Jing Yuan received the news.
He first contacted the Luofu's Divination Commission to have a hexagram cast, while he hurried to Starskiff Haven.
"Is it Lady Bai Ming? Or has Jingliu come back to start a fight?"
Rushing to Starskiff Haven, Jing Yuan had lost some of his usual composure.
Seeing the figure standing before him, looking exactly like Jingliu from centuries ago,
He instantly realized this was absolutely not his real master.
But if it wasn't Jingliu herself, yet the imitation was this perfect...
"Are you Lady Bai Ming?"
"It's me. I'm surprised you recognized me."
"May I verify it?"
Jing Yuan cautiously drew his long blade.
The Masked Fools are skilled at imitation, but they can't replicate Jingliu's swordsmanship and power.
That was the key difference with Lady Bai Ming. If the person before him could truly execute a sword technique belonging solely to his master, then without a doubt, this was the very Bai Ming whom Jingliu had been desperately searching for.
"By all means."
'Jingliu' smiled slightly, a sword of ice condensing in her hand, light as nothing.
Waiting until the surrounding Cloud Knights had retreated to a distance,
Jingliu then closed in like a ghost, her icy blade bringing such profound cold it seemed to shroud the day in darkness.
"All will be revealed—"
A brilliant crescent moon transformed into a sharp sword gleam descending from the heavens!
"—In lunar flame!"
Jing Yuan's face paled in shock. He hastily raised his blade to defend, inwardly groaning.
Didn't he just want to test her authenticity? Did she have to go this hard right from the start?
Was this what the retired General Teng Xiao called 'gentle'??
Where was the gentleness in this??
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!!!
A sky full of sword rays, carrying extreme cold, completely surrounded Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan gripped his long blade with both hands, standing his ground and swinging madly, not daring to lose focus for even a second.
Finally, Jing Yuan was drenched in cold sweat, feeling he couldn't hold on any longer.
So he decisively summoned the Lightning Lord to save him!
The golden Lightning Lord didn't move much.
It simply clenched its fist and smashed those threatening sword shadows to pieces.
Frost spread outwards as the sword rays shattered, covering almost the entire starskiff haven in ice and snow.
Jing Yuan raised a hand to wipe his clammy brow, retracting the Lightning Lord with a bitter laugh:
"Lady Bai Ming… You really didn't hold back at all."
'Jingliu', however, laughed:
"You had to summon the Lightning Lord for that? When Jingliu sparred with me, she charged right through it. Have you gotten slack, Jing Yuan?"
…Have mercy on me, Lady Bai Ming. I'm an old man now.
Jing Yuan sheathed his long blade and raised his hands in surrender.
To the Cloud Knights, he might be the General of Divine Foresight.
But facing Bai Ming, this heaven-sent savior who rescued the Luofu from peril, Jing Yuan felt like he'd been thrown back centuries, to the days when he was still young.
Dismissing the nearby Cloud Knights, Jing Yuan brought 'Jingliu' back to the Seat of Divine Foresight.
"Lady Bai Ming, you haven't been seen for many years. Seeing you safe and well puts my mind at ease."
"There was a small accident. But my main reason for coming this time is to ask about Jingliu's situation."
"My master… Well, to be honest, the Luofu's spies found it hard to keep up with her. After the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, she left and wandered far away, saying she was going to look for you. I don't know the details."
"Then who is the current Vidyadhara High Elder of the Luofu? It couldn't really be…"
Seeing Bai Ming's expression, Jing Yuan immediately understood—most likely Jingliu or Baiheng had told her the whole story.
So he stopped hiding it:
"Yes. It's Yingxing's reincarnation. He is now the Vidyadhara, Yingyue."
"Yingyue? Dan Feng… Wait, who came up with that name? Playing on the 'Dan Feng' homophone on purpose?"
"He did."
Jing Yuan smiled wryly.
