Chapter 236

Xing continued his foul mouth, mercilessly pointing at Huo Huo's nose, delivering a harsh humiliation: "The Ten Kings Office really doesn't pick and choose—even someone like you, a piece of trash, can become a judge; it really makes people laugh their teeth out."

"Wuu..." Huo Huo really started to cry.

Even Wei Ba nearby couldn't stand it, and protectively glared hard at Xing: "Hey hey, enough already—only I… and those few judges can badmouth this guy, got it?"

"... Tsk, something's off—I smell the same kind."

After realizing something was wrong, Wei Ba suddenly laughed, then mercilessly switched to mocking mode: "It's you, Fu Yan. Hiding in a puppet's body and ventriloquizing—truly fits your usual scumbag behavior."

"Ha…hahaha! That's hilarious! I thought you'd escaped the suffering fate in the brazier."

Fu Yan didn't care about Wei Ba's sarcasm; she looked at Huo Huo nearby and said scornfully: "Who would've thought that the most troublesome fragment of the Great Solar Yang Praefire would be sealed in the body of a sniveling little girl as a watchdog—ah, no, wrong, wrong, now you're not even a dog! You're just a… tail~ right? Tail tail tail!"

Wei Ba felt so angry he might faint, but right now he really can't do anything to Fu Yan—the seal restricts his range to just a few meters around Huo Huo, like being trapped in a cage.

"... Damn it! Coward, quickly think of a way!"

After Wei Ba's reminder, Huo Huo belatedly stuck a humanoid talisman on Xing; with the talisman's help, Xing felt Fu Yan's influence lessen.

——

Frieren's Funeral.

It hardened.

Filien's fist hardened.

Although she still looked calm on the surface, the veins bulging on her forehead couldn't be faked. That aura—if a killing spell could directly strike the Solar Yang through the light curtain… the light curtain would probably be smashed by her.

"Lady Frieren." Filien slowly turned her head to look at her, "I'd like to see if there are any monster requests nearby… if there are any specter-like monsters, please let me know."

Before Frieren could answer, Filien raised her head and took a deep breath. That breath, full of anger, seemed to suck all the world's monsters before her.

Then she stood up and quickly left the tavern.

"Tsk tsk, this killing intent—Filien still can't hide it…" Watching Filien's retreating back, Frieren let out a soft sigh.

"It's not Filien's fault either; mainly Fu Yan is just asking for a beating—no wonder she's sealed in this phantom barrier, and she deserves it… Just with that mouth, she's definitely a major disaster on the Star Rail."

Zan Yin watched Wei Ba, half-dead with anger on the light curtain, and chuckled.

"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've seen Wei Ba Grandpa lose the momentum in an argument; in a way, isn't Fu Yan also a counter to Wei Ba? It's the first time Wei Ba couldn't win an argument, so he asked Huo Huo for help."

——

"Although Fu Yan's influence was temporarily suppressed, Huo Huo still felt somewhat withdrawn from her words, silently curling up in a corner, upset. Wei Ba also couldn't bear it, pulling Xing aside to quietly discuss having her comfort Huo Huo a bit."

"Huo Huo was crying her eyes out in a deserted corner; when Xing stepped forward to comfort her, Huo Huo shook her head—she couldn't refute a single thing Fu Yan had said."

"Since childhood, when I barely escaped being eaten by Wei Ba, I've had a tail with flame effects, becoming a freak in everyone's eyes. After joining the Ten Kings Office, I thought I'd found a home, but I never expected to fight all kinds of demons and monsters every day…"

"I… I'm really not suited for this job. If I can make it back alive, I'll still submit my resignation to the Ten Kings Office." Huo Huo said weakly, "Sorry, I can't be of any help."

"But Huo Huo, your paper dolls have helped me a lot; they're still very useful." Xing said sincerely.

"Really? That's great."

"Upon hearing that, Huo Huo finally broke into a smile, and Wei Ba also hurriedly added comfort from the side, completely lacking the fierce tone from their earlier argument."

"Fu Yan lamented that Wei Ba is no longer what it used to be; when discussing past power, Fu Yan appeared quite proud, but Huo Huo caught the key point: 'The power from back then?'"

"Oh dear, Wei Ba Grandpa, she knows nothing about your origins… little sis, the Solar Yang ought to be lurking where people gather, yet now it has to assemble in this desolate Suyuan—do you know why?"

"... Team building?" Huo Huo looked at her, baffled.

"..."

"Fu Yan felt her CPU was about to melt, forcing her to explain: the Suyuan beneath their feet was, over a thousand years ago, the ancient battlefield of the Great Solar Yang Praefire and a certain general from Luo Fu."

"The brazier shattered, the Solar Yang fled, and they gathered here also to fulfill their long-held wish to clash again with that general. When talking about that battle, Fu Yan grew even more excited, her voice rising a few notches."

"That battle could be described as shaking heaven and earth, making ghosts and gods weep! Praefire transformed endlessly, water flooded and fire scorched, mountains collapsed and lightning struck, fighting that general to an indecisive stalemate—five-five split!"

"Xing suppressed the urge to stand up and asked, 'Really… is it a five-five split?'"

"Absolutely!"

——

Blessings on this beautiful world.

"What?! You… you can actually trade blows with the general?!" He Zhen's pupils shook; instantly, even her gaze at this little ghost fire became different.

Everyone has seen the general's strength; as a Patrol Order Envoy, his performance is nothing short of extravagant. Being able to fight five-five with someone blessed by the Star God, he must at least have half the power of Phantasm.

"With such an extravagant battle, why haven't we seen any records of it in the Star Rail? Aren't Star Rail folks the ones who love turning such stories into ballads, operas, etc.?" You You suddenly said.

"... Oh right." He Zhen suddenly remembered, there are plenty of legendary tales of the Cloudborne Five Heroes on the Star Rail, and legends of past generals too, but this Great Solar Yang Praefire is the first time she's heard of it.

"Hmph, do we even need to think? Obviously it's Fu Yan bragging." Hui Hui crossed her arms, her face full of confidence that could pierce anything, "As far as I can see, Star Rail people value history highly; whatever they acknowledge and recognize must be a formidable foe not to be underestimated."

"On the contrary, if they don't acknowledge or even ignore something, its weight goes without saying."