Inside the Luofu General's Manor—territory ordinary people could never set foot in—General Teng Xiao sat in the seat of honor.
He wore a warm, courteous smile, but between his brows lurked a faint, barely perceptible heaviness.
Across from him, on the diagonal, sat two women.
One carried a gentle, tranquil air. She wore an elegant long dress and calmly sipped the Xianzhou's specially supplied fragrant tea.
The other was far more restless—she looked like an elementary school girl, legs crossed, idly fiddling with a strange device in her hands. Her eyes were sharp, appraising everything around her with undisguised scrutiny.
They were Ruan Mei and Herta.
"Thank you for traveling so far to visit the Luofu," Teng Xiao said with an apologetic tone. "Today, however, we had to handle an incident involving the infiltration of the Emanator Phantylia, and I fear we may have been remiss in our hospitality. I hope you will forgive us."
Ruan Mei set her cup down lightly and replied, "General, you're too kind. The star sea is perilous; the Luofu bears the Hunt's responsibilities, so it's only natural to be coveted from time to time. That you could thwart the plot in time is proof enough of the Luofu's strength. Waiting a little is no trouble."
Her gaze drifted around the hall as if casually, then returned to Teng Xiao with a scholar's distinctive investigative calm.
"If anything, we only hope our visit hasn't inconvenienced you."
"Not at all. The Luofu is honored to receive the minds of the Genius Society." Teng Xiao's smile didn't change, but inwardly he weighed their true purpose.
"Still… I must ask. Have you come merely to sightsee, or is there something the Luofu can assist you with?"
"Our main interest," Ruan Mei said evenly, "is the Xianzhou's unique lifeforms and longevity mechanisms. For example… might we be allowed to study the Ambrosial Arbor of the Luofu, even a little?"
Teng Xiao's smile tightened—just a fraction. The sharpness in his eyes deepened.
Study the Arbor? That was no minor request.
The Arbor was a miracle of Abundance, yes—yet also the root of the Xianzhou's calamities, and the Luofu's most tightly guarded taboo. How could outsiders be allowed to "study it" at will?
"Lady Ruan Mei, you jest," Teng Xiao declined in a calm, measured tone. "The Ambrosial Arbor is forbidden ground. Its power is violent and unpredictable—its past catastrophes remain a warning even now. For your safety, and for the Luofu's stability, I'm afraid I cannot agree."
"Oh?" Herta finally looked up, her small face full of disdain. "It's just a half-dead tree. What's the harm in taking a look? Maybe we could even solve the problem for you completely."
Her voice carried the arrogance of genius—and the impatience of someone who hated being bound by ordinary constraints.
Having long heard about her temperament, Teng Xiao didn't rise to it. He only said evenly, "I appreciate your goodwill, Lady Herta. But the Arbor concerns matters beyond what I can decide alone."
"If the two of you are interested in Xianzhou biology, medicine, or puppetry, then the Artisanship Commission and the Alchemy Commission have many成果 worth exchanging."
Ruan Mei gently pressed a hand to Herta, as if stopping her from speaking further, and softened her tone.
"We understand your concerns, General. We won't insist." She smiled faintly. "In truth, there is another matter we wish to ask."
"There are rumors in the cosmos," she continued, "that the Luofu has a certain person—one who, in childhood, received a personal blessing from the Aeon of the Hunt. An Emanator known as Wei Qing."
"We have long heard of him. They say he is… exceptionally special. Might we be fortunate enough to meet him?"
Yes. This was Ruan Mei's real objective.
She knew perfectly well that the Xianzhou Alliance wouldn't casually permit study of the Arbor. Mentioning it cost nothing—even if she was refused.
Teng Xiao's eyes flashed with understanding.
So the two geniuses' true target was Wei Qing.
That the Reignbow Arbiter had blessed an Emanator who was neither one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals nor even fully grown—this wasn't secret among the upper circles of the galaxy. Of course it would attract the curiosity of geniuses chasing knowledge and the universe's deeper mysteries.
"So you wish to meet my disciple," Teng Xiao said, stroking his beard with a smile.
"But tell me—what purpose do you have in meeting him?"
Herta answered bluntly, "We both believe he's probably the closest person to an Aeon in the world right now."
"Oh?" Teng Xiao's expression remained pleasantly composed, but his gaze sharpened. "And why do you say that?"
"The closest person to an Aeon…" he repeated. "That assessment is… surprising. As far as I know, there may not be many Emanators in the cosmos, but there are certainly more than a handful. Why do you believe my unpolished disciple deserves such a title?"
Herta clicked her tongue, as if the question itself were unnecessary.
"Isn't it obvious? You're the Luofu's General—don't tell me you don't understand the Hunt's peculiar nature when it comes to causality and the future?"
Teng Xiao fell silent. He'd caught her implication.
Ruan Mei smoothly took over.
"According to our research, the Hunt's power is intimately tied to spacetime and causality."
"Lan's gaze can pierce past and future. A blessing from such a being is never meaningless."
Her tone was utterly composed—as if stating a self-evident truth. She was clearly confident in her conclusions.
"That Mr. Wei Qing received such an honor in childhood suggests that his very existence may be a key node in some future 'causal' chain—perhaps even a variable significant enough to draw direct intervention from an Aeon."
"This isn't simply a matter of strength. It's a matter of… ontological rank. We want to know where that specialness manifests: his form of existence, or the way he resonates with a Path."
Herta swung her legs irritably. "In plain terms, we suspect he might be a natural 'Path singularity,' or he carries some trait we haven't deciphered yet—something that massively amplifies contact with an Aeon."
"Specimens like that are absurdly rare. Way more interesting than that broken tree."
Of course, they wanted direct contact with Aeons—but no one alive had the "honor" of that.
After hearing them out, Teng Xiao pondered.
Their logic wasn't obviously flawed—but it didn't erase his wariness.
Genius Society members were notoriously unpredictable. No one could guarantee their "research" wouldn't cause Wei Qing some unforeseeable consequence.
"The two of you have an insightful perspective," Teng Xiao said at last. "Wei Qing is indeed unusual. But before anything else, he is a Cloud Knight of the Luofu, and a child of the Xianzhou—not a specimen to be studied at whim."
"If you merely wish to meet and speak with him, you are welcome. But if you intend something deeper—investigation, probing…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
The warning was unmistakable.
Ruan Mei gave a shallow smile, her posture deliberately humble.
"Please be assured, General. We understand boundaries. This visit is primarily academic exchange. We will not make any unreasonable demands, nor will we conduct anything invasive or dangerous."
"We only hope for a chance to observe and converse at close range—nothing more than satisfying curiosity."
Herta still wore the expression of what a hassle, but she didn't contradict Ruan Mei.
Which, for Herta, was essentially agreement.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin