"Ah, customer Adrian. Has your interstellar trip come to an end?" Mengming skillfully produced a cup of Immortal's Delight Tea. With a Stellaron Core bursting on the Xianzhou, her teahouse was rather quiet today.
Only Mr. Xiyan was acting out of character. Just yesterday, he claimed to have an upset stomach and took the day off.
Yet today, it was as if he were a completely different person, full of vigor. His storytelling repertoire had been completely revamped, featuring stories Mengming had never heard before.
Titles like The Eight Virtues of the Lord of Eternity, Fool's Play: The Unspeakable Little Secrets Between the Lord of Elation and the Lord of Eternity, and so on.
"Here, these are the exotic specialties I brought back for you."
Mengming accepted the large bag of Belobog Sausages. She even pulled a bar of soap out from inside, leaving her at a loss for words.
In truth, she would have preferred tea varieties from other planets. When she took over this teahouse from her parents, she had aspired to achieve something unprecedented—to create brand new tea blends.
Unfortunately, famous Xianzhou teas like Scalegorge Spring and Alchemy Commission Silver Needle have been passed down for millennia. Imported mixed tea beverages also have their own markets, making it incredibly difficult to innovate.
She had mentioned this to Tingyun before, and Tingyun had patted her chest and guaranteed that, as a traveling merchant visiting many worlds, she would definitely find new tea varieties that even the Xianzhou natives might not have tasted.
Just yesterday, Tingyun came to see Mengming. However, she seemed a bit off, mentioning the "Church of Eternity" every other sentence. It was as if... the Tingyun chatting with her yesterday was someone else in disguise.
How strange. I've never heard Big Sister Tingyun mention that place before. Could she have already visited the Church?
Hmm, and before leaving, she also shoved a bar of soap at her, the meaning of which was unclear.
"Why is everyone so obsessed with soap...?" Mengming remarked helplessly. Perhaps this was just a specialty of other worlds.
"By the way, a disaster seems to have broken out on the Luofu recently. Please be careful," Mengming warned timely. But on second thought, Adrian stayed in the shop all day, so he shouldn't be in danger.
"Thank you for your concern, boss. Remember to come visit the shop when you're free."
"That would require the shop to actually be open..." Mengming retorted. She felt like this scene had played out many times before.
During the days Adrian was away, Qingque had been managing the milk tea shop. Mengming had observed secretly and found that the sales were surprisingly good.
What did this prove? Adrian clearly had the ability to make money, but he simply chose not to. She couldn't understand his bizarre thought process.
As Adrian passed by Mr. Xiyan the storyteller, he paused intentionally for a moment. A pale violet light flashed in his eyes as he detected an anomaly.
"There are clearly no customers, so why put so much effort into storytelling?"
Mr. Xiyan snapped open his folding fan, revealing a cheerful smile. "For no other reason than to pursue the purest [Eternity] within our hearts."
Hearing Mr. Xiyan's answer, Adrian patted him on the shoulder, quite satisfied.
A dignified Emanator disguising himself as a storyteller in a teahouse—Adrian didn't find this absurd at all.
To better promote Eternity on the Xianzhou Luofu, Blake chose storytelling as his method. It not only concealed his identity as an Emanator but also allowed him to act as Mengming's bodyguard until the real Mr. Xiyan returned. The little boss lady's safety was assured.
...
Phantylia took the group on a starskiff and successfully arrived at Starskiff Haven Central.
Of course, seeing that Stelle and March 7th were interested in the bag of Church specialties Adrian had given her, she regifted it to them.
From beginning to end, that blonde woman hadn't spoken a word, maintaining a professional smile. Phantylia began to suspect if her language module was malfunctioning.
Facing the Astral Express crew... Phantylia had to remain highly vigilant, terrified that a single slip-up would expose her.
"Now then, please allow this little maiden to welcome you benefactors to [Starskiff Haven] on behalf of the Sky-Faring Commission."
"On the [Luofu] Xianzhou, all matters regarding airspace, navigation, and trade are managed by the [Sky-Faring Commission], one of the Six Commissions. As the largest port, Starskiff Haven is also under our jurisdiction."
Hearing this introduction, March 7th praised from the bottom of her heart: "As expected of... uh, the Amicassador something-or-other. You speak with such presence!"
"You flatter me. I am responsible for receiving traveling merchants. I have to recite these flowery pleasantries every other day."
Phantylia's disguise was indeed exquisite, capable of replicating Tingyun's tone word for word:
"In any case, it is safe here. I should have taken everyone on a tour to fulfill my duties as a host, but given the current emergency, let us first make a trip to the Palace of Astrum to report your intentions to Madam Yukong."
"Palace of Astrum?"
"Another new, unfamiliar term. Why didn't Teacher Adrian give us a glossary or something before he left?" March 7th shrugged. Phantylia turned and pointed to the tall building in the distance.
"Do you see that? The tallest building in the city. That is the headquarters of the Sky-Faring Commission. We should make haste."
Stelle frowned slightly. She had felt something was off about Tingyun from the start. "Isn't Miss Tingyun being a bit... too hasty?"
"Oh my, it is not that I am hasty, but I fear Madam Yukong will assign blame. This little maiden cannot bear that responsibility..."
"Is she that scary? Didn't you say she was very kind?"
"Meeting the Six Commissions requires some preparation. Rest assured, Miss Tingyun, we will not go elsewhere. Please announce us first, and we will wait at the entrance of the Palace of Astrum shortly."
Phantylia nodded. She felt she needed a moment to recover as well; she had experienced too much in such a short time, and the Heliobus's brain capacity was reaching its limit.
"That Foxian girl moves too fast; I can hardly adapt. Perhaps I've been idle for too long... Let's seize this moment to catch our breath. This might be our only free time."
"Sigh~ We didn't find Teacher Adrian either. Miss Tingyun didn't seem to have heard of that name."
March 7th shook her head. They might as well ask when they met Yukong later. After all, Adrian was a legal citizen of the Xianzhou; a high official like Yukong should know him.
"I get the feeling Miss Tingyun's words have hidden meanings. She seems very cunning..." Stelle had vaguely sensed something was amiss, mainly because there was a familiar power on Tingyun.
"I wouldn't call it cunning. Her considerations are primarily based on self-interest. It is wise to take precautions when encountering suspicious people of unknown identity."
"As for the haste afterwards, it can only be said that she fears responsibility and wants to offload us, the 'trouble,' onto her superiors as soon as possible."
"Let me give everyone a heads-up. For the upcoming audience, please stay sharp and respond seriously."
"Is Mr. Yang worried that by meeting the Xianzhou officials, we'll repeat the mistakes of Belobog...?"
Dan Heng reminded, "This time, we don't have the blessing of [Eternity] bestowed by Adrian. It's best to be careful."
...
In front of the milk tea shop, a young girl dressed in priestess attire was waiting anxiously.
"I wonder if Lord Adrian will be able to recognize this little maiden in this appearance..."