The victory banquet didn't break up until deep into the night.
The evening breeze of Cloudford carried the damp, familiar scent of the Skiffsea, washing the alcohol haze from their heads.
Everyone said their goodbyes. Bai Heng was still tugging Jing Yuan along, rambling about something; Yingxing and Dan Feng had already headed off first.
Wei Qing was just about to turn and leave when Jingliu called to him softly.
"Wei Qing."
He looked back and saw her standing beneath the lamplight, blue robes stirred slightly by the night wind.
"Walk with me for a bit," she said, voice utterly calm.
The two of them walked side by side down a long street that was gradually settling into silence. The stone-paved road reflected the glow of shop lights that hadn't yet gone out, stretching their shadows long across the ground.
They didn't speak. But it wasn't awkward—only the faint sound of sleeves brushing now and then.
When they reached a quiet covered bridge, Jingliu stopped.
"The battle in the wasteland," she began, her voice colder than the wind, "I was worried."
Wei Qing turned his head to look at her. Jingliu always spoke plainly—whether it was swordsmanship or feelings.
"I've heard the name Shuhu," she continued, eyes drifting to the night scenery before returning to his face. "He can hurt you."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
She'd seen him when he returned. No visible wounds, but the residual aura of combat still clinging to him—he couldn't hide that from her senses.
Wei Qing smiled, about to answer, but her next words cut him off.
"Don't say you're fine." Jingliu interrupted. In the darkness, her red eyes were strikingly bright, looking straight into his. "I know what matters."
She fell silent for a moment, as if bracing herself for something.
"Dan Feng told me… the gift I gave you last time might have been inappropriate."
"So I prepared another gift. I hope you'll like it."
Wei Qing froze.
And so did the other four—who had been tailing them the whole way.
In some shadowed corner, four held breaths stopped all at once.
"Not bad, Dan Feng!" Bai Heng gasped, slamming her elbow into the Dragon Elder beside her, eyes glittering in the dark. "You actually talked her into it?! I thought she'd never figure it out in this lifetime!"
Dan Feng folded his arms. His refined face looked composed under the moonlight, but the slight lift at the corner of his lips still gave away a trace of smug satisfaction.
"I merely laid out the pros and cons."
"Uh… so what did Jingliu give him last time?" Yingxing asked, completely lost.
"Shh!" Jing Yuan yanked Yingxing back, golden eyes fixed on the two figures on the bridge, his grin barely contained. "Quiet! The main event's here—what's Master going to give him?"
Four pairs of eyes. Eight ears. Fully focused on the couple on the bridge, terrified of missing a word—or a facial expression.
Jingliu took out her jade abacus. No one could tell what she was doing with it.
Then—Wei Qing's jade abacus chimed.
He pulled it out in confusion. The screen lit up, and a glaring transfer notification filled the display.
[Jingliu has transferred 300,000,000 credit points to you.]
"..."
"These three hundred million credits are…?" Wei Qing stared at the long string of zeros on the screen, falling uncharacteristically silent.
He looked up at Jingliu.
She stood perfectly straight, expression deadly serious—she didn't look like she was joking in the slightest.
"A gift," Jingliu said concisely, as though that explained everything. "Dan Feng said my previous gift had no practical value."
"…I think nothing is more practical than credit points."
She paused, then added with the same calm logic:
"You can use them to purchase better armor, weapons, pills, or any supplies you need. The battlefield is dangerous. It's best to be prepared."
The reasoning was solid. The logic airtight. Extremely Jingliu.
"..." Bai Heng's mouth fell open, eyes round as coins.
"..." Yingxing covered his face, shoulders trembling.
"..." Jing Yuan shoved his entire face into the fabric of Yingxing's back, his body shaking in silent spasms.
And Dan Feng pressed a hand to his forehead—his dragon horns seemed to dim a little.
From the shadows, Bai Heng was basically melting against Dan Feng, hissing in a stage-whispered scream:
"Why is Jingliu sending money?! Dan Feng, what exactly did you teach her?!"
Dan Feng: "...I taught nothing of the sort."
Even the Dragon Elder seemed to start doubting his own teaching ability.
Yingxing muttered, "Three hundred million credits… that's enough to buy the most expensive instrument in my Artisanship Commission lab… and then smash it for fun three times…"
Wei Qing looked at her serious face—the expression of someone who had carefully considered this and concluded it was the best possible plan—then glanced again at the astronomical sum on his screen.
A low laugh slipped out.
At first his shoulders shook. Then he couldn't hold it back and burst into laughter, his clear voice echoing beneath the quiet bridge.
Jingliu tilted her head slightly, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
"What are you laughing at? Is it inappropriate?"
"No," Wei Qing said, stopping himself. "It's very appropriate."
His fingers swiped across the jade abacus screen, accepting the huge amount with crisp, decisive efficiency.
"I just didn't expect that one day I'd get to experience what it feels like to be kept by a rich woman."
His amused remark drifted into the night wind—kept by a rich woman said clearly, bluntly, without shame.
Jingliu's cool aura faltered for the briefest instant.
In the warm lamplight on the bridge, the pale jade of her earlobes flushed pink almost immediately—and the color started creeping toward her cheeks.
She clearly hadn't expected that response. Her ruby-red eyes widened slightly.
Her gaze darted to the water, then she forced it back, trying to maintain her usual icy composure—but her quickened breathing and the way her hands didn't quite know where to rest betrayed her.
"…Nonsense," Jingliu murmured in rebuttal, her voice a shade softer than usual.
Then, as if trying to regain ground—or perhaps because she truly believed it—she continued with stubborn seriousness:
"Your safety is important. If these credits can help, then they are worth it."
She drew a breath, as though making up her mind, and looked at Wei Qing again. Her cheeks were still pink, but her gaze was unwavering.
"If you need… I can always…"
The rest was too direct—beyond what she could say out loud in this moment. Her voice trailed off, but the meaning in her eyes was unmistakable.
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 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 30
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 30
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