Bai Ming was genuinely shaken by Jingliu's story.
He hesitated for quite a while, but in the end, she typed out a greeting to Jingliu in the chat window.
Along with a sincere apology and gratitude.
This girl really…
Bai Ming let out a sigh.
He then sent messages to everyone else, letting them know he was safe. Not long after, Ruan Mei and Screwllum replied—simple, warm greetings.
They asked if Bai Ming had time to meet up with them.
Catch up on recent events, and maybe brainstorm a little together.
Acheron hadn't replied yet—probably still stationed at the doorstep of Nihility.
Jingliu, however, replied faster than expected.
[Jingliu: Excuse me, are you Ms. Bai Ming?]
[Nameless: ?]
[Nameless: Who is this?]
[Jingliu: Let me introduce myself. I'm Elio, leader of the Stellaron Hunters.]
[Jingliu: My apologies, I didn't mean to pry, but Miss Jingliu isn't in the best state most of the time, so she entrusted me with looking after this phone for her.]
[Nameless: So Jingliu really joined the Stellaron Hunters?]
[Jingliu: Yes. I promised her that if she helped me, she'd be able to find you as soon as you returned.]
[Nameless: …]
Reading this, Bai Ming figured Elio must have seen such a future and used that excuse to recruit Jingliu.
[Nameless: You've seen the future, haven't you?]
Then came a very long "typing…" status.
[Jingliu: Yes. Although, because of your influence, the future has become increasingly difficult to observe. It's been quite troubling.]
[Nameless: Where is Jingliu? I need to see her.]
[Jingliu: I'll send you the coordinates. But… please prepare yourself mentally.]
[Nameless: ?]
[Nameless: If you've done anything to Jingliu, I'll hunt you down, future-sight or not.]
[Jingliu: You've misunderstood. It's not that kind of mental preparation… Well, you'll understand once you get here.]
[Nameless: See you tomorrow.]
After reading Elio's messages, Bai Ming decided to extend a degree of trust based on his impressions from the game.
But what did he mean by "prepare yourself mentally"?
Did he really need him to remind him about Mara-struck states?
Or was it a good kind of preparation?
Did Elio have some kind of miracle cure?
But even Blade's madness was tamed by Kafka—what could Elio possibly do?
It couldn't be that his presence alone would solve everything, could it?
That'd be way too absurd. If Mara could be cured so easily, it wouldn't have torched the Xianzhou Alliance for all these centuries.
After noting down the star chart coordinates Elio sent, Bai Ming closed the chat window for the time being.
He decided to go see Acheron first.
But in his Nexus form, he couldn't actively reach into Nihility.
"Noa" was remotely controlling things, keeping all the Ultramen tightly protected.
Unless Acheron decided to slash him a couple of times, or he charged straight into the domain of "IX," it seemed unlikely that an Ultraman would be easily tainted by Nihility.
Left with no other choice, Bai Ming began channeling Jingliu's presence and canceled his transformation.
Only by weakening her connection to the Light was she able to sink into the shadows of Nihility.
It was the same familiar wasteland and black sea.
A light rain fell from the sky.
Acheron sat motionless on the shore, holding a paper umbrella.
It wasn't until "Jingliu" approached that she suddenly lifted her head to look.
"Acheron, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Jingliu" smiled and waved at Acheron.
Hearing this, Acheron blankly raised a hand and grasped hers.
Only when she felt the touch of her palm did Acheron finally confirm—
It really was Bai Ming.
With a firm tug, Acheron pulled Bai Ming close to her side, a captivating smile gracing her lips:
"Long time no see. Welcome back, Bai Ming. This time you've taken the form of that Xianzhou girl?"
"Yeah, playing the genius was exhausting. I originally planned to relax on the Xianzhou for a while, but then an Arbitrator tracked me down."
"Jingliu" sat down beside Acheron and let out a long sigh.
Acheron shifted closer, until their shoulders were touching:
"And are you relaxed now?"
"A few hundred years ago, maybe. But now… I want to see what exactly happened to Jingliu. Her situation worries me."
Just thinking about where those five had ended up now, Jingliu couldn't help but sigh.
She went on, chattering about what had happened to those five in broad strokes.
After listening to the stories, Acheron sighed softly for some reason.
"That girl's obsession runs deep… What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything! Weren't you there on the Xianzhou back then? All I did was spar and train with her."
Jingliu shook her head emphatically.
She truly hadn't done anything—that's why she was so puzzled about why Jingliu had chosen her as an anchor.
"Heh~"
Acheron chuckled lightly, though it was unclear whether she believed it or not:
"And what about you? Lady Herta said you accidentally wandered into a black hole—was that true?"
"It's true, but it wasn't an accident. The Equilibrium set me up. Luckily, Aha fished me out in time, or I would've been centuries late coming back."
Jingliu explained the situation to Acheron.
Although helping her avoid the Lord of Silence's assassination was one thing, if she'd really stayed to finish that fight with him, she would've missed the main storyline entirely.
Just thinking about it made her silently thank Aha in her heart.
Sure, They loved stirring up drama, but sometimes They really came through!
After hearing all this, Acheron smiled with a subtle, amused expression.
To think it was over something like that… How uniquely fitting.
"Tell me about it."
"Jingliu" shook her head.
Plus, that Arbitrator left a chessboard in her hands, and she still had no idea what it was for.
--+--
After spending half a day with Acheron, 'Jingliu' took her leave and headed for the Xianzhou Luofu.
She planned to gather some information from Jing Yuan.
Teng Xiao had already retired—likely long since succumbed to Mara.
Jingliu and Baiheng were both gone.
Jing Yuan himself had no means of contact.
After turning it over in her mind, 'Jingliu' simply entered the port of the Luofu wearing this face.
The Cloud Knights on guard were terrified.
Jingliu—the Luofu's Sword Champion from centuries ago, now an interstellar fugitive—had come to the Luofu.
What was she here for? To cut the Luofu down to size?
If not for her calm and rational demeanor, the Cloud Knights would have swarmed her already.
"Go contact Jing Yuan. Just mention the name Bai Ming, and he'll understand. Besides, if it really comes to a fight, only Jing Yuan can stop me."
Looking at the wary Cloud Knights around her, "Jingliu" smiled and made a statement of absolute confidence.
It wasn't just that Jingliu's own combat prowess was formidable.
With the power of Elation and Destruction backing her up, how could ordinary Cloud Knights possibly hold her back?
The Cloud Knights nearby understood the situation well.
After all, the news of Jingliu not long ago confronting an Ultraman head-on and walking away unscathed was still fresh in the minds of the Xianzhou natives.
So they promptly got in touch with Jing Yuan.
--+--