(T/N):HEY GUYS, sorry for suddenly disappearing without giving out a single update, lots of unexpected things were happening is all
I also did some translation corrections in some of the past chapters that people commented on
And worry not, Ill be getting back to posting daily chapters every 1-2 days!
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Medical Room (Temporarily converted from a storage room)
"It's too terrifying!! That wasn't coffee at all! It was a chemical weapon! Liquid nightmare!!"
Stella clutched an empty cup, her face pale green, curled up in a chair and still trembling slightly.
On the small table in front of her sat Bailu's iconic little medicine gourd.
"What kind of incredible thing did you actually eat?"
Bailu withdrew her small hand from checking the pulse, then looked at Stella's tongue coating (Stella cooperatively stuck out her tongue, her expression still horrified), her delicate jade horns swaying in confusion.
"The pulse is chaotic, the Qi and blood reversed for a split second, there are traces of slight burns in the stomach, and a strange evil Qi—a mix of charred bitterness, cloying sweetness, and pungency—lingers... This doesn't look like normal food poisoning. Did you sneakily eat Pom-Pom's detergent formula?"
"It was Sister Himeko's... special blend coffee..."
Stella squeezed these words out through her teeth with all her strength, her eyes hollow, as if recalling some indescribable horror.
"I only took one sip... just one sip... and I felt like my soul was being flushed down the drain..."
"Himeko's... coffee?"
Bailu tilted her head, clearly lacking any knowledge of this "Astral Express specialty."
She shook her medicine gourd and poured some emerald-green liquid, which emitted a fresh medicinal fragrance, into Stella's cup: "No matter what it was, drink some more of this 'Heart-Clearing and Viscera-Purifying Decoction.' It can accelerate the expulsion of that evil Qi and repair your stomach. Don't go drinking strange things next time!"
Stella treated it like a precious treasure, picking up the cup and gulping it down. The coolness of the medicine finally suppressed the strange burning sensation remaining in her throat and stomach.
"Move aside! It's my turn! Doctor! Save me quickly!"
Before Stella could put down her cup, she was nudged aside by a foot.
Stelle was seen clutching her stomach, her face also somewhat pale (though better than Stella's), as she staggered into the chair in front of Bailu with an exaggerated "I'm not going to make it" expression.
Bailu skillfully repeated the diagnostic process, then poured the same amount of liquid from the medicine gourd into another small cup and handed it to Stelle: "The symptoms are similar, but milder. Drink up. Next time, remember, Himeko's kindness... can be appreciated in other ways."
Stelle quickly took it and, without a word, gulped it down, a look of relief appearing on her face.
Stella rubbed her stomach, which was still aching slightly, and looked toward the connecting door of the carriage, muttering thoughtfully: "I wonder... how those few are doing with their'sparring' in the training carriage..."
Her tone carried a hint of anticipation for the spectacle and relief at having escaped the ordeal herself.
At this very moment, inside the training carriage.
The atmosphere... was slightly solemn, yet carried a touch of bizarre absurdity.
Clang—!!!
A crisp, loud metallic clash erupted, seemingly enough to shake off dust!
In the center of the arena, Jing Yuan held that symbolic Formation Blade, clashing against the tip of Dan Heng's cloud piercer!
The air currents whipped the corners of their clothes.
However, the stalemate lasted only a moment.
In the next instant, Dan Heng's wrist flicked, and cloud piercer parried and lunged with an exquisite angle!
Jing Yuan felt an overwhelming force that his current physical constitution couldn't withstand. His palm went numb, and he could no longer hold the Formation Blade, which flew out of his hand!
Whoosh—Thud!
The Formation Blade spun in a parabola and accurately... pierced the apple on top of the training dummy's head. Bai Heng had placed it there earlier for fun, and the blade's hilt was still vibrating slightly.
Meanwhile, the tip of Dan Heng's cloud piercer had stopped steadily three inches in front of Jing Yuan's throat, radiating a chilling aura.
Jing Yuan looked at the spear tip before his throat, then glanced at the "decorative blade" with the apple on the dummy's head, showing an extremely helpless, almost amused expression.
