"Hm… A-Fan, are you saying this big brother is the Vidyadhara Dragon Sovereign from hundreds of years ago?"
At the Vidyadhara residence, Bailu stared with wide, skeptical eyes, sizing up the man before her who, aside from being handsome, didn't seem any different from an ordinary Xianzhou native.
This guy had neither the signature dragon horns nor the tail of the Vidyadhara. Was he really the Dragon Sovereign from back then?
As Bailu scrutinized Dan Heng, he was simultaneously observing the little girl in front of him.
Looking at Bailu's somewhat familiar face, Dan Heng's expression turned dazed, his thoughts drifting back to hundreds of years ago when the Cloud Knights' quintetwould compose poetry and banter together.
But times had changed. Now, the high cloud quintet had long since fallen apart—some dead, some injured, some driven mad. There was no returning to the past.
After a brief moment of reminiscence, Dan Heng let out a regretful sigh before turning his gaze to the dark-haired youth beside Bailu—the one who had brought him here from the Scalegorge Waterscape.
"Mr. Yun Fan, weren't you in Penacony? How are you here on the Luofu?"
In response to Dan Heng's question, Yun Fan smiled lightly and explained truthfully, "Haha, the me who traveled with you all is indeed in Penacony. To be honest, that was just an energy clone. This is the real me."
"An energy clone?!"
Hearing Yun Fan's words, Dan Heng's tone turned astonished. The Yun Fan on the train, who was at least a top-tier Emanator, was merely an energy clone? Just how powerful was his true body, then?
If Yun Fan was telling the truth, and the one they met was just a clone…
Even an ordinary energy clone was a top-tier Emanator, which made Yun Fan's identity worth pondering.
A few months ago, when the Aeon of Causality, the Lord of Samsara, ascended to godhood, he had declared his name as Yun Fan. Combined with the current situation, if Dan Heng's guess was correct, the person before him was likely the Aeon of Causality himself.
This would also explain where the Hunt's bow and arrow, which Yun Fan had given to March 7th, came from.
"You're…"
Dan Heng was about to say something when Yun Fan shook his head, signaling him to stop. "Some things are better left known but unsaid."
"Yes." Dan Heng nodded slightly, his demeanor—both in speech and attitude—becoming noticeably more reserved than before.
An entity at the level of an Aeon was like a walking nuclear bomb. Even if they were acquainted, human instinct still prompted a cautious, risk-avoidant response.
"Brother Dan Heng, no need for that. Let's just interact as we did before," Yun Fan said.
"Unlike those others, I'm not bound by any primal forces. So, just treat me as an ordinary person with great power."
"Yes… alright, I understand, Mr. Yun Fan."
While the two conversed, Bailu's gaze darted back and forth between Yun Fan and Dan Heng, patiently waiting for their conversation to end.
However, as Yun Fan and Dan Heng went back and forth, discussing topics completely incomprehensible to Bailu, she eventually lost her patience. Stepping forward, she wedged herself between them, interrupting their dialogue.
"Wah, wah, wah! A-Fan, what are you guys talking about? I don't understand a single word! And didn't you bring someone to help me?"
Bailu planted her hands on her hips, glaring at Yun Fan with a puffed-up, indignant expression. Seeing this, the youth chuckled and playfully pinched her cheek.
With a pfft, the air Bailu had been holding in her cheeks was squeezed out, like a deflating stink bomb.
"You, you, you… A-Fan, you're so annoying!"
Bailu let out a wail, her tiny fists raining down on Yun Fan like a storm. In response, the youth laughed and scooped her up as if she were a child.
"Alright, alright, don't be mad, don't be mad. Be a good Bailu, and tonight I'll buy you some Jade Sparrow skewers, okay?"
"Y-you really think I'm a kid?" Bailu, still in his arms, turned her head away haughtily, her tone full of dissatisfaction.
"But, well, for the sake of Jade Sparrow skewers, I'll forgive you this time."
"Yes, yes, yes…"
Yun Fan shook his head helplessly. This little girl was so easy to appease—where was the demeanor of someone who'd lived for centuries? With this level of wit, Yun Fan mused, I could probably trick her into giving me three kids.
After soothing Bailu's little tantrum, Yun Fan turned his attention back to Dan Heng, only to find the other man staring at him with a strange and serious expression, as if he'd just thought of something unsettling.
"Dan Heng, I need you to do me a favor," Yun Fan said calmly, ignoring Dan Heng's odd look, which seemed to regard him as some kind of creepy uncle.
"Please, Mr. Yun Fan, go ahead."
"It's like this: due to certain reasons you're aware of, all the authority of the Vidyadhara on the Luofu has been handed over to Bailu."
"And as you can see, this little one looks very easy to fool—"
"Hey, hey, I'm not easy to fool!" Bailu protested indignantly. Yun Fan merely smiled and continued speaking to Dan Heng.
"So, I'd like you to help her consolidate the Vidyadhara's authority and back her up as her support."
"This…"
Hearing Yun Fan's request, Dan Heng's heart was filled with hesitation and conflict. After the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion four or five hundred years ago, he had been permanently exiled from the Xianzhou.
For Yun Fan to ask him to help Bailu consolidate power and act as her support now felt somewhat inappropriate.
"No need to worry. I'll handle the issues with the Xianzhou. Besides, if you don't help Bailu consolidate power, once the chaos on the Luofu is over, the Vidyadhara will surely descend into disorder, leaderless and chaotic."
"Mr. Yun Fan, are you speaking in riddles… or is there more to your words?"
Dan Heng caught a whiff of something off in Yun Fan's statement. What did he mean? That after the Xianzhou's chaos, the Vidyadhara would be leaderless?
Typically, the Vidyadhara's authority was held by the Dragon Sovereign and the Dragon Masters. From Yun Fan's words, it sounded like the Dragon Masters…
Noticing Dan Heng's expression, Yun Fan gave a mysterious smile. "That's right, just as you're thinking. Those Dragon Masters… they'll never return to the Xianzhou Luofu…"