Washing dishes to repay the debt... After being verbally lectured by the shop owner, Freesna also realized a problem.
She didn't seem to have a room to rest in either...
And so, outside the [Sleepless Earl] teahouse, where the lights had already been extinguished.
Under the illumination of the moonlight, Freesna, Blake, and Screwlloyd sat in a corner, looking utterly desolate from a distance.
To prevent the patrolling Cloud Knights from deeming them suspicious characters and sending them to the Palace of Astrum, Freesna even cast an invisibility buff on them.
Screwlloyd didn't dare say a single word. He hadn't expected these two to be just as broke as he was, with pockets cleaner than their faces. It was a good thing the three of them didn't need to sleep.
"Sigh~"
Blake and Freesna looked at the milk tea shop on the opposite shore. The Holy Light of salvation was right there, but in the dead of night, they had no reason to disturb that Lord's rest.
The night passed without conversation. Since it was a rare visit to the Xianzhou, Freesna naturally wanted to wander around.
Removing the [Eternity] blessing, she arrived at the Artisanship Commission, and then saw Luocha and Sushang, who were also there.
"Uh... Hi~ We meet again?"
She hadn't expected the reunion to happen so quickly, leading to the current scene:
"Hey, Luocha, you only told half the story about the [Propagation]. Keep going, it's quite interesting. It's really strange; Aeons can die too? Aren't THEY invincible?"
"There is no absolute invincibility in this world; that is merely an exaggeration from a mortal's perspective. However, the fall of the [Propagation] was indeed beyond the scale of mortals; THEY fell at the hands of other Aeons."
"Oh? It seems... you also know about the Swarm Disaster?" Freesna's interest was piqued. After all, she was an elf who had lived through that era.
"I know a little."
Sushang shook her head. "I don't get it. They are all Aeons, why do they have to fight and kill each other?"
This question stumped Luocha, making him slightly doubt Sushang's identity as a Xianzhou native:
"Are you... really from the Xianzhou...? Leaving other Aeons aside, surely you know the story of Lan and Yaoshi, right? Isn't the Alliance's long-cherished wish to eliminate the Aeon Yaoshi?"
"Of course I know!" Sushang insisted stubbornly. "Um, I know a little bit. My mom supervised my sword practice all day, so I didn't go to school much..."
"Then... let's change the topic. Since you aren't even clear on the blood feud between The Hunt and Abundance, explaining many things would be too exhausting."
"Hey~ Don't stop! I still know a little bit about [Eternity] and [Destruction]!"
Just as she finished speaking, Sushang noticed out of the corner of her eye that Freesna's ears twitched.
"Uh... um, I heard Uncle Adrian mention it a few times. It seems Nanook blew up a planet that worshipped Ite..."
"Alright, let's change the topic then: I haven't formally heard you introduce it yet—what's inside this big box?"
Luocha smiled faintly. "Then I shall explain it to Miss Sushang once more. This white case is a [coffin], specifically used to contain the remains of the deceased."
"The deceased? Aren't... aren't you a traveling merchant?" Sushang couldn't quite wrap her head around it for a moment.
"This is also part of a traveling merchant's work. I was entrusted to deliver this coffin back to the Xianzhou on my way. Heh, for long-life species whose lifespans easily reach a thousand years, [Death] is probably a distant concept."
"Not really. Cloud Knights throw themselves into the battlefield; death is a common occurrence. But we don't have the habit of using boxes... er, coffins to hold bodies."
"The custom for Xianzhou people to bid farewell to their compatriots is to enshrine their names and Jade Abacuses in the Hall of Karma of the [Ten-Lords Commission]." Sushang began to explain to Luocha: "Also, the Foxians and the Vidyadhara each have their own farewell ceremonies."
"I've seen Foxian soldiers place their departed compatriots in starskiffs and let them drift toward distant stars... They call this [Returning to the Azure]."
"Um... if I may ask, what is the Church's method of sending off compatriots?"
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all natural laws. Whether they are heroes who died on the battlefield or elders who departed the world, they are all sent to the Church's Sacred Tomb to ensure the safety of their remains."
"Destiny has an end; all life has a set limit. Even Aeons can hardly be called imperishable; they will eventually arrive at the moment of passing, right?" Luocha looked at the coffin beside him.
"Uh, I'll ask one more thing... do you know the person in the coffin?"
Sushang's intuition told her that the relationship between Luocha and the thing inside this coffin was definitely not ordinary.
"I do."
Seeing her guess confirmed, Sushang continued to press: "A friend?"
Luocha denied this answer: "No."
"Then... a lo-lover?"
"Haha~" Luocha was amused by this question. "Where is your mind wandering, Miss? Have you been reading too many novels? The one lying in the coffin is neither kin nor friend to me; we met only once."
"By coincidence, I promised someone, so I had to make this trip."
"Let's end the chat here, shall we? You all have rested enough."
...
The three had only walked a few steps when they saw a certain brown-haired girl surrounded by Mara-Struck Soldiers.
Seeing this scene, Sushang, bursting with a sense of justice, raised her sword and prepared to charge: "Let's attack together, finish these guys off quickly, and save that girl!"
"Didn't Miss Sushang say yesterday that if we encounter danger, we should just leave it to you?"
"I... two fists can't fight four hands! Please, after it's done, I'll give you both a [Heroic Act] award!"
While Sushang was speaking, Freesna fired another instant shot, blasting the Mara-Struck Soldiers to death. Watching the battle end in the blink of an eye, Sushang felt this scene was very familiar, as if she had witnessed it yesterday.
She rushed up to support the brown-haired girl, who looked equally confused. "Miss, are you alright?"
After seeing the bloodstains on the other party, Sushang froze for a second: "Ah... sorry, I didn't see the blood and thought you were fine... It turns out you are a Mechanical Puppet."
"My motor system is broken; I cannot move. You are a Cloud Knight... very good. Please take me to the Realm-Keeping Commission."
"Ah this... apologies to you two, we might have to delay a bit... This lady belongs to the previously mentioned [Ten-Lords Commission]; she is a Puppet Judge. As a Cloud Knight, I must prioritize cooperating with her instructions."
Luocha and Freesna spoke at the same time: "I know a little medicine; why not let me try to treat the lady's injuries?"
"Leave it to me."
"Aiya, you guys don't know, she is a Puppet... that means a machine-modified human. Let's just send her to the Realm-Keeping Commission, okay? It's not that I doubt your medical skills..."
Luocha and Freesna looked at each other, and the former was the first to make a "please" gesture.
"Cough... for repairing a Puppet, [Eternity] couldn't be more suitable. Before that... what is her name?"
"Xueyi."
"This might hurt a little." She picked up her staff, pointed it at Xueyi's abdomen, and tapped gently.
"It is useless... My body is a product of mechanical engineering, not flesh and blood."
"Machine or flesh, which of the two do you think is closer to [Eternity]?"
Voom!
A stream of warm energy enveloped Xueyi from the inside out. By the time she came to her senses, all the injuries on her body had vanished.
"Amazing. How did thee do it?"
Xueyi felt her rejuvenated body; the components inside were more sensitive than ever before.
"Thi-This..." Sushang stared blankly. Luocha explained to her: "Miss Sushang, this is certainly not medicine, but..."
"A little bit of [Eternity]."