As the last glass of wine on the table was finished, Jingliu, still wearing a smile, stood up.
"The High-Cloud Quintet... it's time for us to say goodbye... I must go accept the price that is due to me. Dan Heng, this time... thank you."
For Jingliu, this experience had been nothing short of transformative, but she also understood that all good things must come to an end.
Blade said nothing, just watching everyone, and at that moment, Jingliu turned to Jing Yuan. "We've had good wine and beautiful memories. This gathering was truly wonderful. But now, it's time for me to set off... to Xuling. Jing Yuan..."
Feeling Jingliu's gaze, Jing Yuan turned to face her and said seriously, "The alliance's laws cannot be changed, but unfortunately, your next destination is not Xuling... but Yuque."
"What?" Jingliu responded.
Jing Yuan said no more but smiled, and Jingliu looked at him. After a brief pause, she smiled. "You're still the same as always, always struggling to break others' plans. But this time..."
Jingliu thought of Pei Guang, that unique presence, and after a moment of silence, nodded. "I understand. This time, I will cooperate with you. I thought I would always be on the side of victory, but now, who wins and who loses is uncertain."
Seeing the two of them engaged in riddles, Dan Heng stood up. "Since this gathering has ended, I'll take my leave."
Jingliu turned to Dan Heng, paused for a moment, and once again smiled. "Goodbye!"
She had some things she wanted to say, but those words turned into a simple farewell.
Dan Heng: "Goodbye!"
Jingliu: "Make sure to get along well with your friends. You've changed a lot, but that's not a bad thing..."
Dan Heng: "You too. Be sure to cover up that expression of yours. Not many can resist your cute expression."
After this last remark, Dan Heng stood up, preparing to leave. Since the gathering was over, there was no need to stay any longer.
However, as Dan Heng was about to leave, Blade, who had been silent, spoke up to him. "Dan Heng, our chase has not ended."
Dan Heng: "I'd be glad to accompany you!"
But just as Dan Heng spoke, Blade shifted his tone. "In Elio's script, you have a reason to live. I don't mind drawing out this process of revenge. Perhaps that would be more interesting."
Dan Heng pondered for a moment. "So, you still want to chase me? Want to kill me? You just want to wait until everything ends before coming after me again? Will you have another reason to stop your pursuit of me once everything is over? I get it now, you're the so-called tsundere!"
The moment the words left his mouth, it was Jingliu who couldn't hold back first. "Pfft~ Tsundere~"
Jing Yuan: "Ahem, ahem!"
Although Jing Yuan said nothing, the two coughs expressed his thoughts. As for Blade? Upon hearing those words, he gritted his teeth in frustration.
But after taking a deep breath and calming himself, Blade didn't say anything further. He simply turned and walked away. No matter what, he would meet Dan Heng again, and he looked forward to that next encounter.
Although every time he met Dan Heng, it would trigger his Mara affliction, just the thought of Dan Heng brought Blade a sense of relief. Perhaps for him, Dan Heng had become his only source of mental solace.
How to explain it? After chasing someone for so long, not being able to pursue him would leave Blade feeling uncomfortable.
Dan Heng left, and with his departure, the story of the High-Cloud Quintet came to an end.
Now, the remaining four had their own goals and their own lives: they might reunite in the future, but when they did, it would no longer be as the High-Cloud Quintet.
Before leaving the Scalegorge Waterscape, Dan Heng took one last look back. Then, without hesitation, he turned and walked away.
There was nothing left here worth lingering for.
The Express couldn't carry him through his entire life, but he believed that aboard it, he could create precious memories as Dan Heng. And that was enough.
He was ready to return to the Express—he still had to maintain the databank. Too much had happened on the Xianzhou Luofu this time, and compiling everything into the databank would be a massive task.
Meanwhile, on Pei Guang's side…
Pei Guang was inviting friends to hang out in the Luofu. Originally, he planned to go around Xianzhou alone to extend invitations. But thanks to Dan Heng's influence, a little tail had attached itself to him—Bailu.
Now, he was bringing Bailu along, eating as they went, and inviting friends to join them.
And just as Dan Heng returned to the Express, Pei Guang received a message.
Pulling out his phone, he took a look—oh, great. Jing Yuan had made a group chat.
Except… the only members were Pei Guang, Stelle, March 7th, and Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan: "Everyone~ I've finished recuperating~ Back to work tomorrow~ If I'm not mistaken, the Astral Express will be leaving the Xianzhou Luofu soon, right? Before you go, on behalf of the Luofu, I have a grand gift for all of you. Everyone from the Express crew, be sure to come to the Seat of Divine Foresight tomorrow. There are some people whose contact info I don't have, so please help me pass the message along."
As soon as Jing Yuan sent the message, March 7th responded:
"Eh, eh, eh? Tomorrow? If I do the math… yeah, that is the day the Express is scheduled to depart!"
March 7th stared at the screen, reminiscing about everything that had happened.
Good grief. In less than a week on the Luofu, they had gone through so much.
One event after another, one person after another: it had only been seven days, yet she felt like she had been through three or four months of chaos.
On average, they resolved one major crisis per day. There wasn't a single moment of rest!
Stelle: "That fast? I'm not done playing yet!"
March 7th: "Relax~ With teleportation, we can come and go whenever we want~ We can play whenever we feel like it~"
Pei Guang: "That's right! But speaking of which, General Jing Yuan~ What exactly is this grand gift of yours?"
He attached a gif of someone rubbing their hands eagerly—it was clear that he placed great importance on this so-called "gift."
Jing Yuan: "Hahaha! I won't spoil the surprise just yet, but I promise you'll love it. Of course! Besides the gift from the Luofu to the Express crew, I also have a special gift just for you~ You'll get 350 treasure vases to open!"
Pei Guang had originally been looking forward to the gift…
But the moment he saw the number, he froze.
After a brief silence, he jumped up in excitement.
"How many?!"
Staring at the screen, he practically bounced around like a rabbit.
After a while, he finally calmed down enough to type:
"Say no more. I'm already looking forward to it!"
Stelle: "Me too! 350! Even in the worst case, there should be at least two gold-rank pulls, right?"
Pei Guang: "Could you say something more optimistic?"
Stelle: "Only one gold-rank?"
Pei Guang: "If I only get one gold out of 350 pulls, I'll skin you alive!!!"
Stelle: "Geez~ Keep threats like that private~ I get shy when there are outsiders around."
Pei Guang: "?"
March 7th: "?"
"Jing Yuan has left the group chat."
At this moment, Jing Yuan stared at the chaotic conversation in the chat and was at a loss for words.
Glancing at his phone, he could only sigh to himself:
"Truly, the energy of youth. Their antics are something else."
After all, he had seen all kinds of things over the years. And in the Luofu, there were plenty of young people who were just as wild.
This? This was perfectly understandable.