Jingliu took a deep breath to steady herself, staring at the man who had once been her closest friend—now almost unrecognizable. Just as she was about to speak, Dan Heng cut in with calm precision.
Dan Heng: "Your next line is: 'Should I call you Dan Heng… or Dan Feng?'"
What Jingliu had actually intended to say was, "Should I address you by your current name?" But Dan Heng's timing was half a beat faster, and his words were close enough to derail her entirely.
Jingliu: "...Should I call you Dan Heng or Dan Feng?"
Silence.
Jingliu could feel it—this man was nothing like the Dan Feng she once knew.
Meanwhile, Dan Heng mused inwardly. Pei Guang always does this when facing opponents: predicting their words and saying them first. Any seasoned warrior could anticipate an enemy's thoughts, but few would bother.
After all, in battle, preempting someone's dialogue didn't determine victory or defeat.
But Pei Guang had once quipped: "Win or lose, always trash-talk the enemy first. Demoralize them!"
Jingliu remained quiet for a long moment before finally speaking—though she paused mid-breath, ensuring Dan Heng wouldn't interrupt again. Only then did she continue.
But before she could finish—
Dan Heng (still calm, yet somehow making Jingliu's Mara scream): "You were going to say, 'The sins of past lives should be erased with rebirth?' Sorry, but I've never claimed that. I've never escaped the past. I live as Dan Heng now—with his identity, his thoughts."
Damn it all!
Jingliu's composure frayed. Between Dan Heng's words and that infuriating bunny spear, she was this close to smacking him.
This is unbearable! Dan Feng was never this insufferable.
Why does Dan Heng sound just like him, yet have such a mouth?
Every line she'd prepared—stolen before she could speak.
Just as her irritation peaked, a hand materialized beside her, holding a steaming cup of coffee.
Mysterious Voice: "Anger hurts the liver, sis. Here, hydrate."
Jingliu took the cup automatically. "...Thanks."
She drained it in one go, handed the empty cup back, and then froze. Her expression darkened as she finally registered the owner of that hand.
Jingliu: "You…"
Dan Heng shook his head. "It wasn't me. It was him."
Jingliu instinctively followed Dan Heng's gaze and saw Pei Guang putting away the coffee cup with a smile as he looked at her.
"Sis, anger's bad for your health~ Take a nap after this drink. I know you were here first, but I've got something to discuss with Dan Heng."
That's right—Pei Guang had arrived. But he wasn't here to get involved in Dan Heng's situation.
Jing Yuan had already explained everything. Dan Heng was simply Dan Heng now. The bounty had been rescinded long ago, and the only remaining "criminal" from the Xianzhou Luofu was the former Dan Feng.
As for this meeting, important or not, it was somewhere in between.
"Sorry to disturb you, Dan Heng. I wasn't planning to interrupt, but I figured messaging you would be a hassle. I was worried if I waited till you got back, it might be too late. So I came in person. And, well... I saw this lady going berserk, trying to chop you down, so I knocked her out. Hope that didn't cause any trouble?"
Pei Guang had arrived in good spirits, only to find a woman flipping out on Dan Heng. Thinking it would be hard to talk with all that chaos, he just sent her off to dreamland for a bit.
And true to form, his coffee was still absurdly potent. Maybe the brew had evolved alongside him, because even Jingliu couldn't resist its effects.
Dan Heng looked at the peacefully sleeping Jingliu, and after spacing out a little, nodded seriously. "No trouble. In fact, her mind is clearly agitated. She needs to calm herself."
Pei Guang: "Glad to hear it. So, here's the deal—me, March, and Stelle were stirring things up in Belobog for a big event, right? I heard from Himeko and March that you, like me and Stelle, only have one outfit. I came to remind you to buy a new one. Gotta look sharp for the festivities."
"And also… you're facing your past this time, yeah? Perfect! I picked up something good from Sampo—figured you could use it. Stick this on your spear: it pierces flesh, crushes the soul, double damage! But just so we're clear, it's a loan. You gotta return it when you're done."
Dan Heng's heart stirred a little. Pei Guang really did treat everyone on the Astral Express like family. Whatever he had, he shared. No hoarding, no hesitation.
He said nothing—just handed his weapon over to Pei Guang, who promptly attached the "Simulated Head" to Dan Heng's spear.
And so, Dan Heng's pink, cutesy bunny weapon now came with a new feature—attacks now flung out phantom heads. Since the bunny effects were already on it, the combined effect was that each strike sent flying a disembodied bunny head that meowed while flying through the air.
In addition, Dan Heng could now wear the bunny head over his own during combat—further enhancing his strikes against enemies.
And being a weapon effect, it didn't interfere with usage. From Dan Heng's perspective, aside from the cat noises, everything looked normal. But to others?
His weapon now looked ethereal and unstable, with attacks that had completely unpredictable trajectories and range.
To top-tier fighters, it might still be possible to distinguish between real and fake—but the real agony of this effect was that it couldn't be neutralized by external force.
Only players knew how much of a nightmare it was when someone equipped an "annoying effect" weapon.
Because when that happens, simply stepping onto the battlefield is already a win.
And Dan Heng being able to complete this chaotic combo? He had one man to thank—Sampo, who was currently being judged in a corporate tribunal. And in that courtroom, feeling a sudden sense of gratitude transcending worlds, Sampo smiled confidently.
After handing the weapon back, Dan Heng looked at Pei Guang. "Thank you."
Pei Guang: "No need for thanks. Besides, I'm not just here for you. I still need to look into that Aetherium Wars thing, Topaz said I could add some Aether Spirits to it."
Pei Guang hadn't forgotten the people he met on the Luofu.
Since this was a major event, anyone who could be invited would be. And with the star rails to the Jarilo system now fully accessible, getting people there was easy.
By Xianzhou standards, even if you hadn't visited before, so long as you had the right coordinates, traveling there was no problem—kind of like taking a short domestic flight.
With that, Pei Guang left.