Thanks for _______ ________ and Nefasturis for becoming as Supporters!
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Jing Yuan realized he had misspoken and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"Cough—I mean, even the Joyseeker…"
Jing Yuan pressed his lips together and quickly cut off his own disrespectful words.
Was he being influenced by the power of Elation? Or had worrying too much truly caused his mental state to slip?
Sylvester picked up the thread and continued, "Of course, strengthening herself is only part of why she dares to be this blatant."
Jing Yuan shot him a grateful look, then seized the opportunity to follow up.
"Could there be some sort of divine miracle involved?"
Hearing that there was more beneath the surface, Lingsha and the others immediately perked up and listened closely.
Opportunities to learn secrets about an Aeon were exceedingly rare.
These few sentences might well amount to all the insights on Aeons gained in a thousand years.
Facing their anticipation, Sylvester pondered for a moment before saying, "Not really a miracle."
He casually stopped a passerby who was clutching an Aha autographed photo and grinning to himself.
"Hey, brother. Aren't you worried this 'Joyseeker' might be fake? What if she's just using her looks to scam money?"
"So, what if she is!"
The passerby tucked the photo away and said bluntly, "It's just the price of a milk tea. Getting a photo with a pretty girl in a maid outfit is totally worth it, okay?"
"With this little money, if you tipped a female streamer on the Jade Abacus, she might not even thank you once."
After saying that, he walked off, eyes never leaving the photo for even a second.
Sylvester spread his hands toward the group. "See? That's the real key. Precisely because she's so weak, most people don't believe she's really Aha. It's like when you openly tell someone, 'I'm going to scam you'—most people will think you're an idiot, not a scammer."
"She turned people's tendency toward 'independent thinking' against them, then used the photos as tangible benefits to shut their mouths."
"And besides, she's running on a thin-profit, high-volume model. Once the transaction's done, that's it. As long as people contribute Elation, that's all that matters. Whether they see her as an Aeon or not, she doesn't care."
"So that's how it is!"
Jing Yuan finally understood. Their perception of this newly born Aha was fundamentally different from that of the passersby.
They had come after hearing Xueyi's report, never doubting her identity from the start.
But for ordinary people, an Aeon appearing right beside them and performing street acts was simply unbelievable.
Just a gimmick to draw attention, that was all.
Yet none of that mattered. What mattered was that Aha truly managed to gather Elation with ease using this method.
"…"
Jing Yuan fell silent for a moment, but instead of praising the Joyseeker's cleverness, he said,
"Aeons… really are a bit boring."
Couldn't Aha's true form just send some power over? Why go through all this trouble?
Acting as their own Emanator—wouldn't that be better?
The crowd had mostly dispersed by now, and Sylvester led everyone to the table Guinaifen had set up.
Guinaifen seemed to have turned into a heartless collection machine amid the constant requests for photos.
Without even lifting her head, she said numbly, "Hello, family. Photos are twelve hundred Credits. We accept coins, scans, credit cards—everything."
Jing Yuan froze for a second, then turned to the other members of the Six Charioteers. "Did any of you bring money?"
Having come in a hurry, he only now realized his Jade Abacus was still at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
"No need."
Sylvester cut off Jing Yuan's attempt to pool money and called out loudly to Guinaifen, "Guinaifen, snap out of it! We're not here for photos, and there's no one lining up anymore. You're off work!"
"Huh—what?" Guinaifen jolted awake.
Looking up at the group before her, she covered her mouth with one hand and gasped softly, "Shopkeeper Sylvester—and General Ji-Jing Yuan! Lingsha the Marshal, and Lady Yukong…"
W-What's going on?
So many big shots came to see her performance? Had she really become this famous?
Guinaifen puffed out her chest with a hint of pride.
Then, behind them, she spotted what looked like a familiar figure trying to hide.
She immediately shouted, "Huohuo! That's Huohuo, right?! Oh my gosh, I've missed you so much! Ever since that Fyxestroll Garden expedition, we haven't seen each other at all. I even wanted to visit you, but The Shackling Prison said people without crimes aren't allowed in…"
Faced with Guinaifen's enthusiastic greeting, Huohuo could only tug her tail and step forward.
She waved stiffly and forced out an awkward smile.
"H-Hi, Guinaifen. It really has been a long time. We're… actually here to see the Joyseeker."
"The Joyseeker? You mean Haha?"
Seeing them ask for her new friend by name, Guinaifen laughed. "You didn't really believe it, did you? She's just a cosplayer."
"I saw she had no money, no transport, nowhere to live—stuck on the streets, just like when I first arrived here."
"So, out of sheer code of honor, I gave her a hand. And hey, turns out someone suggested the photo check-in idea. I just helped her draw some traffic."
"And you know what? We made a killing! This short while earned more than three days of my street performances!"
Guinaifen, ever the social butterfly, rambled on endlessly to the Luofu higher-ups about her whole journey.
Even Huohuo was starting to lose her composure.
If I told her that 'Haha' really is the Joyseeker… I wonder how badly she'd be scared.
"Guinaifen, actually—"
"Huh? Are the photos done? Little Guizi, why aren't you—"
Seeing no one coming anymore, Haha stepped out from behind the photo backdrop. When she saw the group, her words abruptly stopped.
Jing Yuan stepped forward, standing alongside Huohuo and Tail.
He gathered his presence. As a follower of the Reignbow Arbiter, he needed to show due respect before another Aeon—but not abase himself.
More importantly, he had to achieve their goal.
That was to mediate the potential conflict between an Aeon and Luofu.
And then, politely but firmly, ask the Joyseeker to move elsewhere. With YOU staying here all day, it was impossible for them to turn a blind eye—or live in peace.
Knowing he had promised to make introductions, Sylvester spoke first. "This is Luofu's General Jing Yuan, Marshal Lingsha—"
"Oh, oh, I've heard so much about you. Your reputations precede you," Haha blinked, offering polite but confused pleasantries.
Why are you suddenly introducing all these people to me?
"This morning, Tail said some foolish things. Jing Yuan and the others felt bad about it, so they came to apologize."
Sylvester didn't beat around the bush and laid out their purpose plainly.
"But if you ask me, once Aha tossed that mask to Tail, it was already settled. How about we book a table at a nearby restaurant, eat and drink well, and just… build some rapport?"
"Oh~" Haha understood immediately.
Her identity as an Aeon had scared the Luofu people, so they brought Sylvester along to smooth things over.
So that was all this was about. And they even brought so many people.
Just as Sylvester said, giving out that mask meant the matter was already over.
What a joke—I, Aha, never hold grudges!
I always settle them on the spot!
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