"I recall the grand, surreal age of yore."
Caelus's tone was world-weary, as if he were a Quasi-Emperor who had fought his way out of the Chaotic Ancient Era, a golden age of greatness.
"Morning bells and evening drums, dawn winds 'neath a fading moon, the legends endlessly ring. Declarations of independence, power-drilled corn cobs. The regrets of Aoli, etched deep in trouser pockets. Iced tea mixed with DDVP, to quench my throat."
"Encounters sharp as hooks emerged from the fray, recalling memories of the Northeast. The echoes of Shenyang Avenue remain, though the faces have changed. The legends of Brother Dao and Brother Hu are seared into my eyes, crumpling my heart."
"Brother Xie faked his death, held a funeral, and dug his grave. Old Ba transcended his mortal self, thrice visiting the thatched hut. They suspended ducks, summoned killing frosts, hung the moon from a bridge, and buried their sorrows in filthy earth."
"These are the three Rashomon-level existences in the world of stunts."
His gentle voice narrated the tale, leaving everyone in the pavilion except for Moon Shade, including Jingliu, completely stunned.
Jingliu and Bailu were both authentic Xianzhou natives from the old guard. They could tell that Caelus was using the format of classical Xianzhou poetry.
This was a unique cultural form. For outworlders who didn't understand the ancient rhymes of the Xianzhou, even with the help of a Synesthesia Beacon, they often couldn't understand or grasp the deeper meaning.
But now, the two of them, both Xianzhou natives, were having trouble understanding it themselves.
They could barely make out the first line. And to be fair, it sounded quite good; he could easily pass for a Xianzhou native online.
"Little Gui, have you ever heard of these?"
Caelus paced slowly with his hands behind his back, his voice kind yet powerful, a meaningful smile on his face.
For a moment, Guinaifen felt as if she were hallucinating. She envisioned herself as a monkey, and Caelus before her was a white-haired patriarch with the air of an immortal.
She looked up in a daze. The plaque on the pavilion was carved with the words 'Slanting Moon Pavilion,' which suddenly seemed to become the 'Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars.'
Guinaifen shook her head repeatedly, breaking free from the hallucination.
If even Xianzhou representatives like Jingliu and Bailu couldn't understand these words, how could she, an outworlder who had only been on the Xianzhou for a short time, possibly understand them?
Guinaifen's heart grew a little heavy. Was the gap between them really that vast?
But even if she didn't understand, such profound words had to be incredibly impressive, right?
"I do not know, Master. Please enlighten me."
Performing a classical Xianzhou bow she had learned, Guinaifen asked for guidance with a sincere tone.
"For example, 'Brother Xie faked his death, held a funeral, and dug his grave.' What kind of stunt is that?"
After thinking it over carefully, Guinaifen picked a line she could at least vaguely understand on a literal level and asked about it.
"That refers to a streamer who was one step away from the Rashomon realm. His stunt was decent. First, he faked his death, had his wife livestream the funeral and mourning rites, the burial and the wake."
"Then he had an accomplice, under the guise of exposing a fraud, use an excavator to dig up his fake grave. Finally, he suddenly resumed his livestream to give his followers a surprise."
This time, he explained it in plain language. Jingliu, Bailu, Guinaifen, and Li Sushang could all understand the words, but their minds struggled to process the meaning.
Even Jingliu, who was normally unconcerned with external affairs, had a question mark pop into her head.
What?
What the hell kind of depraved act was that?
No, it could only be described as monstrous!
Is that something a human being would do?
Bailu's eyes went wide. That was just too abstract!
Is this the world of online streamers?
What an eye-opener!
Guinaifen gasped. So... Master Caelus fought his way out of a battlefield filled with abstract powerhouses of this caliber?
Just how powerful must he be!?
"To reach the Rashomon realm, you must first pass a great trial."
Caelus looked at Guinaifen, his gaze growing faintly serious.
"A trial? What trial?"
Guinaifen panicked. This was too abstract. Could she really learn it?
"Come, I'll tell you."
Caelus beckoned to the orange-haired girl. Guinaifen immediately crouched down and moved closer.
She felt that in the presence of a master like him, she wasn't even qualified to stand.
"If you want to use hardcore stunts to become a viral streamer, leech off traffic, and make dirty money, you have to invent clever pretexts, abandon all shame, collude with the moderators, and trick people into donating. Only if the mods don't ban you can you make any money."
"And after you get the money, you have to split it thirty-seventy."
"Why only seventy percent?!"
"Seventy percent goes to them! And you'll only get the thirty percent if you stay on the moderators' good side."
"What? I came all the way to the Luofu to be a streamer, and I have to cook up schemes, collude with mods, and suck up to them... Then... wouldn't I just be a beggar on my knees?"
Caelus couldn't help but laugh. He looked at the girl, whose pretty face was flushed red, and said earnestly:
"To put it your way, being a stunt streamer is begging on your knees. And even so, plenty of people who want to kneel don't even have the connections to do it."
Guinaifen's face immediately fell into a bitter expression. She scratched her head, "Master, is there an easier way? One where I can become a great streamer without having to pass a trial."
"Well, it's not entirely impossible."
Caelus sat down on the stone bench, his expression feigning nonchalance, yet seeming to hold a deeper meaning.
Guinaifen paused for a second, then immediately got up, gracefully walked behind Caelus, and began to massage his shoulders with perfectly calibrated pressure.
"Please teach me, Master!"
"Mm."
He took out one of the items from the gift set Sister Asta had given him: the Ink Feather ‖ White Fan.
