---o---
"But of course!"
Hearing Fu Zhu agree to her request, Dahlia's voice rose with excitement.
"What do I need to do to cooperate?"
Since he had agreed to the deal with Dahlia, Fu Zhu naturally wanted to get it over with sooner rather than later.
"You just need to hold out your hand."
Fu Zhu extended his right hand. Dahlia stepped forward, cradling his palm with her left hand while placing her right hand over his. Instantly, wisps of ethereal blue flame began to float around her body.
Black Swan immediately moved to stand by Fu Zhu's side, watching Dahlia warily. If the other woman made any move that went beyond the scope of their agreement, she would intervene without hesitation.
Fortunately, Dahlia wasn't so foolish as to try anything excessive.
Just as everyone thought the transaction would conclude smoothly, Dahlia, who had her eyes shut tight, suddenly let out a muffled groan. Two streams of blood trickled from the corners of her eyes, followed by another from her lips. All over her fair skin, burn-like marks suddenly appeared. It was obvious she had just sustained a severe injury.
Yet, despite being grievously wounded, the corner of Dahlia's mouth curled into an insane upward curve, her smile growing more and more pathological.
Fu Zhu glanced at Dahlia and saw her health bar plummeting at an alarming rate. He was stunned.
"What's wrong with her?"
Black Swan frowned, staring intently at Dahlia's body. After a long moment of observation, she couldn't figure out the cause and could only offer a guess.
"It seems she's suffering a backlash from your memories, Mr. Fu Zhu."
"A backlash from memories? That's a new one on me."
Fu Zhu watched Dahlia's health bar, and seeing it was about to bottom out, he immediately pulled his hand back. As soon as their contact was broken, Dahlia's eyes rolled back into her head, and her entire body fell backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Fu Zhu and the others even heard the sound of the back of her head hitting the floor.
Black Swan quickly stepped forward and knelt to check on her. She let out a sigh of relief only after confirming that Dahlia was still alive.
"Don't worry, Mr. Fu Zhu, she's alive. But given these injuries, I'm afraid she'll be unconscious for a very long time."
After all, Dahlia was a memetic lifeform, just like her. Being afflicted by a memory backlash on top of that, it was likely she wouldn't wake up for a very long time.
"Unconscious for that long? That won't do."
Fu Zhu immediately took a bucket of milk and a golden apple from his inventory. This wasn't out of compassion, of course, but simply because he wanted Dahlia to wake up and fulfill her promise.
Fu Zhu walked over to Dahlia, knelt down, and forcefully pried her mouth open. Without a second thought, he poured the entire bucket of milk down her throat. Dahlia was a memetic lifeform, so he didn't have to worry about choking her by pouring too quickly.
After downing the entire bucket of milk, Fu Zhu shoved the golden apple into her mouth. After consuming both items, the pale complexion of Dahlia's face gradually regained its rosy color, and the burn marks on her body began to slowly heal.
A minute later, Dahlia's eyelids fluttered open. Her dazed eyes scanned her surroundings before finally landing on Fu Zhu. The originally lifeless pupils instantly lit up with a brilliant light.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, your memories are endlessly fascinating!"
Hearing Dahlia's first words upon waking, Fu Zhu's expression couldn't help but darken.
"Your memories are endlessly fascinating!"
Why did that sound so damn weird?
Beside them, Black Swan was curious about what Dahlia had actually seen.
"Dahlia, what did you see? To think you were nearly killed by a memory backlash."
Dahlia sat up from the ground. She clutched her head, which was still throbbing with a dull pain, and took a moment to steady herself before she had the strength to stand. Even after she was on her feet, her body couldn't stop trembling, and her voice wavered as she spoke.
"I only saw Mr. Fu Zhu's silhouette, and his two eyes shining with white light. Nothing else."
Although Dahlia said this, everyone could hear the trace of regret in her words, but even more so, an indescribable excitement.
Dahlia took a few more short breaths to calm her racing heart. She then gave Fu Zhu a serious half-bow and said, "Mr. Fu Zhu, I will fulfill our promise. I will depart now to take care of those Memokeepers who are already halfway here."
With that, Dahlia opened a swirling portal and, without a single look back, dove straight in, vanishing from sight.
Watching the decisive Dahlia, Fu Zhu was a little "worried."
"Tell me, in her current state, can she really defeat those Memokeepers?"
"You can rest assured on that point, Mr. Fu Zhu." Black Swan spoke up to vouch for Dahlia. "Although she is a very annoying person, I must admit, she is powerful. As long as the Pure Children of Anāsrava from the Garden of Recollection don't personally intervene, very few people are her match."
Hearing Black Swan speak, Fu Zhu remembered that she was also a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection and couldn't resist teasing her. "What about you? Black Swan, your actions in helping us before can be considered a betrayal of the Garden of Recollection. I'm afraid it won't be long before your face is on a wanted poster. What are your plans?"
Black Swan put on a dejected expression and spoke to Fu Zhu in a slightly fearful tone, "I'm afraid I'll have to travel with the Astral Express for a while. You wouldn't refuse to let me on board, would you, Mr. Fu Zhu?"
"Of course not. The Astral Express always welcomes those who wish to board. Let's go, back to the train."
Fu Zhu opened a portal, and the two of them stepped through together.
The moment they returned to the train, they were greeted by the sounds of a heated discussion.
"Stelle, you're on sweeping duty."
"Reporting, Himeko! I'd like to apply for a position in organizing the material storage!"
"Then you can go to the storage bay and help Dan Heng and the others move things."
"Um, Himeko, I was actually thinking of organizing the refrigerator…"
"Tch… You just want to sneak some food, don't you?"
"Hehe…"
Fu Zhu and Black Swan walked towards the Express crew and the golden merchants, who were in the middle of assigning chores.
"What are you all doing?"
The group turned around, and seeing it was Fu Zhu, their faces lit up with smiles.
Himeko explained with a laugh, "The Express hasn't had a deep clean in a long time. Since Cyrene and the others will be staying on the train for a while, I thought we should take this opportunity to give the train a good scrubbing."
Stelle, meanwhile, ran over excitedly and latched onto Fu Zhu's arm.
"Big Bro, since you're back, you can help me organize the fridge! Himeko probably doesn't trust me to do it alone!"
Himeko shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Fu Zhu just rolled his eyes.
"That's because she's worried you'll eat everything in the fridge by yourself!"