A little girl with purple hair, dragon horns, and a tail came running up at full speed. With a sweep of her tail, she knocked out the rampaging Cloud Knight, then pulled out a gourd and handed it to the three people frozen in place. "Quick, give this to him, I'm here to give them..." Before she could finish, two more Mara-Struck Cloud Knights appeared in front of her, preparing to attack. "...this medicine for you all."
March 7th and Trailblazer were about to step in when a red streak of sword qi struck the enemy down, leaving them flat on the ground and completely immobile. Immediately afterwards, a white figure flashed from nowhere, landed steadily, and stepped in front of the group.
"Are all you Xianzhou natives so dramatic when you make an entrance?" Trailblazer muttered.
"Whoa, that guy looks seriously strong," March 7th exclaimed in awe.
"Thank you for saving me. Who might you be?" Bailu asked.
"I am Baihong. Just now I was nearby, um, patrolling. Quite a few Cloud Knights have fallen to the Mara-Struck, so I came to see what was going on. It seems trouble has indeed broken out here. Ah, judging by your attire, you must be the Nameless!" Baihong said, weighing his words carefully.
"You certainly have a discerning eye, Your Excellency. Indeed, I am Welt, and this is March 7th and the Trailblazer," Welt said.
"Oh, I remember! Back when we ran into Kafka, wasn't this the person who helped Fu Xuan capture her?" March 7th recalled.
"Heh, exactly. Though I merely happened to cross paths with that woman; as a member of the Cloud Knights, it was only my duty. Besides, the capture of the criminal was entirely planned by Lady Fu Xuan; I didn't contribute much. And you are?"
"We were entrusted by the General to investigate the traces of the Stellaron Hunters, and to resolve the crisis on the Xianzhou."
"By the way, little one, what's your name?" March 7th asked. "It's very dangerous for you to be out here alone. Where is your father?"
"I don't have a father."
"Where is your mother?"
"I don't have a mother either. The Vidyadhara don't have fathers or mothers."
March 7th was momentarily left speechless.
"Um, my name is Bailu, and I'm a healer at the Alchemy Commission. Don't tell me you think I snuck out to play just because I look young? Actually, this young lady has been practicing medicine ever since she was born—this isn't some child's game like you're imagining!"
"Good grief, kids in Belobog's Underworld are still playing in the dirt, and kids on the Xianzhou are already practicing medicine."
"The Vidyadhara?" Hearing this, Baihong silently noted the term in his mind. "I'll have to ask Yanqing for pointers about this later."
After bidding farewell to Bailu, the group prepared to head toward the Alchemy Commission.
"Right, we were in too much of a rush earlier, I haven't paid much attention to you yet. Judging by your outfit, you're an outlander too, aren't you?" March 7th asked.
"Yes, I just arrived on the Xianzhou recently. I happened to run into brother Yanqing, and at his suggestion, I joined the Cloud Knights."
"Haha, heroes truly come from the young. It seems the Xianzhou is not lacking in masters," Welt smiled.
"You flatter me, sir. My martial arts are quite ordinary. Yanqing, on the other hand, is still young yet immensely talented in martial arts—I see great potential in his future."
"Sigh, thinking back to when we confronted that dangerous woman Kafka not long ago, this young lady still gets the shakes. Good thing she was subdued; that's one hazard dealt with, at least." March 7th patted her chest with a sigh.
"Speaking of which, how much do you all know about Kafka? I saw her wanted poster on a Xianzhou notice board with a very high bounty. She can't be an ordinary person, right?" Baihong asked.
"Well, that's a long story.
Actually, to put it simply, Kafka comes from a mysterious organization called the Stellaron Hunters. They follow the orders of someone named Elio, who can foresee the future. They act according to the script written by Elio to execute a mad plan, and their whereabouts are unknown to the entire universe. At the same time, they are a primary target on the IPC's wanted list; once discovered, dead or alive, the IPC offers a heavy reward." Welt patiently explained.
"Then why didn't Kafka put up any resistance when we encountered her before? Why did she surrender so easily? That doesn't seem like her style!" March 7th asked curiously.
"She must have made preparations. We need to stay on our guard," Trailblazer warned.
As they talked, they arrived at the Alchemy Commission.
