Pei Guang looked at the figure in the distance and thought, "Looks the part. So far, I've only encountered one Heliobus, but according to Fu Xuan, they invade people's bodies, and if they stay too long, they can even cause death. Just look at her—standing there not moving at all. That's clearly heatstroke. No wait! It's Heliobus possession. Let's go knock her out."
Stelle: "Let's go!"
Pei Guang led the way with Stelle following close behind. The two of them were moving forward when suddenly, a green-haired girl appeared and interrupted their movement. The girl didn't notice them and instead walked toward a white-haired girl named Hanya, her legs trembling as she spoke.
At that moment, Pei Guang caught sight of the green-haired girl's tail. "Stelle! Look, that girl's tail is also a Heliobus. Damn it! These monsters are actually feeding on girls' tails? After tails, are they going to start eating people? Just perfect! Two of them here—one for each of us—we're saving them both."
"No problem! I'll take the small one," Stelle replied.
"I'll take the big one!" Pei Guang said.
The two moved quietly. But as they advanced, the green-haired girl, Huohuo, had her tail notice something off.
"Huh? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why do I feel like there are two people over there?"
The tail turned toward Pei Guang and Stelle's direction. It looked like it saw someone… or maybe not. The tail, bearing a suspicious resemblance to Wolffy, paused in thought—then suddenly realized something was wrong.
(TL Note: Another character from that chinese show in chap 447)
"Watch out!!!"
But it was already too late. As the tail shouted, it saw a man and a woman appear behind Hanya and Huohuo. It wanted to scare them off, but as its power reached Pei Guang, nothing happened.
The tail's warning made Hanya and Huohuo go on alert, but unfortunately, though they were experienced arbiters of the Ten-Lords Commission, they had zero experience as NPCs up against counterplay-capable players.
Pei Guang and Stelle, each holding a bottle of coffee, struck at the same time the moment the girls turned around, shoving the bottles into their mouths.
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
In that instant, Hanya felt a warm, bitter yet richly flavored liquid flow into her mouth. As it did, she caught a glimpse of her attacker's face.
"Pei Guang?"
That was the name that flashed through Hanya's mind. She knew of him—had even heard tales about him—but she couldn't figure out why he was here, or why he was ambushing her. Based on her intel… was she about to turn into a Mara-struck?
Unlike Hanya, Huohuo was simply terrified. The moment Stelle forced the drink into her mouth, only one thought crossed her mind: "My life is over!"
But the thoughts in both their minds barely lasted a moment. After ingesting enough coffee, the two of them drifted into baby-like sleep.
Too bad neither of them had enough "purity" to meet with Black Commander.
As the two collapsed, Huohuo's tail turned ferocious: but before it could act, it froze in place.
Because it saw a fireball appear in Pei Guang's hand.
A primal fear took over. Death? That wasn't scary. What was truly terrifying… was the idea that this fire seemed able to cook him into a meal and someone might actually eat him.
Die in battle? That he could brag about forever. But getting cooked and eaten? That was the worst kind of torment.
Still, he wouldn't just give in. "Who are you people?! How dare you ambush Judges of the Ten-Lords Commission?!"
Pei Guang replied, "Ambush? Weren't they the ones ambushed by you Heliobus? Unbelievable! This Heliobus inside her won't come out uh? That's not gonna fly."
Stelle looked at Hanya. "Exactly! That Heliobus better come out, or we'll start burning stuff."
Watching the two shouting at Hanya, the tail asked cautiously, "Uhh… what are you two doing, exactly?"
Pei Guang said, "Calling out your buddy. You Heliobus types love invading people's bodies, don't you? But judging by how you're talking to us, seems like you're actually pretty reasonable. That's not bad. Since you're so rational, I won't rough you up. How about this: you call out the Heliobus inside her? Save us some effort."
The tail replied, "Me? I can't… inside…"
He was about to say "there isn't one inside," but Pei Guang cut him off.
"I get it. You guys can't affect each other. No big deal. If it doesn't want to come out, I'll just roast it. No matter what it is, ten minutes and it'll be done."
As he spoke, Pei Guang snapped his fingers. The Savory Truefire enveloped Hanya. Since she was considered an ally, the flames wouldn't harm her, but they would purge any foreign presence inside her.
But as the fire blazed, Pei Guang frowned.
"Huh? What's going on? That Heliobus really this stubborn? Not even making a sound?"
Stelle also looked serious. "Right? Even Phantylia couldn't handle your fire. And whatever's in her body is taking it?"
Peering at the two of them—and that terrifying flame—the tail finally spoke slowly, "You two… have you ever considered the possibility that… there isn't a Heliobus inside her?"
Pei Guang: "Impossible!"
Stelle: "No way!"
Pei Guang: "Look at her—weak body, dark circles under her eyes, totally drained. She's a girl! Girls always take care of themselves! Who else could've drained her if not a Heliobus?"
Stelle: "Exactly! You think we're wrong? Are you questioning us?"
Pei Guang held her back. "Calm down. It's normal to be questioned. But when others doubt us, that's when we must firmly trust our own judgment: believe in our eyes!"
Stelle: "You're right, Pei Guang!"
The tail stared at them, completely silent. He was honestly in awe. How did two lunatics make it into this tightly-guarded Fyxestroll Garden?
What's worse—resistance? Resist what? Didn't they see the Savory Truefire? He didn't know why it wasn't hurting Hanya, but he was certain it could burn him to ashes.
Besides, Hanya and Huohuo didn't seem to be harmed. And while these two looked like fools, for some reason the tail felt… they really didn't mean any harm. They might actually be helping.
So the tail chose to stay quiet. Say too much and he might end up roasted: that just wasn't worth the risk.