[HSRGSS] Chapter 116: Sudden Conflict and the Shuhu Upheaval

Everything felt like fiery liquor, surging violently through every vein and bone, dragging along overwhelming dizziness and a heavy sinking sensation.

A small ship sailed through stormy seas.

When the weather was clear, it pressed on smoothly, and when caught in a raging storm, it roared ahead at full power.

===

In the blink of an eye, the next morning came.

Originally, Lucian had deliberately planned to dock his 'ship' outside to unload the 'cargo,' but who would have thought that when the last batch of cargo was being transferred, Jingliu would seize his 'ship' and hold it at her 'port,' refusing to let it leave?

As a result, Lucian's entire 'cargo' had no choice but to be unloaded at Jingliu's 'port.'

However, the key problem was that this batch of 'cargo' contained contraband—contraband of an Emanator of Abundance!

If he had unloaded it outside, Lucian could have hidden it from Inspector Jingliu, but now it was impossible to cover it up.

How could he possibly hide it when the contraband was practically being delivered straight into the inspector's 'port'?

Because this contraband was so pure, so immense, radiating with the unique aura of the Path of Abundance—the breath of vitality and growth that restored all living things—it instantly spread throughout the entire room, even making the withered potted plants in the corners sprout fresh buds before their eyes.

As someone born with the blessing of Abundance, how could Jingliu not notice?

Time seemed to freeze at that moment as the intoxicated flush on Jingliu's face vanished instantly, replaced by a ghastly pallor of terror.

Her light-red eyes widened sharply, filled with utter shock, disbelief, and... disappointment at being deceived.

It was as if she had been scalded by a burning iron brand.

Jingliu suddenly sprang away from Lucian's embrace, stumbling back several steps until her back hit the cold wall. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she stared fixedly at him on the bed, her gaze sharp enough to pierce through him.

"Why... Why is this power of Abundance... You... You are an Emanator... An Emanator of Abundance..."

Jingliu's lips trembled, each word squeezed out between her teeth, carrying a chilling frost.

"You... You hid this from me for a thousand years? Master? Were you afraid I would expose you? You didn't trust me?"

Not giving Lucian a chance to explain, Jingliu spun around, snatched her dress from the floor to wrap around her disheveled, naked body, and, like a blizzard-driven wind, stormed out of the bedroom.

BANG!

With a thunderous impact, the door slammed shut so hard that the walls shook.

Just like that, the completely disarrayed room, heavy with the aura of Abundance, fell into a terrifying silence.

'My goodness, why did she have to press me like that...' Lucian sighed inwardly, a frown adorning his face.

When they did the mating press, he should have pulled his 'little bro' away earlier, so he wouldn't have been caught in Jingliu's leg lock at such a critical moment.

"Lucian…"

A soft voice, heavy with worry and heartache, rose from nearby.

It was none other than Baiheng, who carefully approached Lucian from behind.

Despite her own disheveled state, she reached out and gently wrapped her arms around his stiff body, resting her cheek against his cold back.

"Don't worry…"

Baiheng's voice carried a soothing warmth, as light as feathers.

"We're not rejecting who you are. Jingliu just thought you were hiding your identity as an Emanator of Abundance because you didn't trust her..."

Right after saying this, she lifted her head, gazing into Lucian's face.

"I'll go talk to her. Wait for me, okay?"

Baiheng kissed Lucian's earlobe softly, then hastily dressed and hurried out after Jingliu.

Lucian watched Baiheng's retreating figure and couldn't help but sigh.

"No wonder she's the darling of the High-Cloud Quintet..."

In fact, Jingliu's reaction had been within Lucian's expectations.

Even though Jingliu's parents were killed by the Abominations of Abundance, which made her hate anything related to them, thanks to Lucian saving the Xianzhou Cangcheng and being together with her for a thousand years, even if his identity as an Emanator of Abundance was exposed, she could surely accept it.

A thousand years ago, Lucian had not been confident enough to reveal his true identity, so he decided to hide it from Jingliu.

However, after a thousand years together, although it would no longer have been a problem to reveal his true identity, this also meant that when Jingliu found out, she would surely believe that Lucian had hidden his true identity out of fear that she might leak it, that he did not trust her, and so he had concealed it for a thousand years without telling her.

It was shown clearly in the look in Jingliu's eyes just now—it had not been filled with murderous intent or hatred, but with disappointment.

In other words, no matter whether Lucian revealed his true identity early or not, there would always be a crack in their relationship.

Lucian had originally planned to hide his identity until the script was complete and tell Jingliu about it in the real world later, but thanks to her and Baiheng's temptation, he threw this plan out the window.

