On the open ground of the Brass Tower.
The moment Jing Liuli stood steady, she immediately covered her ears and stomped her feet.
She puffed out her cheeks and glared at Chen Xing, her eyes welling up with tears. "Xingxing, you're too much! What kind of hero uses sneak attacks? If you have the guts—"
"Hm?"
Before Jing Liuli could finish, Chen Xing looked up and glanced at her.
That single glance instantly made Jing Liuli swallow the tough words she was about to say.
Her eyes darted around quickly, and then, with the fiercest expression, she spoke the most cowardly words:
"...If you have the guts, don't pinch my ear next time! It'll make me stupid!"
Looking at Liuli's pouting face, Chen Xing rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"How did you end up here? I told you to wait for me at the Cogwheel Skyscraper."
"Well, you didn't reply to my messages for ages!"
Jing Liuli immediately approached her, wronged, her lips sticking out far enough to hang a bottle of soy sauce.
"Besides, I heard there was a lot of commotion here, so I came over to watch the fun~"
If it were someone who didn't know Jing Liuli, they would definitely think she had just backed down.
But Chen Xing knew this little purple-haired girl too well.
Without a doubt, the little purple-haired girl's current obedient demeanor was entirely an act.
The moment Chen Xing turned away, she'd immediately take advantage, a classic case of never learning her lesson.
Therefore, ignoring Liuli's defense, Chen Xing promptly raised her hand and flicked her on the forehead, neither too hard nor too soft.
"Tell me the truth."
"Waaah!"
Jing Liuli covered her forehead and hopped half a step in place, attempting to charm her way out with her watery eyes.
"It really was just curiosity..."
Chen Xing folded her arms across her chest, watching the poor performance with a cold eye.
She knew very well how much force she'd used.
Not to mention an Astral Envoy genius like Jing Liuli.
Even an ordinary person would be completely fine.
Seeing that Chen Xing was still utterly unmoved, Jing Liuli simply laid her cards on the table.
"Fine, fine~ Sister Caroline was worried about you. She said you've been acting strange lately, like you have something on your mind, so she sent me to check on you."
Hearing this, Chen Xing's expression instantly became complicated.
Because her intuition told her that Jing Liuli wasn't lying.
But it was precisely because Jing Liuli wasn't lying that Chen Xing felt a flutter of unease.
After all, what she was doing right now was hardly the honest behavior a person should have toward her best friend.
Just as she was about to say something to smooth things over, a voice filled with surprise suddenly came from nearby.
"Sister Liuli?"
Jing Liuli whipped her head around and saw Chen Kong and Liu Ma, with whom she hadn't spoken much when they were children, appear not far from the top of the tower.
"Huh? Chen Kong, what are you doing here too?"
Although Jing Liuli hadn't seen Chen Kong for several years, Chen Kong often saw information about Jing Liuli on television.
In response to Liuli's question, Chen Kong smiled and said, "I've actually been in Steam City the whole time; you just didn't know."
"Is that so?"
Staring at Jing Liuli, who was chatting idly with Chen Kong, Chen Xing seemed to think of something and uncharacteristically interjected, "Let's go. It's been a long time since we've all met. Let's find a place to sit."
Hearing this, Chen Kong gave Chen Xing a strange look.
Just a moment ago, she was helping Brother Tendo stop the people from the Steam Branch. Why the sudden change of heart?
As if seeing through his thoughts, Chen Xing swept a deadpan gaze over him.
In that instant, Chen Kong felt a cold draft run down his back, as if one more question would result in his sister 'righteously eliminating' her own kin.
A strong sense of self-preservation made him immediately shut up discreetly and stand obediently to the side.
Jing Liuli looked at the suddenly silent siblings, and mistakenly thought she had found the reason for Chen Xing's recent strange behavior.
Ah, so that's why! The reason Xingxing didn't tell Caroline the truth was because it was an issue between her and her brother, and outsiders shouldn't interfere!
With this thought, Jing Liuli suddenly felt a little bored.
Because if it was just a plot of an older sister beating up her younger brother, she'd seen that too many times as a kid; there was nothing to see.
However, she suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, "By the way, Xiao Kong, why is it so messy outside? I saw a lot of Steam Guards patrolling the streets when I came up."
Upon hearing this, before Chen Kong could answer, Chen Xing quickly interjected, "It's nothing. Just some issues between the Steam Branch and the Cogwheel Church, but they've mostly been resolved now."
"Is that so?"
Jing Liuli looked at Chen Xing suspiciously, feeling like something was off, but having just arrived in Steam City, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
During this time, Liu Ma, standing next to Chen Kong, sensibly remained silent throughout.
Despite his honest-looking exterior, this guy was more meticulous than anyone else.
He had sensed the strange atmosphere here earlier than Chen Kong.
In this moment, keeping quiet was his best choice.
Chen Xing didn't give Jing Liuli any more chances to probe, domineeringly making arrangements for everyone.
"Alright, let's go. We'll leave this for them to handle themselves. We outsiders shouldn't interfere."
Jing Liuli took one last glance in the direction of the Steam Furnace before bouncing along after them.
"Okay, okay~"
But just as the four were about to reach the staircase corner, Jing Liuli suddenly stopped.
She was pulled by something invisible, abruptly turning to look toward the furnace, her nose twitching slightly.
"Xingxing, do you sense... a very familiar Astral Energy aura?"
Chen Xing's steps paused, then she turned around, a rare 'gentle' smile on her face.
"There's no familiar aura. It must be your imagination..."
"My imagination?"
Jing Liuli closed her eyes and seriously sensed the vague, 'familiar' aura emanating from the Steam Furnace.
As one of the few Astral Envoys with innate full Astral Energy potential, her perception of Astral Energy was second only to Tendo among the 36 members of the Galaxy Star group.
However, because she hadn't seen Tendo for several years, she didn't immediately recognize whose Astral Energy aura it was.
Strange, I've definitely felt that Astral Energy fluctuation somewhere, but why can't I remember it?
With this thought, Jing Liuli decisively activated her Astral Core ability—Eternal Night Phantom Butterfly.
Memories might become blurry, but past 'beautiful dreams'... can be as clear as a movie.
"By the way, Xingxing, the invitation to the Astral Sky Ladder must have been sent to you, right? When are you planning to go?"
Jing Liuli, who was walking with her eyes closed as they descended the Brass Tower, suddenly spoke.
"After I finish dealing with things here."
Chen Xing's voice was very flat, without any discernible emotion.
Jing Liuli nodded, then suddenly changed the subject.
"Tendo should be going too, right?"
Chen Xing abruptly stopped and looked at Jing Liuli in shock.
But the Jing Liuli who had just looked completely harmless now had her eyes closed.
In an instant, Chen Xing understood what had happened.
Damn it, it's the 'Dream Retrospection' of the Eternal Night Phantom Butterfly.
Jing Liuli clearly knew that Chen Xing had guessed the reason. She leaned half a step closer, her nose almost touching Chen Xing's cheek.
"I wondered why you've been so strange lately. Turns out Brother Tendo is back."
Hearing this, the Demon Blade behind Chen Xing suddenly let out a faint hum, crimson flames shot up half an inch from her hair tips, and even the corners of her eyes were tinged with a faint red.
Jing Liuli, however, was not afraid at all; instead, she smiled even brighter.
She completely dropped her usual harmless demeanor, and many dream-like purple butterflies suddenly appeared around her.
The clash of the red and purple Astral Energy immediately made Chen Kong and Liu Ma, the two unlucky spectators, retreat to avoid being affected by the fallout.
Staring at the silent Chen Xing, Jing Liuli smiled and said, "Xingxing, you are Galaxy Star NO. 2, but I'm NO. 3! Although I can't beat you, you definitely can't keep me here~"
Jing Liuli kept her eyes closed, her face showing a mischievous cunning.
"So, when did Brother Tendo arrive here? And... does Sister Caroline know about this?"
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