Not only was she beautiful, but she was also an outstanding businesswoman and had such a close relationship with Lady Yukong, one of the Six Charioteers of the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.
Whoever married her could skip centuries of struggle.
And now, seeing Tingyun voluntarily supporting a handsome young man shattered the hearts of many Xianzhou residents who had been harboring hopes.
What Tingyun did not know was that as she supported Liuge away, a small figure held a Diyuan Qiongyu tile and quietly watched their backs.
Liuge had a dream. In it, he seemed to have become a child living in a place called the Luofu Xianzhou.
Because he had been clever since childhood, he and his neighbor, Xiao Que'er, had been close friends.
Their parents were also on good terms, so they allowed the two of them to spend time together.
As spring passed into autumn, who knew how many years had gone by? The little boy grew into a handsome young man standing six feet tall, while Xiao Que'er only grew into a short girl of four-foot-seven.
Still, setting everything else aside, the boy could not understand why Xiao Que'er always scored exactly sixty points on every exam, without fail.
But he was not stupid. After he and the teacher witnessed her getting sixty points countless times, he came to a conclusion.
Xiao Que'er was deliberately controlling her score!
And once the boy realized that, he understood that Xiao Que'er was actually a genius who simply loved slacking off.
It left both him and the teacher laughing and crying.
After that, at her parents' request, Xiao Que'er entered the Divination Commission and secured herself an iron rice bowl.
As for him, after graduating, he joined the Cloud Knights Army and served as an ordinary Cloud Knight for several years.
After years of service, he had not received a promotion. Instead, he developed a high level of adaptability whenever he encountered enemies, along with quick combat reactions and the ability to strike weaknesses.
Feeling that his future was bleak, he left the Cloud Knights Army and began making a living as a street vendor.
Whenever he was bored, he would play Diyuan Qiongyu for a while to pass the time.
One day, while the boy was playing Diyuan Qiongyu, someone suddenly sat beside him and said, "Teach me how to play."
The boy looked up. When he saw that long-missed smiling face, he smiled as well, with a faintly feral edge, and dragged Xiao Que'er into the endless abyss of Diyuan Qiongyu...
"Fuck!"
Liuge suddenly sat up in bed, his eyes blank as he looked around.
"What kind of weird dream was that?!"
Liuge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. How could he drag someone into that bottomless abyss of slacking off?
And why had he nearly made Kitahara Iori's signature twisted face? What the hell?!
"Mm, Young Master, you're awake!"
Just then, Tingyun pushed open the door. Seeing Liuge sitting on the bed, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Good morning, Miss Tingyun!"
"Young Master, you're being too formal. Just call me Tingyun."
Tingyun replied with slight dissatisfaction and handed Liuge a cup of water to moisten his throat.
"How long... have I been asleep?"
"Not long. Just one day."
Tingyun smiled as she opened the window and spoke to Liuge.
"Is that... so?"
Liuge froze for a moment, then nodded.
Just then, he froze again.
Because two more Stat-Stick Light Orbs fell from Tingyun's body within his field of vision.
Attribute Effect: All of your attacks will carry Lightning Attribute damage. Insightful Eye Quality Effect: Observe the inner information you wish to observe.
"Oh, right, Young Master. This is your Six-Ribbed Folding Fan..."
Suddenly remembering something, Tingyun extended her hand and passed him a slightly damaged fan.
Liuge froze and looked up at Tingyun, noticing that her expression seemed somewhat unnatural.
After thinking for a moment, Liuge equipped the Insightful Eye he had just obtained.
Then, he looked at Tingyun again.
She had become curious and grateful toward you. Keep it up, young man!
The corner of Liuge's mouth twitched as he roughly understood the effect of Insightful Eye.
Wasn't this some kind of stat stick that peered into people's hearts?
But when Liuge looked at the slightly damaged Six-Ribbed Folding Fan in her hand, he could not help but stare.
Six-Ribbed Folding Fan Description: A weapon once inhabited by Lord of Ruin: Phantylia. Attacking enemies with it will inflict a certain degree of negative effects, including confusion, slaughter, provocation, and more.
Seeing this, Liuge did not know how to evaluate the Insightful Eye stat stick.
After all, it could even view an item's internal description.
Suddenly, Liuge remembered that this Six-Ribbed Folding Fan seemed highly compatible with a stat stick he had obtained before.
However, now was not the time to look for it.
He turned his gaze toward Tingyun.
