Thanks for Exalted, Gallerhad and Michael Thunder for becoming as Supporters!
===BREAK===
"Just… one word…"
The words barely reached her lips when Huohuo's confidence from moments ago completely vanished.
This… this really seems serious… much more serious than she initially thought.
The main reason she hadn't taken it seriously before was that the Joyseeker had promised usage rights.
Although THEY are always indiscriminate, THEY probably wouldn't go back on THEIR word… right?
And it wasn't even the Joyseeker teasing Tail—it was Giovanni. That should mean Aha isn't really angry, right?
After a moment of self-reassurance, Huohuo bit her lip and finally said the two words.
"Stupid, Idiot."
After saying it, she bowed her head deeply, her small hands nervously twisting each other, closing her eyes as she waited for Xueyi's judgment.
But after a long while, neither a stern reprimand nor a gentle reassurance came.
The room, already pitch black, fell into a deathly silence, giving off a faintly eerie atmosphere.
Even Xueyi's hands on her shoulders stiffened. Though they weren't applying much force, they gripped Huohuo so tightly that she couldn't move an inch.
What's happening with Xueyi-senpai?
Curious, Huohuo timidly raised her head a fraction, her cat-pupil eyes flickering upward.
But in just an instant, she snapped them shut, bowing even lower than before, sweat beading on her forehead.
The reason was simple: Xueyi-senpai's expression was terrifying!
The customized pseudo-body made their eyes emit an eerie red glow, and perhaps from the words just spoken, their pupils were slightly unfocused.
With that faint glow, the shadowed contours of their face became vaguely visible.
The silent face was snow-white and delicate, yet rigid, as if it had stepped straight out of a horror film.
Right now, that face was staring straight down at Huohuo.
Huohuo felt her soul nearly leave her body, almost instinctively raising the Emanator to defend herself, but luckily her rationality held her back.
Though Xueyi unintentionally scared Huohuo, in reality, they were far more shaken inside than the tiny fox in front of them.
The instant Huohuo spoke the word idiot, Xueyi's mind spun violently, and the pseudo-body's sensory systems seemed to fail completely.
The intense emotional fluctuation almost caused the pseudo-body to crash.
After an indeterminate amount of time, accompanied by a long, heavy exhale, Xueyi finally uttered, "Huff~~ idiot."
Even among the generally silent and taciturn judges, Xueyi expressed the least emotion normally.
But at this moment, Huohuo could hear the tremor in their voice.
"You… you're something else."
Huohuo wasn't foolish enough to think this was praise. She stayed silent, not daring to respond.
The words were forced out of Xueyi's throat.
There's an old saying on Xianzhou, 'Don't stir trouble on the ground, yet you dare provoke the heavens.'
Today, Xueyi had experienced that saying firsthand.
Normally obedient, with a lifetime of minor mishaps… this one really was a disaster from the heavens!
And she, Huohuo, still acted as if nothing had happened.
Xueyi forced a bitter smile. "Huohuo, do you realize how serious this is?"
At this point, it was beyond her ability to handle.
She had to report immediately to the Ten-Lords, the Marshal, and even the Commander.
Even so, it would probably be up to fate.
"I… I…" Huohuo was so flustered that she didn't know what to say.
"Enough!" came a sharp voice from the small room.
"One does what one must, and if the sky falls, I'll bear it alone. I will never let others take the blame."
At this point, Tail's pride wouldn't allow them to see Huohuo take the fall.
Even if it was humiliating, they would endure it and step forward.
"Tail, you… uh."
Huohuo barely started to speak when she noticed Tail's strange outfit.
Tail had draped a white sheet over them, cutting two holes for their eyes.
But the thin cloth couldn't block the fire of the sun, making them look like a ghost from a horror movie, glowing eerily, floating slowly toward her.
Seeing the red-glowing judge beside them, Huohuo felt cold wind on her back and a premonition of impending doom.
Had she not known these two so well, she would have fainted from fright by now.
But Xueyi's mind was occupied with other matters, paying little attention to Tail's disguise.
They just shook their head, a bitter smile on their face. "You're stepping in? This isn't some street brawl you can decide."
"Heh, if it were a street fight, it would be easier to handle."
Indeed, boiled down, this was just "two beings having a small spat in some shop."
Calling someone an idiot was trivial in cases Xueyi had handled.
Such a minor matter didn't even require official intervention; if it did, the Realm-Keeping Commission could manage it.
But the problem was, one of the two involved beings was the Joyseeker!
Ask Master Diviner Huifu at the Realm-Keeping Commission if he'd dare handle this case. He'd probably fall off his chair from surprise!
As for the Ten-Lords Commission…
Hah, the Ten-Lords wouldn't be much stronger either.
Enough, enough, enough. At this point, talking more is useless. Time to think of a plan.
After calming down, Xueyi took a deep breath and continued, "Huohuo, what happened afterward? How did the Joyseeker react to being called idiot?"
"Nothing." Huohuo shook her head confidently. "She stayed remarkably calm and even smiled. Hmm… if anyone was unhappy, it was Mr. Giovanni."
"Giovanni?" Xueyi frowned.
The Aeon of Elation had no reaction, yet the follower got upset first?
Isn't this like the emperor not worrying, but the eunuch fretting?
Even though he made the Joyseeker model…
Wait, HE made the Joyseeker model?!
Something an ordinary Elation follower could do?
A terrifying thought formed in Xueyi's mind.
Though Huohuo mentioned that Aha gave some assistance, who's to say that 100% of that wasn't still assistance?
Maybe it wasn't just the new Joyseeker being born today; perhaps two Aeons of the same origin had come together.
No… no, this was clearly an experiment by the Joyseeker themselves.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa