Unintentionally, the two of them met Zero's gaze, and then they started talking even louder.
Zero memorized their faces, turned around, and continued walking toward the dessert shop.
At this point, they weren't going to run.
He might as well buy the desserts first.
Zero arrived at the register and quickly picked out the desserts he wanted to bring for Jingliu and the other four.
The cashier looked troubled, saying several of the items had been bought out by earlier customers, so they needed time to make more, and recommended newly released desserts instead.
Zero, "...No thanks. How long do I need to wait?"
The cashier replied, "Twenty minutes."
Zero paid in advance and turned to walk toward the two people waiting outside.
He thought he really should have gotten used to this by now.
His luck had always been terrible.
The customer before him just happened to buy the exact desserts he wanted, well, that was to be expected.
Then Zero realized, actually, he needed the time to deal with those two anyway.
In a sense, he was lucky.
But he needed to tell Jingliu in advance.
He stopped at the dessert shop's entrance.
Ignoring the two people staring at him, he took out his jade messenger and sent Jingliu a message.
[Zero: I'll be a little late]
Jingliu replied quickly.
[Jingliu: What happened? Did something go wrong?]
[Zero: The desserts I wanted to bring for you all were sold out. I need to wait twenty more minutes for new ones]
Not wanting to bring his negative mood to Jingliu, Zero adjusted himself quickly and sent another message.
[Zero: This time we'll get freshly made desserts, so they should taste even better]
[Jingliu: Mm.]
Zero put away the jade messenger and looked at the two people still sneaking glances at him.
He walked forward a few steps and kept a not-too-close, not-too-far distance.
Zero showed a warm, friendly smile, "No offense, but when I passed by earlier, I accidentally overheard your conversation. I'm really interested in the 'power' you mentioned. If you don't mind, could you tell me about it?"
The two looked at each other and shook their heads as if troubled.
Zero was about to say more when he caught sight of a flower shop nearby.
"Sorry, wait a moment."
He tossed out the sentence and walked straight into the flower shop.
Either way, fish always bite the bait, leaving them for a bit wouldn't cause any trouble.
Thinking about how easily embarrassed Jingliu was, Zero guessed she probably didn't want him to act too intimate in front of her friends.
To her, him delivering a big bouquet in front of everyone was probably no different from confessing in public.
This time, he would bring just one flower.
Zero chose a single pre-wrapped pink lychee blossom and asked for a paper bag just big enough to hold it.
Carrying the bag, he went back to the two men.
This time, they didn't refuse anymore.
The one who was either a scammer or a follower of "Abundance" smiled warmly and leaned toward Zero, "Little brother, you look like a good kid. I'll make a special exception just for you this time! Come on, let's go somewhere else. We can't talk here."
The man who claimed to be a tormented son-in-law snorted coldly, as if Zero's appearance had stolen his opportunity.
Zero followed them slowly, pretending not to understand, "There's no one around. Why can't you talk here?"
The scammer looked back and said mysteriously, "Because this is the Xianzhou."
Zero understood immediately.
'Not a scam, but followers of the Aeon of Abundance.'
The Mara-struck that appeared earlier in front of him and Jingliu had been a test?
In their eyes, he was Jingliu's weakness, an ordinary man without power, someone they could turn.
After all, Jingliu was the Swordhead of the Luofu.
If the two of them were together, and if the believers' plan worked... they could plant a nail inside the Xianzhou's upper ranks.
If everything went smoothly, they could easily obtain classified information.
If not, well, no matter.
If they could cause someone to fall to a Mara-state right in front of Jingliu and him, they could do it again and cripple one of the Xianzhou's top combat forces.
Maybe they had originally intended to take things slowly, but once Jingliu returned to the Luofu and became a general, that forced them to speed things up.
So, how would they get this humble diviner from the Divination Commission to willingly betray the Aeon the Xianzhou believed in and convert to Abundance?
Zero figured they must have two different plans.
First, spreading the rumor that he was living off a woman, just to test him.
If he felt insulted, they could use that to push him toward Abundance.
If he didn't feel insulted, they had another strategy.
