"Haha! That's wonderful, that's wonderful. As long as the General is fine... But wait, you don't look so good. How are you feeling? If you're not well, you should hurry over to the Alchemy Commission and get checked out. Don't let it drag on," Yanqing said, his face lighting up when he heard the General was alright, before noticing Baihong's pale expression and asking with concern.
"I'm fine, just got caught in the crossfire during the battle earlier. The only reason we managed to defeat Phantylia in the end is thanks to the General and Dan Heng."
"That won't do at all! If you're hurt, you need to go get treated right away. How can someone who practices martial arts trample on their own body like that? A healthy body is the foundation of everything! Come on, stop talking, I'm taking you!" Yanqing insisted firmly.
Unable to talk his way out of it, Baihong had no choice but to go with him to the Alchemy Commission.
"Yanqing, really, thank you. But I genuinely am fine!"
Without another word, Yanqing grabbed Baihong by the hand and practically ran all the way to the Alchemy Commission.
When they arrived, the local medics and alchemists were busy treating the Cloud Knights and residents who had been injured in the disaster.
Yanqing rushed up to a medic and asked, "How is the General doing right now?"
"Ah? You mean General Jing Yuan? He just woke up, and he's probably meeting with guests over at the Divine Foresight right now."
Hearing that the General was safe, a hint of a smile appeared on Yanqing's face before he started looking around for Bailu.
"Where is Healer Bailu? I won't be at ease until she takes a look at you," Yanqing said.
"Bailu... is that the little girl?" Baihong recalled the purple-haired little sister he had run into earlier. "She's just a child. Is her medical skill really that remarkable?"
"Haha, don't let her size fool you, she's amazingly nimble! She is the current High Elder of the Vidyadhara. The Vidyadhara are one of the races here on the Xianzhou. I learned from the archives that they have the ability to reincarnate, and each successive High Elder looks almost identical to the last. But as you saw with the High Elder—well, that actually has to do with Dan Heng, the Imbibitor Lunae you met earlier. I only heard the General mention this by chance: back when the General was young, there were five valiant warriors by his side, including the General himself, whom people called the Cloud Knights' Quintet. During the crisis of Shuhu, Dan Feng—that's Dan Heng's past life—used a dragon-summoning art, which led to the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion. After the disaster was resolved, Dan Feng was locked away in The Shackling Prison to endure endless torment..."
"Dan Heng is a Vidyadhara too?"
"Yes, though I don't know the specific details. He must possess the power of the High Elder within him as well, or else he wouldn't have suddenly transformed into the Imbibitor Lunae. Ah, there's Bailu! Let's go." Catching sight of Bailu out of the corner of his eye, Yanqing immediately grabbed Baihong and hurried over to her.
"You two don't look like you're hurt at all. Are you just coming over to gawk? Can't you see I'm busy?!" Bailu complained.
"Lady Bailu, it's like this: my friend here got injured during the battle against Phantylia just now, could you please take a look at him?" Yanqing said.
Bailu propped her chin in her hand, narrowed her eyes as she looked the two of them over, swished her tail back and forth, and let out a sigh. "Fine, fine! Who made this young lady so kind-hearted that she can't bear to see others suffer? You go wait over there for a moment while I finish treating this Cloud Knight first."
This medic has a rather... unique way of diagnosing patients.
Watching Bailu's treatment methods, Baihong couldn't help feeling a trace of worry.
"All right! Your turn. Hand over, let me take your pulse," Bailu said.
Baihong obediently extended his hand.
Bailu muttered to herself, her brow furrowing, and it was quite a while before she spoke up. "Um, sorry, I'm not trying to pry into your privacy on purpose, but I'm just really curious—what on earth used to be your line of work?"
Yanqing explained, "It's understandable. It's just that because of an accident, Baihong suffered some trauma and lost his memory. He only remembers his name and nothing else at all."
"I see. When I checked his pulse, I could infer from it that his past experiences were unimaginably perilous, and he was frequently subjected to severe injuries. Honestly, I have no idea how a short-lived species like you has managed to stay alive until now," Bailu shook her head and continued, "As for your chronic internal injuries, I don't fully understand them yet, so I shouldn't prescribe medication arbitrarily. Here's what we'll do: I'll give you a prescription for some restorative and nourishing herbal tonics. When you get back, make sure to get plenty of rest, keep regular hours, drink lots of water, spend some time in the sun, and keep your mood up..."
