In short, adding a little gossip, a little cosmic ghost story, after a heavy topic could help lighten the mood. That counted as a conversational technique, didn't it?
No wonder more than one person on the previous timeline had said things like, "Talking with Tan Lang is like drinking fine wine—you get drunk without noticing." Yu Lian had always thought it was just a rumor to build Tan Jize's image as a warm, approachable man, but Tan Jize really was a high-EQ, charismatic person who knew how to talk.
After that, everyone continued chatting aimlessly for a while. Naturally, most of it was about ghost stories concerning the automatic ghost dreadnought and gossip about the various big shots in the pirate free port of Zizai City. Yu Lian's frustration eased considerably. The idea of "psychics as a ruling class" had offended him badly, but he no longer felt quite so resentful toward Tan Jize.
Of course, Yu Lian still felt a little unsettled, so later he would privately urge Miss Chunjun, his niece-in-arms whom he had never met, to make sure Comrade Tan Jize got some proper practice in health-building exercises and Baji Fist.
Yu Lian wasn't a demon, after all. He certainly hadn't expected someone like Tan Jize, a perfect ministerial talent who excelled at strategy, intelligence, and governance, to go into battle and hack people to pieces. If there was any field where Tan Jize truly couldn't measure up to Chancellor Shire of the Age of Blossoms, it was obviously combat.
So long as he could get those people to grit their teeth and exercise for an hour or two every day, toughening up their muscles and bones, Yu Lian would be satisfied. By the Spirit of the Universe, I'm doing this so Tan Jize can live a