Huohuo scratched the back of her head in confusion when she heard Ningguang's question.
"Adepti?"
Ningguang noticed the puzzled look on Huohuo's face and sensed something was off.
Could it be that Huohuo isn't an Adepti? But if not, why does she look like this?
Fortunately, Hu Tao quickly offered an explanation.
"Ningguang, Huohuo came from Luofu. You haven't been to Luofu, but over there, there are Foxian."
Upon hearing that, Ningguang understood—so Huohuo came from Luofu.
"I see. Huohuo, welcome to Liyue."
Huohuo smiled happily.
"Thank you."
Ningguang asked again.
"Huohuo, what brings you to Liyue?"
Huohuo replied,
"Well, I came to help Sister Hu Tao catch ghosts and drive away evil spirits."
Hu Tao nodded.
"That's right."
Ningguang smiled.
"Huohuo, if you ever need anything in Liyue, feel free to come to me.
Alright then, I have some matters to attend to. See you later."
Ningguang bid farewell and went on to inspect affairs at the harbor.
Hu Tao led Huohuo back the way they came. Along the way, she quizzed Huohuo on how many places and routes in Liyue she remembered.
Huohuo answered them all correctly but remained puzzled—why did Sister Hu Tao want her to memorize all these?
What did this have to do with catching ghosts?
Still full of questions, Huohuo asked,
"Sister Hu Tao, what does catching ghosts have to do with knowing the streets and alleys?"
Hu Tao gave a mysterious smile.
"Oh, it's very much related—super important, actually."
She glanced at the sky. The sun hadn't set yet, and dinner hadn't started at Ye Yun's place.
Hu Tao pulled out a stack of flyers and handed half to Huohuo.
"These are promotional flyers for our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. I had you memorize the streets so we can hand these out efficiently."
Huohuo took the flyers, still a bit confused.
"Sister Hu Tao, why are we handing out flyers?"
Hu Tao tapped the ones in her hand.
"To attract clients, of course! Huohuo, when it comes to ghost-hunting and exorcisms, one, we need techniques, and two, we need equipment, right?
Think about it—don't magical tools cost money? Don't we need money for food and daily needs?
Exactly, all of that costs money."
Huohuo suddenly understood.
So that's how it was. It made sense—after all, Lord Hanya said the little flags she used for exorcisms were expensive.
"I get it now! Huohuo will work hard to hand out the flyers!"
Hu Tao looked pleased.
"Very good! Since we still have time, let's get to it!"
With a cheer, Huohuo raised her flyers along with Hu Tao.
"Alright! Let's go!"
Then Hu Tao took Huohuo from door to door handing out flyers.
Huohuo found it very novel. At first, she was a bit scared and hesitant, but after a few houses, she got used to it and was handing them out even faster than Hu Tao.
The people of Liyue were long used to this. They'd often had Hu Tao hand flyers to them at their own homes.
In fact, getting a flyer was already fortunate—at least she wasn't barging in to pitch her services.
Luofu, inside the Divination Commission.
Jing Yuan was entertaining several distinguished guests.
"Long time no see, General Jing Yuan." Huaiyan entered with Yunli by his side.
Jing Yuan clasped his hands in greeting.
"It's been a while, Elder Yan. How have you been?"
Huaiyan laughed heartily.
"Hahaha, what else could this old man be? Getting older, body weaker every year."
Jing Yuan smiled and said,
"Come now, Elder Yan, you're as vigorous as ever. You're still a pillar of the Xianzhou."
Huaiyan replied,
"Alright, alright, let's not flatter each other.
By the way, where's General Feixiao? Hasn't she arrived yet?"
Just as he finished speaking, Feixiao entered with Jiaoqiu and Moze.
"Oh? I arrive and already hear someone talking about me?"
Huaiyan chuckled.
"Can't say her name or she'll appear! General Feixiao, long time no see."
Feixiao gave a respectful salute.
"Feixiao greets Elder Yan and General Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan and Huaiyan returned the salute. Then Feixiao asked,
"When do we go find Miss Bailu?"
Jing Yuan smiled.
"Let's head out now. Everyone's here."
With that, Jing Yuan led them aboard a Star Skiff toward the Astral Express location.
At Huixing Port.
Jingliu stood quietly on a high platform, watching two youngsters sparring below.
That's right—
One was Yanqing, who had eagerly come early to learn swordsmanship from Jingliu.
The other was Yunli, Huaiyan's granddaughter.
