Smiling Face

Second by second.

Frame by frame.

It flashed through Xu Yuan's mind.

He was practiced at this.

Back when he competed, he could lie in bed with his eyes closed and replay a crucial fight in his mind all night.

People said he was practically possessed.

Before long,

he found the problem.

The others who had taken part in the selection with him had neither spoken nor shown any expression from beginning to end, as though they did not exist.

At first,

he had thought they were too nervous to talk.

But—

When they searched for the three items, none of them had found a single one.

They had barely even tried.

So I was the only one taking part in the selection?

How could that be?

This was a selection run by the Archaeology General Bureau. It was posted on the official website, stamped, and publicly announced!

...This couldn't be some elaborate honey trap, could it?

"The website... Come on, load..."

Xu Yuan pulled out his phone, quickly opened the Archaeology General Bureau's website, and found the page.

The document was still there!

But the date had changed!

The selection deadline had been changed to today!

Seriously...

Had someone set this whole thing up just for me?

Who could use an entire archaeology bureau, even have its employees help set a trap?

Xu Yuan thought quietly for a few breaths.

"Heh..."

He suddenly laughed.

His promise to that little boy had activated the Witch's Heart, allowing him to run training matches.

"...The other side took the initiative."

Which meant—

The little boy was definitely still alive.

The Border City Battle had happened ten years ago.

The boy, now grown, had probably learned about it and come to set this up.

What did he want?

As Xu Yuan was thinking, a new message suddenly popped up on his phone:

"Your bank account has received a transfer of 9,500 yuan from another bank."

Not bad.

The little boy from years ago had kept everyone involved in the dark, transferred him 9,500 yuan, and even taught him a fist technique.

What a generous boss!

Come to think of it, the way he had handled things was rather intriguing.

—The archaeology bureau's ordinary employees had been kept in the dark, unaware of the truth behind the selection.

—Xu Yuan had been kept in the dark, unaware that the little boy from years ago had come to repay him.

—The little boy had been kept in the dark, unaware that his repayment had allowed Xu Yuan to pass the Witch's Heart's trial in one stroke. From now on, Xu Yuan could run training matches in the Border City Battle on Hard Mode.

Xu Yuan's brow relaxed. He felt as though he had finally figured out the truth, and his mood brightened at once.

Of course,

a few things still puzzled him.

Who was that Uncle?

Judging by his age, he couldn't have been the little boy.

...Forget it.

I'm not God!

I can worry about what I don't know later.

On the roof of the building,

Uncle stood on the railing, gazing at Jiangbei City's nightscape as he slowly sipped his milk tea.

An interesting kid.

Cultivators lived long lives, wielded great power, and stood at the top of humanity's pyramid.

When their lives were threatened, they naturally had all manner of strategies and tactics to help them turn danger into safety.

That was the kind of ability the test was meant to assess.

But the kid had missed the point—

Who asked you to worry about how the people would escape?

Right from the start, he had put himself in humanity's shoes, worried about the people's safety, and proposed evacuating them while cultivators faced the enemy.

It was the first time Uncle had seen someone so foolish.

And yet...

That was exactly in keeping with her beliefs.

It was precisely that stance and attitude that had made her change her mind at that moment and gladly accept him.

As for the kid's swordsmanship...

Uncle could tell.

After that flying sword move, the boy had clearly wanted to do more.

He probably still had another move up his sleeve.

That meant he had independently grasped two moves of the Flying Sword Art through the Swallow Song Sword Art.

Two sword moves would only put him among the best high school students.

But if both were moves of the Flying Sword Art—

that was another matter.

Flying Sword Art techniques were secret arts, never taught to outsiders.

No wonder he had led a team through the blockade and fled all the way to safety, even killing a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining human-faced demon in the end.

If Yiyi wanted to talk with him, then let her.

When she was little, her older brothers had always bullied her and forced her to sing and dance.

Uncle had thought it was just children playing around.

Now that this kid had said, "Then he should perform himself," Yiyi would probably like him even more.

Mother and daughter both thought well of him.

That was fine.

It was no great matter.

Either way, it gave her a guard she liked.

A good thing.

Holding his milk tea, Uncle took a few steps. Layer upon layer of Spiritual Power suddenly shimmered around him.

In an instant,

the Teleportation Array was complete.

He vanished from the spot and appeared in a back garden wreathed in flowers.

A gentle breeze brushed past.

A fresh fragrance seeped into his heart.

He was in a good mood today. Perhaps he could go fishing?

Pop.

A soft sound rang out.

A cloud of mist rose from his milk tea, drifted over, and formed a "face mask" on his face.

The kid had bought two cups of milk tea.

This one contained Beautifying Fruit.

Miracle Beauty was a kind of Spirit Plant. A few minutes after its fruit touched water, it burst and released powdery Endosperm like a layer of mist.

The stuff made people smile with carefree delight.

Uncle did not move. He even took a deep breath, drawing every wisp of mist into his body without leaving a trace outside.

—Even a Spirit Plant twenty ranks above it could not harm him.

He might as well play along.

A little while later,

a faint smile appeared on his face, making him look even warmer and more approachable.

"Children's tricks... Heh, heh..."

He laughed despite himself, and his thoughts began to wander.

