[FaceTheBigMove: Wait… did you secretly pick a few fruits and stash them?]
[Tingyun: If I said I did, would you want to share them with me, benefactor?]
[FaceTheBigMove: …]
Stelle's gaze was hard to read.
Something was off about this fox—could she be fishing for a confession?
[Tingyun: I understand your intentions, benefactor.]
Stelle: ???
Understand what?
Just as she was about to type a retort, the next messages made her fingers pause.
[Tingyun: It's a pity the Ambrosial Arbor turned to ash, and the Ambrosial Arbor roots trapping the Creation Furnace have withered.]
[Tingyun: Naturally, not a trace of the Ambrosial Arbor's fruits remains. A once-in-a-millennium opportunity, gone in a flash.]
[Tingyun: Just like… life itself…]
[FaceTheBigMove: Enough with the probing.]
[Tingyun: Hehe… You're sharp, benefactor. Please forgive this little lady's rudeness and overstepping.]
Old Toby fell into thought.
"Brothers, I keep feeling something's off about Tingyun. What do you think?"
"From the info we have, Foxians live three to four hundred years, and she seems to crave a longer lifespan."
"Was that just probing? I'm not so sure."
"Hey, I've got a bold theory—"
"Jing Yuan mentioned a traitor with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, right?"
"Could Tingyun, on the surface a diplomat of the Sky-Faring Commission, actually be the leader or a high-ranking member of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"
[That's way too bold. No way, right?]
"Honestly, ask yourselves: if you had a shot at immortality, would you take it?"
[…Even a thousand years would do. You know, human civilization's measurement is just millennia.]
[Exactly. With the Xianzhou's huge population, it's not strange for some to secretly crave immortality, right?]
In another livestream, Ah Xian didn't dwell on it too much.
Whether Tingyun craved immortality or not wasn't her concern.
After defeating the Abundance Ambrosial Arbor, she found she could contact Dan Heng again.
[SpearPiercesClouds: Our starskiff veered off course. What's the situation on your end?]
[FaceTheBigMove: You're back from the dead?]
[SpearPiercesClouds: Yeah, ran into Kafka's buddy, Blade.]
[FaceTheBigMove: That guy's already broken free and his whereabouts are unknown.]
[SpearPiercesClouds: Stay sharp. He's extremely dangerous. I'll find a way to shake off the Cloud Knights and meet up with you.]
[FaceTheBigMove: What's going on with you? Your signal's been spotty.]
Dan Heng sent a location pin.
From the player's perspective, it was a dungeon entrance, used to review the story.
But the timeline felt a bit odd.
After Ah Xian finished, she realized Dan Heng's group had already passed through the Artisanship Commission first.
And, Xueyi suggested that Dan Heng's group head to the Alchemy Commission too!
That's not right.
Based on the earlier story, wasn't the entrance to the Alchemy Commission's domain untraceable?
Could the Ten-Lords Commission have gotten the intel at the same time?
Xueyi's next words cleared Ah Xian's doubts.
"The Ambrosial Arbor's revival will surely attract numerous calamities."
"I've received word that the Cloud Knights have breached the Alchemy Commission's domain, adjacent to the Ambrosial Arbor. Head there."
"Thanks for your protection along the way. I'll report your good deeds to the Ten-Lords. If fate allows, I'll repay you."
"The Ten-Lords Commission sure has a lot of power. A judge can freely mobilize Cloud Knights and seems to share military intel in real-time."
"Jing Yuan said the external enemy must be an Emanator. Could they be with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"
"Following the usual tropes, a traitor usually needs an external enemy's help or temptation to rebel."
"Besides an Emanator of the Abundance faction, I can't think of anyone with a grudge against the Xianzhou…"
"Or maybe, an Emanator of Destruction… huh?! What the—?!"
Before she could finish, Ah Xian's eyes widened like bells.
She saw the main story end, and an "Interlude Rest" frame popped up.
"The main story in the public beta ends here at heading to the Alchemy Commission…"
"Why isn't 1.1 out yet? I can't stand another second in this 1.0 version!"
"Unless there's a side quest with my darling Leon, hehe…"
Sadly, there wasn't.
With no choice, she opened the map, glanced at it, and teleported to a Domain Anchor near a side quest, finding an NPC with a blue exclamation mark above their head.
"Once, a golden-haired traveler never refused the requests of those with question marks above their heads."
"Now, a gray-haired Trailblazer has taken up the mantle. Sigh, all for Stellar Jades and experience…"
"This NPC's name is… Dan Shu. Not a bad name."
Dan Shu: "…I recognize you, the hero who saved the dragon girl with medicine in Exalting Sanctum."
Stelle: "Am I already that famous?"
"A side quest with voice acting? That's not right."
Ah Xian was stunned at first, her face full of shock.
You know, in miHoYo's previous game Genshin Impact, 99% of side quests lacked voice acting.
Dan Shu: "Could the hero do me a favor? I'll offer a reward to your satisfaction."
Stelle: "Tell me about it."
Dan Shu: "I have a prescription that's missing a few ingredients…"
Ah Xian didn't think much of it, following the quest dialogue and running around the map, completing tasks.
But as she progressed, something felt off, though she couldn't pinpoint what.
It wasn't until she chose to consume the gift Dan Shu gave her—a so-called "health-boosting" pill—that things started to unravel.
The pill caused hallucinations, making others appear as mara-struck.
After visiting Bailu for a diagnosis, it was confirmed that Stelle's physique would suffer no lasting effects.
Following the quest further to confront Dan Shu and discovering her identity, Ah Xian was shocked.
"Dan Shu is the Leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?!"
"The biggest traitor was in a side quest, and she gave me a shady pill? If I don't take you down, who will I?"
Battle begins.
Battle ends. As expected, Dan Shu escaped, leaving only a few cannon fodder behind.
Stelle: "…I should've told Mr. Welt and March. Guess I need to head to the Seat of Divine Foresight to inform General Jing Yuan."
"The side quest's presentation isn't great in one aspect."
Ah Xian shared her thoughts.
"It's the unclear timeline—what you'd call fragmented storytelling."
"A lot of times, you don't know when a side quest takes place relative to the main story or if they're connected."
"If they're unconnected, it's fine. But if a side quest is tied to the main story and you skip it, the main story can leave you confused."
"For example, if I didn't do this Dan Shu side quest, the next version's Alchemy Commission fight against the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus—"
"A Leader popping up out of nowhere would feel… unfamiliar? Not quite jarring, but close."
"But I get it. Weaving side quest content into the main story is a huge test of the writers' skill."
"Plus, some side quest content really doesn't fit in the main story."
"Sigh, time to grind levels and resources to build my darling Leon~~"