Hearing Dan Heng's hesitations, Pei Guang imdiately shook his head in disapproval. "Absolutely not! Did you forget what I said earlier? Since we're here, we need to be fully prepared. Wearing this set of gear doesn't affect your mobility and gives you attribute buffs—why not take advantage of it? Oh, and that headpiece you were using? You can still wear it. I tested it—this kind of gear always displays its effect as long as it's equipped."
As Pei Guang finished speaking, March 7th was the first to react. "Wait, what? Are you saying that ridiculous headpiece works together with this?"
Pei Guang nodded. "It's not the sa item, but yeah. Thanks to the high level of freedom in this system, as long as you equip it, its special effects will show."
March 7th took a mont to imagine the scene: Dan Heng wearing the ugly gray headpiece, combined with the Abundant Ebon Deer skull helt's illusion effect, holding a pink cutesy bunny doll during combat. The thought made her feel like her brain was short-circuiting.
If Pei Guang wore it, she'd think nothing of it. But the once-earnest and serious Dan Heng? Just picturing it gave her a headache.
March 7th turned to Dan Heng, practically begging, "Please, I'm asking this as your companion—if you're ever going all out in battle, at least give a heads-up so I can shut my eyes."
Even Tingyun, who was listening nearby, fell silent at Pei Guang's description. She imagined herself facing a fully ard Dan Heng in combat. The re thought of being struck by such a bizarre figure made her shudder—she'd never live it down.
But Tingyun wasn't the only one taken aback. Fu Xuan, who had just arrived, reached out to touch the peculiar gear. "Amazing. At first glance, I thought you'd all turned into Abominations of Abundance. But now that I'm closer, I see this must be so sort of extraordinary power. It's incredible—without closer inspection, anyone would mistake you for actual abominations!"
Initially startled, Fu Xuan quickly pieced together the truth from the group's conversation. She recalled seeing Pei Guang dismantling enemies to create weapons and armor, a mory that hadn't left her mind.
Hearing Fu Xuan's awe, Pei Guang casually pulled out another set of the gear. "Do you like it? If you do, I can give you a set. I heard you Xianzhou people are all about defeating Abominations of Abundance. We already told you how we got them, so don't worry. Here, it's yours."
Fu Xuan was so surprised that she forgot what she was about to say. "Give a set? Wait… no! I can't accept gifts! I'm the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission; it's against the rules!"
Pei Guang firmly pressed the gear into Fu Xuan's hands. "Stop. Don't give that bureaucratic nonsense. I just want to build rapport with you. You've got this official tone, but you seem like a good person. Forget the formalities—accepting this shows we're friends. I value you as a person, not your title. If I wanted to pull strings through your position, I'd just raise Jing Yuan's favorability. Then I'd have free rein in Xianzhou."
Fu Xuan faltered at his bluntness, feeling a bit flustered. "Value as a person? Um… I appreciate the thought, but—"
Pei Guang interrupted, grinning. "No buts. If you don't hate it, that ans you like it. Co on, take the gift. It'll make feel more at ease knowing we're friends now. Compared to polite refusals, accepting it is much more genuine."
Holding the Ebon Deer set, Fu Xuan murmured to herself, "So… accepting this makes us friends?"
Pei Guang laughed. "Of course! Now that we're friends, do you have anything to give in return?"
Caught off guard, Fu Xuan stamred, "A gift? I ca here in a rush and didn't even have ti to change clothes, let alone bring gifts…"
Pei Guang shrugged. "No worries. We'll settle that later. Once all this is over, I'll co find you for one."
Fu Xuan nodded earnestly. "Sure! When everything's done, co see , and I'll prepare sothing special for you. Thank you, Ah Guang~"
Unaware that she was already swept into Pei Guang's rhythm, Fu Xuan had unknowingly committed herself. Nearby, Stelle whispered to March 7th, "No wonder he's Ah Guang. Look how fast he maxed out the Diviner's favorability."
March 7th planted her hands on her hips confidently. "That's fine. My favorability is still higher! She can't beat !"
