"So... my wife Tingyun evolved into Tingyun MAX under Godfather Wende's power, sacrificing herself to forcibly dispel Phantylia's invincibility buff. Then, four members of the once-shattered High-Cloud Quintet teamed up to defeat Phantylia, but in reality, they all still have their own hidden agendas?"
Sister Guoguo, who excelled at summarizing, came to this bewildered conclusion after clearing the Phantylia boss battle.
"Alright! I've got the material for my next video! That's all for today's stream, see you all tomorrow!"
Having fully grasped the Xianzhou plot, a very excited Sister Guoguo bid farewell to her audience and shut down the stream without a shred of emotion. She had a grand undertaking to attend to!
Like wolves that had caught the scent of meat, streamers who had finished the Xianzhou boss fight and its subsequent story quests immediately opened their pre-prepared documents on the Xianzhou storyline's background, ready to get the first scoop!
Meanwhile, another group of people began to seize upon certain controversial points in the story for less-than-serious purposes. With a bit of exaggeration and embellishment, they started to ride the waves of the internet to spread their own narratives.
---o---
"I think the plot on the Xianzhou was pretty good, but the writers left us with some major cliffhangers," Yue Ma said to her viewers while searching for treasure chests in the Scalegorge Waterscape.
"After they filled the hole of Dan Heng's backstory, they dug new ones for Wende and the High-Cloud Quintet."
Amidst a chorus of "wtf" in the chat, Yue Ma silently collected the bountiful loot.
"The High-Cloud Quintet plot hole isn't too bad; we can probably learn more from future storylines and some of the in-game books on the Xianzhou. But Wende's situation is very unique."
Yue Ma cleared her throat, took a sip of water to moisten it, and then shared some of the information she had discovered about Wende with her audience.
"To say it's Wende's plot hole is to say it's a major hole in the background lore. Unlike March 7th, who knows nothing about her past, there are far too many clues about Wende. Whether it's the five-star or four-star version of Wende, we can glimpse two words: 'Yin and Yang.' And if you place the concept of Yin and Yang within the worldview of Star Rail, it's almost certainly related to the Path of [Equilibrium].
"Since the writers have invested so much into Wende, it's clear they want to convey some kind of message through him. Wende's five-star kit itself corresponds one-to-one with [Equilibrium]. If I'm not mistaken, there might be an even deeper mastermind hiding behind the main story's theme of [Destruction]!"
[Actually, the writers haven't focused that much on Wende, not even as much as Dan Heng. It only feels like there's a lot of text for Godfather because we've been seeing things from his perspective.]
[Yeah, Godfather didn't even show up at the end. Instead, it was Phantylia, empowered by his strength, who beat me to a pulp!]
[Wait, even though Godfather saved my wife Tingyun, looking at the plot... is my wife Tingyun going to die again?!]
[Welt: Who are you insinuating that about?]
[Fast forward to Tingyun doing sit-ups from the grave.]
[Speaking of which, that white-haired Tingyun at the end was so beautiful! They're definitely going to release an SP Tingyun!]
[Yes, yes, yes! I want a five-star white-haired little fox!]
"But we have to admit one thing," Yue Ma said with a sigh. "Wende played a massive role here on the Xianzhou. His full potential wasn't realized back in Belobog, but because of the Xianzhou's unique circumstances, it's like Wende turned on cheat mode... Based on this, we can deduce that his presence will probably be greatly diminished on the next planet..."
[What! They're going to sideline my Godfather again!]
[Do you not understand the value of an all-powerful, true god?!]
[When is little Wende coming out? My wallet! My bank card! My Wende!]
[For real though, why are there no shotas! There are so many lolis! Release little Wende immediately!]
---o---
"Mmm... What's going on? Why is it both cold and hot under the covers?"
Little Wende groggily opened his eyes, his body subconsciously leaning toward the source of heat to his left. He then felt as if he had buried his face in a warm, soft pillow.
"This!"
Little Wende instantly pulled his face out of the "pillow." Seeing the serene, sleeping face of the white-haired Tingyun, he couldn't help but swallow nervously.
"What... What's happening? Is this Miss Tingyun?"
He tried to shrink back, but a cool, supple sensation pressed against his entire back and the back of his head.
"..."
Gulp...
Swallowing hard again, Wende's neck stiffly turned to look behind him.
A faint smile hung on Jingliu's face. The next moment, he felt a small, cold hand begin to wander over his body.
"You're awake, little one?"
Jingliu's stunningly beautiful face was reflected in little Wende's panicked purple eyes. She chuckled softly, looking at his terrified expression.
---o---
"Benefactor, this is?"
Tingyun, having just woken up in Wende's bed, looked at the frail-looking little Wende beside her, confused, and tried to sit up.
"W-Wait, Miss Tingyun! Hold on! I'll go out first!"
Little Wende's face flushed red as he walked out of the bedroom, all under the subtly amused gaze of Jingliu.
"Sister Jingliu? What's happened to me?"
Sensing the unusual state of her body, Tingyun looked at Jingliu with great confusion. The Yang energy within her was still there... and it felt... perfectly harmonious?
"Don't worry. From now on, that power belongs to you," Jingliu said as she walked over to Tingyun, gently rubbing and kneading her fox ears.
"Ah... Sister Jingliu?"
"Apologies. Just for a moment... It'll just be a moment."
"Oh... is that so? Alright then..."
At that moment, Tingyun hadn't yet realized that she and Jingliu were now in the exact same state, both physically and internally.
---o---
"Seriously, I just got out. Is it really okay for you two to be doing this?"
Little Wende looked on with a headache as March 7th and Stelle each held one of his hands, sandwiching him between them. He questioned them wearily.
"Hmph! We don't care! You've been doing nothing but sleeping these past few days. Now you have to make it up to us, okay~?"
March 7th pouted, her large, pink-and-blue eyes welling up with tears as she gazed at little Wende. Seeing this, Stelle put on the expression of an abandoned puppy, looking at him pitifully. All she was missing was a drooping tail.