Akivili froze.
What? His best friend needed His help?
That had to be something big enough to shake the universe.
He instantly threw the company shares to the back of His mind, His expression turning serious as He asked, "What happened?"
Jingliu and Zero stepped forward and took the seats opposite Akivili.
Seeing the Aeon's solemn expression, she couldn't help sighing to herself.
'Here we go again.'
The Aeon clearly hadn't seen through Zero's intentions.
From here on, the Aeon's train of thought would only be led around by Zero.
By the time this meal was over, He would probably accept the company shares willingly, exactly as Zero wanted.
As she was thinking this, Zero beside her let out a sigh.
"Sigh, I really didn't want to trouble you..."
Akivili frowned and said seriously, "Trouble? With the relationship we have, how could this be trouble?"
Zero looked hesitant. Seeing that, Akivili hurriedly continued persuading him, "Isn't it only natural for friends to help each other?"
Zero pressed his lips together before finally speaking.
"I'd like to ask you... to do something for me."
Akivili had no idea what he meant.
Do something for His best friend? What?
Zero's gaze grew distant, as though recalling something.
"The reason behind all this... probably goes back to when Lan became an Aeon."
Akivili listened quietly.
After learning about Lan's Path, His best friend had always wanted to broaden it.
Unfortunately, the Xianzhou Alliance's reputation was too well known, and not a single person took the bait.
After several thousand years, His best friend had finally found an opportunity.
Foreign enemies would enter the Luofu on the day of Thanksgiving Festival and seize the Ambrosial Arbor.
Akivili was speechless.
Leaving aside the special significance of Thanksgiving Festival.
Just considering the Xianzhou Alliance's extremely strict screening process...
Forget letting a person in, even a chicken served on a Xianzhou dining table had to prove its background was clean.
Just how much would they have to lower their guard to let enemies into the Scalegorge Waterscape on Thanksgiving Festival?!
This wasn't lowering the bar, this was opening the floodgates! They were letting in the entire sea of stars!
The corners of Akivili's mouth twitched.
Next, Zero began explaining the role he played in the plan.
Akivili's mouth fell open as He said in disbelief, "Wait, just how much did I miss?"
How had His best friend become a kept man?
Zero patiently answered the question.
The title "kept man" could be traced all the way back to when he and Jingliu had just started dating.
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had set their sights on him. They wanted to use public opinion to guide him into abandoning the Hunt and believing in the Abundance, so they sent two people to get close to Zero.
Not only did the two fail to persuade him, they instead became loyal followers of the Hunt.
Zero had them remain within the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and informed Tengxiao about the matter.
After the incident passed, public opinion settled down, and the outside world stopped arguing about it.
At most, when Zero got married, his coworkers at the Divination Commission teased him a few times.
It wasn't until Dan Heng graduated that public opinion flared up again, and the arguments never stopped after that.
Back then, Zero knew someone had taken the bait.
After waiting several hundred more years, the other side finally sent someone to approach him. The moment they opened their mouths, he was stunned.
Zero took a deep breath and told Akivili what the enemy was thinking.
Akivili: "..."
The Aeon set down His utensils and held His head in both hands.
He suddenly felt like He had lost the ability to think.
After a long while, He finally recovered and began repeating what Zero had just said.
"So what you're saying is, you, Zero, are now a descendant of Xian Zhiyu, the 'Father of the Xianzhou'..."
"Hua is obsessed with power, so she guards against you at every turn, afraid your existence will threaten her position..."
"So she ordered her subordinates to dismiss you from the Divination Commission, cut off your future, and completely push you out of the center of power?"
Jingliu bit her lower lip lightly, holding back her laughter.
Zero nodded, confirming Akivili's words.
Akivili was deeply shaken and stammered, "No, that can't be right."
"They... they believed it?"
Zero closed his eyes for a moment before nodding again.
"...They did."
Akivili pressed His lips together tightly, trying to hold back His laughter, making His expression look especially twisted.
Zero was helpless.
"All right. If you want to laugh, just laugh."
"Hahahahaha!"
Akivili stopped holding back and burst out laughing.
One hand slapped the table while the other pressed against His stomach in advance, knowing it would probably hurt after laughing so hard.
The Aeon laughed for a long time. Several times, He tried to say something, only for another burst of laughter to interrupt Him before He could speak.
Holding His slightly aching stomach with both hands, He found there were so many things to complain about that He didn't even know where to begin. In the end, He could only say to His best friend, "What were they thinking? It doesn't sound logical at all!"
"No, their deductions are perfectly logical." Zero shook his head. "They're well supported, they hold up under scrutiny, and they leave me... with no way to refute them."
Akivili's eyes widened, and He hurriedly urged him to continue.
Zero broke down the Xianzhou's situation as the foreign enemies saw it and explained it to the Aeon piece by piece.
Every assumption the foreign enemies made rested on one premise.
That Zero was a descendant of the "Father of the Xianzhou."
With that as the foundation, his relationship with Hua and with the Xianzhou became extremely delicate.
Akivili fell into thought.
Most people in power would never tolerate someone else shaking their position.
If the previous ruler's achievements couldn't be surpassed, and they had also left behind countless loyal subordinates and their bloodline...
The next ruler would have a difficult time.
Externally, they would gradually weaken the previous ruler's influence and legacy.
Internally, they would gradually push the subordinates left behind away from the center of power.
As luck would have it, His best friend had deliberately erased His own achievements, while His subordinates had voluntarily resigned and left the Xianzhou.
So what about the descendant in the enemies' eyes?
Nothing was easier than ruining a child.
Suppressing them? Too obvious.
The smartest approach was to indulge them in everything.
But what happened?
His best friend wasn't ruined at all. Instead, He passed the exam and entered the Luofu Divination Commission, becoming a diviner.
Then they could only change tactics.
They would use the Xianzhou's own internal rules to restrict His movements and block His future.
Senior officials of the Xianzhou, along with their spouses, were subject to many restrictions.
The most basic rule was that they could not leave Xianzhou territory without approval.
Besides the written regulations, there were also unwritten rules among the upper ranks.
To prevent people from abusing their power for personal gain, once one spouse held an important position, the other spouse's position would most likely remain unchanged.
As luck would have it, His best friend's lover was Jingliu, the Luofu's Sword Champion.
After steering public opinion for hundreds of years, labeling Him a kept man, then adding the identity of being the descendant of the "Father of the Xianzhou"...
Who wouldn't rebel?
Akivili was completely convinced.
The choice was reasonable, and the motive was flawless.
No wonder even His best friend couldn't refute it.
"This plan... is practically perfect!"
Akivili gave a thumbs-up.
"If you weren't the 'Father of the Xianzhou' himself, they really might have succeeded!"