"Sigh... Kafka-mom, did I do something wrong?"
Looking at Himeko on the screen, Sister Guoguo silently popped a lollipop into her mouth.
Is it because I didn't go to the banner to get you right away? Are you angry with me?
Tears welled up in Sister Guoguo's eyes, her hands trembling uncontrollably. Just because she went to do Godfather's Companion Mission, was her Kafka refusing to appear?! Hard pity! Three times! Himeko had appeared three times already!
"Wuwuwu... I was wrong, I shouldn't have coveted little Godfather's beauty! But... Big Sis Himeko! You don't have to keep showing up like this! I'm almost at E6+1!"
Gritting her teeth, Sister Guoguo placed her phone, which was displaying the angelic smile of little Wende from the CG, in front of her computer.
"Little Godfather! My god! Carry me! Just one more time!"
Sister Guoguo closed her eyes and sent out her last ten-pull.
Swish!
She couldn't bear to watch what came next and covered her eyes with her arm. In her mind, this was just the pitiful, worthless delusion of someone hoping for an E6 Kafka.
Then, a golden light illuminated her face.
[Huh??]
[WTF!!]
[Hacks!]
[Kafka: Did someone say Wende?! I'm here!]
[As expected, the only one who can attract Kafka besides us is Godfather!]
[No, it's little Godfather!]
On the summoning screen, three Kafkas flashed with a golden light, casting a sacred veil over the image of little Wende on the phone across from it...
---o---
"Tsk, what's going on? Why did it stop providing Emotion Value?"
Back in the inn, little Wende was lying on the sofa playing on his phone, but he was deeply puzzled.
"Did I mess up the Companion Mission? Or was the mission just boring, so I can't farm any more Emotion Value from it?"
Wende couldn't figure it out for the life of him, so he decided to just focus on the game in his hands.
Welt had taken March back to the Express, apparently to discuss something with Himeko. As for Tingyun and Jingliu... they seemed to have been summoned by Jing Yuan. What they were doing specifically... he could only say that it felt like they were hiding things from him, not letting him know anything.
"Sigh..."
Little Wende rolled over on the sofa, hugged his phone, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh... then his eyes snapped open!
Something's not right. How could I make a gesture like that?! I'm a reliable adult!
Realizing that his behavior was becoming increasingly childish, Wende patted his own cheeks, his gaze sharpening.
It seems I have to find a way to return to my peak condition! I can't continue to degenerate like this!
Putting down his phone, Wende sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state, sensing the Yin-Yang energy within his body.
For two balanced forces to grow, both must grow together to maintain their equilibrium. This was also the reason why Wende's Yin-Yang energy was so difficult to recover...
"Huh? Why has the Yin-Yang energy in my body increased so much? Doesn't this mean I can return to normal in a few days?"
Peeking at the Yin and Yang within him, Wende scratched his head in confusion. Does this stuff really grow this fast on its own?
"..."
Snap!
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Wende's mind. He seemed to have thought of something.
"This is bad. My brain has gotten sluggish ever since my body shrank. It must be because of that bad woman and Miss Tingyun..."
Remembering the Oreo-like scene that played out every night, Wende couldn't help but shiver.
March had told him about the fight against Phantylia. Although her strange embellishments made the whole battle sound like a scene from Dragon Quest, he could at least grasp the gist of it...
In other words, Miss Tingyun used Yin-Yang energy to seal the Yang energy Phantylia had stolen from him within her own body. Afterwards, she fell into a crisis and was only able to harmonize with the Yang energy after Jingliu brought her back?
"..."
Ah... okay, it seems I need to have a good long talk with that bad woman... Or rather, we should have talked a long time ago, but she kept interrupting my questions in various ways.
---o---
"So, you're really certain about this?"
Jing Yuan sat in his high seat, looking at Jingliu, who had removed her blindfold. His expression was extremely serious.
"Yes. My original purpose in coming to the Xianzhou was to plead guilty before the Ten-Lords Commission..."
A smile touched her cold face, and a trace of reminiscence flashed in her crimson eyes.
"But I've remembered many things recently... the former glory of the High-Cloud Quintet... all of you from the past..."
"Jingliu, your Mara..."
Jing Yuan's brow furrowed tightly, his pupils trembling as he looked at Jingliu in disbelief.
He... he could no longer feel that icy chill from the person before him... nor the hatred that ran deeper than the firmest ice...
"That's right. The Mara has been suppressed, or perhaps, it has disappeared."
Jingliu nodded with a sense of release. Gazing at the starskiffs sailing along their routes outside the window, she slowly closed her eyes.
She had originally intended to face her sins alongside her former colleague, but...
With the Mara receded, her mind had cleared considerably... If she were to proceed with her original plan, then... would that be fair to Jing Yuan? For Dan Feng and Yingxing, what would that even atone for? Would "she" have wanted to see such a scene?
The High-Cloud Quintet had turned against each other, falling apart and bringing turmoil to the Xianzhou... Did this align with their original intentions?
"..."
Jing Yuan's expression was complicated. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but found... that he couldn't say a word.
"Jing Yuan..."
Seeing Jing Yuan's conflicted state, Jingliu softly called his name.
"All these years... it's been hard on you."
"..."
"Mm."
These old bones of his, he suddenly felt, could hold on for a while longer...
---o---
"What, have you decided?"
The corner of Blade's mouth lifted slightly as he looked at the person before him, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"Yes... The High-Cloud Quintet should not continue to be a problem for the Xianzhou. We are people of the past, and the Xianzhou is no longer the Xianzhou of the past."
Jingliu stood with her sword drawn, an icy chill spreading all around.
"The sins I have committed are irredeemable, but..."
"Heh heh... we are all the 'price.' No one can escape! Not even you!"
Blade raised his sword at Jingliu.
A flash of blades, a clash of blood-red煞 (sha) and icy cold. Then... one person fell to the ground.
"..."
"Cough cough... heh... as expected... it's still like this..."
Lying on the ground, he stared blankly at the sky...
The sunlight... where is it? He could only see dark clouds obscuring his vision...
"I have no intention of escaping, but not now... When all things return to one, when the Xianzhou is safe, and when the so-called []** no longer exists in this world... this body will no longer have a reason to exist."