Thanks to the Martial Arts Ceremony, the entire Central Starskiff Haven center had turned into a seething mass of people.
Shouts, laughter, the drone of starskiff engines, faint festive music in the distance… every sound crashed together, battering their eardrums.
March 7th couldn't help exclaiming,
"This place's never been this lively! There are so many people today I can barely hear myself think!"
Stelle tried to pick Yanqing out of the crowd.
"Yanqing said the general sent him to meet us—so where is he?"
"Instead of flailing around like headless chickens, let's wait for him at the Loom."
Dan Heng suggested, then explained,
"It's the most eye-catching landmark on the wharf."
After much jostling they finally reached the Loom, en route bumping into two tourists from Penacony, a Pixie and an Automaton, hunting dream material on the Xianzhou.
They called Stelle over and asked what sights were worth seeing; Stelle pointed them straight to the Sacred Tree and told them to climb it.
One dared suggest, the other dared listen—and off they went.
Bai Luan watched their rapidly retreating backs.
Mm… He silently crossed himself for those two 'action-oriented' artists.
He trusted the Cloud Knight's would do their work.
At last they spotted Yanqing not far away.
Yanqing waved and shouted,
"Everyone! I see you—over here!"
After more squeezing they finally reunited with him.
"Everyone! Long time no see!"
Yanqing noticed Bai Luan and surprise flickered in his eyes:
"I hadn't expected Mr. Bai Luan to come as well."
Bai Luan smiled and said,
"Had nothing better to do, so I came to enjoy the buzz."
"It doesn't feel that long since we left, but Yanqing, have you…?"
March 7th studied him for a moment.
Under her scrutiny Yanqing asked curiously,
"What is it, Miss March?"
"They say kids sprout up when you blink and become unrecognizable. Yanqing, have you… grown a bit taller?"
The question left Yanqing stunned.
Dan Heng folded his arms and told March 7th,
"We only left a short while ago."
To long-lived species that span of time is nothing, let alone enough to grow.
Stelle wore a suddenly thoughtful, solemn expression.
She stepped forward and, before Yanqing could react, gently pinched his cheek.
E"h?, what are you doing?"
Flustered, Yanqing's cheeks reddened; he stared at Stelle in bewilderment.
"Sorry."
Stelle withdrew her hand, rested it on her hip, and gravely explained,
"Back-to-back adventures have made me paranoid; whoever greets us first on a new world gets checked."
Yanqing rubbed his chest and said,
"You're suspicious of even me?"
"Remember, last time we reached the Loufu the first to greet us was—"
Stelle left the sentence unfinished, but March 7th and Dan Heng's faces darkened.
Clearly a bad memory had resurfaced.
Watching their wary, almost PTSD-stricken manner, Bai Luan inwardly shook his head.
Hats off to the legendary stiff-neck queen Phantylia—one crick and the Astral Express Crew remembers for life.
Look what that did to the kids.
Hearing Stelle, Yanqing nodded:
"Understood—better cautious than sorry."
Sensing the mood dip, March 7th shot her hands up and declared,
"Aah—let bygones be bygones! Let's talk about something happy."
She gazed at the packed Central Starskiff Haven and said,
"Seriously, this is the first time I've ever seen Luofu this crowded."
Dan Heng added,
"I'd worried the ceremony was too soon after the crisis, but looking at the Central Starskiff Haven now, the general's timing was right."
"Among these crowds are folk from other Ship, plus some travelers from afar."
Hearing "travelers from afar," March 7th remembered the two brave souls Stelle had sent to climb the Tree; she gave a nervous laugh, eyes darting, voice tinged with guilt:
"W-well… we already noticed…"
Yanqing caught her unease and asked with concern,
"Miss March, you look… unwell. Are you all right?"
"N-no! Nothing! Really nothing!"
March 7th waved her hands frantically, silently praying those tourists wouldn't make trouble—and if they did, that they wouldn't name their source.
Seeing she insisted she was fine, Yanqing let it drop and continued,
"With the ceremony imminent, the Central Starskiff Haven's traffic has jumped several-fold; the Cloud Knights' security workload has multiplied."
