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"If there isn't…"
Jing Yuan murmured as if speaking to himself, slowly fixing his gaze on Lingsha.
"If she can't be saved, then none of us can be saved either."
"The Aeon of Elation is unpredictable by nature. The consequences are truly impossible to foresee."
Lingsha's expression turned bitter.
Without a word, she rose and knelt on one knee beside Guinaifen.
The two people lying on the ground were each sprawled into a 大 shape, their four limbs marking a clear boundary between them.
If one ignored their injuries, anyone would mistake them for a pair of sisters bound by deep affection.
Feixiao, for her part, was sleeping soundly, wisps of alcoholic breath escaping her lips, even letting out faint snores.
As for Haha, THEY had almost been beaten into a pig-headed state.
Who knew what Feixiao had been thinking while drunk—every punch had gone straight for the head, while the rest of the body scarcely showed even a wrinkle in the clothes.
After a full round of inspection through observation, listening, inquiry, and palpation, Lingsha finally let out a small sigh of relief.
She forced a smile at the people anxiously waiting by the table. "There's no serious danger. Feixiao barely used any Path power, and Miss Haha's physical constitution is exceptionally good."
"Although it looks severe, these are all superficial injuries. She should wake up by tomorrow. As for a full recovery, that will take a few more days."
Huff~
Jing Yuan, Yukong, Gongshu, and Guinaifen—who was still holding Haha—all let out long breaths at the same time.
As long as no one died, there was still room to maneuver.
But… how exactly were they supposed to maneuver?
Miss Haha would wake up tomorrow.
Were they really going to gamble that the Aeon of Elation would treat being beaten senseless as a joke and just laugh it off?
Don't be ridiculous. Elation wasn't some particularly twisted freak—THEY had to have at least a basic sense of grudges and favors, right?
Probably… right?
Or perhaps they could hope that she had already blacked out from drinking.
When she woke up, they could tell her that after getting drunk last night, she wandered along the streets of Exalting Sanctum, ran into attackers, and was rescued by them.
That would mean the Luofu had saved her life?
They might as well pray she was an idiot. If they went with that plan, the one with intelligence issues wouldn't be her—it would be everyone present.
The group discussed back and forth, but the more they thought about it, the more dizzy they became. Not a single workable plan emerged.
Jing Yuan swept his gaze across everyone. When it finally landed on the only person in the room who seemed to be enjoying himself, his spirits abruptly lifted.
Right—wasn't Sylvester still here?
He might have a good idea. And even if he didn't, there was a very real chance he had some Curio that could deal with this exact situation.
Jing Yuan immediately softened his stiff expression, smiling as usual as he asked, "Shopkeeper Sylvester, what do you think of the current situation?"
"The current situation?"
Sylvester turned back to look at Feixiao and Haha lying there like corpses, then said with a trace of sentiment, "Not easy."
"The two of them met only by chance, yet after three rounds of wine, they were able to spar in dance techniques. And now they're sleeping foot to foot—one could say they're inseparably close."
"?"
Jing Yuan was so exasperated he nearly laughed.
This… we are in the same parallel world, right?
What you're seeing seems very different from what I'm seeing.
How can that be called sparring in dance techniques? That was clearly martial skill!
No, wait—that's not right either. It should be Feixiao unilaterally demonstrating martial prowess!
Jing Yuan pressed a hand to his forehead. "Shopkeeper Sylvester, if necessary, I will release that statement as diplomatic rhetoric."
"All I seek is a way to calm matters and restore peace. Might you enlighten us?"
Seeing Jing Yuan speak so courteously, Sylvester found it difficult to keep joking.
He tilted his head slightly upward, fingers lightly tapping the tabletop—his habitual gesture when thinking.
After a moment, Sylvester smiled faintly. "As for methods, there actually is one."
"I have upper, middle, and lower strategies available."
"Oh?" Jing Yuan's mood instantly lifted. He raised his head sharply from the hand massaging his temples.
"Pray tell."
Yukong and Lingsha had just helped Feixiao and Haha back onto their seats and applied ointment.
Upon hearing that there was a solution, they too turned their gazes over.
Facing the crowd's expectant eyes, Sylvester raised one finger and said with a smile, "The upper strategy is called drawing the firewood from beneath the cauldron."
He cast a glance at Haha and continued, "I know the background of this newly born Aeon of Elation inside and out."
"Indeed, she does possess the ability to connect with Aha. However, having become an independent individual, she does not share memories with Aha."
"In other words, while she's unconscious, we can act decisively—once and for all!"
Sylvester made a clean, sharp chopping gesture across his neck with his hand, sending chills through Jing Yuan and the others.
Good heavens—not only beating up an Aeon, but going straight to deicide. Truly committing to the path with no return!
Yet those most shaken weren't them.
Guinaifen, standing off to the side, froze at his words. A cold sensation crept up her spine.
She looked left, then right, and reached a terrifying conclusion: it seemed she was the only outsider here. And she also happened to be Haha's friend, so that meant…
No, no, no!
She had only come to mooch a farewell drink from a friend—how had it turned into a situation where she might be silenced?!
Sylvester, as if completely oblivious to their looks, maintained a serious expression and continued analyzing the pros and cons.
"This method is not only simple to execute, but it also places the power of explanation firmly in our hands."
"Haha has already agreed to go to Penacony. Giving Aha an explanation would be far too easy—for example, she boarded a ship and then vanished without a trace. Nothing else is known."
"Mm, if that sounds too suspicious, we can make it more elaborate."
His eyes shifted as he continued, "We could say that on a whim, she developed a keen interest in prison-themed attractions and strongly demanded a visit to the Shackling Prison."
"Upon reaching the lowest level, she hurled wild provocations at the Borisin Warhead Hoolay, proclaiming she wanted to 'raise a little dog,' and then, ignoring the Ten-Lords Commission's warnings, forcibly charged inside."
"The accompanying judges and underworld officers tried desperately to stop her, but were restrained by her identity as an Aeon of Elation and dared not use force. Coupled with the Abundance abomination's wolfish cruelty and devious schemes, she was ultimately killed. Hoolay then recovered strength from the flesh of Elation and attempted a jailbreak."
"But fortunately, General Feixiao arrived in time and once again suppressed Hoolay within the prison."
With that, Sylvester clapped his hands together. "Well? Clear structure, rich details."
"It could absolutely be called—clean, ruthless, and exquisite!"
As soon as he finished, the room fell dead silent. Everyone looked at one another, and in the end, all eyes settled on Jing Yuan.
Seeing this, Jing Yuan could only speak helplessly.
"This plan…"
It truly was a venomous scheme. Yet he had to admit it made a certain amount of sense—and as Sylvester said, it would keep the initiative firmly in their hands.
But…
"It really is…"
Seeing him hesitate, Sylvester met his eyes, smiling faintly as if seeing straight through his thoughts. "You can't bring yourself to do it?"
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