Although Caelus hadn't sensed anything unusual about Tingyun so far, even at close quarters, he hadn't found any flaws. It didn't seem like a case of possession at all.
But as a fun-seeker who had walked deep down the Path of Elation, Caelus's intuition would occasionally stir when facing Tingyun—very faintly, very briefly.
Currently, Caelus was only about five percent certain that 'Tingyun was Phantylia in disguise.'
Normally, the probability was very low. But to an otaku who plays gacha games, is that probability low?
Not at all, okay?
Caelus didn't rule out the possibility that it was just an illusion born of his own paranoia. But taking a step back, what's the harm in testing it?
He believed that even the real Tingyun, upon learning he was testing a Lord Ravager for the safety of the Xianzhou, would surely understand his actions!
Holding the milk tea, Caelus mentally reviewed the ingredients he and Stelle had added while assembling the treasure chest, based on what little March had just said.
Right, everything was either from the food court or picked from nearby. The leaves from the roadside plants weren't normal food, but they definitely weren't lethal.
All the ingredients were 'normal,' so the 'milk tea' concocted from this random mix should be non-toxic.
And no poison means no problem!
"Uncle Yang, Tingyun."
Under the suddenly horrified gazes of March 7th, Little Duckling, and Bai Xi, Caelus took a perfectly packaged cup of Immortal's Delight Tea from March 7th's hands.
"This one's for you."
"Thanks."
Welt accepted it naturally. He wasn't particularly interested in milk tea, but since Caelus had bought it, he might as well sample the Xianzhou's local flavor.
"And Miss Tingyun, have a cup of Immortal's Delight Tea to soothe your throat."
"Hee hee~ There's a share for this humble girl, too? How did you know I have a sweet tooth, benefactor?"
Tingyun accepted the Delight Tea with a smile, but she keenly noticed that everyone else was staring over with looks of horror, which she found a bit baffling.
"Ah, ah, hey, Caelus! That... you!"
March 7th waved her hands frantically, stuttering a little, her mind feeling tangled.
Bai Xi and Little Duckling looked at each other, at a loss. They didn't know why Caelus was doing this; it had gone far beyond a simple prank.
Only Stelle looked up blankly. She had been admiring her crystals and hadn't paid attention to what March and Caelus were saying. In her eyes, that cup of milk tea was just the ordinary one March had given to Caelus earlier.
From an angle Tingyun couldn't see, Caelus winked at March 7th and the Seele group before turning back to Tingyun with a smile.
"The owner said this is a new flavor the Sleepless Earl just released. You probably haven't tried it yet, right? Go on, have a taste."
Hearing Caelus say this, March 7th was at a loss for words. Out of her trust in him, she ultimately chose not to warn Tingyun.
"Oh~ A new flavor? This humble girl just returned from a long-distance mission with the Blazing Prairie Fire. I indeed haven't had the chance to patronize Mengming's teahouse recently."
Tingyun took the milk tea out of its bag. Looking through the transparent part of the cup, she noted the color was a bit different from what she usually drank.
"Then I thank you, benefactor."
Tingyun (Phantylia) nodded her thanks with a gentle smile, took out a straw, and inserted it. Her every move exuded a foxian charm.
She sensed something was odd, but she didn't overthink it. Phantylia was very confident in her disguise.
"You're welcome."
Caelus turned and walked towards March 7th, taking the cup originally meant for Tingyun from the girl's gut-wrenchingly anxious hands.
Up close, Caelus could hear March 7th swallowing nervously.
Seeing Tingyun put one end of the straw in her mouth, March 7th thought of the ingredients Caelus and Stelle had added earlier and couldn't bear to watch, forcing herself to look away.
Tingyun's red lips pursed slightly, and the milk tea was drawn into her mouth.
One second. Her long, narrow fox eyes squinted slightly, and like every other customer who drank the Delight Tea, she revealed a mysterious smile.
Two seconds. The smile on the foxian girl's face slowly stiffened. Her charming posture became puppet-like, and her jade-green, enchanting eyes began to tremble.
Phantylia was stunned!
She gripped the folding fan in her hand so tightly that the blue veins on her hand were clearly visible. The smile on her face was about to break, her expression gradually contorting.
What the hell is this stuff!
Immortal's Delight Tea my ass!
It's a hundred times worse than soda douzhi'er!
From her taste buds to her esophagus to her stomach, she was instantly filled with a taste that was impossible to describe with words. Every single cell in her body was screaming and trembling.
For a moment, Phantylia had the urge to use her power to incinerate the liquid inside her body, but...
I can't break character!
Tingyun's persona was that of a weak woman without the strength to even truss a chicken.
She could only endure the nausea that shot straight to the top of her skull. But there was another problem: how should she react?
As a Lord Ravager skilled in manipulating people's hearts, Phantylia had a precise understanding of human nature.
From a normal person's perspective, the newly arrived Nameless had no reason to do anything to her, their guide, right?
Besides, the milk tea contained no poison or anything of the sort; it was just purely, utterly disgusting. Phantylia definitely didn't believe it was a new flavor.
"Gag, blegh~"
Her thoughts raced, and in the end, Phantylia spit out the contents of her mouth. This wasn't breaking character; even the real Tingyun would have done the same!
Tingyun's sudden, dramatic vomiting left old Yang a bit dumbfounded.
"Miss Tingyun, what's wrong?"
"I'm... blegh~ ...fine." Tingyun quickly ran to the side of the road—luckily, there was a trash can right there—and gently patted her chest.
"Oh my? What happened all of a sudden?"
Caelus hurried over with a look of concern.