"Fu Xuan said that once we got here, there would be a guide waiting for us. Where is she?" March 7th looked around.
"Stop looking, down here."
A slightly lazy voice drifted up. March 7th looked down to see a young girl with grayish-green hair tied into twin tails looking up at them.
"You're the guide Fu Xuan mentioned? You're about the same height as her—could it be that everyone in the Divination Commission looks like this?" March 7th said.
"Heh heh, don't underestimate her! Though the Divination Master herself may be lacking in stature, her capabilities reach the heavens. Even if the skies of the Divination Commission were to fall, she'd be the one holding them up," the girl boasted.
"Well, someone who can catch bullets with her bare hands is certainly formidable," Trailblazer said.
"Oh, right, my name is Qingque, and you must be the guests Lady Fu Xuan sent word about. *Sigh* (ó﹏ò), I have to work overtime again—and I only just made plans with my friends to play Celestial Jade today!" Qingque complained with her mouth, but her legs moved quite briskly. "Hurry up and follow me, if we're late, Master Diviner will blame me, and I can't afford that."
The group followed Qingque, scurrying back and forth and running all over the place, yet they couldn't even find the exit to the Alchemy Commission. The only way out was completely blocked off ahead. (*Sigh* (′-ω`?), not being able to jump is truly pitiful)
Baihong spoke up, "Everyone, don't panic. Let me check if there are any other paths." With that, he took a running start, leaped up to a high rooftop, scrambled to the highest vantage point, and surveyed the surroundings.
Qingque covered her mouth in shock: "Whoa! Is this what true power looks like? I could only ever imagine it in storybooks, I never thought I'd see the real thing today."
Baihong carefully looked around. The Alchemy Commission was surrounded by the sea, and right now monsters were prowling through most of the low-lying areas, making it extremely dangerous. An idea struck him: To evacuate the crowd, there weren't many Xianzhou natives left here, and the terrain was wide open. He could use these monsters to smash open a gap, which would also clear out the threat. When the time came, he'd just claim the monsters had accidentally knocked the wall down while he was dealing with them; surely Yanqing wouldn't blame him. He was forced into this, after all.
With that, he began to channel his inner energy, gathering his true qi onto his sword, and swung a strike toward the gathered monsters. The Abundance abominations let out a few miserable screams, and several of the Cloud Knights who had fallen to the ground stood back up and charged at Baihong.
"Want to resurrect, do you? Then I'll make sure you don't return alive! Rainbow Pierces the Sun." Baihong sneered and executed a sword form, unleashing a powerful wave of sword qi that overturned all the monsters. Some of the monsters crashed straight into the wall, smashing a massive hole right through it.
"Baihong, where are you?! Answer us!"
Hearing the group calling out, Baihong channeled his inner energy and shouted loudly: "I'm right over here!"
"Whoa, how is his voice so loud? It's like he's shouting through a megaphone," March 7th said.
Welt pondered thoughtfully: "Ever since we met, I've noticed that Baihong is, well, to use your Xianzhou storybook phrasing, a martial artist. His attire alone gives him the aura of a wuxia hero. And just now, he scaled that rooftop in a few bounds—while locals on the Xianzhou might possess such skills, the depth of his internal energy is truly among the greatest I've ever seen in a martial artist."
"Whoa! I didn't expect Mr. Yang to rate him so highly. Looks like we've run into a real expert. Yay!" March 7th exclaimed excitedly.
When they found Baihong, he was in the middle of regulating his breathing.
"Whoa, just like the storybooks say—great heroes always regulate their breathing after using their internal arts! It really looks like Baihong is a legendary martial arts hero!" Qingque said with a smile.
"Turns out there's a grand hero right here among us!" Trailblazer said.
"Mr. Yang is pretty amazing too, though! Now that we've got a master on our side, we won't have to fear even if those Stellaron Hunters show up!" March 7th put her hands on her hips.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. I checked just now and found that the exit wasn't easy to locate, so I took it upon myself to use these monsters to smash an exit open. It should make our journey much easier ahead. I hope you understand," Baihong said, sheathing his sword on his back.
"It's fine, it's fine. The Master Diviner isn't that rigid. As the saying goes, whether a cat is black or white, a good cat catches mice. As long as it benefits the plan, a minor bit of property damage is nothing," Qingque waved her hand dismissively and said.