After returning home, Zero was once again bombarded with messages from Dan Feng.
He ignored them. While pulling Jade over for a rough cuddle, he stared at his chat window with Jingliu.
At first, after receiving the message he sent, Jingliu sent several cat stickers in a row, little cats making heart shapes, little cats snuggling.
After quite a while, Jingliu sent another message.
[Jingliu: I've already talked to Dan Feng. You don't need to mind what he said.]
Zero fell into thought.
He had forwarded Dan Feng's chat log to Jingliu because he wanted to give her a heads-up.
So that if Dan Feng made too big a fuss, Jingliu wouldn't come back and start noticing problems.
But… why did Jingliu go look for Dan Feng? Why tell him not to mind Dan Feng's words?
Was there something wrong with his wording?
Zero carefully looked back at the message he'd sent.
He had deliberately addressed Dan Feng as "Lord Imbibitor Lunae."
This showed clearly that he didn't want his lover's friend to spend money on him.
He even considered that he and Lord Imbibitor Lunae weren't familiar on the surface, so he specifically asked Jingliu to pass the message along for him.
No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing wrong.
He was perfectly in character as an ordinary diviner.
Even the best actors in the whole Star Sea would have to praise him, Zero's acting skills were superb.
Zero couldn't figure out where he'd slipped. As he sat there dazed, Jingliu sent another message.
[Jingliu: What do you mean "just poisoned"?]
At first, Zero only felt puzzled.
What's wrong with that? For him, being poisoned really was just a trivial matter.
Then Zero instantly realized the problem.
In the time before he regained memories of his past life, whenever he encountered bullies he would deliberately walk toward deserted areas; after becoming a diviner he obsessed over slacking, only wanting to stay home, and refused to go out except for work.
Outwardly it seemed like social anxiety, but in truth he simply didn't want to form bonds with others. So very few people could see through his nature.
Once he learned about his past, all his old traits suddenly had explanations.
Why would he walk into empty places when in danger?
First, Zero had the ability to solve the problem.
Second, he had felt for himself the death that his subordinates once experienced, being skewered clean through by a sword.
He had been injured many, many times, so he didn't mind whether he'd encounter danger.
Why did he like slacking off?
Because after thousands of years without rest, upon reincarnating he was already exhausted.
Why did he like staying at home?
Because in those thousands of years, official duties were heavy, and countless enemies wanted to kill him. He didn't want assassins to accidentally harm others because of him.
Zero had barely ever gone out; he only stayed inside his residence.
Now, Zero was just an ordinary diviner. He didn't need to worry about so many things, but the habits he developed over thousands of years had long become instinct.
If he used his current identity to estimate the experiences of the past twenty years…
He hadn't gone to war, hadn't met any mortal enemies, he'd lived peacefully and smoothly.
Someone like that absolutely wouldn't say something like "just poisoned," that casual, indifferent expression.
So what reaction should he have?
Zero couldn't think of what a normal person would do, so he could only try hard to recall.
The only information he had in his mind about "normal people," was the question he once asked the Chief Strategist.
Zero had once asked him, "What would a normal person do if their child went missing?"
The Chief Strategist said, "They would cry."
But how could poisoning be compared to a missing child?
Zero couldn't help sighing. Being a normal person was so hard.
He lowered his head and saw that on the jade communicator, Jingliu had sent another cat-punching sticker, as though waiting for him to explain.
Zero slowly looked at Jade.
The scheming cat who absolutely never appeared before meal time was now showing her soft belly, meowing at Zero, trying to get cat food by acting cute.
Unfortunately, the cat food and canned meat he bought weren't free! It's decided, today it's you!
Zero grabbed Jade, held up the jade communicator, and took several selfies with the cat before typing a complaint.
[Jade really needs to lose weight. She jumps on me every morning and it feels like my ribs are about to break.]
Jingliu stopped pursuing the earlier issue and instead defended Jade.
[Jingliu: She doesn't look fat.]
Zero felt angry that iron couldn't become steel.
Look at how she's eaten herself! She's basically a little half-trailer! Jingliu, your filter for Jade is way too thick!
He continued typing.
[She's really heavy. My chest has cat-paw marks from her weight. I'll take a picture for you next time.]
Once she saw the evidence, Jingliu would definitely take off her filter, right?
This time, for some reason, Jingliu took quite a while before replying.
[Jingliu: Okay.]
