Qiu Wa took down the bead from her forehead. "It's silver to begin with, isn't it?"
Her eyes were wide and earnest, but inside, she was bursting with joy. How could she not know that Sister Xuan had let the cat out of the bag and, feeling awkward, had brought up this topic to change the subject?
"Oh, it flashed just now. I thought something had happened to the bead. Uh, go on, go on. This is more interesting than I expected."
Xuan Lengyan's expression stayed as calm as ever as her gaze drifted into the distance.
Qiu Wa said, "It's really simple. To deal with a rigid scholar like Bearded Uncle, you have to fight rigidity with rigidity. But I don't know exactly how to do it, Sister Xuan. Do you?"
At this point, the little girl silently said to herself, Bearded Uncle, this is as far as I can help you. Otherwise, I'd really have to worry about how to support you in your old age.
With that thought, Qiu Wa silently thanked Auspicious Duck again.
Though she was clever and mischievous, there was no way a little girl like her could have come up with those words on her own.
Those insights had come from a conversation she'd overheard between Auspicious Duck and one of his subordinates, during their meeting after she'd crossed into this world.
At the time, Qiu Wa had wondered why Auspicious Duck was discussing such things with his subordinate. Now she understood: with Auspicious Duck's abilities, there was no way he'd really let her overhear them by accident.
If she'd overheard him, he must have said it deliberately for her to hear.
Thinking again of Bearded Uncle's praise for Auspicious Duck's uncanny divination, and now meeting Sister Xuan, even Qiu Wa, slow as