"Eh?"
Chubby Simpleton caught sight of Ying Muyao, he first was startled, and quickly sensed the other's identity through the Miracle Power, "Empress of the East?"
Miracle Power is like an identity card for everyone, almost everyone has it.
However, cases like Bailuo are special; that is, her sister's Miracle Power can only trace to her, unable to sense Bailuo through her sister.
This also means that Bailuo's aura is changeable, he can choose a new aura unknown to others, thus hiding his identity.
Basically, except for his own subjects, it's very difficult for outsiders to discover.
"Did you get plastic surgery?"
Chubby Simpleton found the Empress of the East had changed her face, although both were very beautiful, it was too strange.
The appearance of the Master of Miracles had long since transcended the category of humans; it elevates charm on the original basis, both for males and females.
Of course, having a pretty face does not necessarily equate to charm.
Like Dong Aolai, he's a domineering hero, so his image is definitely authoritative and commanding; this is what is meant by "appearance stems from the heart."
The Empress of the East's countenance had changed, but her temperament had not shifted much.
"The previous body was of no use, so I changed it."
In the presence of the Holy Emperor, the Empress of the East maintained a bit of humility, for this was someone who could garner respect from anyone, an elderly predecessor, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to sign a Sacred Covenant with a small country called Yatun."
"Yatun?"
The Empress of the East frowned slightly, but didn't show much else; she said, "It seems the rumors that the Great Emperor and Saros are like brothers are not unfounded."
"Indeed, indeed!"
Chubby Simpleton had no awareness of being the dignified Master of Miracles, but rather becoming brothers-in-arms with a mortal. He viewed this as the greatest honor, "And you, where are you headed?"
"Ah, right, do you want some candy?"
Having boarded Ying Muyao's ship, Chubby Simpleton showed none of the reserve expected of a guest, acting quite at ease.
Ying Muyao, however, didn't mind and had Gongsun Wu bring out a large chair. The two sat down and started conversing as the ship sailed on.
"Are you also going to Yatun? Why?"
Chubby Simpleton and Ying Muyao were old acquaintances. The latter was naturally younger than him, but in the present era of miracles, all Masters of Miracles are ranked by seniority, and Ying Muyao was easily within the top ten.
Yes, that's right, ranked by age, Ying Muyao is among the older generation.
Masters of Miracles of a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years; the Empress of the East belongs to the ten-thousand-year category.
"I don't recall you having any connection with Saros; when he visited the Eastern Empire, I heard you didn't even meet him."
"I met him."
Ying Muyao said, "But we're not close."
"Then what are you doing in Yatun?"
"I'm not looking for Saros; I'm looking for someone else."
"Who?"
Ying Muyao didn't state outright, but Chubby Simpleton had his guesses, "Are you going to find King Yatun?"
Chubby Simpleton was utterly baffled, failing to comprehend Ying Muyao's line of thinking. Did she know Bailuo, and why would she seek him out?
"The Great Emperor is aging; please do not meddle in my affairs. Besides, I'm not an enemy of Yatun, you can rest assured."
With that, Chubby Simpleton was unconcerned, "As long as you are not their enemy, I won't intervene; you may go as you please."
The Eastern Empire is not a signatory of the Sacred Covenant; they are equals. Ying Muyao is not bound by it and may even, as the Emperor of the Eastern Empire on the Northern Continent, launch a southern war against the Miracle New Continent.
Since the founding of the Eastern Empire six thousand years ago, southern wars have not been infrequent.
The Far North Empire was indeed a key factor during those times, for without it, the Miracle Mainland might have already been swept up by war.
Yes, it was this woman right in front of him who never extinguished the idea of invading the New Continent and taking it into her fold, a display of wolfish ambition, clear as day.
"There shouldn't be any problems, should there?"
Chubby Simpleton watched as the Empress of the East's ship slowly sailed away; he was somewhat baffled.
What a pity that Chubby Simpleton had already retired; these matters weren't his to meddle with any longer, as meddling meant interfering in another country's internal affairs and diplomacy.
As long as there were no significant frictions or conflicts, like if the Empress of the East and Bailuo clashed, then Chubby Simpleton, as a witness to the sacred covenant, would definitely intervene to protect the Yatun Duchy from threats outside the covenant.
Beyond that, Bailuo was to make his own decisions.
The covenant was merely to stop wars, not to force everyone to be a well-behaved child; that was not Chubby Simpleton's original intention: "Forget it, this isn't my business, let's go home."
"Crack, crack."
On the deck, the Empress of the East unwrapped the candy given by Chubby Simpleton and popped it into her mouth, savoring it slowly: "It's still the same as before, this candy, it's bitter."
"Your Majesty, you're leaving just like that?"
"Otherwise?"
"But, but that's the Holy Emperor, aren't you two sworn enemies?"
"It was just wars fought and hands exchanged in the past, not sworn enemies."
Great reverence among heroes, Ying Muyao held nothing but respect and admiration for Chubby Simpleton, without any personal grudge, just like the Empress of the Far North; while she didn't like him very much, she had to admit, the Empress of the Far North was indeed very strong.
"It's not without gains."
Ying Muyao smiled, seemingly relieved, as if she had let go of something: "I asked him, how many miracles does King Yatun have?"
"More than one?"
Gongsun Wu repeated Chubby Simpleton's words; he hadn't betrayed Bailuo, but he also couldn't completely hide it.
For the very moment Ying Muyao asked that question, she had already implied that she knew Bailuo possessed more than one miracle.
Nevertheless, even then, Chubby Simpleton wouldn't say it outright; he simply answered offhandedly and kept smiling without speaking.
"What's the point of that?"
"There is."
Ying Muyao said, "That's the answer I wanted."
"Huh?"
Gongsun Wu was confused; she found herself completely unable to keep pace with Ying Muyao's rhythm: "Your Majesty, could you clarify, why did you go to Yatun, who is this King Yatun who has garnered so much of your attention?"
Ying Muyao, with her back to Gongsun Wu, felt no need to hide anything from her, since Gongsun Wu could be said to be the closest person to her now.
She had even taken Gongsun Wu with her on her undercover visits, showing the trust Ying Muyao had in her.
"Let me tell you a story."
Ying Muyao spoke as she raised her head, gazing at the distant horizon: "A long time ago, in the lands of the Eastern, there was a brother and sister who depended only on each other."
"They lived in a remote village, making their living by hunting."
"The brother was frail, always sickly, while the sister seemed to have stolen his constitution, unnaturally strong, almost not seeming like a mortal."
"Later on, the brother told the sister that she wasn't ordinary, but a great being with the semblance of Miracle Power within her."
"And so," Ying Muyao reminisced: "the sister and brother made a covenant of miracles, they shared their lives, becoming even closer than family."
"Initially, she thought they would never be apart, but what she didn't expect was that she wasn't the only one, because after that, the brother found more miracles."
"He became ever stronger."
The tone of Ying Muyao grew increasingly melancholic: "But he also grew distant from her, and to the end, never saw her again..."