While Bai Luan and Jing Yuan were exchanging small talk, the tension between Yanqing and Yunli was indeed growing thick with the smell of gunpowder.
"Young lady, has no one taught you that 'taking without asking is stealing'? If you insist on letting swords do the talking... fine, just the two of us, one-on-one, right now..."
Yanqing's brow furrowed slightly, his hand already resting on his sword casket. The sharp edge of youth intertwined with his obsession with protecting his own weapon, making the atmosphere instantly fraught with tension.
Jing Yuan noticed the escalating friction and looked toward Yanqing.
"Yanqing!"
Yanqing was stopped by Jing Yuan, but Yunli refused to back down and continued.
"Hmph, that's more like it. You'd better be careful; I'm not as easy to deal with as those Borisin."
Huai Yan looked at Yunli.
"You shut up too! Hurry up and apologize to him!"
Bai Luan smiled at the sight.
The scene looked like two kittens hissing at each other.
『We usually call this state of mind the 'Old Geezer Mentality.'』
You're the Old Geezer! You're the real Old Geezer here!
Bai Luan rolled his eyes at the System in his mind.
Clearly, Jing Yuan was about to attend to official business, so he shouldn't disturb them any longer.
He silently stepped back from Jing Yuan's side.
If it really came down to who was more of an Old Geezer, the System, which had lived for who knows how many years, was the biggest Old Geezer present.
He had stayed in the Little Black Room for an unknown amount of time, and the System had seen it all from start to finish—and that was likely just a drop in the bucket for its 'System life.'
『Did I ever tell you?
I'm a new-generation system equipped with an emotional module』
Yeah, so?
What's your point?
『I'm just saying, is there a possibility...
...that in our species, I'm actually quite young?』
Stop making me laugh, will you?
[Sigh, why don't you believe me when I tell you the truth?
Have you forgotten how it feels to tell the truth to the whole world only for no one to believe you?』
Doesn't matter, Argenti believes me.
What about you?
Who can you find to believe you?
[『he words 'ungrateful' are written all over your face.
If I'm an Old Geezer, then my mentor, who is much older than me, must be... Eh, Mentor, why are you here... I didn't mean it like that...』
The System temporarily disconnected; it would probably take some time to return.
Well... hope the System is okay. (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ
Hahahaha.
By the time Bai Luan snapped back to his senses, Jing Yuan and Huai Yan had mostly settled the dispute between Yanqing and Yunli.
Jing Yuan arranged for Yanqing to take the guests from the Astral Express to their reserved inn to settle in and rest.
As for Yunli, she was clearly more interested in finding Lingsha than going to an inn.
Lingsha... that was a name he hadn't heard in a while. Back then, she had accepted that bullet and taken the responsibility of overcoming the Mara-Struck condition upon herself. He wondered how she was doing now.
Since Bai Luan arrived in honkai: star rail, the only person he had seen consistently contending with the System's power was Herta in the Little Black Room.
Now that another group of people was coming to contend with the System's power, Bai Luan was quite curious to see how far they could go.
Bai Luan made up his mind, found Stelle, and said:
"Stelle, I'm going to see a friend I know on the Xianzhou. I'll be back in a bit."
"Eh? Uncle, you're not coming with us?"
Bai Luan looked at Stelle and asked:
"Where are you guys heading next?"
Yanqing, standing nearby, answered for her:
"The General has instructed me to escort everyone to the inn to settle down."
"To the inn?"
I doubt that.
Although Yanqing was supposed to lead Stelle and the others to the inn, in reality, they would end up going to confront Scott.
Well... if he went to find Lingsha, he would surely run into them again before long.
Destiny will bring us together again.
"You guys go ahead with Yanqing first."
Bai Luan smiled at Stelle.
"I'll regroup with you all a bit later."
Seeing that Bai Luan's mind was made up, Stelle nodded.
"Alright then, Uncle, be careful."
"If you run into any interesting trouble on the way, don't forget about me."
Bai Luan winked, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
"Just give me a shout anytime, and I'll be sure to show up quickly."
"Hehe, got it, Uncle!"
Stelle replied with a smile.
Yanqing stepped forward and cupped his fists in a salute to Bai Luan.
"Then, Yanqing will take Stelle and the others to the inn now."
"Alright, see you later."
Bai Luan waved his hand.
After watching Yanqing leave the The Seat of Divine Foresight with Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng, Bai Luan turned and walked back toward Jing Yuan and Huai Yan.
"With me here, it might be inconvenient for you to discuss certain official matters concerning the safety of the Luofu or Xianzhou internal affairs."
Bai Luan got straight to the point.
"So I don't plan on staying long. I'll just ask one thing and then head out."
Huai Yan looked at Bai Luan with some surprise. This young friend's way of speaking was truly... direct and blunt, without any beating around the bush.
"Haha, your speech is as straightforward and frank as ever."
Jing Yuan chuckled, seemingly not minding at all.
"As for that..."
Bai Luan shrugged and said casually.
"I might have been influenced by my lover. She never liked talking in circles..."
In the Space Station, Ruan Mei, who was preparing for an upcoming experiment, gave a strange look to Herta beside her, who had suddenly burst out laughing.
She hadn't asked Herta to accompany her; rather, Herta had said the experiment sounded interesting and showed up uninvited, occasionally chiming in with her own views.
Did I get a step wrong?
"Cough... let's move past that topic."
Bai Luan quickly pulled the conversation back on track and looked at Jing Yuan.
"Where is Miss Lingsha now? I want to see how the progress on her 'project' is going."
Jing Yuan gave Lingsha's location to Bai Luan and said:
"I know Miss Lingsha usually stays there, but as a healer, she is very busy and often goes out for consultations or to gather medicinal ingredients.
To avoid a wasted trip, you'd better send her a message and say hello first."
He crossed his arms, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"If you ask beforehand and still miss her, you can't blame me."
"You're quite thorough."
Bai Luan nodded.
"I'll contact her in a bit."
Jing Yuan looked at him and suddenly spoke again:
"Are you really not going to tell me what that list you gave me earlier actually is?"
Bai Luan responded with a smile, his eyes clear, but he remained silent.
"...Fine."
Seeing this, Jing Yuan knew he was determined to keep him in suspense and could only give up helplessly.
At that moment, Huai Yan stroked his long beard, looked at Bai Luan, and spoke:
"Young friend Bai Luan... this old man is a few years older, so I'll take the liberty of calling you that. I hope you don't mind?"
"No problem."
Bai Luan replied readily.
"Respecting the old and loving the young is a traditional virtue worth promoting."
"Haha, then this old man shall call you so."
Huai Yan smiled, his expression then becoming a bit more serious.
"While I was on the Zhu Ming, I also heard of your deeds on the Luofu. As a craftsman, I can't help but be curious about that miraculous creation of yours..."
He paused and asked the question that many people wanted to know, but perhaps only a master craftsman of his status and vision would ask so directly:
"Young friend Bai Luan, how... exactly did you do it?"
Facing Huai Yan's question, Bai Luan was silent for a while before he smiled.
"That was just a casual creation by a genius."
Huai Yan was stunned for a moment upon hearing Bai Luan's reply, seemingly not expecting such an answer.
But then, he let out a laugh.
"A 'genius' indeed. Coming here this time has truly allowed me to witness the style of a genius; it has been a real eye-opener."
Bai Luan also smiled and said no more. He gave a casual wave to Jing Yuan and Huai Yan, turned around, and left the main hall of the The Seat of Divine Foresight with a light step...