Silence fell over the Slanted Moon Pavilion for a time.
The faint, erupting chill scared the chirping insects in the courtyard into silence. Only the artificially created moon, hanging high in the pale sky, scattered its bright, clean light, declaring that time had not stopped here.
If not for the unprecedented sensation of lightness coming from her body at every moment, Jingliu would have thought the Five Decays of the Mara had found her again.
Aversion: emotions fluctuating violently between intense joy, sorrow, resentment, and anger.
Avidya: falling into a muddled, chaotic state.
"Huu~"
Jingliu took a deep breath, dispersing the absurd emotions surging in her chest, and fixed her red eyes firmly on the grey-haired young man before her.
"What did you say? Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious. Don't look at me with those eyes; I just want to keep it as a testament to our friendship."
Caelus would definitely never give up on a treasure chest, no matter how tricky the spawn location was.
Caelus squatted on the stone bench. Extending his index finger, he then raised his middle finger, and made a circle with the tips of his horizontally placed scissor-hand gesture.
Facing Jingliu's look of utter disbelief—as if she had seen a ghost—Caelus's smile was reserved to the point of shyness, a shyness that resembled Sparkle.
"Besides, Miss Jingliu, you don't want to run out of time to fulfill your long-held wishes and settle your grudges, do you?"
"You..."
Her expression visibly struggled to hold together. Few people could render Jingliu this speechless; in fact, not a single person had done so in the last few hundred years.
As for those who dared to tease her? Such brave souls were rare. They were either scared off by the sword intent and killing intent she released, or they were directly chopped into pieces or ice sculptures by her.
That wasn't the point. Caelus was serious!
But precisely because of that, Jingliu found his train of thought even more incomprehensible.
He helped her suppress the Mara-struck condition just to get that kind of thing?
Jingliu had made many deals, but this was the first time she had encountered a transaction so bizarre and eerie.
In her last transaction, which allowed her to drag out her feeble existence, the price she paid was undeniably heavy. But this time...
Is this a request a normal person would make?
Suddenly, Jingliu recalled Caelus's livestreamed speech from earlier—'I really want to be Miss Jingliu's dog'—and the abstract antics Guinaifen had chatted about.
This guy really was insulated from the word 'normal' from start to finish!
"Acceptable."
She nodded in agreement. Jingliu was not some delicate, sensitive young girl.
Although it was very strange, gaining the suppression of the Mara-struck condition was undoubtedly a price she could easily afford to pay.
"Ay! I could tell from your sword intent that you're a straightforward person!"
Caelus clapped his hands and cheered. He filled Jingliu's cup with wine and laughed loudly:
"A true hero cultivates truth within and projects open-mindedness without; they change with the times and act against the tide! They are resourceful and decisive, extraordinarily courageous, possessing a mind with the will to contain the world, and breasts with the capacity to hold the world!"
"Among the heroes of the world today, there is only Jingliu!"
Jingliu remained expressionless, though several question marks and exclamation points seemed to pop up beside her. Frost and snowflakes began to condense in the wine she held.
It's not scary when people act abstract; it's scary when they are abstract and also understand Xianzhou culture.
Staring at the wine cup held in front of her, Jingliu hesitated for a moment before finally gripping her cup and clinking it against Caelus's.
"I am no hero. I am merely a sinner afflicted by the Mara, who slew her comrades and betrayed her alliance."
She drained the cup in one gulp. As Jingliu set down the cup, she saw a slender palm spread open before her, four fingers curling slightly.
Jingliu froze imperceptibly for a split second. The grey-haired guy opposite her blinked, giving a bashful, shy smile.
"Hehehe, then please give the item to me."
Jingliu: "..."
You had better actually be shy!
"You want it right now?"
"Otherwise? If you don't deliver it now, were you planning to come home with me later?"
"Heh."
"Then there you go. I'm still waiting to use it tonight."
Use?
