"Don't just stand there, sit down and let's talk."
Caelus grinned and gestured for Jingliu to sit on the stone bench opposite him.
"Dan Heng and I are good friends, and you're good friends with him, so doesn't that make us close friends too?"
"Hm?"
Jingliu raised a delicate eyebrow, a trace of surprise flashing across her face as her interest was piqued. She sat down on the stone bench.
"You know? He... Dan Feng... has he remembered his past? Did he tell you about it?"
When Jingliu became a traitor and left the Xianzhou, she had only heard that the Vidyadhara had stripped Dan Feng of his horns, forcing him to undergo molting rebirth, and then cast his reincarnated self into the Shackling Prison.
She thought Imbibitor Lunae was gone forever, but she never expected to hear about him from Caelus.
However, based on Jingliu's understanding of Dan Feng's personality, even if he did retain some fragmented memories after his reincarnation, he would never have spoken of his past to others.
"I know, but Dan Heng didn't tell me. I just happened to guess."
Caelus took out some tea he'd bought while shopping earlier from his ring space, and also released Herta Puppet No. 5 to serve his guest.
"Happened to guess... heh."
Hearing this, Jingliu paused for a moment, then gave a playful smile. Just as she was about to say something, she was interrupted by an annoyed voice.
"You wretched brat, do you only call for me at times like this?"
The Herta puppet's little face was puffed up with anger, her disdain palpable. But since the main Herta had transferred authority to Caelus, her body honestly took the tea set and began to brew tea.
"Then should I call you out to warm my bed before I go to sleep tonight?"
Caelus plucked the beret adorned with a purple bellflower from Herta Puppet No. 5's little head and placed it on his own.
"Is this... a mechanical puppet?"
Even as she said it, Jingliu quickly noticed that this puppet was different from the Xianzhou's automatons.
"My little maid. She takes care of me, warms my bed at night, and sleeps with me. Not bad, huh?"
Like a child showing off a rare toy to a friend, Caelus's tone held a hint of pride.
"Hmph. You should be grateful. You're the only person in the world the great Herta has ever deigned to serve."
While her body obediently went about its work, No. 5's mouth was just as stubborn as when Herta herself was in control, her tone haughty.
"Her... ta?"
Jingliu paused at the name.
A cup of steaming tea was placed steadily before her, the porcelain making a crisp sound as it met the stone table. However, the expression on the exquisite little face showed that Miss Maid possessed not a single shred of service attitude.
In a maid cafe, she'd either be the worst or the star attraction. For most men, this kind of contrasting charm was a flavor all its own.
"What? Don't tell me you've never even heard of the great Lady Herta?"
Herta No. 5 shot Jingliu a prideful glance and sighed.
"Sigh, how pitiful! To have never seen an Emanator of Beauty."
"An Emanator of Beauty? Isn't Herta an Emanator of Erudition?"
"That's just because that machine head glanced at Lady Herta first. Can't be helped."
Although her eyes were covered by a black veil, Jingliu could see the outside world if she chose to. At this moment, she could see through the silk cloth to the arrogance and narcissism in those amethyst eyes.
After a few seconds of silence and a couple more snide remarks, Jingliu turned to Caelus, a note of surprise in her voice, "Is she really that Herta?"
"Yup, the very same Herta you're thinking of. This is a tool puppet she made based on her childhood appearance, for slacking off."
Caelus gave Jingliu a brief introduction to No. 5.
"Oh? An automaton of the genius Herta. Why is it in your possession?"
The names of the Genius Society members were known throughout the cosmos; even ordinary Xianzhou citizens knew of their deeds. Their fame on Earth would be comparable to Einstein's.
Verifying it was simple enough; a quick search online would confirm it.
Herta always used her puppets for interviews and press conferences. As for someone pirating the puppets, setting aside the technical difficulty, no one would dare infringe upon the portrait rights of a genius.
And yet, this young man named Caelus was having a Herta puppet sleep with him and warm his bed?
