"Miss Tingyun, rest assured, we'll protect you."
"Thank you all so much!"
Lumina and Qingque continued deeper into Cloudford, once again hearing that familiar voice.
"Seriously? How are there so many Mara-Struck here?"
Qingque finally understood why the Cloud Knights had sealed off Cloudford.
The sheer number of Mara-Struck was staggering.
Could this place have been used as some kind of laboratory? Qingque's mind raced, recalling zombie apocalypse movies she'd seen on TV. The possibility seemed increasingly likely.
Cloudford must have been used as an experimental site by some despicable group!
During their experiments, a containment breach occurred, turning the entire area into a Mara-infested hellscape!
"What are you daydreaming about?" Lumina asked, noticing Qingque's rapidly changing expressions.
This Qingque... she's starting to seem just as scatterbrained as the rest of them.
Sigh...
Thinking of March 7th, Stelle, and now Qingque, Lumina worried that if she kept this up, she might catch their scatterbrained tendencies too.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought, and strode toward the source of the voice.
"Miss Tingyun, please be careful!"
Lumina slowly approached the source of the voice.
Before her stood seven or eight Mara-Struck soldiers, two Cloud Knights, and behind them, a seemingly frail fox girl being protected by the knights.
Hmm... If my intuition is correct, this "frail" fox girl could obliterate everyone here except me in an instant.
"Hmm?" Sensing Lumina's gaze, the fox girl, Tingyun, looked up.
Her eyes narrowed slightly at Lumina, who was standing a short distance away, but her expression quickly returned to normal.
Then, as if grasping at a lifeline, her face lit up with feigned delight. She waved frantically and called out to Lumina and Qingque, "You two! Please come and help us!"
Hearing Tingyun's plea, Lumina obliged. She drew her staff and pointed it at the Mara-Struck soldiers.
In the next moment, a green light enveloped the Mara-Struck soldiers, engulfing each of them completely.
Shortly after the light dissipated, the soldiers had all transformed into frail, elderly individuals. They collapsed to the ground, swayed weakly for a moment, and then lay still, lifeless.
"Oh?" Tingyun watched the spectacle unfold, a puzzled glint flickering in her eyes.
"Wow! Benefactor, you're amazing!" Tingyun exclaimed, feigning astonishment and adoration. Her eyes sparkled like stars as she clapped her hands to her mouth, letting out an exaggerated "Wow!"
"What... what kind of technique is this?" The two Cloud Knights stared in disbelief at the scene before them.
"Just a minor trick," Lumina replied nonchalantly. "Better to leave them with intact corpses than let them fall to Mara."
Ignoring the Cloud Knights' shock, Lumina turned her gaze to Tingyun. "Miss Fox, you seem... rather special."
Instead of attacking the Lord Ravager directly, Lumina offered her a warm, friendly smile.
If I captured this Lord Ravager right here and now, how would the story progress?
How would I get to show off later?
"Yes, I am particularly beautiful," Tingyun replied, a warm smile spreading across her face. She wasn't surprised in the slightest that Lumina had seen through her disguise at a glance.
As a Lord Ravager, she was naturally familiar with Lumina's formidable reputation and had no intention of antagonizing her. Moreover, as an Emanator of Abundance, Lumina couldn't possibly be uninterested in the Ambrosial Arbor of Xianzhou...
Phantylia began to consider forming an alliance with Lumina. If only Lumina knew my true intentions... She'd be thrilled to collaborate—right up until the crucial moment when I'd stab her in the back.
"Hmm, yes, this body of yours is quite lovely," Lumina nodded, scrutinizing Tingyun from head to toe.
"Ahaha," Tingyun chuckled softly, covering her mouth with a fan.
Qingque: ?
Watching the two women interact and listening to their conversation, Qingque grew increasingly puzzled.
Why does it feel like they know each other...?
And was Sister Lumina hinting at something?
As a prodigious Diviner, Qingque wasn't as oblivious as she sometimes seemed; she was quite sharp. She could piece together fragments of the conversation between Lumina and Tingyun.
If Sister Lumina's words are anything to go by, could it be that she's not Miss Tingyun at all?
With this thought, Qingque stepped forward, waved, and greeted, "Miss Tingyun, long time no see!"
"Miss Qingque, shouldn't you be at the Divination Commission right now? What brings you here?" Tingyun replied without a hint of unease, immediately dispelling Qingque's suspicions.
"Well, there's this recent mission related to Sister Lumina," Qingque explained, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.
Strange, there's nothing out of place here...
Qingque couldn't sense anything amiss about this Tingyun.
"Hey, hey, hey! Uncle Yang, Stelle, there's someone over here! There's someone over here! Come take a look!"
Just then, a lively voice rang out. From the sound alone, it was clear the speaker was a beautiful girl brimming with charm.
Everyone looked up and saw two young girls and a mature man approaching.