As Bailu curled up entirely beneath the hem of his robe, her dragon horns pressing against a rather awkward spot and the chill of her dragon tail brushing against the inside of his thigh, Lucian couldn't help but gasp slightly.
"Well, I didn't even have to look for you—you came crawling right into my clothes..."
Lucian remarked softly, rolling his eyes, then sighed helplessly as, of all places, Bailu chose to hide inside his robe.
Honestly, hiding behind him would've been better than crawling under his robe like this.
Just as the little girl had barely managed to hide herself, two men came running into view, wearing alchemist outfits with medicine gourds hanging from their waists, having clearly chased her all the way here.
From their attire, they were, without a doubt, alchemists from the Alchemy Commission.
Being pursued so relentlessly by these two, it was no wonder Bailu had rushed headlong into Fyxestroll Garden.
As the two alchemists approached him, Lucian deliberately gave his robe a slight shake, causing the little girl hiding beneath to immediately catch on. Her small hand immediately hooked into his undershirt and tugged it down slightly, concealing herself more securely.
Soon after, the two alchemists came to a stop before Lucian, and then one of them—the older-looking one—politely addressed him.
"Sir, you must be General Lucian—thank goodness! Have you perhaps seen a gourd-bearing vidyadhara girl—"
*Crack—*
Before the older alchemist could finish his words, his body suddenly convulsed, and vein-like roots bulged beneath his skin.
Seeing this, Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly, for this state—he knew it all too well.
Mara-struck.
Indeed, the alchemist was undergoing the final mutation of being mara-struck.
In the next moment, the man's skull cracked open with a sharp snap, and what poured out wasn't brain matter but flowering, fleshy branches.
At the same time, leaves and branches sprouted across his entire body, making him resemble the 'Mara-Struck Soldier' from the game.
"What the hell? Why are you suddenly exposing your mara-struck form? And right in front of the Cangcheng General?! Are you nuts?! Now is not the time to show off!"
Gazing at his transformed colleague, the younger-looking alchemist shouted in disbelief.
"I don't know, dammit! Why did the Semblance Reversion Essence suddenly stop working?!"
"You foolish old fart, you're dragging me down! I'm not ready to fight a general—"
*Crack—*
Before he could finish, the younger alchemist also began to transform into a Mara-Struck Soldier—branches grew from his head, golden leaves sprouted from his skin—turning him into a treant-like humanoid monster.
"W-Why?! Why's my Semblance Reversion Essence failing?! What's going on?!"
He was completely confused, since normally that drug should've lasted much longer, considering this was only his second dose.
"Fuck it! Since we're exposed, we'll just have to kill and silence him."
Already fed up, the older one spoke indignantly, then glared at the silent Lucian.
"Lucian, guess you're just unlucky. You saw our true forms."
Upon hearing this, Lucian raised his brows, then rolled his eyes, looking at both of them as though they were clowns.
Kill and silence him?
Seeing their true forms?
Given that these two could still speak rationally even after transforming into Mara-Struck Soldiers, it could only mean one thing—they were members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
However, to think that followers of Abundance were trying to silence an Emanator of Abundance... how ridiculous.
In the first place, he was the one who had caused them to revert to their true forms.
Semblance Reversion Essence?
Such a drug—with just a flicker of his authority as an Emanator of Abundance—could have its effects nullified with ease, while he simultaneously amplified their mara-struck state.
And the best part was they couldn't even sense it.
Just then, Lucian felt something tightly gripping his leg—it was a small dragon tail coiled around it.
Honestly, the sensation wasn't bad at all.
Bailu didn't have much strength, so even when she squeezed hard with her tail, it felt more like a playful reward to him.
"Mara-struck people… Talking mara-struck people…" Bailu couldn't help whispering to herself, looking afraid.
Unfortunately, since the area was so silent that even a pin drop could be heard crystal clear, her whisper rang out loud and clear.
"Hey, she's with him!"
Thanks to Bailu's whisper, the younger Mara-Struck Soldier noticed the small legs beneath Lucian's robe and immediately shouted to his colleague while pointing at Lucian.
"Good! We almost killed that Dozing General last time—this time we'll slay the Cangcheng General and earn merit!"
As soon as these words left the older Mara-Struck Soldier's mouth, the younger one lunged toward Lucian—only for the older one to immediately turn and flee.
