Fu Zhu was helpless. All he could do was hold one sloth in each hand, listening to the silver-bell-like laughter of the two young women ringing in his ears.
Fu Xuan, who had been a step slower, blushed at the sight. She stood beside the three of them, flustered and waving her hands.
"You… you two! There are other people here! Have you no shame, in broad daylight?! Get down!"
"I won't!"
Xing refused to get off Fu Zhu's back for anything. As for March 7th, she had come to her senses after the initial surprise, her little face already a sheet of crimson. She buried her face deep in Fu Zhu's chest, absolutely refusing to lift her head, let alone answer Fu Xuan. She just continued to cling to Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu, however, didn't seem to mind and smiled at Fu Xuan.
"It's fine, Fu Xuan. The two of them together are lighter than a block of cobblestone. To me, this amount of weight is no different from holding a leaf."
"Is that the point?!"
Fu Xuan instinctively pouted, but then she remembered that there were others watching. She quickly hid her girlish, pouting expression, crossed her arms, turned her head to the side, and huffed softly.
"I... This Seat is merely concerned for the reputation of your Astral Express. Don't overthink it!"
"I wasn't really overthinking it, but your statement gives me a sense of déjà vu, like something I've seen in a certain anime."
"No, you haven't! Let's just go inside!"
Fu Xuan hurriedly ran to Fu Zhu's side, reached out, and placed her hands on Xing's back, pushing the three of them, who were all stuck together, into the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, and Welt shook their heads with wry smiles and followed them inside.
Before entering, however, Welt didn't forget to turn his head and give a command to the Iron Golem that had followed them all the way from the deserted island.
"Iron Golem, please stand guard at the door."
The Iron Golem didn't reply. It simply followed Welt's words and stood at the entrance of the Seat of Divine Foresight like a statue, joining the Cloud Knights who were also on guard duty.
Once they entered Jing Yuan's office inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, Fu Zhu couldn't help but ask the two girls who were still clinging to him and refusing to let go.
"Ladies, your ride is over. Isn't it time to get off?"
"In a bit, just a little bit longer. Let me hug you for a little longer."
March 7th buried her face in Fu Zhu's chest, her face flushed with a shy red. Only now did she realize how bold her actions had been outside.
But when she thought about how Fu Zhu had bravely charged into the Nether alone to seal Phantylia, her eyebrows couldn't help but droop.
March 7th pursed her lips. She wanted to whisper something in Fu Zhu's ear, but as soon as she looked up, she saw Xing blinking her big, smiling eyes, her face resting on Fu Zhu's shoulder as she watched her.
March 7th immediately buried her face again in embarrassment. After a long while, Fu Zhu finally heard a whisper coming from his chest.
"Next time, don't face everything alone again."
Hearing the girl's whisper, as soft as the wind, a ripple stirred in Fu Zhu's heart.
"Okay, I promise."
However, in the next second, Xing couldn't help but break the slightly ambiguous atmosphere between the two.
"Don't you two think it's a bit weird to be saying these things in this position?"
With the mood shattered, Fu Zhu couldn't resist raising a hand and smacking Xing's bottom, causing her to yelp in pain and bite down on his shoulder in retaliation, trading injury for injury!
"You know it's awkward and you still won't get down?! How dare you bite me!"
"You hit me first!"
Seeing the two siblings about to start bickering again, Welt sighed helplessly and quickly stepped in to stop them.
"Alright, stop fooling around. Let's sit down first."
Only then did Xing get off Fu Zhu's back with a huff. Fu Zhu also set March 7th down from his front, but she still kept her head lowered shyly as she sat in the empty seat next to him.
After a while, the blush on March 7th's face gradually faded. She then lifted her head and noticed Dan Heng sitting on the other side.
"Huh? Dan Heng, you're here too?"
Dan Heng sighed silently. So, March 7th was only just now noticing he was here.
"For certain reasons, I got off the starskiff to support you guys, but I just didn't happen to meet up with you."
"Oh, oh, oh."
March 7th, realizing she had only just noticed Dan Heng, gave an embarrassed laugh.
Jing Yuan, with great tact, changed the subject to ease March 7th's embarrassment.
"The turmoil on the Luofu this time was resolved thanks to the great assistance of everyone from the Astral Express. Otherwise, I'm afraid the Luofu would have suffered a great loss of life. This is a debt the Luofu will never forget. I wonder if there is anything any of you require, so…"
Jing Yuan reached into a hidden compartment in his desk and took out a pair of emerald green, tiger-tally-like objects, placing them on the table.
"These are the Alliance Jade Edicts of the Xianzhou Alliance. I would like to present them to you all."
Jing Yuan pushed one of the Jade Edicts in front of Fu Zhu's group and then explained.
