Elsewhere.
While Zeig was conversing with Kafka, Luocha and March 7th were also chatting in the back.
March 7th urged:
"Hey, Luocha, you only talked about the Propagation Aeon halfway. Keep going! It's pretty interesting."
Luocha spoke:
"Actually, it's nothing much. Aeons are not immortal. However, the fall of Propagation did indeed surpass the scale of mortals. Although… he fell at the hands of other Aeons."
"Aeons can kill Aeons?"
March 7th immediately thought of the Destruction Aeon.
She suggested:
"Then has any Aeon gone and taken out Destruction? Dispatching the Antimatter Legion everywhere to attack various planets. The number of Voidrangers we've encountered along the way is as many as locusts."
"Locusts? Haha… that does have some of the Propagation Aeon's style."
Luocha chuckled lightly:
"The relationships between Aeons are intricate and complex. We mortals shouldn't expect too much from them."
He looked around.
His gaze fell on the corner where several Mara-struck soldiers had been knocked unconscious by Titan mechs.
"Take the Hunt and the Abundance, for example. When we came to the Xianzhou, did you hear the Cloud Knights tell you about it?"
"We did… The Mara-struck are caused by the power of Abundance, right?"
"Mm." Luocha nodded.
"Regarding the history of the Xianzhou Alliance, if Miss March 7th has time and interest, you can look into it properly."
"…Oh."
March 7th then looked at the white box behind Luocha:
"I've been curious for a while. What exactly is this box you've been carrying on your back?"
"This?"
Luocha casually took a step to the side, revealing the white box behind him, and introduced it to March 7th:
"This is a coffin. You can also think of it as a casket, specially used to collect the remains of the deceased."
"?"
"Deceased?" March 7th scratched her head, her pink-blue eyes wide open.
"Aren't you a merchant? Part-time psychiatrist, and actually the owner of a funeral parlor too?"
Looking at Luocha's attire, March 7th didn't think he was someone so poor that he had to hold multiple jobs.
Being a merchant and getting involved with funerals—most people in the industry would find that inauspicious.
"…Haha, March 7th, you misunderstand."
Luocha explained unhurriedly:
"This is a commission I received during my travels. This one was entrusted to deliver this coffin back to the Xianzhou along the way and hand it over to the deceased's relatives."
"Although… I haven't been able to contact them yet. The deceased comes first, so I must properly safeguard the remains for them."
"Wow, so that's the reason you've been carrying him the whole time? You're that afraid of losing it?"
"Mm." Luocha nodded slightly.
"For his family, this coffin must be extremely important."
"This one absolutely cannot let them down."
"Wow, you have such principles!"
March 7th felt deep agreement:
"You're right. There are so many monsters on the Xianzhou right now. When Zeig and I were helping earlier, a lot of people had already sacrificed their lives before we arrived. Their bodies could only wait for others to collect them."
"Mm, that's indeed the case." Luocha sighed.
"I only hope this disaster on the Xianzhou can pass quickly, so everyone can be safe."
…
Elsewhere.
Sushang wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and thanked the man beside her:
"Thank you so much, Brother Dan Heng. I didn't expect you to come help us again."
In the corner at the edge of the pier, Dan Heng and Sushang were resting.
Beside them leaned three Cloud Knight corpses.
"It's fine. We came to help the Xianzhou in the first place. There's no need to worry about such a small matter." Dan Heng said in a deep voice.
Now that Mr. Welt was recovering from illness and Zeig and March 7th had gone to the Divination Commission.
If he didn't do something, he would truly feel bad.
"By the way, Brother Dan Heng. When you were carrying the deceased's bodies with your bare hands just now, weren't you scared?"
Behind the two of them, three Cloud Knights lay quietly. They were covered in wounds, their limbs ice-cold, and had stopped breathing long ago.
"Sigh." Sushang sighed.
"These three are from another team that went missing for a long time. I didn't expect us to find them."
Dan Heng replied calmly:
"Cloud Knight soldiers throw themselves onto the battlefield. Death is an ordinary matter. When moving the bodies… I wasn't greatly affected. But in my heart, there was still some fluctuation."
"Whoa, that's impressive!"
Sushang exclaimed:
"To be honest, the first time I moved bodies… my legs went weak and I was so scared I collapsed on the ground and couldn't move at all!"
"In the end… other veteran Cloud Knights had to help me move them. I was so useless that they transferred me to another place to help. They wouldn't let me move bodies anymore either."
"What about now?"
Dan Heng asked calmly:
"From the way Miss Sushang looked just now—so efficient—it seems you're quite steady now."
Of these three bodies, two were ones Dan Heng had helped carry back from the monster piles, and one had been carried here by Sushang.
"It's been a while. Haven't I already gotten used to it? Haha."
Sushang smiled:
"Speaking of which, our Xianzhou people's custom for bidding farewell to comrades is to enshrine their names and jade omens in the Hall of Karma at the Ten-Lords Commission."
"Maybe soon, my name will appear there too."
"It won't."
Dan Heng shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"I believe the chaos on the Xianzhou will pass soon, and everyone will be safe and sound."
"Is that so? Haha… Brother Dan Heng is really optimistic. But you're right. Ever since you brought the army, the casualties among the Cloud Knights have really decreased a lot."
Sushang looked up at the sky at several white mechs flying past and sighed:
"However, is this really okay? These mechanical constructs aren't cheap, right? Just now on the road, I saw quite a few that had broken down on the roadside. For the Xianzhou… your Express crew is really going above and beyond."
"It should be fine." Dan Heng said with certainty.
Since Zeig had done this, the losses were definitely within a controllable range.
Sushang spoke again:
"Speaking of which, on our Xianzhou, Foxians and Vidyadhara also have their own farewell rituals. I've seen Foxian warriors place their deceased comrades in starskiffs and let them drift toward distant stars—they call this the Azure Mound of the Fox."
"As for the Vidyadhara, they're more mysterious. I heard that when Vidyadhara live too long, or when they're injured and near death, they transform into a pearl-like egg and are reborn with the appearance of a child…"
"My mother calls the Vidyadhara dragon descendants. When I was little, listening to the stories my mother told, the Vidyadhara could even transform into giant dragons. I wonder if that's true…"
While Sushang was reminiscing to herself, Dan Heng suddenly spoke:
"It's true. However… only special Vidyadhara can transform into dragons."
"Whoa, your Express crew has research on this too?"
Dan Heng pursed his lips, unsure where to begin.
After thinking for a moment, he simply explained:
"The Vidyadhara are dragon descendants, as well as descendants of the immortal Aeon. Therefore, among the Vidyadhara, there were once those who could transform into dragons, but not everyone has this qualification."
"Oh? Then who has this qualification?" Sushang raised an eyebrow.