Zero glanced at Lan, then quickly withdrew his gaze.
Lan let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
After ascending to Aeonhood, He had completely lost the ability to empathize with others, no longer able to feel human joy or sorrow.
The only one who could stir an Aeon's emotions… Was Zero.
But at this moment, there was one more.
Maintaining a cold expression, Lan looked toward the current Marshal, whose eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Hua forced out a strained smile... one she had never shown in front of others.
"Now… you understand the reason, don't you?"
Guanliang inwardly cursed, quickly glancing at Daiyang and Chanzhen.
The two of them hadn't known the true date of Zero's death. Now that they learned the truth, the tears they had just managed to stop began to fall again.
The leader the generals had followed…
On his birthday… On the day countless affiliated planets celebrated for him, setting off fireworks… He had left alone.
What had happened before that?
Yes... if it were the Marshal, he would have found a way, no matter what, to make it to the Luofu and attend Her Highness the Crown Princess's coming-of-age ceremony.
What could have happened to make him pursue death so resolutely?
And what about them?
What were they doing?
They had gathered on the Luofu, spending patrol tokens freely, immersed in celebration...
Unaware that the leader they loved… had already left them.
Daiyang and Chanzhen stared intently at Zero's back, their gazes burning.
Zero had no attention to spare for anyone else.
Looking at the tears trembling in Hua's eyes, he felt a trace of guilt and reluctance.
If Marty was the child he worried about the most, then Hua was the one he owed the most.
Zero had never given his successor a choice.
He had simply paved the path for Hua on his own, letting her walk according to his design.
With a faint tremor in her voice, Hua sighed, "That day, I received news of your death."
"That was… the coming-of-age gift you and the 'Reignbow Arbiter' gave me…"
Hearing this, Zero quickly pulled himself out of his emotions and discerned Hua's intent.
She was trying to make him live.
The time Zero had actually spent with Hua was no more than eight years.
And now, what stood between them was not just time.
When Zero met Hua, she had only been ten years old.
At first, he hadn't regained his full memory, and more than once, in front of Hua and Baizhu, he had said he had no intention of interfering with the current Marshal's decisions.
Now, relying on his past memories, Zero could more or less grasp Hua's temperament.
There was a saying... at three, you see the child; at seven, you see the adult.
Rounding it up, Zero had practically raised Hua from childhood.
Would the successor he had chosen cry for him?
Yes.
When she heard of his death… When she arranged his funeral… When she had no choice but to take over as Marshal… Hua would cry.
Zero had never considered tears a sign of weakness.
Regardless of age or gender, humans had the right to cry.
If it were Marty, or Daiyang, or Chanzhen, Zero would believe them without hesitation.
But the one standing before him now, about to shed tears, was Hua.
Hua was very much like Zero.
She would not crave power, nor cling to wealth, nor abandon her dignity to show such vulnerability in public.
If they were alone, Zero might have believed her tears.
But now… It felt more like an act.
Zero said nothing, only looking at his chosen successor.
Hua spoke for quite a while, yet the tears refused to fall.
She closed her eyes, as if suppressing the urge to cry... when in fact, she was thinking of what to do next.
In front of her father, she couldn't exactly pinch herself again, could she? That would give her away.
Soon, Hua came up with a plan.
She returned a flawless smile and said softly, "Father, we've all been waiting for you."
"We've waited century after century… nearly a thousand years…"
She stared straight at Zero.
"Those of my generation on the Xianzhou have already fallen into mara."
"This time, I... no, we…"
"We can't wait another hundred years. We can't wait another thousand."
Zero's expression didn't change, but he thought to himself, You have the Feather of Dust... what are you afraid of?
Hua changed the subject. "I'll withdraw all personnel."
"This time, I won't stop you."
Lan blinked slowly.
'That sounded a bit fake.'
Guanliang's gaze drifted.
Hua was overacting.
Zero thought, 'If even a single bird manages to leave the Skiff Haven today, I lose.'
Hua turned around, presenting her back to him, her voice barely audible.
