Everything felt like fiery liquor surging violently through every vein and bone, dragging along overwhelming dizziness and a heavy, sinking sensation.
It was like a small ship sailing through stormy seas.
When the weather was clear, it pressed on smoothly, and when caught in a raging storm, it roared ahead at full power.
===
In the blink of an eye, the next morning came.
Originally, Lucian had deliberately planned to dock his 'ship' outside to unload the 'cargo,' but who would've thought that when the last batch of cargo was being transferred, Jingliu would seize his 'ship' and hold it at her 'port,' refusing to let it leave?
As a result, his entire 'cargo' had no choice but to be unloaded at her 'port.'
However, the key problem was that this batch of 'cargo' contained contraband—contraband of an Emanator of Abundance!
If he had unloaded it outside, he could've hidden it from her with some effort, but now it was impossible to cover it up.
How could he possibly hide it when the contraband was practically being delivered straight into her 'port'?
Because this contraband was so pure, so immense, radiating with the unique energy of the Path of Abundance—the breath of ultimate vitality and growth that restored all living things—it instantly spread throughout the entire room, even making the withered potted plants in the corners sprout fresh buds before their eyes.
As someone born with the blessing of Abundance, how could Jingliu not notice?
Time seemed to freeze at that moment as the intoxicated flush on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a ghastly pallor of terror.
Her light-red eyes widened sharply, filled with utter shock, disbelief, and... disappointment.
It was as if she had been scalded by a burning iron brand.
Jingliu suddenly sprang away from Lucian's embrace, stumbling back several steps until her back hit the cold wall. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she stared fixedly at him on the bed, her gaze sharp enough to pierce through him.
"Why... Why is this power of Abundance... You... You are an Emanator... An Emanator of Abundance...?" Jingliu's lips trembled, each word forced out between her teeth, carrying a chilling frost. "You... You hid this from me for a thousand years, Master? Were you afraid I would expose you? You didn't trust me?"
Not giving Lucian a chance to explain, she spun around, snatched her dress from the floor to wrap around her disheveled, naked body, and, like a blizzard-driven wind, stormed out of the bedroom.
*BANG!*
With a thunderous impact, the door slammed shut so hard that the walls shook.
Just like that, the completely disarrayed room, heavy with the energy of Abundance, fell into a terrifying silence.
'My goodness, why did she have to press me like that...' Lucian sighed inwardly, a frown adorning his face.
When they did the mating press, he should have pulled his 'little bro' away earlier, so he wouldn't have been caught in Jingliu's leg lock at such a critical moment.
"Lucian…"
As Lucian lost himself in thought, a soft voice, heavy with worry and heartache, rose from nearby.
It was none other than Baiheng, who carefully approached him from behind.
Despite her own disheveled state, she reached out and gently wrapped her arms around his stiff body, resting her cheek against his cold back.
"Don't worry…" Baiheng's voice carried a soothing warmth, as light as feathers. "We're not rejecting who you are. Jingliu just thought you were hiding your identity as an Emanator of Abundance because you didn't trust her..."
Right after saying this, she lifted her head and gently turned Lucian's face toward her, gazing directly into his eyes.
"I'll go talk to her. Wait for me, okay?"
Baiheng softly kissed Lucian's earlobe before hastily getting dressed and hurrying out after Jingliu.
Lucian watched the door close and couldn't help but sigh.
"No wonder she's the darling of the High-Cloud Quintet..."
In truth, Jingliu's reaction had been within Lucian's expectations.
Even though her parents had been killed by the Abominations of Abundance, which caused her to despise anything connected to the Abundance, because he had once saved her homeland and spent a thousand years by her side, even if his identity as an Emanator of Abundance was exposed, she would surely have been able to accept it.
Of course, that would've been after being together for a thousand years, but a thousand years ago, he had lacked the confidence to reveal his true identity, afraid of messing with the script, so he chose to hide it from her.
However, after spending a thousand years together, although revealing it would no longer have been a problem, it also meant that when she discovered the truth, she would believe he had concealed his identity throughout those thousand years out of fear that she might expose it, that he hadn't trusted her, and so he had hidden it for a thousand years without ever telling her.
It had been clear in the look in her eyes just now—it hadn't been filled with murderous intent or hatred, but with disappointment.
In other words, whether he revealed his identity early or not, there would always be a crack in their relationship.
Lucian had originally planned to hide his identity until the script was complete and tell Jingliu about it in reality later, but thanks to her and Baiheng's temptation, he was consumed by lust and threw that plan out the window.
What surprised him, though, was Baiheng.
It should be noted that they had been together for less than a hundred years, yet she still trusted him so deeply, even after learning his true identity.