Stelle grumbled under her breath, "As if I can't raise mine too…"
As Fu Xuan walked away, clutching the gift Pei Guang had given her, a smile graced her face. Sure, the Abundant Ebon Deer gear and items looked strange, but the gesture behind them filled her with genuine joy!
She could sense Pei Guang's straightforward intentions—he simply found her agreeable and wanted to be friends. With his strength, Fu Xuan figured he wasn't interested in her official status, he rather saw value in her abilities but just enjoyed her company.
For Fu Xuan, who had lost or drifted apart from most of her old friends since becoming the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, the prospect of forming a new friendship was both refreshing and a little nerve-wracking.
Pei Guang, on the other hand, had a habit of building rapport with key characters whenever he could. During their brief interaction at the Divination Commission, there hadn't been much ti to chat, but now that they had crossed paths again, he decided to try boosting her favorability. He didn't expect that this casual effort would actually match Fu Xuan's preferences—or so he assud.
anwhile, Pei Guang was already plotting his next move. If they encountered more Abominations of Abundance, he'd craft additional gear to raise Fu Xuan's favorability even higher. Who knows? With enough rapport, she might even join their group, which would be a delightful bonus.
As for her abilities? Pei Guang wasn't overly concerned. In his experience, divination-type skills in gas were notoriously unreliable—he'd never drawn a rare item on a "lucky day," after all. But from his perspective, having a teammate with such skills was a must. Even if their abilities weren't directly useful, they often proved invaluable in unexpected ways, like managing logistics or solving peculiar quests.
As a player, Pei Guang also prided himself on treating NPCs he befriended with genuine care. For many players, the relationships they build with in-ga characters are surprisingly pure, often prompting them to go to great lengths for their favored allies. Pei Guang was no exception.
On her way back, Fu Xuan pondered what kind of gift she could prepare for Pei Guang in return. However, as she mulled it over, she suddenly froze mid-step, realizing sothing crucial.
Her previously composed and confident deanor crumbled. "Wait… I ca to him because I needed his help! But now, how am I supposed to ask him after taking his gift?"
anwhile, on the other side of the camp, March 7th leaned toward Pei Guang and whispered, "So? Do you have a soft spot for her?"
Pei Guang didn't hesitate. "Of course. You know the rule—if you can recruit an NPC, you should. Who knows what kind of strange and unexpected benefits they might bring later? Based on my experience, even seemingly weak NPCs can play critical roles in certain storylines, so it's always worth befriending them."
Stelle rolled her eyes. "But are there really NPCs who raise their favorability just because you give them a gift?"
Pei Guang grinned. "Absolutely! You never know—she might walk off now, and the next thing you know, her favorability skyrockets, and she rewards us with so unique items or unlocks high-favorability-only quests."
March 7th and Stelle exchanged glances. If anyone else had said this, they wouldn't have believed it. But coming from Pei Guang? They couldn't shake the feeling that Fu Xuan would soon be back with a gift or a quest. After all, Pei Guang had said it—his predictions had a way of coming true.
Sure enough, just as they were thinking this, Fu Xuan returned. She approached hesitantly, visibly torn. Once in front of Pei Guang, her usually composed tone was tinged with nervousness. "Ah Guang… I, um, have a request…"
Before she could finish, Pei Guang turned to March 7th and Stelle with a triumphant smile. "See? See? This is how it works—favorability up, and here cos the quest."
March 7th nudged Stelle. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Stelle nodded. "Absolutely. When it cos to Ah Guang, we're completely on the sa page. Though, I gotta say, this ti it happened fast."
March 7th: "Co on, why overthink it? If the day cos when Ah Guang's 'invincible experience' and 'reckoning power' don't work, that's when we'll seriously start worrying."
Stelle: "Agreed."
Fu Xuan glanced at the two cryptic Trailblazers, then at the ever-smiling Pei Guang. Sothing felt off, but now wasn't the ti to dwell on it. She had a pressing matter to discuss with Pei Guang and couldn't afford to let him keep steering the conversation all over the place.
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