"To think the Marshal herself would come to the Luofu. Forgive me, Jing Yuan, for failing to welcome you properly."
---------------------------
"Marshal, Marshal?" March 7th's voice trembled as she pointed at Fu Lin, her face full of disbelief."H-He's the Xianzhou Marshal?!"
Stelle's eyes lit up, his tone full of excitement, "My dad is the Xianzhou Marshal? Doesn't that mean I can walk sideways on the Xianzhou now!"
Dan Heng stood to the side, pressing a hand to his forehead, leaving only a silent "…"
Yanqing also suddenly turned his head toward Fu Lin, his grip on his sword tightening unconsciously, eyes full of astonishment, "You're actually the Marshal… wait, something doesn't seem quite right…"
Jing Yuan furrowed his brows slightly and interrupted in time, "Yanqing, mind your manners. The Marshal's status is noble, don't make reckless assumptions."
Fu Lin froze for a moment before realizing, so the old antique's counterpart was actually the Xianzhou Marshal.
He secretly sighed at the old relic's extraordinary identity while his mind raced, 'Should I just go along with it for a while? But if my act isn't convincing and I get exposed, I'll be thrown into the Shackling Prison…'
Kiana☆ and the others didn't interrupt, simply watching Fu Lin quietly, their eyes carrying a trace of curiosity.
His thoughts spun rapidly, but the corners of Fu Lin's lips already curved slightly, his hands slowly clasping behind his back, his posture unconsciously taking on a steady air.
He raised a hand slightly in a polite gesture, his voice calm and even, "General Jing Yuan is mistaken. I am not the Marshal, merely a passing traveler who came to observe the Luminary Wardance. You may simply call me Fu Lin."
After speaking, his gaze swept toward Huaiyan, adding faintly, "General Huaiyan, even after many years of retirement you still step forward, such responsibility is truly admirable."
Huaiyan finally recovered from his shock, quickly following up to smooth things over, "Marshal, you flatter me. This old man is only doing what's within his duty."
Fu Lin let out a helpless sigh, "Sigh, I already said, I'm really not the Marshal."
Huaiyan went along with it, stepping down from the stage, "Oh right, these old eyes of mine must be failing me. I mistook you for someone else, truly my apologies."
Yanqing gathered himself, gripping the sword at his waist as he stood next to Jing Yuan, though his gaze still drifted to Fu Lin from time to time.
March 7th quietly tugged at Dan Heng's sleeve, whispering, "As expected, every time we get to a new place, the first person we meet always has some huge secret. I just didn't expect Fu Lin to be the Marshal, and even now he won't admit it. He's way too low-key!"
Dan Heng gave a slight nod, though his eyes stayed fixed on Fu Lin's back, carrying a hint of scrutiny.
At that moment, the quiet girl nearby stepped forward. Huaiyan shifted aside to introduce her,
"Everyone, this is my grand-disciple, Yunli."
Yanqing lifted his gaze toward the girl before him, his tone polite, "Hello."
Yunli's eyes studied Yanqing, pausing two seconds longer on the sword at his waist, "Oh, hello."
Seeing their interaction was at least cordial, Huaiyan gave a small nod. Jing Yuan then spoke, "Everyone, Elder Yan and I still have some matters to discuss. For now, let Yanqing escort our guests and Miss Yunli to the inn to settle in…"
With that, his gaze turned to Fu Lin. The words at the tip of his tongue paused briefly before he corrected himself, "Marshal… ahem, Lord Fu Lin, if you have any needs on the way, just have Yanqing pass word and I will arrange it immediately."
Fu Lin gave a slight nod, his tone still calm, "You're too kind, General Jing Yuan. Please take care of your business first. I and the others will follow Yanqing to the inn."
Huaiyan added from the side, his eyes quietly sweeping over Fu Lin, "Girl, you go with Lord Fu Lin too. Look after our guests on the way, don't let them get lost."
Yunli shook her head, explaining, "Grandfather, I don't plan to go to the inn just yet… I want to see Sister Lingsha. She's just arrived in Luofu and needs someone to help her settle in."
Meanwhile, Jing Yuan was giving Yanqing some instructions. After nodding, Yanqing raised his hand in a "please" gesture, "Passengers of the train, Lord Fu Lin, and honored guests from afar, please follow me."
March 7th pulled Dan Heng along behind. As they passed Fu Lin she whispered, "You're really not the Marshal~"
Fu Lin helplessly shrugged his shoulders, "I'm really not. I think this misunderstanding will be cleared up soon enough."
After all, from the conversation between Huaiyan and Jing Yuan behind him, their occasional glances still carried a faint hint of probing.
Then, Fu Lin and the group followed Yanqing out of Astral Palace. Just as they stepped outside, they brushed past two people coming in,
One of them, a pink-haired Foxian, suddenly stopped in his tracks, a flash of surprise passing quickly through his eyes as he unconsciously turned to look back at Fu Lin.
The hooded youth beside him noticed his pause, tilting his head in puzzlement, "What's wrong?"
The pink-haired fox withdrew his gaze, "It's nothing. Let's head inside quickly."
With that, he strode ahead as if the pause just now had been nothing but an illusion.
...
Elsewhere, Fu Shi strolled lazily, muttering irritably, "Ah~ how in the world do you become an Aeon? I've been asking all along the way, but everyone acts like they've seen a ghost when they see me and just turn tail and run."
Just as he finished speaking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, "Aha~ my friend, I hear you're looking for a way to become an Aeon?"
Fu Shi halted abruptly, looking the person up and down,
This man was dressed flamboyantly, holding a folding fan, and everything about him screamed abnormal.
Fu Shi frowned, his tone wary, "Hm? You know how to become an Aeon?"
At these words, the figure froze for a moment before bursting into laughter, "Hahaha! Of course I know, no one understands Aeons better than me! Hahahaha!"
Fu Shi's brows knit tighter. This guy was clearly crazy. Even her mind-reading failed on him; all she could hear was that maddening laughter ringing in her ears.
Fu Shi stepped back, muttering, "So he's a lunatic. What a buzzkill."
Aha instantly laughed even louder, "Hahaha, calling Aha a lunatic? Destruction is the real lunatic! Hahaha!"
Fu Shi rubbed his throbbing temples, his voice full of impatience, "Hey, cut it out already. What's so funny?!"
But Aha acted as if he hadn't heard the complaint, laughing even harder. With a flick of his wrist he snapped open his folding fan,
On the fan's surface, four crooked characters were scrawled, "There must be laughter." The ink still looked half-wet and sloppy.
The maddening laughter made Fu Shi's temples pound harder. Her fingers pressed against her brows, her mind turning over the thought of "just walk away, stay far from the lunatic" again and again.
Aha suddenly stopped laughing, though the teasing light in his eyes hadn't faded. He tapped his palm lightly with the fan, making a "ta-ta" sound.
"Come on! I'll take you to find some fun~" His eyes curved, his tone dripping with coaxing. "Who knows, maybe on the way you'll become an Aeon. Hahaha~"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Fu Shi's wrist.
Fu Shi jumped back warily, "Yeah right! You think I'm three years old?!"