Pei Guang was silent.
He truly hadn't expected the "always lose when betting" debuff on him to be this brutal. Good thing Stelle stopped him, otherwise his little scheme to bluff his way into a free meal might really have come true this time.
Pei Guang looked toward Stelle. Noticing his gaze, Stelle gave him a thumbs-up, and her eyes clearly said: "We're family, no need for formalities."
While the two exchanged looks, Tail got off of Huohuo and looked at Pei Guang. "The other Heliobi running off is one thing, but you definitely have to keep a close eye on Cirrus."
Pei Guang: "Crap! I forgot!"
After defeating the boss, Pei Guang had been preoccupied with what to do next and had completely forgotten about Cirrus.
After all, in most games, beating the boss means the fight's over. But Cirrus wasn't some programmed boss bound by game data: who knew what it might do after self-destructing?
Stelle looked at Pei Guang. "So what now? If that thing escapes and hides, it's gonna be a real problem."
Hearing her question, Pei Guang's expression turned confident. "I don't make the same mistake twice. I already marked Cirrus's position during the last operation. As long as it's on the Xianzhou Luofu, it's not going anywhere. Looks like it ran back to that earlier plaza? Let's go—time to refine Cirrus."
Pei Guang had no intention of sparing an enemy like this. Cirrus had nearly wiped out everyone in the Ten-Lords Commission within Fyxestroll Garden. Pei Guang felt that wiping it out completely was the only sensible course of action.
Just then, Huohuo stirred awake. "Hmm… Eh? It's over?"
Tail: "It's over. But now comes the cleanup."
Pei Guang: "Exactly! Huohuo, let's go! Time to catch Heliobi~ We've got a lead on your transformation device too."
Pei Guang hadn't forgotten his ultimate goal. With Cirrus having blown apart all of Fyxestroll Garden, Heliobi were scattered everywhere. With Cirrus plus some unconscious Heliobi, Pei Guang figured it'd be no problem at all to craft a transformation device for Huohuo.
Huohuo: "Mm!!"
Though Huohuo didn't really understand what a transformation device was, traveling alongside Pei Guang had given her a bit more confidence. And this journey had taught her how to face the Heliobi.
As for whether she'd cry or be scared facing them again without Pei Guang... well, that would have to be seen in the future.
The group retraced their steps, and by the time they returned to the plaza, the Ten-Lords Commission's spiritfarers—who had been unconscious under the influence of the Heliobi—were starting to wake up.
At the same time, because Cirrus had been suppressed, Hanya, who had been preparing outside Fyxestroll Garden, immediately resealed the entire place with formation spells the moment it broke free of the Heliobi's control.
As for the escaped Heliobi? That would have to be dealt with later. The top priority now was stopping the ones still inside from causing more chaos.
With the sealing complete, the spiritfarers re-entered Fyxestroll Garden and rescued the remaining unconscious people. Meanwhile, as Pei Guang and his group casually chatted on their way back to the plaza, one of the messengers dragged over a childlike spiritfarer.
Pei Guang looked at the child, then glanced at the mark on his minimap and rubbed his chin with curiosity. "Well well well, would you look at that: Cirrus entered this little guy's body?"
At Pei Guang's words, Cirrus snarled, "Bastard…"
Seeing Pei Guang's face, Cirrus wanted nothing more than to tear him limb from limb, but unfortunately, it was now trapped inside this Ten-Lords Commission junior.
It could still control the body to some degree, but wreaking havoc on the scale it did in Fyxestroll Garden? That was no longer possible.
Cirrus glared hatefully at Pei Guang and cursed, "Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! You, Tail, and all those judges—one day…"
It took a breath, seething with rage, then continued its venomous rant: "One day, I will tear you all to shreds, grind your bones until they crack, drain every ounce of your strength, and spit you like phlegm into the cracks of the earth. I will destroy everything you hold dear."
As it cursed, Pei Guang narrowed his eyes, and Stelle, standing nearby, felt the killing intent emanating from him.
This wasn't the first time Pei Guang had shown killing intent: the first had been when March 7th was ambushed by Phantylia. That time, Stelle had sensed Pei Guang's killing intent for the first time.
