After washing dishes to pay off her debt and receiving a verbal scolding from the stall owner, Freesna realized she had a problem, too.
She seemed to have no place to rest either...
Thus, in the already darkened Sleepless Earl tea house, under the moonlight's glow, Freesna, Blake, and Screwlloyd sat in a corner, looking utterly desolate from afar. To avoid being mistaken for suspicious persons by patrolling Cloud Knights and sent to the Time Palace, Freesna even cast an invisibility buff on them.
Screwlloyd didn't dare utter a word. It hadn't expected these two to be as broke as it was—meaning none of the three needed sleep.
"Sigh~"
Blake and Freesna gazed at the milk tea shop across the 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.
...
It was a night without words. Having rarely come to the Xianzhou, Freesna definitely planned to wander around. Releasing Eternity's blessing, she arrived at the Artisanship Commission, then spotted Luocha and Sushang, who were also there.
"Uh... hi~ We meet again?"
Not expecting the reunion to come so quickly, the scene before her was:
"Hey, Luocha, you only told half about Propagation. Keep going; it's super interesting. It's truly rare—Aeons can die? Aren't THEY invincible?"
"There's no absolute invincibility in the world; that's just an exaggeration from a mortal perspective. But Propagation's fall did transcend mortal scales—THEY fell at the hands of other Aeons."
"Oh? Looks like... you know about the Swarm Disaster too?" Freesna perked up with interest. After all, she was an elf who had lived through that era.
"A little."
Sushang shook her head. "I don't get it. They're all Aeons—why fight and kill?"
This stumped Luocha; he even began doubting Sushang's Xianzhou folk identity: "You... are you really from the Xianzhou? Never mind other Aeons, but the story of Lan and Yaoshi—surely you know that, miss? The Alliance's long-cherished wish is to eliminate the Aeon Yaoshi, right?"
"Of course I know!" Sushang insisted stubbornly. "Well, a little. My mom supervises my sword practice all day; I didn't go to school much..."
"Then... let's change the topic. Since you don't even know the mortal enmity between The Hunt and Abundance, explaining many things would be too troublesome."
"Hey~ No, I know a bit about Eternity and Destruction!"
As soon as she said that, Sushang's peripheral vision caught Freesna's ears twitching.
"Uh... uh, I heard a few words from Uncle Adrian. Nanook apparently blew up a planet that worshiped Ite..."
"Fine, I'll switch topics: I haven't formally heard you introduce what's in this big box?"
Luocha smiled faintly. "Then I'll say it again for Miss Sushang. This white casket is a Spirit Casket, commonly known as a coffin, specially used to house the remains of the deceased."
"The deceased? You... aren't you a merchant?" Sushang couldn't wrap her head around it for a moment.
"This is part of a merchant's work, too. I was entrusted to deliver this spirit casket back to the Xianzhou along the way. Heh, for long-life species who live thousands of years, death is probably a distant concept."
"Not really. Cloud Knights throw themselves into battle; death is commonplace. But we don't have the custom of... uh, using caskets to hold remains."
"The Xianzhou custom for bidding farewell to kin is to enshrine their names and jade omens in the Ten Lords Commission's Hall of Karma." Sushang explained to Luocha: "Plus, Foxians and Vidyadhara each have their own farewell rituals."
"I've seen Foxian warriors place departed kin in skiffs, letting them drift to distant stars... They call it Zhengshou Qingqiu."
"Hmm... if I may ask, what's the Church's way of sending off kin?"
"Birth, aging, illness, and death are all natural laws. Whether heroes fallen in battle or elders passing from this world, they are sent to the Church's holy tombs to preserve the bodies' safety."
"Life has its limits; every being has a finite span. Even Aeons can hardly claim immortality—THEY too will reach the moment of passing." Luocha gazed at the coffin beside him.
"Uh, if I may ask another... Do you know the person in the coffin?" Sushang's intuition told her Luocha's connection to whatever was inside was anything but ordinary.
"I do."
Seeing her guess confirmed, Sushang pressed: "A friend?"
Luocha denied it: "No."
"Then... l-lover?"
"Haha~" Luocha was amused by this. "Where'd your mind go, miss? Read too many novels? The one lying in the coffin is neither kin nor close to me—just a chance encounter."
"By coincidence, I promised someone and had to make this trip."
"Let's end the chat here? Everyone's rested enough."
...
The three had barely walked a few steps when they saw a certain brown-haired girl surrounded by Denizens of the Dead soldiers.
Seeing this, Sushang—justice bursting forth—drew her sword and charged: "Let's go together, finish these guys quick, and save that girl!"
"Didn't you say yesterday, Miss Sushang, that in danger, leave it to you?"
"I-I mean, two fists can't beat four hands! Please, after it's done, I'll award you both a Righteous Bravery medal!"
As Sushang spoke, Freesna instantly fired a blast that obliterated the Denizens of the Dead soldiers. Watching the battle end in a blink, Sushang felt this scene was familiar—like she'd seen it yesterday.
She rushed up to support the equally stunned brown-haired girl. "Miss, you okay?"
Seeing the blood on her, Sushang froze for a second: "Ah... sorry, I didn't notice the blood and thought you were fine... Turns out you're a mechanical puppet."
"Locomotive shuttle damaged; can't move. You are Cloud Knight... good. Please send me to the Earthbalance Commission."
"Ah, sorry you two, we might have to delay a bit... This miss is one of the Ten Lords Commission's puppet judges I mentioned earlier. As a Cloud Knight, I must prioritize her instructions."
Luocha and Freesna spoke at once: "I know a bit of medicine; let me try treating the miss's wounds?"
"Leave it to me."
"Hey, you don't know—she's a puppet... like a cyborg. Let's send her to the Earthbalance Commission? Not doubting your medical skills..."
Luocha and Freesna exchanged glances; the former gestured "please" first.
"Ahem... Repairing puppets is what Eternity excels at. Before that... what's her name?"
"Xueyi."
"Might hurt a bit." She raised her staff, pointing at Xueyi's abdomen, and gently tapped.
"Useless... My body is a construct of mechanical artifice, not flesh and blood."
"Mechanical or flesh—which do you think is closer to Eternity?"
Boom!
A warm energy enveloped Xueyi from inside out. When she came to, all injuries on this body had vanished.
"Miraculous. How did you do it?" Xueyi felt her renewed frame; the parts inside were more responsive than ever.
"Th-this..." Sushang was dumbfounded. Luocha explained: "Miss Sushang, this definitely isn't medicine, but rather..."
"A tiny bit of Eternity."
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