On their way here, they'd encountered a squad of demons. During the fight, one of Yanqing's flying swords had been knocked away and picked up by Yunli.
The two happened to meet again here, and after some bickering when Yunli refused to return the sword, they began to fight.
Just as they were about to determine the winner, Jingliu intervened.
She summoned her Lunar Ice sword, instantly appeared before them, and slashed once toward each.
Yanqing and Yunli had to change their attacks to defend.
Jingliu put her sword away.
"Sparring is sparring—no need to go too far. A sword is for enemies, not friends."
She looked at Yanqing.
"If you want to learn the sword, come."
Yanqing followed Jingliu upon hearing that.
Yunli, curious about Jingliu, also followed.
Though Jingliu had only used one sword strike, Yunli could already tell—
She was strong. Extremely strong. A true master of the sword.
Jingliu brought Yanqing to a reservoir.
Seeing Yunli follow, Yanqing frowned.
"Why are you tagging along?"
Yunli snorted.
"I'll go where I please—none of your business."
Yanqing said seriously,
"I'm here to learn swordsmanship. Are you trying to steal the techniques?"
Yunli was about to retort but paused.
If Yanqing was really going to learn from this master, it might be inappropriate for her to stay.
Just then, Jingliu spoke.
"No matter. My sword techniques—if you wish to learn, I will teach."
Yunli beamed.
"Really? I can learn from you too?"
Jingliu gave a small nod.
"Mm."
With Jingliu's confirmation, Yunli was overjoyed.
"Hmph, hear that? She doesn't mind teaching me—why should you mind learning with me?"
Yanqing snorted but said nothing more.
With both students quiet, Jingliu began the lesson.
"This swordsmanship surpasses even that of our Xianzhou."
She began to teach them.
From a passing Star Skiff, Jing Yuan, Huaiyan, and Feixiao saw the scene.
Upon spotting Jingliu, Huaiyan's eyes widened.
"General Jing Yuan, isn't that her? That woman—"
Jing Yuan smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, Elder Yan. Though she once fell to the Mara, she retained her mind.
She has even taken the Cleansing Pill—she's the test subject for it."
Huaiyan was deeply relieved.
"That's wonderful. Truly wonderful."
***
Feixiao couldn't understand what Huaiyan and Jing Yuan were talking about for a moment.
"General Jing Yuan, Elder Yan, what are you two talking about? Why can't I understand?"
Huaiyan smiled and said:
"We're talking about Jingliu. That woman just now was none other than Jingliu, the former Sword Champion of the Luofu."
Feixiao was surprised to hear this.
"Jingliu? I remember she fell into Mara, didn't she?"
At this moment, the squint-eyed Jiaoqiu explained slowly:
"General, General Jing Yuan just mentioned the reason. Although Miss Jingliu has succumbed to Mara, she hasn't lost her sanity.
And she has already taken the Clarity Pill, which suppresses the effects of the Mara."
Feixiao slapped her forehead.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly, Feixiao was filled with a fighting spirit—she wanted to spar with this legendary swordswoman.
The Astral Express descended.
Jing Yuan led everyone inside the train.
In the observation car, Pom-Pom was cleaning.
Just after Pom-Pom finished sweeping an area, Aha would mischievously poke his head out from a small teleportation portal and spit out sunflower seed shells.
By the time Pom-Pom turned around, Aha had already disappeared back into the portal.
Pom-Pom felt something was wrong—why did the cleaning never seem to end?
At that moment, Jing Yuan brought Feixiao and the others aboard the train.
Jing Yuan greeted Pom-Pom.
"Train conductor Pom-Pom."
Pom-Pom turned and saw Jing Yuan bringing a large group aboard.
"General Jing Yuan, who are these people?"
Jing Yuan replied:
"These are General Huaiyan from the Xianzhou Zhuming, and General Feixiao from the Xianzhou Yaoqing, along with her aides."
Pom-Pom looked at them blandly.
"Oh, hello. Welcome to the Astral Express."
Jing Yuan asked:
"Conductor Pom-Pom, do you know where Bailu and the others are?"
Pom-Pom pointed to the door of the party car.
"Bailu is upstairs in the lab. Those kids have been up there all day, saying they're making medicine or something."
Jing Yuan nodded and led the group to the second-floor lab in the party car.
In the lab—
The four little ones were gathered around an alchemy table.
Diona was in charge of transporting ingredients and placing them into the alchemy furnace.
