Gaden was startled and immediately rebuked:
"Chief, what are you pretending for?! You are no longer the chief, you're just a stinky blacksmith who screws bolts and pickles cucumbers!"
"...Uncle?"
The man slowly stood upright, his deep blue eyes revealing a golden halo:
"What a joke. I'm only thirty-three."
"—This aura, no, you're not the chief, this is the aura of Blockade Bodies!"
Gaden felt a chill down his spine and immediately questioned:
"Who exactly are you?!"
"Polina—no, not just Polina."
He raised his hand and started counting on his fingers:
"Gaslin, Xiven, Narta, Dulin..."
"And the Blacksmith."
He grinned, revealing a harmless smile:
"But now, we are—Li Aozi."
He took out that round thin pancake from his chest. It was a gift from the old lady.
"'The moon and the pancake, dream and reality—haha, they're the same.'"
The old lady's words surfaced in his mind, and Li Aozi smiled slightly.
"Merid...no, Zhi Xiang."
