The Little Fox Isn't Behaving-A Few Scritches of Her Tail Should Fix That

And they definitely hadn't uncovered any useful intelligence.

All they could find was that she had suddenly appeared at Acheron's side, then happened to meet Tingyun and was now temporarily staying on the Xianzhou.

Beyond that, Lin Shuang's origins, experiences, sources of information, and everything else remained entirely unknown.

There was no doubt that this had draped Lin Shuang in a veil of mystery.

"Oh-ho~ So proactive?"

Lin Shuang hadn't expected Firefly to be so proactive, even going so far as to visit the Xianzhou.

But on second thought, it made sense. They probably believed she knew a great deal about Penacony and had come to test her.

It was even possible that Penacony's traitors were somehow connected to Lin Shuang.

Still, the response had come far sooner than Lin Shuang expected. She had thought they would leave her hanging for a while.

Was Firefly in a hurry?

Lin Shuang pondered as she replied to Firefly's message.

Lin Shuang: Of course. I'll be staying on the Xianzhou Luofu for the next month, so Miss Firefly is welcome to visit anytime.

Firefly: Understood. I will travel to the Xianzhou in a week. When the time comes, I hope Miss Lin will not hesitate to offer her guidance.

"She seems to be in quite a rush. Too bad I haven't finished the story yet..."

Lin Shuang muttered to herself.

She hadn't even waited for Penacony's storyline to finish back then. Still, with the first half of the plot and all those analyses, she could glean plenty of intelligence.

Hmm... bluffing Firefly into giving her an invitation shouldn't be too difficult.

She just had to watch out for Sunday, her future brother-in-law. That guy was probably a siscon. He might very well set a few traps for her if she went to Penacony.

Lin Shuang: Then I shall await your arrival.

Compared with the last time, this exchange had clearly been much colder. Firefly was probably still full of suspicion toward her.

Yet she still dared to come meet her. Lin Shuang couldn't tell whether that was recklessness or preparation.

She put away her phone.

Lin Shuang stretched where she stood.

It was getting late, and after giving it some thought, Lin Shuang decided to take a look around the Starskiff Haven.

She hadn't seen that little fox, Tingyun, these past two days. She wondered whether Tingyun was working right now.

As Lin Shuang passed the teahouse Tingyun liked, she took some time to order Tingyun a few snacks and a small packet of tea.

She hadn't taken the initiative to contact Tingyun these past few days. If she suddenly went to see Tingyun now, Tingyun would probably complain a little, given her temperament.

She had only just arrived at the entrance to the Sky-Faring Commission.

Before Lin Shuang could enter the Sky-Faring Commission, though, she saw the little fox walking out, her ears twitching.

The moment they met, Tingyun's eyes widened. Then she hurried over in a quick little trot, her tail swaying as she came up to Lin Shuang, concern in her eyes.

"Is my benefactor all right? They didn't give you any trouble over there, did they? This humble woman just heard about it from Lady Yukong. I truly wanted to seek justice for my benefactor."

Catching that alluring scent unique to Tingyun, Lin Shuang smiled.

"What could have happened? Fu Xuan and Yanqing both showed themselves. What came after didn't have much to do with me."

Even after hearing that, Tingyun still didn't seem reassured. Afraid someone might have mistreated Lin Shuang, she tugged at Lin Shuang's clothes and circled around her several times.

After smacking Lin Shuang in the face with her big tail for who knew how many times, Tingyun finally stopped. Deliberately putting a strange lilt into her teasing voice, she said, "My benefactor is certainly in fine spirits. Something so serious happened, yet you still have the leisure to stroll around and drink tea. And these wrapped tea snacks... which lovely little lady are they for?"

There was delight in Tingyun's words, mixed with a hint of grievance. She hadn't said anything outright, yet Lin Shuang could taste her complaint in those charming, alluring eyes.

She was complaining that Lin Shuang hadn't come to see her on her own these past few days.

