Sack Estate
Ever since Benjamin woke, Xun Kun had become the most honored guest of the Sack family and received the finest hospitality. He in turn worked quickly to learn every facet of Azure Star.
Everything here was novel to him, especially the tools that showed no fluctuation of spiritual qi or demonic qi yet accomplished so much, powered by an energy called "electricity." After grasping how electricity worked, Xun Kun decided Azure Star's people were clever indeed, having tamed a force of nature by another path.
Not long after, the Sack couple, summoned by the butler's call, arrived at the estate. The first thing they did was visit their son.
Seeing Benjamin clear-headed and doing physical therapy, both parents wept with joy. They then called in their daughter, the butler, and the family physician to hear a full account of their son's recovery.
Daphne described what had happened, with the butler and physician adding details. The doctor concluded, "Young Master Benjamin's condition is excellent. The nightmares have ceased. With normal sleep, the other issues have disappeared. If there is no relapse after a further observation period, the odds are high he is cured."
Smiles finally returned to the Sack couple's faces. They next asked about their son's savior. Daphne's filter for Xun Kun was very thick now. She praised him nonstop and offered not a single unflattering word, leaving the butler biting back comments he did not dare interrupt.
Mr. Sack caught the butler's eye and later spoke with him alone. From the butler, he learned of a savior very different from the one Daphne had just portrayed.
"Sir, this man's origins are a mystery. He carries nothing to prove his identity and seems unfamiliar with everything around him. He asked me for stacks of Azure Star materials, then sat in his room reading. He reads fast and wide, on every subject.
Mr. Xun Kun did not even know how to get onto the net. Miss Daphne taught him. After that he became absorbed in the star net. I checked his browsing history. He looked at many things, especially Azure Star's development history…"
Mr. Sack frowned. Though this man had saved his son, he worried Xun Kun's intentions might not be pure. Yet Daphne clearly cared a great deal, so he could not be too heavy-handed.
While the couple debated how to ask Xun Kun to leave politely, Xun Kun came to them of his own accord.
He had taken in their movements over the last two days. His divine sense was no ornament. He knew well what worried them. Even had they not asked, he planned to leave. He had lacked a destination before. Now he had one.
The Sack couple, impeccably dressed, met the black-clad Xun Kun in the garden. Mrs. Sack stole a few looks at his filigreed mask. The butler had told her that when he was unconscious, Daphne had tried to remove it and failed.
"Hello, Mr. Xun Kun. Thank you for saving my son." When they were seated, Mr. Sack spoke first.
"Mr. Sack is too polite. This was equivalent exchange." Xun Kun's tone was even.
Mrs. Sack cleared her throat. "Even if it was equivalent exchange, you are still my son's lifesaver. How should we repay you?"
Xun Kun had been waiting for that. He slid the tablet to them and pointed at a face on the screen. "May I trouble you to send me to her."
The couple studied the exquisite face on the screen, then exchanged a glance. Mrs. Sack asked carefully, "She is a female star who has recently gone viral on Azure Star. You know her?"
Xun Kun nodded. "Yes. She is my companion. We were separated when danger struck and I fell here. She is appearing so prominently for one reason, to draw me to her."
Mrs. Sack looked from the woman on the screen to Xun Kun. "You are certain she is your companion?"
"Certain."
If he could mistake her face or her natal treasure, the Nine Nether Dragon Umbrella, then his cultivation to the Divine Transformation realm would have been for nothing.
"In that case, we will of course help. Tomorrow I will arrange for someone to escort you to your companion."
Mr. Sack did not wish to pry into Xun Kun's privacy. It was enough to know this was what the man wanted. The request also gave him a graceful reason to send Xun Kun off and keep Daphne from falling deeper. He agreed readily.
"Thank you." Xun Kun offered a polite nod and, business concluded, returned to his room. He meant to seize the time to absorb more information. He would take none of these things with him.
At nearly the same moment, Han Lian at the desert research base saw the supernatural series in which Yunxi appeared. She was stunned and rewound. Confirming the robe, the black umbrella, and that face were all Yunxi's, she decided on the spot to find Professor Huang and inform him she was leaving.
Professor Huang took a long moment to respond. "Miss Han Lian, this facility is classified. I am afraid leaving will be difficult."
Han Lian was unconcerned. "I came to inform you, not to ask for permission. Just pass my message to the base director. If they try to stop me by force, I will not mind fighting my way out."
Professor Huang wiped his face, feeling his hair turn whiter. He answered solemnly, "Rest assured, I will tell them. May I ask where you will go after you leave?"
"It is better you do not know, so they will not trouble you."
Han Lian smiled faintly, then left his office. On her way back to her temporary quarters, every guard she passed paused to nod in greeting.
Elsewhere, Yun Chen Fózǐ had entered the special division's headquarters. After learning Azure Star's secret of rebirth, he was beside himself and said "nonsense" three times in a row. His cultivation and manners kept him from swearing aloud.
Headquarters staff stared at the angry Yun Chen, baffled by the depth of his ire. Yun Chen drew a long breath. "If you continue like this, the backlash will fall on you sooner or later. Are Azure Star lifespans not shortening year by year? And do those who have undergone three or more soul reimplantations not begin to show abnormalities?"
The Rebirth Department personnel blurted in shock, "How do you know?"
"How do I know? Is it not obvious. Your appointed 'Soul Captors' seize souls and reinsert them without judgment and purification, without even clearing the previous-life memories. The karmic burden remains, layer upon layer. Trouble was inevitable.
You yourselves have discovered the problem, but you cannot resolve it, can you."
A middle-aged man suddenly spoke. "Is it true that in a hundred years, Azure Star will become a ghost region?"
Yun Chen looked at the speaker. His brows eased a fraction. "It seems there is at least one person here who understands."