Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming."

Yan Cui unconsciously sucked in her lower lip.

"I'm recalling the taste of that piece of meat. Surprisingly... it was just okay, very average... That's all I made. Is there anything else I should add, Your Honor?"

"No, do you know why the Ten Kings' Division assigned me to interrogate you?" Han Ya's eyes nearly twitched as he stared intently at Yan Cui, not missing a single micro-expression.

No wonder Lord Zhimu's aura fluctuated; it turns out he had anticipated something...

Even though she had plundered countless bountiful blessings, she was no match for a ruthless person like Yan Cui.

"...I'm completely baffled. It's embarrassing to admit, but the retired Cloud Cavalry committed a minor offense, and the Earthly Balance Division clearly has the authority to handle it. It's far from enough to alarm the Judge," Yan Cui said.

The crow remained silent, then suddenly raised its hand and pointed the bronze mirror-like object at Yan Cui.

The mirror clearly reflected his face, which was unremarkable.

"Judge?" Yan Cui was a little confused by Han Ya's sudden behavior.

"It's alright. Go to the Earth Balance Office to go through the procedures within three days."

With a flick of his brush, Han Ya dispelled the isolation array, then instantly switched identities and uttered words that nearly caused Yan Cui's brain to shut down.

"Please order: make seven of your best dishes and serve the finest wine and tea."

After saying that, he walked over to Qi Zhimu and Heita and sat down next to them.

Yan Cui was a little confused, but she still obediently followed along and changed identities, switching from a prisoner back to the head chef of Shang Ziwei.

Generally speaking, the Ten Kings Judges are forbidden from disclosing mission details to any unrelated personnel.

However, to Han Ya, Qi Zhimu, who had been recognized by the Emperor's Bow Master in two lifetimes, was clearly not related to the phrase "unrelated person".

As soon as he sat down, he naturally explained why he had done so.

"After the Star Core and the Illusionary Catastrophe, during the aftermath, it was discovered that all the Year Suns suppressed by the Bureau of Works had escaped. Based on the habits of a certain type of Year Sun, the Ten Kings suspected that Yan Cui had been parasitized."

"No wonder they interrogated him on the spot." Qi Zhimu suddenly realized, "So, your urgent mission was to capture the escaped Sui Yang?"

Not entirely.

The crow nodded slightly and sighed softly:

"There are too many damaged caves and a huge mess that needs to be dealt with. We are severely short-handed, and conservatively speaking, we will have to work day and night for the next period of time."

"Excuse me, Zhimu, your face twitched a few times just now, what's wrong?" Heita asked.

"...Didn't you realize that Yan Cui ate the reproductive organs of the beast ship?"

"???"

Even with Black Tower's extensive knowledge, Qi Zhimu's words left him speechless.

"Then it's not surprising..."

Black Tower finally understood why Cold Crow interrogated Yan Cui on the spot and suspected that she was parasitized by Sui Yang.

A normal person from the Immortal Ship wouldn't do something like this.

Even after a long and bloody battle on the battlefield, when supplies were exhausted and logistics could not keep up, the Yunqi Army was still starving.

They would rather gnaw on tree bark like herbivores than eat abundant, spoiled food, let alone beast ships driven by the Buli people.

People who are parasitized by the sun are different; they can do all sorts of absurd things.

But to everyone's surprise, Yan Cui was even more ruthless than those who were parasitized by a certain type of yang energy.

A genius can accomplish many things if he sets his mind to it, but eating a beast ship that leaves the humanoid host... Black Tower felt he could never do it in his life, and there were only three words in his heart.

—I've lived long enough to see this.

"Speaking of such an outrageous chef, I wonder if he'll serve up some weird stuff, like stargazing or something...?" Black Tower looked worried.

"Looking up at the starry sky?" Han Ya was taken aback.

"Oh, it's a dozen or so dead fish heads with their mouths facing up, welded onto a flatbread and steamed in a steamer. When I was a kid, I was so disgusted when I saw it that my face turned as red as a flatbread."

"...Probably not. I heard my sister say that Shang Ziwei is a long-established restaurant here. If the food is so bad, it wouldn't have been able to stay in Jinren Lane for so long."

