The fragrance of tea at Evernight Marquis hadn't even faded when Dan Heng appeared in the doorway.
"So you're here."
His gaze swept over the group, pausing briefly on Luocha. He gave a small nod in acknowledgment, then turned to Huo Linfei and the others.
"There's something important. Everyone needs to come to the Seat of Divine Foresight."
They rose at once to take their leave. Luocha stood with effortless grace, hands folded as he offered a formal salute.
"Since you have urgent business, I won't impose further. May we meet again across the sea of stars."
Sushang cupped her fist in farewell as well, and the two departed.
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, the atmosphere was solemn.
Jing Yuan sat at the head of the hall. He wore his usual easygoing smile, but exhaustion still seeped through the cracks.
Welt Yang was already waiting. When the group arrived, he gave a slight nod.
"Please, sit," Jing Yuan said—his voice gentle, yet carrying an authority that needed no raising. "First, I, Jing Yuan, on behalf of the Xianzhou Luofu, offer my sincere thanks to the Astral Express for your full support. Without you, this sudden Stellaron upheaval and the Ambrosial Arbor's resurgence… the consequences would have been unthinkable."
His eyes moved across the room—then finally settled on Huo Linfei, his smile deepening by a fraction.
"Second," Jing Yuan continued, his tone turning formal, "there is an investiture that has been delayed for eight hundred years. Today, it must be completed."
He gestured to the strategist at his side—Qingzu.
Qingzu stepped forward, holding a rosewood tray draped in brocade. Resting atop it was a token neither quite metal nor quite wood—warm and smooth to the touch, carved with auspicious clouds and a qilin motif. At its center, the character "Guard" seemed to contain a faint, flowing current of energy.
"Huo Linfei," Jing Yuan called, his eyes steady. "Step forward and receive the decree."
Huo Linfei blinked—only reacting after March 7th secretly jabbed him. He walked up, hesitant.
"By virtue of your actions eight hundred years ago during Shuhu's calamity—when you stood forth, routed the Borisin war-chief Hulei, and in the Abyssal Front struck down the Emanator of Abundance Shuhu, laying the foundation for the Xianzhou's victory—your merits are extraordinary. By decision of the Xianzhou Alliance, you were posthumously awarded the title 'Qilin Guard.' Yet before the investiture could be carried out, you vanished without trace."
Jing Yuan's voice rang clear through the hall.
"Now you have returned. This title must return to its rightful owner."
He lifted the token and placed it into Huo Linfei's hands.
"This honor is yours by right."
Huo Linfei stared at it, emotions tangled. As his fingertips touched the surface, a heavy sense of history seemed to surge through his skin—weighty, real, and impossible to shrug off.
Jing Yuan looked at him and went on.
"As for the matter of your 'killing' Baiheng back then… it did indeed sow distance between us, raising doubts we could not dismiss. Not until Dan Feng altered the draconic transmutation art—birthing the abomination dragon—and the Ambrosial Arbor's energies began to fluctuate abnormally. When we investigated, we found Baiheng at the Arbor's roots—sealed in strange frost, yet not devoid of life."
He paused, something like remembrance flashing in his eyes.
"In that moment, every accusation against you collapsed on its own. You were not her harm—you were her shield, by means we did not understand. Only decades ago did the ice finally melt and Baiheng truly awaken… though, regrettably…"
Jing Yuan sighed softly. The unspoken ending carried the ache of time and the cruelty of what can never be restored.
"Dan Feng has already endured the Molting Rebirth punishment. Yingxing… suffered a drastic transformation during the Imbibitor Lunae affair. Jingliu, seeking a way to break the curse of long life, traveled far into the sea of stars—her whereabouts unknown to this day. The comrades who once stood shoulder to shoulder… can no longer gather as they once did."
Huo Linfei glanced guiltily toward Dan Heng. Dan Heng met his eyes. As if seeing the hesitation in Huo Linfei's heart, Dan Heng merely shook his head—quietly telling him: Don't.
"Enough," Jing Yuan said, easing the heaviness with a faint smile. "When one gets older, one can't help but drag up ancient stories."
With that, he shifted topics. He produced a second item—a tiger-shaped jade tally—and handed it to Welt Yang.