Whether dealing with star gods or his subordinates, Zero was always open, forthright, and not fond of lying, didn't even bother to.
When facing Aha, he said he'd kill star gods and meant it.
When facing the Chief Strategist, he had made his intent to kill him perfectly clear.
So he would definitely not lie to his lover.
Aside from hiding his past, he'd say whatever was on his mind. As for the reasons, there were two.
First, he wanted to avoid the typical romance-novel misunderstandings and conflicts caused by characters not using their words.
Second, Jingliu was much younger than him. He needed to be more proactive and more tolerant.
If he could say "I'll kill gods, I'll kill people," then of course he had no trouble saying anything else.
Well, except calling someone "older sister."
Zero very straightforwardly expressed his thoughts, and sent Jingliu a message.
[Master Swordhead is so busy. It's so hard to finally chat with you, but we end up talking about Jade.]
[Is Jade the only one you think about?]
On her end, Jingliu instantly understood the half-sentence Zero hadn't fully said.
Zero meant, 'You only think about Jade… not me?'
To outsiders, he always seemed gentle and steady, as if nothing could make him lose his temper.
But only in front of Jingliu would he show another side.
Was he… acting spoiled toward her?
Jingliu slowly put down her jade communicator and raised a hand to cover her face.
She could clearly feel her covered cheeks gradually heating up.
There was only one thought left in her mind, she really wanted to hurry back to Luofu.
Soon, her rationality returned.
She still couldn't go back yet; she needed to continue leading the Cloud Knights to handle a whole series of follow-up matters.
Jingliu thought, Good thing I'm not the Luofu General.
If she were the General and then met Zero, what would she do?
If she became General, Luofu's future really would be completely predictable at a glance.
For a moment, Jingliu forgot his meaner side. She took a deep breath, lowered her hand from her face, and typed to deny his words.
[No.]
[Not just Jade.]
At this point, Zero should surely understand what she meant, right?
But unexpectedly, he pushed his luck and continued asking.
[Then who else do you think about?]
Jingliu lowered her eyes. She stared at the chat window until Zero sent another message, and only then did she type her reply.
[You.]
Immediately after, she added another message.
[Something urgent came up, I can't chat for now.]
Zero sent several cat-crying stickers.
This time, Jingliu didn't respond.
She couldn't keep chatting.
She was a Cloud Knight; she couldn't drown in romance at a time like this.
Jingliu took a deep breath, stood up, left the tent, and tried to let the cold wind outside cool her burning cheeks.
She suddenly remembered the major criminal they had captured a few days ago.
Since she wasn't busy, she might as well go find her colleagues, maybe ask if they needed help interrogating the prisoner.
Once she had the idea, Jingliu decisively turned and headed toward where the captive was held.
On the way, she ran into the Marshal.
The Marshal wore a frosty expression, staring at his jade communicator with full concentration.
'Probably handling something extremely important?'
Jingliu guessed, and like the other colleagues, didn't rashly approach to disturb him.
Little did she know that while he looked like he was dealing with official matters, Hua was internally falling apart.
On his screen, the Guardian had forwarded all the messages Dragon Lord had sent him straight to Hua.
Hua, "…"
'Lord Imbibitor Lunae, what are you even talking about?'
'Who is the one with eyes clear as a child? The Guardian?'
Hua understood the Guardian far too well.
At a glance, she understood exactly why the Guardian forwarded these messages.
Whenever the Guardian comforted someone, he would only use a way that made people angry to distract them.
If he sent these messages… naturally, it meant he wanted to drag one more person down with him to feel what he was feeling.
If the Guardian had the Chief Strategist's contact info, he probably would've forwarded them to the Strategist too.
Hua quickly thought of a counterattack.
'You want to keep pretending to be a diviner of the Divination Commission in front of Lord Imbibitor Lunae? Too bad, Dragon Lord has already found the most decisive proof.'
She typed mercilessly.
[One of the dragonmasters accidentally tripped and has now shed.]
Zero, "…"
The moment Zero heard this flawless cause of death, he instantly understood why his identity had been exposed.
It wasn't because of his face, it was because of his subordinates.
So it was his subordinates who acted.
Zero couldn't feel resentment toward them. Instinctively, he turned his frustration toward Dan Feng.
Back up ten thousand steps, was Lord Imbibitor Lunae blameless?
