Smooth Sailing

Xu Bai did not leave after hearing that.

Since he was already here, they might as well clear everything up.

He did not have any new progress bars to grind, so he had plenty of time.

Of course, even now, Xu Bai still could not stop thinking about that bald head.

Vajra Temple—just hearing the name made it sound like a monk's temple. He guessed it had something to do with that Blue-Robed Monk.

Sure enough, Liu Xu first explained Wu Hua's identity.

"The Bureau of Surveillance..." Xu Bai rubbed his chin. "You said there was another matter related to this, right?"

"More or less. He had known about Iron Calculation Immortal for a long time. This time, he actually came for another matter—he wanted to find helpers," Liu Xu said.

"Helpers?" Xu Bai stared directly at Liu Xu with an odd look. "Don't tell me you're one of them too?"

Liu Xu raised a pale finger and rubbed her brow, her tone helpless. "I did not want to either, but he brought a letter from my teacher. I had no choice but to stay here."

Within the Great Chu Kingdom, aside from those of the wicked path, most people of the martial world were unwilling to make enemies of the Bureau of Surveillance.

After all, according to the Great Chu Kingdom's hierarchy, the Bureau of Surveillance was specifically responsible for managing martial world figures, demons, and strange entities.

Quite a few martial world figures even aimed to join the Bureau of Surveillance. After all, joining it meant becoming one of the government's people.

This differed from the television dramas Xu Bai had watched in his previous life. In those dramas, people like this would probably have been called the court's hawks and hounds.

But thinking it over carefully, having the Great Chu Kingdom at one's back was something many martial world figures dreamed of.

"Vajra Temple has quite a background. It is one of the Ten Great Temples of the Great Chu Kingdom. This monk called Wu Hua is considered a favored disciple in Vajra Temple." Liu Xu was, after all, someone highly regarded by Azure Cloud Academy, and she understood the ways of the martial world far better than Xu Bai.

"I'll go back and think it over first. Let's finish County Magistrate Zhang's matter before anything else." After pondering for a moment, Xu Bai gave his answer.

By his reckoning, he had no desire whatsoever to get involved in this matter.

But unfortunately, not long ago, he had discovered a progress bar on Wu Hua's bald head.

Who could possibly resist that?

What he lacked now was a legitimate reason to grind a progress bar, and this reason did tempt him.

But everything had its order of priority. For now, he needed to settle County Magistrate Zhang's matter first. After all, the plan had already come this far. If he did not see it through, he would always feel as though something had been left unfinished.

"Do you need me to speak to him?" Liu Xu asked.

"Not for now. We'll talk about it when the time comes," Xu Bai said.

He glanced at the sky. It was getting late, so he did not intend to linger any longer and left the Liu Residence.

Liu Xu tightened the white robes around herself and looked toward the small lake in the rear courtyard.

A breeze rose in the night, carrying a faint chill.

The small lake was clear, and few people ever came here.

"The way scholars are taught to conduct themselves at the academy may not always be right. This time, I'll just go mad with you once."

As she thought, Liu Xu turned around and strode back to her chamber on her long legs.

The next day.

Since that night, Xu Bai had made no major moves. He had been waiting.

Lin Fenghua's death had left the Lin Family without an heir. If it were him, no matter what, he would never be able to swallow that grievance.

When he spoke with Lin Fu last night, he could see the man gritting his teeth in hatred.

Lin Fu was worried about nothing more than one thing: that this matter would bring trouble down upon him.

But after their thorough discussion last night, once Xu Bai made it clear that the fire would not burn Lin Fu, he reckoned Lin Fu had begun to entertain the idea.

All he needed to do now was wait. If Lin Fu still lost his nerve in the end, he would have to adopt another method.

The daytime passed in a daze. Then, in the afternoon, the front courtyard suddenly became incomparably lively, with excited voices mixed in from time to time.

"They came?" Xu Bai rose from his Small Stool and headed to the front courtyard.

At this moment, the escorts were noisily gathered around someone in the middle, but there were too many people to see clearly.

"Why aren't you training? What are you all standing around here watching?" Xu Bai felt that he still needed to put on an act at a time like this. At the very least, he had to make it convincing.

Within Fulong Escort Agency, Xu Bai's voice had long since been etched into every escort's heart. Upon suddenly hearing it now, they all shuddered and hurriedly made way.

Xu Bai stepped into the front courtyard. The escorts stood on either side, chests out and heads raised.

"What happened?" Xu Bai frowned slightly.

Liu Er reacted the fastest. He took several steps forward and lowered his voice.

But even lowering his voice could not conceal his excitement.

One sentence came from Liu Er's mouth.

"Brother Xu, we've got an escort job!"

Liu Er's words brimmed with excitement.

The escorts all remained nearby, waiting for Xu Bai's orders.

Only then did Xu Bai notice that aside from the escorts, there was also an elderly man of around fifty standing in the courtyard.

The old man wore silk robes, their edges smoothed flat without the slightest wrinkle. His hands were clasped behind his back, his head held high, and he looked exceedingly arrogant.

"What escort job?" Xu Bai asked, still pretending not to know.

Fulong Escort Agency had a rule: when the agency head was absent, no escort job could be accepted, no matter how small. Everything had to wait for the agency head's return before a decision could be made.

Thus, when Xu Bai had not been in the front courtyard earlier, Liu Er and the others had not dared overstep that rule and had simply waited.

They did not dare go wake Xu Bai either. If he was still asleep, no one knew what the consequences of provoking his anger would be.

"This is the Old Butler of the Lin Residence. He came to entrust us with an escort job, asking us to deliver something to the Capital City," Liu Er said quietly as he leaned closer.

"Oh? A steward from the Lin Residence?" Xu Bai suddenly understood, as though he had only just learned of it.

"You're the one in charge of Fulong Escort Agency? Our Lin Family master asked me to bring this over. He wants you to deliver it to the Wu Family in the Capital City as soon as possible." The Old Butler held a wooden box in his hands, his face full of haughty arrogance.

The Capital City was the capital of the Great Chu Kingdom.

Xu Bai stroked his chin and looked at the wooden box before him, pondering the situation within.

The Wu Family in the Capital City?

What sort of background did they have? When they discussed this that night, Lin Fu had not mentioned sending it to any Wu Family. He had said it would be reported directly in the Capital City.

It seemed Lin Fu still had some tricks up his sleeve.

Fortunately, Xu Bai had kept something in reserve. To distance himself from the matter, he had deliberately said they should transport it through the escort agency.

The purpose was simple.

First, it was to convey one thing to Lin Fu: the escort agency had nothing to do with this matter.

After all, no one would dig their own grave. If the escort agency truly had anything to do with it, they would not let it become entangled in this affair.

Second, it was to tie himself closely to the entire matter, in case Lin Fu tried any petty tricks.

Now, it seemed there really was a problem.

"We'll take it," Xu Bai said without the slightest hesitation.

"This is your payment." The Old Butler tossed over a pouch of broken silver.

Xu Bai opened it and took a look. There was quite a lot of money inside.

He tossed it to Liu Er beside him, then held out his hand to the Old Butler. "Give me the item."

The Old Butler did not hesitate either, handing the exquisite wooden box to Xu Bai.

Xu Bai tested its weight. It was quite heavy. He secretly thought, What a dishonest old thing.