Caelus waved the feather fan gently and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Have you ever heard of... the legendary virtual avatar streamers?"
While Caelus was imparting his wisdom to his stunt-pulling junior, Jingliu completely gave up on following their abstract conversation.
She was afraid that if she kept listening, she really wouldn't be able to suppress her Mara-struck state!
Jingliu endured her turbulent emotions and turned to leave, but she suddenly heard the soft sound of small footsteps next to Caelus.
Through her mind's-eye-like perception and her hearing, she could sense Bailu standing right next to Caelus and Guinaifen, tapping a small finger on her lips, listening with great interest, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Jingliu's raised foot froze in mid-air.
No!
She couldn't just leave. She couldn't abandon Bailu here alone.
If Bailu started learning these abstract ways from Caelus, she truly wouldn't know how to face her old friend!
She had to find a way to divert Bailu's attention.
"Might I ask if you are the Vidyadhara Healer, the Dragon Lady?"
When addressing Bailu, Jingliu's tone softened considerably.
"Oh, that's me. What's up?"
Bailu was a little annoyed at being interrupted. But when she saw the black veil over Jingliu's eyes, she realized and softened her tone.
"Looking at you, you want me to treat an illness?"
Bailu stood like a little adult with her hands on her hips, looking at Jingliu.
Jingliu shook her head and crouched down to sit, so Bailu wouldn't have to look up at her:
"It's just that my thoughts have been chaotic recently, and I often have nightmares that startle me awake. I'd like to ask you, Dragon Lady, if you have any methods for calming the spirit."
"Based on your self-reported symptoms... it doesn't sound like something I handle."
Bailu rested her chin on her small hand.
Besides, Jingliu didn't have an appointment. It wasn't about the consultation fee, but it was a bit unfair to the patients who were in the queue. Though that wasn't a huge problem either.
The key was that she had snuck out; she didn't bring many of the auxiliary medicines needed for diagnosis, nor did she have her equipment or medical kit.
"Just take a look at this little sister. It's not often you get a chance like this."
Moon Shade had been keeping a close eye on Jingliu the entire time. Seeing Jingliu ask Bailu for a diagnosis, she was a little curious and chimed in to help.
"You can just have her go to the Alchemy Commission for a follow-up appointment later."
Bailu: "?"
Jingliu: "?"
The moment Moon Shade finished speaking, Bailu and Jingliu both produced a question mark.
Little sister?
Bailu was fine with it; after all, she didn't know Jingliu's true identity.
It was difficult for Xianzhou natives to judge age by appearance. Unless one knew the other's age or was very 'confident' in their own, they would normally use titles like 'sir' or 'miss' instead of directly calling someone brother or sister.
Jingliu's mood became a little complicated. She, at nearly 1800 years old, was being called 'little sister' by a Luofu rookie?
However, Jingliu didn't object. This proved that the other person hadn't recognized her.
"Mm-hm, that's true. Big Sister, please hold out your hand. I'll take your pulse first."
"Thank you, Dragon Lady, and... Sister."
Jingliu hesitated for two seconds before finally saying it.
Jingliu extended her hand, revealing a wrist whiter than frost and snow. The moment Bailu's small hand touched it, her eyes widened:
"S-so cold!"
After going through the entire diagnostic process of observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking, Bailu's small face scrunched up into a serious frown:
"This is?"
"What is it? Is the illness very serious?"
Moon Shade asked in surprise. She remembered Jingliu didn't have any illnesses other than her Mara-struck condition.
"Her pulse is almost non-existent. Normally, this would mean…"
"She doesn't have long to live?"
Moon Shade's expression turned peculiar.
"Ptooey! Please refrain from making a professional diagnosis in place of a physician."
Although Sushang? had helped her escape, and Bailu was grateful, she was a professional when it came to healing people.
"Big Sister's condition is very special. Her external vital signs are perfectly lifelike, but within her Dan Cinnabar Abode and meridians, it's as if a glacial river is flowing. I've never encountered such a strange case before."
Bailu frowned cutely.
"A glacial river, you say? In that case, I can probably guess some of the reasons."
Moon Shade's words made Bailu look up in surprise, her face full of suspicion.
She admitted that Sushang's? swordsmanship was superb, but swordsmanship and medicine were two completely different fields. If she, a professional doctor, couldn't figure it out, how could Sushang? possibly find the cause?
"Don't look at me like that. I'm telling the truth. The coldness inside her body is likely due to this little sister's chilling sword intent."
Moon Shade crossed her arms and looked at Jingliu with a smile. "I'm right, aren't I, little sister?"
Hehe, forget everything else, first I'll pull a super seniority move!
The second she said 'little sister,' the young woman's clear, almond-colored eyes reflected a scroll painting of flowing water, and the depths of her dark pupils were tinged with a beautiful rosy light.
The Taixu Sword Heart could, to some extent, even be called a semi-metaphysical organ.
Although it couldn't ignore objective factors, it really did have a touch of the metaphysical.
Without Li Sushang's assistance, Moon Shade couldn't use the Taixu Sword Heart freely, but using it slightly as a catalyst was no problem.
Lured by the Taixu sword intent, a powerful surge of icy sword intent erupted from within Jingliu. With her at the center, it was as if they had entered a world of blizzard and snow.
The temperature dropped rapidly, and frost appeared in the pavilion.
"What a profound sword intent."
Earlier, during the 'breaking a boulder on one's chest' stunt, Jingliu had only sensed a trace of formless inner energy. But now, the Taixu Sword Heart that Moon Shade displayed truly astonished her.
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