Use it how?
Jingliu's brow twitched faintly, but then she thought about it again.
Even a puppet made by a Genius using her own childhood appearance as a template was used by Caelus to warm his bed and sleep with him. By comparison, having her bra used didn't seem entirely unacceptable.
It was just that Jingliu felt even more speechless. She inexplicably wanted to know the detailed situation of Dan Feng... no, he should be called Dan Heng now.
Thinking back to their chat just now, when Caelus mentioned taking Dan Heng dumpster diving... forgive Jingliu, but she really couldn't imagine it. Was that the Mara-struck condition?
That had to be the Mara-struck condition, right?
"Fine."
Sigh! So be it...
After all, it was an agreed-upon deal.
Analyzing it rationally, giving away a piece of intimate fabric to suppress the Mara-struck condition that was nearing its limit—she was practically making a killing.
But why did it feel so strange when it actually came time for the transaction?
Jingliu stood up silently. With a calm expression, she walked into the pavilion, positioning herself where her back was turned to Caelus and half-obscured by a pillar.
The rustling of birds and the sound of undressing mingled in the breeze with the friction of leaves and flowers intertwining.
From Caelus's angle, he could only see a tiny bit. The moonlight shone through the openwork azure cutouts, illuminating a jade-like back and fragrant shoulders that looked like congealed cream, reflecting a cold, refined light.
Caelus, of course, wouldn't peek. He really would get chopped by the crazy woman!
Gazing leisurely at that patch of moon-white, an old song inexplicably came to Caelus's mind. Being a socially awkward loner, he just opened his mouth and started singing:
"Moonlight's hue~ Woman's fragrance~"
"Broken sword of tears~ Love is long~"
Moonlight. A song where the original singer is still around, yet it has already become a legendary 'swan song.' The original singer didn't leave a path for cover artists, or even for himself.
Three words, fifteen melodic turns.
In his past life, Caelus definitely couldn't have sung it with much flavor, but now he had the Persona Mask. He used the mask to mold the vibe of the 'Qin's Moon' he had followed for ten years, the taste of the pugilistic world and the royal court.
It was all emotion, plus a tiny bit of technique.
It made Jingliu, who was tying her dress, pause physically.
Song?
Moonlight? Woman? Broken sword?
Her brow raised and her pupils constricted; Jingliu's expression became increasingly subtle.
What was this situation?
Was he singing about her?
It really wasn't Jingliu being narcissistic; the elements just matched too perfectly.
"Gazing at the bright moon, the heart is desolate."
"A hatred of ages past, tasted in samsara."
Jingliu looked at the black fabric she had just taken off in her hand, then looked at Caelus with an extremely bizarre gaze, attempting to sort out her indescribable emotions.
Don't misunderstand; Jingliu was not some lovestruck young girl. Her heart wouldn't go aflutter just because of a song.
It just felt very weird!
Returning to the stone table with the black fabric, Jingliu had intended to wait for Caelus to finish singing before speaking. However, Caelus stopped immediately upon seeing her walk over with the item.
Golden light!
With the brightness of this golden light, a conservative estimate would be at least 40 crystals!
Sensing that scorching gaze, Jingliu discreetly shrank her hand back, but she was already locked onto by that burning line of sight.
Sighing in her heart and forcibly suppressing her unspeakably strange emotions, Jingliu tossed the black fabric to Caelus.
"Here."
"Oh, oh!"
Like Kira Yoshikage stroking a fine hand, Caelus held a burning deep affection as he gently caressed the raised black fabric, then buried his head in the hollowed part to take a deep breath.
Watching this made the corner of Jingliu's mouth twitch wildly.
Caelus was opening a treasure chest to get crystals. As for how he looked to outsiders or what movements he made, that was irrelevant.
He, Caelus, had a straight posture and didn't fear a crooked shadow!