"This Jade Edict is linked to the one in my hand. If the Astral Express encounters any trouble, or if there's a place where you need the Luofu, you just need to crush it. I will receive the signal, and no matter how vast the galaxy or how arduous the journey, the Luofu Cloud Knights will rush to join the Express and fulfill your request."
Hearing the effect of this Jade Edict, Fu Zhu was immediately intrigued. He reached out, held it in his hand, and couldn't help but ask Jing Yuan.
"How do I use it? Crush it? Also, how many times can I use it?"
If the method of use was to crush it, Fu Zhu felt he could use some of the Redstone technology from MC to replicate it. Wouldn't that mean he could summon Jing Yuan for a group fight anytime he wanted in the future?
Jing Yuan guessed what Fu Zhu was thinking and said with some difficulty, "My young friend Fu Zhu, this is indeed a one-time use item. But from the looks of it, you seem to have a way to make a few more?"
If Fu Zhu didn't have this ability, he definitely wouldn't have asked how many times it could be used.
Fu Zhu just chuckled, not answering Jing Yuan's question directly, but his laughter was answer enough for the general.
Jing Yuan immediately felt a headache coming on and pressed his temples.
"Although the Luofu owes you all several great favors, I still ask that you consider the vastness of the galaxy and not use the Jade Edict for trivial matters. Of course, if you are willing to reimburse the Luofu for the travel 'fuel costs,' then that's another matter entirely, hehe?"
At the end of his sentence, Jing Yuan even threw in a little joke to lighten the mood.
His words also implicitly approved of Fu Zhu's idea to replicate the Jade Edict for multiple uses.
This made Fu Zhu give Jing Yuan a big thumbs-up in his heart. As expected of the General of the Luofu, what a magnanimous man!
"Don't worry, Jing Yuan. I won't use it for anything other than group fights."
Seeing Fu Zhu agree, Jing Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Among the Express crew, the two whose actions he found most unpredictable were Fu Zhu and Xing. Just now, when he handed over the Jade Edict, he was genuinely worried that the two of them might crush it on the spot just to see if the other Jade Edict would really receive a signal.
And just as Jing Yuan was thinking this, Xing, sitting to Fu Zhu's right and looking at the Jade Edict in his hand, couldn't help but ask, "Old bro, since you have a way to copy it, why don't we crush one right now and see?"
Jing Yuan's head snapped around to glare at Xing, his usually lazy, half-closed eyes now wide and round.
Xing grinned sheepishly and promptly shut her mouth, saying no more.
Fu Zhu shot a speechless glance at Xing. He hadn't even figured out what kind of Redstone technology could replicate the Jade Edict yet. How could he possibly crush one now?
At the very least, he had to wait until he figured out how to replicate it before crushing one to show Jing Yuan that he really could do it!
Fu Zhu played with the Jade Edict for a moment before handing it over to Welt.
After unlocking Survival Mode, he no longer needed to worry about his own personal safety. The only one who could truly kill him was himself.
A trump card like the Jade Edict was better left for his companions to use.
Seeing Fu Zhu hand the Jade Edict to the relatively more reliable Welt, Jing Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a relaxed smile.
"What are your plans now? If you have the time, I would like to ask you all to stay for a few more days, so that the Luofu can properly thank you."
Welt didn't answer immediately but turned to look at Fu Zhu and the others.
"What do you all think? The Express is in no hurry to depart."
Fu Zhu pondered for a moment, then said, "I'd like to stay for a few days. There are still some unresolved matters."
After completely dealing with the three major villains—Phantylia, the Stellaron Hunters, and the Disciples of the Medicine King—the achievement he had anticipated did not unlock.
Among them was an achievement similar to the one he had unlocked on Jarilo-VI, [A Different Future].
Judging from the name of the achievement, it should have been triggered by him changing Elio's original script. The script for the Luofu had also been rewritten by him, so why hadn't the related achievement unlocked?
He wanted to at least unlock the Luofu's achievement before leaving to find Herta and research the Simulated Universe.
Besides the achievements, Fu Zhu also wanted to take advantage of being on the territory of a major power like the Luofu to develop his SlashBlade MOD.
His current combat prowess was still too weak. In the future, he might have to face powerful enemies like Phantylia again. Continuing to rely on the Nether to seal them wasn't realistic, so he needed to strengthen his own combat abilities.
He would strive to be able to face strong enemies head-on next time.
March 7th, Xing, and Dan Heng, seeing Fu Zhu's decision, all expressed their desire to stay for a few more days to relax. After a moment's hesitation, Dan Heng also stated that he wanted to stay.
There was one more person he wanted to see.
Seeing that they all agreed, Welt turned to Jing Yuan and gave his answer.
"In that case, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you for a few more days, General."
Jing Yuan was delighted and nodded his agreement.
"It would be my honor."