Fu Xuan still looked at Herta and Ruan Mei with confusion, wondering to herself: Haven't these two already taken that step? Why are they still coming to me? Sigh, the night is young, and I wanted to get back to Qingque early.
"You two, what exactly do you want with me? Is it really just about buying a house on the Luofu, as Tingyun said?"
Herta nodded slightly. "We want to buy a house as our new home. But your Xianzhou Luofu has all kinds of rules for outsiders. All the estates outside pocket realms are monopolized by the noble families."
"What are your requirements for this new house?"
Herta explained her and Ruan Mei's situation.
Fu Xuan raised an eyebrow. These two geniuses' requirements are absurd. She sighed. "As far as I know, almost all estates outside pocket realms on the Luofu have been sold. Only two meet your requirements."
Ruan Mei sensed something amiss, but Herta pressed on. "Oh? Name them."
Fu Xuan waved her hand, and a star chart of the Luofu appeared before them, luminous and clear, showing the entire ship. She pointed first to Suiyuan.
"This estate, Suiyuan, was left as an inheritance by a foxian predecessor. It is currently under the jurisdiction of the Ten-Lords Commission. However, she left a final wish: whoever slays the Plaguesauthor may claim Suiyuan directly."
Herta and Ruan Mei glanced at each other. Both knew that the Aeon of Abundance was... something else. Slaying Yaoshi was not something that could be done anytime soon.
"If you two could crusade against the Plaguesauthor, the six Xianzhou ships would pledge their full support. There would be generous rewards as well."
Herta summoned her magic key and rapped Fu Xuan on the head, clearly displeased. "Hmph, Fu Xuan, that's your Xianzhou's business, not ours. Besides, if the Aeon of Abundance were destroyed, your Xianzhou people would lose their immortality and the Abundance's blessing, becoming no different from ordinary humans. Would you truly want that?"
Fu Xuan froze. Herta continued, "The Arbor has smoldered and reignited. But with an Imaginary Collapse from me, a Frost Plum Fall from Ruan Mei, and the assistance of Hua, the Arbor could be completely erased. Yet you haven't done that. You only talk about crusading against Abundance remnants and the Aeon of Abundance. When it comes to truly severing all ties, you hesitate—you're afraid."
Fu Xuan remained silent. She wanted to argue, but she had no excuse. Even when the Arbor was withered before the Phantylia incident, no one had suggested erasing it outright. After it revived, those in Xuling had also said nothing about removing it.
"To most Xianzhou natives, falling to Mara after seven hundred or a thousand years is your so-called nightmare. But do you truly want to lose all of that and live only a hundred or a few decades?"
Fu Xuan said nothing. Having lived for centuries, she had always aspired to become a general, to stay by her Qingque's side. If she could only live a hundred years like an ordinary person, perhaps falling to Mara after eight hundred or a thousand years was still far better than the short span of a mortal.
"So you hate Yaoshi and crusade against Yaoshi only because They cannot grant you true immortality—because They cannot solve the Mara that follows the Abundance's blessing. Am I right, Fu Xuan?"
Fu Xuan composed herself and shook her head. "Herta, you are not from the Xianzhou. How could you possibly understand the hatred of the Xianzhou people?"