Suppressing the urge to draw her sword and hack the pervert to death or simply turn and leave, Jingliu remained silent for a long time before asking:
"What was the name of that song just now?"
"Moonlight."
Happily pulling out crystal after crystal, looking at his count which was now over 500, Caelus answered Jingliu with a grin.
Jingliu murmured the name and nodded slightly. "It's a good song. Who wrote it?"
Jingliu usually didn't have much interest in music or songs, but this one did indeed give her a novel feeling.
"Me. Consider it a meeting gift from me to you."
Caelus lied without blushing or blinking. Leaving aside the Earth of Honkai Impact 3rd, outside the Imaginary Tree, he was the one who wrote it!
"..."
This answer was within Jingliu's expectations, but hearing it still left her somewhat speechless.
She had experienced a momentary illusion while drinking with Caelus earlier, thinking briefly that Dan Heng's friend was a decent person. Pity he was a pervert and an abstract individual.
"As expected, 42 is the ultimate answer to the universe."
Referring, once again, to 42 crystals.
The golden light from the emptied black fabric dissipated. Caelus grasped the fabric, which still retained residual warmth, and earnestly stored it away in his ring space.
Declaration in advance: he was not a pervert collecting original scents!
Whether it was the black silk stockings given by the girls of Belobog or the bra Jingliu just gave him, to outsiders they were just intimate garments. But to the Star Rail, they were Black Silk Treasure Chests and Bra Treasure Chests!
They were treasure chests that could store items, equivalent to secret spatial equipment that only the two Star Rail trailblazers could open. They were very valuable.
"Here, this is for you."
After putting away the bra, Caelus spread the five fingers of his right hand, wiped them over his face, and a Persona Mask appeared in his palm.
This was naturally not his actual Mask, but a manifestation of the Persona Mask created by his ability.
"This is?"
Jingliu gazed at the black mask engraved with golden patterns, raising an eyebrow. She thought of the Masked Fools.
Could this person be a Masked Fool?
Given the abstraction Caelus displayed, Jingliu felt it wasn't impossible.
"Wearing it can strengthen the suppression of the Mara-struck condition."
Fenghuang Down + Jizo Mitama + Persona Mask. With this three-pronged approach, the effect on the Mara-struck condition would absolutely be unprecedented in Xianzhou history!
"I understand. Thank you."
Jingliu took the mask, hesitated for two seconds, and expressed her thanks.
Even though it was extremely weird!
But looking at the results, she had come out with a huge advantage.
"We're all f*cking bros, why are you speaking so distantly? Let's have another couple of drinks!"
Caelus pulled out another jar of fine wine and slammed it onto the table, continuing to host.
"..."
The meaning of the words sounded kind, but that phrasing...
Jingliu's mouth twitched. She felt that if she took this grey-haired guy seriously, she would lose.
However, since she owed Caelus such a huge favor, keeping him company for a drink wasn't a problem. Moreover, Jingliu did indeed want to learn more.
"What method did you use to suppress the Mara-struck condition?"
Holding the wine cup that had been filled by the Herta puppet, Jingliu gestured a toast.
"Nothing much, just deleting or burning away the negative emotions, feelings, and memories that cause the Mara-struck state."
Caelus didn't hide it. The principle was simple; the difficulty lay in the execution.
The two drank together like this. Jingliu asked about the ability to suppress the Mara, and Caelus probed for the purpose of her and Luocha's visit to the Xianzhou.
Jingliu only said that she had returned this time solely to capture a person.
Caelus had never had contact with Luocha, so he couldn't easily ask about him directly.
"Let us end it here for today. I must leave. May we meet again if fate permits."
When the wine was finished, Jingliu bid farewell and turned to leave, a faint arc on the corner of her mouth.
Although the person was abstract, thanks to Caelus, she didn't have to worry about the Mara-struck condition relapsing during her upcoming itinerary.
Furthermore, she should now be able to go all out in a contest with 'Sister Sushang'!
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