Akivili thought it over carefully.
Why had their best friend asked them to do this?
Could it be... that he wanted them to take over the identity of "Zero"?
With a guess forming in their mind, Akivili asked their friend to confirm it.
"You want me to take your place and carry out this plan for you?"
Zero nodded.
"Yes."
Akivili didn't ask why.
After thinking for a moment, they quickly agreed, then asked, "Why choose 'Thanksgiving'?"
"They chose it." Zero's gaze wandered across the many refreshments as he answered casually, "Maybe they thought it'd be more interesting on that day."
Akivili narrowed their eyes and picked up their knife and fork, cutting the sausage on their plate into smaller and smaller pieces until the fork could no longer pick any of it up. Only then did they stop.
Deliberately choosing Thanksgiving...
Their intentions were truly malicious.
Zero picked a shrimp dumpling.
He placed one into his own bowl and one into Jingliu's, then asked seriously, "Akivili, do you like the script where you save the Luofu?"
Akivili didn't understand.
Wasn't the point to take the hatred in their friend's place? Why did it suddenly involve saving the Luofu?
"A protagonist who returns after being reborn needs a grand enough entrance." Zero smiled. "You, the 'Cloud-Wandering Arbiter of Fate,' turn the tide in Scalegorge Waterscape and save the Luofu from a Lord Ravager."
Jingliu silently picked up a shrimp dumpling and took a bite.
Using the Xianzhou to build up a Aeon? Letting foreign enemies enter Scalegorge Waterscape?
The more he talked, the more absurd it sounded.
There was no way Zero would let the people of the Xianzhou face that kind of danger.
The original plan had clearly been for Zero and the many avatars of the Elation Aeon to lure the enemies into a pocket dimension, where elite forces prepared in advance would wipe them out.
Unfortunately, this time when Zero tore off the roof, he also dug out the foundation.
Even Akivili hadn't realized the problem. They shook their head repeatedly.
"What? How can that work?"
This was the Xianzhou.
It was the utopia their best friend had built with countless years of effort.
What right did they have to step all over the Xianzhou?
Besides, both the Aeon and their companions had saved countless worlds.
They had received kindness and experienced malice.
They didn't need praise, nor did they care about empty fame.
Akivili's expression grew more and more serious.
Zero looked at them, sounding troubled.
"Then how should I thank you?"
The moment she heard that, Jingliu knew she had guessed correctly.
Her lover was too busy to spare the attention needed to carry out the plan, so he had asked Akivili for help. Taking this opportunity, he intended to thank the Aeon by offering a reward the Aeon couldn't refuse.
That way, the Aeon would accept the company's shares.
Zero lowered his eyes.
"Fine. I know money can't measure the achievements of the Nameless, much less compare with you..."
Akivili frowned and corrected his wording.
"Us."
Zero paused, then changed his words.
"Mm, us."
"I really couldn't think of what to give you. I thought about it for a long time, and in the end I chose that gift. I didn't expect it to trouble you..."
Zero looked up at Akivili and said seriously, "I'm sorry. I couldn't think of a better gift."
No matter how dissatisfied Akivili had been with Zero's approach, after hearing those words, more than half of those feelings disappeared.
That's right. They should have realized it long ago.
Just looking at the prizes from the Xianzhou annual meeting should have been enough to understand.
Besides, back then their friend had been the Marshal of the Xianzhou. Why would he ever need to prepare gifts personally?
The Aeon shook their head.
"My friend, you don't need to apologize to me."
"How could that be?" Zero frowned slightly. "Then... let's treat this incident as a gift for the 'Cloud-Wandering Arbiter of Fate.'"
Akivili held their forehead.
"...There's no need."
Zero ignored them and took out his jade abacus as though preparing to notify the Luofu's upper ranks.
"Only an entrance shocking enough can match your identity."
Having run out of ideas, Akivili looked to Jingliu for help.
Jingliu shrugged helplessly.
Akivili quickly stood up and snatched the jade abacus from Zero's hand.
Not wanting to pry into their friend's privacy, they simply pressed the lock button.
Holding the jade abacus, the Aeon finally understood.
"That trick of tearing off the roof doesn't work on me."
Zero fell silent.
He brought up the same question again.
"Then how should I thank you?"
"Do we really need to thank each other?" Akivili sighed. "As long as you need me, I'll do it."
Zero's eyes lit up.
Akivili said coldly, "Oh, except for the company's shares."
Zero pretended to think for a moment before saying, "Then how about transferring the shares to our Imbibitor Lunae?"
Jingliu thought to herself, What's the difference? It's just moving them from one hand to the other.
Zero looked worried.
"He's not on the Luofu, and there aren't even any clan members by his side to serve him..."
Akivili agreed without hesitation.
Never mind Imbibitor Lunae, whom they barely knew. Even if the High Elders divided the shares among themselves, they wouldn't mind.
As long as they weren't given to the Express, everything was negotiable.
Zero smiled in satisfaction.
He introduced himself softly.
"Akivili, my identity is the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
"Codename..."
His eyes flickered as he said each word clearly, "'The Red Star of the Snowfield.'"
After discussing the shares and finishing the meal, Jingliu bid farewell to Zero and the Aeon before setting off for the camp.
The once-famous High-Cloud Quintet had gradually retired. Now only Jing Yuan still remained at his post.