"Damn moron! There's no way two of us can kill an Arbiter-General! You're too green, kiddo! I'm outta here!"
As he ran, the older one shouted mockingly at his naive young colleague without even looking back.
"What the fuck?! You son of a bitch—!"
Indeed, the younger Mara-Struck Soldier was too green.
Luckily for him, Lucian was kind enough to let him finish swearing at his colleague before blasting him to pieces with Disarm.
*BANG!*
A merciful end—at least he got to finish his swearing words.
Of course, being kind to one meant being kind to the other, for in the next moment, Lucian used Disarm on the fleeing Mara-Struck Soldier.
*Crack—*
A sharp crack rang out, then—
*BANG!*
Given that, after the mara-struck transformation, every part of their bodies became armor—wooden plates, scales, and even branches growing from their skulls—Disarm became both effective and deadly.
Lucian didn't need to lift a finger, as with just a thought, Disarm could rip their bodies apart all at once.
Bailu, peeking from under his robe, witnessed the whole thing with wide eyes—she carefully stuck her little head out and peered upward from beneath his waist.
Good thing no one else saw the scene aside from her—it looked far too ridiculous.
"Are they all gone? That was scary..." Bailu muttered softly before lifting the hem of Lucian's robe and crawling out. "Why did they suddenly become mara-struck? They were fine just a moment ago..."
"Because they're Disciples of Sanctus Medicus—a sect that seeks to destroy the Luofu." Lucian explained casually, gazing down at Bailu. "They willingly take some kind of drug to become mara-struck."
Truthfully, he had never thought much of that sect.
Even if they were fellow believers of Abundance, to the point of fanaticism, they were simply too pathetic.
If they had been a bit more competent, he might've considered recruiting them for dirty work, but seeing how those two alchemists behaved, it was clear their sect was nothing more than a gathering of fools, acting as someone else's pawn.
In his eyes, only their leader, Dan Shu, had any real value that was worth using.
As for the rest, it was better to wipe them out for good, because otherwise, they would only tarnish the name of Abundance and Yaoshi, which, in turn, would embarrass him as an Emanator of Abundance.
"Thank you, Lucian!" Bailu said in relief, looking up at him with wide, grateful eyes. "If it weren't for you, they would've caught me!"
Because she had seen Lucian on the news and in trending topics online, the moment she recognized him, she had instinctively rushed under his robe for protection, which, in itself, had been the best choice she could have made at the time, because otherwise, those two members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus would've done something truly terrible to her.
"I was actually about to look for you, y'know." Lucian remarked with a faint, amused smile. "Guess fate brought you to me first, huh..."
"Heehee, since it's fate, can you maybe not send me back, please?" Bailu giggled, tilting her head in a cute, almost pleading manner. "I mean, I haven't played enough yet..."
"Of course. If you don't wanna go back, then don't." Lucian replied with a chuckle, then crouched down and placed a hand on Bailu's head, gently and reassuringly patting it. "By the way, I've got some really yummy snacks at my place. Wanna come?"
"Yes!" Bailu exclaimed, her eyes immediately lit up at the mention of food, but then quickly dimmed again. "But, uh... I don't have money..."
Hearing this, Lucian chuckled lightly, clearly unbothered by the issue.
"Just let me pinch your cheeks and pat your head, and we'll call it even. How about that?"
As Lucian made his offer, he looked at Bailu the way one would look at a pet.
He couldn't help it.
Bailu, who basically looked like Baiheng in her child form, was simply too cute.
At his offer, Bailu hesitated for just a second before deciding to sell her body's freedom for food. Not only had he saved her, but somewhere deep inside, she also didn't feel like saying no to him.
"Alright, just this once..." Bailu nodded gently, then leaned her little face forward.
Seeing this, Lucian didn't hold back—he knelt and reached out, giving her two chubby cheeks a gentle squeeze.
He had to admit, the soft, tender, bouncy texture of her cheeks was pure bliss, while her faint milky fragrance, mixed with a subtle hint of herbal scent drifting into his nose, was so sweet and refreshing that it calmed his mind.
"Alright..." Lucian, feeling that he would get diabetes if he continued any further, stopped squeezing Bailu's cheeks and stood up with a refreshing smile. "Let's fill you up first, then go pay the Alchemy Commission a little visit."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]