"Excuse me… is Mr. Su Ran here?"
"Who is it?"
As soon as the door opened, the Tsaritsa stared expressionlessly at the brown-haired woman outside.
Another woman?
Her gaze then shifted downward—
And she saw a little girl with dragon horns and pale purple hair.
"She even brought a child?"
No, seriously…
Even like this, she still came looking for Su Ran?
He wasn't some man who picked up other people's baggage!
"This is the Alchemy Commission's Healer Lady, Bailu. By General Jing Yuan's orders, I've brought Lady Bailu here to study."
"Then come in."
Judging by their appearances, they really didn't look like mother and daughter.
Hearing permission granted, the brown-haired woman rejoiced inwardly and led Bailu inside.
But the moment she entered—
She spotted a wanted criminal sitting inside the room.
Seeing Bailu accompanying them, Jingliu's expression visibly flickered for a moment before she silently looked away.
"Isn't this Dan Shu, Chief Alchemist of the Alchemy Commission?"
Su Ran noticed the woman who had brought Bailu.
Though she lacked the golden hair typical of long-life species blessed by abundance—
That was merely the influence of the power of Abundance.
To him, it wasn't worth much attention.
After all, she was basically just an NPC with a few extra lore descriptions.
No point paying too much attention to her.
"You know me, Sir?"
"Of course."
"The leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, after all~"
The next instant, cold light flashed.
Jingliu appeared beside Dan Shu in an instant.
An icy sword rested directly against her throat.
The moment she heard "Disciples of Sanctus Medicus," Jingliu moved without hesitation.
At this point, she trusted Su Ran's words quite a bit.
"Huh?!"
Bailu took a frightened step backward.
She stared at the situation unfolding in the room in terror.
Being brought here had already left her confused.
Then she saw a wanted criminal inside and became even more frightened.
And now the Chief Alchemist who brought her here was being threatened at swordpoint.
Her first instinct was to run outside.
But the doorway had already been sealed shut with ice.
Bailu slowly turned around with an awkward smile.
"What a fast sword…"
The Tsaritsa looked at Jingliu in surprise.
Even she hadn't been able to follow that strike.
That could only mean one thing.
This woman was stronger than her.
"Sir… there must be some misunderstanding. How could I possibly be the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"
Dan Shu was already panicking internally, but she still stubbornly refused to admit it.
If even her status as the sect leader had been exposed—
Then it meant nearly everything about her had already been discovered.
"There's no point pretending anymore."
"Even your collusion with Phantylia has already been exposed."
"What else do you have to say?"
Dan Shu: …
If even that had been uncovered—
Then there truly was nothing left to deny.
Jingliu raised a brow, oddly impressed by the courage of this Chief Alchemist.
Of all beings to cooperate with—
Even the Borisin would've been understandable.
But she chose to cooperate with a Lord Ravager?
What outrageous arrogance.
"Sir is not of the Xianzhou…"
"Yet you still follow the Hunt in pursuing the Abundance?"
Now that her cover was blown, Dan Shu no longer saw any point in hiding things.
"Nope."
"To me, there's not much difference between the Aeons."
"Whether it's the Hunt or Abundance."
Su Ran had no intention of hating Yaoshi the way the Xianzhou did.
After all, if someone sincerely sought something, Yaoshi simply granted it.
Selfless. Benevolent.
That was the philosophy of Abundance.
And besides—
Wasn't immortality exactly what the Xianzhou people themselves desired?
The only issue was the side effects.
Side effects that were actually pretty easy to solve.
Yaoshi had merely fulfilled the Xianzhou's wish.
It was just that the Xianzhou themselves couldn't bear the burden of that blessing of immortality.
"Then if that's the case… why treat me like this?"
Dan Shu could feel the blade at her neck.
She was certain the woman beside her possessed the ability to decapitate her in an instant.
"She's the one treating you this way."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Just because I don't hate the Abundance doesn't mean she doesn't."
From beginning to end, Su Ran himself hadn't done anything.
He merely revealed Dan Shu's identity.
Then Jingliu attacked on her own.
"This young lady… why do you hate the Abundance so much?"
Since this was entirely the woman's own initiative, then as long as she could persuade her—
Everything would be solved.
Dan Shu felt she still had a chance.
"An Emanator of Abundance killed my closest friend."
"..."
Dan Shu fell silent.
Their experiences were strangely similar.
The difference was—
Her own close friend had died beneath the arrows of the Reignbow Arbiter.
While this woman's close friend had died at the hands of an Emanator of Abundance.
"…My condolences."
This situation was completely unlike what she had imagined.
She'd expected some fanatic follower of the Hunt.
Instead, she found someone with a tragedy so similar to her own.
Jingliu gave no reply.
She merely kept one eye on Dan Shu while looking toward Su Ran.
If she turned out useless—
Then she'd simply kill her.
"Little Bailu, come here~"
Su Ran ignored Dan Shu and instead looked toward Bailu.
"Can I… not come over?"
Bailu looked on the verge of tears.
How could she possibly dare approach?
"Big Brother isn't going to hurt you. Why are you so scared?"
"…Wuu."
Seeing Dan Shu's current situation—
Bailu absolutely couldn't believe that.
This entire group obviously looked suspicious!
"You can doubt me if you want."
"But surely you trust General Jing Yuan, right?"
Those words finally calmed Bailu a little.
Though she held many grievances against the Vidyadhara elders and the healers of the Alchemy Commission—
Her impression of Jing Yuan was still very good.
After all, Jing Yuan often visited her and even brought her snacks.
He was a good person.
Surely he wouldn't harm her.
"The General sent me here so I could learn how to treat mara-struck patients."
"Big Brother, can you teach me?"
Bailu had personally witnessed Su Ran treating the Cloud Knight afflicted with mara that day.
She'd even stood nearby watching the entire process.
Naturally, she was deeply curious about his methods.
How had he managed to accomplish something even the Alchemy Commission couldn't?
And by an outworlder, no less…
Even now, discussions about it still flooded the Luofu's networks.
Though with Jing Yuan personally confirming it on-site, almost nobody doubted it anymore.
"Of course I can."
"But rather than that~"
"Wouldn't little Bailu prefer spending every day eating, drinking, and having fun with me instead of studying medicine?"
"Eating, drinking, and having fun?!"
Bailu's eyes instantly lit up.
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