"I discussed this with Lady Fu earlier. What you have done… is far beyond what the Luofu can repay. Thus, on behalf of the Luofu Cloud Knights, I present this token—symbol of an alliance and our shared bond."
As Welt accepted the jade tally and Jing Yuan explained its significance, Huo Linfei leaned toward March 7th and whispered,
"Who's this 'Lady Fu' Jing Yuan mentioned? This kind of thing needs to be discussed with her too?"
"I heard Stelle mention her," March whispered back. "Fu Xuan—the Divination Commission's Diviner. I don't know the details, but she's basically the boss of all the fortune-tellers. Rumor says… she might become the next Luofu general."
Welt received the tally solemnly.
"Thank you, General Jing Yuan. The Astral Express will cherish this friendship."
With the formalities concluded, the group took their leave and stepped out of the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Just beyond the gates, Huo Linfei spotted a familiar figure leaning against a vermilion corridor pillar not far away—
Baiheng.
She looked like she'd been waiting for quite some time.
She walked up, rose onto her toes, and—just as naturally as eight hundred years ago—reached up and gently ruffled his hair. Huo Linfei was no longer a child, his frame taller and stronger now, yet the gesture landed the same: warm, effortless, and unbearably familiar.
Her eyes were soft, touched with emotion.
"You're a full-fledged hero now," she said. "So from now on—try not to cause your companions too much trouble, alright?"
Huo Linfei smiled, embarrassed.
Baiheng's voice turned lighter—but firm.
"Little Huo. No matter where you go from here—how many star systems you cross, what you experience—you have to remember…"
She pointed to the ground beneath their feet, then to the vast sky above.
"This place will always be your home. When you're tired, when you're worn out… come back and take a look."
Warmth spread through Huo Linfei's chest. He nodded hard.
"Yeah. I know, Baiheng-jie."
Baiheng smiled. It was still bright and radiant—only now, there was an added trace of freedom, of letting go.
"Alright. And… I'm actually here to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Huo Linfei blinked.
"Mm." Baiheng stretched lazily, looking out toward Star Skiff Haven. "I slept for so long, and stayed on the Luofu for decades… honestly, I was just waiting for you to come back. Now that I've seen you safe and sound… I can finally relax."
Curiosity and longing sparkled in her eyes—an unhidden hunger for the stars.
"So I'm heading out too. Time to follow my own 'Trailblaze.'"
"Baiheng-jie—then why don't you come with us—" Huo Linfei started instinctively.
"Not going to bother you youngsters," Baiheng cut in with a grin, blinking playfully. "Your sister here doesn't want to be a third wheel. Besides… there are answers I want to find for myself."
She rubbed his hair again—harder this time—then waved with carefree swagger as she turned toward a modified star skiff docked nearby. Her fox tail swayed lightly behind her.
"I'm off! If fate allows—see you again in the sea of stars!"
The star skiff powered up, stirring a crisp gust of wind. Carrying her receding figure, it slipped into the flow of countless skiffs weaving across the sky—until it vanished at the edge of blue.
Huo Linfei stood where he was, staring at the place it disappeared. In his hand, he gripped the warm token tightly.
Wind howled, rolling endless yellow sand into the air.
The scorching gusts whipped across barren ground like invisible lashes.
Countless slaves staggered through the sand-sea, hauling heavy bricks of compacted grit. Their feet sank into shifting dunes—every step, every lift, demanded an exhausting price.
All around them rose towering ancient structures: sharp-edged, geometric, cruelly majestic.
At the tip of a spire like a cliff's edge stood Whale Shark King, hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at the procession that crawled below like ants. He didn't turn. Not even his posture shifted by a hair.
"Look," he said. "This is the origin of everything. A weak individual—only by gathering, only by cooperating, only by squeezing the last ounce of strength from one another—can they barely build a nest where they can cling to life in this harsh world."
There was no mockery in his voice—only cold narration, like a statement of fact.
"If the weak cannot learn to huddle together for warmth, they simply cannot survive under the rules of the strong. Their value lies in this—and only this."
At the other end of the tower's peak, the violent energy fluctuations abruptly stilled.
A fiery red silhouette condensed into form.
A clear, unwavering voice rang out—cutting through wind and sand, carrying an irreversible resolve:
"The weak you keep talking about…"
"…have come to kill you."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 85)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter85)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter81)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter60)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter66)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 40
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 50
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