The golden emblem was made from a special alloy, inscribed with the Universal Conglomerate’s logo. Light flowed on its surface, and it felt cool to the touch. It seemed to have a calming effect as well.
“Our emblems are exclusively forged in our headquarters, and only a small number of employees are authorized to inscribe the relevant details. Outsiders can’t hope to recreate it,” Employee 9527 explained with a smile.
Unless he did it willingly, Fire Knight and the others could only obtain the emblem mold from him, which wouldn’t be sufficient to be recognized by the Conglomerate.
Zu An was surprised. It sounded as if very few people had the right to forge the emblem, and someone ranked 9527 shouldn’t have had that opportunity. It suggested that Employee 9527 could be of surprisingly high standing in the Conglomerate.
But since Employee 9527 wasn’t saying a thing, Zu An couldn’t probe either.
It was a close encounter, but Zu An had gotten a lot out of it. He had become proficient in countless languages in the Myriad Worlds, and that was a huge advantage when it came to collecting intelligence.
The golden emblem was a huge bonus, too. Having witnessed firsthand how affluent the Universal Conglomerate was, he knew it would be tremendously beneficial to forge close ties with them. Not to mention this wasn’t just an informal relationship, but a formal one affirmed by the emblem.
“Thank you.” Zu An accepted the emblem with a smile.
Employee 9527 bowed to Zu An and said, “Have a good rest, Brother Zu. I’ll have to clean up the mess on the spaceship, so pardon me for not being able to accompany you.”
Zu An bade Employee 9527 farewell. He pondered for a moment before deciding to visit the white-robed woman’s room.
The maids outside the room greeted him warmly; they were grateful to him for saving them. One asked, “Benefactor, are you here to pay a visit to the miss? Shall we inform her of your arrival?”
Zu An was still hesitating over how to approach this matter when the white-robed woman called out, “Who is it?”
Since she had discovered him, Zu An replied, “I am Zu An. I have something I’d like to ask.”
There was a brief silence before the door opened. A cold voice echoed, “Come in.”
The maids stepped aside to let Zu An in.
Zu An was surprised when he saw the room’s layout. Employee 9527 had assigned the white-robed woman the best room out of gratitude for her help and fearfulness of her strength, but the arrangement was surprisingly humble.
It was an empty room with a bed. Even from afar, Zu An could feel a chill emanating from the bed, as if it were the Cold Jade Bed from Return of the Condor Heroes.
Zu An stared at the bed after entering the room, not saying a word despite claiming to have something to ask. That brought a frown to the white-robed woman’s face, and she asked, “What do you want to ask?”
Awkwardness flashed across Zu An’s face. “I’d like to ask your name.”
The white-robed woman was speechless.
Zu An also realized his question was abrupt, so he hurriedly clarified, “Please don’t misunderstand. I happen to have a friend who resembles you greatly, so I came here to ask out of curiosity.”
“Your flirting methods are outdated,” the white-robed woman replied calmly as if nothing in the world could faze her.
“I’m speaking the truth.” Zu An knew his words didn’t sound credible, so he paced around the room before asking, “Miss, are you a Nebula worshiper?”
The white-robed woman stared at him quietly, looking as if she would evict him at any moment.
Zu An hurriedly added, “That friend of mine unintentionally caught the Deity of Nebula’s gaze. She emanates an aura very similar to yours, though she’s nowhere as strong as you.”
The white-robed woman’s interest was finally piqued. “Oh? What’s your friend’s name?”
“Her name is Yan Xuehen.”
When he answered the question, Zu An felt both expectant and nervous. It could be a similar case as the Goddess of Wu Mountain and the Mermaid Queen, where the white-robed woman was related to Yan Xuehen, but it could also be that the white-robed woman was another form of Yan Xuehen, similar to Chu Chuyan and the Snow Lady.
Even though it hadn’t been long since he left the Cultivation World, something could have still happened to Yan Xuehen in the meantime. That had been the case with Chu Chuyan back then.
“Yan Xuehen...” the white-robed woman murmured the name before shaking her head. “I’ve never heard of her.”
Zu An exhaled in relief, though he also felt a tinge of disappointment.
“I am Tingxue,” the white-robed woman added.
Zu An was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to reveal her name. She has a ‘Xue’ in her name, too. Is she really not related to Yan Xuehen?
“Are you on close terms with that woman?” The white-robed woman quietly looked at him.
“We are extremely close. She’s my lover, and we are mutually in love...” Zu An replied with a heavy heart. He regretted that he couldn’t spend more time with his lovers before leaving.
“I can tell. I sense nebula energy from you. You must have gotten it from her,” the white-robed woman said.
Zu An smiled awkwardly.
“What a rare case.” The white-robed woman paused. She struggled to speak fluently as she rarely spoke. “Unlike other universal deities, the Deity of Nebula rarely gazes upon anyone or bestows their power. I was the only one for many years. I never expected there to be someone else.”
Zu An replied bitterly, “But this isn’t a good thing. I heard those treading down this path are doomed to become one with the nebula. The deeper they comprehend this dao, the more they lose their emotions and forget about everyone around them.”
The white-robed woman was speechless.
Zu An belatedly realized he was disparaging the other party. “My apologies, I wasn’t talking about you...”
But the white-robed woman interjected, “You’re right. I have forgotten about many things and many people.”
This was the first time she’d shown a hint of emotion.
“...” Zu An tried probing, “Did you want to forget about those things?”
The white-robed woman shook her head. “I have already forgotten. I don’t know if those memories were happy or sad, though those emotions mean nothing to me now, so there is no meaning in feeling conflicted over this. I just feel a tinge of regret now and then.”
Zu An saw Yan Xuehen’s future in her, and that made his heart ache. “Miss, how long did it take for you to begin losing your emotions and memories after catching the Deity of Nebula’s gaze?” He wanted to gather more details so he could help Yan Xuehen.
“I’ve forgotten about that, too.” The white-robed woman looked at him as if she was talking about something unrelated to her.
“...” Ugh, she doesn’t know anything at all. Since they were having a pleasant conversation, Zu An decided to probe further. “Miss, why did you go after Fire Knight?”
“They destroyed a world. A girl from that world gave me a flower not long ago. She was dead by the time I arrived,” the white-robed woman lowered her gaze as she replied.
Zu An widened his eyes. For a moment there, he felt a sliver of rage from the white-robed woman. She hadn’t completely lost her emotions; they had just become very faint.
“Such lowlives ought to be ripped into pieces!” Zu An had witnessed the miserable plight that befell destroyed worlds, and he thought people who committed such massacres should suffer even after death.
Unfortunately, he’d been so shocked to see ‘Yan Xuehen’ that he forgot to imprison the souls of Fire Knight and the others in the eighteenth level of the Netherworld. Come to think of it, I don’t think I sensed their souls earlier. It’s as if the white-robed woman destroyed even their souls.
“I thought your goal was their invitation letter,” he eventually continued.
“It was indeed one of my goals.”
“...Why do you want to head to Dreamland?”
—
Translator’s Thoughts:
Nebula, in this case, is often translated as Primordial Chaos in most Chinese novels. It refers to the state of the world, before worlds were formed, before heaven and earth are separated, and everything is just a huge mess of dust and energy lingering around.
There is no good translation for this term that accurately captures the connotations - so take Nebula in this case with a pinch of salt, that it’s not an entirely scientific term but also comes with fantasy/folklore connotation as well.