Central Starskiff Haven, Earth-Scout Compass.
"Mommy likes me best! I should get the bigger share of the child support!"
"Says who? Kafka definitely loves me more! I'm taking the lion's share of the 3 billion!"
"Someone's blushing, but they sure aren't shy!"
"Someone's got a dark face but some seriously thick skin!"
Four sentences was all it took for them to look like they had a feud over selling out their mother. 'Caelus Yunchang' and 'Stelle Yide' lunged, grappling with each other.
Caelus straddled Stelle's back, his legs crossing around her slender waist to pin her as his arms crossed over her chest, trying to grab her assets to disrupt her resistance.
However, Stelle was a changed woman. Never mind that she was still clothed; even if Caelus had grabbed her directly, she wouldn't feel a shred of shyness anymore.
Relying on her superior constitution and strength, the Stellaron spirit easily broke Caelus's 'Love-Forged Seven-Day Lock.'
She then flipped onto Caelus's body, clamping her pale thighs around his neck.
March 7th watched speechlessly as the conversation devolved from what to eat next, to whether the 3 billion credit 'child support' should be split evenly, and finally to the two gray-haired individuals wrestling again. She shook her head helplessly.
Then she started cheering them on. No matter who won, her expenses would be covered!
As Caelus, Stelle, March 7th, and Seele were laughing and chasing each other down the stone-paved path, they saw the foxian girl approaching from the direction of the Earth-Scout Compass.
"Alas, Lady Yukong has once again assigned me the task of receiving you all."
Stepping forward in her cloud-patterned white boots, her sleeves extending like flowing tassels and her fox tail swaying with her steps, Tingyun snapped her folding fan shut and chuckled softly.
"Hmm? Your tone makes it sound like you're not too happy about it?"
Caelus tilted his head and darted his tongue out to lick the base of Stelle's thigh. The sudden warmth sent a slightly unbearable tickle through Stelle, causing her to release her leg-lock on Caelus's neck. She fell backward with a yelp, crashing right into March 7th.
Tingyun covered her mouth, tapping her fan lightly, a hint of a smile on her face.
"You jest, benefactor. This humble girl hasn't even had the chance to properly repay you, let alone host you."
"The Sky-Faring Commission has booked the finest rooms at the Quench-Dust Hostel. Please, benefactors, follow me to the inn for a cup of tea and a brief rest."
"Lodgings right after a meeting? Again?"
This method of reception gave March 7th a bit of PTSD; she felt like one night's stay would get them put on the wanted list again.
"Let's talk after tea. Tingyun, how about you show us around first?"
"Yummy food, yummy food~!"
"This way, esteemed benefactors." The foxian smiled cheerfully and turned to lead the way.
With Tingyun's guidance and explanations, the group gained a more detailed understanding of the Xianzhou's situation than what Dan Heng's intel had provided.
There are three major long-life species on the Luofu Xianzhou: the longest-lived are the Xianzhou natives, then there are the reincarnating dragon-like Vidyadhara, and finally the Foxians, whose lifespans do not exceed three hundred years.
Xianzhou natives look no different from ordinary people, while the Vidyadhara have long, elf-like ears.
Besides their ears and tails, Foxians have more defined facial features. To put it simply, the men are handsome and the women are beautiful.
Furthermore, the Foxians possess a keen innate perception and a natural charm buff. Combined with their typically meticulous minds, eloquence, and business acumen, the management of starskiffs and foreign trade has largely fallen to them.
"How cunning!"
Stelle frowned deeply. When foreign merchants come to the Xianzhou, they're greeted with a honey trap right off the bat. They'd surely be bewitched by these foxes.
First of all, she wasn't a furry.
Secondly, she forgot... anyway, fox girls' tails are just so cute. She really wanted to hug one and rub her face all over it.
"Ah!"
The surprise attack made Tingyun let out a soft cry. She lightly swatted away Stelle's hand from her tail with her fan. "Benefactor, please, spare this humble girl!"
Her delicate and charming appearance made Caelus sigh with emotion. Maybe you really couldn't blame King Zhou. Who the hell could resist this?
In both figure and appearance, Tingyun was a standout among the Foxians, and her temperament was in a league of its own. The thought that Phantylia might be inside that 'skinsuit' made Caelus's heart itch even more!
Ahem, it wasn't that he had any feelings for Phantylia. He just purely wanted to stir up trouble!
Pranking a Lord Ravager, doesn't that sound exciting?
Bronya pulled Little Duckling's consciousness over, letting her keep Bai Xi company. With Seele keeping an eye on the situation between them, Bronya herself sank into thought in the background of her own mind.
With his quad-core processor, multitasking was just a passive skill for him. Caelus listened to Tingyun's introduction to the features of the Starskiff Sea.
"Everyone, look. Over there is the Heron Express Logistics sorting point in the Starskiff Sea. Many letters and parcels are inspected and sorted there before being delivered to your door by contraptions called logistics automaton birds."
"That over there is Xuan-Ye Avenue, renowned for having 'an endless row of shops whose lights never dim at night.' Pawnshops, retail stores, and food stalls are as numerous as ox hairs."
"There's a teahouse that sells Immortal's Delight Tea. Rumor has it that it has a 100% approval rating, and every customer who drinks it wears a mysterious smile..."
"Immortal's Delight Tea?"
The name immediately piqued March 7th's interest. She grabbed Caelus with one hand and Stelle with the other and dashed off. "Let's go check it out!"
Bai Xi and Little Duckling followed close behind.
Although Welt really wanted to say that their main mission right now was to capture Kafka, seeing everyone so excited, and considering the relationship between Caelus, Stelle, and Kafka... perhaps there was no need to rush.