Jingliu glanced at the tea before her. "I don't like tea. It's too bland."
She believed Caelus was a Nameless from the Astral Express. Combined with the fact that he had helped suppress her Mara-struck state, was friends with Dan Feng's reincarnation, and had even produced one of the genius's puppets...
Jingliu decided that a chat wouldn't hurt.
As long as this grey-haired guy didn't start acting all weird and abstract again!
"Then let's have a drink."
Taking out the fine wine Asta had given him from his ring space—Caelus didn't know how good it was, but he knew it wasn't cheap—he poured a cup for Jingliu.
"I helped her test something, and this was my reward. A fruit of our transaction, you could say."
"A transaction?"
Jingliu gazed at the crystalline liquid. After the fine foam dissipated, it revealed a pure, unblemished color.
Besides practicing the sword and defeating strong enemies, what Jingliu loved most were the various fine wines Baiheng used to bring back from her travels among the stars.
"Here, let's have one."
Caelus swapped his own tea for wine and raised his cup to Jingliu.
The liquid in the cup reflected and refracted the bright moonlight. For a fleeting moment, it reminded Jingliu of the time the High-Cloud Quintet had raised their cups together. She fell silent for a few seconds.
Finally, Jingliu picked up her cup, clinked it lightly against Caelus's, and drained it in one go.
"A fine wine."
Mellow and intense, the fragrance of a well-aged vintage blossomed in her mouth.
"Right?! A gift from the beautiful rich girl who keeps me!"
Caelus puffed out his chest, his face beaming with a pride that said, 'Of course it's me.'
Jingliu: "...?"
Is being a kept man something to be proud of?
Suddenly, the wine in her mouth tasted a little off.
The air fell silent for a moment. Jingliu tilted her head back slightly. "So, what is it you want with me? Is it about Dan Feng?"
"No, it has nothing to do with Dan Heng. I wasn't specifically looking for you, actually. We just happened to run into each other, and I thought I'd say hello to a friend on his behalf, and lend you a hand."
"Oh? Lend me a hand?"
A faint note of surprised suspicion escaped Jingliu's lips.
"That's right. To help you temporarily alleviate the troubles of being Mara-struck."
Caelus stared at the golden glint flashing between the icy-white, soft jade of Jingliu's chest.
Was this the system's doing?
Or was it Aha's fault?
Why do treasure chests spawn on black stockings and bras? In any case, it definitely wasn't his problem!
"Well, thank you, but there's no need."
Being Mara-struck was the fate of the long-life species. Countless people on the Xianzhou had been plagued by it for millennia. Even with Bailu's divine medical skills, there was likely nothing to be done.
Let alone some Nameless who had just appeared out of nowhere.
"If you don't try, how will you know it won't work?"
Seeing Jingliu's obvious disbelief, Caelus said with a grin.
Jingliu shook her head. "I don't know how you suppressed my Mara-struck state before, but I know my own condition."
Jingliu raised the transparent wine cup, gazing at the moonlight through its wall.
"I am living on borrowed time thanks to a deal I made. Though I still have the capacity to think for now, my mind is already at its limit."
This was no great secret. The man before her was Dan Feng's friend and seemed to want to help her, so Jingliu spoke plainly.
She wasn't worried about Caelus doing anything to her; otherwise, the first person she'd cut down in a fit of madness would be Caelus himself.
Jingliu's mindset was somewhat similar to a certain world's dying old Holy Lord taking a stroll with an ultimate imperial weapon.
Stay out of my way. If you get in my way, I'll go crazy.
"Your mind is at its limit? In that case, shouldn't you just unload the burden?"
Caelus said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Heh. What do you take the Mara-struck condition for?"
Jingliu let out a faint laugh. "A short-lived species is destined to never understand this curse."
"Short-lived? If we're being precise, compared to the few folks I know who've lived for over fifty thousand years, you, at less than 2,000, are the short-lived one."