Dan Feng's technique was more successful than even he had imagined. Although the created individual experienced Draconic Mania at birth, after undergoing true molting rebirth, they were undoubtedly a genuine Vidyadhara.
And Yingyue always had hazy impressions of past events.
So once he grew a little older and learned what had happened, he changed his own name to Yingyue, meaning 'to respond to the expectations of Dan Feng'.
'...So heavy. I thought Dan Feng was the ultimate heavy-weight guy, how is Yingxing also like this?'
'Jingliu' couldn't hold back the complaint.
Jing Yuan, however, grinned widely.
"Tell me about it. But when you live long enough, you always end up carrying one or two things you can't let go of. Otherwise… the Mara would take you."
"Does he blame Dan Feng?"
"He does. Even now, he feels his own existence might not be a good thing. That's why he used 'Dan Feng' in his name, not 'Dan Feng'."
(T/N: Some Chinese words might have the same way of pronouncing/spelling, but have different meanings)
Jing Yuan spread his hands with a laugh:
"He accepts the responsibility and burdens of Dan Feng, but he can't accept the actions Dan Feng took, leading to such an outcome."
"What is he doing now?"
"Presiding over forging in the Artisanship Commission. He's just the same as ever. Though he remembers almost nothing of his past life, his passion for forging is identical."
"...Does that count as fulfilling his lifelong wish? Being able to spend more time, as a long-life species, delving into his craft?"
"I suppose… it does."
Jing Yuan shook his head helplessly.
"Then what's the story with Baiheng?"
"Back then, when Dan Feng used the Soul-Soothing Sedition technique, he actually changed two people: Baiheng and Yingxing. But Baiheng was just an experiment, so the transformation wasn't complete."
"The Elders wanted the technique but weren't willing to move against Yingyue, so they set their sights on Baiheng and Dan Feng's reincarnation."
"I kept blocking the Elders, so they had no chance to act. So they provoked Baiheng, luring her into actively breaking out of prison, giving them a legitimate reason to capture her and bring her back to the Vidyadhara. But that backfired and gave me an opportunity."
"As for Master Jingliu, I'd thought she might be in better spirits after cutting down a few of the mastermind Elders, but who could've guessed… ah, well. A shattered mirror can't be made whole again, after all."
Don't be fooled by Jing Yuan's casual tone here.
Yet 'Jingliu' only felt a complicated stir inside.
Alright, I think I've got the general picture now.
'Jingliu' rubbed the space between her brows and let out a soft sigh.
Even though her ending up at the Luofu was a complete accident, back then she'd been rather pleased with herself for conveniently saving Baiheng in the process.
But who would've thought, just who would've thought?
All the messy plotlines that were supposed to happen still played out anyway.
Is this the gravity series?
That's really heavy, then.
"Would you like me to arrange accommodation for you to rest?"
"No need. I just wanted to get a general idea of the situation. Next, I'm going to check on Jingliu's current status."
Hearing this, Jing Yuan nodded.
Due to various circumstances, he hadn't seen Jingliu for centuries.
If he got the chance, he'd truly like to see her again.
"Please give her my regards, Lady Bai Ming."
"I will."
'Jingliu' couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
If just the Luofu had ended up like this…
Yingxing was still a disciple of the Xianzhou Zhuming—who knows what Zhuming's stance on this whole matter is.
Probably plenty of headaches there too.
As for Penacony… she'd gone and sent Tiernan and another Galaxy Ranger in there.
Who knows what kind of state that place will end up in. The place with probably the least change is Herta Space Station.
'Jingliu' didn't linger long on the Luofu.
Mainly because, in Jingliu's current identity, being on the Luofu was… rather awkward.
Best to wait until next time, when she could come back with a different identity.
'Jingliu' soon left the Luofu.
Then, she input the coordinates sent by Elio into the little snake's database.
[Proceeding with phase shift.]
This transfer shouldn't go wrong again, right?
--+--