Seeing that Hua refused to speak, Zero closed the chat window and turned to ask Tengxiao.
[Tengxiao: Since you've asked…]
Tengxiao sent over an image and a report.
One of the images was the obituary of the former Marshal.
It didn't list a time of death or the cause, only announced the news of his passing and invited guests to attend the burial ceremony.
The other file was a report from the Cangcheng Laboratory.
Zero skimmed through it quickly, eyes flying over the lines.
Over a hundred researchers had died.
Their time of death matched exactly the day the obituary was released.
Zero instinctively bit down on his fork and slowly closed the jade communicator.
He didn't know how to describe what he was feeling at that moment.
All the questions he'd had earlier, when he saw that same date, instantly had an answer.
No wonder, no wonder the progress in Cangcheng had been delayed again and again.
But why?
Zero didn't keep digging into the question.
The last time he'd gotten an answer wrong, it had taken him hundreds of years to finally understand the truth.
He lowered his eyes, holding his fork, and began eating the fruit platter.
"Are you leaving early?"
Jingliu leaned close, lowering her voice.
Zero turned his head instinctively to look at her.
Usually so mindful of keeping personal space, he didn't notice how close they were this time.
Right now, they could both feel each other's breath.
Jingliu froze for a second, bit her lip, and quickly stepped back.
Suppressing her flustered feelings, she met Zero's eyes and repeated, "Are you going to leave?"
She knew he wasn't feeling well.
Jingliu didn't know the reason… but maybe taking him away from here would help?
Zero slowly shook his head, his gaze falling on the jars of wine Dan Feng had prepared earlier. He smiled and said, "The wine isn't finished yet, I don't want to miss Lord Dragon Lord's fine brew."
Beside them, Jing Yuan and the others were gathered around the cat.
Jing Yuan was calling "mimi" to get the cat's attention, but when he heard Zero's words, he perked up immediately, chest puffed out, "I want to drink too..."
Yingxing said with disdain, "Drink what? Go have your milk!"
Baiheng was swishing her fox tail, trying to compete with Dan Feng, who had conjured a dragon tail, for the cat's attention. Hearing Jing Yuan's protest, she chimed in,
"Yeah, go drink your milk!"
Dan Feng stood with arms crossed, face calm and composed as he used his dragon tail to tease the cat.
This kind of undignified competition was, of course, not Dan Feng's original intention.
He'd just seen Baiheng failing to get the cat's attention with her tail, and got a sudden impulse to join in.
The cat spun in circles chasing Dan Feng's tail, jumping again and again but never catching the emerald-green tip.
The corners of Dan Feng's mouth lifted slightly.
Unsurprisingly, the Dragon Lord triumphed over the fox and won the cat's favor.
Dan Feng withdrew his tail and added, almost lazily, "Jing Yuan, remember to drink your goat milk. My attendant prepared it especially for you."
Jing Yuan, "…"
'Did they all forget that Zero is only twenty?!'
'Why can Zero drink, but not me?!'
Powerless and furious, Jing Yuan could only watch as Dan Feng unsealed the wine jar and Yingxing urged Zero to drink.
Baiheng was the first to notice Jing Yuan's gloomy mood and sighed.
"Well, who could've guessed Zero's age? Jingliu and I drank with him a few times before we even found out how old he was."
Jing Yuan, 'So you two just gave up pretending, huh?!'
He grumpily buried his face in the cat's fur to soothe his wounded pride.
Meanwhile, Yingxing slung an arm over Zero's shoulders and poured him a hearty cup of wine.
Zero smiled, picked up the cup, and drank it all in one go.
Seeing him finish, Yingxing refilled it, and before long, Zero had downed several cups in a row.
Jingliu's instincts screamed that something was off.
She narrowed her eyes, first looking toward Yingxing, who was encouraging him to drink.
Yingxing was never good at hiding his emotions, nor did he bother trying. He was straightforward, never the type for subtle schemes.
Seeing nothing suspicious on his face, Jingliu turned to the one most likely to be up to mischief, Jing Yuan.
But Jing Yuan was completely focused on petting the cat, looking like he had nothing to do with any of this.
So she turned her gaze to Dan Feng.
The Dragon Lord was watching her and Zero with a faint smile.
Jingliu frowned helplessly and was about to question him when Dan Feng spoke first.
"You asked me last time," he said, "how to deal with someone who doesn't care about their own safety…"
His sudden words caught her attention.
Dan Feng continued, "I looked into some records, people like that tend to have self-destructive tendencies. They love to say the opposite of what they mean and keep pushing away those who care about them."
Before Jingliu could reply, there came a dull thud.
She turned and saw Zero, who had been laughing with Yingxing just moments ago, slump forward face-first onto the table.
Dan Feng spoke softly, "He's just having a drink buried alongside the previous Marshal, that's all."
Jingliu, "…"
'This wine has been sealed for hundreds, no, thousands, of years. Can you even drink that?!'
The Swordmaster glared daggers at Dan Feng.
He sighed, ignoring her murderous stare, and went over to check Zero's pulse. After confirming he was fine, he urged her, "Go on, take him home."
Jing Yuan looked utterly lost, clutching the cat in his arms.
And then, under Dan Feng's somewhat startled gaze, Zero suddenly opened his eyes as Jingliu held him up.
Zero shook his head hard, trying to clear it.
He looked at the close-by Jingliu and murmured softly, "Let's go home."
His eyes were unfocused, gazing into hers. When he saw her cheeks flush, he slowly nodded.
Jingliu took his arm, shot the others a glare, and turned to leave.
The remaining four stayed behind. When the pair's figures had disappeared, Yingxing sighed.
"Dan Feng, your idea actually worked."
He still couldn't believe it, earlier, Dan Feng had told him to get Zero drunk.
For a friend, Yingxing would do anything, so, without hesitation, he poured Zero an entire pot of wine.
Yingxing asked, "Don't tell me this was your idea. Come on, which storybook did you get it from?"
Dan Feng's eyes flicked toward Jing Yuan, and Baiheng immediately understood.
The fox jumped up on tiptoe and covered Jing Yuan's ears with both hands.
Once the only "minor" in the room was properly shielded, Dan Feng rattled off the names of several storybooks.
He explained that he had specifically ordered his attendants to buy the most popular ones, the top-selling titles.
'If so many readers loved them, the stories' tricks must work, right?'
After all, to some extent, storybooks reflect the truest desires in people's hearts.
Dan Feng had even consulted some trusted clansmen and, after discussion, decided that getting someone drunk was the best tactic.
As the saying goes, after a few drinks, the truth comes out.
In those storybooks, after the hero and heroine drank together, they always confessed their true feelings, and their relationship took a step forward.
Considering Jing Yuan couldn't drink, Dan Feng finally understood why those storybooks were labeled for adults only.
After all, anyone under two hundred wasn't allowed to drink, it was perfectly reasonable for Jing Yuan to be excluded.
Dan Feng concluded, quite seriously, "In short, they're storybooks Jing Yuan isn't allowed to read."
The other three, "…"
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