He raised both hands, signaling his surrender: "Sigh... my skills are inferior, I admit defeat."
"Sigh..."
At the edge of the arena, Jingliu stood with her sword held against her chest. She was expressionless, but she let out an almost imperceptible sigh and raised a hand to her forehead, as if unable to watch.
This disciple of hers was full of strategies when fighting, but once pulled into a pure contest of physical fitness and basic martial arts, especially against a practical fighter like Dan Heng, he was a bit...
"Master, I really can't help it."
Jing Yuan walked back and spread his hands, his tone innocent.
"The physical fitness of this body is what it is; I can't win in a head-on clash. And as for martial arts proficiency... Master, you know best."
He was a "Strategic General," not a "Brute General"!
This kind of close-quarters combat and basic skill drill was not his main battlefield.
"Yes, I understand."
Jingliu nodded, her voice cold, but she didn't seem to have any intention of blaming him.
She stepped aside, revealing the scene in the rest area behind her—
Mydei and Yanqing were piled together in a very ungraceful posture, slumped on the mats. Each had a large bump on their head, and their eyes had turned into dizzy swirls; they had clearly lost consciousness.
It seemed that before Jing Yuan and Dan Heng's sparring, these two newly arrived bellicose individuals had already challenged Jingliu. The result was self-evident; they had been "taught" quite thoroughly.
To the side, Yingxing was clutching a training sword he had found temporarily, shivering in the corner with a face full of despair: "Why... why do I, a blacksmith, have to be dragged here to practice basic swordsmanship?! Is this reasonable?! I'm not a swordsman!!"
He felt that he had only been passing by the training carriage wanting to watch the fun when he was locked onto by Jingliu's "impartial" cold gaze and forced to take a sword to correct his grip... What an undeserved calamity!
"Sister Jingliu! That 'Flowing Shadow Sword: Moon-Breaker' move just now was so cool! Just two strikes and those two little guys were knocked out!"
Bai Heng was like a cheerful sparrow, hopping over to Jingliu's side with little stars of admiration in her eyes, completely ignoring the resentful Yingxing in the corner and the two lying like corpses.
Jingliu only gave a slight nod to Bai Heng's enthusiasm, but the icy sword intent surrounding her seemed to soften just a tiny bit.
Dan Heng retracted cloud piercer, but his gaze involuntarily fell upon the naturally interacting Jingliu, Bai Heng, Jing Yuan, and Yingxing in the corner, who was complaining but still watching them.
This familiar yet strange way the four of them interacted caused him a moment of daze, as if through them, he saw a corner of some scrolls buried by time.
"It's time to come back to your senses."
A calm voice sounded beside him.
Dan Heng turned and saw that Dan Feng had approached at some point, standing side-by-side with him, also looking at those four.
Dan Feng's profile was sharp, and his eyes were deep, carrying a weight that had settled over time.
"I am more or less aware of your situation."
Dan Feng spoke slowly, his voice not loud but clear to the ear.
"A shattered past, a sought-after present, and cherished bonds."
He paused and turned his gaze to Dan Heng. In those eyes, which were extremely similar to Dan Heng's yet bore a different weight, a complex emotion flickered—concern, understanding, and a certain resolve.
"Therefore, I understand your feelings for this train and for these companions on board."
Dan Feng's tone was steady and powerful.
"That is the 'present' you have chosen, the 'coordinate' by which you anchor yourself."
His gaze swept over Jingliu and the others once more before returning to Dan Heng's face, word by word, like a promise, or a warning and blessing across time and space:
"Continue along the path you have determined. Cherish the people before you, and hold tight to the spear in your hand."
"This time..."
Dan Feng's voice dropped low, yet it carried an unquestionable power:
"Absolutely, do not lose any more important dear friends."
Inside the training carriage, for a moment, only Bai Heng's quiet chatting and laughter, Yingxing's occasional grumbling, and Stella's distant, faint wail of "I'm never drinking coffee again" remained.
Dan Heng gripped cloud piercer tightly and, meeting Dan Feng's gaze, nodded slowly and firmly.
Some things need no more words.
Some resolutions have long been deeply planted.
And some excitement continues to unfold throughout the train.