Chen Li sat leisurely in the courtyard, an ancient book in his hands. On the small table beside him, a freshly brewed pot of tea sent fragrant steam curling into the air, creating an atmosphere of detached tranquility, like that of a wandering cloud or a wild crane.
If one could ignore the fact that Chen Li would occasionally bite off a piece of his teacup and eat it, the scenery would have been far more aesthetically pleasing.
"..." came the silent commentary from Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan had actually been there for a while.
Before officially meeting the man who might very well be his junior martial brother, Jing Yuan had entertained many possibilities. Perhaps the man would be arrogant and untamed. Perhaps they would start fighting within three seconds of meeting. Perhaps he would offer some superficial pleasantries and guarantees before sending Jing Yuan away. He even considered the possibility that the man might just run.
The last one was unlikely. Since he had been willing to expose his location to Fu Xuan, he probably wouldn't flee so easily.
However, Jing Yuan had never imagined that the first words out of the man's mouth would be: "Did you bring anything to eat?"
Though this junior brother of his seemed to have a rather unpredictable way of thinking, it just so happened that Jing Yuan had, in fact, brought something to eat.
Bringing a gift when visiting someone's home was common sense on the Xianzhou, wasn't it?
"These are from the most famous pastry shop on the Xianzhou. You have to queue for half an hour just to buy them. How do they taste?" Jing Yuan asked slowly.
"Mm, this teacup tastes great," Chen Li nodded in satisfaction.
"...I was referring to the osmanthus cakes next to you."
"Oh, the osmanthus cakes? They taste good too, but not as good as this teacup." Chen Li was quite insistent on promoting the teacup to Jing Yuan.
"Although I have never tasted a teacup, this is indeed the finest tea set in the General's residence." To keep the conversation from dying, Jing Yuan had no choice but to engage in a type of pleasantry he had never practiced before.
Before bringing this tea set over, Jing Yuan would never have imagined that he would one day be discussing the flavor of a teacup with the person he was sharing tea with.
What kind of sane person drinks tea and gnaws on the cup too?
"I can tell," Chen Li nodded.
"...Is this also a blessing of Abundance?" Jing Yuan had originally planned to engage in a battle of patience with Chen Li, believing that the more patient one would gain the upper hand in the ensuing conversation.
But he was completely unprepared for any of Chen Li's tactics.
Jing Yuan had to admit, when it came to being absurd, Chen Li was a cut above him.
So, he decided to get straight to the point.
"How could this be considered a blessing of Abundance? If you had to associate my actions with the blessing of an Aeon, shouldn't your first thought be Voracity?" Chen Li shook his head.
"Voracity... Are you a Pathstrider of Voracity?"
Orobouros, the Aeon of Voracity. The Voiceless Satiation, the Insatiable Devourer, a thinking black hole. It was a dual existence, both an Aeon and a primordial beast.
To put it in one word: eat.
It could eat anything and would eat anything.
That... does sound quite similar, Jing Yuan thought.
"Not yet, at least. Maybe once I eat the Aeon of Voracity, it'll be willing to spare me a glance?" Chen Li sighed.
He had always felt that Orobouros not paying attention to him was its own loss. How did his one-star Curio not fit the characteristics of the Path of Voracity? Couldn't it also eat anything?
Hmm... perhaps the things Chen Li ate were still too low-level? Maybe eating an Aeon would be enough to draw Orobouros's gaze.
Just like before he forged his first Curio in this world, Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, hadn't paid him much attention either. One always had to do something big to make a name for themselves.
"???"
"Ahem, let's get back to the topic. You want to see the Divine Item of Abundance, and you want to know my relationship with Abundance, correct?" Chen Li asked.
Who's the one changing the subject here?
Though Jing Yuan wanted to say that, he still nodded. His time was precious. He only had the chance to meet with Chen Li now thanks to Fu Xuan.
He didn't know what had possessed her, but Fu Xuan had suddenly approached him, claiming she was now capable of serving as the General. Jing Yuan, who was looking for an opportunity to meet Chen Li, seized the chance and, under the guise of a trial, handed over half a month's worth of backlogged work to her.
Jing Yuan got his free time, and Fu Xuan got to be the acting General. Everyone had a bright future ahead.
"Here, the Divine Item of Abundance." Chen Li placed the ear of wheat directly on the stone table.
The moment he saw it, Jing Yuan's pupils constricted, and a faint golden lightning flickered behind him.
He had indeed seen Chen Li holding an item pulsating with the power of Abundance during the Six Charioteers meeting, but seeing it through a hologram didn't provide a true sense of its power.
Only now, with the ear of wheat right in front of him, did Jing Yuan realize that the concentration of Abundance's power was almost excessive. It was so potent that it even elicited an involuntary reaction from his Lightning-Wielding Thunder-Clapping Spirit-Squashing Lord.
"This is—!"
"See for yourself." Unwilling to explain, Chen Li simply tossed the [Seeking Medicine] Miracle Card to Jing Yuan. He was appearing as himself now anyway.
Jing Yuan hesitated for a moment after receiving the Miracle Card. Then, under Chen Li's guidance, he focused his mind on it, experiencing the miracle that belonged to Chen Li—the seeking of medicine.
