
"Jin Xing, stop spacing out over there!"
With that shout, the Fangyuan Dragon Lord revived at full HP on the spot, standing up immediately.
"Haha! I knew it—our bond is so strong you definitely wouldn't forget me!"
To revive the Dragon Lord from depression, all you needed was a line that simple.
Of course, it only worked when said by one person.
If you weren't that person, then if you wanted to know how to cheer the Dragon Lord up, you could maybe refer to what prisoners in the Flame Prison experienced.
...
After everyone got to know each other again, both sides finally realized their earlier hostility had mostly come from misunderstandings.
Now, with Sora in the middle to mediate, the Federation and the Xianzhou temporarily returned to their former peace.
As for how Sora mediated it—if you said it out loud, some people probably wouldn't even believe you.
He just... took a tour around the entire Xianzhou.
With Jin Xing accompanying him, he visited the major scenic spots he'd helped build back then.
Then on the Rooftop, he traded swords with Yu Yi—and in the end, Yu Yi lost to Sora.
And finally, finally, Sora went with Tushan Ahri to the Mount Buzhou ruins, and saw several moss-covered graves.
"This is where the Elder—our clan leader back then—is buried. Also the former General Futian, and the Sword Champion who died in that battle."
Three tombstones stood here, looking cut off from the world.
Futian probably never imagined that in the end, he'd be buried alongside the Sword Champion again—though the Sword Champion's was only a cenotaph.
And beyond that, there were countless stone steles outside.
All of them were to commemorate the people who died in that battle.
And at the very center, a patch of ground had been left empty.
Ahri didn't hide its purpose at all. "This was actually reserved for you, Sora-gege..."
"But now it looks like we don't need it."
Back when Sora's whereabouts were unknown, everyone discussed it and left a space in the middle.
They'd agreed: if everyone besides Feng Liqi died, then Feng Liqi would build Sora's grave here.
But luck seemed to be on their side.
Before anyone had left, Sora had already returned.
Sora stared at that empty space, feeling something weird in his chest.
Good thing he came back fast—otherwise he'd have mysteriously gained an extra grave.
If he hadn't come back this time, then that tombstone would've been cursing him... or cursing him?
What Sora was thinking, Ahri didn't know.
But now that Sora was back, she had one thing she wanted to ask him to help with...
...
"You're saying the Xianzhou wants to do what?"
Robin dug at her ear in disbelief. She couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard.
"That's right. Make a movie."
Sora spread his hands, his expression helpless to the extreme.
Yes. The thing Ahri asked Sora for in the end was: let's make a movie!
"They want to shoot a film based on an old myth, and they specifically invited me to play the male lead."
As for which myth Cangyan picked...
Guess what festival Cangyan is celebrating right now?
That's right—Heaven-Mending Creation!
Only, it wasn't some ordinary Heaven-Mending Creation they were filming. It was a Heaven-Mending Creation that had been continued and heavily "adapted."
Anyway, the moment Sora read the script, he felt an inexplicable shame.
Good lord. The way they hyped him up made Sora feel like he'd already ascended and become an AEON at some point.
So after accepting the commission, Sora went to ask Robin—who often made films—about it.
Only Robin was staring at the script in her hands, deep in thought.
"Sora, do you know who's playing the female lead in this script?"
"Huh? I don't think casting has even started yet—wait, why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Nothing. I just suddenly realized some things are better taught to you face to face."
Huh? Sora froze.
Didn't he come to ask Robin whether he should take this filming job?
How was Robin already planning to teach him how to act?
Th-this isn't right?!
Robin didn't know what Sora was thinking.
Because she'd just carefully read through the script, and inside it, she found a special role—
The female lead who ran through the story from start to finish.
This female lead picked up the male lead at the beginning, and stayed with him almost all the way to the ending—she basically threaded through the entire script.
And the most key, key thing was: the female lead had an intimate scene with the male lead.
It was before the big battle, but that intimate scene could be called extremely bold.
She even saw words like "merge into one" and the like—only a few, but already enough to hint at the scale of that intimate scene.
Just that scene alone was enough to make her come and fight for the female lead role!
So she quickly went to Cangyan to look into the filming plan and casting.
She was, after all, a superstar known across the Galaxy. Snagging a role should be easy, right?
But what Robin didn't expect was—the female lead spot had already been taken.
"Rigged. This is clearly, blatant rigging!"
Sora had said the film was still in the preparation stage, yet the female lead role was already assigned.
If that wasn't rigging, what was?
They were absolutely eyeing the female lead's intimate scene with Sora—that had to be why they invited Sora to play the male lead!
Meanwhile, Jin Xing, who was interviewing actors on-site, simply placed a line of text in front of her.
[All explanations for this film belong to Cangyan.]
"Damn it. If that's the case, then I'll use my final trump card!"
Since the female lead spot had already been occupied, Robin could only set her sights on the female second lead—the role that had scenes with Sora.
Though to be honest, the parts where she actually interacted with Sora mostly concentrated at the beginning.
After she lost, everything else would basically require Robin to voice-act.
And then, some of the casting list left Robin full of disbelief.
Sora's little sister would be played by Anna, the human leader would be played by Fenille...
And of course, you couldn't be missing Titania as the final boss.
"If Sora's that guy is the protagonist, then I absolutely need an identity that stands opposite him!"
If Sora was the protagonist, then she would be the ultimate BOSS bringing Sora trouble!
So under those cheers, the final boss role for this movie went to Titania.
As for whether Titania could portray even a shred of that character's wisdom—they didn't really care.
Because even with world-shaking wisdom, the ending was still failure anyway.
And so, after countless people enthusiastically signed up to participate in the film, the final cast list was confirmed.
But when Robin got the list and looked closely, she realized everyone in it seemed to be someone she knew.
That's right—in this myth film hosted by Cangyan, there were surprisingly few actual Cangyan people mixed in.
This movie slowly shifted from a Cangyan-led myth adaptation into a joint performance between both sides.
And inside the Federation, after hearing that Sora and Titania were participating, the enthusiasm skyrocketed.
Some people even came to negotiate cooperation with the Cangyan.
As for why everyone else joined the film...
Ask them, and each one went silent.
Very clearly, everyone had the same target: the female lead role.
Only after learning the female lead was already assigned, they all backed off to grab other roles instead.
Everyone wanted to know who Cangyan had given the female lead spot to.
Anyway, in the end, it somehow turned into a Cangyan–Federation co-produced movie—
And in a truly surreal way, filming began...
---
T/N: YEAAAAAAASDFSFAIFHIASFOIASFHIOASHIOFHASIO this is awesome
...
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