Chapter 148: Stay

“General?”

Yanqing’s head snapped around, her gaze following Kafka’s stare. Her small face was a canvas of pure astonishment.

Dan Heng’s eyes darted over as well.

Within the previously empty expanse of mist, the light and shadows began to twist and distort in a bizarre fashion. A petite figure had materialized there, silent and unnoticed, at some unknown moment.

It was the Divine Foresight of the Xianzhou Luofu—General Jing Yuan.

“Oh my, I’ve been discovered.”

Jing Yuan offered a somewhat helpless smile, her voice as gentle and pleasant as a spring breeze. She stepped slowly out of the swirling mist, her pace unhurried and leisurely.

“I had thought to save a little energy, let the young ones gain some experience,” she mused, her eyes twinkling. “And watch the show while I was at it… Mr. Kafka, your perception truly lives up to its formidable reputation.”

Her gaze drifted across the scene, taking in every detail: the injured but stubbornly upright Yanqing; the complicated, conflicted expression on Dan Heng’s face; and… that person. The one blindfolded with black cloth, hair as white as snow, radiating an aura of cold, solitary detachment—Jingliu.

“Ge-General?!”

Yanqing was a whirlwind of surprise and joy, looking as if she might leap into the air. But then, the memory of her recent defeat and the chaotic scene before her crashed down upon her. Her face fell, and she bowed her head, her voice laced with apprehension.

“Yanqing… Yanqing has failed in her duty. I failed to capture the Stellaron Hunters, and… and…”

“It matters not.”

Jing Yuan waved a dismissive hand, cutting off Yanqing’s self-reproach. Her gaze remained fixed on Jingliu, her tone softening. “Your opponents were the Stellaron Hunters, and…” She paused, the corners of her lips curling into a deeper smile. “…some unexpected old friends. It is already quite impressive that you could retreat unscathed. Leave the rest to the adults.”

With that, she turned her full attention away from Yanqing, her focus now entirely on Kafka and… Jingliu.

“Mr. Kafka,” Jing Yuan began, her tone as mild as if she were exchanging pleasantries with a dear friend. “Coming from so far away just to stir up trouble, and you didn’t even forget to point out this General’s hiding spot before leaving. You are truly… polite.”

Facing the supreme commander of the Luofu, Kafka remained perfectly composed, a faint smile playing on his lips. “The General has such fine taste, to have been watching for so long. You must already have a plan for the current situation. We are merely acting according to the script and have no intention of overstaying our welcome. Only…”

His gaze, too, shifted to Jingliu, his eyes glinting with keen interest. “To witness such an… unexpected reunion of old friends before our departure is truly a pleasant surprise.”

“Unexpected, is it…” Jing Yuan repeated the word softly, the characteristic laziness in her eyes receding just a fraction. She finally fixed her gaze entirely on Jingliu. Her smile remained, but her tone had acquired an unfathomable depth.

“Then, this… old friend,” Jing Yuan spoke slowly, her voice echoing across the empty stone platform. “Are you an ‘unexpected surprise’?”

Kafka’s purple eyes were alight with amusement, as if he were appreciating a carefully choreographed play. Under the suppression of the Spirit Whisper, Blade’s murderous aura still pulsed erratically; her eyes were locked onto Jingliu, refusing to miss a single, infinitesimal detail. Yanqing held her breath, her gaze flickering between her General and the older sister who had just saved her, her mind a maelstrom of confusion.

Under the weight of everyone’s scrutiny, Chen, still in the form of Jingliu, finally moved.

He gave a slight shake of his head, his long, silver-white hair swaying gently with the motion.

“Unexpected?” his voice, cold and clear, cut through the tension. “I am no accident. Nor did I come for this little game of chess you’re all playing.”

He turned sideways. Though his eyes were covered, his posture was clearly directed toward the nervous and bewildered Yanqing beside him.

“It’s just that…” His voice seemed to soften, losing its icy edge for a fleeting moment. “Seeing this little sister—one who may not know the heights of heaven and the depths of earth but possesses a sincere heart—in a spot of trouble, I simply lent a hand to protect her.”

With that, he sheathed his sword with a clean, crisp sound and turned, appearing ready to depart as if no one could hinder him. His entire manner suggested he wasn’t standing in a dangerous place where the General of the Luofu and the Stellaron Hunters were locked in a standoff, but rather taking a leisurely stroll through his own backyard.