Something had happened, and Lin Shuang hadn't even contacted her. Tingyun had only learned from Lady Yukong that someone from the Cloud Knights had offended Lin Shuang.

"Ahem..."

Lin Shuang gave a dry cough, thinking, Just as expected.

She quickly held out what she was carrying and said with a smile, "Didn't I come to the Sky-Faring Commission to find you? All this is for you."

At that, Tingyun snapped open her folding fan, hiding half her face before suddenly leaning close to Lin Shuang.

"If my benefactor says so, then this humble woman will take you at your word."

"What do you mean, take me at my word? It's the truth."

As she spoke, Lin Shuang stuffed everything in her hands into Tingyun's arms. Then she gently pushed aside the fan in front of Tingyun's face, revealing her slightly flushed little face.

"I was worried you'd be busy with work. I thought I shouldn't disturb you, right?"

"My benefactor certainly knows how to make excuses."

Putting away her fan, Tingyun deliberately pouted. She then tapped Lin Shuang's cheek with the fan and glared at her for a moment before getting up.

"It is rare for my benefactor to come looking for this humble woman. Why not come sit at my place for a while?"

"Sure, sure. I was just wondering where to go to kill some time."

Lin Shuang happily followed, only to earn a dissatisfied glare from Tingyun.

"My benefactor, honestly. You play cards with that little diviner from the Divination Department every day, yet you say you don't know where to spend your time. Could it be that everything you said earlier was merely to make this humble woman happy?"

"How could that be? Playing cards every day gets boring too. Otherwise, why would I come all the way to the Starskiff Haven today?"

"Hmph~"

Tingyun turned her head and huffed at Lin Shuang with a smile. Then her tail smacked Lin Shuang's arm as she led her into the Sky-Faring Commission.

As the department overseeing aviation and foreign trade, the Sky-Faring Commission had always been bustling with people.

Everyone was busy. Even Tingyun, who had recently been "confined" by Yukong, had documents piled high like mountains on her desk.

Still, Tingyun had arranged the documents neatly, leaving enough room for someone to have a cup of tea.

Tingyun took on the task of making tea, while Lin Shuang laid out the snacks on the table.

As she watched the steam rise and the fragrance of tea spread through the room, Tingyun suddenly asked, "By the way, what exactly happened to my benefactor today? How did you come into conflict with those people?"

"Hmm..."

Lin Shuang accepted the tea Tingyun handed her and briefly explained what had happened.

Even Tingyun, who was usually so good-natured, couldn't help furrowing her brow at the story.

"That truly is... Still, for the Lady Diviner herself to step in at the end, it seems the Xianzhou values my benefactor greatly."

Tingyun never let negative emotions linger for long, and she quickly brought that unpleasant topic to an end.

Naturally, Lin Shuang understood what Tingyun meant, but she smiled and explained, "It isn't that they value me. They're probably valuing Acheron. But compared to me, Tingyun, have you been safe lately?"

"What danger could this humble woman possibly face? Still, to receive such concern from my benefactor, this humble woman is truly flattered."

Tingyun smiled sweetly, completely dispelling the uneasy atmosphere.

PS: Happy May Day, brothers. Everyone really does love Acheron, huh? I'll arrange for her return soon!

The Little Fox Wasn't Behaving; Just Give Her Tail a Few Rubs

Tingyun twitched her ears, then raised a hand beside her mouth and leaned in to whisper, "This humble woman has heard that the General seems to be planning to intensify the crackdown on Abundant Doses lately. He may use this incident as a reason to invite my benefactor. My benefactor should be extra careful."

Her warm breath, together with the tea fragrance that had just melted down Lin Shuang's throat, lent Tingyun an additional scholarly air.

On top of that, Tingyun deliberately leaned closer to Lin Shuang, as if she wanted to press her whole body against her. She looked both intimate and seductive.

If they weren't in the Sky-Faring Commission, Lin Shuang would definitely have grabbed her big tail and given it a few rubs.

"You're still worried about me? You should be more careful yourself. Abundant Doses targeting you definitely isn't just about kidnapping and extortion."

