"Ah!"
At that moment, Jia Lian let out a startled cry when he heard this, as though he had only just remembered something important.
His brows furrowed slightly. He did not bother explaining anything to Wang Xifeng, merely turning hurriedly to Zha'er to confirm:
"Zha'er, you just said..."
"That Flame Immortal—those fines of hers—she... she paid them all herself?"
For some reason, his tone held a faint note of disbelief, mixed with something else.
"That's right!"
Zha'er immediately nodded.
Then, with a hint of sympathy and amusement in his voice, he continued:
"Isn't that so, Second Master!"
"Otherwise, the immortal maiden at the payment office of the Airspace Management Bureau—the one she specifically 'looked after'—wouldn't have been so aggrieved that she secretly cried."
"I hear it's happened twice already. She's been clamoring to be transferred!"
"I heard that every time that immortal goes there, she deliberately pays with those 'spirit stone beans,' one coin per piece—the most tedious, troublesome kind—and insists that the immortal maiden count them one by one, weigh them carefully, and test their spiritual energy concentration before accepting them?"
"Everyone in the bureau knows perfectly well that the immortal is doing it on purpose, but her method of payment doesn't violate any heavenly law."
"Who could have expected her to have so many fines?"
"If it were only three or five spirit stones, even spirit stone beans would be no trouble. But as it turned out..."
"And that's how the matter blew up."
"No one could do anything about her. All they could do was stare helplessly as she went on 'tormenting' people."
After saying this, Zha'er waited with a beaming smile for Second Master Jia Lian and Second Madam Jia Lian to comment, hoping to amuse the two of them.
"What a pity!"
Unexpectedly, after hearing