At first—

he had merely happened to recall what had occurred ten years ago and felt that it had happened too suddenly.

—It also seemed connected to the changing situation now.

So as soon as the Zhou Tian Instrument had been forged, he had launched a Monthly Exam, sent Qi Refining Realm students inside, and taken the opportunity to see what was going on.

Now, it seemed

there was no need to continue using the National Monthly Exam to investigate.

—Students had already died for reasons no one understood.

If the exams continued, every side would grow uneasy. All sorts of needless trouble would arise, bringing people fresh worries and giving petty villains an opening.

That settled it.

The Monthly Exam would return to its usual format. There was no need for such extreme content.

What had happened ten years ago could stay in the past.

It must not affect the larger situation now.

Uncle sipped his milk tea and thought in silence, the smile on his face spreading wider.

"Hahaha."

He laughed aloud.

—He had not experienced the effects of such a low-level plant in over a hundred years. It felt novel again.

Suddenly,

a figure silently appeared a short distance behind him, knelt on one knee, and said:

"Your Majesty, while guarding the Commandery Princess in Jiangbei Commandery, we discovered several Northern Frontier forces lurking nearby."

"Which organization?" Uncle asked.

"The All Things Unity Society. We eliminated nine of them, but we don't know whether they have accomplices. We're still investigating."

What were those people up to?

They had always searched for the truth of ancient times and dabbled in business that was neither quite legal nor quite illegal. After Uncle had taught them a few lessons, they had become very "obedient."

So—

"A pack of lowlifes. They were probably up to something else, and you happened upon them—bad luck for them." Uncle laughed heartily.

"We also found some Demon Beasts," the shadow said.

"Demon Beasts? Why have they shown up too? Hahaha." Uncle was still smiling as he spoke.

The Beautifying Fruit's effect had reached its peak.

In truth, one surge of Spiritual Power would have dispelled it.

But never mind.

If a little laughter made the Imperial City feel more human, wasn't that better?

Just then,

another figure swept in and knelt in greeting:

"Your son pays his respects, Father Emperor!"

It was a young man with a commanding presence.

"Qing Xuan, you're here. What is it? Something on your mind?" Uncle asked with a smile.

"Your son handled a matter of state rather poorly. It has been troubling me, so I came to ask your advice," the young man said.

"You've overseen the government for several months now, and I think you've done quite well. The fact that you're troubled shows you're treading as carefully as if on thin ice. That's good."

Uncle sipped his milk tea and spoke with a beaming smile.

"Father Emperor, I still need you to teach me. Otherwise, I truly don't know what to do about this," Lu Qingxuan said.

"Then tell me," Uncle said.

"Because the ruins collapsed during the treasure hunt in the Northern Sea, I sent additional personnel to provide support."

"But several people from Luofu would not come to see me. They simply obeyed the order and left, and I rebuked them for their lack of courtesy. Was that improper of me?" Lu Qingxuan asked.

"A small matter. Don't worry about it," Uncle said with a smile. "Once you formally ascend the throne, they'll have to come see you."

Lu Qingxuan hurriedly dropped to his knees again and said:

"I know I cannot compare to Father Emperor in the slightest. Please continue to rule the realm and shine your light upon all under heaven. I need only assist you at your side."

Uncle sighed, helped him up, and laughed.

"Hahaha! There's no need for empty words between father and son, Qing Xuan. I'm getting old, and I'm tired."

"You must pay more attention to affairs of state."

"Yes, Father Emperor," the young man said.

"Well, if there's nothing else, get back to work. As for your father, I can steal a little leisure time, hahaha." Uncle spoke with a smile.

Lu Qingxuan smiled too. He bowed once more, then rose to leave.

As though something had occurred to him, he added:

"Oh, Father Emperor, there's one more thing I forgot to mention."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Yiyi secretly used the Zhou Tian Instrument and ran off to Jiangbei Commandery without a word," Lu Qingxuan said.

"You knew?" Uncle found it amusing and spoke with a smile.

"Please rest assured, Father Emperor," Lu Qingxuan said solemnly. "The Zhou Tian Instrument is a treasure of the state, and as a Commandery Princess, she—"

He paused and glanced carefully at Uncle.

Uncle watched him with a broad smile, as though encouraging him to go on.

"She carried such an important treasure off without permission. In accordance with the Palace Admonitions you issued years ago, I've ordered a palace official to go there, reprimand her on my behalf, and dock three months of her stipend," Lu Qingxuan said.

It was such an amusing matter. How had it turned into a punishment?

"Hahaha." Uncle had stopped smiling, though he was still laughing.

Seeing him laugh so heartily, Lu Qingxuan relaxed and said respectfully:

"Then I shall take my leave, Father Emperor."

He bowed again before flying off into the distance, soon vanishing from sight.

Only Uncle remained beside the flowers, a cup of milk tea in hand, his smile as warm as ever.

This smile... was getting in the way...

Uncle lifted the milk tea and took another sip.

No, it wasn't getting in the way.

It was only one Beautifying Fruit.

I wore a smile today, and you took that to mean I supported what you did.

Even if I did support you—

What happened to standing together with your own flesh and blood? To loving one another?

Did the dogs eat all that?