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Inside the Alchemy Commission, the air was heavy with the scent of medicinal herbs and the hum of distant machinery. Kenta and Dan Heng stood near the dock, bidding farewell to their temporary travel companions.
"Farewell, Miss Sushang. Although you didn't help at all and led me on a massive detour that likely added three years to my biological age, I still want to thank you," Kenta said, clasping his hands in a traditional greeting. His voice was thick with "sincere" gratitude.
"Hahaha, it's nothing! It's my dut—wait." Li Sushang paused, her brown pigtails twitching. "Were you actually thanking me just now, or was that a high-level Xianzhou insult?"
Kenta offered a mysterious chuckle but didn't elaborate. Sushang, being a simple and good-natured soul, didn't dwell on it. She gave them a clumsy salute and jogged back toward her Cloud Knight squad.
"I shall take my leave as well," Luocha said, his voice as smooth as polished jade. He adjusted the straps of the massive white coffin on his back. "I am but a merchant with a transaction to complete. Take care, both of you."
As the blonde traveler departed, Kenta and Dan Heng gathered intelligence from the local guards. It seemed the main Trailblaze team—Stelle, March, and Welt—had already moved through the area, dismantling the reactionary Disciples of Sanctus Medicus with terrifying efficiency.
"Their clear speed is absurd," Kenta muttered. "Seriously, how many side-quests did Sushang drag me into for us to be this far behind?"
"They've moved on to the Scalegorge Waterscape," Dan Heng noted, checking a message on his phone.
"Then let's move," Kenta agreed.
They headed toward the harbor to catch a starskiff. However, as they walked, Kenta noticed something unsettling. Dan Heng was acting... bizarre. He would suddenly stop, stare into the distance with glazed eyes, and let out sharp, ragged gasps of air.
Has Dan Heng finally snapped? Kenta wondered, breaking into a cold sweat. Was it the stress? The coffee? The lack of sleep?
From Dan Heng's perspective, the world was fracturing. The closer they got to the ancient dragon-guarded waters, the louder the echoes of his past life became. The power of the High Elder within him was churning, dragging up memories of the Venerable Dragon Lord that felt like a physical weight on his lungs.
"Dan Heng, are you alright?" Kenta finally asked. He was genuinely worried that his friend was about to fall into a Mara-struck state and accidentally impale him with his spear.
Dan Heng shook his head, trying to clear the mental fog. "It's nothing. I'm just... feeling sentimental about the surroundings."
Kenta: "..."
Do I look like a gullible idiot to you? Kenta thought. You can lie to me, buddy, but don't lie to yourself. I can hear you wheezing from ten feet away. If we weren't both guys, I'd think you were having a "moment" of a very different nature.
Despite the mental instability, they finally boarded a small boat heading for the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Meanwhile, Yanqing—who had somehow survived the frost-bitten wrath of Jingliu—had followed Blade's trail to the docks. He was pumped, his swords buzzing with youthful energy, entirely unaware that a white-haired woman with a black silk veil was following him like a vengeful winter storm.
"...Kenta... soon..." Jingliu whispered to the wind.
On the boat, a sudden, violent shiver ran down Kenta's spine.
"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm being hunted by a shark?" Kenta muttered, rubbing his arms.
The Shore of Scalegorge Waterscape
Mist swirled around the ancient pillars of the dragon ruins. Above, on a high platform, stood the two most wanted criminals in the galaxy.
Blade stood with his eyes shut, his presence as cold as a grave. Beside him, Kafka twirled a violet thread.
"He has arrived," Blade said, his eyes snapping open.
"Mhm," Kafka replied. "But be prepared. There are some guests arriving that even you didn't account for."
Blade didn't care. To him, the world had narrowed down to one person: the Dragon Lord who had reincarnated to escape his "debts."
Two figures emerged from the mist at the base of the stairs.
"You have come," Blade spoke, his voice dripping with ancient malice. He stared solely at Dan Heng, completely ignoring Kenta. "The time has come to pay the price! OF THE FIVE PEOPLE, THREE MUST PAY A PRICE!"
His voice rose to a hysterical pitch. "Did you think reincarnation could hide you?! You even dragged him here to be buried with you! Hahaha!"
Blade's laughter echoed off the stones, but it died the second his eyes finally landed on the man standing next to Dan Heng.
But Kenta didn't notice Blade's sudden silence. He was too busy dealing with the fact that Kafka was already walking down the stairs toward him.
Kenta immediately scrambled back three steps in pure, unadulterated horror. "Stop! Stay right there! You are not allowed to cross that line! I am the 'downstairs' person, you stay 'upstairs'!"
The memory of the "alleyway incident" flashed in his mind like a trauma reel.
"Heh~" Kafka smiled, her gaze heavy and alluring. "Darling, why are you so afraid of me?"
"DON'T YOU HAVE A CLUE WHY?!" Kenta roared.
Beside them, Blade suddenly erupted into a fresh fit of laughter—one filled with a frantic, protective rage. He pointed a trembling, bandaged hand at Dan Heng.
"Dan Feng! You harmed him once!" Blade's voice was a jagged scream of fury. "Do you intend to harm him a second time?!"
Dan Heng, pushed to his limit by the memories and the accusations, finally roared back:
"I AM NOT HIM!"
The air between them crackled with killing intent.
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