No enemies appeared for the moment.
While staying vigilant, Yanqing asked, "Sister Jingliu, are you from another Xianzhou? Yaoqing, Fanghu, Yuque?"
"None of those. I'm from Cangcheng."
"Cangcheng?"
Leon's gaze sharpened slightly.
So, from that Xianzhou that crashed long ago. That's quite a history.
If Jingliu truly came from there, even if she was born the year it fell, she'd be 1,800 years old now.
No wonder she's Mara-struck.
Things were getting interesting.
Leon knew a bit about Xianzhou law.
Once Mara symptoms appeared, the Ten-Lords Commission would find you immediately, observing in secret.
Someone like Jingliu, Mara-struck yet able to hide her aura and move freely, was rare.
Either she had a special status, or she was a fugitive.
Which was Jingliu?
Or could she be with the Ten-Lords Commission?
Didn't seem like it…
At this critical moment of a Stellaron outbreak, Leon didn't believe Jingliu's presence was a coincidence.
She likely had a purpose on the Luofu, though whether it tied to the Stellaron needed observation.
Yanqing, still young, couldn't think as deeply as Leon. Hearing "Cangcheng," he froze.
"There's no Xianzhou called Cangcheng among the six, is there? I've never heard of it."
"Luofu, Yaoqing, Fanghu, Yuque, Xuling, Zhuming… Did you get it wrong?"
Jingliu: "Maybe I misremembered. I'm old; my mind's not always sharp."
Old…
Yanqing was a bit speechless.
Generally, Xianzhou people didn't emphasize their age.
It wasn't a good thing to say, and some even thought it bad luck to mention often.
He switched topics.
"Sister Jingliu, how long since you've been back to the Luofu?"
"Are you always this chatty?" Jingliu countered.
"Oh, just making some noise so you know where I am. Watch your step; there's a staircase ahead."
"Or, should I help you?"
"No need. It's just a staircase."
"Alright, be careful. Brother Leon, can you keep an eye on Sister Jingliu?"
"No problem."
Leon smiled on the surface, chuckling inwardly.
Jingliu didn't need watching.
She wasn't blind at all.
"Brother Leon, you and Sister Jingliu came on the same merchant ship, right?"
"No, I came on the Astral Express. Got separated from the group and happened to meet Miss Jingliu."
"Oh, oh."
Yanqing thought for a moment, not recalling any interstellar ship named that.
A train name—unusual.
"Brother Leon, are you here to tour the Luofu or meet old friends?"
"Both."
Leon wasn't exactly lying.
He knew Yanqing's probing was to check his background, but what did it matter?
The kid lacked experience—let him ask.
"After getting separated, have you seen a man with long black hair, dressed in black?"
"That guy's got a menacing look, expressionless, wielding a cracked red sword."
"I've seen someone with similar traits, but no sword. Probably not the same person."
Leon feigned thought, his mind clear as a mirror.
Yanqing was likely referring to Blade, the Stellaron Hunter. But Kafka said Blade was captured by the Luofu Cloud Knights.
Yet Yanqing was tracking Blade, meaning he'd escaped prison.
Breaking out so easily—barely even pretending.
Could it be that once the Trailblaze team was confirmed to have entered the Luofu, Blade slipped away?
Kafka's motives were puzzling.
To draw the Astral Express in, the Stellaron's influence was enough. Why push Blade into the open?
It's not like he was essential.
Kafka had some ties to Stelle, but Blade? No connection to the Express crew—
!
A flash of insight hit Leon.
Wait—
He recalled something Kafka said.
'Ah~ Perfect timing. Everyone's here… or seems to be.'
Was her "perfect timing" sarcasm, actually hinting that Dan Heng wasn't there?
Otherwise, why add that "seems to be"?
Dan Heng, a descendant of Long, was likely once a Vidyadhara of the Xianzhou Alliance.
Leon's eyes narrowed.
The threads of scattered events began to connect.
Dan Heng said his main reason for joining the train was to escape something.
Escape what?
By deliberately showing Blade's image, was Kafka implying Dan Heng was fleeing from Blade?
Vidyadhara… banned from the Luofu—
A bolder guess formed in Leon's mind.
"Little brother Yanqing, I'll be honest. A friend's ancestor, 800 years ago by Xianzhou reckoning, had ties with the Luofu's High Elder, Imbibitor Lunae."
"He's tied up and couldn't come, so he asked me to check on things."
"Is the current High Elder of the Luofu doing well?"
Yanqing glanced at him in surprise, shaking his head slowly.
"The current Vidyadhara High Elder is called the Dracolass, not Imbibitor Lunae."
This wasn't a secret on the Luofu.
Anyone with connections could learn it with a little inquiry, so Yanqing spoke plainly.
"How could that be…"
Leon's face showed shock.
But inwardly, it was as expected.
One of his earlier guesses with Himeko was spot on.
He wasn't the only key to the Luofu's Stellaron crisis.
Elio's script likely centered on Dan Heng as the true key figure.
Compared to an Elation Emanator, a former Vidyadhara High Elder was far more controllable.
Leon was 90% sure of Dan Heng's past identity.
The only uncertainty was what Dan Heng could do for the Luofu.
What was certain was that he was indispensable to overcoming this crisis.
For past grievances, he could ask Jingliu beside him.
Leon didn't miss that when he mentioned Imbibitor Lunae, a subtle glance fell on him.
If Jingliu claimed not to know Imbibitor Lunae, he'd have lived all these years in vain to believe her even slightly.
Arriving at the Luofu, he not only encountered a traitor and planted a seed in them but also pieced together critical intel from scattered events.
Leon glanced at the sky, as if trying to meet a distant gaze.
Stellaron Hunters, was this in your calculations too?
Yanqing and Jingliu had no idea—
Their words and subtle actions let Leon, this old fox, deduce nearly all the ancient history.
If the former knew, they'd likely be terrified, hairs standing on end.
Likewise, Elio would probably think Leon had read the script.
Even with another decade of growth, Yanqing couldn't unravel so much.
After hearing Leon out, he asked a few more questions about the black-clad man's appearance, then dropped it, disappointed.
For a while, he stopped probing.
But he felt… something odd about Leon and Jingliu.
Thinking it over, he couldn't pinpoint it.
Only when Mara-struck appeared, using the natural shift of battle to observe them discreetly, did he realize the issue.
Calm, too calm.
Normal people facing terrifying Mara-struck would at least flinch or avert their eyes.
Jingliu, supposedly blind, could be excused.
But Leon's expression barely changed, always maintaining a smile.