Bailu's wide blue eyes blinked slowly, still shimmering with the glow of sudden joy that hadn't quite settled in. She stared up at Felicity as if trying to grasp the reality of this unexpected happiness.
"Does this mean... we have money now?" Her voice was soft, filled with cautious hope.
Felicity's lips curved into a teasing smile. Her eyes twinkled as she replied, "No, Bailu. I'm rich now."
At those words, Bailu's eyes brightened instantly, sparkling like stars caught in a clear night sky.
Felicity blinked, then a mischievous grin spread across her face. She slipped the cloth bag Fu Xuan had handed her into her pocket, bent down, and gently ruffled Bailu's small head.
"So... do you understand now who's really in charge here?"
"Sister Feli~!" Bailu called out with innocent enthusiasm.
After all, the person Fu Xuan had brought along wasn't just any stranger—she was kind and willing to take Bailu out to play. To Bailu, that alone made Felicity a wonderful sister figure.
As the saying went, whoever provides the milk is the mother. Bailu, though self-sufficient and without parents, didn't mind having a sister at all—so long as that sister kept taking her out to play every day.
"Mmm, so good," Felicity said with a warm smile. She ruffled Bailu's hair more firmly this time, her fingers tracing the gentle curve of Bailu's small horns. Taking Bailu's tiny hand in hers, she began to lead the way on their little adventure.
Despite being spirited and brave, Bailu was still just a child, her eyes lighting up at the sight of delicious food. She tugged Felicity's hand eagerly, wanting to order everything that caught her fancy.
Of course, their reality was more practical—ordering too much was wasteful.
"It's wrong to waste food. We should only buy as much as we can eat. So, what have you decided?" Felicity asked with an amused smile, glancing down at Bailu's conflicted expression.
The little healer's tail flicked restlessly behind her, the tip swaying with undeniable excitement.
"Pork belly with garlic sprouts, crispy melon, spicy chicken, braised pork with taro, chopped beef offal with red oil, fried tofu... Oh, my tongue's all tied up just naming them!" Bailu recited rapidly, then shot Felicity a helpless glare. "I want to eat all of it—I just don't know how to choose!"
Before this moment, Bailu hadn't been able to sneak out and enjoy herself for what felt like forever. Even when she managed to slip away, she never had the freedom to run off and feast as boldly as she was doing now. Naturally, she wanted to try everything new and wonderful.
"Buy it all! You can buy everything!" Felicity's heart softened at Bailu's childlike earnestness. She opened the cloth bag given by Fu Xuan and pulled out handfuls of credit points, slapping them down on the table.
Among them glinted a few arrow-shaped sky-gold coins—perhaps a special currency unique to Luofu. Felicity carefully pocketed them, thinking they might make a good keepsake.
"Yeah!" Bailu cheered, releasing Felicity's legs and kicking the ground with her short limbs. She darted off, buying candy figurines here, smoked meat burgers there, and soon returned, asking eagerly for a glass of Luofu goat milk.
Soon, Bailu's small belly was pleasantly full, her face glowing with satisfaction. Felicity followed behind her with a gentle smile, quietly settling the payment.
"Let's find somewhere to sit," Felicity suggested.
Bailu's smile only grew wider as she cradled their bounty carefully, wary of dropping a single morsel.
"Good," she agreed eagerly.
They walked to a nearby pavilion, where a sturdy stone table and chairs awaited. Bailu set the food down with care, then hopped onto a chair, her short legs swinging in happy rhythm. Her long, fluffy tail lifted high behind her, swaying gently.
Felicity's eyes traced the movement of that tail, curious how it might feel compared to the soft, familiar brush of a fox's tail.
Perhaps feeling Felicity's gaze, or simply eager for conversation, Bailu propped her cheek in her hand and popped a meat skewer into her mouth. After swallowing it whole, she looked at Felicity with a flicker of curiosity.
"By the way, you're clearly a foreign guest here in Luofu, but Master Diviner entrusted you to look after me? That's strange—what exactly can you do?"
"Well... if you must know, do you have any medical skills?" Felicity replied, playing along.
"Medical skills?" Bailu's interest piqued as she took a bite of her smoked meat burger and sipped the goat milk.
"I'm studying medicine at the Alchemy Commission! In terms of Xianzhou healing, I'm practically top tier—but I can't cure my own strange illness of not growing taller…"
She wondered if beyond Xianzhou Luofu, in the vast universe, there might be a cure for her peculiar affliction.
"Secrets for growing taller? I have a few," Felicity said with a knowing smile, watching Bailu nibble on a small cake and lick her candy figurine with a rosy tongue.
"Like eating well, drinking plenty, going to bed early, and, of course, drinking more milk~"
"I know all that..." Bailu grumbled, her tone tinged with frustration as she bit down harder on her chicken leg.
Felicity glanced at the nearly empty table and then at Bailu's slightly rounded belly. Small as Bailu was, she sure had a hearty appetite.
She wondered quietly if she could support this little firebrand.
Bailu finished the last sip of her goat milk, grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, then suddenly brightened again.
"Sister Feli, where should we go play next?"
She could spend the whole day in Exalting Sanctum, something she had never dared to imagine before.
"Well... it's up to you," Felicity said cheerfully, enjoying Bailu's conflicted expression.
"Hmm..." Bailu's face suddenly fell, the sparkle dimming as she looked around, searching for a place to have more fun.
Then—without warning—
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"
A wild, almost insane scream tore through the central square of Exalting Sanctum. Bailu's face tightened, her youthful innocence replaced by sudden tension.
With a sigh of reluctant resolve, she turned to Felicity. "Sister Feli, should we go check it out?"
"Alright," Felicity agreed.
...
At the heart of Exalting Sanctum, the central square was alive with strange phenomena.
Golden light erupted from the bodies of several Cloud Knight soldiers recently carried in, lifting them gently into the air.
Apricot-yellow leaves sprouted mysteriously from their torsos, their armor changing color to the dull, cracked hue of dead wood.
Felicity stroked her chin thoughtfully, suspicion flickering in her eyes. The blessing of Abundance within these soldiers seemed to have intensified beyond normal limits, overwhelming their fragile souls.
Could this be man-made? Was another Emanator of the Path of Abundance active somewhere on Xianzhou Luofu?
Before she could gather her thoughts, a small figure suddenly darted from beside her.
"Everyone, stand back!" Bailu's voice rang out as she kicked her short legs, her body leaping into a swift, graceful spin. Purple arcs of electricity crackled along her large tail as she swung it down with fierce determination.
Crackle!
A Mara-Struck Soldier collapsed in response to the strike.
--+--