Chapter 708

At the same time, outside Si Chen Palace.

Yan Qing slapped his forehead: "Oh no, I forgot to have Yunli return my sword to me..."

"This sword probably won't be coming back!"

"That won't do! Every sword is Yan Qing's treasure! If it weren't for the General stopping him, just based on that girl's arrogant tone, I'd definitely make her learn a lesson in my swordsmanship..." Yan Qing paused, then said: "Come to think of it, I don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel the General today is somewhat... uh, somewhat stiff? Is it because of Old Master Huai Yan's visit?"

San Yue Qi frowned in doubt: "Stiff? Really?"

Dan Heng nodded: "You're not overthinking it. Only after entering Si Chen Palace did I realize that the envoy you mentioned from the Zhuming Astral Express is actually the General of Zhuming himself. Then the envoy from the Yaoqing Astral Express must be that Heaven-Striking General."

"That's right."

Dan Heng lowered his head in thought: "... This is the unusual aspect of the whole matter."

San Yue Qi: "What's so unusual about it? Didn't they just receive an invitation from Jing Yuan like the Astral Express Crew?"

"The Martial Demonstration Ceremony is just a small festival; it's unlikely that two Heavenly Generals from other Astral Expresses would come here at the same time unless there's another reason. They must have come to question Luofu about the Fusang Tree disaster."

"Question them? Surely not. The bad actors from the Medicine King's Secret Legacy and the Anti-Matter Legion invaded Luofu and caused massive destruction— isn't Luofu the victim? How could a victim be questioned?"

"Dan Shu's rebellion, Huan Long's plans... in the eyes of the other Heavenly Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance, they're just one-sided accounts. Only one piece of concrete evidence was left behind, leaving endless troubles."

A bead of cold sweat slid down Yan Qing's forehead: "... Fusang Tree."

—— (separator line, just dash). No names.

Attack on Titan

"Wait! What do they mean? Are they doubting Jing Yuan?" Alan momentarily doubted he had misheard: "Jing Yuan almost gave his life for this Fusang Tree disaster, yet the other Heavenly Generals still doubt him?"

"Alan, stay calm. If you think about it carefully, that's how it is: in this Fusang Tree Disaster, Huan Long disappeared, the Dan Ding Si left only corpses of Demonic Shadow everywhere, and Dan Shu died... The surviving Medicine King's Secret Legacy members were probably detained as well. The other Heavenly Generals couldn't possibly find Huan Long's true form to come and prove Jing Yuan's innocence." Armin spoke up to advise.

"That's right."

Alan let out a scoff, his voice full of mockery: "The other Heavenly Generals distrust him so much— aren't they afraid of chilling Jing Yuan's heart?"

Armin shook his head: "Any organization that wants to thrive must have clear rules and procedures. The visit of the two Heavenly Generals might very well be the Astral Express Alliance's way of eliminating calamities. Since General Jing Yuan holds his position, he must face these."

—— (separator)

"The resurgence of Luofu Astral Express's long-suppressed Shouwen Hui Ji is an undeniable fact. But is it a plot by the Anti-Matter Legion, or has Luofu itself harbored treachery, even dragging Jing Yuan into it? Once the fire of suspicion is lit, it's hard to extinguish."

After Dan Heng's explanation, Xing also understood: "No wonder we were summoned back to witness the ceremony."

San Yue Qi drooped her eyebrows: "Sigh... I'm really stupid, truly. I thought we could have a carefree, happy-go-lucky trip where we could just go wherever we wanted. But now it seems no matter where we go, the Astral Express can't escape trouble."

"Damn, I initially actually happily thought the Heavenly Generals were just coming to witness the ceremony, and I was happily pleased... Thinking about it, I heard that along with the Zhuming Envoy Vessel, there's also an Alchemist who is said to be appointed as the new Chief Alchemist of Luofu's Dan Ding Si."

"The person sent by Zhuming to serve as Luofu's Chief Alchemist? There is a precedent, but the timing..."

Yan Qing nodded: "Only after listening to Dan Heng did I realize the undercurrents surging behind this."

——

Zenless Zone Zero

Ghost Fire Sister, what's the deep meaning behind sending Zhuming's people to Luofu to serve as officials? Could it be... to monitor Jing Yuan?!

Inside the Opolius Squad's dormitory, Opheus tidied up the table while asking.

Monitoring isn't out of the question; Luofu has six Sovereigns, and if my database records are correct, these six officials hold great authority. If they all came from Luofu, then if they harbored malicious intent— just like Dan Shu, banding together with the General, locking the doors and presenting a united front— wouldn't the Marshal be unable to know the true situation?

Opheus had a sudden realization: "Oh... I get it! So the best situation would be for the six Sovereigns to each come from different Astral Expresses, making things completely open and transparent!"

"That doesn't have to be so extreme." Trigger walked out of the kitchen holding a few bowls of noodles: "If I remember correctly, Miss Fu Xuan is from the Yuqing Astral Express, and such high-level personnel exchanges between different Astral Expresses are still quite common. However, Dan Shu's incident indeed served as a wake-up call for the Marshal; given fully compatible abilities, letting the six Sovereigns come from different Astral Expresses might be the best arrangement."

Opheus pursed his lips: "Is it really necessary to make things so complicated? I think letting Jing Yuan choose the six Sovereigns himself would be fine— the more they're native to the Astral Express, the better they understand its situation, and Jing Yuan would find them easier to work with."

Heh, if that were done, it would practically be handing over an Astral Express's fate entirely to the General— nepotism... and that's certainly not a good thing.

——

"The General is currently bearing immense pressure, yet I completely failed to notice his worries... how childish!"

San Yue Qi suddenly interjected, "comforting": "You shouldn't think like that! Adults' matters are naturally for adults to worry about. Besides, what can you do for your General right now?"

「「……」」 -> none.

Yan Qing was utterly crushed by that "comforting," his demeanor visibly sinking.

San Yue Qi lowered her head embarrassedly: "Um, did I say something wrong again?"

"When it comes to speaking ability, you're still the one!"

"Miss San Yue is right— Yan Qing's abilities are modest; he still can't share the General's worries at the moment."

But after thinking that he could still do his best to fulfill every task entrusted by the General, Yan Qing felt somewhat reassured. However, seeing his troubled expression, the three members of the Astral Express Crew decided to accompany him to the Gong Zao Si to handle the protest.

Yan Qing still hesitated: "This... isn't appropriate? Though the three are willing to help and I'm grateful, company staff are especially troublesome... I worry that instead, we might bring trouble upon the Astral Express."

San Yue Qi, unable to wait, already made a promise: "Don't worry! Dealing with company people, our Astral Express Crew is quite experienced! Have you heard of the Stoneheart Ten? We've dealt with a few of them! Right, Xing?"

Xing quietly stepped over and whispered: "Don't drag me into your bragging."

"Who's bragging? A few company staff— could they possibly be tougher than Shajin? No way!"

Seeing the trio's enthusiasm, Yan Qing no longer hesitated, immediately boarding a Star Chariot with them to arrive outside the grotto of Gong Zao Si.

Just as they arrived at the dock of Gong Zao Si, Xing heard an extremely familiar sound.

"You Astral Express people, do you even have any sense of reason?"

Heh, I think I get it— in your words, this is 'exploiting a crisis,' right?

"Xing scratched his head, feeling that this yin-yang weird voice sounded really familiar, as if he had just heard it not long ago in the Holy Grail War?"