"Might I ask, Mr. Yun Fan, what are your plans for the future?"
"Plans?" Yun Fan shook his head. "I have no particular plans. Everything I do follows my heart. Coming to Herta Space Station was merely a whim."
"In that case, would Mr. Yun Fan be interested in boarding the Astral Express and traveling the stars with us?" This time, it was Welt who spoke, adjusting his glasses with a solemn expression.
"Oh? Mr. Welt, you trust me that much?" Yun Fan was intrigued. He truly hadn't expected Welt to extend an invitation to board the Express. Moreover, judging by Welt's reaction, it seemed he knew something about Yun Fan—had he perhaps met the Yin Spirit?
"Old Yang…" Himeko subtly shot Welt a questioning glance. In principle, inviting new passengers aboard should have been her call as the navigator. Welt's actions seemed to overstep slightly.
Of course, having known Welt for so long, she trusted him deeply. But she was still hesitant—after all, they had only known Yun Fan for a few days, and his temperament as an Emanator remained somewhat unpredictable.
What if he turned out to be as untrustworthy as the Aeon of Elation and decided to blow up the Astral Express again? She'd have nowhere left to cry.
Welt shook his head in response. "Mr. Yun Fan knows so much about my past—you must hail from the same worldline as I do. Even if you aren't the person I remember, you must be closely connected to them. Therefore, I can trust your character."
"The person you remember? Heh, interesting." Yun Fan chuckled softly. The person Welt was referring to was likely the Yin Spirit, the split soul he had sent to the world of Honkai Impact.
Moreover, for Welt to refer to himself as "junior"—did that mean the Yin Spirit had arrived in a timeline hundreds of years before the main story, or perhaps… the Previous Era?
He wondered how that guy was doing in the Honkai world. Well, with the power of the Blade, the Path of Destruction, and the Authority of Finality's trial version that the Primordial Spirit had likely shared, he couldn't have fared too poorly. Path energy was practically a dimensional downgrade against Honkai energy, just as Honkai energy was to elemental power.
With that in mind, Yun Fan smiled faintly. "Mr. Welt, I'm honored by your generous invitation. Then, for the time being, I shall trouble you all."
...…
Back to Yun Fan's Yang Spirit.
Today, Yun Fan had woken up unusually early. After rising, he didn't disturb the sleeping Qingque and instead headed alone to the Xianzhou's largest "Blazing Fire Market." Qingque had expended too much energy last night—she needed proper nourishment.
Though he could have simply used the all-purpose Authority of Causality to skip the "process" of cooking and directly manifest the "result" of a finished dish, that would have been utterly devoid of sincerity.
"Uh, you…"
While passing through Aurum Alley, a suspiciously dressed little girl suddenly appeared before him. Before Yun Fan could say anything, however, the girl—as if seeing something terrifying—quickly ducked behind him.
"The Dragon Lady went that way—hurry!" Before Yun Fan could react, an alchemist from the Alchemy Commission, leading a squad of Cloud Knights, rushed past him.
"Phew… finally shook them off. Thanks, mister! Next time you visit the Alchemy Commission for treatment, I'll give you a 20% discount!" Once the Cloud Knights were gone, the little girl hiding behind Yun Fan finally relaxed and swaggered out.
"Heh, many thanks, Lady Bailu." Yun Fan smiled. Bailu's "old-fashioned" manner of speaking was utterly adorable.
"Huh?!" Bailu stiffened, eyes widening in shock. "Y-You… how did you know I'm the Dragon Lady?!"
"Haha, Miss Bailu, if you want to disguise yourself, you'll need to put in a bit more effort. A mask and sunglasses might hide your face, but your pink horns and long tail have long since given you away." Yun Fan couldn't help but laugh—this little Bailu was just too cute.
"Ugh…! No wonder they always catch me! My disguise isn't good enough…" Bailu let out a defeated whimper.
"However, I do have a way to help Miss Bailu sneak out of the Alchemy Commission—one they won't be able to stop." Yun Fan said casually.
"R-Really?!" Bailu's eyes sparkled. If this handsome guy was telling the truth, did that mean she could drink Immortal's Delight and eat Fireworks Ramen every day?!
"Of course." As he spoke, Yun Fan retrieved a dial-like object from behind him and handed it to Bailu.
"This Curio is something I obtained by chance. Its function is to warp space, allowing the user to teleport wherever they wish. Since fate has brought us together, I'll gift it to you today."
"Warp space?! Th-That's too precious! I can't possibly…" Bailu's heart was in turmoil. On one hand, this Curio could grant her freedom—no more worrying about being caught by those old fogeys at the Alchemy Commission.
On the other hand, she knew how valuable such an item was. She and this man had only just met—why would he give her something so precious? Just because of "fate"? Bailu wasn't buying it.
"Ugh… f-fine, I'll take it! B-But as thanks, you can ask me for something in return!"
"A return gift?" Yun Fan pondered. The item he had given Bailu was just a casual creation of his Authority—he hadn't expected anything in return.
But since she insisted…
"Hmm, let me think… then, Miss Bailu, I'd like you to give me…"