Chapter 348: Pinokangni Chapter (37)

The Train Group decided to agree to cooperate with Heitian'e, and after discussion everyone quickly returned to their own rooms.

At this moment Xing was still worried about Liuying, not knowing whether she had returned to reality. She tried to pick up her phone to ask, only to discover she had no contact information for the other party…

Heitian'e was waiting for her in her room; as soon as she saw Xing, Heitian'e read the emotion on her face: "You look very nervous, Xing. Are you worried about that little girl? If you have something on your mind, feel free to confide in me. There's no one in this world more suited to be a therapist than a Memory Keeper."

"Can you confirm Liuying's safety?" Xing asked bluntly as she opened the door.

"Don't worry, it's a one‑way gate that only leads to the waking reality. Unless the girl has a strong will and refuses to wake from the dream… how could that be? She must be rubbing her eyes somewhere in a hotel right now."

Hearing Heitian'e say that, the weight hanging in Xing's heart finally settled. She lay down in the Dream‑Entering Pool and quickly entered the dream world.

She opened her eyes, returned to the familiar room, and Heitian'e was still waiting not far away.

"I know you're more sensitive to memory essence and more easily affected by dreams than others, which is why I need to accompany you specially. I'll use a slight technique to make you less uncomfortable. Don't worry, your companions are also safe; before entering the dream I asked each of them for a small piece of jewelry, which lets me sense their presence in the memory realm."

Heitian'e sensed that they had already awakened in their own rooms, but because the structure of the memory realm differs from reality, Jizi's and Sanyueqi's rooms were far away. Time waits for no one, so they had to head to the lobby immediately to regroup.

Along the way they saw some crooked Dream‑Shock Troupe members, and Heitian'e lightly frowned: "Strange, there seems to be someone else's aura here…"

——

AveMujica.

The rehearsal room's lights were pallid, and the band's playing abruptly stopped.

"Third measure, fourth beat."

Fengchuan Xiangzi's finger hammered the score, nails scraping a harsh sound on the paper, "Miss Youtiansi—how many times has this happened? Even daydreaming should have a limit, right? Clearly you're the one who needs the most practice; have you not practiced lately?"

Miaomeng twirled the drumstick on her fingertip, giggling apologetically: "Can't help it, I've been pretty busy lately~"

"Busy?"

Xiangzi's voice suddenly deepened, like silk soaked in ice water—soft yet chilling. She pulled out her phone, deftly opened Miaomeng's account, and the two newest videos were just posted in the past two days.

"The drum cover of 'Keeping a Heart Free from Sorrow', and also…" Xiangzi's fingers swiped quickly on the screen, "Liuying's makeup tutorial."

"So… you don't have time to practice AveMujica's piece, but you have time to practice the piece from the sky dome?"

"Ah~ Xiangzi also loves the content in the sky dome, right? Pinokangni is now the world's number‑one in popularity—" Miaomeng got up, walked around to Xiangzi's back, and gently placed her finger on the girl's soft shoulder, "Sometimes you have to ride the wave, you know~"

"But that's not an excuse to neglect practice!"

"No, that's my reason."

Miaomeng, ignoring the girl's anger, nonchalantly plopped onto the sofa, shrugged, "Clearly you can get more attention just by using someone else's song; borrowing it a bit isn't wrong, right? Lots of bands worldwide do it. The point is the hype… the band's hype."

"But that piece doesn't match AveMujica's style at all, does it?" Xiangzi's eyebrows knit so tightly a tiny crease formed at the bridge.

"What's 'matching'? As long as the fans like it, that's enough, right?" Miaomeng pulled out her phone, sent several scores to others' phones, "Practice or not, it's up to you. Remember, this is a once‑in‑a‑lifetime chance~"

——

The two arrived at the lobby and suddenly saw a familiar figure in the center.

Heitian'e was a bit stunned: "Ah… is that her? How is that possible?"

Huangquan was standing beside several members of the Dream‑Shock Troupe, looking somewhat troubled as she scanned the surroundings: "Is there no staff here…?" She turned back, pleasantly surprised to see the two: "Huh, why is it you two?"

"You… got lost again?"

"I can't exactly say that; I just don't know where I am," Huangquan replied earnestly.

The three first cleared the few small monsters before them; once it quieted, Huangquan curiously asked, "Why are you two here?"

But that was also the question Heitian'e wanted to ask her, and Huangquan didn't hide it; she said that rumors about Pinokangni involving a clockmaker and a legacy were circulating, and she was curious about who was spreading them, so she tested the rumor… and actually ended up here.

Considering the dream realm was fraught with danger, Huangquan proactively suggested traveling together; she could step in to protect the others, and she also needed a Memory Keeper's assistance.

Xing naturally agreed; Huangquan was immensely grateful to the two and also delighted to travel again with Miss Heitian'e.

"Hmm… I hope so."

——

Teyvat.

"Apprehension."

Inside the Natlan arena, fire‑god Mawika set down her beer and stared curiously at the slightly displeased expression on Heitian'e's face. She knew that look all too well—back when she hadn't yet become the fire god, her opponents always showed that expression.

"…She seemed a bit afraid of Miss Huangquan."

"Afraid? Why?" Chasaka couldn't quite grasp it, "I recall Miss Memory Keeper once invited Huangquan to dance, right? Their relationship should be fine, so could Huangquan and Heitian'e be hiding some unknown grudge?"

"It can't be that Huangquan's dancing is terrible yet she feels confident, can it?"

Mawika laughed loudly: "How could that be? Miss Heitian'e isn't someone who cares about such petty issues." She lowered her head slightly, pondering, "I guess… it's about strength."

Huangquan indeed possessed formidable power—this was almost a consensus among them, yet no one knew exactly how strong she had become.

She always fought with a sheath, and no one had ever seen the blade leave it.

"—Is the opponent not worth her drawing the sword?"

"—Or would drawing the sword bring irreversible…"

Mawika could only think of these two possibilities. But she guessed that Miss Heitian'e might be the person in all of Pinokangni who knows Huangquan's strength best… otherwise, it would be hard to explain why she feels such apprehension.