Caelus casually dropped a line that stunned Jingliu.
He wasn't lying. Compared to the lifespans of MANTIS soldiers like Kevin, Fu Hua, and Griseo, wasn't 2,000 years short-lived?
Although their lifespans were padded with time spent in cryosleep, the ones who were 5,000 years old didn't have Mara-struck side effects.
"What did you say? Fifty thousand years?"
Even with Jingliu's composure, she couldn't help but be shocked by that number. After all, even Lan, the Arbiter of the Hunt, was only three or four thousand years old, the second youngest of the eighteen Aeons.
"How is that possible?"
She found it hard to imagine any human could live for tens of thousands of years!
Could it be that the young man before her, despite his youthful appearance, was actually an ancient monster thousands of years old?
If that were the case, then her calling herself 'sister' earlier wasn't wrong.
Caelus simply smiled without speaking, letting Jingliu's thoughts run wild with speculation.
"Then how about we give it a try."
As Jingliu watched with a look of shock and uncertainty, Caelus raised his hands. A black-red tachi and the Crimson Feather, Red Lotus, materialized in his left and right hands, respectively.
"What are these?"
"Medical instruments."
Caelus spun the Red Lotus in his palm and swung the Key of Corrosion.
Scarlet particles spread from the tachi, fusing with the crimson feathers falling from the air, dyeing the feathers that had been fading from white to red a complete, thorough crimson.
For a moment, all Jingliu could see were countless crimson feathers fluttering down.
Honestly, Caelus definitely couldn't beat Jingliu in a direct fight right now. But dealing with her was very simple. Just as Jingliu herself had said, her mind was at its limit.
Using Fenghuang Down at its rated power would be enough to make Jingliu lose control and go berserk.
Suddenly, a grim chill spread from Jingliu's body.
"Don't resist."
Caelus held his breath and focused, using corrosion, correction, and combustion to burn away the useless, complicated memories and negative emotions in Jingliu's sea of consciousness.
Jingliu's brow tightened. The crimson feathers gave her a very bad feeling—a protective instinct any living being would have for its own privacy.
If not for the long chat she'd had with Caelus and the drink they'd shared, she would have been unable to resist the urge to draw her sword and attack.
Her expression was solemn and conflicted. After hesitating for a few seconds, Jingliu chose to withdraw her sharp sword intent.
The Slanted Moon Pavilion fell silent. Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
"How is it?" Caelus let out a long breath and retracted the Divine Key combo from the World Within.
"This... it actually..."
Jingliu looked down at her palm in astonishment. She slowly loosened her blindfold. The moment the black gauze slipped away, it revealed demonic, scarlet pupils, the madness within them having dissipated by several degrees.
It really worked!
It had been a long, long time since she had felt this at ease... This person could actually alleviate a Mara-struck state that had reached its absolute limit to such a degree!
Her belief in Caelus's earlier absurd words grew by another fraction.
"This isn't the limit of the relief. Consider it a down payment."
Hearing this, Jingliu's head snapped up, her eyes filled with disbelief. It could be suppressed even further!?
After a long silence, Jingliu's pale lips parted, her tone serious. "What do you want?"
She still had many unfulfilled wishes and unsettled scores. For that, she needed time.
"Actually, I know a little something about divination. I see that the area around your eyes is shrouded in blackness, and your glabella is dark. You're on the very edge of the Mara's limit. This is a sign of great misfortune!"
Jingliu's brow furrowed. Weren't they talking about a deal? Why had the topic suddenly switched to fortune-telling?
And, great misfortune?
"If you want to continue suppressing the Mara-struck condition, you must first resolve this sign of misfortune."
Caelus stroked a non-existent beard, his face completely serious. "Once the sign of misfortune is resolved, it signifies that great fortune is on its way!"
"Understand?"
Caelus made a divination sign with his hand and pointed.
Jingliu's red eyes stared at Caelus's finger, her gaze following its path until it landed on her own chest. Her expression gradually vanished.
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