Dan Feng froze in place.
He believed himself to be a capable warrior, but… when had they arrived? Neither he nor Yingxing had noticed anything.
Dan Feng quickly made a judgment.
The strength of the person beside Zero was above that of an Emanator.
Zero withdrew his gaze from the box and instead looked at Dan Feng.
His eyes were calm and gentle, as if he had already seen through everything Dan Feng was thinking, yet still chose to tolerate it all.
Dan Feng stared fixedly at the box in the other person's hands.
What had they heard? And what did those two sentences Zero said mean?
Dan Feng's thoughts slowed.
Yes. The other person had once said that Dan Feng was very similar to his past self.
He had even asked Dan Feng, 'who are you? Are you Dan Feng? Or the Vidyadhara High Elder Imbibitor Lunae?'
At the time, Dan Feng had only felt that Zero's words came out of nowhere.
Only now did he finally understand the meaning behind them.
Zero knew.
Dan Feng's pupils trembled.
'So this was… "omniscience"?'
'Was this also… the reason you chose death?'
Yingxing didn't understand.
Those words sounded completely baffling… what exactly was Zero talking about?
Yingxing stepped forward, his footsteps breaking the suffocating silence.
He looked at Dan Feng, whose body was tense and expressionless, then at Zero, whose expression looked no different from usual, and finally at the stranger with long wavy red hair and an androgynous face.
Yingxing was completely confused.
'Is this person male or female?'
'Wait, that's not the important part!'
Even Dan Feng hadn't noticed the stranger's presence, and the box he brought back from the battlefield had been taken… their identity was definitely questionable.
But the person was standing next to Zero… they should be trustworthy, right?
After thinking it over, Yingxing voiced his doubt.
"Zero, who is this?"
Aha was holding the box with both hands, fiddling with it intently. Hearing this, His back instantly straightened.
He cleared His throat a few times and was just about to introduce His true identity when Zero shot Him a half-smiling glance.
The Aeon immediately backed down and shut His mouth.
Zero took the initiative to explain.
"Bacchus. One of us. As for that box… no need to worry about it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Aeon opened His mouth wide in flattered surprise.
To avoid seeing any more disgusting expressions, Zero turned his head to look at Dan Feng.
"Walk with me."
Without waiting for Dan Feng's reply, he turned around and continued walking forward.
Yingxing blinked.
Dan Feng seemed to have expected this. He didn't look surprised at all.
His friend was the Vidyadhara High Elder. If someone showed up uninvited and entered an important Vidyadhara area without permission… Dan Feng definitely wouldn't react like this.
So Dan Feng had also invited Zero? To have him divine an auspicious date? To conveniently solve the Vidyadhara population problem?
Wasn't the urgent matter the Vidyadhara right now? Why were they suddenly going for a stroll?
Yingxing thought about it.
'Just in time too, Dan Feng's condition didn't seem right…'
'Wait, Dan Feng had always resisted psychological evaluations before. Has he been brushing them off all along?'
Yingxing couldn't get answers himself, but what about Zero? Surely he could get something out of him, right?
If it were Zero, he could definitely help Dan Feng relax.
Yingxing immediately felt reassured and looked at Bacchus's back.
That was someone stronger than an Emanator.
But was this person a man or a woman?
Dan Feng didn't show anything on his face as he repeatedly went over his conversations with Zero in his mind.
It seemed Zero didn't care whether his identity would be exposed.
But he clearly wasn't someone who would easily change his mind. So what exactly had happened?
Dan Feng quickly reached a conclusion.
Only someone facing death would have no more reservations.
Dan Feng's breathing and heartbeat both seemed to stop.
He remembered the brooch Zero wore on his chest. Its main gem was pigeon-blood red.
It was a gemstone close in color to Jingliu's eyes.
Dan Feng made up his mind.
Delay... no matter what, he had to stall until Jingliu returned.
Nothing must happen to Zero.
Those people... no, more accurately, the entire sea of stars could not bear his death a second time.
