"Holy shit!"
The news made Fu Zhu swear out loud. This was genuinely, unequivocally, bad news.
In the world of MC, if you forgot to shut down Redstone technology like a TNT duplicator or a sand generator on a server, or if something glitched, there was only one outcome: you'd crash the server.
Applying that scenario to the Luofu... A headache instantly bloomed behind Fu Zhu's eyes. Now he finally understood why the Vidyadhara attendants yesterday had looked at him like they wanted to kill him.
He pieced it together. The TNT duplicator had been positioned directly above the Ambrosial Arbor, and the Vidyadhara were the ones tasked with guarding it. To do their job better, they had even relocated their entire habitat to the vicinity of the Arbor.
Now that the Ambrosial Arbor was gone, where would all that duplicated TNT land?
Fu Zhu didn't even have to think about it. Of course, it would have fallen right onto the Vidyadhara's home turf!
He pressed his fingers to his temples, a throbbing pain setting in. He couldn't believe he'd overlooked this. Phantylia was partly to blame, but most of it was his own carelessness.
"Jing Yuan... so, what's the good news?"
On the other end of the line, Jing Yuan's tone remained serious, though it had lightened up slightly.
"The good news is, the seawater beneath the TNT duplicator absorbed much of the blast's force. There were no casualties. At worst, a few of the older Dragon Masters couldn't get any sleep from the noise. And disturbing the elders' beauty sleep, Fu Zhu... that's not very nice, is it?"
Towards the end, Jing Yuan couldn't help but let out a chuckle, a clear note of schadenfreude in his voice.
Fu Zhu had always given him the impression of being someone who had everything under control, a man who could salvage any situation, no matter the blunder. He was an incredibly dependable person.
To think that even Fu Zhu could slip up like this was almost amusing. Thankfully, the only consequence was disturbing the peace.
Although Jing Yuan's gloating was irritating, Fu Zhu felt a wave of relief. A public disturbance was the best possible outcome. He would just have to go apologize properly to the Vidyadhara, bring a few gifts, and the matter should blow over.
"Jing Yuan, thanks for the heads-up. If that's all, I'm hanging up. I need to go pick out an apology gift. By the way, do you have any idea what the Vidyadhara like to eat?"
"What the Vidyadhara like..." Jing Yuan paused, searching his memory for a long moment before coming up empty. "My apologies, I truly have no idea. Perhaps you could ask one of them? That young Dragon Lady, for example. Aren't you two already acquainted?"
"Good point. I'll hang up then, talk to you later."
Jing Yuan set down the now-silent phone and reached for a stack of documents on his desk—several formal complaints filed by the Vidyadhara Dragon Masters.
He scanned them for a moment, and the left eye visible beneath his bangs narrowed.
"The Dragon Masters of the Vidyadhara... Two 'Dragon Sovereigns' appearing at once. Don't tell me you're getting restless again?"
---o---
After ending the call, Fu Zhu turned and found Bailu, who had just finished her duties for the day. She was relaxing in a chair, accepting a cup of hot tea from an attendant.
"Bailu, can I ask you something...?"
He had barely taken a few steps toward her when an attendant immediately stepped in his way, her expression a mask of fury.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, please do not disturb Lady Bailu."
Seeing her aggressive stance, Fu Zhu had no choice but to retreat a couple of steps, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "My apologies. I just wanted to ask Bailu what kind of food or gifts your people like. I'm aware that the two machines I left in Scalegorge Waterscape caused a great deal of trouble, and I intend to go and apologize."
Hearing his explanation, the hostility in the attendant's eyes softened, but she remained firmly in his path, not budging an inch.
The lead attendant bowed slightly. "Mr. Fu Zhu, if your only intention is to offer an apology, there's no need to trouble Lady Bailu with such a minor affair. I can answer you myself. You could bring some of the unique coral found only in Scalegorge Waterscape. Due to its proximity to the Ambrosial Arbor, the coral there is rich in energy. It is edible and can accelerate the hatching of Vidyadhara eggs, making it highly prized by our people."
