Silence. A deafening silence.
The lunar phases on the black silk ribbon refracted a cold light, as if someone had tailored the last snow cloud of a dying winter into a blindfold.
In truth, there was nothing wrong with Jingliu's eyes.
The reason she sealed her vision was to avoid being moved by familiar scenes, recalling the past through old objects, letting the fires of hatred burn her, and falling into the Mara-struck state, only to commit more frenzied atrocities.
At her level of mastery, even with her vision shielded, she could move freely by relying on her other senses, and could even fight.
She could hear the whistle of a flying sword cutting through the air, the sound of a sharp edge slicing. With her hearing alone, Jingliu could still stand at the apex of all Luofu swordsmen.
Like a musician listening to a zither, or a poet listening to rhyme.
And at this moment, she was hearing a 'poem' unlike any other.
Her hearing could clearly capture every single word the young man spoke.
"...Only a rat like me can tiptoe out of my hole every day, to gaze at her from afar. When the cat she likes arrives, I suppose I should just scurry back into my hole, right?"
There was no need for eyes to see; the image of the young man pointing to the sky, stomping his foot, then kneeling on one knee, one hand on his chest, the other raised in a posture of lyrical confession, leaped into her mind.
It made Jingliu's expression freeze and her thoughts grind to a halt.
"But I still like her so much. Could she just look at me a few more times while I'm still by her side?"
His voice, rising and falling with cadence and an even greater momentum, silenced the entire venue like a storm.
At times youthful and anxious, at times self-deprecating, it perfectly portrayed the tiny soul of one who loved but was not loved in return, as humble and timid as a house mouse.
In the brief moment that Jingliu's mind faltered, the malevolence, the agitation, the anxiety, the burnt dregs, the cooled ashes she had forcefully suppressed...
...all these chaotic emotions seized the opportunity to swell, and Jingliu nearly succumbed to her Mara-struck state on the spot.
As her power overflowed, the surrounding passersby only felt the temperature drop inexplicably.
"Hey, where's that cold air coming from?"
The area had become extremely quiet due to Caelus's speech, so this question was quite clear, at least to Jingliu's ears.
It was her!
What is she doing here!?
A familiar yet strange voice. Jingliu had only heard it a few times from a distance, but she would never forget it!
Baiheng's reincarnation... Bailu.
She took several deep breaths in succession, struggling to suppress the stirring Mara, and considered whether she should plug her ears next.
"In conclusion, I... really want to be Miss Jingliu's dog. My speech is over. Thank you, everyone."
With an elegant air reminiscent of a certain blond archbishop from next door, Caelus placed a hand on his chest and bowed to the onlookers to conclude his performance.
You could hear a pin drop. The crowd, old and young alike, stood frozen in stunned amazement. After a moment of silence, an applause even more thunderous than the one for the 'smashing a boulder on one's chest' act erupted.
"Holy crap! Bro, you're a freaking legend!"
A Xianzhou native man leaped into the air and shouted.
"Sob, I'm so moved!"
An outworlder girl covered her face, weeping uncontrollably.
At the same time, in Guinaifen's livestream, the bullet comments, which had trickled to a halt during Caelus's speech, exploded all at once like stockpiled cannonballs!
Hundreds of messages flooded the screen per second.
[I strongly recommend adding this poem to the reading comprehension section of the adult certification exam!!]
[Aaaah, I want to be Little Gui's and Shangshang's dog too!]
But some true love warriors and sister-complex advocates also voiced a soul-searching question.
"Caelus! You! Didn't you just successfully propose to your sister with a trash can a few days ago? Have your affections already strayed?"
"What about your sister!?"
The passerby's shouts once again caused Jingliu's churning thoughts to seize up. Her expression was somewhat dazed.
With a trash can?
Proposed to his sister?
Wait, what is this place?
Where the hell have I ended up?
Is this still the Xianzhou?
By the way, the reason the passersby knew Caelus's name was that he had mentioned his and Stelle's names a few days ago during his mutual performance with Sparkle.
Quite a few people had seen that popular video, and single-character names were very easy to remember.
"That's right."
Caelus nodded, looked at the unfamiliar questioner in the crowd, and said with a somewhat helpless smile:
"How should I put this? I did indeed successfully propose to Stelle, but who says I can't also be Miss Jingliu's dog? The two of us can be Miss Jingliu's dogs together, can't we?"
Caelus opened his arms wide, raising them up.
"Th-this..."
"I never thought of that line of reasoning!"
"S-so that's how you solve it!?"
The questioner was stunned and gasped.
"Little Gui, how was that?"
Caelus placed one hand behind him, turning his back to the masses to look down upon Guinaifen, exuding the air of a grandmaster.
"Th-this..."
Like a young martial artist who, not knowing their own limits, challenged Zhang Sanfeng, only to be sent stumbling backward, spitting blood after a single palm strike, Guinaifen collapsed to the ground as if utterly defeated.
Her expression was vacant as she craned her neck, as if gazing up at an insurmountable peak that blocked her path and the sun, her heart filled with despair.
So powerful!
She had lost without a shadow of a doubt.
The livestream stunts she brainstormed every day were nothing compared to the natural performance of a true genius.
Faced with a sacred constitution for abstract performance, how could she possibly compete?
What could she possibly use to win?
Unless...
Suddenly thinking of something, Guinaifen stood up from the ground, took a deep breath, and her expression grew serious.