After viewing the Miracle Card, Jing Yuan was speechless for a long time.
As an Emanator of the Hunt, whose core belief was the crusade against Abundance, this was the first time Jing Yuan had ever witnessed such a "real" side of the Aeon Yaoshi.
"You... are a blasphemer?"
"That's right... wait, no. How is this blasphemy? The Aeon of Abundance didn't say anything. Besides, aren't you and the Aeon of Abundance enemies? What right do you have to call me a blasphemer? I demand that the Xianzhou clear my name immediately and record it in the new edition of the history books to showcase the foresight of this Emissary of Medicine!" Chen Li protested.
"That's not important. What's important is... how... and my Master..." Jing Yuan's thoughts were a complete mess.
"Alright, don't overthink it. I'm an outworlder."
"What do you mean?"
"I transmigrated from another world. Time has no meaning for me. The matter of seeking medicine, for me, actually happened not too long ago," Chen Li explained.
"Is your visit to the Xianzhou this time related to my Master... to Jingliu?" Jing Yuan asked after a moment of silence.
Although Chen Li's explanation was absurd, it was currently the only one that made any sense. The vibrant, youthful energy emanating from Chen Li was impossible to fake; it wasn't something an old monster could pretend to have.
"It's somewhat related. I came to deliver something to Jingliu, but I got lost and ended up on the Xianzhou," Chen Li said, holding his teacup with a sense of感慨.
"Lost?"
"Yeah, amazing, right? But after arriving on the Xianzhou, because of the Divine Item of Abundance, I was inexplicably mistaken for an emissary of Abundance and ended up having close dealings with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus," Chen Li stated with complete frankness.
"The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus..."
"You might not believe this, but my capture by your Cloud Knights was actually me turning myself in. But then the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus broke me out of prison," Chen Li explained.
"I see. Then why didn't you turn yourself in again?" Jing Yuan asked.
"Because once I found myself in the middle of this vortex, I understood that I couldn't get out so easily. I'm about to drop a huge bombshell on you, as a thank you for the teapot and osmanthus cakes you brought."
Hearing this, Jing Yuan subconsciously glanced at the stone table, only to find that not only were the teacups gone, but the teapot had vanished as well.
Seriously, bro? Do you have any idea how expensive that teapot was?
"Lord Ravager Phantylia intends to launch a surprise attack on the Xianzhou," Chen Li's words left Jing Yuan stunned.
Who? Lord Ravager Phantylia? Was she insane?
"You're shocked to hear this, right? I was shocked when I found out too, because I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a Lord Ravager would want to pick a fight with the Xianzhou." Chen Li nodded in satisfaction as he admired Jing Yuan's astonished expression.
Yes, that's the look!
Chen Li's surprise wasn't feigned. Even after finishing the Honkai: Star Rail storyline, he still couldn't understand what madness had possessed Phantylia.
The Star Rail universe was full of soft targets, so why did she have to pick a fight with the followers of an Aeon who had the most unique relationship with their patron in the entire setting? Not only that, but she provoked an Aeon who had etched vengeance into its very bones, making it the entire meaning of its Path.
Are you sick in the head?
It wasn't until Chen Li read an in-game text stating that Phantylia wanted to forge a perfect physical body for herself and had set her sights on the blessings of Abundance that he finally understood. The Xianzhou was her target.
Oh, so there was an ulterior motive. Never mind then.
"So... want to cooperate?"
"Cooperate?" Jing Yuan's eyes widened slightly at Chen Li's proposal.
Those are my lines!
"Lord Ravager Phantylia. Although she hasn't yet posed a danger to the Xianzhou, if nothing unexpected happens, she could actually destroy half of it. So even though she hasn't done it yet, I still have to ask: do you want to retaliate against her?" Chen Li asked.
"Yes."
This time, Jing Yuan didn't hesitate and answered swiftly.
There was no room for hesitation.
Honestly, in a faction like the Xianzhou Alliance, which was entirely driven by the will of the Hunt, if you, as a General, learned that a Lord Ravager might destroy half of your home, and someone asked if you wanted to retaliate before the plan was executed, but you refused...
Forget reporting it to the Marshal; just spreading this news among the common folk would cause the entire Luofu to erupt.
The Xianzhou subscribed to the principle that "a grudge from ten generations ago can still be avenged."
After all, the true meaning of the Path of the Hunt was "vengeance."
What? The other party hasn't done anything yet? So you can't get revenge?!
The Hunt is not so inconvenient a thing.
"Excellent. It's a pleasure working with you. However, I have a demand of my own."
"What is it?" Jing Yuan wasn't surprised. It would have been strange if Chen Li hadn't made a demand.
Otherwise, with no ties of kinship or friendship, why would Chen Li help the Xianzhou? Just because he and Jing Yuan shared the same Xianzhou master? You might as well tell Jing Yuan that Chen Li and Jingliu were an item, and he was only helping the Xianzhou because he lusted after Jingliu's body.
"My demand is not excessive. I just want you to return what belongs to me."
"What is that?"
"The Starstone that I gave to your Xianzhou Medicine-Seekers thousands of years ago when they were seeking the cure."
---o--