Someone who could tolerate being called a freeloader… must really like Jingliu, right?
But Jingliu was at an age where she could fall to a Mara-state at any time.
How to solve that? Of course, believe in Abundance.
Zero sorted out their plan and couldn't help smiling again.
'Interesting.'
If he had more time, he'd definitely play with them properly.
Unfortunately, he still had to go back for the desserts, meet Jingliu, and drink with them.
'Better make this quick.'
Following the two men through several turns, they reached a dead-end alley.
The scammer stopped and said without turning around, "We're here. No one's around."
Zero chuckled and nodded. "Yes, no one's around."
The son-in-law man stuck to his act, speaking disdainfully, "Another person splitting my share of power for no reason… If the master hadn't taken a liking to you, I wouldn't agree!"
Zero remained calm and smiled.
The man seemed surprised at his lack of reaction, froze, then snorted again.
The scammer immediately tried to smooth things over, spouting vague nonsense.
Something about fate bringing them together, people who understand will understand, those who don't, too bad, that's just how things are…
He went on and on, then said he had to "test their sincerity" before he could introduce them to someone stronger.
Zero thought it would take too long to eliminate them completely.
He set the paper bag with the flower down, then pulled Mirror Flower, Water Moon from his system backpack.
The two men sensed something off, turned, and saw the knife in Zero's hand.
Zero first took out his jade messenger and snapped a photo of them.
He sighed, "This is the first time I'm using this blade on people… Gentlemen, can you cooperate a little?"
Their faces changed instantly. They didn't even have time to think about where he'd produced the weapon from, they instinctively stepped back.
Zero tightened his grip on the knife and looked at them.
He had used Mirror Flower, Water Moon twice before, once on Lan, once on Akivili.
Lan had said it was an imperceptible suggestion.
This time, he was using it on humans... he wasn't sure what effect it would have.
'At the very least, it should work better than it did on Aeons, right?'
Zero tested the waters by asking, "Whose followers are you?"
Their expressions slowly turned excited, answering proudly, "We are followers of the 'Merciful Medicus.'"
'As expected.'
Zero shook his head. "No, you are followers of 'Reignbow Arbiter.'"
The two went blank, then quickly returned to excitement.
They rushed eagerly toward him, "You came for us, do you have orders? Does this mean we can finally go back?"
Zero instinctively took a step back to widen the distance.
Hearing that, he froze for a second.
'Looks like the hypnosis worked extremely well.'
He could easily overwrite their beliefs.
They even followed his words and constructed a reasonable explanation on their own.
Why would followers of "Reignbow Arbiter" be with followers of the Aeon of Abundance?
Naturally, because they were undercover.
When they saw Zero, they thought they were finally being retrieved.
Following their logic, Zero reassured them, "You must have suffered a lot, acting against your will and infiltrating them."
"Don't worry. You've completed your mission beautifully. You can relax in front of me."
Gone was their earlier arrogance, they nodded repeatedly, eyes shining, "Do you have new orders for us?"
Zero said calmly, "From now on, it won't be me meeting you. Someone else will contact you."
"Relax, this is almost over. Soon, we'll clean up the dogs of the 'Abundance.'"
He put Mirror Flower, Water Moon away and smiled kindly again, patting their shoulders. "Everything is for 'Reignbow Arbiter.'"
They nodded firmly together, "For 'Reignbow Arbiter'!"
Zero picked up the paper bag and waved goodbye, then took out his jade messenger and sent the photo to Tengxiao.
[Zero: These two were originally dogs of the 'Abundance,' but now they're followers of 'Reignbow Arbiter,' undercover for the Xianzhou. Find someone to contact them]
He glanced at the time. Perfect.
When Zero returned to the dessert shop, the cashier had already packed the desserts.
Holding the desserts and the flower, he headed to the meeting place with Jingliu.
'If not for Lan… if not for wanting Lan to keep living…'
Zero sighed in his heart.
It had been thousands of years, yet Lan only hunted "Abundance spawn"…
So many Aeons, killing any one of them still counted.
If Lan were a little more ambitious and declared war on all the Aeons, Zero wouldn't be so passive.
