---o---
Seeing the slight worry on Qingque's face, which was still mostly dominated by her usual laziness, it was clear this was just a casual, idle question. Ron couldn't help but be taken aback.
Should he say Qingque was too perceptive, or that he was being too obvious?
Was the pressure on him really that great?
Thinking this, Ron felt a bit helpless. He almost wished Qingque was a player in the Life Simulation Game at that moment.
If she were, perhaps Ron would truly pour out everything he had experienced in the simulations, everything he knew about the impending crisis of the future, and tell her all of it.
In reality, resolving the threat of an enemy like Terminus, the Finality, and climbing to the apex of the Tree of Existence were not simple tasks. The pressure of Salvation weighed heavily on Ron's shoulders, and he had long been pushed to the brink of collapse.
He just knew that he absolutely could not break down under this pressure. He knew that someone had to bear this burden, which was why he remained constantly tense, always strategizing how to solve these problems, to the point where even a simple stroll through the streets was filled with calculations.
But unfortunately, Qingque was not a player. For an ordinary person who had never experienced a simulation, everything within them was nothing more than an illusory castle in the sky.
It might sound terrifying, but it was ultimately something they could never touch. They couldn't even imagine it, making it difficult to truly believe such things would happen in the future.
Qingque was, moreover, the Luofu Divination Commission's resident salary thief, accustomed to living a lazy life. Getting her to believe that this entire sea of stars would be ended by [The Finality] a thousand years from now was practically impossible. Even if she did believe Ron, she probably wouldn't care much about what happened then.
After all, the Xianzhou people lived for over a thousand years. Each passing year was like another heavy mountain piled upon their minds. A single moment of carelessness could cause them to fall into Mara, ending their lives.
Qingque had already served in the Divination Commission for several decades. While that was still very young for a Xianzhou native—a mere one or two hundred years old—an average Xianzhou person's life ended at eight hundred. Even if Qingque's overly relaxed lifestyle allowed her to live a few years longer, she would likely succumb to the Mara-struck state before she even reached a thousand. Everything in this world would have nothing more to do with her.
So, although Ron, in that moment of wanting to confide in someone, truly felt a fleeting desire to tell Qingque his worries and speak of the final fate of this sea of stars, it ultimately dissolved into a helpless sigh as he said seriously:
"No… it's not necessary."
He took a sip of the hot floating goat's milk. The milk produced by the Luofu specialty creature, "Qingrou," was naturally sweet when heated and didn't require any sugar. However, it would turn bitter if it cooled, so one had to drink it while it was hot to savor its deliciousness.
The warm, sweet milk washed into his mouth, its gentle sweetness a pleasant shock to his taste buds. His body's natural instincts flooded him with a sense of joy from the sugar intake.
Ron's mood improved slightly. He managed a smile and changed the subject.
"Let's go to Meizhuang Pavilion and buy two servings of their signature red-oil chopped beef offal. I haven't eaten today, and I'm a bit hungry."
"Although Aurum Alley is much quieter these days, Spices Supreme is still bustling. Everyone is quite interested in those strange creatures Chef Yancui beats up every day. It's still hard to get a seat at the back, so we might not get to see anything if we don't hurry."
Hearing Ron so obviously change the subject, Qingque just shrugged her shoulders slightly and didn't press him. She simply followed by his side, strolling leisurely toward Meizhuang Pavilion. She didn't say much, but she seemed to be thinking about something.
It wasn't until they arrived at the pavilion, placed their order, and put the Strale on the counter that Qingque finally spoke, her tone slow and casual, as if she were just making small talk.
"Ron, what do you think of Aurum Alley?"
"Aurum Alley?"
Ron paused for a moment, then recalled his last simulation where, after his death, only the merchants of Aurum Alley had genuinely mourned for him. His expression softened.
"Aurum Alley… is quite nice."
"Right? The night markets on the Luofu are as vast as the sea and as brilliant as the stars, dotting the landscape of Exalting Sanctum. You can't even count how many places like Aurum Alley there are. But Aurum Alley is special compared to the others. Everyone loves it here… Do you know why?"
Ron asked reflexively, "Why?"
Qingque leaned lazily against a seat on the street-side of the pavilion, turning to look at the scattered stars in the Luofu's night sky. Her voice was tinged with a soft nostalgia.
"Because over a hundred years ago, Aurum Alley was the largest, most famous, and most frequented night market on the Luofu. This was the spot."
"Although in the last century, the Luofu's development has accelerated dramatically due to its partnership with the IPC, and countless little markets like Aurum Alley have sprung up in Exalting Sanctum, this place has gradually declined with the changing times, and people rarely come here anymore. But if you were to randomly stop any Luofu native on the street and ask them their favorite night market, the answer would definitely still be Aurum Alley."
"It's not to say Aurum Alley is that much better than the others; there are plenty of night markets on the Luofu that aren't any worse… But this is the place that Luofu natives remember. Their childhoods, when they were just over ten years old, were probably spent right here."
"Aurum Alley carries memories, and it carries the sentiments of most Luofu natives for their home… In fact, many people who leave the Luofu for other Xianzhou ships, if they ever get a chance to come back, they almost always come to Aurum Alley for a stroll, to savor the taste of their past life…"
Hearing Qingque's words, which didn't sound like mere small talk, Ron gradually sensed that something was amiss. He picked up the two portions of beef offal that the auntie had already packed and said bluntly:
"You don't have to beat around the bush so much… What is it you really want to say?"
