"Well, it's not that we can't say, but we can't tell you just yet. Yanqing, how about this: after we complete this escort mission, I'll share the details of our conversation. Sound good?"
Seeing the boy's slightly disappointed look, March 7th felt a pang of sympathy. This silly kid is just too kind.
Hearing March 7th's words, the disappointment in Yanqing's eyes vanished, and he perked up again.
"Miss March, do you mean that?"
"Absolutely! I mean it!"
Shifting back to the Cloud Knight prison, Welt and Jing Yuan stood facing each other. After a long moment, Jing Yuan spoke first.
"Mr. Welt, I have a presumptuous request, and I hope you'll consider it."
"A presumptuous request?" Welt was puzzled but responded, "General Jing Yuan, please speak freely."
"It's like this: I sense the presence of an old friend in you. I wonder how that friend is faring now?"
"An old friend?" Welt hesitated for a moment before asking, "Could General Jing Yuan's old friend be… Dan Heng?"
"Dan Heng? Is that his name now?" A wistful expression crossed Jing Yuan's face. After a brief moment of reminiscence, the General of the Seat of Divine Foresight turned to Welt and asked, "Would Mr. Welt like to hear about my past?"
"I'm all ears."
— — — —
Astral Express, Dan Heng's room…
"Urgh…"
It was night, and Dan Heng lay on his bedding, sweat dripping down his forehead, soaking his blankets and clothes. For countless nights, this Dragon of the Xianzhou had been plagued by relentless nightmares.
In his dream, a silver-blue-haired woman stood proudly before him, a greatsword on her back.
Her eyes were covered by a black cloth, yet it couldn't conceal the striking red-amber hue of her gaze.
"Of five people, three must pay a price…"
Her voice was a whisper, a murmur, a roar, a hymn.
Holding her greatsword, the woman slowly approached Dan Heng in the dream.
"The culprit, Imbibitor Lunae, acted recklessly, wielding the dragon-transformation arts to defy death…"
As her whispers continued, the scene before him shifted.
A handsome yet dignified man stood with one hand behind his back, the other holding the Vidyadhara's sacred treasure, the 'Abyssal Pearl,' standing atop the altar in the Abyssal Realm.
"From the fiend Yingxing, arrogant and mad, who dared to tamper with the flesh of the Abundance's Emanator, aiding Imbibitor Lunae's folly, ultimately falling into an undying abomination…"
In the war-torn Abyssal Realm, amidst countless corpses and severed limbs, a silver-gray-haired man cradled a deceased Foxian woman, staggering toward the Vidyadhara's place of rebirth.
His steps were unsteady yet resolute.
With the power of the Vidyadhara's sacred 'Abyssal Pearl' and the might of the Spathion, Imbibitor Lunae forcibly invoked the dragon-transformation arts, channeling both the power of the Dragon and the Abundance into the Foxian girl's body.
After a transformation, the deceased Foxian girl's body shrank, ultimately turning into a pale purple Vidyadhara egg.
"And the sinner Jingliu, tainted by mara, slaying her comrades and betraying the Alliance's oath!"
As the words fell, countless images flashed by, finally settling on the silver-blue-haired woman.
She no longer faced Imbibitor Lunae but stood before countless Cloud Knights charging toward her.
In the face of the might of an army, the woman showed no trace of fear or hesitation.
In the next moment, she leaped high, her lithe body and sword tracing a graceful arc under the moonlight.
"Let this lunar radiance—illuminate all rivers!!!"
A piercing sword light blazed across the sky. In an instant, countless chilling sword energies rained down from the heavens, engulfing the charging Cloud Knights. Moments later, the brave and fearless soldiers were transformed into lifelike ice sculptures.
After a single swing of her sword, the black cloth covering the woman's eyes fell away with the wind. Her captivating red eyes locked onto Dan Heng, who had witnessed the entire scene as if watching a movie.
"You cannot escape—Danfeng!"
Splurch—!
A sword pierced through his body. The silver-gray-haired man from earlier had somehow appeared behind Dan Heng, his blade now run through Dan Heng's chest.
"You cannot escape, Danfeng!"
…
"Another one of those dreams?" Dan Heng clutched his head, sitting up wearily from his bedding.
Ever since he reactivated his Vidyadhara Dragon power, a recurring nightmare had haunted him—a vision of the Stellaron Hunter, Blade.
After his battle with Blade on Jarilo-VI, what was once a solo act featuring only Blade had expanded to include four figures. And aside from himself, they were all white-haired—tch!
"But the Xianzhou Luofu… does this mean I have to return?" As Dan Heng wrestled with his thoughts, a sudden knock came at his bedroom door.
"Hm?" Dan Heng was puzzled. At this moment, the only others on the Express were Himeko and Pom-Pom. Who could be knocking now?
Opening the door, he found the Astral Express's navigator, Miss Himeko, standing outside.
Upon seeing Dan Heng, Himeko gave a gentle smile and handed him the coffee she was holding.
Dan Heng's mouth twitched, but he politely accepted the cup.
"Himeko, coming at this hour—is something up?"
Himeko nodded and handed him her terminal. "Take a look."
Puzzled, Dan Heng took the device and began reading the message. His expression quickly changed.
"The Xianzhou is in such chaos? This Stellaron incident involves a Destruction Emanator —and possibly more than one?!"
— — — —
Some time earlier…
"So that's Dan Heng's past?" After hearing Jing Yuan recount the story of the High-Cloud Quintet, Welt felt a wave of realization.
No wonder Dan Heng, a Xianzhou native, was so reluctant to join this journey. It wasn't just because of the 'Imbibitor Lunae Incident' but also because of the guilt he carried toward the Xianzhou, making him unable to face returning to his homeland.
"General Jing Yuan, is your purpose in telling me this to convince me to bring Dan Heng back to the Xianzhou?"
"Indeed, that is my intention," Jing Yuan admitted candidly, without concealment.
Welt fell silent. After a long pause, he spoke again. "Forgive my bluntness, General Jing Yuan, but if your goal is to have me summon Dan Heng back to the Xianzhou to facilitate the Alliance's capture, I must respectfully decline."
At this, Welt adjusted his glasses, exuding an air of unyielding resolve.
"The Trailblazers will never betray a companion, no matter who they once were!"