White walls, green bamboo. The wind shifted, shadows swaying.
Hua stood where she was, quietly waiting.
Zero's expression moved slightly, his gaze falling on the bottle of wine in her hand.
This was the agreement made between the guardian and Hua before he left.
He had said that if fate allowed, they would meet again.
Maybe by then, Hua would be old enough to drink.
So, she came to keep the appointment.
The two held their ground for a while. Zero was the first to give in. He let out a deep sigh, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Hua didn't choose the seat next to the guardian. She walked halfway around the table and sat across from him.
There was no other reason. If she sat right beside him… she could knock him out with a single move.
If that happened, the guardian would stay on guard against her the entire time.
Better to keep some distance and take things slowly.
Hua lowered her head, glanced at the dishes on the table meant to go with the wine, and thought it was a pity.
The ingredients had been prepared in advance by Tengxiao, and the dishes had been made ahead of time by professionals.
Unfortunately, the guardian probably wouldn't touch them.
Hua picked up the bottle and deliberately showed Zero the unopened, intact seal.
Then, she used a corkscrew to slowly pull out the cork.
Zero only watched her, showing no reaction.
Hua glanced at the wine glass by Zero's hand.
If it were before, the guardian would have handed the glass over by now.
He was on guard against her.
It seemed that if necessary, she would have to use some special methods.
For example, playing the emotional card with the guardian?
Hua gave a slightly apologetic smile.
"I almost forgot."
"There's too much dust outside. The wine glasses are dirty. Better to rinse them with hot water."
At that moment, the attendant arrived with a brand-new jade communicator that hadn't been opened yet.
Hua took it and instructed the attendant to bring hot water, then asked, "Why is there no fruit?"
The attendant quickly apologized. "Sorry!"
Hua replied, "It's fine. Then prepare it here."
The attendants divided the work. They rinsed the wine glasses with hot water, then pushed over a cart and softly introduced the origins of the fruits.
Finally, in front of the two of them, they opened the intact packaging, washed the fruit, peeled it, and cut it into pieces.
Hua waited for a long time. Only when the fruit platter was placed beside Zero did he finally make a move.
She couldn't help complaining inwardly.
Getting the guardian to eat something… was really difficult.
Hua raised her hand, signaling everyone to leave.
She picked up the wine bottle, stood up, and slightly leaned forward to pour wine into the glass beside Zero.
"Shuhu breaking into Scalegorge Waterscape… even if we announce this to the public, no one would believe it, right?"
Zero didn't care. He used a silver fork to pick up a white mulberry from the fruit platter.
"Whether others believe it or not… does it matter?"
"As long as the bait is cast."
Hearing this, Hua raised an eyebrow.
"You mean..."
A flash of understanding crossed her mind.
Announcing this would either be disbelieved or cause people to question the Luofu.
'Is he planning to fish using the Ambrosial Arbor?'
Hua smiled. "I'm curious, what kind of fish will we catch?"
Zero swallowed the fruit.
"As the saying goes, once there's one, there'll be a second."
He offered a hint.
"What if 'The Hunt' isn't just about eliminating abominations? Would it become even stronger?"
Hua thought about it.
'So he wants to find another enemy for the Reignbow Arbiter.'
But if they wanted to fish with just a rumor of uncertain truth…
"If it's that kind of fish… this bit of bait probably isn't enough."
Zero set down the fork in his hand.
Hua looked up.
The fruit platter was barely touched.
Zero rested his chin on one hand and picked up the wine glass with the other.
"Then it depends on whether you're willing to invest heavily."
"After all, every minute the Luofu's star skiff harbor is sealed will cost the Xianzhou hundreds of millions in losses."
"Do you think that once 'The Hunt' Aeon has a new target, it can help you turn losses into gains?"
Hua thought for a moment, then sighed.
"…This isn't fishing. This is using the entire Luofu as a stage."
Zero took a sip of wine.
"This is a high-risk investment project that might not even bring you returns. No rush. You can take your time to consider it."
He paused, then said gently, "Oh, about that… Shuhu."
"In one hour, I want to see the result."
Hua nodded. "Alright, I'll inform them now."
Taking the opportunity, she took out her jade communicator to check messages.
[Guanliang: Is he with you?]
[Hua: Yes]
[Guanliang: Good, he had an appointment with Zandar. I'm with that scholar right now]
Then, a message came from the physician.
Yingxing's blood test report was out.
Hua skimmed through it quickly. When she saw the conclusion at the end, her breathing stopped for a moment.
Yingxing knew nothing.
'So… it was "Imbibitor Lunae"?'
'Danfeng, what exactly did you do?'
Hua did her best to control her expression.
She lowered her eyes, ordered the physician to destroy all reports, then opened Daiyang's chat.
[Hua: Forty-five minutes. I want to see his loyalty]
[Daiyang: To what extent can I go?]
[Hua: As you wish. No torture, no blood]
[Daiyang: So intimidation is allowed ovo]
Hua didn't reply.
When she looked up again, she wore a flawless smile.
"After coming to the Luofu, I saw a very interesting book."
"The title is Five Thousand Years of the Xianzhou Alliance Walking Alongside the Uncrowned Emperor."
Zero: "…"
He felt like even the wine had lost its taste.
Hua mimicked his posture, resting her chin on her hand.
"How should I put it? The general content is correct."
"But what's lacking is the subordinates who walked alongside the Uncrowned Emperor."
Zero slowly put down his wine glass and met Hua's gaze.
Hua's eyes flickered.
She knew her move had worked.
The guardian had always been self-centered.
There were things he could do, but others couldn't.
Hua smiled.
"Historians should write the truth, and we should learn from history and remember the contributions of those before us."
"I've thought about it and decided to have people organize past records and rewrite a history book, then include it in the academy's required curriculum."
"However, that book's title is really unpleasant."
"So I came up with another name, Walking With You. What do you think?"
Zero actually didn't care about others' evaluations.
Once a person died, what did money or reputation even matter?
Of course, if he could have a normal book title and title, he wouldn't refuse.
Compared to "Uncrowned Emperor," the name Hua came up with was far more normal.
Zero had no reason to refuse.
It was one thing for his own achievements to be erased, but how could his subordinates be forgotten?
Without any hesitation, Zero immediately agreed to Hua's proposal.
Hua instantly became alert.
So easy to agree… most likely, he was thinking of leaving them again.
Hua remained calm on the surface. "I'll be responsible for the preface. Want to hear it?"
Zero nodded again.
Hua lowered her head and tapped the jade communicator screen.
A message from Daiyang.
[Daiyang: He's very loyal]
[Daiyang: Guess he got lucky with the timing]
[Daiyang: If it were before… he'd already be a specimen]
[Hua: Good]
Hua smiled, exited the chat, opened her notes, and read out the preface she had written.
"When humanity encounters injustice in the world and finds itself imprisoned, a 'god' belonging solely to humanity descends."
Zero: "…"
'Hua, did you get someone else to write this?'
It's not even as good as "Uncrowned Emperor."
Zero wanted to say something but stopped himself.
In the end, he considered the other person's feelings and didn't comment. He forced himself to listen for a while, until the attendant appeared, and he let out a breath of relief.
The attendant held a rectangular wooden box with both hands and carefully opened the lid.
Zero's expression froze instantly.
He said in disbelief, "…Why do you have this blade?"
Hua smiled faintly without speaking, her gaze falling on the "Tenseiga" inside the box.
This was the gift for her coming-of-age ceremony.
On that day, she received news of her father's death.