"Dan Heng?!"
March 7th nearly jumped out of her chair, staring wide-eyed at the young man walking in.
It really was Dan Heng.
That same stoic face, the same man of few words who somehow always managed to hit the nail on the head whenever he spoke.
"Y-you—you—how did you get here?!" March grabbed Stelle's arm. "Weren't you supposed to have already been… uh, by the Luofu… you know?!"
Dan Heng glanced at her expressionlessly and said nothing.
But March could clearly read four words on his face:
It's a long story.
Jing Yuan, meanwhile, remained composed. "There is no need for alarm, everyone. There may have been a few twists and turns regarding Dan Heng, but at present, it is only right that we place the bigger picture first."
"The bigger picture?" Welt pushed up his glasses, his tone turning subtle.
He already knew a fair amount about Dan Heng's past-life entanglements with the Luofu.
Given the current situation, it was hard for him not to suspect that the Luofu had used the rest of them as leverage to force Dan Heng into helping.
But as if he had sensed what Welt was thinking, Dan Heng immediately stepped forward to explain.
"Mr. Welt, I came of my own accord."
Welt frowned. "Dan Heng, you—"
"I know what I'm doing," Dan Heng cut in calmly.
"What's happening on the Luofu was always connected to me. Whether in my previous life or this one, there are some karmic ties I was never going to escape."
"And… I was very worried about all of you."
That single sentence left even the always-serious Welt momentarily speechless.
When they had first entered the Luofu, their communication with the train had already been cut off.
Then the descent of Nous happened, and after that there had been no chance to restore contact.
Who would have thought that not long after, Dan Heng would manage to find his way here on his own?
Cecilia, on the other hand, was not especially interested.
She reached out and poked Jingliu, who was standing beside her. "Are you alright?"
At that moment, Jingliu's gaze had indeed been resting on Dan Heng—more precisely, looking through him, toward another figure long lost to time.
Only after Cecilia called to her did she withdraw her eyes.
"I am fine. I was merely reflecting on how mysterious the Vidyadhara cycle of reincarnation truly is."
Cecilia glanced at her, but did not expose the forced composure in that answer.
From what Cecilia had already pieced together of Jingliu's personality, there was no way she felt particularly kindly toward Dan Heng.
And as it turned out, Cecilia was absolutely right.
As far as Jingliu was concerned, back then Yingxing and Dan Feng had both defiled Baiheng's honor, and she would have gladly hacked the pair of them into a thousand pieces.
But if she were forced to rank them, then yes—she would want to cut down Dan Heng more.
After all, in that incident, Dan Feng had been the principal offender, while Yingxing had only been an accomplice.
And after everything ended, Yingxing had gone on suffering for eight hundred years.
As for Dan Heng?
He had severed himself from Dan Feng.
Now, for the Vidyadhara, reincarnation truly did sever one from the dust and bonds of the former life—but whether Jingliu accepted that reasoning was another matter entirely.
If there had not been more important concerns at hand, she would certainly have insisted on "sparring" with Dan Heng.
Dan Heng, too, seemed to sense the faint trace of Jingliu's gaze, but he only shifted slightly aside without meeting her eyes.
In the end, it was Fu Xuan who broke the silence first.
"Wait, General—when exactly did you bring Dan Heng here? Why does this Master Diviner know nothing about it?"
Jing Yuan smiled as if nothing were amiss. "Lady Fu shoulders countless burdens every day. I did not dare trouble you with such a small matter."
Fu Xuan: "…"
A small matter?
Secretly bringing a Vidyadhara criminal back to the Luofu was a small matter?
But now was clearly not the time to argue about that. Fu Xuan took a deep breath and silently added the matter to the ledger in her mind.
At that moment, Cecilia suddenly noticed another blind spot.
She raised a hand, cutting off Jing Yuan just as he was about to continue.
"General Jing Yuan, I understand that you're in a hurry because of the Stellaron. But why exactly did you call me here?"
She pointed at herself, then at Jingliu.
"Me, a doctor—no combat ability."
"Her, a patient—still needs time to recover."
"For something like the Stellaron, surely you should be looking to the professionals from the Astral Express. The two of us old, weak, sick, and disabled people won't be much help."
The moment those words left her mouth, Jing Yuan nearly lost his composure.
A former Sword Champion of the Luofu, and someone very likely a Emanator of Abundance—
And she was calling the two of them old, weak, sick, and disabled?
Though to be fair, they really did have no particular reason to help the Luofu…
Jing Yuan kept smiling, but Cecilia still caught the flash of guilt in his eyes.
"Well, that is…"
"Don't 'well, that is' me," Cecilia cut in mercilessly.
"You're not planning to make me work again, are you? I should remind you—the账 from the Shackling Prison still hasn't been settled."
The atmosphere inside the Seat of Divine Foresight instantly became much livelier.
March 7th blinked and whispered to Stelle, "Cecilia is so fierce. She actually dares to talk to the General like that."
Stelle remained expressionless. "She's right."
March: "…"
Meanwhile, a trace of schadenfreude appeared on Fu Xuan's face.
Serves you right, General. Sneaking around and causing trouble—now you've finally run into someone who won't indulge you.
Jing Yuan cleared his throat and straightened his expression. "Miss Cecilia, you misunderstand. I did not ask you here because I intend to put you to work."
"Oh?" Cecilia lifted a brow. "Then what, are you inviting me for tea? I'm not sure I'd care for the tea served in the Seat of Divine Foresight."
Jing Yuan: "…"
The way she said it, it almost sounded as though the tea in his residence were beneath notice.
Still, Jing Yuan had been alive for far too long for such things to rattle him.
He quickly recovered and explained, "I invited you because the situation in Scalegorge Waterscape is rather unusual."
"It concerns the Ambrosial Arbor, and the Stellaron is there as well. If you were willing to accompany us, I would feel much more at ease."
And that truly was Jing Yuan's calculation.
The Ambrosial Arbor had already been influenced by the Stellaron to some extent. Who knew what kind of mutation might occur inside?
If Cecilia, an Emanator of Abundance, came along, Jing Yuan would naturally feel a good deal more reassured.
And he had phrased it very delicately.
After all, he still was not sure whether Cecilia minded people revealing her true identity.
Cecilia did not reject him right away. "And what, exactly, is the Luofu offering me in return?"
At that, Jing Yuan's smile stiffened for a brief moment.
Compensation?
As a Xianzhou general, he was long accustomed to the usual flow of these conversations:
First speak of righteousness, then of sentiment, and only at the very end of利益.
But Miss Cecilia, on the contrary, had come straight in and smashed through the paper window with her first question.
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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