Lan's expression turned serious as They shook Their head, rejecting Akivili's guess.
"It's not a problem with the Heliobi."
"The Heliobi reject him."
"He is the biggest flaw."
"He cannot take part in this plan."
Once that person had made a decision... was there any room to change it?
Lan looked at the god and the human before Them.
Who should tell that person on Their behalf?
Akivili slapped Their chest.
"It's fine. I'll take his place and contact the Heliobi for him."
The Aeon sighed with emotion.
"As expected of him. He really thought everything through. I thought he just wanted me to accept the gift..."
Lan: "..."
'You're overthinking it.'
'That person has most likely forgotten.'
He wouldn't remember someone he had already defeated.
What the Aeon hadn't expected was that, by sheer coincidence, the other party had still made the right choice.
Lan glanced around the table.
More than half of the tea remained in Akivili's cup.
Only a little was left in Jing Yuan's.
Lan picked up the fairness pitcher.
Jing Yuan picked up his teacup with one hand while reaching out with the other. He was half a beat slower than the Aeon and could only watch as the other party poured tea for him.
Pressing his lips together, he said with difficulty, "Thank you, Reignbow Arbiter."
Lan calmly withdrew Their hand.
"No need to be so polite."
Jing Yuan hurriedly took a sip of tea, then solemnly said to the two Aeons, "The Luofu Cloud Knights will fully cooperate with the plans of the Reignbow Arbiter and the Roaming Cloud Arbiter."
The moment Akivili heard the word "plan," Their head started to ache.
On the Trailblaze, plans were always overtaken by unexpected changes. Over time, They and the Nameless had simply stopped making plans.
Feeling helpless, Akivili held Their forehead and sighed.
"Let's not make a plan."
"Aha will definitely ruin it."
Lan nodded.
"Let's confirm the time and place."
Akivili gave the date and the name of the realm.
Lan raised Their eyes to Akivili and repeated, "'Gratitude Day'?"
After receiving confirmation from the Aeon, Lan calmly said, "Don't kill them."
Akivili understood immediately.
"I know. Leave them alive as an energy source."
Jing Yuan was suddenly put in a difficult position.
Zero had previously told him to execute them directly.
But now the other party had completely stepped away from the matter.
So whose orders was he supposed to follow?
Jing Yuan lowered his head and looked at the warm tea in his hand. The taste was excellent.
Forget it. He would follow the Reignbow Arbiter's orders.
They were only Heliobi. It didn't matter when they were dealt with.
Akivili added, "Now let's assign identities. I'll be Zero, so there's no need to discuss that. Since Aha isn't here, Lan, you choose first."
Jing Yuan promptly took out his jade abacus and brought up the files for the three identities.
Without hesitation, Lan chose the Cloud Knight's file.
Akivili looked through the files one by one, and Their expression gradually froze.
Why were they all men?
Akivili suddenly realized They had taken on a troublesome task.
Their best friend cared most about the Xianzhou people.
And by pure coincidence... this time Aha was using a Xianzhou identity.
Their best friend wasn't present this time.
Wouldn't that mean Aha would go even further and completely ruin Their best friend's reputation?
Their best friend had once told Akivili, "When we first met, how was I supposed to know He was an Aeon? I only knew He liked... Well, there was nothing I could do, so I sent Him to the Swarm to keep them company..."
Aha could stay with the Swarm and casually talk about ○ teachers all the time.
He didn't even care about species.
Would He care about gender?
Akivili slowly let out a breath.
The problem wasn't that serious.
After all, it wasn't Akivili.
The face They would be wearing was Their best friend's face.
Thinking of Their friendship, Akivili tactfully suggested to Jing Yuan, "Are they all men? Could you find some female identities too?"
Being a flirt with countless lovers sounded much better than being a scumbag who went after both men and women.
Afraid Jing Yuan wouldn't understand, the Aeon added, "Think a little about his reputation..."
Lan didn't understand.
His reputation?
Why worry about his reputation?
