As the mara-struck soldiers advanced step by step, the Express crew naturally wouldn't stand idly by.
March 7th fired two arrows—whoosh, whoosh—sealing the soldiers' movements.
Seizing the opportunity, Caelus swung his bat twice.
And then, the scene became one of perfect harmony: the mara-struck Cloud Knights collapsed in disarray, utterly defeated.
It happened so quickly that the surrounding people, still reeling from the shock of discovering the affliction of immortality, found the problem already resolved.
Bailu looked at the incapacitated soldiers and sighed in relief. "After a good beating, they'll finally stay down, huh?"
She turned to the trio from the Express. "Thank you, big brothers, big sister, and uncle, for helping stabilize the patients' emotions. That 'blunt-force anesthesia' technique of yours is truly impressive."
"'Blunt-force anesthesia'… Do we even have that?" March 7th furrowed her brows.
"But after your little intervention, these Cloud Knights are now injured on top of their condition. I'll have to work extra hard to set their bones and bandage them up. Ugh, now I'm completely swamped!"
Caelus crouched down, his gaze fixed on Bailu. "Kid, you're treating them?"
March 7th chimed in, "Where did this kid come from? Where's your dad?"
Bailu shook her head. "I don't have a dad."
"Then where's your mom?"
"I don't have a mom either."
March 7th was utterly baffled. "Uh…"
[Hahaha, this is gold—made me laugh out loud.]
[How to kill a conversation in two sentences. 23333.]
[Bailu's already invincible—absolute defense mode activated.]
[This is the kind of talent we need in the Zaun trenches—no fear of getting 'family-registered'.]
[Is this what they call 'honesty is the ultimate skill'?]
[Translation of Bailu's line: 'Untargetable'.]
[March 7th's brain just blue-screened.]
[Anyone playing 'Three Kingdoms Kill'? I feel like Bailu just played an 'Unanswerable' card.]
[Another legendary moment for the history books!]
—
Seeing the expressions on the Express trio's faces, Bailu finally understood the misunderstanding and introduced herself.
From the conversation, it was clear that Bailu was a Vidyadhara, and her medical skills were extraordinarily advanced—her consultation fees were sky-high, comparable to the capital of Xianzhou's most affluent regions.
However, with patients to attend to, Bailu didn't linger on small talk and began examining their conditions.
Meanwhile, Caelus and Welt Yang discussed their next move. Since they had time to spare, they decided to look for the messenger sent by Fu Xuan and kill some time by exploring.
As Caelus wandered around,
a bearded man named Dahao approached him.
"Excuse me, young man—hold on a moment. Thanks to your intervention earlier, the people of 'Everwinter Hill' and Lady Bailu were saved from trouble."
"Lady Bailu?"
"That's the Vidyadhara healer from the Alchemy Commission, Lady Bailu."
"That kid? Sounds like she's quite the figure."
Dahao quickly steered the conversation back. "I heard from a friend at the Sky-Faring Commission that the General invited a few guests to help resolve the troubles plaguing the Luofu. You must be them."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to invite you to the Divination Commission's office for a chat. There's a pressing issue in 'Everwinter Hill' that I'd like to discuss…"
Of course, Dahao wasn't forcing the matter—it was more like casting a wide net.
A casual mention, no loss if they declined, but a win if they agreed.
Caelus responded with a polite smile. "Sorry, we're currently occupied with urgent matters. I'm afraid we can't spare the time."
"Ah, no worries!" With practiced ease, Dahao pulled out his phone and added Caelus as a contact. "Then I'll take my leave."
Caelus frowned. "Why is he so smooth at this?"
Just then,
Caelus received a message from an unknown number—with an attached photo.
March 7th stared at the location on the screen. "What's this? Just a photo—are we supposed to meet there? Feels like a kidnapper's drop-off point in a movie…"
"Stop joking around. Let's go."
—
The next moment, the scene cut to four people playing a tile-based game strikingly similar to mahjong.
One of the players remarked, "I heard the Divination Commission's realm was also hit by disaster? Qingque, how do you still have the heart to play?"
The camera zoomed in on a young girl—not particularly tall, dressed in a refreshing green outfit. This was Qingque, as seen in the PV.
Qingque wore a troubled expression, pinching her chin with two fingers. It was impossible to tell whether she was thinking about her next move… or her next move… or her next move.
"If the sky falls in the Divination Commission, Lady Fu Xuan will hold it up. Though she may be lacking in height, her abilities are sky-high."
"I'm not here just to mess around—I'm following her orders, waiting for important guests. Time is precious, so this is called 'balancing work and leisure'."
[Lol, even the show's roasting Fu Xuan's height now.]
[Is Qingque taller than Fu Xuan? From the PV, they're about the same.]
[Aren't they tired standing while playing mahjong?]
[You get to play mahjong at work and still complain? Us wage slaves are drooling at this scene.]
[Idc, Qingque's hairpin is so cute—where can I buy one?]
—
At that moment, Caelus arrived, holding up his phone and comparing it to the storefront in the photo. After some searching, he finally found the place.
March 7th looked exhausted. "Judging by the photo, this should be it. A… mahjong parlor?! What kind of trouble could there be here?"
"Ha! Isn't this tile trouble enough? Ugh, what kind of awful draw is this…"
Qingque, seated at the table in front of the trio, had a sudden epiphany. Through their earlier exchange, she deduced their identities.
She flashed a bright, sincere smile. "Hello, you three! Just one look at your noble auras tells me you must be the Divination Commission's honored guests!"
Caelus smirked. "You wouldn't want Lady Fu Xuan to know you were slacking off, would you?"
Qingque immediately clasped her hands together and shook them pleadingly. "Sorry, sorry! I was planning to wait for you, but…"
She glanced back at the table. "Ah—peng!!"
From this point on, the camera cut rapidly between the mahjong table, the trio, and Qingque.
In just a few seconds, the Express crew's expressions cycled through confusion, shock, and finally utter speechlessness. Each of them facepalmed and sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, Qingque grew more and more excited. With a divine stroke of luck, she pulled off a flawless victory.
"It's just that the area was taken over by the Divination Commission's people—so noisy… chi!"
"I thought, meeting you in such a chaotic place would be… oh, my turn? Kong!!"
"...would be such a mood-killer. Why not take you on a tour of 'Everwinter Hill' and introduce you to the Luofu's cultural treasure—'Stellar Jade' mahjong? Just let me… finish this round…"
"Hu!!"
"Now that my heart's at peace, I have no regrets. Guests, please—let's go."