*Beep-Beep!*
As Lucian was once again lost in thought, pondering the best course of action to solve the problem, his jade abacus suddenly chimed.
He snapped out of his thoughts, picked up the jade abacus from the lamp table, and saw that it was a call from Jing Yuan.
[Teacher, Emanator Shuhu suddenly launched a surprise attack! General Teng Xiao is already fighting him! Requesting support!]
"Umu, I'll be there right away."
Lucian immediately got dressed, gave a brief glance toward the courtyard gate, and decided to let it go.
He would deal with the urgent matter first and return later for Jingliu.
In the next instant, he vanished with Absolute Hit, reappearing a second later inside the Seat of Divine Foresight in the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Teacher!"
Jing Yuan rushed over as soon as he saw Lucian appear, long since accustomed to his teacher's teleportation.
"Right now, it's only Shuhu himself attacking to probe, and the General is holding him back. As for Shuhu's army, they've already encircled the Luofu but haven't advanced yet."
Lucian looked up at the giant screen ahead, which showed Teng Xiao battling Shuhu at the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Teng Xiao was clad in heavy armor, wielding a flaming glaive and bathed in golden thunder from the massive Spiritus towering behind him—the Lightning-Lord.
He had to admit, the effects caused by the Lightning-Lord were so dazzling that they made Teng Xiao truly look like a limited-edition five-star character at max Eidolons.
As for Shuhu, he resembled a massive tree with human-head fruits hanging from its trunk—horrifying to behold, like a typical monster from soulslike games.
"Yaoshi may be selfless, but the creatures THEY enlightened were not all selfless." Lucian remarked coldly.
In his eyes, Shuhu's act resembled that of a Buddha draped in severed heads.
"Teacher, what if Shuhu can't be killed?" Jing Yuan asked with worry.
"No worries." Lucian answered calmly. "I will intervene. Just find me the coordinates of a black hole."
===
Xianzhou Cangcheng, Outside Jingliu's Residence.
As Lucian teleported to the Xianzhou Luofu, Jingliu stood alone in the empty alley near her home, her expression heavy with sorrow.
"I'm not angry about his identity... but about the fact that he hid it from me for so long..." Jingliu muttered to herself, her fists clenched. "Could it be... he never fully trusted me... after a thousand years together..."
Otherwise, why had her master never told her the truth?
As for the identity and status of an Emanator of Abundance, she honestly didn't really care—a thousand years of shared memories were enough to erase that stain.
"Jingliu, after all these years, you know better than anyone whether he's good or bad, don't you?"
Just then, Baiheng came to Jingliu's side, speaking gently to comfort her.
"I resent that he kept it from me..." Jingliu said softly. "I would never betray him... yet he still wouldn't tell me... Isn't that distrust?"
"Maybe it's because he didn't want to drag you into it..." Baiheng sighed helplessly, then explained her own guess. "I mean, if... if someday his identity is exposed, as long as you don't know, you will still be clean, right? You should know that the Alliance treats Emanators of Abundance as nemeses. Knowing that, he clearly didn't want you to know too much, so that if one day his true identity is revealed, you can still remain safe..."
Jingliu froze for a long moment after hearing this.
"I see... I... I didn't even think that far..." Jingliu muttered in a daze. "You're right, that really is something Master would do... He wasn't mistrusting me, he just wanted to protect me..."
"Yup!" Baiheng patted her best friend's shoulder lightly and smiled. "Y'know, when you ran away just now, Lucian looked really worried, and... a little sad."
Upon hearing this, Jingliu suddenly felt like a child who had done something wrong.
No wonder her master had wanted to pull his 'thing' away from her 'inside' earlier—even then, he had been thinking about the consequences for her...
Jingliu pressed her forehead, regret instantly flooding her heart as she remembered how she had acted earlier.
"I can't believe I've lived for over a thousand years, yet I still see things less clearly than you..." Jingliu said with a bitter smile.
"Heehee, that's because you've lived too long, so you don't know how to cherish it." Baiheng said with a chuckle. "How about letting me be the main wife instead?"
"Beat me first, then we'll see." Jingliu curved her lips into a faint smile.
Having untangled her feelings, she immediately wanted to return to her master, apologize, and hear what he thought.
However, when the two women entered his bedroom, it was empty.
They immediately searched the entire house, yet still found no trace of him.
Only after messaging Jing Yuan did they learn that he had gone to the Xianzhou Luofu to provide support.
"C'mon, let's hurry."
For some reason, Jingliu felt a foreboding in her heart, an unease gnawing at her—it was as though if she arrived too late, something irretrievable would be lost.
===
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