Wei Qing stood atop the city wall as the gale whipped at the hem of his plain white robes.
Playing Jingliu felt less like deception and more like an improvised performance. The finale had already landed, the audience reaction was loud enough to shake the snow off the parapets—yet he, the "lead actor," didn't feel much like taking a bow.
Leaving right now… somehow felt like it was missing a little something.
"Lady Jingliu," Alisa said, her voice trembling with emotion as she hurried forward and bowed deeply. "Thank you. You saved Belobog. You saved Jarilo-VI."
Wei Qing gave a faint nod. "It's something I promised. I simply kept my word."
"Lady Jingliu!" The Xianzhou representative could barely contain himself as he pushed through the crowd, his face flushed with excitement and reverence. "That power you displayed just now—could it be…?"
He hesitated, clearly struggling to phrase the question without sounding disrespectful.
"Have you truly received the Arbiter-General's blessing… and become an Emanator of the Hunt?"
All the Xianzhou personnel snapped their attention over. This wasn't idle curiosity—this was a matter that could reshape the Alliance's balance of power, and force everyone to re-evaluate the Sword Champion of the Luofu.
Wei Qing lifted his chin slightly—and simply admitted it.
"The might of the Arbiter-General is vast beyond measure."
The representative's awe only deepened.
A new Hunt Emanator within the Luofu—this was an event with consequences that reached far beyond this frozen world. It meant the Xianzhou Alliance's strength could surge again, a real qualitative leap in their future wars against Abundance abominations and the Destruction Legion.
Ever since Qingzhou's betrayal, the Luofu had delayed naming a new general. Rumors had spread that the Luofu had "no one left."
If Jingliu had truly stepped into the Emanator tier…
Wei Qing took in their reactions and chuckled inwardly.
He'd thought someone might ask why he let Xingxiao go.
But no one did.
Either they'd swallowed Xingxiao's insinuations—believing Jingliu had "history" with Qingzhou—or, more likely, they simply didn't dare question an Emanator's decision.
Since nobody asked, Wei Qing had no intention of inventing explanations.
Then Marsha shoved her way through the crowd, eyes red from fear and relief, anxiety flooding back in as soon as she found her voice.
She looked up toward Wei Qing on the wall and blurted, "Lady Jingliu! Where are Wei Qing and Liuying? They went with you to deal with the Stellaron, didn't they? Are they… are they okay? Why didn't they come back with you?"
The air froze for a beat.
Right—those two company "siblings."
If Jingliu returned alone… did that mean they were dead?
Hans immediately stepped forward, his tone a hundred times more respectful than before. "Lady Jingliu, you turned the tide and saved Jarilo from collapse. The company will never forget it."
"As for the two employees… their sacrifice is not your responsibility. The company will compensate their families to the fullest extent."
Wei Qing shot him a flat glance, unimpressed by the sudden groveling.
"Sacrifice?" he repeated.
"Who told you they sacrificed themselves?"
Hans blinked, then hurriedly explained, "My lady, you returned alone in the midst of such a crisis. When they weren't with you, we naturally assumed—"
"The Stellaron has been handled. The mission is complete." Wei Qing cut him off. "As for that pair…"
"They won't be going back with you."
Marsha stared, confused. "My lady… why?"
Wei Qing's voice stayed perfectly calm.
"I've taken a liking to that young man named Wei Qing. He has accepted my courtship."
"He's mine now."
"And Liuying—since she's my future sister-in-law—will naturally come with us."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Every face around them went blank.
…Pardon?
My lady, do you realize your entire persona just collapsed?
They weren't going to get any answers.
The moment the words left his mouth, the Sword Champion vanished from the wall—gone without wind, without light, leaving behind only a crowd of stunned onlookers standing in the snow with their brains short-circuited.
Meanwhile, the real Jingliu was still asleep somewhere in the mountains, and no one knew when she would wake.
And just like that, Jarilo's crisis came to an end.
Several days later, within the Luofu's general mansion—
"You're telling me… the one who drove off Xingxiao on Jarilo wasn't you," Teng Xiao said slowly, staring at the Jingliu who had just returned. "But that Stellaron Hunter?"
He fell into a heavy silence, brow knotted tight.
When the report from Jarilo arrived, he had been ecstatic.
Jingliu had become a Hunt Emanator?
The Luofu was finally turning around.
Then reality punched him in the face: the "Hunt Emanator" on Jarilo had been that Stellaron Hunter—Asam.
That was not good news.
Asam was already confirmed as an Emanator of Abundance. And now he had displayed Hunt authority as well.
It was impossible not to suspect.
"Yes." Jingliu's voice was steady, without a ripple. "By the time I reached the Stellaron, they had already dropped their disguise."
"I fought him… and lost. Then he took the Stellaron and subdued me."
"So that's how it is…" Teng Xiao's voice sank, weighted with visible dread.
"Abundance and Hunt within one body—such an absurd combination."
"In this universe, the only one who could do that… aside from that traitor back then… I can't think of anyone else." He paused, then looked straight at her. "Jingliu. You fought him. What did it feel like? Was he…?"
"It was him." Jingliu answered without hesitation.
"That identical Abundance power. He didn't even bother hiding it from me."
Teng Xiao's breathing hitched, almost imperceptibly.
Even though he'd suspected it, hearing Jingliu say it so definitively still felt like a stone dropping into his chest.
"So it really is him…"
He gave a bitter, self-mocking laugh. "Hah. And here I thought he at least had loyalty to Destruction. Turns out Qingzhou is nothing but a three-banner turncoat."
"Qingzhou… Asam… Stellaron Hunter." Teng Xiao's gaze turned sharp. "He takes Stellanons, wears your face to drive off Xingxiao—what does he want?"
Jingliu didn't answer.
In the depths of her crimson eyes, emotions churned—complicated, unreadable.
She had never truly understood him. Not then. Not now.
"But one thing is clear," Teng Xiao continued, voice hardening into decision. "If he's moving as a Stellaron Hunter, then Stellanons are his priority."
"We can't sit and wait for him to appear again on his own terms."
He straightened.
"If he's collecting Stellanons—and they're clearly irresistible bait to him…"
"Then we'll give him a Stellaron."
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter1165)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 150
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 55
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
My Harem Is Indescribable 26
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