After leaving the Coolness Sect in Northern Juluzhou, Lu Chen did not return directly to White Jade Capital. Instead, he first made a trip to Qinghao Kingdom, where, on Dongxian Street, he met that scholar surnamed Chen who ought to have been surnamed Li. Then he secretly returned to Treasure Bottle Continent, intending to meet an old friend whose realm was worlds apart from his own, yet whose status could not be underestimated.
Crossing the sea southward from Northern Juluzhou and arriving above Treasure Bottle Continent, Lu Chen was unsurprised to find that the Temple Sage overseeing the Sky Curtain was another old acquaintance. The two exchanged a few words.
Lu Chen felt this reunion, sparse in words yet rich in feeling, had been a most pleasant conversation. As for what the other man thought, that was none of Lu Chen's concern.
Yuzhang Prefecture, Hongzhou. The newly established Logging Office.
The first chief official of the Logging Office was a capital native named Lin Zhengcheng.
He had reportedly worked at the Capital Ministry of War, serving as the second-in-command of the dispatch office for urgent military reports. He was no longer young, yet somehow had landed such a lucrative and desirable post.
This Lord Lin neither set three fires upon taking office as a new official, nor ignored everything to simply enjoy himself. He handled matters in a fairly proper and conventional manner, following every required procedure. For instance, he put on his official robes and led the clerks of his office to offer incense at the local Civil and Military Temple and City God Temple. Since the Logging Office was a new bureau with no official duties to hand over from a predecessor, it spared him quite a bit of trouble.
One night, a young Daoist wearing a Lotus