Although Fu Xuan had left, another person soon took a seat next to Noldrei.
And this person had the very face that Noldrei had been 'longing to see' ever since he first arrived in this world.
"My friend, do you mind if I share this table?"
It was a blond-haired man, carrying a massive... coffin? ...on his back.
Noldrei's first reaction upon seeing his face was surprise, followed by a hint of bewilderment.
Luocha hadn't expected Noldrei to have such a reaction upon seeing him.
As someone who had once received the power of Abundance, he was well aware of his mission on the Xianzhou, and he was quite certain he had never met this...
...founder of the Pure Land Sect of the Sanctus Medicus.
He had thought this would be a routine probing, but Noldrei's expression told Luocha that things were not so simple.
"Friend, your expression seems to suggest... you've seen me before?" Luocha tried to recall when he might have encountered him, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember any intersection between their paths.
Noldrei smiled and shook his head. "I do have a friend who looks a lot like you. He was a good person, just a little... unwilling to listen to me."
'Was that really a friend?'
Luocha began to question Noldrei's definition of the word.
Noldrei explained without reservation, "He was accused of being a murderer. I just wanted him to listen to me and deal with the sins he carried. But he didn't like my advice, so he chose his own way to die."
Luocha took the seat Fu Xuan had just vacated.
What Luocha didn't know was that this "friend" of Noldrei's had managed to follow Noldrei's chosen path almost every time, successfully reaping considerable benefits from him.
"I see... then it seems..."
Luocha hadn't finished his sentence when Noldrei spoke up. "You're carrying something with a very high energy concentration. Aren't you worried it might explode on the Luofu Xianzhou?"
Noldrei was merely curious; he didn't care what Luocha was here for.
This thing was probably just a locally famous energy product, or some kind of curio.
He didn't even consider the possibility that the energy source on Luocha was related to a Stellaron.
Luocha's control over his expression was excellent; perhaps he'd even undergone special physical modifications. For a fleeting moment just now, he had felt the urge to flee on the spot.
"Mm, it's a rather troublesome piece of cargo. I'm an interstellar merchant, so I often take on jobs like this."
Was Luocha going to explain his work?
Impossible. He had just arrived at the Alchemy Commission and had already learned of the changes happening within.
His informant inside the Commission had quickly passed on the news about the changes within the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. The person in the coffin had countless connections on the Luofu Xianzhou. With a little effort, he could get a grasp of the current situation.
But the possibility of being called out so directly by Noldrei was something Luocha had never even considered.
'The containment should be excellent. Even the Xianzhou's security checks couldn't detect it. What's going on?'
Luocha was filled with doubt, unable to understand how Noldrei had seen through him.
This Noldrei fellow located people by sensing their energy; it was the same method he'd used to find the Honkai Cores.
"Transporting such high-energy cargo is indeed troublesome..."
Noldrei was thoughtful. In his mind, he had already concluded that this man was here to cause trouble.
For a civilization, energy was a matter of utmost importance.
You don't hear about someone bringing a mini-nuke on a tourist trip to another country's capital. By the same token, there was no way the Luofu Xianzhou would allow such a high-energy object to be brought in so casually.
And now, someone unexpected was trying to sneak onto the Xianzhou to stir up trouble.
Initially, Noldrei had trusted the Luofu's ability to control its internal and external exchanges. As the center of an important alliance, especially a crucial hub for interstellar travel, its security checks should have been robust.
But the current situation was a bit problematic. If the General of the Divine Foresight knew, he would probably be furious enough to die on the spot.
'I wonder if that fool Fu Xuan has divined this or not?'
Noldrei was still very worried about Fu Xuan's mental state.
If she knew someone had blatantly brought such a thing onto the Xianzhou, she would probably cough up three liters of blood on the spot from anger, then fly back to the Divination Commission, curl up under her covers, and frantically perform divinations with her fingers.
Luocha was also a bit distracted. He had only intended to learn this person's opinion of the Sanctus Medicus. He never imagined he would be exposed on their very first meeting.
This was a major headache, even for Luocha.
Seeing his single sentence had completely deflated the other party, Noldrei knew he had accidentally hit a nerve.
Old Welt used to be like this in front of him all the time, but he eventually let it go after experiencing more.
Noldrei said with great enthusiasm, "It's mainly because you look so much like my late friend. Seeing you makes me feel quite close to you."
With that, he ordered two more Immortal's Delights from the stall owner.
"Um..." Luocha hesitated before explaining, "I am not a murderer."
His words conveyed a single, clear message.
'We really don't need to be so close.'
As someone who opposed the Sanctus Medicus, at least publicly, Luocha didn't want to get close to a super-believer like the founder of the Pure Land Sect.
He was afraid the person in the coffin might suddenly wake up and give his kidneys a good jab.
"I know, I know. I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic..." Noldrei sighed. "There aren't many people as generous as my friend. I merely gave him a small notion of success, and he gave me an entire world in return. An old friend has passed, and my heart aches. Seeing your face, I can't help but feel a certain kinship."
'Then I have even more reason not to get close to you!'
Luocha suspected there was something wrong with this man's head. Was this something you could just tell him directly?
Exchanging a small notion of success for an entire world?
No matter how you look at it, it sounds like you're the one who sold out your friend!
"Don't worry, as long as you're not carrying any political sins that must be cleansed through atonement, I generally won't punish you..."
Noldrei stared at Luocha's face and asked pointedly, "You're not on the path to doing something bad, like my friend was, are you?"
Luocha thought this man was an absolute bastard.
The Pure Land Sect theory he had created was visibly infiltrating the minds of the Xianzhou people, rapidly expanding under the guise of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
And this guy had the nerve to suspect him, an innocent interstellar merchant, of possibly doing something bad?