It's over. Is my time up? Has my mental state become so severe that I'm seeing hallucinations like this?
Jing Yuan looked at the familiar figure not far away, the person who constantly echoed in his memories, occasionally appeared in his dreams, and even manifested in his hallucinations when his mental state was poor.
At this moment, Jing Yuan suspected that his mental state had reached the point where hallucinations were appearing before his eyes. He tremblingly took out the biscuit Caelus had left behind before departing from his inner pocket and shoved it into his mouth, attempting to stabilize what he believed to be his spiraling mental state. After all, it was not yet time for him to collapse. He had to hold on! The Luofu could not continue to suffer such turmoil at this time!
Yanqing had not yet grown up, and Fu Xuan was not prepared to take over the position.
The Luofu still had many matters to handle. He could not fall, he could not go mad, he had to hold on!
"Jing Yuan!"
Seeing Jing Yuan in such a state, Baiheng was startled and quickly ran over to support him, asking anxiously, "What's wrong with you? Why is your mental state so poor, and why is your face so pale? Did something happen? As I thought, letting you bear the mistakes left behind by the four of us alone was too much for you, wasn't it?! Lord Caelus! Please, take a look at him!"
Caelus just glanced over from a distance and said calmly, "He is fine. He just thinks he saw the ghost of a dead person and believes his mara has flared up, scaring himself into this state. In reality, there is nothing wrong with him."
"Huh?"
Jing Yuan also calmed down, clearly feeling the sensation of his arm being supported. He turned his head and looked at Baiheng, whose eyes were filled with apology and concern.
"What exactly is going on?"
"The specifics are complicated to explain. In short, I was resurrected by Lord Caelus, and I know about what happened back then. Jing Yuan, I'm sorry. It has been hard for you all these years."
Jing Yuan stared blankly at Baiheng for a long time, then turned his head to look at Caelus, who was calmly watching them from afar. After taking a deep breath, he said, "What price do I need to pay?"
"You should know that after my dream was forged, among those related to Baiheng, who would be the first to experience it, and who would have the ability to provide sufficient compensation for me to retrieve someone from the past... If you can give me an old written record of all the events concerning Lan, the Aeon of The Hunt, from back then, I can provide you with some help to restore your mental state, allowing you to hold on a bit longer."
Caelus had already collected payment from Blade and Dan Heng. Dan Heng had copied various materials he had been organizing since boarding the Astral Express for Caelus, while Blade had obtained a set of technical data on Aether Editing from Silver Wolf.
"Very well."
Jing Yuan nodded and agreed immediately. Although such an item was indeed very precious, his mental state truly needed adjustment. Otherwise, if he experienced another similar event, he was afraid he might truly fall to mara.
"Jing Yuan, I've been dead for so many years. Has the Luofu changed a lot? Of the people I used to know, how many are still around?"
"I heard you also took on an apprentice. Introduce me. Let's see if they have your flair from back in the day."
Jing Yuan took Baiheng and walked away into the distance. At this moment, Dan Heng walked over, stood beside Caelus, and said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. I also got what I wanted. How is your mental state? She is still quite worried about you."
"It's fine. I'm just thinking about how to avoid this situation in the future. In our subsequent journey, perhaps we will encounter enemies with abilities similar to yours. I don't want to experience this kind of thing again, so I'm thinking about how to avoid it."
"Then keep it up. After all, your adventure still has a long way to go."
Dan Heng remained silent.
"Father!"
At this time, two figures, one tall and one short, one male and one female, ran toward them. One of them was Ao Xiaotian, who had already reached a height of 1.6 meters and looked a bit more grown-up. Beside Ao Xiaotian followed Bailu, who was still as small as ever.
The two of them gave the impression of a big brother taking care of a little sister.
"Father! Where is General Jing Yuan? Weren't we supposed to meet here? Why hasn't he arrived by now? Did he get lost at the crossroads of life?"
Ao Xiaotian looked around, did not find Jing Yuan, and asked with some confusion.
"He has his own matters to handle. An old friend he has not seen in a long time has returned. We won't disturb him. Ao Xiaotian, take these people from the Express crew and continue giving them a tour of the Luofu. I also have my own business to attend to, so I won't be joining you."
"Understood."
Even though his heart was filled with boundless reluctance, wanting to stay with his father, his creator, Ao Xiaotian could not refuse the order given by his father.
After nodding earnestly, he turned to the group from the Astral Express, who had just stepped out after giving them space, and said, "Trailblazers of the Astral Express, last time, due to the Stellaron crisis, I couldn't properly show you around the Luofu. Now that the Wardance is about to be held, as a representative of the Vidyadhara, I shall be your guide. Please, follow me."
"Caelus, see you later!"
Stelle waved at Caelus and then left with Ao Xiaotian, while Caelus nodded at them one by one, then turned and walked in another direction.
After Jing Yuan took Baiheng for a tour of the Luofu, he returned to his Seat of Divine Foresight. The fatigue from their long-awaited reunion made him feel drowsy, so he closed his eyes, preparing to take a short nap.
In his dream, Jing Yuan abruptly found himself in a bamboo forest, sitting in a small pavilion. Before him was a stone table set with wine.
"Where is this..." As Jing Yuan wondered why he was having such a vivid dream, a sound suddenly reached his ears.
"I really didn't expect that you, kid, would become a General."
A voice that sounded like a weary middle-aged man spoke, and an older man with wrinkles on his face, looking somewhat aged, walked out of the bamboo forest and sat by the stone table.
"...You've worked hard all these years. I'm sorry."
The Vidyadhara High Elder said this, then sat down at the side of the stone table and picked up a wine cup.
"Hey! Am I dreaming?!" Baiheng said boisterously, then ran into the pavilion.
"Baiheng." A cold female voice rang out. Baiheng turned around as if startled, seeing a familiar woman staring at her with eyes as sharp as swords.
"I didn't expect that my future self would become a General. Or rather, in the future, only I am left on the Luofu!" A youth with fluffy long hair walked out from the side with a bitter smile.
"...Hmph." A snort sounded. The five of them looked over at the same time and saw a figure emerge from the bamboo forest.
"Oh, it seems my younger self is indeed quite striking! Hahaha!"
Yingxing laughed, raised his wine cup to Blade, who had appeared in the distance, and said, "Let's have a drink together. I've never experienced the feeling of drinking with my younger self. Ah, no, you are drinking with your older self. To you, I am the younger one."
"Has my condition worsened to this extent?" Jingliu, appearing not far away, looked at the scene and said this while clutching her head.
"No, this is clearly a method created by that fellow who recently crafted an eternal dream. As for the reason, it should be for Jing Yuan's sake."
Dan Heng said this with his arms crossed, watching this marvelous scene, then exchanged a look with Dan Feng, who was sitting in the pavilion.
At this moment, the past High-Cloud Quintet met the future High-Cloud Quintet.
(To be continued.)
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)