Lin Shuang spoke with certainty, which instead made Tingyun curious.

"Does my benefactor know something?"

"Do you know anything about the Great Annihilation Lords?"

"Great Annihilation Lords? Does my benefactor mean Destruction's Ancestor's Emanators? This humble woman does not know much... I only know there are seven of them, but not their names."

Tingyun thought for a moment. She truly knew very little in this regard.

Then Tingyun's expression shifted slightly. Lowering her voice, she leaned toward Lin Shuang's ear again and asked in a quiet yet urgent whisper, "Could it be that the Emanator behind Abundant Doses this time... is one of the Great Annihilation Lords?!"

Even someone as knowledgeable and experienced as Tingyun couldn't help changing expression at that moment.

After all, the Great Annihilation Lords were notorious. Every tale told of them was one of destruction. Had they set their sights on the Luofu this time?

"You aren't going to question it?"

"This humble woman believes my benefactor would not joke about such a matter."

Tingyun's immediate answer came so quickly that it almost seemed as if she were trying to convince herself, making Lin Shuang look at her in surprise.

"Why is my benefactor looking at this humble woman like that?"

"I know of a Lord Ravager whose true form is a life-form similar to a Heliobus. She excels at hiding behind the scenes to destroy civilizations, then dispatching armies to reap the harvest. Abundant Doses' actions resemble her handiwork."

As Tingyun listened, she became puzzled. Emanators' identities were always difficult to uncover, so how did her benefactor know such detailed information? It was somewhat concerning.

But everyone had their own secrets, and Tingyun naturally wouldn't ask too much.

As for Heliobus, Tingyun had seen them mentioned in some miscellaneous books, so she nodded.

"This humble woman will be careful. Thank you for the intelligence, my benefactor."

Lin Shuang didn't particularly care whether Tingyun truly believed her. In any case, she would repeat it when she met Jing Yuan.

Fu Xuan could verify her stance and distinguish truth from falsehood.

She wasn't worried that Jing Yuan wouldn't help her. Rather, since Phantylia had set her sights on the Luofu, Jing Yuan ought to thank her for the intelligence.

"It's nothing. Let's not talk about that for now. I remember you mentioning before that you often went to the Alchemy Commission for massages?"

"Oh my, could my benefactor be jealous?"

Tingyun burst into laughter when Lin Shuang brought that up. Then she explained unhurriedly, "The one who massages this humble woman is Lady Bailu of the Alchemy Commission, known as the Dragon Daughter of the Pharmacy. Lady Bailu's hands are tiny, but her technique is remarkable. In this humble woman's estimation, she ranks second."

As she said this, Tingyun gave Lin Shuang a look, seemingly hoping Lin Shuang would respond. Yet Lin Shuang merely smiled, lowered her head to take a sip of tea, and ate a snack.

That earned her Tingyun's little pink fists.

Tingyun's tiny fists thumped against her several times in a row.

Tingyun was not skilled in combat to begin with, so how much strength could she have? It looked more like coquettish sulking than anything else.

Then, at just the right moment, Tingyun stopped. After withdrawing her hand, she glared at Lin Shuang as though angry.

"My benefactor is truly awful, deliberately refusing to respond and leaving this humble woman unable to save face."

"Hey, how could that be?"

"Could it be that my benefactor wants to meet the Dragon Daughter?"

Of course, Tingyun wasn't truly angry. With one turn of her eyes, she had guessed why Lin Shuang had suddenly brought up this matter. Lin Shuang did not hide it either and said frankly, "I heard some rumors, so I am indeed a little curious. But would it be convenient for an outsider like me?"

"The Dragon Daughter is a physician. What physician turns visitors away? My benefactor, rest assured."

As she spoke, Tingyun suddenly paused. This time, the folding fan in her hand touched Lin Shuang's chin, while her other hand held a piece of pastry to Lin Shuang's lips.

The crafty fox ears twitched restlessly, while her tail repeatedly slapped against Lin Shuang's slender waist: