Done shopping for groceries, just as Lucian and Fu Xuan arrived at the gate to the courtyard of his temporary residence, they happened to run into Jingliu and Luocha standing together by the gate.
"Master?"
As soon as Jingliu saw Lucian, she immediately walked up to him.
"Master, there's something I need to tell you. It's about—"
Just as Jingliu was about to say it out loud, Lucian raised a finger and pressed it against her lips.
"I already know. No need to say more."
Lucian spoke with a faint smile, then turned his gaze toward Luocha—a handsome young blond man with refined features, carrying a finely crafted white coffin on his back.
He, of course, knew what was inside that coffin—it was a divine body fragment of the Aeon of Propagation, Tayzzyronth.
Needless to say, with just that fragment, he could use the Godly Bandage to easily resurrect the Aeon of Propagation, but he obviously would never do such a thing.
If he truly revived the Aeon of Propagation, he would instantly become the second most wanted enemy in the entire world of Honkai Star Rail.
He was, after all, still young—he had no way of shouldering such a burden.
"Your matter's time hasn't come yet. Be patient." Lucian said calmly to the silent Luocha.
He had no intention of letting news of the Propagation spread for now.
He had only just revealed his ability to resurrect the dead using their body ashes, so if the remains of the Aeon of Propagation were to become known, it would inevitably stir unease in the Xianzhou Alliance.
Especially for those who were paranoid, they would definitely become wary of him, which made things troublesome.
"Very well. If you say so, then I'll do as you say." Luocha replied briefly, offering a small smile, then turned to leave.
He noticed the look in Lucian's eyes carried deeper meaning.
Lucian clearly knew what was inside his coffin, yet he remained calm and composed, as though everything was firmly under his control.
'Perhaps Jingliu's judgment isn't wrong...' Luocha walked off, doubts still lingering. 'He might have another, simpler plan of his own...'
Seeing Luocha's retreating figure, Jingliu became uneasy.
"Master, you're just letting him go?" Jingliu whispered into Lucian's ear. "What if he goes to find Ruan Mei? You know, she's a genius in biology—her ideas can be dangerous."
"Don't worry. Ruan Mei is my friend." Lucian leaned in as well, whispering back.
Upon hearing this, Jingliu froze as she realized that her master truly had friends everywhere—or rather, 'female friends' everywhere.
Just like that, the plan to kill Yaoshi now lay completely within Lucian's control.
"Excuse me, can you two not whisper silently like that?"
Fu Xuan chimed in, standing with her hands on her hips, making her small frame look rather comical beside Lucian and Jingliu.
Just moments ago, she had carefully been sizing up Jingliu, the former Sword Champion of the Xianzhou Luofu.
Seeing how Jingliu was now behaving meekly like a cat before Lucian, and how close they were when conversing, it was no wonder he was willing to spend so much energy to revive her victims and erase her crime.
"Alright, let's go in for dinner."
Lucian smiled and led the two women into the western courtyard of his temporary residence.
===
As night fell, Jing Yuan and Teng Xiao visited Lucian's residence together, but the moment Jing Yuan saw Jingliu sitting before the dining table, flashes of the past raced through his mind—especially the time he had struck her down with the Lightning-Lord.
Now that he thought about it, he suddenly felt a little awkward and embarrassed.
"Welcome back..." Jing Yuan smiled at Jingliu. "So, should I still be calling you Master now?"
"General Jing Yuan, the bond of master and disciple between us ended the moment I was mara-struck." Jingliu shot him a cold glance. "I am no longer your master, nor am I the Sword Champion of the Luofu. From now on, we're only friends."
Indeed, her homeland had returned, Baiheng had returned, and Lucian was by her side, so she no longer had any need to cling to that tragic fate.
"You taught me that once someone falls to mara, they are no longer kin, and mercy cannot be shown..." Jing Yuan said helplessly. "I did as you taught me."
"Yes, for that, you deserve praise." Jingliu nodded calmly. "Just so you know, I never held that against you."
Even though she said that, the memory of Jing Yuan summoning the Lightning-Lord and nearly striking her dead still left a trace of resentment.
It couldn't be helped.
If she had died then, there would be no happiness today.
Upon hearing Jingliu's words, Jing Yuan sighed in relief, chuckled, raised his cup, and drained it in one gulp.
Truth be told, those words were what he had wanted to hear all this time.
Theory was one thing, but actually striking his own master down had always weighed heavily on his mind.
Now that she didn't really blame him, he could finally let go.
Feeling relieved, Jing Yuan raised his cup again and toasted Lucian three times.
Baiheng, Jingliu, and Teng Xiao—their tragedies had always been Jing Yuan's regrets, but now that Lucian had undone those regrets, a toast was due.
Unfortunately, two people were still missing.
"Alright, what's done is done!" Teng Xiao, unable to stand the heavy mood, immediately downed a jar of wine to lighten the atmosphere. "Tomorrow will be better! Drink up, drink up!"
"Cheers!" Baiheng raised her cup, gulped it down, then began chattering and telling stories with everyone.
Jingliu stayed silent, gazing absentmindedly at Lucian's side profile as she felt as though she were still living in the dream that had changed her life.
Fu Xuan, on the other hand, kept pestering Lucian with questions.
"Lucian, how else can your bandage be used?"
"What's its limit?"
"Some of my ancient books are incomplete—can it restore them to full versions?"
Jingliu, seeing the pure curiosity in Fu Xuan's eyes, simply let her chatter away with Lucian, not feeling jealous at all.
It was only natural.
Such a short body and a small chest—a childlike body like that obviously posed no competition.
And so, the group chatted the night away with a festive atmosphere until dawn broke without them realizing.
However...
"Oh, there's a trending topic... Master Diviner Fu Xuan and General Lucian's Scandal?!" Baiheng said with a smile, but then let out a startled cry as she read the trending topic.
Upon hearing that, everyone immediately tensed up.
"What?" Fu Xuan could hardly believe her ears.
How could she even have a scandal?
Weren't the people who made the scandal afraid of being divined and punished by her?
Fu Xuan pulled out her phone-type jade abacus and checked the trending feed.
Sure enough, it was indeed a scandal about her.
[Master Diviner Fu Xuan is a face-obsessed woman with impossibly high standards, and to this day, only General Lucian qualifies.]
[Our Master Diviner has finally stepped into spring, finding her beloved. Attached is a smiling photo of her.]
[Shocking! Xianzhou Cangcheng sacrifices its general's looks just to get on Xianzhou Luofu's good side!]
Reading one absurd headline after another, Fu Xuan's face eventually turned dark.
"Unbelievable..." Fu Xuan muttered in a low voice. "A bunch of bored fools dare to spread fake rumors about me? I'll find each one of you and make you regret ever doing it."
In the next moment, she immediately released a statement online to clarify.
[I, Master Diviner Fu Xuan, hereby declare that my relationship with General Lucian is clean and proper, nothing more than normal political relations, with absolutely no romantic involvement. As for those who spread such lies, I will track you down one by one. Bear the consequences.]
Just as Fu Xuan posted this clarification, Jing Yuan spoke up.
"Diviner Fu, I mean, look at this photo—your smile here really doesn't look normal." Jing Yuan, grinning mischievously, pointed at the picture on his phone. "Could it be you really..."
What he showed on his phone was a photo of Fu Xuan walking with Lucian side-by-side, hand covering her mouth in a smile, captured by who knew who.
"General, I devote myself to studying divination—don't you know that?" Fu Xuan's expression was stern, her tone serious. "Don't join in the nonsense and tarnish my name."
"Alright, I'm just joking." Jing Yuan raised his hands in surrender. "I'll post a statement too, help clear things up for you."
He knew the line he shouldn't cross, so with just a casual joke, he let it go.
As he prepared his own statement as the Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu, Fu Xuan turned to look at Jingliu and Baiheng.
By now, she already knew how deeply the two were connected to Lucian—they were no different than his lovers.
In other words, this kind of rumor could easily cause them to misunderstand, so it had to be cleared up as soon as possible.
"Rest assured, I'm only curious about Lucian's power and origins. He helped me resolve my problem, and I'm grateful for that, but I only consider him a friend, nothing more." Fu Xuan solemnly explained. "I vow I have absolutely no romantic feelings on my part. As the Master Diviner of the Luofu's Divination Commission, I vow it! If I ever try to steal your man, may I never grow taller for the rest of my life!"
Jingliu and Baiheng were naturally sensible enough not to misunderstand.
"No worries—we don't doubt you." Baiheng said with a smile. "Honestly, there's no need for such a vicious vow, y'know."
Jingliu, although not speaking, showed her agreement with a nod.
Lucian, meanwhile, stayed silent at the side, not paying attention to their conversation—because a voice had suddenly echoed in his mind.
[DING! Script cooldown complete. You can now activate the script again.]
[Script: 1]
Considering that he now had no pressing matter requiring him to save the script activation, like when he dealt with Nous before, Lucian decided to activate the script right away, since the more conceptual abilities he possessed, the better his safety would be in this dangerous world.
'Activate the script.'
[Random character script starting...]
[Fu Xuan]
===
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