He was just an ordinary diviner now. Gaining his favor brought no benefit to the Xianzhou.
If you didn't bring this up when he was Marshal, why bring up a thousand-year-old promise now?
Zero pulled out the psychological test that the Alchemy Commission had made for the Divination Commission and forwarded it to Dan Feng.
[Hurry up and check your brain! Look at what state Dragon Lord has gone insane into!]
Dan Feng sent another message, not responding at all to Zero's very pointed, practically calling him mentally ill, test.
[Dan Feng: Your personality is the same as Yubie described.]
[Dan Feng: He left you a letter, and several jars of wine. Do you still want them?]
Zero blinked slowly, then picked up the meowing cat beside him and scooped her into his arms.
Yubie left him a letter?
Then everything made sense.
Dan Feng hadn't lied to him, after all, he was just a regular diviner now, worthless to the Xianzhou.
And more importantly, Lord Imbibitor Lunae was proud beyond measure, he definitely wouldn't lie to him.
[Dan Feng: He prepared the gifts long ago to apologize to you. For every day you don't accept them, I will add another ten thousand gold coins.]
Zero glanced at the latest message and continued kneading the cat's paw pads with full concentration.
Only when the cat started struggling, then shot away like a wild boar charging forward, did Zero finally pick up his communicator and reply.
[When a Dragon Lord sends a gift, does a diviner like me even have the right to refuse?]
On the other side, Dan Feng seemed to have been waiting for his reply and quickly responded.
[Dan Feng: Today, I am not the Dragon Lord of the Xianzhou. I am only an ordinary man who wants to apologize on behalf of my past life to a friend.]
[Dan Feng: Whether you are Marshal or diviner, if you come, I will always welcome you with the finest hospitality.]
Zero looked at the messages, unable for the moment to understand why Dan Feng would say this.
Could it be that Yubie had written something astonishing in that letter? Something that made Dan Feng, generations removed, so persistent?
His thoughts drifted, remembering that Yubie had once said the exact same words to him.
Yubie had said, "If you come, I will certainly welcome you with the finest hospitality."
They weren't even the same dragon, yet across endless years they gave the same answer.
Zero decided he didn't need to hide his identity from Dan Feng.
His subordinate had already blown his cover.
And Dan Feng's identity was special, he was Jingliu's friend.
In romance stories, the friends of the male and female lead either support the relationship or try to break it apart.
He definitely couldn't let Dan Feng become the one trying to break them apart.
Besides, there was another very important reason, without the Chief Strategist, he had no one to chat with.
Before, he could chat with Jing Yuan, but now that he and Jingliu were dating, it wasn't appropriate to go to Jing Yuan for advice on love.
He counted the people who knew his identity, Hua, Lan, and Aha.
The only reliable, normal person was Hua.
But Hua was a junior. There were many things he wanted to say but couldn't say to a junior.
He couldn't bring himself to discuss these things with Hua.
After bearing pressure for thousands of years, was it too much to want someone who knew the truth to chat with?
Now that Lord Imbibitor Lunae Dan Feng knew his identity, rounding up, he counted as the same generation, right?
And of course, another critical reason, Zero didn't know how to treat his lover correctly.
The simplest way was to follow the advice on forums, but he was too rich, so none of their experiences had reference value.
It was like a billionaire dating, should he follow normal people and give milk tea or dessert?
Now before him was someone equally rich, but extravagantly dramatic, Dan Feng.
Even the ideas Zero found too over-the-top would suddenly seem perfectly normal once he asked Dan Feng.
He could absolutely seek Dan Feng's advice.
Then whatever suggestion the Dragon Lord gave, he could immediately eliminate it as an incorrect option.
As for Dan Feng's extremely unstable mental state…
Zero believed that with him here, Dan Feng would definitely recover.
The more he looked at this strategist, the more satisfied he felt. He immediately forwarded the earlier chat messages that had upset Jingliu.
[How should a normal person talk about being poisoned?]
[Dan Feng: …]
[Dan Feng: I see.]
[Dan Feng: So it was because of you.]
Dan Feng stared at the screenshot he'd been sent, his gaze stuck on one sentence, unable to recover.
The Dragon Lord felt all his scales were about to explode.
'What do you mean "just poisoned? What do you mean I don't need to spend so much for you?'
Dan Feng finally understood why Jingliu had scolded him.
'It wasn't because of me! It was because of you, Marshal! You really know how to talk!'