That person's reputation was very good.
Jing Yuan was equally confused.
He didn't understand why the conversation had turned to Zero's reputation, but he still accepted the order.
"...Very well, Roaming Cloud Arbiter. I'll take care of it."
Because of the unstable factor that was Aha, they didn't make a detailed plan. Combined with the fact that Lan hadn't brought a jade abacus, Jing Yuan couldn't yet forward the Cloud Knight's complete file.
The discussion between the human and the two Aeons soon came to an end.
Jing Yuan asked Lan, "Do you have any other requirements for the jade abacus?"
A trace of amusement flashed through Lan's eyes, and the corner of Their lips curved almost imperceptibly.
"As long as it can record audio."
Akivili gave a light cough and finished the tea in one gulp.
Now, the real topic.
Helping reconcile Their best friend and Lan.
And giving Lan a bit of warning in advance.
Even if Aha didn't cause trouble and the plan went smoothly, Their best friend might still fail.
If luring the enemy into the Xianzhou and beating them up could broaden Lan's Path...
Then why not simply conquer the entire universe, reverse the situation, and claim that the other factions were invading the Xianzhou instead?
Wouldn't it be even more efficient if Their best friend simply went to other factions and deliberately provoked them?
Akivili invited Lan on Zero's behalf.
"Lan, come to my best friend's house for dinner tonight."
Lan slowly shook Their head.
"No."
Akivili spoke earnestly, "You finally get a chance to meet. Don't you want to chat with him?"
Lan pressed Their lips together.
"There's nothing to talk about."
Akivili immediately showed disapproval.
"He was willing to waste Patrol Tokens for you."
After saying that, Akivili remembered Marty.
Their best friend had given Marty countless checks.
The Aeon naturally changed the subject.
"You know Aha. Once that guy makes a move... my best friend's plan is probably finished."
They shook Their head and sighed.
"If you're going to blame someone, blame Aha."
"Don't blame him."
Lan thought, 'Why would I blame him?'
Akivili picked up the bag beside the table and gently pushed it to the middle.
"This isn't a happy gift."
"I thought about it, and it seems the only place for it is the Xianzhou."
Jing Yuan looked toward the Xianzhou's Aeon.
Lan took the bag and looked inside.
There was a wide-brimmed captain's hat and a pair of gloves.
Their eyes slowly shifted, lingering over the dried bloodstains.
After a long while, Lan said, "They will be sent to the Forest of Ultimate Loyalty in Xuling."
Hearing that, Akivili glanced at the time on the jade abacus and took the opportunity to invite Lan.
"There's still one system hour before dinner. Come on, Lan."
"No. I'm going to Xuling shortly."
Lan put away the bag, remained silent for a moment, then softly said, "I'll go on Gratitude Day."
Akivili responded with an "Oh."
Now that Their best friend's matter was settled, it was time to deal with Their own.
They looked at Jing Yuan.
"Where is the Imbibitor Lunae?"
"I heard he's not on the Luofu, and no one's with him..."
Jing Yuan showed his usual warm smile.
"Imbibitor Lunae? He's traveling."
The moment Akivili heard the word "traveling," They had a bad feeling.
"...He's a Galaxy Ranger, right?"
Under Akivili's hopeful gaze, Jing Yuan shook his head.
The Aeon's lips opened and closed several times before They said in disbelief, "Don't tell me he's one of the Nameless!"
Jing Yuan smiled.
"As expected of the Roaming Cloud Arbiter. The current Imbibitor Lunae, Dan Heng, is indeed one of the Nameless."
Akivili: "..."
'Why?'
'What was this High Elder thinking?'
The area outside the High Elder's home where people changed their shoes was bigger than a Nameless's room.
What exactly was he after?
Akivili muttered, "What do I do?"
"Lan, I really want to beat him up."
The Aeon stood up and grabbed Lan by the collar.
Shaking Them wildly, They threw Their head back and shouted, "Zero is so annoying... no, he's such a pain for gods!"