Have We Met Somewhere Before?

"Other than the fact that he is from the Luofu, I will not interfere with anything else about him."

Jing Yuan spoke to Fu Xuan, a profound look hidden in his golden eyes.

"I was only talking about clerical work, General. You are being rather impatient. However, the divination indicates that this child will be more inclined toward a career related to combat in the future. Of course, it is not entirely accurate, either. His divination is more lengthy and obscure than anyone else's I have ever seen. If we want to interpret it completely, I am afraid we will have to seek out General Yaoguang of the Jade Palace."

Fu Xuan shook her head. The complicated star chart was practically tangled into a knot, and she did not have the energy to analyze it in detail.

Jing Yuan was not too surprised by the result. After all, his disciple was connected to the Stellaron Hunters, and when it came to fate, that Acheron certainly had a great deal to say.

Jing Yuan also believed that Fu Xuan would not lie.

"Oh? Even Fu Qing admits defeat?"

"Although I do not want to admit it, that is indeed the truth. I cannot decipher it."

Fu Xuan shook her head, then looked toward Bai Sheng, who was admiring the scenery nearby.

"Forget it, forget it. How could this not count as a surprise weapon? In the future, it will be up to you young people to shoulder the Luofu."

"If that is the case, why not pass the position of General to me? Then you can retire at home sooner and raise disciples, supplying the Luofu with pillars of talent."

"Haha, I need to let this boy meet Yan Qing. People of the same age will have an easier time getting along. Fu Qing is busy with official duties, and I cannot keep occupying our honored Master Diviner's time. I will be leaving first."

With that, Jing Yuan walked toward Bai Sheng, while Fu Xuan stomped her foot angrily behind him.

"What is this supposed to mean?! Every time I bring this up, you brush me off!"

Jing Yuan left Starskiff Haven with Bai Sheng.

"Come on. Your master will take you to the Divine General's Mansion."

They hailed a Taxi Star Rail nearby and arrived at Jing Yuan's Divine General's Mansion.

Looking at the imposing Divine General's Mansion before him, Bai Sheng was very interested and asked:

"Master, do you usually live here?"

Jing Yuan nodded and said:

"I spend most of my time handling official business. There is a courtyard behind the Divine General's Mansion where I live. Since you have just arrived, I will arrange a dwelling for you to stay in temporarily. Once all the paperwork is complete, you will have to earn money and buy a dwelling of your own."

After hearing Jing Yuan's words, Bai Sheng thought about the things he had taken from the treasury, then shook his head and said to Jing Yuan:

"There's no need to go to so much trouble. Just tell me how many credits it costs. I have money."

"Bai Sheng, credits are not omnipotent. Dwellings on the Xianzhou Luofu have to be purchased with Star Rail Bonds."

Jing Yuan smiled.

"I know. But I remember the IPC opened an exchange rate between credits and Star Rail Bonds, didn't they? After converting them, I still have some spare money."

Bai Sheng spoke with great confidence. He had taken quite a lot of valuable items from the treasury, and many of the collectibles could fetch hundreds of millions of credits at auction.

If all else failed, he could put on a show of tying himself up and collect the five-billion-credit bounty on White Ghost.

"The exchange rate between Xianzhou Star Rail Bonds and credits is not high. Exchanging them directly would be a huge loss. One Star Rail Bond equals two hundred credits. I think you should just honestly complete the paperwork."

Jing Yuan said this matter-of-factly.

"I don't believe it! Let me take a look at the housing prices."

After a long while, Bai Sheng stopped talking. Although—although he was very rich—

that was no reason for a dwelling on the Xianzhou to cost a million per square meter!!!

"Why is it so expensive?!"

Jing Yuan smiled. This child really was the type who would not turn back until he hit a wall.

"I told you from the start. A single dwelling is at least two hundred square meters. At a million per square meter, and after calculating the exchange rate for credits, the money flows away like water. Paying the full amount at once is practically the worst deal possible."

After teasing him, Jing Yuan explained further:

"Don't be fooled by how expensive the housing is here. That price is aimed at the Eternals. With lifespans of nearly a thousand years, they have enough time to earn money. After grinding away at it for such a long time, a few hundred million or even a few billion is merely a matter of time."

In the end, Bai Sheng still bought a smaller dwelling. The price was that he had to exchange all the treasures he had taken for Star Rail Bonds. Fortunately, Jing Yuan was there, so the buyers did not underpay him, saving Bai Sheng quite a bit of money.

In the days that followed, Jing Yuan had Bai Sheng first learn about the customs and culture of the Xianzhou Luofu and take in the sights of the Luofu. For more than a month, Bai Sheng did little on the Luofu besides eating three meals a day and checking in at all the scenic spots.

Besides that, Bai Sheng rented a shop in Chang Le Tian called Veteran's BBQ.

He also specifically asked his companions among the Stellaron Hunters.

He asked Sam—Firefly—what kind of work could make money. His expenses were rather high. He had to maintain his Firefly Alpha Armor, maintain Pandora, and occasionally hone his martial arts. Training was another expense.

He did not want to become someone who simply lived off his savings.

Firefly's answer was to become a chef or run a pastry shop. She even went out of her way to emphasize that it absolutely was not because she liked those things herself.

Bai Sheng thought it made a lot of sense.

As for the others, Kafka never spent money when buying things. She only needed to move her lips, and countless credits would come pouring in on their own.

Silver Wolf, meanwhile, hacked corporate security systems and took the money directly—a true cheat-enabled player. His hacking skills were nowhere near as refined as Silver Wolf's, and doing that would make it easy for the company to trace him back. The risk was too great.

As for Blade, forget it. Bai Sheng did not even know what Blade needed money for anymore.

All things considered, Bai Sheng followed Firefly's advice. He quickly found a barbecue restaurant in Chang Le Tian that was being transferred. His Firefly Alpha Armor could also spew fire, so it was perfect for barbecuing and saved him the cost of buying charcoal.

Afterward, he exchanged some experience with Firefly, then began running the barbecue restaurant.

(PS: Firefly: Barbecue experience? I can charcoal-grill Stingbugs! (?????))

As it happened, Bai Sheng had explored most of the Luofu, and he had completed the task Jing Yuan assigned him. Strictly speaking, Jing Yuan should teach him martial arts now.

On the way to the Divine General's Mansion, Bai Sheng was in such a good mood that he accidentally knocked over a little girl.

"I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

Bai Sheng helped the girl up. She was a foxian, with pale green hair and two ears folded downward. She wore a small hat, and a long cowlick stood stiffly upright. She also had a Yin-Yang Fish hair ornament. As for her tail, it looked like a mass of blue-green ghost fire.

However, Bai Sheng felt that this was not the first time he had seen the little one. A familiar aura seemed to linger in his heart.

"I-I'm fine. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I bumped into you by accident!"

The foxian girl hurriedly apologized.

Bai Sheng waved his hand.

"It was my fault for not watching where I was going. Little girl, have we met somewhere before?"