Aether paused as the others continued their commentary. Hearing Bibi Dong's evaluation, a faint, intriguing smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Though her personality was eccentric, she wasn't as unreasonable as he had expected.
At least from a third-person perspective, she could still distinguish right from wrong.
However…
What would she think once she realized that she herself was a part of this story—deeply entangled with the very protagonist she now looked down upon?
"This young man spent a long time wallowing in a world of hatred. Then, by pure chance, he encountered the saintess of a certain sacred land…"
Aether resumed his altered version of the story, putting a new spin on the meeting between Yu Xiaogang and Bibi Dong.
Young girls were prone to romantic fantasies.
While tales of hard-fought struggles could stir one's blood, aside from Bibi Dong and Fire Meow Meow, the rest of the audience were innocent young maidens. These romantic encounters easily pulled at their heartstrings, drawing them into the story and eliciting one exclamation after another.
"What the heck! Is that saintess blind? That guy is so fake, and she still falls for him?"
"Exactly! It's infuriating! He just tells a few lies and flirts a little, and she's ready to elope? Disgusting!"
As Aether described how the protagonist used a few sweet lies and ambiguous behavior to seduce the saintess into wanting to run away with him, the Shui sisters grew indignant. They could hardly restrain themselves from leaping into the story to expose the shameless hypocrite.
"This sister is so pitiful… she doesn't even know she's being tricked. I feel so bad for her…"
Yu Keke, still naïve in matters of the heart, felt only sympathy for the saintess being deceived by such a scoundrel.
"No, I think she deserved it."
Bibi Dong, standing to the side, shook her head.
"As the saintess of a sacred land, with such extraordinary talent, there's no reason she should be that foolish.
Someone that hypocritical and calculated approaches her, and she doesn't even notice? Hmph."
She ended her comment with a scoff. Someone so dim-witted deserved to be fooled.
"Yes, Her Excellency makes a fair point. I also think the saintess was rather foolish."
Zhu Zhuqing chimed in coolly, agreeing wholeheartedly with Bibi Dong.
Though she was younger than the Shui sisters, Zhu Zhuqing's experiences were far more intense.
She had traveled alone from the Star Luo Empire to the Star Dou Empire, constantly pursued. That she arrived safely at Shrek Academy was thanks in part to the guards 'chasing' her, but it also proved how exceptionally clever she was.
A cliché like this? She could see through it in a heartbeat.
Think about it—an unknown man with weak strength just happens to run into you. Even if you're not a saintess of the most powerful sacred land, just someone like her, Zhu Zhuqing, who had seen countless prodigies—would you ever be moved by someone so unremarkable?
It was like the heiress of a noble family going on a rare outing, only to encounter a ragged, unkempt beggar by the roadside. Would any rational person ever imagine such a meeting to be romantic?
What was His Excellency trying to convey with this story?
Both Zhu Zhuqing and Bibi Dong found themselves pondering this question.
To them, it just sounded like a melodramatic farce.
"Traveler, how come you've never told me a story like this before?" Paimon asked in confusion.
Ever since she began traveling with the Traveler across Teyvat, he would occasionally recount past tales during idle moments. But this story—she'd never heard it before. Not even anything similar.
"I only heard this one after arriving here."
"Wait—so this story happened here?!"
Paimon gasped. She knew the Traveler never made up stories out of thin air.
If he said he only heard it after arriving, then wasn't it likely the story had taken place on this very continent?
"Hm?"
The others were clearly puzzled by Paimon's reaction—especially Bibi Dong, Zhu Zhuqing, and the Shui sisters.
"Miss Paimon, are you saying… this story comes from here?"
Bibi Dong lightly tapped the stone table with a delicate finger, her expression thoughtful. She understood Paimon's implications.
These two had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. With the mention of something called "dou qi," Bibi Dong was already suspecting they came from a different continent entirely.
This world was vast. Perhaps on the far side of the Douluo Continent, there existed a land governed by dou qi.
"Yeah, Paimon, we cultivate soul power here, not dou qi," Shui Yue'er added with a frown.
The others turned to Paimon in growing curiosity. Until now, they'd only treated it as a story—but could it really have taken place nearby? The idea intrigued them even more.
"Yes, it's a story from this land," Aether confirmed with a nod.
Let three minds work as one. With the seeds of doubt planted and his hints gradually building, Aether trusted that these girls would begin to piece things together as the story unfolded.
Especially Bibi Dong. As long as she didn't act foolishly, she should be able to figure it out using the intellect that eventually earned her the title of Pope.
After Aether's confirmation, their expressions grew even more colorful. The curiosity in their eyes only intensified as they leaned in eagerly.
Facing the curious crowd, Aether continued narrating how the protagonist exploited the saintess's feelings, repeatedly asking her to help him find ways to break his bottlenecks. As each disappointment mounted, he began to entertain other ideas.
If he couldn't succeed through cultivation, then perhaps he could become famous through another path.
Thus, concepts like the "Top Ten Core Theories of Dou Qi" and various secret dou qi insights allegedly hidden within sacred lands began spreading from his mouth.
Naturally, all of these so-called insights were released under the claim that he had developed them himself. For a time, his name gained considerable fame.
"What a deceitful fraud!"
Bibi Dong poured tea into Aether's cup with a grimace, spitting venom as she denounced the protagonist.
"Yes! Not just deceitful, but utterly shameless!"
Shui Bing'er sat upright, echoing the sentiment.
"Seriously! That fake not only toyed with that silly saintess's feelings and stole the secrets of her sacred land, he even dragged down his own sect? And used his own cousin too???"
"Using her was bad enough, but to then claim that 'close relatives don't count'? Ugh! Trash!"
The group erupted in criticism, each more disgusted than the last. The protagonist's selfish manipulation, emotional exploitation, and two-faced hypocrisy thoroughly revolted them.
_
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