At dawn, in the Central Starskiff Haven, at The Sleepless Earl.
Jiaoqiu and Moze walked up to the second floor.
Inside a private room, Feixiao had already been waiting for them for some time.
"General." The two subordinates were about to salute, but Feixiao raised her hand to stop them, gesturing for them to sit.
"How is it? Did you observe any results?"
Moze replied with a blank expression, "No. Though, the Cloud Knights did receive a letter of complaint saying my psychological health is in serious jeopardy and I need urgent treatment."
"Hmm…" Feixiao looked puzzled. "A complaint? Haven't you been on night shifts these past days? Could someone have spotted you and mistaken you for an abnormal case?"
"No, not at all." Jiaoqiu took over the conversation for him. "Yesterday he was in that little Curio Trash Can shop, testing the patience of the shopkeeper. That man ignored all of Moze's provocations, so Moze lost his temper—but in the end, he didn't dare touch him. He had no choice but to slink away."
"It was a strategic retreat," Moze corrected seriously.
"I saw it with my own eyes. He slunk away." Jiaoqiu's narrow eyes curved upward; the seriousness in his tone was second only to actually opening them.
"General, he's just being petty because I rested for one night." Moze, still expressionless, reported his colleague.
"You clearly just wanted to—"
"Alright, enough. These things don't matter." Feixiao waved her hand, feeling a headache coming on.
Was there something unclean about that shop? Why had her two perfectly good subordinates gone there and come back so lacking in composure?
"I mean Sylvester. Did you notice him showing any flaws?"
"Yes, and no…" Jiaoqiu thought it over, then told them about Aventurine's misfortune yesterday.
"Heh." Hearing how Aventurine had been possessed by [The Resentment of the Hapless Ones] and then drawn out a fortune teller's almanac, Feixiao couldn't help but laugh aloud.
But soon her expression turned solemn. "To think such dangerous Curios were hidden in those Trash Cans. And Aventurine, that poor man… Struck by this calamity, losing the luck he prided himself on—if he clings to it too hard, he might go mad."
She was a veteran of countless battles and had seen too many tragedies. Some could no longer lift their long spears, some never boarded a starskiff again, some lost their lovers, others their families.
They might still live on, but stripped of the strength to fight for their goals, the crushing gap between before and after drove many to end their own lives.
Feixiao knew well—losing one's most defining ability was a catastrophe.
She mourned for a fallen lucky one.
But Jiaoqiu shook his head. "Aside from fatigue, he showed no unusual reaction."
"Hmm?"
Not only Feixiao, but even Moze looked at him with doubt.
"That man has such a tenacious spirit?" Feixiao was now a little impressed with Aventurine.
She reflected that if she ever lost all her martial power, she could never face it calmly—unless she had first slain every last Abundance spawn.
Jiaoqiu shook his head slowly. "It wasn't his resilience. The curse was dispelled."
A thought stirred in Feixiao's heart—something entirely different from what she had assumed. "Could it have been Sylvester?"
For the first time in her life, she questioned her own intuition so deeply.
Jiaoqiu nodded. "Yes. It was Sylvester. He coughed once. A black mist rose above Aventurine's head, then scattered into nothing in midair."
"Just a cough? You're sure you didn't see wrong?"
Moze's expression finally changed, rare for him.
His heart was full of suspicion, but also a trace of relief.
Lucky he hadn't gone all out yesterday. If that kid had cursed him, in today's Xianzhou there would've been no one who could undo it. He would've been forced to beg that boy on his knees.
"My eyes aren't so poor as to mistake it." Jiaoqiu's reply was steady.
"…Fine." Moze stared at his perpetually squinting eyes, fell silent a moment, then gave in.
"This doesn't add up."
Only Feixiao lowered her head, carefully recalling every exchange she'd had with Sylvester.
Just a few days ago, he had shown no hint of ability, not even much confidence when dealing with Skott.
So how could he now control curses so clearly? And that day—how had he suppressed three swords?
The art of cursing had once circulated in Xianzhou, but because its practitioners were vicious and it was exceedingly difficult to learn, the lineage had long been lost.
Where had Sylvester learned such a thing?
The more she thought, the more her reasoning tangled. No matter how she tried, she couldn't piece together a complete logic.
How could she know that, before yesterday, Sylvester truly had no power—but absolute authority over the Curios within the Trash Cans?
And now, she could no longer verify it.
Because Sylvester had already left the level of a weakling behind, seeking templates to raise his strength. And unbelievably, she herself had once been one of his options.
…
At last, Feixiao gave up thinking.
"Phew~" She shook her head, her fox ears swaying softly with the motion. Breathing out, she even wore a faint smile of relief.
It seemed her intuition could indeed be wrong. Sylvester wasn't some powerless weakling after all. On the contrary, his skill at playing the fool was exceptional.
It seemed she would have to observe him even more closely in the future.
"You two don't need to monitor him anymore." Feixiao crossed her arms. "This kind of outer surveillance is useless now. I'll uncover his secrets myself."
Jiaoqiu and Moze exchanged a look. In each other's eyes, they saw the same emotion.
It was vague, but unmistakably a sense of foreboding.
They were sure of only one thing—it wasn't about their lives being in danger.
But what was it then?
They remained silent for a long time.
"Oh, right. There's another matter I called you here for today." Feixiao pointed toward the docking bay of the starskiff haven, the first stop for visitors to the Xianzhou.
"A special guest will be arriving. Since Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan will be tied up in negotiations with the Interastral Peace Corporation, this guest must be received by us. Entirely by us."
"That's easy enough." Moze answered without hesitation.
"Entirely… received." Jiaoqiu tasted something different in her words. "Do you mean received—or…"
Monitored?
Feixiao was pleased to see her subordinate's wits sharp. Smiling slightly, she said, "Let's call it protection. Protecting her, and protecting those around her."
…
A heavy starskiff approached from afar. Its hatch opened, and the Cloud Knights escorted out a veiled woman in white. Her figure was lithe and graceful, her long hair a silver-white streaked with icy blue, cold as deep winter.
Feixiao and the others stepped forward to welcome her. The Cloud Knights handed a sheet of paper to Feixiao, who signed it and returned it.
The Cloud Knight captain said, "Lady Feixiao, from now on, she is entrusted to your care."
The woman paid no heed to the caution in his tone. Calmly she said, "I have not yet weakened to the point of losing my reason. Since the Marshal has permitted my temporary return, it means he acknowledges as much."
The Cloud Knights returned to their starskiff and departed quickly.
Feixiao walked up to the newcomer and greeted her. "Hello. By seniority, I should call you senior."
The woman shook her head. "You are a General of the Xianzhou, while I am one who once entered slumber under the guidance of the Ten-Lords Commission. I am unworthy of being called senior."
"But there is one thing we share." She opened her blood-red eyes and fixed them on Feixiao. "Until the Plagues Author is slain, neither of us will stop fighting."
Feeling the flood of killing intent, Feixiao smiled calmly. "I'm glad to meet you, Jingliu."
"Show me the swords you've obtained."