"Master's hands are not clean. In this matter, you still have room for regret," Qi Zhimu's voice was quite low.
"I only want Master, I don't care about anything else!" Jingliu blurted out.
Qi Zhimu didn't think much of it and nodded slightly. He reached out to gather a lock of her ice-colored hair, the comb's teeth slowly passing through the strands.
Jingliu couldn't feel the warmth of her master's fingertips, but she could feel him gradually withdrawing his oppressive aura.
He was carefully, and somewhat clumsily, combing her hair.
The gazes of the countless people around her seemed to vanish from her world, leaving only the sound of slight breathing behind her and the soft rustle of the wooden comb through her hair.
Her long hair was coiled into a capable bun, but it was also stained with a dark blood color because of it.
Yet no one would think that those bloodstains defiled the young girl's coming-of-age ceremony.
That was the blood of the Xianzhou's great enemies; instead, it was a different kind of symbol of honor.
Using the blood of enemies to bestow the will of the Cloud Knights upon the younger generation.
Qi Zhimu took a hairpin from the tray and steadily inserted it into Jingliu's coiled bun.
The ceremony was complete.
But Qi Zhimu did not stop. He took out a neatly folded dark blue satin ribbon embroidered with flowing cloud patterns.
Bending down slightly, the scent of blood on his hands brushed past Jingliu's face.
The blue ribbon was tied beneath the hairpin, its long streamers falling among Jingliu's hair, adding a touch of capability and taking away some of her fragility.
Jingliu couldn't help but turn her head, her eyes shimmering with moisture.
Looking at the girl who had grown up quite a bit, and seeing the look in her eyes that was different from when they parted, Qi Zhimu's face, which had been expressionless for over two years, twitched at the corners of his mouth in an extremely stiff manner.
He seemed to want to smile, yet it didn't look like a smile.
Perhaps after two years of bloody battles, he had forgotten how to smile.
"Blue suits you."
At this moment, Jingliu felt a warm current flow from the top of her head straight to the bottom of her heart.
All the waiting, all the worry, found their place within the knot of this blue ribbon.
"...Thank you, Master."
She closed her eyes, letting tears slide down and drip onto Qi Zhimu's blood-stained combat boots.
And welcome back, Master... Night, Alchemy Commission.
Several doctors were performing tedious post-war check-ups on Qi Zhimu, while Jingliu stood quietly to the side.
General Wind of Evil was also present.
After listening to Qi Zhimu's detailed oral battle report, they finally learned why the Expeditionary Team had been gone for two years.
The reason was not complicated. On their return journey, they happened to pass through an unknown star system and captured a large amount of imaginary energy from the Path of Abundance.
After entering that star system, the Expeditionary Team found a new population of Abominations of Abundance.
They looked like horses yet also like oxen, with thick skin and flesh, and their healing speed was nearly identical to that of the Borisin.
A single horn grew from the top of their foreheads, possessing a strange ability to interfere with communication frequencies and emit electromagnetic pulses that destroyed communicators.
Not only the Xianzhou's jade message system, but even the IPC's Interastral Peace Communication would be disrupted.
This completely unknown new population of Abominations caught the Expeditionary Team slightly off guard.
Had they not been massive, lacking in agility, and not very intelligent, the difficulty of exterminating them would certainly have been high.
A species capable of causing interference to communication equipment posed a massive strategic threat.
The Yaoqing Xianzhou cooperates closely with the IPC; currently, these Abominations of Abundance have been added to the IPC's hostile list, and they are working together to research ways to counter their abilities.
Unable to maintain contact during battle, many tactics could not be executed efficiently.
To maximize the preservation of combat power, the Expeditionary Team chose a relatively conservative tactic, gradually encircling and hunting the Abominations.
After a bit of research on those Abominations, Qi Zhimu temporarily named them Named Abomination.
He also discovered that the single horn of the Named Abomination seemed to possess an even more powerful ability, capable of unilaterally blocking certain hard-to-describe deep connections.
For example, the connection between brain commands and limbs.
During that extermination battle on the return journey, many Cloud Knights' movements were inexplicably half a beat slow, clearly affected by the Named Abomination.
"General, in addition to the abilities mentioned above, I suspect the Named Abomination also has an impact on Synesthesia Beacons."
Qi Zhimu recalled the battle with those Abominations and said with some uncertainty.
"But there is no intelligent civilization in that world, so it cannot be verified."
"Have any live specimens been captured?" Wind of Evil asked.
"Yes, but we didn't carry enough containment equipment when we set out. We only brought back fewer than two hundred heads, which have currently been delivered to the Alchemy Commission's Abomination Research Department."
"The sample size is too small..."
Since no intelligent civilization exists in that world, generally speaking, there is no immediate need to completely exterminate those Abominations.
The exception is if the threat is immense.
Many conjectures flashed through Wind of Evil's mind, and he asked tentatively, "Does the Named Abomination cause great damage to the world's ecosystem?"
"Yes. Based on the speed at which different Abominations destroy ecosystems, I'm afraid in less than half a year, that world's biosphere will be completely destroyed, leaving only the Named Abomination as a single species."
No wonder.
Receiving Qi Zhimu's confirmation, Wind of Evil showed a look of realization.
Qi Zhimu continued unhurriedly:
"The Expeditionary Team's equipment and navigation resources have suffered severe combat losses, making it impossible to thoroughly investigate whether the Named Abomination or other Abomination species still exist in that star system."
"At Yaoqing's current cruising speed, it is estimated that we can reach that star system in 26 days."
"As for how the subsequent hunting operations will be arranged, I will leave that to the General to decide."
"Hmm, let the Alchemy Commission research the Named Abomination for five days and wait for a basic conclusion before deciding," Wind of Evil had a plan in mind.
Having served as General for nearly a hundred years, he was already proficient at handling such matters.
"In the next two months, near the Yaoqing's route, only the unknown star system you mentioned has Abominations. There's no rush for now."
Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at the silent girl and sighed inwardly.
Too few people survived Azure City.
A person always needs to find something to rely on to live. The girl has not yet begun to face cruelty firsthand.
With her relatives long gone, her only reliance is her master, Qi Zhimu.
"You have performed great service by leading the expedition this time. According to the regulation that Cloud Knights must take leave after major combat operations, you shall rest for two months and spend more time with your disciple."
"Thank you, General."
"Thank you, General, for your concern for my master."
The master and disciple spoke one after another.
Wind of Evil waved his right hand slightly: "I am merely acting according to regulations. I still have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."
Jingliu was very sensible and saw the General off on behalf of Qi Zhimu.
Another half an hour passed, and the tedious post-war check-up finally ended.
"Lord Zhimu, there is nothing unusual with your body. You may leave."
"Thank you for your trouble."
"You are too kind; it is my duty."
The master and disciple boarded a starship. On the way home, Jingliu turned on the autopilot and looked at the flow of starships passing by outside, but her peripheral vision unconsciously drifted toward Qi Zhimu.
She wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.
Seeing that they were getting closer and closer to home, the words Jingliu had been brewing for a long time turned into a different topic when they reached her lips.
"Master, when will I be able to go on an expedition to hunt Abominations with you?"
...I actually wanted to say that I missed Master very much...