“Don’t even think about leaving!”

“Please, wait.”

Two voices rang out almost simultaneously.

One was hoarse and frenzied, thick with lingering hatred and a dark obsession—it came from Blade.

The other, still gentle and measured, came from Jing Yuan.

The lazy smile on the petite General’s face faded slightly as her gaze fell upon Jingliu’s retreating back.

“When old friends meet, it would be a pity not to catch up,” Jing Yuan spoke slowly. Her tone still didn’t sound forceful, yet each word seemed to carry the weight of a thousand tons. “At the very least… you should let this General see if this ‘old friend’ who lent a hand is indeed the one I know.”

An invisible pressure began to emanate from her, pressing down on the very air.

Dan Heng was now almost certain. This Jingliu was ninety-nine percent likely the work of that fellow, Chen. ‘Though I have no idea how he managed to make even the aura so similar,’she thought, a flicker of exasperation in her eyes.’But this pattern of behavior… saving someone in a crisis and then trying to slip away with a hint of cynicism… it’s exactly like him!’

She quietly, almost imperceptibly, adjusted her stance. If things went south, she had to be ready to cover for the reckless fool’s retreat.

Kafka watched with rapt attention, as if this sudden confrontation sparked by Jingliu’s appearance was far more intriguing than the entire Ambrosial Arbor crisis.

And at the center of the storm, Chen’s footsteps halted.

He stood with his back to the crowd, remaining silent for a long moment. Then, under the focused gaze of every person present, he slowly raised a hand.

That hand, which had once held a sword to slay his enemies and had also lightly plucked the strings of an erhu, now reached for the black cloth covering his eyes.

The simple action made everyone’s heart leap into their throats.

Yanqing’s eyes widened in disbelief. Dan Heng held her breath. Even Jing Yuan’s gaze turned sharp and serious. Blade stared with an even greater intensity, as if trying to burn through the fabric with her gaze alone, to see clearly whether the face behind it was the one she hated to the bone, or something else entirely.

The cloth was gently pulled away.

Revealing the countenance beneath.

It was still that same cold, ethereal, and impossibly handsome face. However, when the cloth was completely removed and those eyes opened…

The pupils were a deep, haunting shade of crimson.

An indescribable and terrifying aura erupted from Jingliu, with him as its epicenter! It was an oppressive force, even more intense than during his battle moments ago. The very air instantly condensed into fine, glittering frost, and the shallow puddles on the ground cracked as they froze into thin sheets of ice.

Mara-Struck… or rather, a dangerous state infinitely close to the brink of it, yet, impossibly, retaining a sliver of sanity.

Jingliu slowly turned his neck, the motion stiff and deliberate. His crimson pupils finally settled on Jing Yuan’s petite yet majestic form.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled upward into a chilling, predatory smile.

“You want to see?” his voice was a low, dangerous growl.

“Then…”

“Look to your heart’s content.”

Before the words had even faded, the longsword reappeared in his hand.

The light of the blade flared to life!

A terrifying sword beam, imbued with an intent so cold it seemed capable of freezing souls and destroying all things, tore through space. It slashed directly toward Jing Yuan, raw and without any flourish.

“General, watch out!” Yanqing cried out in alarm.

Dan Heng instinctively tensed, ready to act, but immediately restrained herself, realizing the futility.

Even the ever-composed Kafka had a flash of genuine surprise in his eyes.

And facing this strike head-on, the last traces of laziness on Jing Yuan’s face finally vanished completely. In that instant, her petite form seemed to transform, becoming a towering mountain. A majestic and heavy presence, an authority that felt capable of supporting the very stars, suddenly rose from her.

She simply raised one hand, fingers spread slightly, and made a gentle grasping motion toward the incoming, reality-tearing sword beam.

“Still.”

Law followed her words.

The majestic power of the Lightning-Wielding Thunder-Clapping Spirit-Squashing Lord did not manifest as a physical entity, yet it forcibly intervened in reality with its supreme, obvious might.

That peerlessly terrifying sword beam, while still several feet away from Jing Yuan… actually seemed to crash into a wall of invisible, intangible amber. Its speed plummeted, and its brilliant light flickered violently, as if being forcibly ground away by an unseen, gargantuan force.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely: