Li Mubai: I Really Just Want to Slack Off!
For a moment.
Hu Liena stared at the smile on Bibi Dong's lips, dumbfounded.
In all her years with Bibi Dong, she had rarely seen her smile, much less a smile from the heart.
And now.
That very smile was spreading across Bibi Dong's face.
It was even more incredible than a tale from the Arabian Nights!
She thought back to a few years ago...
"Great! I've finally broken through to level thirty!"
Hu Liena, just entering her teens, was overjoyed, her face alight with excitement.
She had made an enormous breakthrough in strength.
And that meant.
She could go and claim credit from her teacher!
Just imagining her teacher's face, cold as ten-thousand-year ice, breaking into a gentle smile as she praised her.
Filled Hu Liena with delight!
And so.
She bounded over to the Pope's Hall and found Bibi Dong handling Spirit Hall affairs.
"Teacher, Teacher..."
She trotted into the hall, her voice full of joy.
Seeing her like this, Bibi Dong frowned as she was reviewing correspondence.
She couldn't help but launch into a reprimand:
"Hu Liena, mind your status! You are the Saintess elected by the elders of Spirit Hall. You must never act so frivolously."
Little Hu Liena wasn't saddened by Bibi Dong's stern words.
She quickly ran up to Bibi Dong.
"Teacher, look. I've broken through to level 40!"
Soul Power poured out of her body for Bibi Dong to see.
She looked at Bibi Dong, her eyes full of expectation.
Hoping to hear her teacher praise her next.
"Only level 40, and you're already getting conceited?"
The praise Hu Liena had expected never came.
Instead, a cold question rang in her ears.
It struck her like a club to the head, leaving her standing there in a daze.
And like a bucket of cold water, it doused the enthusiasm in her heart.
"Teacher..."
She looked at Bibi Dong's stern, rigid face and murmured softly.
She wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out.
Even seeing how dejected she looked, Bibi Dong's tone didn't soften in the slightest.
"Hu Liena.
You must understand that you are the Saintess of Spirit Hall, my only disciple, and the sole heir to the Pope of Spirit Hall!
You must never become complacent over a small gain in strength.
Remember, beyond the heavens are more heavens, and beyond the people are greater people.
With your talent, if you worked a little harder, your cultivation would be far beyond this level. Do you understand?
"I understand..."
The girl answered softly, sadness in her voice, then left the hall alone.
From then on.
She never again entertained the thought of seeking Bibi Dong's praise.
Now, seeing that her teacher could wear such an expression too.
Hu Liena was utterly bewildered.
What kind of person was this Tenth Elder?
Why could he bring a smile to her teacher's face, when she was like ten-thousand-year ice?
Hu Liena knew nothing about Li Mubai.
She had been training and cultivating with others all this time and rarely took part in Spirit Hall's decisions.
She had only heard from others that a new elder had joined Spirit Hall.
Beyond that, she knew nothing.
"Oh? Taking a stroll? In other words, Tenth Elder, you have nothing to do right now and plenty of time on your hands?"
On the street outside the carriage.
Li Mubai, leaning against a corner, was just about to seize the chance to escape this place of trouble.
The foot he had lifted.
Stopped at the sound of that faintly threatening voice.
"What are you saying, Your Holiness? I have important business to attend to right now. It can't wait."
Li Mubai gave an embarrassed chuckle.
What on earth does this woman want?!
I finally got one peaceful evening. Why has she come looking for me again?
There are so many elders she could go to. What can she possibly want with a new elder like me?
This woman's brain is seriously fried!
Inside the carriage.
Bibi Dong's expression didn't change. "What important business do you have, Tenth Elder? Why not tell me and see if I can resolve it for you?"
"I'm going to pick..."
He stopped halfway through.
After a moment's thought.
Li Mubai decided he couldn't say it so openly.
"What are you going to pick, Tenth Elder?"
Bibi Dong's amused voice drifted over.
"Does it really matter what I'm going to pick? My affairs are all trivial. How could they compare to you, Your Holiness? What brings you here, Your Holiness?"
Li Mubai coughed twice.
Bibi Dong had come here in person, and he didn't believe she was simply out for a stroll.
His home was at the far end of the city's western district.
Even an ordinary person out for a stroll wouldn't come all the way here.
Much less someone like Bibi Dong.
She was busy every day, making it even less likely that she had wandered here for leisure.
So Li Mubai could guess why Bibi Dong had appeared here.
If she wasn't looking for him, what else could she be doing?
Hearing Li Mubai's fawning words, Bibi Dong could no longer feel happy.
Because as soon as he finished speaking, that familiar inner voice rang in her ears.
Can I tell her about this?
If I tell her to her face that I'm going to the pleasure quarter to listen to music, she'll definitely be disgusted with me!
Looking at her, I'm afraid I won't get away today either. What rotten luck...
He actually said my coming here was rotten luck?!
Bibi Dong clenched her fists, thoroughly displeased.
Whenever she visited any of the other elders' homes, which of them didn't say that her presence brought splendor to their humble abode and that they were fortunate for three lifetimes?
How had it become rotten luck when it came to Li Mubai?
He made it sound as if she really wanted to come here!
If Li Mubai's status weren't special, and if it weren't for Spirit Hall's future development, she wouldn't have come here at all!
Hu Liena, sitting beside her.
Was carefully watching the changes in Bibi Dong's expression.
She could clearly sense that her teacher seemed a little angry now.
What's wrong with Teacher?
Was what the Tenth Elder said really that infuriating?
I didn't think so.
Hu Liena was thoroughly puzzled.
She had been listening to their conversation the whole time. The Tenth Elder hadn't really said anything, so why had her teacher gotten angry?
She thought about it for a long time but found no answer.
In the end.
She could only attribute it all to Bibi Dong's unpredictable moods.
At the same time, she learned a lesson.
She should speak to her teacher as little as possible.
Any one of her words might displease her, and she'd be scolded again.
"Since you have no important business, Tenth Elder, how about we go inside and continue our conversation?
You are an important talent of Spirit Hall. As Pope, I should naturally get to know you better.
And see if there's anything you're dissatisfied with.
Bibi Dong calmed the waves in her heart and spoke evenly.
The moment she finished, a voice rang in her ears.
Oh, my god, today really was wasted again.
Get to know me? What do you want to get to know me for?
I don't want to do anything, don't dare do anything, and don't know how to do anything. I just want to slack off!
And she wants to know what I'm dissatisfied with?
There are plenty of things I'm dissatisfied with, but can I say them?
If I did, I'm afraid you'd chop me in half on the spot!
If you have so much free time, you'd be better off paying a few more visits to the Great Enshrined and the elders.
Those people say one thing and mean another. If they aren't kept in check, they'll surely become one of the obstacles to Spirit Hall's development in the future.
Wouldn't that be much better than getting to know me...