Baiheng had been the first to submit her resignation. She traveled alongside Daiyang as the two of them ventured into the sea of stars.
Jingliu came next. After filling an entire drawer with medals, she accepted an easy position in the Cloud Knights.
Whenever the mood struck her, she'd head to the Cloud Knight camp and exchange a few moves with the Cloud Knight officers.
Then came Dan Feng. After reincarnation, the High Elder made the same choice as Baiheng and became one of the Nameless.
Among the three long-life species, Yingxing, who had originally been short-lived, ended up leaving the latest.
After obtaining part of the High Elder's power, Yingxing devoted himself to medicine. He saved countless wounded on the front lines and gradually became a pillar of the Luofu's Alchemy Commission.
Then one day, Yingxing submitted his resignation.
The decision shocked everyone in the Alchemy Commission.
Jingliu and the others weren't surprised.
Compared to healing people, Yingxing clearly preferred forging.
Afterward, the Alchemy Commission's leadership tried several times to persuade him to stay. In the end, they reached a compromise.
Yingxing only needed to spend half a day each week seeing patients at the Alchemy Commission. The rest of his time was entirely his own.
Once today was over and Yingxing finished this week's work at the Alchemy Commission, they could all gather for a drink.
Thinking about that, Jingliu arrived at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
The Cloud Knights she passed saluted her one after another. She gave a slight nod and quickly made her way to the officers' training grounds.
Jing Yuan often complained that the General's Office didn't have enough funding, always hinting that Jingliu should go easy on them.
She had no choice but to hold back her strength.
Even so, the training grounds still couldn't withstand her techniques.
The General's Office's expenses didn't decrease one bit.
After a while, Jing Yuan got used to it.
After all, Zero's five-thousand-year book was there to back them up. It was enough to cover the General's Office's expenses for generations.
As usual, Jingliu exchanged a few moves with the officers and answered their questions before heading to the courtyard where Jing Yuan was.
Jing Yuan was sitting alone in the pavilion, playing chess against himself.
When he saw Jingliu, he returned the chess pieces to their starting positions.
Jingliu sat across from the board and picked up one of the pieces first.
"The Cloud-Wandering Arbiter of Fate will carry out Zero's plan in his place on Thanksgiving."
Jing Yuan froze.
After the Reignbow Arbiter attended Zero's wedding, now the Cloud-Wandering Arbiter was doing Zero's work...
Jing Yuan closed his eyes, suppressing his shock, then changed the subject to the wine from yesterday.
"Master, where did that jar of wine yesterday come from?"
Jingliu glanced at him.
"You gave it to me."
"Me?" Jing Yuan was confused at first, then his eyes widened. "A parallel world?"
Jingliu nodded.
Jing Yuan immediately became interested and repeatedly asked about the parallel world.
"What was the parallel world like? Is the Luofu doing well? What am I doing?"
Like reciting a menu, he rattled off the names of the other four members one after another.
Jingliu's gaze rested on the chessboard.
"Not much is different."
"Come on..." Jing Yuan deliberately dragged out his tone. "How could there not be any difference?"
Seeing that Jingliu was still staring at the chessboard, he asked again, "What about Zero? What's Zero doing? Our Alliance didn't become an Empire, did it?"
Jingliu looked up.
Jing Yuan lounged lazily with one hand supporting his chin, his upper body leaning bonelessly against the stone table.
There wasn't the slightest trace of a general about him.
He didn't look like the Divine Foresight General admired by everyone on the Luofu.
He looked more like the young Cloud Knight the four of them had watched grow up.
Just a few days ago, he had been bickering with Yingxing.
In the past, Jingliu always got a headache whenever she saw Jing Yuan's grinning face.
Now...
It was quite good.
Jingliu composed herself and urged Jing Yuan to make his move.
Jing Yuan blinked.
'Why is Master unwilling to talk about the parallel world?'
'Could it be... something happened to them?'
He continued asking.
Left with no choice, Jingliu said, "You're still the general."
Jing Yuan wasn't surprised by that answer and asked about the Luofu and the Xianzhou.
"The Luofu is doing well. The Alliance is still the Alliance." Jingliu thought for a moment, omitting part of the truth. "Your career goes smoothly, and you'll also gain the support of the entire Vidyadhara race."
Jing Yuan's expression turned strange. Pointing at himself, he hesitated before saying, "I took Yingxing's place and became a Vidyadhara?"
That was impossible. The Vidyadhara had never produced a general.
"No." Jingliu had no intention of saying more. "That's enough. There's nothing else to tell."
Hearing that, Jing Yuan focused on the game.
If Master didn't want to talk about it, then he wouldn't ask.
Besides, what did the affairs of another world have to do with them?
Before long, Jingliu put down her chess piece and cleanly ended the game.
Jing Yuan watched her leave.
Not long afterward, a guard came before him, saluted, and reported that the Cloud-Wandering Arbiter of Fate had arrived.
Startled, Jing Yuan hurriedly got to his feet to receive the guest.
He quickly arrived at the front courtyard and met the Aeon.
The other party said, "General Jing Yuan, may I borrow your Divine Foresight?"
Jing Yuan thought, 'You aren't planning to look for the Reignbow Arbiter, are you?'
Just as he was thinking that, the Aeon spoke again.
"I'm looking for..."
They suddenly stopped. Apparently considering Jing Yuan's feelings, they changed their wording midway.
"Your Reignbow Arbiter."
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