"…I suppose I won't need your embrace anymore."
Zero, "…"
Details he had overlooked earlier now pieced together into the truth.
Just as he was thinking, Hua quickly walked out.
Lan reacted immediately and followed.
Chanzhen, highly concerned about Hua's order to withdraw personnel, hurriedly pulled Daiyang along, glancing back repeatedly as they left.
Guanliang lingered last, unable to hold back as he voiced Zero's own suspicion,
"She's just jealous of Marty!"
Zero, "..."
'Maybe I should give her a money tree to cheer her up.'
He turned to look at Jingliu.
His lover had said nothing the entire time, only watching him.
"Sorry. Can you wait for me a little longer?"
Jingliu nodded gently.
Zero withdrew his gaze and looked at Zandar and Marty.
He reached out, ruffling Marty's curly blond hair, and said softly, "Zandar, Marty…"
He corrected himself midway. "Matthias has great talent."
Zandar let out an exasperated laugh. "You guarded him so tightly before. Why are you suddenly willing to hand him over to me now?"
Marty looked at Zero with uneasy eyes the color of olive gemstones, reaching out to clutch his sleeve.
Zero looked at Zandar, then at Marty, and smiled lightly.
"Didn't you say you were short on manpower?"
"Zandar, you don't think I'm entrusting him to you as a final wish, do you?"
Zandar thought, 'Isn't that exactly what this is?'
His student suddenly opened his arms and hugged him.
Zero lowered his voice.
"Professor Zandar…"
Zandar immediately became alert.
Something was off.
Zero softened his tone.
"It's not that I don't trust you."
"Before I leave, I've granted you the highest level of authorization."
"You can mobilize the 'Heaven-Burning Armaments' at any time and activate the 'Aether Phase Engine.'"
Zandar froze. It wasn't until Zero stepped back that he snapped out of it.
Was this meant to protect him from the Aeons? Or… a way to steady his hand?
Zandar no longer cared.
He muttered, "I really owe you…"
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. He raised his fist, but just before it struck Zero, he pulled his strength, lightly punching his student's shoulder.
"You brat… you're here to collect a debt…"
In the end, he said nothing more.
At the core of it all, wasn't it for the Vidyadhara? For Matthias?
This way, it solved the Vidyadhara population issue and protected Matthias.
From now on, Matthias would be the benefactor of the entire Vidyadhara race.
Zandar said gruffly, "I'll have Matthias handle it."
Zero shook his head. "No. You'll handle it together."
Zandar looked at him deeply, then nodded. "Fine."
Once the Vidyadhara issue was settled, they would activate the engine.
The scholar pulled along the reluctant Marty. With a half-serious tone, he said to his student's lover, "Eric, don't marry someone just because you slept with them."
Zero, "…"
Jingliu, "…"
Before Zero could respond, Zandar grabbed the stunned Matthias and rushed out, pushing the door open without looking back.
In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from sight, leaving only Zero and Jingliu.
Jingliu's lashes trembled slightly as she looked at him, a bit embarrassed.
Then she noticed the tips of his ears, flushed red, and her embarrassment was quickly replaced by something else.
Pressing her lips together to hide a smile, she reached out first and said softly, "Let's go home."
Zero took her hand.
"…Alright."
Next, he would tell Jingliu part of the truth.
And let her… think carefully about their relationship.
———
[Meanwhile, In The Same District]
Chanzhen, uneasy, asked Hua hesitantly, "Are we really withdrawing everyone?"
Hua let out a cold laugh. "As if."
"Seal off the Skiff Haven. No one is allowed in or out."
Surrounded by others, she walked into a restaurant that had already been cleared out. Under the waiter's guidance, she arrived at the door of a private room.
Only after the door was opened and she was certain the person inside could hear her did Hua add, "Anyone who disobeys... bring me their head."
With a flawless smile, she stepped inside.
"I've long heard of your name…"
Her gaze swept over the bandages wrapped around the other person's neck, covering a wound.
Then, word by word, she said, "'Imbibitor Lunae.'"