After she finished, the attendant bowed again and then signaled for the others to escort Bailu from the medical center. She met Fu Zhu's gaze and explained, "I apologize, Mr. Fu Zhu. Lady Bailu's consultation hours for today are over. She must now return to Scalegorge Waterscape for her other lessons. Farewell."
Fu Zhu watched with a frown as the attendants whisked Bailu away down the street. Why were they so resistant to him even speaking with her?
"Are they worried I'm going to be a bad influence on Bailu? Seriously..."
He glanced at his minimap. The icons for the departing attendants were shaded yellow, indicating they were neutral.
"Hiss... they're that mad? This seems like more than just being kept up at night by some TNT."
The Vidyadhara guards he'd met before in Scalegorge Waterscape had all been marked with friendly green icons. Surely, they wouldn't turn neutral just because of a little noise pollution, right? And Jing Yuan had said there were no casualties.
After pondering for a moment to no avail, Fu Zhu gave up and headed back toward Sushang and the others. Seeing March 7th and Xing still laughing at the video of Scott barking, he decided not to spoil their fun. He just gave them a heads-up.
"March, sis, I've got to run an errand. I'll meet you guys for lunch later."
"Okay~" they chorused.
After notifying them, Fu Zhu left the medical center. He scanned the street, his eyes landing on a particularly large shop, and he started walking toward it.
He had just put one foot inside when he froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure walking down the street to his right.
"Dan Heng? I can't believe I'd run into you here."
Fu Zhu pulled his foot back out of the shop and walked over to Dan Heng, looking him up and down with a puzzled expression.
"Dan Heng, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you were planning on laying low on the Luofu for a while?"
Dan Heng looked equally surprised to see Fu Zhu. He gestured toward the medical center across the street to explain his presence.
"I came to see the Vidyadhara's Dragon Lady. A proper visit requires a gift, so I was going to see if I could find something suitable here."
"I see. Well, you're in for a disappointment. Bailu was just dragged back to Scalegorge Waterscape by her attendants for 'lessons'. Come on, let's go in together."
Fu Zhu turned and entered the shop again. Dan Heng, though confused, followed him inside.
They walked side-by-side, browsing the items on the shelves as they talked.
"Fu Zhu, why are you here? Weren't you with March and the others this morning?"
"Yeah, they took me to visit Sushang—that ditzy Cloud Knight you met before. We had a bit of a situation, and she ended up in the hospital."
"So you're here buying a get-well gift for her?"
"Nope. I'm buying an apology gift for the Vidyadhara."
Dan Heng paused, turning to look at Fu Zhu's profile with surprise. "What did you do to the Vidyadhara?"
"Well..." Fu Zhu scratched his cheek with his forefinger, looking embarrassed. "I forgot to turn off the TNT duplicator I built to destroy the Ambrosial Arbor. It kept spawning TNT and bombing Scalegorge Waterscape, keeping some of the elders awake. They complained to Jing Yuan, so I figured I should buy something to say sorry."
Hearing it was only that, Dan Heng relaxed.
He had imagined Fu Zhu had done something truly terrible. Thankfully, it was just a public nuisance.
"What about you?" Fu Zhu glanced at Dan Heng, his eyes intentionally drifting to the dragon horns that were still visible on his head. "That's supposed to be your hidden form, yet you're showing them off while you shop. Your intentions for seeking out Bailu don't seem entirely pure, do they?"
Dan Heng shook his head and waved a hand over his head, causing the horns to vanish.
"You should know by now. My past life was the Vidyadhara High Elder, Dan Feng. Though after rebirth I am a completely different person, and the sins of my past life are not my own in this one, many people don't see it that way. But what they think doesn't matter. I just want to resolve my own inner conflicts, see what I can do for the Vidyadhara one last time, and then continue my journey with the Express in peace."
Fu Zhu listened, nodding intently. Finally, he threw an arm around Dan Heng's shoulders and grinned. "Since you put it that way, then as your comrade, I absolutely have to accompany you to Scalegorge Waterscape!"
Dan Heng blinked, a faint smile touching his lips. He then pointed a finger at the coral—a specialty of Scalegorge Waterscape—that Fu Zhu was holding in his other hand.
"Don't you have your own business to take care of there?"
"It's on the way, it's on the way."
A short while later, Fu Zhu was at the counter with a basket full of coral, and Dan Heng had picked out a few as well.
"I'll get this. I made a nice little profit yesterday."
Fu Zhu paid for Dan Heng's items along with his own. He took the packaged coral from the clerk, and the two of them left the shop.
Outside, Dan Heng got his bearings, intending to head for the dock to catch a Star Skiff, when he noticed Fu Zhu had been staring intently at the coral in his hands ever since they left.
"Is there something wrong with that coral? If the quality's bad, we can exchange it now."
"Nah, it's not that. I just feel that if we're going to apologize, the gift should be a bit more creative, you know? The Vidyadhara live in Scalegorge Waterscape; this coral is from there. They've probably seen it a million times."
With a flick of his wrist, Fu Zhu converted several pieces of coral into their MC equivalents. While they looked almost identical, they were at least something that didn't exist in this world. It was a small gesture, but it might better represent his sincerity.
"Okay, all set. Let's go."
"Right."
The two arrived at the dock, boarded a Star Skiff, and sped toward Scalegorge Waterscape. The ten-minute trip felt like an instant.
As soon as they disembarked, Dan Heng pointed toward a small pavilion in the distance. "I contacted one of Bailu's attendants earlier and arranged to meet her there. She agreed to let me see Bailu and will lead us inside."
"Sounds good. I can take the opportunity to check on the TNT duplicator. They're easy to break, but who knows if the Vidyadhara have even tried. If not, I'll have to dismantle it myself."
They walked toward the pavilion. As they entered, they saw a vaguely familiar figure—one of the attendants who was always by Bailu's side.
Seeing Fu Zhu and Dan Heng approach, the attendant, Huanxi, gave them a respectful bow, but her expression remained cold and distant.
"Huanxi. Greetings to you both."
Dan Heng nodded, getting straight to the point. "Miss Huanxi, I was wondering if it's possible for me to see the Dragon Lady now?"
Huanxi nodded. "Of course. However, before you go to see Lady Bailu, I feel I must offer a word of advice. It might be for the best if you two did not meet."
Dan Heng's brow furrowed. "And why is that?"
Huanxi replied, her voice devoid of warmth. "Not everyone within the Vidyadhara race acknowledges Lady Bailu as the current High Elder. Especially now that you, who wield the power of a High Elder, have returned to the Luofu."
Dan Heng's frown deepened at her words. Even Fu Zhu, an outsider, could grasp the implications. It was even clearer when he glanced at his minimap and saw several new yellow, neutral icons pop up in their vicinity.
"Dan Heng, looks like this trip won't be solved with a simple apology gift."
"Hm?"
Dan Heng's sharp senses also picked up on the change. He turned his head to see several Vidyadhara men emerge from seemingly nowhere, surrounding them in the pavilion.
"You're not going anywhere!"
Dan Heng's gaze hardened as he faced them. "Who are you?"
"Hah! It's not your place to ask who we are!" one of the men snarled, glaring daggers at Dan Heng. "A sinner who severed the line of succession has no right to set foot in the sacred domain of the Vidyadhara! And the same goes for the fiend who disturbed the peace of our sacred domain... Huh? Where'd he go?"
"Right here, right here."
In the blink of an eye, Fu Zhu had somehow materialized behind the group of Vidyadhara men. He cheerfully slung his arms over the shoulders of two of them, a piece of coral held in each hand.
"Gentlemen, we came to apologize. Let's dial down the hostility, alright? All this fighting isn't good for you. Here, have some coral, it'll help you cool off. I hear you guys love this stuff?"
He promptly shoved the coral he was holding into the two men's mouths. Only halfway through did he realize he was holding the converted MC coral.
"Whoops, wrong one... huh? You can eat this too?"
To his surprise, the Vidyadhara ate the MC coral without hesitation, as smoothly as a cow in MC eating wheat.
The two men, having just had coral unceremoniously stuffed into their mouths, angrily shrugged off Fu Zhu's arms.
"You insolent outworlder! Have you no manners? I was talking to him... Huh?"
One of the men stared in bewilderment at his companion. For some reason, several red hearts had begun to float up from his head, just like some kind of special effect.
"Why are there suddenly hearts coming out of your head?"