Qi Zhimu looked toward the sound of the opening door and met the gaze of Dan Heng, who was standing at the entrance of the party carriage.
Judging by his surprised expression, he had clearly seen Ms. Herta kissing him.
Even though he saw it, he would act as if he hadn't; Dan Heng didn't express an opinion, but that sentiment was written all over his face.
"Hello, Ms. Herta."
"Hello to you too."
Ms. Herta was in a rather good mood, returning the greeting for once—something that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances.
Dan Heng did not linger, passing the two of them to enter the next carriage.
As he brushed past Qi Zhimu, he secretly scrutinized his profile out of the corner of his eye, thoughts swirling in his mind as he pondered.
March 7th had a lively personality and a greater desire to share than anyone. Not long ago, she told him that Qi Zhimu had treated everyone on the Astral Express to a jar of homemade plum blossom wine that didn't make one drunk.
Because the taste was so lingeringly delicious, the wine was finished before anyone even thought of him in the Express's Data Bank.
March 7th told him about this partly out of her desire to share and partly with a small sense of apology, but in his ears, it triggered many memories of his past life to flood his mind.
The mentor of the Luofu's Sword Master, the uncrowned sword champion of the Xianzhou Alliance, the hero known as the Crimson Flash—Qi Zhimu.
He also brewed plum blossom wine after his retirement, and that wine also didn't make one drunk.
They both shared the name Zhimu, and both could produce similar wine; the coincidences were piling up.
If only there were some wine left; even though several hundred years had passed since his previous life, he still remembered that unique taste.
Unfortunately, none remained.
Since Lord Zhimu boarded the train, during their daily interactions, his logic, personality, and background showed no similarities to that person from the Xianzhou.
Welt once said that in this galaxy, there exist countless people with similar appearances yet who are vastly different.
Even if the experiences and life trajectories of these look-alikes are similar, they are essentially not the same person.
Himeko also mentioned during a chat once that when she first met Welt, before she could even introduce herself, he blurted out her name.
If it were just the name, it could be explained by coincidence, but even the surname was accurate.
Though Dan Heng still didn't know what Himeko's surname was, as she almost never mentioned it.
Not long ago, Dan Heng felt it was necessary to contact Jingliu to inform her that someone similar to that person from back then existed.
He didn't have Jingliu's current contact information and had originally planned to write to Jing Yuan to have him pass on the message.
He never expected that upon entering the party carriage today, he would see a scene that, if told, would keep the entire galaxy gossiping for a long time.
...Ms. Herta's true body actually took the initiative to kiss a man.
He didn't know what history Ms. Herta and Lord Zhimu shared, but anyone with half a brain knew that to make a genius fall in love, it could never be some cliché, run-of-the-mill love at first sight.
There must be unforgettable experiences and a deep bond built to form such emotions.
...Jingliu is over eighteen hundred years old. Is it really a good idea to inform her that someone very similar to her master exists?
If it's not the same person, what would she think?
Treat him as a substitute?
No... she wouldn't.
Based on his understanding of Jingliu, she was definitely not the type of person who would self-hypnotize and choose to invest emotions in a substitute to numb herself and escape reality.
Informing her about a Zhimu who is not Qi Zhimu would be a form of disrespect to her.
Unless this current Lord Zhimu is the reincarnation of the Qi Zhimu from the Xianzhou back then.
But is that possible?
He was a Vidyadhara himself and knew well that only the descendants of Permanence could enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn through hatching.
Not to mention that Qi Zhimu was not a descendant of Permanence; even if he were, his body and soul were utterly destroyed in that battle with Shuhu, with not even ashes remaining. How could he reincarnate?
The Transmutation Arcanum cannot create a person out of thin air. When his past life, Dan Feng, used the Transmutation Arcanum on Bai Heng, if even a pinky finger had been missing from Bai Heng's body, it would have resulted in a disastrous failure with unknown consequences.
Sigh...
Dan Heng gave a silent sigh.
—Zhimu is not Qi Zhimu.
If he were, there would only be one possibility: an Aeon had intervened.
Jingliu's life had been too bitter; from childhood to adulthood, she had been constantly facing loss: her family, her home, and finally her master...
He couldn't add more trouble to his past life's comrade. Besides... he is Dan Heng, not Dan Feng.
When the Vidyadhara undergo the hatching rebirth, the grudges and affections of the past life are wiped clean. Thus, he didn't really want to get involved with his past self anymore.
...
That day, all the communication communities and small circles, large and small, in the Herta Space Station experienced a massive earthquake.
No matter which group it was, one could see a photo that was clearly censored but might as well not have been.
Even a pet dog could recognize it: Ms. Herta was walking into her office, holding a man's arm with a beaming smile.
It was her real self, not a puppet!
The sensation was even greater than being attacked by the Antimatter Legion.
In less than a few minutes, this matter had circulated among all the staff members of the Space Station.
It was limited to private post-meal gossip; no one dared to talk about it during work hours or in public places.
Are you kidding? Anyone who could be so close to the great Ms. Herta, regardless of the actual relationship, was not someone the staff members could afford to offend.
In the Supply Zone, the enthusiastic good citizen Miss Stelle had just finished Arlan's commission. When she opened her chat group, she saw the following messages.
[Ms. Herta Solo-Stan Association]
[Tireless Destroyer: Ultimate explosive news! Ms. Herta suddenly appeared, arm-in-arm with a tall man! /Image/]
[Unlicensed Pilot: Holy crap! It's actually a high-def photo, but what's the point of blurring the face? It's like burying your head in the sand, right?]
[Melon Field Badger: /Stunned.jpg, I don't believe it! Some brat must have Photoshopped this! I can't even imagine anyone worthy of Ms. Herta if I rack my brain.]
[Mars Robot: Is the person above stupid? Which idiot would be so obsessed that they'd dare do something like this?]
[Name Unknown: That's enough. Using Ms. Herta for Photoshopped rumors? Are you looking for a death wish?]
Stelle clicked on the image in the group chat and couldn't help but be stunned.
The man's figure was incredibly familiar—it was Qi Zhimu. She had seen him many times these past few days and could recognize him.
The woman holding his arm was a first for her, but she was equally familiar—she was practically a scaled-up version of the Herta Puppet.
She was quite a bit taller, her hair was much longer, and her hat was larger, having changed from a beret to a pointed wizard hat.
As for the parts that hadn't changed much, it was probably that if she looked down she could see... cough, that's impolite.
What Stelle didn't understand now was how Qi Zhimu had taken a liking to Herta.
Herta's personality wasn't bad, it was just a bit too terrible. Could he handle her... wait!
Stelle stared intently at Herta's blurred face, then suddenly moved her phone further away, barely making out her expression from the fuzzy facial contours.
She should be grinning.
March 7th's most common expression was this one, a very sweet smile.
In all her long... well, she was just born not long ago, so it was normal to have seen little.
[Face Tanking Ults: Why don't we discuss when the Space Station staff will get to drink their wedding wine?]
[Name Unknown: Say less. If Ms. Herta wants to know these chat records, she doesn't even need to do it herself—just one word. Whoever says the wrong thing and upsets her, face the consequences yourself.]
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