"Are there still many who follow the 'Red God' faith on the Xilun Star?"
"It depends on the area. In economically better-off regions, there are fewer followers, but in remote areas, such beliefs are still prevalent. Even if they do not believe in the 'Red God', local children will learn such Secret Techniques. This has already become a part of cultural customs. Every teacher will impart this knowledge, and both parents and teachers make sure the children learn it."
"Do you hate 'Alien Races'?"
"This... not fond, I guess. Before the Fifth Epoch, there were nearly twenty inhabited planets with hundreds of billions of residents in the Crosswise Star Domain, but by the end of the Fifth Epoch, less than ten million of the original inhabitants survived. Many places are archaeological sites, and one can even find remnants and bodies still adrift in space to this day," explained Mai Desang.
"I see." Ti Lan did not continue to pursue the question.
"How do you feel about the current Federation as a whole?"
"Relatively good. Although my hometown is very poor, thanks to the Federation's acceptance, there are annual subsidies and improvements. Compared to the dire state at the end of the Fifth Season Origin, it's much, much better." Mai Desang stated that the majority of the residents in the Crosswise Star Domain have a favorable impression of the Federation. It can be said that without the establishment and acceptance by the Federation, these places would forever be buried in those polluted ruins.
"So that's basically the poorest place in the Federation, do the locals feel dissatisfied?" Ti Lan asked again.
"The poorest? I don't know. When I was young, I rarely learned about the situations in other star domains of the Federation; most people just feel it's good to be alive."
"The teachings of the 'Red God' greatly respect elders and life. As long as you live long enough, you will gain everyone's respect. If someone dies young, it is considered irresponsible towards one's own life, unethical, foolish, and lacking in strength and courage."
"The longer you live, the more formidable you are believed to be. If you also bear many 'Fire Marks', you often become a leader in your clan. The saints in the scriptures are all those who have lived very long and possess the 'Wings of Fire Mark'."
After listening to the other party's explanation, Ti Lan nodded her head and then asked many questions about the Crosswise Star Domain, as well as the local people's worldview and values. Later, she also inquired about the other star domain people Mai Desang encountered while working in the Central Star Domain and their impressions.
"It's hard to say; I only know that most of the Beastmen come from the Northern Star Domains, the Eastern Star Domain's economy is not bad, and there are quite a few traditional Easterners. The southern star domains are a mixed bag, and people from the Western Star Domain are very rare."
"I see." With that, the conversation gradually came to an end.
Afterward, Ti Lan stood up, gracefully departed, and the footsteps outside the door faded away. The woman inside the room took a long time to breathe a sigh of relief, leaning on the bed, slowly standing up, before realizing her back was completely soaked with sweat.
She felt both fear and gratitude towards Ti Lan, with a bit of admiration as well, her feelings at the moment hard to describe.
However, the Songstress was truly terrifying. She remembered that Ti Lan had spoken sternly only once during their conversation, which almost scared her to her knees, and the following Q&A required her utmost attention without any slip-ups.
Now that the conversation had ended, she felt a sense of relief as if she had survived a calamity, almost unbelieving as the weight seemed to disappear.
Although she didn't know how the hotel would handle the situation in the end, since Lady Ti Lan said she would not pursue the matter further, she completely believed that the hotel would not dare to do anything excessive given Lady Ti Lan's authority. This sense of relief was like immense happiness, enveloping her.
She dared not do it again, realizing she was just an ordinary person. If some agency wanted her to engage in gray area activities, she wouldn't dare, maybe Lady Ti Lan had forgiven her, and Shui Yanqing would also overlook her affairs for the sake of Lady Ti Lan's face.
As long as the Songstress Shui Yanqing is alive, her followers will naturally protect everything about her. Such forces, together with many Conglomerate groups, would take action against her for any involvement in gray areas in the future and would have every right to do so.
This wasn't a sign of her being paranoid; the Songstress's fans often counted in the billions, and if only one ten-thousandth of them cared, it would be more than she could handle.
In the eyes of Ti Lan and others, it might just be a minor conflict between friends, but to the ordinary people in the lower strata of the Federation, it seemed like a collision between colossal entities.