"Has the seal on the Scalegorge Waterscape not been lifted yet?"
"It might temporarily require some time..."
Listening to her subordinate Qingzu's report, Fu Xuan, sitting behind the Divine Foresight General's desk—a position she usually coveted—felt only a headache now. She wanted to be General, but absolutely not under these circumstances, being dragged up as a scapegoat at the last minute.
In just one day, the Luofu had experienced a series of calamities: the Ambrosial Arbor's rebirth, the attack on the Shackling Prison, the General losing contact, Hoolay's jailbreak, and the massive Borisin disturbance. Fu Xuan wasn't intentionally exaggerating, but the severity of the situation, she felt, was no less than the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae.
The only saving grace was that casualties on the Luofu weren't significant. This was mainly because although these events were dramatic, no overwhelmingly powerful force capable of shattering the Cloud Knights had emerged to cause chaos.
The Ambrosial Arbor, though reborn, was sealed within the Scalegorge Waterscape along with the General and the Astral Express. And those Borisin causing trouble outside were even quelled by enthusiastic citizens.
Yet, the situation remained dire. Disregarding the blow to the Xianzhou's image caused by such major unrest during the Luminary Wardance with countless offworld guests visiting, just internally on the Luofu, Fu Xuan could already sense a strange, brewing storm... Even the Matrix of Prescience had been secretly damaged and was temporarily unusable.
Under these circumstances, no one would believe there weren't internal traitors on the Luofu.
However, there was some good news. Due to the severity of the chaos on the Luofu this time, reinforcements from other Xianzhou ships were already en route.
There was no need to worry about the situation worsening further—though honestly, Fu Xuan felt things couldn't get much worse already. Could there really be another Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, or even an Emanator of Abundance and a Lord Ravager appearing on the Xianzhou?
Such things were too absurd; impossible.
"Speaking of which, how is that member of the Astral Express doing now?"
"Well... Her condition was very poor previously, sometimes even vomiting blood. Her spirits seem slightly better today..." Qingzu hesitated. "However, the opinion from the Alchemy Commission doesn't seem optimistic. Even Lady Bailu feels..."
Fu Xuan frowned, rubbing the corners of her eyes. She knew what this meant, of course. If she couldn't be cured, the only possibility was a final surge of vitality before death.
"Miss Twilight saved the Luofu from great peril this time; she is an esteemed guest of our Xianzhou Luofu. Ask the Alchemy Commission to try finding some other methods..."
Mentioning this benefactor who quelled the chaos of Hoolay and the Borisin, Fu Xuan also felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, the person came to the Xianzhou seeking medicine for a serious illness initially. Now, not only had the Xianzhou failed to help, but they had even implicated her, worsening her condition further, leaving her with little time left.
"Fulfill any requests she has without fail. There must be no negligence."
"Miss Twilight's health is precarious, and she rarely speaks these days... However, no matter how bad her condition, she asks about her companions every day." A trace of pity flashed across Qingzu's expression. "Master Diviner, are we really doing the right thing, continuing to deceive her like this?"
"Telling the truth would make things worse. Should we really let her demolish the Scalegorge Waterscape and barge in? At that point, perhaps not just the Scalegorge Waterscape, but she herself would also—Sigh..." Fu Xuan sighed deeply, feeling helpless.
These past few days, they hadn't told Twilight the truth about the lack of news from the Scalegorge Waterscape, merely saying the Astral Express and the General were doing well there and would return in a few days after vanquishing the Stellaron...
This was a prior instruction left by Jing Yuan based on Dan Heng's request: if any accident temporarily occurred during the campaign against the Ambrosial Arbor, they absolutely had to keep Twilight stable and prevent her from rushing over out of worry.
Fu Xuan could roughly understand both their thoughts... The Astral Express side likely worried Twilight would lose her composure, disregard her recuperation, and forcibly rush over to fight alongside them, causing her body to deteriorate further.
Jing Yuan, on the other hand, probably worried Twilight would directly demolish the Scalegorge Waterscape to find them... That was the Vidyadhara's forbidden ground. If it was really demolished just like that, the Xianzhou Vidyadhara would absolutely explode.
And Twilight had been relatively obedient. She seemed to think the Express crew felt bringing her along in her poor condition would be a burden, hence leaving her at the inn.
Although somewhat downcast, she hadn't insisted on going to the Scalegorge Waterscape, merely gazing wistfully out the window from her sickbed every day, seemingly hoping to see those familiar faces.
Honestly, Fu Xuan herself felt it was a bit pitiful to watch. It was normal for Qingzu to feel sympathy.
Sigh, what exactly was Jing Yuan doing over there? Just sealing one Stellaron, with so many people, how come it still wasn't resolved after so many days?
---||---
I should be dying soon. If nothing unexpected happens, it's today.
Covering her mouth and coughing twice, Twilight looked at the blood in her palm, feeling this premonition.
Despite her body being at its absolute limit, she had desperately worked herself to death, successfully whittling down her already short lifespan to just a few days. And now, it seemed the final day had arrived.
She could feel the pain in her body lessening considerably. Her limbs felt heavy, but moving them wasn't as agonizing as before—however, this wasn't a sign of recovery, but quite the opposite: this body had reached the brink of complete collapse.
And the members of the Express crew ultimately didn't disappoint her. Despite waiting by the window and door like a loyal wife day after day for their return, even now, she couldn't see them one last time.
Come to think of it, she had rarely seen the Express crew members these past few months. They were always rushing around the galaxy, trying to find ways to save her... That was certainly good, but they overlooked one thing: while this period of rushing about wasn't long for them, for Twilight, it constituted a fraction of her entire life.
She had thought that at the end of her life, she could continue Trailblazing with everyone on the Xianzhou like before. But ultimately, what awaited her was still a lonely, empty sickroom.
Twilight stood blankly in the room for a long while before slowly walking to the bedside, leaning against the wall, and opening the notebook she always carried.
This notebook, which had followed her since the beginning of her journey, recording countless wishes alongside her, was now completely filled. Every page recorded within almost corresponded to an amusing anecdote from the Express's past.
Twilight flipped through it with a faint smile, until finally, her fingers stopped at the very last page.
Three wishes remained unfulfilled.
Unfortunately, they could never be fulfilled now.
In the empty room, only tears rolled down her cheeks, wetting the smiling faces drawn on the page.
"I..."