Adopting an unhurried mindset, Welt continued to converse with Tingyun, learning more about the Xianzhou and gathering intelligence.
Caelus used his map navigation to head straight for the nearest trending shop, the Sleepless Earl.
"Boss, give me seven Immortal's Delight Teas. Extra ice, medium sugar, hold the tea. I just want the delight and the immortal."
"Coming right up... huh?"
The Sleepless Earl's owner, a little foxian loli named Mengming who had been busy behind the counter, stood on a stool to peek over it, looking utterly bewildered at the unfamiliar outworlder.
"Don't mind him, boss."
March 7th pulled Caelus behind her to stop his antics and handled the transaction herself.
A short while later, Mengming handed over seven exquisitely packaged cups of Immortal's Delight Tea.
"Caelus, your turn to step up."
At this, Stelle pushed Caelus to the front. The meaning was obvious: pay up.
Caelus shot the Stellaron spirit a look, then waved his hand grandly and declared, "Send the bill to the Wangsheng... ahem, the Sky-Faring Commission!"
March 7th: "??"
Stelle: "??"
"Um, well..." Mengming looked at Caelus uncertainly.
"Boss, take a look at this." Caelus took out the special pass given to him by Yukong, which bore the seal of the Sky-Faring Commission.
"Right away~!"
After seeing the seal, Mengming nodded. No one would forge a seal for just a few cups of milk tea. Getting caught would be a serious crime.
"Huh?"
"You can do that?" Stelle's eyes lit up.
Bai Xi watched with a dazed and adorable expression.
"Watch and learn."
Caelus clasped one hand behind his back, exuding the air of a grandmaster.
"That's so you..."
After casually remarking to March 7th, she distributed the drinks to their friends, one for each, leaving two for Uncle Yang and Tingyun.
"Is this the Xianzhou's specialty milk tea? Let me see if the calories are listed..."
After passing them out, March 7th looked on with anticipation, her eyes sparkling as she searched the packaging of the Delight Tea.
"It's fine, we added ice. That definitely lowered the calories," Stelle said earnestly.
"..." A loading icon seemed to appear in March 7th's brain as it buffered for a moment. "That... actually makes sense!"
"Right?"
"If Sis says so, it's zero calories!"
Caelus also declared righteously, but his eyes widened abruptly after he got his own Delight Tea.
"This is..."
"Oho!"
Stelle let out a similar cry of surprise, her eyes instantly lighting up.
The light came from the milk tea. The Immortal's Delight Tea had transformed into fragments glowing with a faint golden-purple light. Stelle was no stranger to this.
"It's a Puzzle Treasure Chest... Caelus!"
Stelle's face immediately turned serious. She scanned the various restaurants and stalls in the food court, her gaze like a hawk hunting for prey.
"Same as always," Caelus said with a snap of his fingers.
"Stelle, Caelus, where are you going?"
As Bai Xi called out to them, the two vanished in different directions.
Stelle had learned her lesson this time. When buying things, she had only one line: charge it to the Sky-Faring Commission's account!
"Come on, let's follow them."
Hearing the words 'treasure chest,' March 7th was jolted into action. Fearing Caelus and Stelle would cause trouble in the bustling market, she quickly grabbed her half-finished milk tea and gave chase.
A few minutes later.
"What... are they doing?"
Little Duckling watched the two gray-haired individuals, who looked like twin children playing with a puzzle, a bizarre expression on her face.
She saw Caelus and Stelle open the lids of the Immortal's Delight Tea, pour out the contents leaving only a little at the bottom, and then start adding all sorts of things they had bought.
Soda douzhi'er, stinky black garlic, super chili sauce, and even large intestine that still retained its fishy, gamey taste.
You have to understand, even many old-school Luofu natives couldn't stomach the soda douzhi'er fermented for a hundred years, let alone the other, more intense ingredients.
The resulting mixture was a murky, bubbling, unknown liquid placed in the Immortal's Delight Tea cup. A single glance was enough to make March 7th, Bai Xi, and Little Duckling turn pale.
Any appetite they had upon arriving at the food court vanished instantly. March 7th even felt the urge to gag.
Yet Caelus and Stelle ignored the trio completely, continuing to earnestly assemble their puzzle. It was now clear that the puzzle pieces were made of the Immortal's Delight Tea.
"Done!"
As the last piece fell into place, March 7th saw the two pour a layer of Immortal's Delight Tea into the transparent top section of the packaging, then seal the lid.
"18 jades, nice!"
Seeing the crystals that burst forth from the completed Puzzle Treasure Chest, Stelle jumped for joy. Split between them, that was 9 jades each.
Caelus looked at the materialized cup of milk tea in astonishment.
"What's with this milk tea? How was it not destroyed during the puzzle process?"
Caelus held the cup, thinking it was the same one he had received earlier.
But his intuition told him something was off about this one.
"March, what did you guys just see?"
To Caelus and Stelle, everything they had just handled had merely been puzzle pieces.
"Blegh... You guys... throw that thing in your hand away, now."
March 7th's face was pale as she pointed a trembling finger at the milk tea that had mysteriously returned to its perfectly packaged state, describing what an outsider had just witnessed.
"Throw it in the trash can, quick."
March 7th felt that throwing that thing in a trash can would be polluting the trash can.
"Here? Isn't it a bit of a waste to just throw it away?"
March 7th: "???"
Caelus's brow twitched. He looked up ahead at Tingyun, who was walking towards them with Welt, then looked back down at the milk tea in his hand.
Maybe...
I should give it a try?
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