Walking step by step in front of Caelus, Guinaifen bowed deeply.
"Please accept me as your disciple!"
"Master, I want to learn how to pull stunts!"
Guinaifen shouted from the bottom of her heart, her words genuine and exceptionally sincere.
"This child is teachable."
Caelus nodded in satisfaction, glanced around, and thought for two seconds.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
This place was spacious enough for street acrobatics, but it couldn't handle the new-generation stunt Caelus had just pulled. More and more people were drawn by the commotion.
It was already causing serious traffic congestion. He estimated that a good number of Cloud Knights or Realm-Keeping Commission officers would be arriving soon. It was best to dip.
Caelus turned and walked away with composure. As he moved, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him, no one daring to get close.
Hah~!
Now that's what you call an aura, huh? (Leans back tactically)
A madman's aura is still an aura!
"Okay!"
Hearing that Caelus hadn't refused, Guinaifen was overjoyed. She didn't even bother to pack up the juggling props at her stall.
These things were useless to ordinary people, not to mention the security on the Xianzhou was excellent. They definitely wouldn't get stolen; she'd come back for them later.
"Shangshang, Shangshang, let's go."
Grabbing her phone from its stand, Guinaifen took Moon Shade's hand and quickly followed Caelus through the path in the crowd.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Seeing Moon Shade being dragged away, Bailu hopped up and scurried after them on her short little legs, her large tail swaying back and forth behind her.
To be honest, first contemplating whether the goofy Cloud Knight from her last house call and the sword-wielding immortal lady were the same person, and then being shocked by Caelus's speech, Bailu's mind was a bit of a mess.
But even if she didn't fully get it, it was impressive, and so interesting!
She never ran into anything this fun when she snuck out to play!
However, what baffled the crowd even more was that as Caelus passed by Jingliu, he casually took the white-haired woman's hand and pulled her along with him.
The moment Jingliu's hand was taken, the people within several meters of her felt the temperature plummet crazily, as if they were on a snowy field in winter, with a biting cold wind that was like swords against their backs.
But that icy intent never exploded outward.
What is going on?
That was basically a confession, right?
It definitely counts as a confession!
Why didn't the white-haired woman shake off the gray-haired guy's hand? Could this mean she agrees?
No way, right? No way!
They didn't even know each other's names a moment ago!
And he's already successfully holding her hand?
Since when did wooing girls and proposing love become so abstract?
Countless people felt their minds reel. Being human was just too conservative; they couldn't keep up with the mind of a surreal prodigy.
At the same time, the onlookers and the viewers of Guinaifen's livestream began posting their recorded videos and screen captures online.
Hiss~ So cold!
Caelus gently weighed the icy, jade-like hand in his. Jingliu's body temperature was a bit low, feeling like it was approaching zero degrees.
Holding her hand was like holding a work of ice sculpture art—it had the smoothness of real ice, but it was just chilly.
"Who... are you?"
Being pulled along by Caelus, Jingliu asked, her voice sounding as if a wisp of unmelted snow was caught in her throat. She had indeed felt the urge to draw her sword and cut him down just now, but the fact that the 'Cloud Knight rookie' named 'Sushang' and Bailu were also coming along made Jingliu decide to follow and see what would happen.
As for not shaking off Caelus's hand, it was because the instant he took it, Jingliu felt the various negative emotions boiling in her mind gradually being suppressed.
She could sense that it was a power coming from this gray-haired young man.
He could actually suppress her Mara-struck state?
"Me? Though you do not know me, I have known you for a long time... Jingliu."
Caelus's words made Jingliu frown in confusion. So he did recognize her. Was he a high-ranking official of the Luofu?
But he doesn't look like a Xianzhou native?
The gray-haired young man's voice became world-weary, part sigh, part whisper:
"For this meeting, I prayed fervently before the Buddha for tens of thousands of years. The Buddha said: 'Then you must wait ten thousand years. During this time, you may see Jingliu, but Jingliu will not know of you. Are you willing to wait?'
"And I said: I am willing."
"Jingliu, my dearest Jingliu, our fates are not yet finished. Even if the bloody maw of death and time separates us, I know you will be standing gracefully at the end of the cycle of rebirth. My Jingliu, my bright moon!"
"You..."
Jingliu struggled to maintain her composure. She was about to explode, but she didn't dare let go of Caelus's hand.
If Caelus weren't suppressing her negative emotions, she felt she would have already gone full Mara.
She really wanted to cut someone!
"Master, Master, slow down~ I can't keep up!"
While pulling Moon Shade along to follow Caelus, Guinaifen took out a pen and notebook, jotting down Caelus's famous quotes and witty remarks.
Caelus led the group for two blocks. Seeing that the pedestrians were becoming sparse, he slowed his pace and then headed towards a relatively deserted public courtyard, essentially a Xianzhou park.
"This place is good. Let's choose here."
Although people passed by occasionally, it was basically quiet. Caelus walked into a pavilion and sat down on a stone bench with proper posture.
"Ahem, since you call me Master, I shall offer you a couple of pointers. Little Gui, do you know what a 'stunt' is?"
Stunts, Guinaifen had certainly pulled them before, but her acts of eating noodles while doing a handstand or brushing her teeth while whistling were, in front of Caelus, like comparing a firefly to the bright moon.
"Please enlighten me, Master!"
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