Klee used her Pyro Vision to provide the fire.
Bailu controlled the alchemy process.
Hook was responsible for placing the finished pills into a refrigerator for preservation.
On the other side—
Clara and Nahida, who had just arrived, were assembling a Gundam model together.
Nahida had been brought over by Zhongli today.
As soon as she arrived, she showed great interest in the library and met Clara there.
Under Clara's guidance, she came to the lab, and the two began working on the Gundam together.
The arrival of Jing Yuan and his group quickly caught the attention of the little ones.
Standing on a stepping stool, Bailu turned around and saw Jing Yuan.
"General! You're here? Perfect timing—I just finished a batch of pills. Take them away. I'm running out of space."
Jing Yuan nodded with a smile.
"Alright, I'll take them in a bit."
Feixiao then walked up to Bailu.
"Dragon Lady, do you remember me?"
Bailu looked at Feixiao carefully and shrugged.
"Nope. Who are you?"
Feixiao laughed helplessly. She didn't expect Bailu to forget her.
Bailu saw her expression and explained:
"I treat to many people. How could I remember everyone?"
Feixiao responded:
"A few years ago, I came to you for a consultation."
Bailu replied:
"Oh, I see."
At that moment, Jing Yuan introduced them.
"Bailu, let me introduce you. This is General Feixiao, General Huaiyan, Jiaoqiu, and Moze."
After hearing this, Bailu froze for a moment.
"General Feixiao? General Huaiyan? Oh my! Why are the generals from other Xianzhou coming here?!"
Feixiao smiled.
"We've been ordered to station at the Luofu, so we'll be working together from now on, Dragon Lady."
Bailu nodded.
"Alright, if you're ever not feeling well, just come find me. I'm usually on the train."
Feixiao suddenly said:
"Speaking of which, I do have something bothering me. Dragon Lady, can the Clarity Pill treat Lunar Madness?"
Bailu thought for a moment.
"Hmm, hard to say. But you can try."
As she spoke, Bailu picked up a freshly made pill and handed it to Feixiao.
Feixiao examined it, feeling the residual warmth from the alchemy. Finally, she swallowed it in one gulp.
The moment the pill entered her stomach, she felt it begin to work—the symptoms of Lunar Madness were easing.
Feixiao lit up with joy.
"It works!"
Bailu was happy to hear that.
"That's great! The Clarity Pill really is a treasure."
Feixiao wholeheartedly agreed—the Clarity Pill was indeed a treasure.
But the one who could craft such a pill, Bailu, was even more of a treasure.
Feixiao decided that from now on, she would stick close to Bailu and protect her.
That was also part of her mission on the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
Klee curiously stared at Feixiao's fox ears, which were twitching. She wanted to touch them.
Feixiao noticed Klee and looked down at the little girl by her feet.
Klee stood there, hands behind her back, tilting her head and staring at her curiously.
Feixiao was instantly charmed. Where did this adorable little cutie come from? How could she be so cute?
"Little one, what's your name?"
Klee responded cheerfully:
"I'm Klee! Big sister, are you General Feixiao?"
Hearing Klee's innocent tone, Feixiao couldn't help but smile.
"Big sis is called Feixiao. General is my job."
Klee replied:
"Oh~ Klee gets it! Just like Captain Jean~"
Feixiao didn't know who Jean was, but she nodded anyway.
"That's right. Klee, why are you staring at me like that?"
Klee said:
"Big sis, your ears are so cute. Klee wants to touch them~"
Feixiao's ears twitched again at that. Klee's eyes sparkled.
Feixiao thought for a moment, then picked Klee up.
"Go ahead."
Klee gently touched Feixiao's ears.
"Wow~ So soft! Klee feels so comfy~"
Feixiao laughed heartily at that.
At that moment, Hook, Diona, and Bailu all started clamoring that they wanted to touch them too.
Feixiao crouched down and played with the little ones.
Jing Yuan, seeing this scene, went to the fridge and stored Bailu's pills in his spatial ring.
Huaiyan, watching from the side, was intrigued by Jing Yuan's ring.
"General Jing Yuan, that ring of yours?"
Jing Yuan smiled.
"It's called a spatial ring. It's sold in Ye Yun's shop—not expensive. I'll get one for you later, Elder Yan."
Huaiyan looked forward to it.
That ring was interesting—he'd definitely study it carefully later. Maybe he could even make one himself.