Banxia felt extremely conflicted. Although this emotion surged up suddenly after seeing Nero's eyes, she didn't feel any doubt about it at all and was very naturally influenced by it.
However, before she could give an answer, Bailu suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her down into a squat.
Then, this little dragon lady crouched beside a low wall, holding onto it, only exposing her eyes as she looked toward a certain direction.
In Bailu's line of sight, another man wearing Alchemy Commission clothing was looking around in the crowd, becoming her target.
Bailu turned her head and said to Nero, "Nero, Nero! Let's talk about this later, can you help us deal with that person first?"
Nero raised his head and followed the direction Bailu pointed. He saw the man in Alchemy Commission clothes.
His expression looked strange, and he walked unsteadily, swaying like he was drunk. No matter how you looked at him, something felt off.
So Nero nodded. "Okay."
Telling Bailu and Banxia to wait there peacefully, Nero and Stelle walked over.
As soon as they got close to the man, before they could even speak, he suddenly rushed toward them and said anxiously, "You two, you two, please wait! I want to ask you something."
When this man spoke, his eyes were lifeless, his gaze unfocused. Even though he was facing Nero and Stelle, it felt like his eyes were empty, which reminded Nero of the mask he wore when he disguised himself as Benbo'erba.
This behavior made Nero frown.
Stelle then asked, "Are you looking for a little girl?"
"A little girl? What little girl?" Hearing Stelle's words, the man tilted his head, showing a confused expression, though to outsiders he looked rather foolish.
"Ah, you misunderstood. I am indeed looking for someone, that's right, but listen to me first.
"There's a woman wearing Alchemy Commission clothing, about your height. She seemed to head toward the dock. Have you seen her?
"I'm on the same path as her, but she seems to keep avoiding me, hehe..."
As the conversation went on, Nero's expression gradually fell.
What a sleazy guy. Looks like he's completely high or something.
If you know that much already, why are you asking for directions here? Why not just go find her yourself?
Afraid of the Cloud Knights guarding the dock?
Stelle looked at the strange man with a subtle expression, quietly pressing her right hand on Nero's shoulder and pulling him slightly behind her, then shook her head. "I haven't seen her."
"Uh... is that so? Thank you, then I'll go check the dock."
After saying that, the man swayed as he walked, waddling like Donald Duck as he headed toward the dock.
"There's no one he's looking for over there... but there are Cloud Knights, so it's probably good if he goes," Nero muttered softly to Stelle.
Unfortunately, the man happened to hear it. He staggered, spun around, and came back, leaning his upper body forward like a fool as he stared at Nero and Stelle.
"There's no one I'm looking for over there? How do you know I'm looking for someone? Huh?"
"I... I want to ask you instead, who are you? Speak! Who are you? What kind of people are you?!"
The man suddenly seemed to get angry and shouted loudly at the two.
Nero raised his hands to cover his ears, hiding behind Stelle while sticking out half his head. "Are you sick or something?!"
"Huh? You little thing, you say I'm sick? What sickness do I have?!" The man shouted again, suddenly raising his hand as if to hit someone.
Seeing him attack out of nowhere, Stelle stopped trying to talk and immediately pulled out her bat, smashing him to the ground with one strike.
After knocking him unconscious, Nero and Stelle exchanged a glance and decided to search him, to see if they could find anything.
Their instincts told them this guy was absolutely suspicious.
First, they found the latest model jade bracelet communicator and a golden badge. Then they found a wallet. Inside the wallet was a folded photo. The photo showed a family of three.
Although his current mental state was completely different, judging from his facial features, it was clear that the man in the photo was the same crazy person in front of them.
Searching further, they found a piece of letter paper. From the sixteen words written on it, "The Medicine King shows mercy, the Ambrosial Arbor grows."
"Those who plant with one heart ascend together to immortality", it was easy to determine this man's identity.
He was a follower of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
Although the organization had already been wiped out by Nero, it was still a faith-based religion. Who knew how far something like that could spread as a memetic idea?
Seeing this, Nero sighed. "This won't do. We need to get Jing Yuan to push compulsory education as soon as possible."
After saying that, Nero paused slightly, feeling like he had forgotten something.
Was there something he was supposed to tell Jing Yuan to avoid causing big trouble?
Forget it. If he forgot, then it probably wasn't important.
Nero thought optimistically and quickly put it out of his mind, seemingly unaware that a certain general had already lost quite a bit of hair these past few days because of the Luofu going out of control.
Finally, they found a messy handwritten prescription. It was likely from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, though they didn't know where this man had gotten it.
Did he hide it in the Alchemy Commission, or get it from some citizen secretly worshiping the Medicine King?
After finishing the search and confirming that this guy was indeed high on something, Nero and Stelle didn't waste any more time. They called over nearby patrolling Cloud Knights and had the man taken away.
After dealing with it, the two went back to Bailu.
Seeing them return, Bailu asked, "How was it? That guy really was trying to catch me and take me back to the Alchemy Commission, right? I knew it!"
However, Nero and Stelle both shook their heads.
"He wasn't looking for you," Nero said.
After thinking about his wording, he continued, "That guy is a mentally unstable follower of the Medicine King, and his brain isn't quite right."
"We knocked him out and handed him over to the Cloud Knights. And the person he was looking for... was you, Banxia."
Noticing Nero's gaze suddenly shift toward her, Banxia felt a jolt in her heart. "..."
"Huh? Why would they be looking for Sister Banxia? They must be here to catch me!" Bailu quickly said.
But Nero shook his head. He took out the letter and said, "This letter we found on that 'mental Medicine King guy' already makes one thing clear, the medical worker Banxia, who betrayed the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, has escaped from the Alchemy Commission domain."
"Ah? She's really part of that organization?!"
March was stunned for a moment, but didn't doubt Nero's words. She immediately picked up Bailu and moved to Nero and Stelle's side, putting distance between them and Banxia.
"Wait, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are all fanatics who worship mara-struck beings and Yaoshi. But Banxia isn't like that."
"She... she came to me to treat her mara condition!" Bailu hurriedly shouted, as if afraid Nero might cut Banxia down on the spot.
As soon as Bailu said that, Banxia's expression completely broke. She panicked and said, "Lady Bailu! Didn't we agree... this matter absolutely cannot be told to outsiders!"