Qingque's words, which were clearly not finished, were cut short by Ron's interjection.
After a moment, she sighed helplessly and said with a hint of annoyance:
"I'm just trying to comfort you… It's normal to be homesick. Suddenly leaving Belobog and coming to the Luofu, it's perfectly understandable to feel this way."
"If I were in your shoes, suddenly having to leave the Luofu for a new place, I'd probably be just as dazed and confused as you are… But this isn't a bad thing, after all."
"Our Luofu isn't some dark, evil faction… Master Diviner went to great lengths to propose aiding Belobog. Now that the Seat of Divine Foresight has approved the resolution, Belobog won't be wronged in the slightest. In fact, it will be much better off than it is now, buried under wind and snow."
"And the Divination Commission isn't some kind of hell on earth that exploits its employees. It's a bit tiring, sure, but this iron rice bowl still comes with plenty of leisure time—we get standard two-day weekends and two personal days a month. If you want to go back to Belobog, you can take leave and go home anytime."
As she spoke, she stood up gracefully, took the two bags of beef offal from Ron's hands, and pointed to Spices Supreme nearby.
"Let's go. Let's see what kind of monster Sis Yancui is beating up today… Sometimes, you just need to relax a little. Life is meant to be enjoyed. If there are things you can't solve for the time being, then don't worry about them too much."
Hearing the faint trace of concern in Qingque's words, Ron was left speechless.
He never thought Qingque would mistake his distraction for homesickness for Belobog… It was a reasonable assumption, but she had underestimated the scale of his worries.
He wasn't just worried about Belobog… he was worried about the entire sea of stars.
Ron couldn't help but sigh internally.
With the sword of Damocles that was Terminus hanging over his head, what mind did he have to enjoy life?
Saying such things at a time like this felt a bit like irresponsible, empty talk… But Qingque wasn't a simulation player; she obviously didn't know what the future held, and Ron couldn't tell her.
He could only follow Qingque toward Spices Supreme to grab a seat, sighing with a hint of deeper meaning.
"You're right. A lot of the time, one should think more about enjoying life… But there are times when you just can't."
"What if one day the Luofu was struck by disaster… for example, what if the Abundance Denizens' army attacked the Xianzhou again? What would you do?"
"Pfft, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. The old masters at the top of the Luofu aren't to be trifled with."
Qingque drew out her words lazily, her tone brimming with confidence.
"As for me… I'll just wave a flag and shout for the Master Diviner. I'll be a little cheerleader on the side."
But Ron's voice turned serious as he pressed on, interrupting her.
"But what if no one can hold it up? What if Arbiter-General Jing Yuan is defeated and dies, Master Diviner Fu Xuan goes missing, and the entire Luofu is on the verge of collapse? What would you do then?"
Qingque froze for a moment, then waved her hand dismissively.
"How is that possible… The Luofu is the flagship of the Alliance. How could something like that happen?"
"Anything is possible… I'm asking, if something like that really happened, what would you do?"
The lazy expression on Qingque's face faded.
Perhaps Ron's questioning was too intense, or perhaps his words were too grave. Qingque's expression became slightly more serious.
This was the first time Ron had ever seen such a solemn look on the face of this person who was usually carefree and happy-go-lucky.
She was silent for a moment. Her voice was still as light as before, with that lazy drawl at the end, but beneath this seemingly nonchalant exterior, Ron could hear a thread of earnestness.
"Well, naturally, I'd go and do what needs to be done… When that time comes, I'll just be a brick of the Luofu, to be moved wherever I'm needed!"
As she said this, her expression faltered in the next second, and she reverted to her previous languid look, saying lazily:
"But it's still hard to imagine the Luofu ending up like that… Let's eat, let's eat…"
Seeing Qingque's reaction, Ron didn't say anything more. He just chatted with her idly, consciously steering the conversation toward Fu Xuan, trying to gather information about her from Qingque according to his plan.
---o---
But at the same time, on the other side—
Herta watched as the small ship that brought her here disintegrated under the intense cold, turning into scattered dust that vanished into the cosmos, becoming useless space junk. After ensuring there was absolutely no possibility of it being discovered by the Xianzhou [Luofu], she turned and stepped onto the port of Cloudford, her feet touching the soil of the Xianzhou [Luofu].
Piled-up cargo, bustling starskiffs, and cargo-hauling cycranes made up the entirety of Cloudford port. This place was constantly being monitored by security cameras, and cargo cycranes flew overhead at all hours. Not even a mouse could cross Cloudford undetected. Even a fly would have to be stamped with a pass by the stationed Cloud Knights.
But Herta simply stood at Cloudford port, let out a slightly lazy yawn, and then lifted her foot and walked toward the interior of the Xianzhou [Luofu].
All the surrounding surveillance machines captured her for an instant… oh, wait, no. No surveillance machine was able to capture her image.
The power of [Erudition] blocked all observation of her. Although she walked right there in plain sight, and the surrounding cargo cycranes and automatons brushed past her, not a single machine noticed her.
No person would notice her either.
Upon reaching the Cloudford docks, Herta nonchalantly boarded a starskiff. Under the cover of Imaginary energy, the surrounding Cloud Knights were completely oblivious to her presence. Just like that, she rode the starskiff through the sea of ships, and not long after, under the cover of night, she stepped into the still-bustling Starskiff Haven.
Standing on the streets of the Luofu, a faint smile graced Herta's placid face.
"So this is the Xianzhou [Luofu]… Hmm, no obstacles at all. Feels pretty good."