Dan Feng quickly took out his jade communicator. First he unlocked the screen, then opened his chat with Jingliu and stuffed the communicator into Yingxing's hands without explanation.
Yingxing was staring at Bacchus's back, still wondering about the person's gender, when Dan Feng's action abruptly cut off his thoughts.
When he looked up again, Dan Feng had already taken several quick steps forward, positioning himself behind and to the left of Zero.
Dan Feng abandoned his usual silence around outsiders and began proactively introducing the various arrangements around Scalegorge Waterscape to Zero.
It was Yingxing's first time seeing Dan Feng walk behind someone.
He didn't understand, but he didn't have time to think about it. Looking down at the communicator, he saw the chat interface between Dan Feng and Jingliu.
Yingxing suddenly understood and immediately started typing.
[Imbibitor Lunae: Jingliu, when are you coming back]
[Jingliu: ?]
[Jingliu: Who are you?]
Yingxing froze, recalling how Dan Feng usually spoke, then looked back at his own message.
The wording was too casual. It didn't sound like something the Vidyadhara High Elder would say at all.
This was just as ridiculous as Jingliu using a guidebook on how women pursue men to chase Zero, or Baiheng having social anxiety.
Yingxing honestly admitted his identity.
[Imbibitor Lunae: I'm Yingxing. Dan Feng asked me to contact you]
To gain his friend's trust, Yingxing brought up a secret only the few of them knew.
[Imbibitor Lunae: By the way, how is the engagement ring you're making coming along?]
This time, Jingliu responded.
[Jingliu: Arriving at the Luofu in one hour. What happened?]
Yingxing was surprised.
He had thought it would take another ten days or half a month. Didn't expect it to be this fast.
As for something happening… it was probably Dan Feng hiding his mental condition from others?
But why did Dan Feng want him to contact Jingliu?
Yingxing couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought.
After thinking, he continued typing.
[Dan Feng's mental state seems very bad. Jingliu, can you access his test results?]
Just before sending it, he suddenly realized Dan Feng's status.
He was the head of the Alchemy Commission! Even if results were wrong, he could change them! And besides, Jingliu was a Cloud Knight, how could she access another department's records?
Yingxing deleted the second half.
[Imbibitor Lunae: Dan Feng's mental state seems very bad]
Then Jingliu sent another message.
[Jingliu: Before the expedition, only the draft was finished]
Yingxing looked at the message and instantly got distracted.
He gritted his teeth.
So what if it meant overtime? This was Jingliu's major life event.
Between slacking off and helping a friend without hesitation, Yingxing chose the latter without a second thought.
[Imbibitor Lunae: Need help?]
[Jingliu: Yingxing, let's not talk about that now. Copy Dan Feng's message style and contact his people]
[Jingliu: I can't tell you the full truth, but at a critical time like this… nothing can happen to the Luofu]
Yingxing realized the seriousness of the situation. His expression turned serious.
[Imbibitor Lunae: Okay]
He exited the chat and opened a conversation with one of Dan Feng's clansmen.
Almost every message Dan Feng sent was no longer than five characters.
Yingxing scrolled up further.
There were also messages Dan Feng had proactively sent to his clansmen.
[Imbibitor Lunae: Shared location]
Yingxing: "..."
Such a cold dragon! Is this what the High Elder is like?
Yingxing switched to the friend list, trying to pick out a reliable Vidyadhara from the endless list of contacts.
Dan Feng was clearly not right. If he accidentally contacted one of the dragon elders, wouldn't he just be handing a knife to Dan Feng's enemies?
Yingxing kept his head down looking at the communicator, following the three people ahead as they walked and stopped intermittently.
Zero stopped walking and looked toward the distant Ambrosial Arbor.
Dan Feng, half a step behind, also stopped and followed his gaze.
Zero suddenly asked, "Do you still remember the oath you made back then on the Luofu?"
Dan Feng looked at the Ambrosial Arbor with him and sighed.
"How could Imbibitor Lunae forget the covenant made with you? How could I possibly forget?"
Yingxing: "..."
'Huh?!'