For a long moment, nobody moved.
The knights stood stiffly behind Tingyun, spears raised halfway in an awkward mix of vigilance and confusion. Tingyun herself looked caught between maintaining diplomacy and preparing to run. March looked ready to freeze the entire platform if she had to.
Sunny simply stared.
An expression that suggested a deeply patient willingness to perform a number of homicides.
Although March couldn't emulate that look, her expression carried the same message.
The knights stiffened. One visibly swallowed. Tingyun took one careful step back, her tail flicking in alarm.
But of course — of course — Sunny's Flaw had to ruin everything.
Considering how Tingyun asked her question, he could certainly try to divert and prolong the encounter. Or just kill them all. That would be simplest.
He didn't quite feel like provoking the local authorities, though…
"I'm Sunless. That's March. We're from the Astral Express. Also, what's with those flowery dudes?"
March slowly turned her head toward him.
"Traitor."
The knights started staring at eachother in confusion, mumbling something towards eachother. The corner of Tingyun's lips twisted slightly as well.
But Sunny wasn't paying attention to these kinds of cues. Rather, he was extremely downcast. This was nothing like cultivation novels. There, protagonists delivered grand speeches, received divine artifacts, and ascended through sheer willpower.
Why couldn't other people be as stupid as the average side character? Life would be so much easier…
Depressing.
Everything was depressing.
Tingyun replied politely:
"The Express, however… I was unaware more of your people have boarded the Luofu. Only a week or two ago, our Cloud Knights allowed a delegation to board."
March huffed.
"Yeah, we know. We're with them. See?"
She pointed at her skirt, which had a golden train ticket strapped to it.
Tingyun's eyes sparkled with delight.
"Ah! How very charming."
Sunny stepped to the side and summoned th Covetous Coffer.
The knights reacted instantly.
Spears snapped up. Armor clattered. One knight took a step forward, hand on his sword.
Sunny ignored them all as he knelt beside the cursed chest, stuck his arm inside, and began rummaging through its contents with the practiced air of a man too tired to care.
Various objects clacked within — relics, coins, questionable trophies, maybe a bone or two, and a plethora of snacks — before he finally grabbed hold of what he needed and yanked out a golden train ticket of his own.
He flicked it at Tingyun.
She caught it neatly between two fingers.
"That is sufficient."
She smiled, returning it to him."
"My apologies for doubting illustrious heroes like yourselves. Your timing was merely… unexpected."
Sunny resisted the urge to rub his temples.
March nudged him.
"At least we didn't have to kill anyone after all."
"That was still an option."
Tingyun pretended not to hear that.
Her gaze swept over the wilted remains of the Mara-Struck, and her expression softened with something like sorrow.
"You asked, earlier… what these creatures were. They were Cloud Knights once. Loyal defenders of the Luofu. But Mara… It warps the mind. Corrupts the body with Abundance. Turns their memories into madness. I cannot explain it fully now — and I would not wish to burden either of you with grim details after you have just saved us."
Sunny nodded in acceptance, but noted to look into whatever was up with the Mara-Struck Awakened later.
March frowned.
"So they were people…"
Tingyun bowed to both of them again, hands folded demurely.
"You two are benefactors of the Luofu. I thank you."
Her tone was respectful — almost overly so. Sunny completely ignored her piercing gaze as he stared at a crushed Mara-Struck arm on the ground. He contemplated why life refused to behave like a cool cultivation novel where saving someone earned him a spirit jade or something.
Nothing. Not even a jade pebble.
Depressing.
Tingyun gently continued:
"I will escort you to Starskiff Haven. Your companion, Mr. Yang, is currently residing there."
Sunny lifted a brow.
She hadn't mentioned Dan Heng.
'…Did he die?'
That would be unfortunate. He really wanted to make sure that Dan Heng was truly a man and not a woman pretending to be one.
Just in case.
"Lead the way."
Tingyun nodded once, then turned to the Cloud Knights.
"You three — sweep the surrounding sections. Eliminate the stragglers. I will be safe with our new protectors."
The knights hesitated.
"Lady Tingyun… are you certain?"
She smiled warmly.
"They saved me. If Mara returns, they will protect me again."
Sunny wasn't sure how he felt about being used as an escort. March, on the other hand, puffed up proudly like she'd been given an honorary title.
With the knights running off to clear the area, Tingyun guided the two of them down the platform and toward a long walkway that bordered the shipment zone.
The fog below had thinned, revealing glimpses of a massive, sprawling city built along both vertical and horizontal axes. Floating lanterns drifted lazily in the air currents. Skiffs glided between towers with curved roofs and glowing trim.
It really did look like the backdrop of a cultivation novel.
A… futuristic one.
Sunny's heart twinged.
Tingyun led them toward a docking pier, where a starskiff rested. Its sails were folded neatly, its body shaped like a sleek wing with glowing engines humming softly beneath its hull. Ropes and talismans hung from its rails, gently swaying.
March whistled.
"Fancy."
Tingyun stepped lightly onto the boarding plank, her steps graceful and sure.
"Please, come aboard. Starskiff Haven is not far."
Sunny paused at the edge of the plank.
'Which came first? The chicken, or the egg? Based on scale, the Xianzhou would be the chicken, while the egg would be the cultivation subgenre and the subgenres within the subgenre, such as Xianxia and Wuxia. Was the chicken based on the egg, or was the egg based on the chicken? The latter is obviously not true, but why would an entire nation base their entire entire culture after a random subgenre of novels? Where did the genre even come from in the first place? Did someone just have a crazy imagination and others plagiarized them? For years?'
Then, Sunny asked himself a question of greater importance.
'Who cares?'
He didn't resist as they followed Tingyun up the plank and onto the starskiff, the engines humming gently beneath their feet.
And just like that, the three of them set off toward Starskiff Haven.
The fog parted.
The wind shifted.
Insert other combinations of words to describe the act of something moving through something else.
And Sunny, severely underwhelmed by reality but unwilling to admit it, silently hoped the next part of this ridiculous day would be at least slightly less depressing.