Chapter 234: Tingyun Returns Home
Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan stared at Leon in absolute silence. The grand hall felt heavy with unspoken questions. Good grief... Tingyun had met with her disastrous fate long before the Astral Express ever docked at the Xianzhou Luofu. The local authorities could not even pinpoint the exact time of her disappearance, let alone recover her physical remains. And yet, here stood Leon and Ruan Mei, casually presenting a deeply slumbering Tingyun. It was as if he had foreseen the entire crisis and arranged every piece of the board in advance. The suspicion brewing in the hearts of the Arbiter-General and the Master Diviner crystallized into certainty. Such terrifying precognitive foresight far surpassed the calculations of Fu Xuan's Matrix of Prescience. Only an Aeon could possess such vision. If Leon tried to brush this off as a mere coincidence now, neither of them would buy it.
"What is all this talk about Tingyun's remains? Little March, your choice of vocabulary is far too morbid." Leon shook his head, a relaxed smile tugging at his lips. "Tingyun is very much alive."
He swept his gaze across the room, taking in the wide eyes and slack jaws of the Express crew and Xianzhou leaders alike. A distinct flicker of amusement danced in his eyes. The comedic timing of this reveal was absolutely flawless. As for the ceremonial belongings that had just been launched into the void of space... well, the Foxian beauty likely would not mind the loss of a few trinkets. In her original destiny, she had not even considered returning to the Luofu immediately, opting instead to plot her own personal vengeance against Phantylia.
"Tingyun... is she truly still alive?" Yukong asked, her usually authoritative voice trembling with raw emotion. Her fox ears twitched, betraying her desperate hope.
Out of everyone standing in the room, the Helm Master cared for the young Amicassador the most. Though they addressed one another as sisters in public, Yukong had always nurtured and protected Tingyun as if she were her own flesh and blood. The initial news of the girl's grim fate had hollowed her out, leaving a grief too deep for words. Hearing that she survived felt like a waking dream. The suffocating weight that had anchored itself to Yukong's chest for weeks suddenly shattered, allowing her to draw a full, unhindered breath.
"Of course she is. If my word is not enough to sway you, you should at least trust the professional assessment of a Genius Society member like Ruan Mei, right?" Leon chuckled, gesturing casually toward the elegant scholar beside him.
"Mr. Leon, it is not a matter of distrust..." Yukong quickly corrected herself, stepping closer to the pod. "I simply... I need to know when she will open her eyes again."
"I do not have a definitive answer." Ruan Mei shook her head with a gentle, clinical detachment. "She might awaken in the next second, or she might remain in this state for a lifetime. The lingering erosion from the Path of Destruction runs deep in her system. She must rely entirely on her own internal willpower to purge that corruption before any possibility of consciousness returns."
"That... that is acceptable." Yukong let out a long, shuddering breath, her hands clasping together. "As long as there is a sliver of hope. That is all I ask."
She had spent days preparing her heart for the absolute worst outcome. Knowing that Tingyun retained a fighting chance to reclaim her life provided an immense, soothing comfort to her weary soul.
"Wait a minute..." Stelle blinked, her deadpan expression breaking as she pointed a finger toward the sky. "Did we not just launch all of Tingyun's personal belongings away on a starskiff?"
A deep, awkward silence descended upon the group. The Trailblazer was entirely correct. The Amicassador was alive, yet her prized possessions had just been ceremoniously jettisoned into the unforgiving depths of deep space. Those specialized starskiffs were piloted by autonomous drones, programmed to drift randomly into the cosmic void with absolutely zero possibility of retrieval. The most frustrating part was that this entire loss of property could have been easily avoided. If Leon and Ruan Mei had simply opened their mouths a fraction of an hour earlier, the Sky-Faring Commission would not have packed her estate onto a ship and blasted it into the stars. Somewhere out in the vacuum of space, Tingyun's favorite fans and teacups were probably cursing their selfish send-off.
"Hey, Leon, you did not orchestrate this on purpose, did you?" March 7th planted her hands firmly on her hips, puffing out her cheeks as she glared at the grinning man. "You deliberately waited until we shot all her stuff into orbit before saying a single word!"
"You cannot pin this tragedy on me." Leon spread his hands in a picture-perfect display of innocence. "None of you bothered to ask."
"So if we do not ask, you just keep quiet about our dead friend being alive?" March 7th narrowed her eyes, her suspicion peaking. She was growing increasingly certain that this entire theatrical delay was just his twisted way of fishing for a good laugh.
"The atmosphere was incredibly solemn during the ceremony. Everyone was so deeply immersed in their mourning." Leon's smile deepened into a mischievous smirk. "If I had abruptly interrupted the funeral to announce she was taking a nap, would that not have completely ruined the emotional mood?"
Standing off to the side, Welt silently pushed up his glasses. The ambient light caught the lenses, hiding his exasperated sigh. That flimsy excuse might fool the more gullible members of the crew, but the seasoned animator knew Leon's personality all too well. This delayed revelation was one hundred percent intentional. Letting Stelle and the others go through the emotional wringer of sending off the remains, only to drop the punchline immediately after... the man was treating the universe like his own personal comedy stage.
