[As soon as Dan Heng arrived at the Starskiff Haven, he sent messages to Stelle and March 7th, but both failed to deliver.]
["Can't get through? The network is restricted, yet some functions still work normally?"]
[He frowned slightly, sensing that someone had already begun making moves against the Xianzhou. But with no way to contact the others, Dan Heng had no choice but to search alone.]
[Venturing deeper into the Starskiff Haven, he spotted a young man and woman surrounded by a horde of Mara-stricken creatures.]
[The girl appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, with two brown twin tails that gave her a lively, adorable charm. She turned to glance confidently at the blond man beside her, her face brimming with pride: "Just stay back and watch."]
["Leave the life-saving to the professionals—"]
[The blond man had refined, handsome features and wore an elegant white suit, standing beside an enormous and ornate coffin.]
"...It's... it's Raksha!"
Li Sushang covered her mouth in shock, staring disbelievingly at the two figures on the Celestial Screen.
Though she had mentally prepared herself to see her own counterpart after witnessing the alternate versions of Bronya and Seele... when the moment actually arrived, the imagined joy failed to surface. Instead, an old, lingering ache welled up in her heart.
This moment was just like that moment from the past.
Fifteen-year-old her had been testing her sword in the desert when he saved her three times. Gazing at the blond man on the screen, Li Sushang felt dazed, as if something warm from her memories had risen from the depths of her heart and overflowed.
That night, the fifteen-year-old girl had asked the Luocha under the moonlight whether it had been him who helped her.
Later, on the journey back to the Zizai Sect, the girl and the Luocha shared a carriage, the wheels creaking as the cart moved slowly along. She had slept with her head on his lap, watching the sunset together.
In her memories, everything seemed to slow down... the turning wheels, the lingering descent of the sun... dusk settling, years passing.
A sudden warmth of happiness rose in her heart—as if that joy had traveled back from the desert over five hundred years ago, carrying the delight of reuniting with someone from the past.
"Sushang... Sushang..."
A familiar voice suddenly called out beside her, pulling Li Sushang back from her reverie. She steadied herself and finally focused on the face before her—Durandal's.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked with concern.
"N-no, it's nothing... I was just remembering something from centuries ago." Li Sushang lowered her eyes slightly and shook her head gently.
Only after Durandal looked away did she raise her head again, gazing at the girl on the screen who looked exactly like her fifteen-year-old self.
Innocent, lively, and utterly adorable.
"...This time, will his gaze fall on me?"
——
[Seeing the two about to engage in battle, Dan Heng rushed forward without hesitation, joining the girl in combat.]
[Facing the endlessly reviving Mara-stricken, both Sushang and Dan Heng inevitably sustained some injuries. But in the next moment, Luocha tapped the ground lightly with a rapier, causing an overflowing surge of Abundance's vitality to emerge from beneath them, radiating outward in waves from his position.]
["T-this is...!" Sushang stared in disbelief as her wounds rapidly healed.]
[Luocha grasped an exquisitely crafted cross in his hand and approached the two gracefully. "Since you both fought to protect me, how could I stand idly by?"]
"Wow, this guy... he's so, so handsome...!"
"That blond hair really gives him the aura of a Western gentleman." Kochou Shinobu recalled how, many years ago, she and her sister had once encountered a Westerner with similar golden hair while walking through Kyoto's streets.
Though in terms of looks, they were worlds apart.
"Hey, hey, what are you all doing? Have you forgotten the Master's instructions?" Noticing the Love Pillar's flushed cheeks, the Wind Pillar, Shinazugawa Sanemi, tapped his scabbard impatiently. The sharp sound snapped the two women out of their daze.
Remembering the Master's words, the Love Pillar's face immediately turned awkward.
The Master had excused himself earlier due to health reasons, but before leaving, he had instructed them to carefully observe and learn the swordsmanship of the Xianzhou natives. Yet the moment this Luocha appeared... she had been completely distracted by his face, failing to pay any attention to Sushang's techniques!
"This guy looks like a woman with that long hair... Where's the masculinity in that? What's so great about him?" Shinazugawa crossed his arms, his gaze toward Luocha carrying clear disdain.
"—Shinazugawa."
The Stone Pillar's deep voice sounded behind him.
"This Mr. Luocha's uniqueness doesn't lie in his swordsmanship. The peculiar part... should be that strange healing ability, no?" the Stone Pillar reminded. "Also, haven't you noticed? That rapier of his..."
"It's a Western-style sword," Kochou Shinobu suddenly interjected. "Western swordsmanship differs greatly from ours. The blade is thin and excels in thrusting techniques... though I don't know much about the specifics."
The Serpent Pillar, Iguro Obanai, narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh? Then it seems we should pay special attention to this Luocha's swordsmanship as well."
[With the healer's support, Sushang and Dan Heng fought without restraint, swiftly eliminating the horde of Mara-stricken.]
["Are you two alright?" Sushang wiped the sweat from her brow and turned to ask.]
[Dan Heng and Luocha exchanged a glance before shaking their heads.]
["Glad to hear it. I'm Cloud Knight Sushang, recently transferred here from the Yaoqing Xianzhou!" Sushang sighed in relief before turning to Luocha with slight annoyance. "I told you blades have no eyes—what if you got hurt?"]
["If I didn't act, you would have been injured." Luocha's voice was gentle, his face filled with concern.]
"..."
Watching the man on-screen say such words, Welt's expression twisted almost painfully.
He had considered the possibility of Otto having a counterpart.
He had even imagined that this counterpart might have a vastly different personality from the original, but this...?
When Luocha—with a face 100% identical to the notoriously wicked archbishop—said, "If I didn't act, you would have been injured," Welt felt something inside him shatter with an audible crack.
Was this reasonable?!
...Absolutely not!!
This Luocha was definitely scheming something! Without a doubt! Even if nothing had been revealed yet, he had to be plotting something—otherwise, why would he be carrying that coffin?!
In short, Welt refused to believe that Otto's counterpart in another world could possibly be this simple.