"See you again, and come back next time! But don't let your thoughts run wild again!" Sylvester waved cheerfully at the three women as they left.
"Your Curio is quite impressive. I'm looking forward to what you'll have next week." Topaz said her goodbyes and left alone.
The two from the Xianzhou walked side by side along the streets of Exalting Sanctum.
"I'm doomed, I'm doomed… that was so humiliating." Feixiao staggered out of the Curio Trash Cans shop, with Jingliu beside her, her aura subtly changed.
"Sometimes it's not bad to encounter new things." Jingliu said coolly.
Feixiao turned her head and snapped at Jingliu's detached remark. "That's only because you weren't the one who got embarrassed."
She let out a sigh, then quickly regained her composure. "Good thing I dismissed two of my subordinates from their assignments yesterday. Call it foresight."
Although Jiaoqiu and Moze weren't ones to spread idle chatter, fewer people knowing was always better than more.
But that Topaz from the Interastral Peace Corporation… hopefully her character is reliable enough.
"When are you planning to take that [Samsara Elixir]? Sylvester's still waiting to duel you after your rebirth. I, for one, am very curious about his strength."
"Oh? Already recovered so soon? I thought you'd need some time off, after all, you misunderstood that kind of thing." Jingliu's lips curved faintly. It wasn't anywhere near cheerful, but compared to earlier, it was a world of difference. "Of course, I'll take it as soon as possible. Best not to let dreams fester overnight."
"Hey, hey, hey—we agreed not to bring that up again." Feixiao feigned annoyance, but then thought of something, her face lighting up with a smile. "People with hope really are different. If Jing Yuan saw you now, he'd probably marvel that his master had returned."
"Jing Yuan…" Jingliu was silent for a moment, not continuing down that path. "It's not just me who has hope. You do as well, don't you?"
Feixiao recalled Sylvester's earnest, confident expression and felt a ripple of warmth inside, though she said, "Who can really say? That guy's always unreliable."
Jingliu looked at the smile on her lips and understood her words contradicted her heart. But she didn't expose it. After all, putting herself in Feixiao's shoes, she had only happened to take a step ahead.
Watching Feixiao and Jingliu leave, Sylvester's mood was even brighter than the grin on his face.
Who would've thought even someone as valiant and imposing as Feixiao could have such a cute side?
Thanks to his experience dealing with Fu Xuan, he could immediately tell Feixiao had misunderstood something. After a few words, it was naturally resolved.
But in his heart, Sylvester still felt both admiration and regret.
Admiration for Feixiao's tailor, whose work was truly exquisite. How did they design clothes that fit so perfectly? They didn't just outline muscle contours; they even revealed the faint shimmer of her aura. Especially just now, when Feixiao got angry, the earth-shaking, wave-crashing sight… it was hard not to feel a rush of heroic passion.
And regret… because happy moments always passed far too quickly.
No. This won't do. I'm a decent man. I can't harbor such filthy thoughts.
…
"Bullshit! Stop pretending like a Borisin Noble Sylvester. Do you even remember your luck when you rolled gacha before you transmigrated?"
Sylvester imagined a tiny devil perched on his shoulder, smacking his head while jeering.
"Don't talk like you didn't just say it out loud." A tiny angel appeared on his other side. Just as Sylvester thought the angel would spout something righteous, it smacked him across the face. "Hurry up and take action! Think carefully—things are different now. Fu Xuan, Feixiao… they're all within reach. If you don't try, what are you planning to do? Watch them grow old alone? Or marry someone else? Don't you believe in true love?"
"Uh, does a harem still count as true love?" the devil stammered.
"I'm teaching him, why are you butting in? Of course it counts! It's just many true loves gathered together! We angels always grow stronger with more wings!"
"I was too conservative." The devil suddenly realized, then turned back to Sylvester and hammered at his head. "You hear that? Get moving already!"
"You two imaginary pests don't understand a thing…" Sylvester muttered weakly.
But the angel ignored his excuses, cutting him off. "You admit we don't exist, yet you won't be honest with yourself? Before transmigration, every day you yelled 'wife' at your screen. What, was it really because you admired the game mechanics? Thought the turn-based combat felt smooth?"
"Look at your box. From Bailu to Silver Wolf, from Fu Xuan to Yunli, from Himeko to Kafka, from Ruan Mei to Acheron. You don't even have a consistent type!" The devil tore open his closet of secrets.
"We can't force you. Think it through yourself." The angel and devil vanished after those words.
Sylvester panted, leaning back into his chair. He glanced around. Yes, this was still his Curio Trash Cans shop. So… was what he'd just seen a hallucination? Or the voice of his true self?
He didn't know. But… they weren't wrong.
When fantasy becomes reality; when the dream figures of yesterday become the real people before his eyes; when half-heard stories become an unfinished tale he can now take part in—why shouldn't he go a little further?
This is a space comedy, isn't it? Then take up the spirit of a protagonist!
…
"General, you're back so late. Seems the Curio you acquired today must be something extraordinary." Jiaoqiu fanned his feathered fan as he and Moze walked the road back to their quarters.
"Could it be another golden Curio?" Moze asked.
Jiaoqiu's face wore his usual smile, but unusually, his eyes opened. "Who can say? But the General said that Curio could remove Jingliu's Mara."
"Remove Mara? Impossible!" Moze looked at Jiaoqiu in shock. "That former Sword Champion of the Luofu has been afflicted by Mara for centuries. Even her disciple teeters on the brink. How could she still be saved?"
To Moze, it was pure fantasy. The Mara was the Aeons' curse. How could mortals ever undo it? Unless by death!
Jiaoqiu didn't explain further, only said, "But the General said so."
"Hmm…" Moze was silent.
The General had no reason to lie to them!
He suddenly realized. "If it's true… then could the General's illness also be cured?"
"Which is why, it had best be true." Jiaoqiu stopped at their quarters' entrance. "Tomorrow, I'll pay that shopkeeper a visit myself."
"Yes. That's necessary." Moze nodded.
But just then, an unexpected sound caught them completely off guard.
First came the wail of a baby.
Then Feixiao's exasperated voice. "Ugh, children really are too hard to handle. Wasn't it supposed to keep her memories? Then why is she crying?"
Jiaoqiu and Moze exchanged bewildered looks, the confusion in each other's eyes crystal clear.
W-what's going on? A… child?
They entered the room and bowed. "General."
"Oh, you're here." Feixiao, frazzled and worn down, visibly relaxed at their arrival. "Any of you have experience raising kids?"
"Uh…"
They both looked at the rosy-cheeked little baby in Feixiao's arms, completely at a loss.
Of the three people in the room, none had any experience as parents. If there was anything the three of them couldn't handle, it had to be this.
Moze noticed the child's snowy-white hair. Indeed, there was some resemblance to the General. "General… is this your child?"
Jiaoqiu turned his head and stared at him—one eye wide, the other half-lidded.
Brother, are you serious with that question?
"Uh, I was just joking." Moze would never admit that his brain had glitched out, making him blurt nonsense. So, he simply played it off.
Feixiao also understood—it was too much to expect them to come up with solutions for this. But she had no alternatives. Jingliu's presence here was supposed to be a secret, and she had no one else she could use.
"Enough chatter. Go buy diapers, milk powder, baby supplies. And get a full set of girls' clothes, from newborn size all the way up. For the next two or three months, the two of you will settle down and be the child's nannies."
"Huh?!"
Jiaoqiu and Moze both doubted their ears.
Me? A physician… and a guard… now reduced to nannies?