"Here—just bought these."
Seeing March 7th and Stelle take them without suspicion and sip immediately, Xun Yu's lips curled upward.
He reflected—he really shouldn't have done that earlier.
But after causing trouble and acting shameless so many times, if he didn't pull something stupid once in a while, his heart just felt uncomfortable!
"Pfft—!"
"Ugh—!"
"What is this?! It's disgusting!"
March and Stelle spat it out at the same time.
Dan Heng took a closer look at the drinks Xun Yu had brought back.
…Right. Carbonated douzhi.
This was not something normal people drank.
"Xun Yu! Get over here!"
March brutally poured the douzhi straight into Xun Yu's mouth.
"Cough—cough—cough!"
The taste made Xun Yu put on an expression of pure agony.
With March covering his mouth, the douzhi went straight out through his nose. Seeing this, she hurriedly pulled her hand back.
And Xun Yu instantly regretted everything.
He never should've been curious.
He should've just turned off his sense of taste…
In his past life, he'd heard of douzhi but never dared try it.
Locals once described it like this:
"Imagine licking the armpit of a sixty-year-old man on a 40-degree day."
Seeing Xun Yu like this, everyone burst out laughing.
With the crisis on the Xianzhou resolved, by Astral Express tradition, the train would stay here for seven days.
Of course, if anything came up, that time could be extended.
With no more fighting and killing, they could finally enjoy the scenery of the Luofu.
"Eh—uncle, why do you look kind of familiar?"
Bailu, holding a skewer, tilted her head and stared at the man hiding his face.
"Uncle…"
"…You've got the wrong person."
Hearing that title, Blade's mouth twitched.
"Really? But I feel like I've seen you somewhere…"
"You're mistaken."
"No, no! You're lying—your eyes are wrong."
Bailu shook her head and pointed at Blade's eyes.
She'd noticed earlier that his gaze kept lingering on her, which made her curious enough to come over.
There were Cloud Knights patrolling nearby and plenty of people around, so she wasn't worried about him doing anything shady.
"Heh… you just resemble someone I once knew."
"…I'm leaving. These are for you, Lady Dragon."
Blade placed the snacks he'd just bought into Bailu's hands and walked away without looking back.
Bailu stood there blankly. After glancing at the food, she chased after him.
"Hey! Wait up!"
"…Huh? Where'd he go? He vanished in a blink!"
Her eyes were full of confusion.
"What a strange person."
She hesitated while looking at the snacks in her hands.
But the hesitation quickly vanished.
First—test for poison. If there was any, she'd call the Cloud Knights.
If not…
Food must not be wasted!
At that moment, a white-haired woman entered Bailu's field of vision.
Her eyes lit up, and she ran over with her short little legs.
"Big sis! Over here! You finally came—listen, I just met a really strange uncle…"
Bailu excitedly told the big sister—who she'd only known a short while but who treated her incredibly well—everything that had just happened.
Jingliu gently patted Bailu's head, slightly surprised.
No wonder she'd sensed Blade earlier… so he'd come to see Bailu.
"Don't worry. He… isn't a bad person."
A complex look flickered in Jingliu's eyes, hidden behind her veil.
Bailu blinked, then nodded thoughtfully.
Because of special circumstances, she was allowed to stay out all day today.
"I see… um—big sis, let's not talk about that anymore! Come on, come on—we can have fun all day today!"
"Woohoo! This girl is going to have so much fun today!"
March grabbed Stelle with her left hand and the helpless Dan Heng with her right, dragging the three of them to court of tranquility.
Before they left, Himeko had given them a huge amount of credits to spend on the Luofu.
She said the Luofu had transferred a string of sixes onto the Astral Express account—over sixty billion credits.
And apparently, that was just a small token of appreciation.
The real reward would come after General Jing Yuan recovered and met them personally.
Not only that—whenever the Astral Express visited the Xianzhou in the future, they'd receive the highest level of hospitality and discounts on expenses.
"Where's Xun Yu? I sent him a message. Did he not see it?"
At the meeting spot, March looked around but didn't see him.
"No idea!"
Stelle shook her head.
Dan Heng quietly pulled out his phone and sent a message.
He already had a guess—Xun Yu was probably off doing something ridiculous again.
While waiting, the three of them sat down nearby.
Ding—
[Xun Yu]: I'm livestreaming selling products.
…As expected.
Dan Heng showed the message to March and Stelle.
"Livestream selling what? What does that even mean?"
"Huh—he sent a link! Hurry, click it!"
Dan Heng nodded and tapped the link.
[Universal Anti-Fraud App is downloading…]
Stelle & Dan Heng & March: "..."
[Xun Yu]: Wrong one. This is the real link!
"Let's take a look at our next product—this specialty beverage from the Xianzhou Alliance, beloved by many: Carbonated Douzhi!"
In the livestream, Xun Yu picked up a bottle of carbonated douzhi and twisted it open.
"Hiss—ohhh yeah, now that smell is authentic!"
"Family, your host will taste it for you first."
"Come on—the first sip goes to the fans!"
"Bottoms up, brothers!"
As Xun Yu chugged the entire bottle, the locals who knew the truth fell into silence.
Meanwhile, outsiders—clueless—excitedly urged him to put up the purchase link.
"This is the taste! Who says douzhi is bad? This stuff is amazing!"
"Oh! Huge thanks to Lady Ciyu for the ninety-nine Super Rockets!"
Lady Ciyu: Looks pretty good. Buy some for the kids.
"Link? No problem! Special deal for the family today!"
"Original price: 1,800 per bottle.
Today only: 9,800 for a full box of twelve!"
"Three—two—one—link is live!"
"…Wait. What the hell is this?"