It wasn't overwhelming, but it was pure. And that sheer purity was scarier than even Nanook's gaze.
Looking at Cirrus, now residing in the spiritfarer child, Stelle silently made a cross in her heart and muttered a quiet Amitabha, praying for Cirrus.
Today, Cirrus was dead for sure.
In response to Cirrus's curse and venom, Pei Guang calmly drew his wooden sword and smiled. "Oh? So you plan to stay in this kid's body forever?"
Cirrus: "Kid? As an spiritfarer, he's seen more than you ever will."
It sneered. "As long as I'm trapped here, I won't leave his body. You can do whatever you want to this vessel—I'm not going anywhere. Divine spells? Talisman water? Those weird guns of yours? Doesn't matter. As long as you care about his life, I'll always have a bargaining chip."
Cirrus's face was full of arrogance. In its understanding, Heliobi were immortal. That's why the Xianzhou Alliance had spent all these years imprisoning them instead of killing them.
And the Alliance valued relationships and loyalty. As long as it held a life hostage, people from the Alliance would hesitate and never dare to go too far.
But Pei Guang had already aimed his wooden sword at the messenger, and the Heliobus inside.
At the same time, the entire plaza was suddenly engulfed in tricolored flames full of scent, color, and flavor: the Savory Truefire. The fire stretched from sky to earth, leaving no gaps.
Seeing the flames rise, some of the spiritfarers grew anxious. But both Xueyi and the newly arrived Hanya raised their hands at the same time, signaling them not to act rashly.
As for Cirrus? It hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary yet. All Pei Guang had done was pull out a wooden sword. Expelling a Heliobus with that? Dream on.
Pei Guang was calm now. From the moment Cirrus had spoken those words, he had made a decision: to annihilate it completely.
While the Xianzhou Alliance believed that Heliobus could not be destroyed, Pei Guang knew of at least two ways to completely erase them. And now, Pei Guang had already prepared the two most effective methods.
Still, out of caution, he didn't act immediately. Who knew what trump cards this boss might have left? Before figuring that out, Pei Guang planned to probe a bit more.
Wearing a faint smile, Pei Guang mocked, "In your current state? What tricks could you possibly pull?"
"Hahaha!"
Cirrus laughed, and responded with a sneer, "There's plenty I can do! I've lived countless ages before the Alliance was founded, and I'll continue to exist for countlessa Amber Eras after it falls. I can wait—wait until you lower your guard, until the seals on Fyxestroll Garden fail. Time and opportunity are always on my side. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you're defeated! Hahaha!"
Pei Guang showed a knowing expression. "I see. But that's all in the future. Which means, right now, you're completely powerless? You can't even leave his body?"
Cirrus replied, "So what? Ha! You think you can drive me out of this body with that pathetic wooden sword? It's not even sharpened: it can't pierce skin, let alone banish me. What a joke."
Cirrus couldn't resist or fight Pei Guang directly right now, but it could still talk back.
Pei Guang remained composed as he pressed the wooden sword to the boy's clothes and said softly, "Who told you a dull blade can't kill? Besides, I never intended to drive you out. Today, I'm making a new dish: roasted Heliobus."
With those words, he drove the wooden sword straight through the young spiritfarer's body. Cirrus instinctively looked down at the blade piercing through, a look of shock spreading across its host's face.
Though the sword had pierced clean through, Pei Guang had carefully avoided all critical organs, like the heart and lungs. Thanks to the boy's Vidyadhara heritage, as long as Pei Guang didn't twist or pull the sword, he wouldn't be in any life-threatening danger.
Xueyi could tell what Pei Guang was doing with that stab. Recalling that he had rare healing items, she didn't interfere and just watched silently.
Huohuo, on the other hand, clenched her fists nervously when she saw this. But when she saw Stelle wink at her, she exhaled in relief.
Though Pei Guang's wooden sword, when infused with a Stellaron's power, could destroy energy-based or memory-based lifeforms, he hadn't used it as a trump card here: just as a way to pin Cirrus down.