———
Before long, he arrived at the meeting spot.
The five heard his footsteps and turned.
Zero glanced at the untouched dishes on the table, then at the group, and said sincerely, "Sorry I'm late."
The five tacitly left the seat beside Jingliu empty.
Zero placed the dessert bag at a corner table, then carried the flower bag to the main table.
He hung the paper bag on the back of Jingliu's chair, sat down, and everyone else began eating.
Zero asked, "Since we're drinking this time, want to bet on something?"
Yingxing had gotten him drunk before, so when he heard this, he replied confidently, "What are we betting?"
Zero smiled. "Anything. Whoever admits defeat first… must grant the winner one request. How about it?"
He looked at the silent Imbibitor Lunae. "Dragon Lord? What do you think?"
Dan Feng, "…"
His face darkened; he couldn't help complaining internally.
What did he think? He thought this idea was terrible.
'Who at this table could outdrink you?!'
Bai Heng, sitting next to Jingliu, normally never missed a chance to join a conversation, but once he heard it involved drinking, he shut his mouth instantly.
The fox-woman knew she couldn't hold her liquor and didn't join. Her gaze swept over and caught sight of the paper bag hanging from Jingliu's chair.
But Jingliu didn't seem aware of it.
Bai Heng stared at her, ears flicking as he desperately tried to signal with his eyes. Only then did Jingliu notice the bag.
She picked it up, opened it, and found a single pink flower inside.
She thought and thought but couldn't figure out the meaning.
Earlier, Jingliu had told Zero that in private, he could do whatever he wanted.
She just didn't know how his mind had twisted again.
So when she talked with him, she paid extra attention, carefully analyzing his intentions.
When Zero asked about weapons, she connected it to the three hairpins that could kill Abundance spawn and that big bouquet of flowers he'd given her.
Jingliu didn't know how many cycles he'd spent, but she knew she couldn't let him keep spending money on her.
She told him directly she didn't need weapons, and Zero dropped the subject.
She thought it was over.
But… what did this flower mean?
Was today some special day?
Jingliu turned her head to look at him.
He and Yingxing were currently ganging up on Dan Feng, trying to pull him unwillingly into the bet.
Dan Feng closed his eyes, set down his teacup, and said, "Fine. But the request cannot be made by the three of us. Someone else must make it."
The dragon lord didn't even need to think to know what Zero would ask of him.
The others understood immediately.
If Zero lost, then the request would have to be made by Jingliu.
Dan Feng looked at Bai Heng. "If I lose, Bai Heng may command me to do one thing."
He trusted that reliable Bai Heng wouldn't make things difficult for him.
Bai Heng was eating as he listened. Hearing his name, he froze, then nodded.
Yingxing was full of confidence. He looked at Jing Yuan with certainty, "Then I choose Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan was so startled his chopsticks nearly slipped. He instinctively looked at Zero, it wasn't impossible to make peace with him.
With Zero's drinking capacity… their victory was basically guaranteed.
Jing Yuan was delighted and immediately made his request to Yingxing, "Then I want you to finish making my sword faster!"
Yingxing snorted. "That depends on Zero and Dragon Lord. Hurry up and eat, we'll start after."
Zero turned to Jingliu with a pleading smile, "Miss Swordmaster, if I lose, please go easy on me."
Jingliu's lips curved faintly. She gave him a light glance and picked up her chopsticks to place food into his bowl, "If you have time to beg, you should spend it eating more to pad your stomach."
As she served him food, she asked, "Is today… some special day?"
Couples usually exchanged gifts on special days.
Jingliu thought for a long moment but had no clues, so she simply asked.
Zero put down his chopsticks and shook his head, "It's not a special day. I just saw the flower shop and thought you'd like it, so I brought a flower."
Jingliu froze for a moment.
Zero glanced under the table and saw her hand resting on the chair, just close enough.
Resting his chin on one hand, he used his other hand, hidden by the table, to hook his pinky around hers.
"Looks like I haven't been giving you enough normally. It's just one flower, you don't have to think too much."
He looked at her softly and asked, "Do you want me to win?"
'What do you want me to do?'