Yanqing exclaimed in amazement, "You can even tell all that? Traditional medicine is incredible!"
Noticing that Baihong didn't seem surprised at all, and connecting it to his behavior from earlier, Yanqing felt even more certain of his own suspicions.
After bidding farewell to Bailu, the two of them went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription. As they came out, they happened to bump into Qingque—or rather, Qingque who had snuck away from work to slack off.
"That's strange. Doesn't Yanqing have to patrol every single day? How does he have time to come to the Alchemy Commission today? Bizarre! And who's that next to him... Baihong?" Qingque was thinking to herself when Yanqing and Baihong noticed her, making it impossible to pretend she hadn't seen them.
"Isn't that Qingque? She should be working at this hour! Has the Master Diviner's workload gotten this leisurely now?" Yanqing thought to himself, then called out, "Qingque? What are you..."
"Ah? What a coincidence, right? As for me... ugh, work is so exhausting. All day long, organizing those heavy documents, my hand—my hand is cramping up! But I couldn't bear to bother my colleagues any more, so I secretly slipped out to let a medic take a look. Speaking of which, are you two here to see a doctor as well?" Qingque said without batting an eye, while shaking her supposedly cramping hand to prove her story.
"We came to see Bailu for treatment. My friend got hurt, so we had to find Bailu. Since Miss Qingque is busy seeing the doctor, we won't disturb you any further. Bye-bye!"
After saying goodbye to Qingque, Yanqing told Baihong, "Make sure you get some good rest today. The crisis on the Xianzhou is over, and in a few days I'll ask Lady Fu Xuan to use the Scryvoyance Device to divine your past. I'm going off to patrol now. Let's meet up at our usual spot in Scalegorge Waterscape."
After a short while, Bailu watched the two figures walking away, lost in thought.
"Healer Bailu, the medicine has been prepared... Oh? Is something the matter?" A gentle, captivating voice drifted over. Following the sound, a blue-haired young woman slowly walked out, carrying a bowl of steaming medicine.
"Ah! Lady Lanyue, thank you so much for your help! I honestly don't know what kind of chaos I'd be in without you!" Bailu turned back to say to Lanyue.
"It's nothing at all. For Bailu to be so kind-hearted and charitable at such a young age, helping others—you really are an extraordinary little grown-up!"
"Hehe, I'm not nearly as amazing as you say! Let's get back to work." Bailu scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.
With that, the two of them set to work.
"This incident has made me fully understand that I am still not strong enough. When facing combat power on the scale of an Aeon, an individual's strength is truly not worth mentioning. But if I can grow even a fraction stronger, I can protect my companions that much more," Baihong muttered quietly to himself on the way back.
For the Astral Express crew, although the primary crisis had been resolved, the lives lost in this disaster could not be overshadowed by victory.
They came to the Sky-Faring Commission and broke the news about Tingyun to Yukong.
Upon hearing it, Yukong fell into a long silence. After a long while, she finally spoke: "...I truly... never expected it, nor can I bring myself to believe it. Tingyun, who worked alongside me for so many years, was actually Phantylia of the Legion of Destruction... This is really impossible to accept..." She finished, her face turning ashen.
"I'm sorry... Yukong, we didn't expect it either. We're deeply grieved by this as well." March 7th tried to comfort Yukong, but only such pale and powerless words could escape her lips.
"Forget it... The dead are gone, and no amount of grief will change that. Since you are honored guests of the Xianzhou, would you accompany me to witness the farewell ceremony?"
Meanwhile, Baihong figured that the Scalegorge Waterscape happened to be completely deserted, making it an ideal place to practice swordsmanship.
Without hesitation, he set off immediately, though he quickly realized how far away it was. What if it got too late by the time he arrived, and Yanqing couldn't find him? What should he do then?
Never mind, he decided, I'll wait until Yanqing comes back.
With that, he found a secluded, empty corner and began practicing his sword.
A long time passed before Yanqing's voice called out: "Teacher Baihong, where are you?"
Baihong was baffled. Why was Yanqing calling him "Teacher"? Puzzled as he was, when Baihong emerged, Yanqing spotted him instantly. Seizing Baihong by the hand, he said, "Um... Ever since our last battle, I've deeply felt my own powerlessness. Seeing your swordsmanship was an absolute revelation to me, so I have an earnest request. Could you teach me the art of the sword? Please, Teacher!"
So that was why he was calling him Teacher.