"Yes. There are things he can do, but the people he cares about can't."
"Pretty unfair, right?", As she spoke, Hua suddenly got an idea.
When the time came, she could bring Daiyang and Chanzhen along, put a blade to her own neck, and her guardian definitely wouldn't try to die again.
She took a deep breath and raised her hand to pick up the top document pouch containing the marriage materials.
"Your application… honestly, I'm very conflicted."
"From an official standpoint, he doesn't meet the standards for a Cloud Knight's spouse. With his psychological condition, he wouldn't pass the Alchemy Commission's medical exam."
"I also don't want my subordinate marrying someone like that. It might affect your condition on the front lines…"
Before she could finish, Jingliu suddenly interrupted her, "Marshal, I joined the Cloud Knights when I was fifteen…"
Jingliu paused for a moment, trying to dig through her memories to find enemies who had died by her sword, carefully selecting a few examples who could at least withstand a few exchanges and were worthy enough to mention before the Marshal.
For example, the Feather Guard of the Wingweavers, the Nest Father of the Borisin… even war beasts as massive as mountains could not withstand a single strike from her.
Hua listened quietly.
She listened as Jingliu listed her achievements one by one.
What Jingliu meant between the lines was that she had always fulfilled her duties during her service, never letting outside matters affect her execution of official responsibilities.
Jingliu was trying to prove that marrying Zero would not affect her performance on the front lines.
Hua looked at Jingliu and suddenly asked, "Is it for the pension?"
Jingliu's pupils trembled for a moment. Her expression froze instantly, like someone whose thoughts had just been exposed.
For a moment, Hua didn't know what to say.
No wonder. No wonder Jingliu was so determined to marry that person.
If something happened to a Cloud Knight, the Xianzhou would grant a generous pension based on their years of service and military achievements.
Only direct family. Only a spouse could receive that money.
When it came to wealth, who could possibly compare to her guardian?
But Jingliu… had nothing left she could give him.
Only military merit. Only… the pension after dying in battle.
Hua looked at the document pouch containing the transfer agreement. After hesitating for a moment, she picked it up and handed it to Jingliu.
This bomb was going to explode sooner or later.
And with her guardian's mouth… it would probably only make the explosion worse.
Hua gave a bitter smile.
"Looks like what he prepared for you… falls far short of what you're willing to give him."
Jingliu took the document pouch. The moment it landed in her hands, she felt it was heavier than the ones she had handled before, as if it contained quite a lot of paper.
She opened the pouch and took out all the documents inside.
On the very top cover were the four large characters, "Transfer Agreement."
Jingliu's breathing stalled. She hurriedly picked up one agreement, flipped to the last page, and saw the name she had personally written.
She moved quickly, putting that one down and picking up another. She didn't look at what assets had been given to her, only at the signature at the end.
Jingliu's face turned cold as she flipped through more than half of the transfer agreements before finally stopping.
Zero had lied to her again.
She gripped the papers tightly until her knuckles turned pale.
She recalled their conversation back then.
At the time, Zero had insisted on preparing a property for her and had her sign the transfer agreement.
When she asked about her signature, he had been vague and never gave a direct answer.
Jingliu took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart.
She looked up at the Marshal.
"Marshal, I didn't sign these agreements. I had no knowledge of this."
Hua said softly, "In his eyes… these were probably the only things he had that were worth giving."
"These are all he has."
"You… should take a closer look."
Her guardian was probably the type… who would dream that Jingliu had no money, and even after a breakup would still send patrol tokens to an ex.
If it were him… he would definitely leave something behind.
Jingliu steadied herself and continued flipping through the remaining agreements.
She scanned past words like "planet-destroying warship" and "planet" without expression, until she reached a sheet of paper that made her stop.
Jingliu immediately recognized Zero's handwriting.
She picked up that page.
[Just be the moon hanging high in the night sky. You don't need to stop for me.]
[If, by chance, your moonlight shines toward me, shines past me, that alone is enough.]
Jingliu read those few lines over and over from beginning to end.
Not needing to stop for him? What did that mean? Shining toward him, shining past him… what did that mean?
Did it mean… that regardless of whether this relationship had a result, he was already satisfied?
Jingliu first felt anger at these words, followed by bitterness, sadness, and heartache.
She held the paper, subconsciously about to tighten her grip. The moment she created a crease, she immediately loosened her strength.
Jingliu lowered her eyes and carefully reached out, trying to smooth the wrinkles.
Hua took out her personal seal and fountain pen, then opened the neatly prepared marriage documents Tengxiao had assembled.
With one glance, she noticed that aside from the places requiring her guardian's and Jingliu's signatures, Tengxiao had already filled in all the other information.
Even that person's ID photo had been taken when he joined the Divination Commission.
Hua thought, 'As expected of Tengxiao. As expected of her subordinate. Truly perceptive.'
She stamped and signed each of the dozens of reports one by one, then put them back into the document pouch and handed it to Jingliu.
Hua finished what she hadn't said earlier.
"From an official standpoint, he might not be a… good partner."
"From a personal standpoint, I hope you two will last a long time."
Jingliu's gaze shifted slightly. She accepted the document pouch with both hands and gave a solemn promise, "I will treat him well."
Hua, "..."
'Maybe I should just go fight abominations…'
'Oh right, Shuhu is dead. Never mind then.'
'Maybe I should just go interrogate some major criminals in the Shackling Prison instead.'
———
[On The Xianzhou Luofu]
A youth with long red wavy hair, whose appearance blurred the line between male and female, skillfully climbed over a wall and entered a certain residence.
The moment he landed, a fat, well-fed white cat charged straight at him.
The youth moved nimbly, dodging the attack, and swaggered toward the house.
The white cat followed closely behind while the youth happily kept dodging.
He entered the room, looking around as he called out, "My dear best friend..."
The youth called from the living room to the tea room. Only when he reached the kitchen did he finally see his friend.
The ends of Zero's hair were slightly damp. He wore a white shirt on his upper body and black dress pants below.
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He held a knife in one hand, leaning casually against the counter.
Facing the uninvited youth, Zero showed a smile.
"Long time no see, Bacchus."
The youth looked at Zero, then at the knife in his hand, and said stiffly, "…My friend, could you put the knife down?"
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