If I can't send zongzi, I'll just send a wife instead.
…
Stelle didn't go for killing blows; she merely beat the troublemakers until they temporarily lost the ability to move—as a warning.
If they dared bring more people next time…
Well, her Flame Spear wasn't exactly dull either.
From Leon's past memories, she had witnessed his countless battles and deeply understood the principle: when thunderous action is required, never hesitate.
Walking that path had benefited her in every way.
It was just that most of Leon's experiences were heartbreaking, full of twists and turns, constantly enduring loss after loss.
Perhaps it was her decisive, no-nonsense fighting style that thoroughly intimidated the schemers pulling strings behind the scenes.
After the Alchemy Commission dock, the two followed Huanxi without encountering further obstruction.
Dragonvista Rain Hall.
"Sigh, you two are way too slow."
Bailu stepped forward, hands on hips.
"This lady has been waiting here for you forever."
Stelle poked her head out from behind the two and grinned.
"No choice. Too many people on the way wanted to catch up with Dan Heng."
Bailu's eyes lit up.
"It's you, Stelle! Long time no see. How come you're here too?"
Huanxi: "Miss, on the way we encountered…"
Stelle immediately cut her off.
"—We ran into quite a few old friends of Dan Heng's. They were so enthusiastic we couldn't refuse, so we got delayed."
Dan Heng understood Stelle's intent and gave Huanxi a subtle look.
Huanxi could only swallow her words and not mention what happened at the dock.
"I am Dan Heng. Greetings, Lady Bailu." Dan Heng stepped forward.
"No need to be so formal. I heard you split the ancient sea here—super impressive."
Bailu waved casually and looked up to study his face.
"Let me take a good look… Hmm, you've got dragon horns on your head too. They say you're Dan Feng's reincarnation. Looks like it's true?"
"Hey, why don't you have a tail like me?"
"Uh…"
Dan Heng's expression froze, looking slightly troubled.
"If I made you the High Elder, would a tail grow?" Bailu's little face flashed with curiosity.
When the topic turned to this, Dan Heng slowly shook his head.
"I have no intention of involving myself in the matter of the High Elder succession."
"I came here to repair the Ambrosial Arbor seal. That is the duty of the Luofu Vidyadhara—and also… your duty."
Bailu's little face drooped. She spread her hands.
"Then coming to see me is useless. Ever since I hatched, I've only studied some healing arts at the Alchemy Commission."
"Repairing seals, parting the seas—I can't do any of that."
Dan Heng: "I wish to take this opportunity to speak with Lady Bailu about the events of the past."
"I heard about your situation from the General. Though I currently have no solution and cannot make promises, I will try to do something."
Bailu was simple-minded. Having endured strange looks in the past, she was very satisfied with Dan Heng's attitude.
"Not bad, not bad. You speak honestly and seem trustworthy—unlike those other adults who hide knives in their words. So, shall I go with you to Scalegorge Waterscape?"
Dan Heng nodded. "That would be excellent."
"Then let's set off."
Bailu was a little eager.
"Huanxi, just wait here for a bit. I'll be back soon. With them protecting me, don't worry."
…
The journey was smooth as well. The group soon arrived in front of the Ambrosial Arbor paradise.
"Whoa, it's huge. This is the Ambrosial Arbor?"
Bailu stared wide-eyed at the dragon-shaped profound root.
Dan Heng nodded.
"Yes. Forming the seal and using dragon power to suppress the root's spread—that is the heavy responsibility entrusted to the Luofu High Elder."
"No one ever told me any of this."
Bailu's tone suddenly turned despondent.
"Looks like the elders already knew full well I'm not fit for this position."
Stelle gave a cold laugh. "But they still need you to sit in this position—as a figurehead High Elder."
"That way, it's convenient for them to pull strings in the dark. Their abacus beads are practically jumping."
"I was just won—cough, never mind."
She found it strange that Jing Yuan didn't intervene.
But then she thought: maybe it wasn't that he didn't care, but that he couldn't find a proper reason to interfere?
The Xianzhou natives and the Vidyadhara were allies, not a simple superior-subordinate relationship.
Even as General, he probably couldn't casually meddle in Vidyadhara internal affairs.
Bailu didn't mind the half-spoken remark and let out a quiet sigh.
"Since this lady has no qualifications whatsoever, why did Dan Feng choose me back then?"
Stelle looked at Dan Heng.
Dan Heng gave no reaction.
Even what Dan Feng had specifically done in his previous life, he only knew roughly through General Jing Yuan's retelling.
Why Bailu was chosen—he had no idea.
However—
"Lady Bailu, that is also the answer I seek by coming to Scalegorge Waterscape to meet you."
"The High Elder is the existence among the Vidyadhara closest to immortality. According to records, completing the High Elder succession requires a secret ritual known as the Dragon Transformation Wonder."
"In addition, there is a heavy artifact regarded as the dragon heart."
"Once the succession is complete, the previous High Elder forms an egg and hatches anew, while the new High Elder reveals their draconic form."
"Yet Dan Feng's ritual failed. His power remained within me… and for some reason, it also created you."
Hearing these events of the past, Bailu couldn't help but sigh.
"It sounds like Dan Feng was a quack doctor who arbitrarily changed prescriptions."
"Now look—he ruined himself and ruined others too."
Dan Heng: "I wish to take the opportunity of repairing the Ambrosial Arbor seal to see if we can awaken your memories and mine—"
…
Time shifts slightly backward.
On the other side—Fyxestroll Garden.
"General, based on the known information you provided, I have a bold guess."
Leon placed down the chess piece in his hand.
"Please, I'm all ears."
Jing Yuan stroked his chin, seemingly pondering his next move.
"Allow me to reorganize the information you gave me—"
Leon ran through his thoughts once more and spoke slowly:
"The High Cloud Quintet: you, Jingliu, Dan Feng, Baiheng, and Blade's former self—Yingxing."
"During the Sudden Chaos, Baiheng sacrificed herself, using some terrifyingly destructive object that nearly killed the borisin."
"Foxians live no more than three hundred years; battlefields are always accompanied by sacrifice. You and Jingliu accepted that fact."
"But Dan Feng and Yingxing suddenly had an idea."
"No one knows who the mastermind was, but they used borisin flesh together with the Vidyadhara's Dragon Transformation Wonder in an attempt to revive Baiheng."
"The result was the creation of a powerful calamity dragon that caused great turmoil and wantonly slaughtered Xianzhou people."
"Dan Feng and Yingxing were helpless. In the end, your master Jingliu arrived and personally put an end to the monster her former comrade had become."
"Because of this, Jingliu soon fell to mara, Dan Feng and Yingxing were captured, and the High Cloud Quintet fell apart."
"But that monster did not die completely. Instead, it turned into a Vidyadhara egg—that is, the current Healing Dragon Girl, Lady Bailu."
At this point, Leon raised his eyes to meet Jing Yuan's gaze.
"After a Vidyadhara High Elder succeeds, They will relive the Dragon Ancestor's past in dreams. Yet she has none—she is a complete dreamless one."
"Still, she possesses the abilities a High Elder should have, such as summoning thunder and controlling water."
"The Vidyadhara's internal diagnosis claims this is due to damage to the dragon heart or incomplete execution of the Dragon Transformation Wonder as a side effect, correct?"