Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Propagation's Holy Son (❌)

Though there'd been a minor misunderstanding, it didn't affect much. Little Jingliu shook out her blue-and-white hair — now dusted with a bit of grime — then pressed her equally dusty small hands against Wangshu's shirt and wiped them clean. Perfectly natural.

"Little Wangshu, I have a question."

She tilted her face upward.

"What question?"

"Why do you want to set up a stall?" This was the question she'd been holding in the entire trip. "Aren't we... not short on money for the time being?"

"To get used to Cangcheng's environment, and to give myself something to do. It's not about making money."

Mainly, he hadn't expected Asta to be this generous... Asta's eye for people was always impeccable. Wangshu silently praised himself in his heart.

Oh. Jingliu bobbed her head. Then that's fine.

She'd thought Wangshu's brain had broken — having all this money yet still wanting to go work.

"But why don't you look for a normal job?"

Jingliu tilted her small head.

Wangshu's feelings were complicated. "I was in civil engineering. I don't think my physique can land me a relevant position in Cangcheng."

Civil engineering wasn't purely physical labor, but doing civil engineering without physical labor was virtually impossible.

Jingliu understood instantly. A short-life species coming to the domain of long-life species and trying to find an edge in physical strength... was hopeless. Utterly hopeless. She rose on her toes and patted Wangshu's arm consolingly.

The conversation paused there. The storage room had been completely transformed — the once-dusty longsword and support flying swords had been carefully wiped clean and hung neatly on the wall, gleaming with restrained, cold light. The purchased flour and various materials were sorted by category and arranged in perfect order.

Jingliu bounced out of the storage room in high spirits. At the bathroom door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and wore a mischievous yet bright smile:

"I'm going to take a bath~ Want me to leave the door unlocked for you, little Wangshu?"

Wangshu: ...

He was silent for a moment, then feigned delight: "Sure!"

Huh?!

Jingliu's trash talk had actually worked — and her small face instantly froze. Her red lips parted, but only stammers came out, and the tips of her ears turned red at a visible pace.

"Um... little Wangshu..."

"Alright, I'll stop teasing." Wangshu quit while he was ahead, waving his hand with a laugh. "Go ahead and wash up first. I won't come in. After all, when I think about it, I've only known the current you for about two days."

Two days. A stretch of time that was by no means long — in fact, it was remarkably short. Even if the girl before him was Jingliu, the future Flawless Radiance, the one locked away, the ice-wielding, crimson-eyed, white-haired, beautiful madwoman with a silver tongue.

But two days was simply too short. So short that even as Wangshu planned for the future out loud, deep down he still felt a dreamlike quality to it all, as if everything he was experiencing wasn't quite real.

Little Jingliu's cheeks flushed faintly, but she straightened her small frame with effort, rose on her tiptoes, and once again patted Wangshu's shoulder.

"Don't be sad. I'll take care of you in her place."

Watching Jingliu stretch up on her tiptoes, a good measure of the uncertainty in Wangshu's heart dissipated. He grinned: "So can I sneak in later?"

Jingliu: ...

"I'm going to take my bath now!"

Having said that, she lost all courage to continue the conversation and scampered into the bathroom with rapid little steps.

Whether the door was actually locked remained unknown.

Seizing the opportunity, Wangshu claimed Asta's second red envelope.

A portable multi-function stall cart, equipped with a basic energy module and freshness preservation unit, with an extendable frame... and even two large barrels.

Wangshu mixed seasonings, trying to replicate the flavors from his memory. He was standing behind the cart when he suddenly realized it looked like it was originally designed for handing out porridge. After some modifications though, it seemed almost perfect for making jianbing guozi.

Girls always seemed to take longer in the bath. By the time little Jingliu reappeared, she'd changed into a fresh set of casual home clothes. Her damp blue-and-white hair was wrapped in a towel, and her cheeks were rosy from the steam. The earlier awkwardness seemed to have evaporated along with the moisture.

"Little Wangshu, I left the door unlocked for you today~"

She tilted her small face up. Her energy had been fully restored, and she was smiling again — bright and lively. Not a trace of ice-cold aloofness.

Wangshu: ...

The teasing naturally didn't go on forever. Jingliu pattered over to the stall cart, braced her small hands on the railing, and vaulted up lightly to sit on it, swinging her legs while earnestly watching Wangshu knead dough and mix sauces.

Boring, yet somehow interesting.

"Let's have this for dinner tonight... what was it called, jianbing guozi. How about it?"

She suggested.

"This stuff for dinner?"

Jianbing guozi was fine for breakfast, or a quick lunch on busy days. But eating it for dinner meant you'd be starving by bedtime, and ravenous the next morning.

"I'll just eat a couple extra then. I haven't even had lunch yet."

It was already two or three in the afternoon. Her stomach was growling loud enough to hear, and although a long-life physique wouldn't be affected by skipping a meal or two, she was just hungry!

Ten minutes later —

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu sent a group red envelope

Jingliu claimed the group red envelope

Asta claimed the group red envelope

Asta: "...You certainly eat at unusual hours."

She'd only just finished her own meal not long ago. Her tummy was still a bit full.

Wangshu: "Today was hectic. My schedule should stabilize going forward. By the way, do you have anything like jianbing guozi on your end?"

Every region had its own unique cuisine. Different regions genuinely developed entirely different culinary traditions. After his research, he'd confirmed that the Xianzhou didn't have this particular food... though they did have soy milk and milk tea.

Asta: "Ms. Herta's homeworld, Cerulean Star, apparently has something similar."

Wangshu: "Well, that's a shame. I was hoping this could be my secret weapon."

Jingliu: "So you've only been here two days, and my routine is already this disrupted?"

Wangshu has gone offline

Jingliu: ...

Asta has gone offline

In the vast emptiness of the Abyssal Prison, a sudden aroma materialized. Jingliu's hands were bound by shackles, but that didn't stop her from cupping the food in her palms and savoring it slowly.

As for what Jing Yuan might think when he later reviewed the surveillance footage?

Who knew.

What she could confirm right now was that in the past, her younger self's fate was indeed slowly changing. Even if it couldn't change her current predicament — that was fine. Most of the time, just knowing that child's life was getting better was enough.

"I can find a chance to ask more during tonight's training." She mused to herself.

Meanwhile, in Star Calendar Year 6299's Cangcheng, the artificial sky had shifted to sunset. Golden afterglow bathed everything. After eating, Jingliu dragged Wangshu along, her eyes sparkling as she watched the young man hold a longsword aloft, frost spreading across the heavens.

Jingliu's sword was cold, but there was no denying it — the visual spectacle was truly magnificent.

It was just that every time Wangshu gripped the sword — no, every time he received Jingliu's power — he could feel a wordless call. Closer, ever closer. As if something was searching for him.

"Could it be time for the legendary weapon choosing its master?"

Following Senior's instructions, he practiced for about half an hour, then put the sword away. On the card, there was a faint red glow at the corner of Senior Jingliu's eye — at this stage, Jingliu was unquestionably at Emanator-level combat power.

Once the fusion material Jing Yuan was added back in, it would be Propagation, Hunt, and Destruction — three Paths layered onto a single Emanator... The future Dahlia had the potential to destroy the universe with three Paths. Jingliu probably wasn't too far behind.