"Is it... really just about the mood?" March 7th scratched the back of her head, her intuition screaming that she was being played.
A few steps away, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan quietly exchanged a knowing glance, sharing a silent, weary understanding of the anomaly standing before them.
"It matters not." Yukong waved a hand, having already made peace with the comedic absurdity of the situation. "As long as Tingyun can open her eyes again, those worldly possessions can easily be replaced."
Material wealth meant absolutely nothing in the face of a reclaimed life. Besides, the Amicassador was a shrewd businesswoman; her liquid assets and primary bank accounts had not been frozen or confiscated yet. She could buy new teacups.
Before the Helm Master could finish her thought, the long eyelashes of the Foxian resting inside the nutrient pod suddenly fluttered. The subtle movement did not escape Leon's notice. The corners of his mouth curled upward. Deep within the confines of the girl's mind, darkness descended like a suffocating tide, mirroring the primordial chaos that existed before the birth of the universe. Amidst that swirling, formless void, a resonant voice echoed out, carrying the absolute authority of a creator.
'Awake...'Leon's projected figure materialized within the fractured landscape of Tingyun's consciousness. He stood with his hands tucked into his pockets, quietly observing as her spiritual avatar slowly opened its eyes.'Where... is this place?'she murmured, her voice echoing in the empty void.'Who... are you? And... who am I?'
Tingyun looked around with a blank, unfocused stare. The trauma of the Lord Ravager's possession had scrubbed her immediate memory into a pristine, terrifying void.
"This is your conscious world," Leon replied, his tone gentle yet grounding. "I am Leon. You could consider me your benefactor, of sorts. And you are Tingyun, the esteemed Amicassador of the Xianzhou Luofu's Sky-Faring Commission."
He chuckled softly, closing the distance between them to gently rub the top of her fluffy ears. Her confused, vulnerable expression was undeniably cute.
At his touch, an indescribable sense of warmth and familiarity welled up in Tingyun's chest. The mental block shattered. Fragmented memories rushed back into her mind like a surging tide, clicking into place with dizzying speed. She remembered the sheer terror. She remembered her merchant vessel being ruthlessly boarded by the Antimatter Legion, the suffocating presence of an Emanator, and the absolute darkness that claimed her consciousness shortly after.
'Lord Leon...'she murmured softly, testing the name on her tongue as she looked up at him.'Was it you who pulled me from the abyss?'
"Saved you? I suppose you could phrase it that way." Leon smiled, crossing his arms. "You were incredibly lucky, little fox. You crossed paths with a Lord Ravager and somehow managed to keep your soul intact through sheer, stubborn willpower. You were then coincidentally scooped up by a very special merchant, delivered to the laboratory of Ruan Mei, and finally brought before me."
"Now, you stand at a crossroads with two choices." He held up two fingers, the digits glowing faintly in the dark mindscape. "Option one: you walk out of this suffocating darkness relying entirely on your own strength. If you can force yourself to wake up, you will forge a new life, burning brighter than a rekindled flame. Option two: I simply take your hand and lead you out of this maze. You will still gain power and a new lease on life, but without the struggle."
Tingyun lowered her head, her fluffy ears drooping slightly as she weighed the options in quiet contemplation.
'Between these two paths... on the surface, the second choice is naturally the most advantageous.'She slowly raised her eyes. The previous fog of confusion had vanished, replaced by a clear, unwavering firmness.'But I choose the first.'"Oh? And why is that?" Leon raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued by her immediate rejection of the easy way out.'This humble girl's lifelong ambition is to elevate the Whistling Flames guild into one of the most prosperous and influential merchant organizations in the entire sea of stars,'she declared, her voice gaining strength with every word.'Though I have suffered a terrible calamity and lost much, my core resolve remains entirely unchanged. I have never forgotten the thrill of that first moment... venturing out into the vast sea of stars, traveling far and wide to negotiate trades. That singular dream has been the starting point of my entire existence.'She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.'Before the apocalyptic power unleashed by a Lord Ravager, a mere mortal existence like mine is nothing but a speck of dust. I was tossed about at their whim, completely unable to control my own fate or protect my own body.''But now...' A sharp, dangerously bright smile gradually blossomed across Tingyun's delicate features.'Tingyun shall become a very cunning speck of dust. I will survive this ordeal, and I will absolutely make that high-and-mighty Lord Ravager pay a steep price for using me.'
Her underlying meaning was crystal clear. The usually diplomatic Amicassador wanted blood. She intended to carve the memory of this agonizing violation into her very soul, using it as fuel to seek direct revenge against Phantylia the Undying, the monster who had stolen her life.
"Very well." Genuine admiration flashed in Leon's eyes. The Foxian possessed far more bite than her sweet exterior suggested. "Then step forward and claim your life. Remember, you are not walking this path alone."
Under Leon's silent, watchful guidance, Tingyun squared her shoulders and stepped forward into the abyssal dark, taking it one deliberate pace at a time. It did not take long for the shadows to twist and manifest. Hideous phantoms materialized before her—the lingering, corrupted remnants of the Antimatter Legion, deeply entrenched in the depths of her consciousness like a burning brand waiting to be extinguished.
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