"Huh?!"
Bai Heng's fox ears snapped upright so fast it was like she'd been hit by lightning. She stared at Wei Qing as if he'd just spoken in tongues.
"Say that again?"
"You want me to quit my job and join the Stellaron Hunters?!"
She scooted backward on the bed, eyes wide with disbelief, then pointed at him like he was a dangerous lunatic.
"Wei Qing, did you drink yourself stupid?! I'm a Xianzhou foxian—an actual pilot in the Sky-Faring Commission!"
"And you want me to become… become a wanted criminal hunted across the entire universe?!"
"'Wanted criminal' is such an ugly word." Wei Qing waved a hand dismissively. "We Stellaron Hunters are saving the universe."
"I don't care what you're 'saving'!" Bai Heng raked her fingers through her hair in pure frustration. "What the hell are you thinking?! Do you really think I'd sink to your level? Or do I look like the kind of person who'd betray the Xianzhou?!"
"Don't make it sound so harsh." Wei Qing's tone stayed annoyingly calm.
"Bai Heng—wasn't your dream to roam the stars and live as a Nameless?"
He leaned forward slightly, the same effortless persuasion he'd used on countless people over the centuries.
"Honestly, the Stellaron Hunters and the Astral Express are basically family."
Bai Heng's face twisted.
"…Family my ass."
But Wei Qing continued, rolling right over her reaction.
"Our work is real interstellar travel. We go everywhere. We witness civilizations rise and fall. We get involved in—sometimes we even decide—the fate of entire worlds."
He spread his hands as if presenting the most obvious truth in existence.
"Isn't that a lot more exciting than staying in the Luofu and doing everything by the book?"
"Exciting?" Bai Heng laughed, sharp and incredulous. "Yeah, sure. Exciting as in getting chased every day!"
"Wei Qing, stop feeding me that big shiny lie. I'd like to live a few more years, thanks."
"And your Stellaron Hunter 'work'…" She paused, searching her memory for the official descriptions on those notices and reports. "Spreading Stellarons. Triggering disasters."
"How is that 'saving the universe'?"
"Surface-level thinking. That's all surface-level." Wei Qing raised a finger and shook it, eyes full of smug profundity.
"A Stellaron is disaster—and opportunity. Everything we do is to guide the universe toward a brighter future."
"I can guarantee that."
"Your guarantee isn't worth a single credit!" Bai Heng snapped back without hesitation. "You can't even explain your real purpose clearly, and you want to trick me onto a pirate ship?"
She hugged her tail tight, eyes narrow, every ounce of suspicion she owned focused on him.
"Wei Qing, I honestly don't understand you."
"One moment you're an Emanator of Destruction, the next you're an Emanator of Abundance, now you're a Stellaron Hunter."
"What are you really trying to do?"
"And you want to pull me in to do what—help you steal the Luofu's Stellaron?"
Her last sentence came out razor-sharp. Her gaze locked onto his face, searching for the smallest twitch, the tiniest crack.
Wei Qing held her stare for a few seconds, then let out a soft sigh.
"Steal the Stellaron?" he said. "That's part of the plan—but it's not the main reason I came to you."
His tone shifted—still casual, but a little less playful.
"Bai Heng. We're old friends, aren't we?"
"The Stellaron Hunters… we have two people who actually do field work."
"I need help."
His eyes flicked over her, irritation fading into something almost sincere.
"We need a skilled pilot. A navigator. Someone who can actually fly."
"Your talent is wasted in the Sky-Faring Commission."
"As for danger…" He paused. "Yes. It exists."
"But if I'm there, I'll keep you safe."
"And you've complained for years that Luofu life is too dull. That you want a wider sky."
He lifted his chin slightly, as if pointing beyond the ceiling, beyond the city, beyond the ship itself.
"Follow me, and you'll see more than just the Xianzhou Alliance's corner of the universe."
Bai Heng went silent.
She hated that she could feel it—the pull.
The endless starsea. Unknown roads. Adventures without a schedule stamped by bureaucracy.
Those had once been the brightest pieces of her youth, before duty and responsibility sanded her down.
Then she forced herself to breathe.
"Price," she said, voice quiet. Heavy.
"What's the price?"
"Becoming a traitor to the Xianzhou. Being hunted across the universe. Maybe never going home again."
"And maybe…" Her throat tightened. "…maybe having to face Mirrorliu, Jing Yuan, them—all of them—blade against blade."
She looked at him like she was trying to carve an answer out of his bones.
"Wei Qing—what kind of 'excitement' is worth trading that away?"
The room fell still. The candle crackled once.
Wei Qing watched her—watched the war in her eyes, the star-hunger fighting the weight of home and friendship.
He knew this wasn't something he could win with pretty talk.
So he used something sharper.
"If I told you…" Wei Qing said slowly, "that joining us would let you understand why Qingzhou became Wei Qing—"
"And why Wei Qing chose to become a Stellaron Hunter in the end."
"The whole truth."
He leaned closer, voice dropping into something intimate and dangerous.
"Including… what I saw."
"About the universe's future."
"About an 'End' that might not be beautiful at all."
Bai Heng's pupils tightened.
For a heartbeat, her anger slipped—replaced by instinctive fear, and worse: curiosity.
Qingzhou's past. Wei Qing's betrayal. The contradictions behind everything he'd done.
All the knots she'd never managed to untie.
She swallowed, throat dry.
"…What did you see?" Her voice trembled despite herself.
Wei Qing didn't answer directly.
"Some things lose their meaning if you speak them out loud."
"Or they… change. In ways you can't predict."
He tapped his temple lightly.
"I can only tell you this: what we're doing is a race against a fixed 'End.'"
"And the Luofu's Stellaron is a key piece."
He held her gaze, steady and unblinking.
"You've wanted to know why I left."
"You've always suspected I had another motive."
"Then come see it."
Not my explanation. Not my excuses.
"The answer you witness with your own eyes."
"That's worth more than any promise, isn't it?"
Bai Heng's heart hammered like it was trying to break free.
She hated him.
She hated how well he knew her.
And she hated—most of all—that a part of her was genuinely tempted.
In the end, she squeezed her tail tighter, like it could anchor her to reality.
"I… I need time," she said, forcing the words out. "To think."
Wei Qing didn't look surprised.
He smiled, and the lazy, infuriating ease returned to his face like a familiar mask.
"Of course."
"This is a big choice. You should be careful."
Then he glanced toward the window, where the sky was already beginning to lighten.
"But time doesn't wait."
"The Luofu's little play… will end sooner or later."
He looked back at her.
"Give me your answer before I leave the Luofu."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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