What surprised him, though, was Baiheng.

It should be noted that they had been together for less than a hundred years, yet Baiheng still trusted him so deeply, even after knowing his true identity.

Beep-Beep!

As Lucian was lost in thought, pondering the best course of action to solve this problem, his jade abacus chimed.

It was a call from Jing Yuan.

[Teacher, Emanator Shuhu suddenly launched a surprise attack! General Teng Xiao is already fighting him! Requesting support!]

"Mm, I'll be there right away."

Lucian immediately dressed, glanced once at the courtyard gate, and decided to let it go.

He would deal with the urgent matter first and return later for Jingliu.

In the next instant, Lucian vanished with Absolute Hit, reappearing a second later inside the Seat of Divine Foresight in the Xianzhou Luofu.

"Teacher!"

Jing Yuan rushed over as soon as he saw Lucian, long since accustomed to his teacher's teleportation.

"Right now, it's only Shuhu himself attacking to probe, and General Teng Xiao is holding him back. As for Shuhu's army, they've already encircled the Luofu but haven't advanced yet."

Lucian looked up at the giant screen, which displayed Teng Xiao battling Shuhu at the Scalegorge Waterscape.

Teng Xiao was clad in heavy armor, wielding a flaming glaive and bathed in golden thunder from the massive Spiritus towering behind him—the Lightning-Lord.

Lucian had to admit, the special effects caused by the Lightning-Lord were so dazzling that they made Teng Xiao truly look like a limited-edition five-star character at max Eidolons.

As for Shuhu, he looked like a massive tree with human-head fruits hung from its trunk, horrifying to behold, each head one of the lives he had devoured.

"Yaoshi may be selfless, but the creatures THEY enlightened were not so selfless." Lucian could not help but remark coldly.

Shuhu's behavior resembled that of a Buddha draped in severed heads.

"Teacher, what if Shuhu can't be killed?" Jing Yuan asked with worry.

"It doesn't matter." Lucian answered calmly. "I myself will act. Just find me the coordinates of a black hole."

===

Xianzhou Cangcheng, Outside Jingliu's House.

At this moment, Jingliu stood at the roadside, her expression filled with sorrow.

"I'm not angry about his identity, but about the fact that he hid it from me for so long..." Jingliu muttered to herself. "Could it be... he never fully trusted me..."

Otherwise, why had her master never told her the truth?

As for the identity and position of an Emanator of Abundance, she honestly did not really care.

A thousand years of shared memories were enough to erase that stain.

"After all these years, you know better than anyone whether he's good or bad, don't you?"

Just then, Baiheng came to Jingliu's side, speaking gently to comfort her.

"I resent that he kept it from me..." Jingliu said softly. "I would never betray him... yet he still wouldn't tell me... Isn't that distrust?"

"Maybe it's because he didn't want to drag you into it..." Baiheng sighed. "I mean, if, if someday his identity was exposed, as long as you didn't know, you'd still be clean, right? Knowing that, Lucian clearly didn't want you to know too much, so that if one day his true identity was revealed, you could still remain safe on the Xianzhou Alliance."

Jingliu froze for a long moment after hearing this.

"I see... I... I didn't even think of that..." Jingliu muttered in a daze. "You're right, that really is something Master would do... He wasn't mistrusting me, he just wanted to protect me..."

"Yup! Exactly!" Baiheng patted Jingliu's shoulder lightly and smiled. "When you ran away just now, Lucian was really worried—and... a little sad."

Jingliu suddenly felt like a child who had done something wrong.

No wonder her master had wanted to pull his 'thing' away from her earlier—even then, he had been thinking about the consequences for her...

Jingliu pressed her forehead, regret instantly flooding her heart as she remembered how she had acted.

"I can't believe I've lived for over a thousand years, yet I still see things less clearly than you..." Jingliu said with self-mockery.

"Heehee, that's because you've lived too long, so you don't know how to cherish it." Baiheng said while chuckling. "How about letting me be the main wife instead?"

"Beat me first, then we'll see." Jingliu curved her lips into a faint smile.

Having untangled her feelings, she immediately wanted to return to Lucian, apologize, and hear what he thought.

However, when the two women entered his bedroom, they did not find him.

They immediately searched the entire house but still found no trace of him.

Only after messaging Jing Yuan did they learn that Lucian had gone to the Luofu to provide support.

"Come on, let's hurry."

For some reason, Jingliu felt a foreboding in her heart, an unease gnawing at her—it was as though if she arrived too late, something irretrievable would be lost.