"Benefactor, this tea..."
After completely spitting everything out, Tingyun wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and looked at the milk tea in her hand with suspicion and uncertainty.
"What's wrong with the tea? I think it's fantastic."
Caelus first took a sip of the normal Delight Tea before taking the cup from Tingyun's hand. He pretended to examine it for a few seconds and sniffed it. "Could it be the boss sold us a pre-made tea? Is it expired? Come on, let's go find the owner!"
"Wait, benefactor. The Sleepless Earl is a time-honored brand. Mengming and I are good friends; she would never use inferior ingredients."
Phantylia continued to act according to Tingyun's persona.
"Then this tea?" Caelus frowned, looking at the cup that had barely been touched.
"There's something fishy about this tea." Tingyun looked at the tea, but she was actually observing Caelus intently, yet she couldn't find anything amiss.
To deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.
Caelus used the Fool's Mask to alter his own surface memories, making himself believe he had bought the original tea from the teahouse.
Phantylia muttered inwardly. She glanced at Stelle; the gray-haired girl blinked her clear golden eyes and looked at her with a guileless expression. It wasn't her.
Phantylia then glanced out of the corner of her eye at March 7th, Bai Xi, and Little Duckling, who had looked odd earlier. Could it be them?
"Miss March?" 'Tingyun' turned to look at her.
"Ah, ah, ah? What is it?"
With that air of cluelessness, she didn't seem like the type to do something like this, but she definitely knew something.
"It's nothing. Perhaps this humble girl has been feeling unwell lately."
Phantylia had no intention of digging deeper into this matter, but she cursed under her breath. What kind of people are these Nameless nowadays!
Have they no decency!
As for being discovered?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
After this minor incident, Tingyun continued to lead the group, introducing the Xianzhou's unique locations and cuisine.
From then on, Phantylia was more cautious. Whenever she ate something bought by the Express crew, she would sniff it first.
Little March tried several more times to pull Caelus aside and ask him why he did it.
"I'll explain tonight. For now, just relax and enjoy the trip."
Since Caelus said so, March 7th could only transform into Super Little March and play to her heart's content!
As she played, she completely forgot about the incident.
Little Duckling was mainly accompanying Seele, but...
"Ah?"
Looking at the skewer of candied hawthorn held before her—which seemed to be called a Qiongshi Bird Skewer on the Xianzhou—Little Duckling managed a smile, then opened her mouth and gently took a bite of one.
However, she had barely gotten it halfway into her mouth when Caelus leaned in, bent down, and snatched the half-melted hawthorn from her mouth with his tongue.
"It really is sweeter this way."
After eating it, Caelus bit off another piece of candied hawthorn and fed it back to her, mouth-to-mouth.
Her pretty face blushing slightly, Little Duckling licked the remaining syrup from her red lips, feeling a little helpless.
She had to act out the intimate interactions of a couple, playing the part of Silver Wolf with Caelus. For her, who was gradually getting used to being close to him, it wasn't too difficult.
It was all for the sake of being with Seele.
The inwardly small but outwardly big Duckling looked up at the endless stream of starskiffs flying overhead and the magnificent, elegant Xianzhou architecture all around.
Bai Xi had at least spent some time at the Herta Space Station. While she was curious about the Xianzhou's civilization, she wasn't as awestruck as someone from the countryside.
This was Little Duckling's first time personally experiencing the splendor of an interstellar civilization. Jarilo-VI was out of the question; it couldn't even compare to Earth.
Just as Caelus was about to chase after the Stellaron spirit who had snatched his roasted Lalafell skewer, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Caelus devoured the entire skewer in his other hand in one go. With a flick of his wrist, the leftover bamboo stick cut through the air and flew perfectly into Stelle's open mouth.
Wiping his hands, Caelus took out his phone.
[Returning Wolf King: Bro, what do you need this for? Don't tell me you're up against a Lord Ravager? (Attachment: Phantylia's file)]
Silver Wolf wasn't involved in the Xianzhou script; she only paid attention to the parts that required action.
[Wants to share a surname with Sister Asta: Not sure, but it's a possibility.]
Glancing at Tingyun, who was chatting with March 7th, Caelus opened the file Silver Wolf had compiled and began to read it seriously.
[Returning Wolf King: ...]
Before he could even see a reply, Silver Wolf was rendered speechless by Caelus's new nickname.
Sister Asta... if she remembered correctly, that was the master of the Herta Space Station, right?
"Phantylia, her true form is of the Heliobus race, a species of energy beings without a fixed form."
Caelus first found the section on Phantylia's species. He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger and typed on his phone.
[Wants to share a surname with Sister Asta: My dear friend, are you familiar with energy lifeforms? Do Heliobi have things like... waste products?]
[Returning Wolf King: ???]
On her way to Pier Point, Silver Wolf did a tactical lean-back.
[Subway, Silver Wolf, Phone.jpg]
[Returning Wolf King: What are you planning to do?]
[Wants to share a surname with Sister Asta: Prepare a fine meal for someone suspected of being a disguised Lord Ravager.]
The Immortal's Delight Tea had given Caelus an idea.
Generally speaking, in fantasy novels, holy powers like light are like poison to demons, but to humans, light is a positive buff.
Therefore, the waste products of an energy being like a Heliobus might not necessarily be an unacceptable energy product for humans.
In that case, mixing that kind of energy byproduct into food and feeding it to Tingyun would be an excellent way to test her.
[Returning Wolf King: 6]
Silver Wolf was shocked.
Feeding a Lord Ravager shit... that's our Caelus, alright!
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