"The Ambrosial Arbor is of immense significance. It's normal for the Xianzhou to be cautious about matters related to it, but..."
Dan Heng looked at the fully armed Jing Yuan and the rows of starskiffs behind him, then at the stern-faced, murderous-looking Cloud Knight army behind Jing Yuan, seemingly ready to charge into battle against Abundance followers at any second. He couldn't help but voice his confusion.
"We're just going to take a look around the Ambrosial Arbor. Isn't this a bit...?"
"No matter, no matter. The Luofu has already announced an emergency response drill for special unforeseen circumstances today. All residents have cooperated with evacuation drills and are now in safe locations. No need to worry about them being scared by this situation,"
Jing Yuan waved his hand, smilingly indicating Dan Heng shouldn't worry about it.
"After all, the galaxy isn't exactly peaceful nowadays. Even the Xianzhou has frequently encountered riots recently. We're just taking this opportunity to conduct a drill or two, reminding the populace not to lose vigilance."
"Really?"
"Naturally."
Although Jing Yuan appeared calm and composed, as if his conscience was clear about his words, Dan Heng's expression still gradually turned subtle.
Why did he feel like Jing Yuan was guarding against them...?
So sad. Can't there be some trust between people!
The reputation of their Express crew as righteous companions echoed throughout the universe! Weren't they praised for their public spirit and helpfulness everywhere, from Jarilo-VI to Penacony and the Xianzhou?
Now Jing Yuan actually suspected their Express crew would use the Ambrosial Arbor to cause trouble on the Xianzhou, even mobilizing such a large force... They were just going to the Arbor to see if any information related to Twilight remained, not preparing to use the Arbor to start The Great Rebellion of Imbibitor Lunae 2.0—
Thinking of a certain issue, Dan Heng's expression froze, gradually becoming guilty.
...Um, although he had no related memories, according to Caelus, before the world's causality was altered, he seemed to have actually caused The Great Rebellion of Imbibitor Lunae 2.0 Plus version?
Jing Yuan's combat power wasn't exceptionally strong, but he was a genuine Emanator of The Hunt. Although unable to retain memories, perhaps he had a faint sense of déjà vu and intuition about past events. Considering this, Jing Yuan's subtle attitude towards their request to see the Ambrosial Arbor this time became understandable.
In fact, if this was true, the fact that Jing Yuan still agreed to let them approach the Ambrosial Arbor truly made him an iron-clad brother.
Sigh, the kindness of the High-Cloud Quintet... even after molting rebirth, it still helps me. Can never repay it...
Thinking this, Dan Heng felt slightly moved, patted Jing Yuan's shoulder, then turned and walked towards the other members of the Express crew.
Between good brothers, no more thanks are needed. He surely understands.
Watching Dan Heng turn and join the other Express members, Jing Yuan just smiled.
...Holy crap, did he pat me twice because he's planning something? If I knew this would happen, I should have insisted on keeping Huaiyan and Feixiao as guests on the Luofu for two more months no matter what!
If they really intend to cause trouble... Sigh, now they even have an Emanator of Nihility with them. Can I handle it?
"Dan Heng, is everything settled on the Xianzhou side?"
As the navigator, Himeko also had to consider the safety of the Express crew members. Although allies, facing the situation of being suddenly surrounded by a large Xianzhou army naturally warranted concern about the reason.
"Rest assured, it's just a Luofu-wide safety drill conducted opportunistically," Dan Heng nodded, indicating it wasn't a big issue.
"Good. Then what we need to do now is enter the Scalegorge Waterscape later and make contact with the Ambrosial Arbor."
Himeko's gaze fell on Caelus, instructing, "Caelus, this task still falls to you. Back on Jarilo-VI, only you could resonate with the information of other Stellarons... You must be extremely careful."
"..."
"Caelus?"
Caelus, standing there silently, only seemed to snap back to reality after being poked twice by March 7th beside him. "Ah, don't worry, I... I will."
The next moment, Caelus quickly roused his spirits, appearing as if his mood had been adjusted by Clockie back in Penacony, becoming highly enthusiastic. He confidently clenched his fist, waved it towards the sky, then took the lead, walking towards the entrance of the Scalegorge Waterscape. "Alright, let's go! Let's go bring Twilight back!"
Behind Caelus, Welt watched his extremely optimistic back, pushing up his glasses, hiding the complex emotions in his eyes.
For an old elder who cared about the children, watching a junior walk towards despair right before his eyes felt terrible. But what else could he do now?
Should Welt speak up and stop Caelus, make him cast aside the hope right before him, give up the search for Twilight? Disregarding how much stimulus this would cause Caelus, just based on Welt's understanding of him, the other would absolutely not agree. Welt didn't think he could persuade him.
The current Welt... honestly speaking, didn't have deep feelings for the Twilight who only existed in Caelus's words. Although reason and memory judged that Twilight was indeed a companion he was once extremely close to, but... after all, he no longer remembered her. Though inexplicable emptiness and bitterness occasionally flickered in his heart, those feelings weren't strong enough to influence his judgment yet.
Welt knew that if he still possessed his former memories, he would likely share Caelus's same obsession and determination. But there's a saying that memory is the true manifestation of a person's soul. Now that he lacked those memories, the feelings and bonds with Twilight naturally couldn't be easily rekindled.
Precisely because he understood this, Welt knew very well that the current him couldn't empathize with Caelus. Using his own so-called rationality to measure others' emotions was an arrogant, foolish, and disrespectful act.
A certain man he detested immensely had done similar things before, even saying things like 'You lost your father, but you still have me' after causing the death of someone's father... Such reasoning, justifiable purely from logic and benefit, only added fuel to the fire when combined with the element of emotion.
In the current situation, if they didn't stop Caelus, then when he finally stood before the truth, unable to escape anymore, he would likely suffer a huge blow, right? But after a period of pain, he should be able to move on... After all, no matter how deep the love, it was just one year of being together, right?
It wasn't like a partner who spent decades or even a lifetime side-by-side. Losing them, while painful, should be endurable... probably.
Welt didn't know if his judgment was correct. After all, the current him lacked memories from before the world changed, wasn't quite clear how deep Caelus and Twilight's feelings truly were. He could only hope everything remained within controllable limits.
Anyway, even if Caelus really couldn't accept it later and went berserk, with Jing Yuan and Acheron, two Emanators here, plus himself, Himeko, and Dan Heng the High Elder, subduing him shouldn't be a problem.
Hopefully, Caelus would be calmer then...
At this moment, Caelus had already taken the lead and reached the entrance of the Scalegorge Waterscape. His steps hesitated for an instant, but finally, as if fully prepared, he strode inside with determination.