"But Jinren Lane is very deserted, with few pedestrians on the street and many shops closed."

"..."

Hearing what Black Tower said, Cold Crow was also a little unsure.

After all, the signature dish that a few people are best at is not necessarily normal.

"Just let me know if you need any help. I've been quite free during my time in Luofu," Qi Zhimu said, getting back to business.

The Harmonious Music Ceremony is still a long way off, and we can't take on new orders at the last minute.

He knew the sisters' personalities quite well; given the choice, they would never trouble him.

"We haven't reached the point where we need to ask Lord Zhimu for help yet, so please rest assured, we won't be reckless."

As Han Ya answered, two more people walked into Shang Ziwei from outside.

"Huh, Zhi Mu?!"

Upon seeing the only three guests in the hall, March 7th uttered a sound filled with surprise.

"Ms. Black Tower is here too? Am I seeing things?"

"Are you seeing things? What a coincidence! Good evening, March, Star."

Qi Zhimu greeted them with a smile and gestured for them to come to the side.

"It's better to be lucky than early. There are two seats left. Please sit down. It's on me."

When Han Ya, who was originally hosting, heard Qi Zhimu's words, he had no objection; they didn't need to make such a distinction.

The two of them were not reserved and sat down directly.

"This older sister is...?"

"I presume you two are the nameless guests Lord Zhimu spoke of. Hello, my name is Han Ya."

"My name is March 7th. Zhi Mu already mentioned her name. By the way, Miss Han Ya, why do you address Lord Zhi Mu?"

"...Because..." The crow was speechless for a moment.

Qi Zhimu certainly couldn't tell the Pioneers in his previous life, much less that he was Instant Blood Ember Rainbow.

"I met Master Zhimu while traveling many years ago and received his kindness."

The crow reacted quickly, coming up with a plausible, half-true, half-false reason to answer.

"I see, I understand now." March 7th suddenly realized.

"This is the network of connections of a wandering knight. You can run into old friends anywhere. It feels better than our nameless knights..." Xing exclaimed.

"That's normal, the Ocean Rangers are all over the universe too." March 7 rolled her eyes at her.

Just as I was about to say something more, another group of people walked into Shangziwei from outside.

The next second, another familiar voice came through.

"March, Star, and Zhimu... what are you all doing here...?"

"Yo, Dan... uh Heng?"

Xing turned around and looked back, her face immediately filled with surprise, even a hint of shock.

…This combination is just too bizarre!

Dan Heng came with four other people, among whom General Jing Yuan was the most ordinary.

Secondly, there's the woman who appeared after we defeated Huanlong a while ago, who took Zhimu away like a ghost.

Beside the woman was a young girl named Chiming, whose racial characteristics were almost identical to those of Danheng when he revealed his true form as a dragon lord.

She must be a young girl... with a smile on her face, looking full of energy, just like the girl on March 7th.

If there were only these three people, it wouldn't be considered strange; the problem lies with the last person.

Walking at the very back, he was almost as tall as Jing Yuan, a man who was hard to miss.

Star Core Hunter - Blade.

Although the face is partially disguised and is not the original appearance.

But they had seen the clothes he was wearing and the sword in his arms before, both at the Temple of the Apostles.

When Kafka broke free of her shackles and ran away, Blade pointed his sword at them to stop their pursuit, and that left a deep impression on me.

Jing Yuan had said that Ren was a wanted criminal on the Immortal Ship, but now he's openly and brazenly...

The two little ones on the train, who knew nothing about Yunshang Wuxiao's past, were unsurprisingly completely bewildered.

If Jing Yuan hadn't been there, and if they hadn't already known the Star Core Hunters' true purpose in intercepting the train and forcing everyone to change course to Luofu, they might have instinctively pulled out their weapons.

As Xing and San Yueqi looked at each other with strange expressions, Jing Liu also noticed them immediately, his gaze carrying different meanings depending on his emotions.

Upon seeing Qi Zhimu, she felt an immediate sense of joy.

Upon seeing the black tower, most of the joy dissipated.

Seeing the crows brought back a small portion of the joy that had mostly dissipated.

With the crows present in public, it's likely that Black Tower won't say anything out of line or do anything provocative.

Unfortunately, the mirror has been lost.