The trio aboard the Astral Express, after contacting Sylvia, promptly reached out to Himeko as well.
Only then did they learn that Dan Heng had chosen to disembark just half an hour after they had left.
Well, there wasn't much they could do. Everyone could only guess that Dan Heng, likely affected by the Stellaron, had wandered into some area with no signal.
As for danger…
Neither Mr. Yang nor March 7th were particularly worried. Dan Heng was always reliable when it came to handling matters.
Soon, Stelle sent another message.
[Stelle: Wow, Himeko says Dan Heng got off the train alone.]
[Sylvia: Then it should be fine, right? Dan Heng's pretty dependable. What are you all planning to do now, anyway?]
[Stelle: Mr. Yang says we'll rest for a bit and then go find Kafka. Sylvia, where are you? Wanna come along?]
Sylvia looked at Stelle's invitation and chuckled. This kid could be a little silly sometimes.
Even if she wanted to go, Mr. Yang probably wouldn't allow it.
This whole matter was essentially an opportunity Jing Yuan had given the Express crew—a chance to prove themselves to the rest of the Luofu.
Having an outsider join in obviously wouldn't be appropriate.
[Sylvia: I'll sit out the capture, but you'll probably head to the Divination Commission afterward.]
[Sylvia: We'll meet again then.]
Over on her end, Stelle read Sylvia's reply, scratched her head, and gave Mr. Yang an awkward grin.
She'd only remembered after sending the message that this wasn't really something for others to get involved in.
Good thing Sylvia hadn't agreed—otherwise, Stelle would've had to turn her down.
That would've been pretty awkward.
Meanwhile—
Sylvia closed her chat with Stelle, scrolled down a bit, and found her message threads with Kafka and Silver Wolf.
Looking back now, Kafka getting captured was probably intentional.
It was all to dispel the Xianzhou's suspicions toward the Express crew.
Only then could a solid relationship truly be established between the two sides.
Thinking about it, sometimes the Stellaron Hunters really did seem like tireless workhorses, always putting in the effort.
Still, Kafka was one thing—she was on the scene.
But Silver Wolf, working remotely, had come to the Xianzhou without even saying hello.
Sylvia promptly sent Silver Wolf a sticker:
[Sylvia: [Pomu Angry]]
Perhaps Silver Wolf was watching the monitors right then, because her reply came swiftly:
[Silver Wolf: ?]
[Silver Wolf: What's up?]
[Sylvia: You came to the Xianzhou and didn't even look for me?]
[Sylvia: Guess the spark's gone, huh? No love anymore.]
On the other end, Silver Wolf, stationed at the Stellaron Hunters' base, couldn't help rolling her eyes hard at Sylvia's messages.
"Ugh, seriously."
[Silver Wolf: Working here. Don't mess around.]
[Silver Wolf: And I didn't go to the Xianzhou.]
[Sylvia: Putting aside the facts, you replied to me—doesn't that count as being here?]
[Silver Wolf: …]
[Silver Wolf: Get out!]
Silver Wolf gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to block Sylvia right then and there.
What was with this nonsense?
But then it occurred to her—she really hadn't hung out with Sylvia much lately.
A few days ago, Firefly and Sylvia had gone off to some resort planet for a vacation.
Silver Wolf had felt like asking Sylvia to game would be intruding, and on another level, it just felt… awkward.
So it ended up that she hadn't contacted Sylvia for days.
Now, suddenly getting this unreasonable scolding…
Silver Wolf looked at their chat history, where the last message was from quite a few days ago. For some reason, she actually started to feel a little guilty.
She'd been about to close the chat window, but instead dragged it back.
After thinking it over, she finally puffed out her cheeks, blushing slightly as she typed:
[Silver Wolf: …Later, after the mission's done, I'll game with you.]
Sylvia had just been teasing Silver Wolf a little; she hadn't expected her to respond so earnestly.
As for not being in touch for days—in Sylvia's view, Stellaron Hunters were the type to work irregular hours anyway.
There'd be times when they were busy around the clock, and then suddenly had nothing to do, living it up.
So Silver Wolf going silent for a few days was completely normal; Sylvia hadn't given it much thought.
Of course, Sylvia would be happy if Silver Wolf wanted to game together.
But—
Sylvia considered the current situation on the Xianzhou and had a feeling she might not have the time.
[Sylvia: Ahaha… I might not have much free time these next few days. You know, since I'm involved with the Xianzhou stuff now.]
[SilverWolf: …]
[Silver Wolf: Blocked for one system hour.]
[Sylvia: Wait—]
[[Please add this user as a friend.]]
"…Well, that's awkward."
Sylvia scratched her head.
Was she really that mad?
Guess I'll apologize once I'm out of the blacklist.
With that thought, Sylvia reluctantly closed Silver Wolf's chat window for now and threw herself into studying the Cloudhymn magic.
Just starting out with Cloudhymn magic, Sylvia didn't rush to alter its structure.
Instead, she diligently practiced her control over water, manipulating streams to swirl around her and constantly shift their forms.
Occasionally, she'd arrange them into complex formations and the like.
Then, feeling something was still off, Sylvia suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
She summoned her dragon form, using the dragon horns and tail to heighten her perception of the Path of Permanence to its peak.
And as her draconic manifestation appeared—
Not only did her power over Permanence intensify, but Sylvia even felt that manipulating Cloudhymn magic became easier, its potency seemingly amplified out of thin air.
Truly marvelous. It really lived up to being a spell exclusive to the Vidyadhara.
Among the spells within the Light Cone, the one that sealed the Ambrosial Arbor was the most complex.
Sylvia still found it a bit challenging to grasp. She felt that with enough effort, she could probably cast it, but this wasn't the right place to practice.
She could only rehearse it mentally for now.
--+--
At the same time—
Not far from Sylvia's residence.
A certain furtive blue figure, tail swishing, was sneaking toward Sylvia's room while glancing left and right.
"Those stubborn old fogies… with the Xianzhou in crisis, they still block my way and won't let me out, hmph—! As a healer, this is exactly when I should be out treating and saving people!"
Muttering under her breath, Bailu looked around thoughtfully.
"This place… I'm pretty sure I remember right. It should be that Ms. Sylvia's place. Let me find it…"
Bailu had slipped out of the Alchemy Commission. Though she'd intended to act as usual this time, the streets were swarming with Cloud Knights everywhere. Bailu wasn't confident she could avoid them all.
After turning it over in her mind, she recalled Sylvia—someone she'd met once before, who had even helped her escape last time.
The other party had combat skills, status, and, most importantly, was willing to help her slip away.
Bailu remembered she'd even promised to treat Sylvia to something delicious.
She hadn't had a chance to fulfill that promise all this time.
Perfect!
This visit to seek refuge could also be the perfect opportunity to make good on that promise.
Bailu pondered for a moment, finally dredging up the route to Sylvia's place from memory.
Then, with her short legs carrying her forward and her tail wagging excitedly, she dashed eagerly toward Sylvia's dwelling.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.