Todd's mind began to stir, while Pei Guang, pleased with the flattery, stood proudly with hands on his hips. "Thanks for the praise! So, what's got you sighing over here?"
Todd sighed again. "Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't understand. Hmm? Judging by your outfit, are you an outworlder?"
Pei Guang puffed out his chest proudly. "Of course! I'm no native Xianzhou citizen, and I'm definitely not a Foxian or Vidyadhara!" He sat down next to Todd, ready to hear the man's backstory.
As Todd talked, Pei Guang squatted and started hopping in place. It didn't let him skip the dialogue, but at least it helped pass the time.
Todd shared why he came to the Luofu and his plans in full detail. But Pei Guang only remembered the gist, something about the Intelligentsia Guild, something about lacking assistants, he didn't catch any of the lore.
Pei Guang didn't want to waste too much time on an old man: if the one talking had been a cute girl, maybe, just maybe, he'd have listened.
Todd didn't notice Pei Guang bouncing in place and kept talking about how the Xianzhou people didn't respect history, and how long-lived they were.
Pei Guang admitted to himself that his attention span wasn't great and didn't want to sit through an old man's ramblings in a side quest, so he kept bouncing even more.
After a while, Todd finally noticed and asked, "Why are you hopping next to me like that? What are you doing?"
Pei Guang answered, "Nothing. I just don't feel like reading the quest dialogue right now. I want to skip to the end—I've got an adorable adjutant waiting to go shopping with me."
Though Pei Guang was firmly on a romance-only route in this playthrough, that didn't mean he couldn't raise other characters' favorability in the meantime. After all, Elysia was his adjutant: if she liked him more, she'd support him better on the battlefield.
He definitely didn't want to hear his adjutant shout things like "Your SCV, Drone, or Probe is under attack!" or hear her voice say "oh my, it's all gone" in that tragic tone during a battle.
Sure, Elysia looked stunning, sounded beautiful, and had a heart of gold—but hearing that kind of broadcast in her voice would just make Pei Guang break into a cold sweat.
"Young people these days, so impatient!" Todd chided Pei Guang before continuing, "I'm looking for an outworlder guide, someone familiar with the local situation, enthusiastic, well-educated, and brave enough to take risks, to help with my research project here on the Xianzhou."
At that, Pei Guang couldn't help but comment, "Are you looking for an assistant or a protagonist? But funny enough, I fit all of that. However—what about the reward?"
"Too demanding? Those are just the basic requirements. As scholars of the Intelligentsia Guild, we must delve deep into the cultures of other races and earn their trust. We risk natural disasters and political dangers—no less than the Trailblazers do. Look at this: thanks to the Stellaron incident, my opportunity to study Xianzhou medical history is completely gone."
Pei Guang cut him off, "Stop! No more of this useless backstory. Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll get it done."
He really didn't want to hear any more of the old man's long-winded speeches: just give him the objective.
"A young person lacking patience, that won't do… But alright, let's start with something simple. I just need you to run an errand for me. Go to the Alchemy Commission and bring back some research material. It won't take long. As fellow outworlders, help a guy out, young man."
That "It's simple" line made Pei Guang's expression darken. He had a feeling this old geezer was up to no good. But it wasn't a big deal: as long as there was a reward attached to the quest, no matter how dumb the task, he'd do it.
After all, refusing a basic fetch quest would be an insult to the dignity of a player.
"No problem! Give me the details."
Bored with the dialogue, Pei Guang skipped the fluff and focused on the actual task. Todd explained seriously, "I need a Xianzhou medical tome titled Compendium of Remedies. Could you run over to the Alchemy Commission and fetch it for me?"
Pei Guang replied, "Huh? You trying to snoop on something? That's not happening. I've got a bit of a reputation in Luofu. Helping you steal something and ruining that? No way."
Pei Guang was very cautious: faction quests often came with their oppositions. Completing one could lower your reputation with another faction, or worse, affect the storyline.
Todd said, "It's not classified, and I'm not asking you to steal it. For the medical officers in the Alchemy Commission, that book's basically just a desk reference. Besides, they already approved my request to borrow it. The head alchemist herself signed off. According to the guild's—"
Todd's background explanation made Pei Guang's head buzz. He couldn't tell if this was just how the quest was designed, or if this NPC was just too old and long-winded. Either way, his head was starting to ache.
It's not like he hated reading lore, he just preferred reading it silently over having someone yammer it at him. It was faster that way.
Sure, sometimes he missed things that way and ended up in "Scarlet King" situations, but generally, it worked out.
Even if he didn't catch all of it, Pei Guang got the gist: the item Todd needed had been approved for retrieval by Dan Shu, but now Dan Shu was no longer around, and so the item was inaccessible.
Pei Guang said, "Got it! You mean the item was approved but never collected? No problem, leave it to me. I'll get it for you within a day."
He actually felt kind of lucky at that moment: thankful that he hadn't killed Dan Shu back then, and instead had followed Fu Xuan's advice to let the Ten-Lords Commission deal with her.
Who would've guessed that choice would help him complete a quest later?
Since Dan Shu was captured by the Ten-Lords Commission, and Pei Guang had connections with them, he could ask them to let him visit her during interrogation. Easy access to the quest item, no problem.
Thinking back, Pei Guang realized how vicious this side quest really was. If he'd killed Dan Shu like a random mob, it would've been a huge pain to finish this quest now.
But, ironically, Pei Guang was wrong. His plan was about to make things more complicated.
After accepting the quest, Pei Guang confidently strutted toward the Alchemy Commission in Fyxestroll Garden to find someone. But in doing so, he had clearly forgotten one thing: Elysia was still finishing her identity verification.
In other words, he got a quest and forgot his deputy.
Sure enough, when Elysia finished her identity check and stepped out of the Astral Express Office, she looked around, confused.
"Huh? Wasn't Ah Guang waiting for me outside? Where is he?" From when she went in to when she came out, only about ten minutes had passed. Pei Guang wasn't the type to bail after just ten minutes.
From what she knew of him, Pei Guang was both proactive and patient. He'd usually find something to occupy himself if he got bored: why would he just leave without a word?
As she pondered, someone with horns on their head and a tail on their back happened to be passing by. This person was none other than the current Luofu High Elder of the Vidyadhara Bailu, who was sneaking out for a stroll.
When Bailu heard the name "Ah Guang," she instinctively stopped in her tracks. Seeing that the speaker was a cute pink-haired girl, she immediately began to imagine the relationships between Elysia, March 7th, and Pei Guang.
And at that moment, Elysia also instinctively looked at Bailu.
Thus, the gears of fate began to turn! Although maybe not in the right direction, but hey, they did turn!