"Um, Tingyun. If possible, stop calling me Young Master too. Just call me by my name."
"Then... Liuge?"
"Mm! That's right, just like that."
Liuge nodded and prepared to get up and find something to eat.
"Oh, right, Liuge. Lady Yukong instructed me that if you woke up, I was to bring you to see her."
"Sure, but... can you let me eat something first?!"
Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs
After having a little food with Tingyun, Liuge followed her to the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.
The Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs was responsible for managing all incoming and outgoing vessels and starskiffs throughout the Xianzhou.
At the same time, it had many affiliated organizations beneath it. The Minghuo Merchant Guild that Tingyun currently belonged to was one such merchant guild under the Ministry.
After entering the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs, Liuge looked at the busy scene inside and felt his scalp go numb.
Sure enough, it could not be compared to what he had seen in the game. Reality was far busier than the game.
The novel, sci-fi-like office environment left Liuge somewhat dazed.
"Liuge, come with me."
Tingyun glanced at the dazed Liuge beside her, chuckled, and pushed him forward by the back.
She was quite familiar with this place.
"Lady Tingyun, what is this?"
A subordinate nearby, who looked extremely busy, found the sight of the two of them rather strange.
"Oh, it's nothing. Lady Yukong wants to meet this... well, little brother."
Tingyun deliberately emphasized the words "little brother," causing the subordinate to give Liuge an especially careful look.
Mm, he was quite a handsome young man~
Thinking that, the subordinate smiled as well.
"Hey, hey, Tingyun, what are you saying?"
"Mm-hm? Did I say anything wrong? Lady Yukong does want to see you."
With a sly smile, Tingyun spoke in an exaggerated tone.
"That's not wrong, but..."
"There's no but. Let's go, let's go!"
As she spoke, Tingyun greeted the subordinate and led Liuge onward.
Before long, Liuge and Tingyun arrived at what appeared to be the position overseeing the entire operation in the rear.
There, a mature and composed foxian woman was flipping through stacks of documents while rapidly issuing all kinds of orders.
"Lady Yukong, I brought him!"
After bringing Liuge there, Tingyun immediately walked toward the woman.
Hearing Tingyun's words, the woman raised her head, set aside the documents in her hands, and stood up.
Her blue-and-white attire made her appear exceptionally calm and steady.
"Oh, so it's him?"
Yukong looked at the young man before her. Though he was not particularly handsome, he was the type who grew on people. Especially those eyes of his—they carried a clear sort of foolishness, along with a strange sense of confidence.
To people like them, who had long held positions of authority, that made the young man seem rather interesting.
"Yes, Lady Yukong."
"You're not an outsider. Why are you making things so formal?"
Yukong glanced at Tingyun beside her and spoke helplessly.
Tingyun merely chuckled softly without replying.
Watching this scene, Liuge felt as though their positions had somehow been reversed.
Normally, wasn't it the subordinate who reminded the superior to mind the workplace?
Why was the superior now telling the subordinate not to care about the workplace and to speak normally instead?
"Ahem, never mind. Let's not talk about you for now." Yukong noticed the strange look on Liuge's face. After clearing her throat, she gave Liuge a bow.
This startled Liuge, and even Tingyun beside him was surprised.
"Lady Yukong, what are you doing?!"
The sight frightened Liuge so much that he hurriedly waved his hands and tried to avoid the bow.
He could not accept it. He truly could not accept it.
"Esteemed guest, it was your intervention that prevented an accident from befalling Tingyun. This bow is one I offer on Tingyun's behalf."
Hearing Yukong's words, Tingyun's eyes reddened.
Liuge, meanwhile, froze. It was true that his intervention had prevented what happened to Tingyun, but he had only acted to make up for the regret he had felt in the game.
However, Yukong and the others could never know that.
But in the next moment, Liuge understood. He had done everything he could to avoid that ending because he had witnessed that part of the story, but to Yukong and the others, it was a genuine life-saving kindness. Even if Liuge had acted because he could not let go of his own regret, that did not erase the debt of saving a life.
After understanding the relationship between the two, Liuge sighed and helplessly accepted the bow.
Seeing Liuge do so, Tingyun also gave him a bow.
After finishing all that, Yukong finally looked toward Liuge.
However, her gaze drifted back and forth between Tingyun and Liuge.
"Lady Yukong, that look in your eyes is strange!"
Tingyun felt her skin crawl beneath Yukong's gaze and could not help speaking up.
"Oh, is it?"
Before you continue