Security was several times busier than usual... March 7th listened, feeling even more guilty, as though she could already picture the Cloud Knights working overtime because two tourists try to climb the Ambrosial Arbor.
Yanqing's gaze landed on her face again.
"Miss March, are you really all right?"
March 7th waved her hands once more.
"I-I might've eaten too many of Pom-Pom's jump-special pastries on the Astral Express this morning; they're sitting a bit heavy!"
Thinking fast, March 7th clutched her stomach and forced a smile.
"Haha, it's nothing, really—don't mind me! Honestly!"
"All right, then."
Yanqing steered the conversation back on track:
"The general said that for Luofu to rise again after the disaster, we need this Martial Arts Ceremony."
"It showcases our might, steadies the people, boosts morale, and gives us a chance to invite allied guests, fostering trade and peace."
"The general's always been like that; without him, Xianzhou Luofu couldn't have recovered so quickly from the crisis. Even the Xianzhou Alliance attaches great importance to this ceremony—both Zhu Ming and Yaoqing have sent envoys to congratulate us!"
Stelle scratched her head, curious.
" Zhu Ming and Yaoqing? Other Xianzhou?"
Seeing Stelle's curiosity, Yanqing gave a quick primer on the other Xianzhou.
"Useful knowledge acquired."
Stelle nodded, then suddenly clutched her head, frowning and muttering.
""y head itches—feels like a brain's about to sprout..."
March 7th shot her a speechless glance and told Yanqing,
"Ignore her; she's always this scatterbrained. Yanqing, where we go to next?"
"Ah, sorry for my rambling. The general asked me to escort you all to the Shen Che Palace for a short visit; he hasn't seen you in ages and wants to hear about the Astral Express's recent happenings." (I did start playing the game recently, but i'm not even 1 hours in game yet, so what the name of general mansion residence?, this shen che? things always appear on Chinese hsr fanfic, google search nit exactly helping with yhis one either)
Just then, fierce roars sounded in the distance; several on-duty Cloud Knights reacted instantly, sprinting toward the noise.
"All units, form up! Protect the civilians!"
Yanqing's brow knitted; his sharp eyes tracked the knights, voice turning grave:
"I'm just saying street security can't slip—and now something happens?"
He spun around, fist-in-palm toward Stelle and the rest, apologetic:
"Sorry, I need to check it out first."
Stelle looked at March 7th, who caught the look.
"Hey! Don't blame my jinxing! I feared something might happen, and it did, but it's not my fault—totally separate!"
Dan Heng stepped forward.
"We're coming with you."
Bai Luan smiled and added,
"Convenient—I can fight pretty well too."
Yanqing nodded gratefully.
They wove through the fleeing crowd and finally saw the source of the panic.
A pack of unshackled Borisin—quite a few, were tangling with the Cloud Knights who'd just arrived.
Though the knights outnumbered them, protecting civilians while fighting left them stretched thin.
The scene was chaos; many Cloud Knights had already fallen.
Yanqing charged in, sword drawn, rescuing a knight about to be slashed by a Borisin.
"Guard the civilians—I'll handle him."
Stelle and the others drew their weapons, ready to join the fray.
Nanomachines surged over Bai Luan, swiftly armoring him.
He scanned the field: aside from Yanqing's spot, several other areas needed help.
The least-bloody option was...
Stelle's group moved to engage, but the Borisin in front of them staggered as if struck, then collapsed.
Stelle stared at the fallen Borisin, puzzled, then an idea popped into her head:
"Are they faking to lure me in?"
Unfortunately, the guess was wrong.
Cloud Knights rushed to shackle the Borisin; even restrained, they didn't rise again.
Stelle grew more puzzled, then thought of Bai Luan.
"Uncle, these Borisin are acting weird—any ide—"
She turned just in time to see Bai Luan dismiss his full armor, pocket watch in hand.
With a light flick he snapped the lid shut; the watch vanished.
"Uncle has no idea either."
Bai Luan smiled and shrugged.
"Maybe they just got sleepy?"
...