He just wasn't up to it, you know!

"Qingque..."

A ghostly whisper sounded beside her ear.

Its eerie cadence and low tone were unsettling, enough to make her heart race.

Whenever midnight came, that terrifying voice lurking within her peaceful slumber would ring out, chilling Qingque to the bone.

Of course, that was only how Qingque imagined it.

In reality, Fu Xuan had simply called Qingque's name in the most ordinary way possible. That was all.

"Lord Diviner, General."

Qingque greeted them timidly, on the verge of tears.

I'm done for, done for.

Caught slacking off yet again.

What do I do? This time it's both the Lord Diviner and the General!!!

I'll have to work overtime, won't I? I definitely will!!!

Qingque wailed inwardly.

But she quickly came to her senses.

What am I panicking for?

I'm out on assignment!

So why panic?!

Qingque straightened her back.

A smile curled her lips as well.

The change in her expression was so drastic.

It left Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan bewildered.

Jing Yuan gave Fu Xuan a questioning look: What's wrong with this girl?

Fu Xuan answered with an icy look: I'll deal with her when we get back.

"General, Diviner."

Welt adjusted his glasses yet again.

His mind raced.

He pondered how to handle the situation.

Now that Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan had arrived.

Welt knew better than to hope for a lucky escape.

The rumors must have gotten so outrageous that they alerted these two!

Otherwise, given how busy they both were.

Even a holographic appearance would have been more than enough.

It had to be said.

Welt's reasoning was correct.

But his conclusion was wrong.

Rumors had indeed been the initial reason Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan came.

But what actually brought them here was Fu Xuan's divination.

The reading that followed the indication of numerous variables.

Practically spelled out that something was wrong with Jiang Yao.

But this was purely a blind cat stumbling onto a dead mouse, a lame Lan running into a drugged Yaoshi.

The reasoning was simple.

Jiang Yao was an Aeon. An Aeon!

How could he possibly be divined?

So who was the unlucky soul caught in that divination?

That's right, Phantylia~~~

But Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan had not realized that at all.

"Mr. Welt."

Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan greeted Welt.

"General, Diviner, with both of you so busy with official duties, what brings you here in person?"

Welt asked a question whose answer he already knew.

"There's no need for concern, Mr. Welt. The rumors were spread by fans in a streamer's livestream and are of little consequence. Lady Fu and I have come solely because of your companion, Jiang Yao."

An old fox like Jing Yuan naturally understood what Welt wanted to ask and immediately put his mind at ease.

Jiang Yao had not wanted those rumors either. Surely they could not charge him with a crime over them?

Although Jiang Yao's later responses had gone a tiny bit too far.

Still, they were just jokes.

Right?

Marshal Hua certainly won't mind, anyway~

Of course, that poor soul on the Yaoqing will definitely mind, but she's on the Yaoqing. What's she going to do, come all the way to my Luofu?

Here on the Luofu, I, Jing Yuan, call the shots!

So it doesn't matter~

"Because of Jiang Yao?"

Welt's expression grew grave.

He had understood Jing Yuan's message.

The rumors were unimportant.

They were here solely because of Jiang Yao himself.

But what could possibly make Jiang Yao important enough for both the General and the Diviner to come together?

Considering Fu Xuan's role as Diviner.

Welt arrived at an answer.

"Yes. He may be the key to whether the Luofu can break out of its current predicament."

Fu Xuan gave him a remarkably high appraisal.

Beside them, Qingque was stunned.

Am I allowed to hear this?

Pfft, no, hold on!

Who did you say?

Jiang Yao?

Qingque stiffly turned her head toward Jiang Yao.

Welt did the same.

He had assumed that, at most, Jiang Yao might be facing some sort of danger.

The Luofu would lend a hand out of regard for the Astral Express, doing them a favor.

He had never imagined Jiang Yao would turn out to be a pivotal figure for the Luofu.

No, seriously.

Diviner, are you half asleep or out of your mind? What kind of nonsense did you divine?!

Welt and Qingque looked toward Jiang Yao.

Their expressions were astonishingly alike:

That guy really could be the key to getting the Luofu out of this predicament?

Had Jiang Yao known what Jing Yuan and the others were saying, he would certainly have complained.

I just want to eat and cook in peace. Stop bothering me.

But he did not know.

So there was something else he simply had to say!

March 7th is so useful~

She had saved him a tremendous amount of time.

Mainly because making a Snow Skin Mochi version of tapir membrane rolls was no easy task.

As everyone knew, Snow Skin Mochi did not feel nearly as good in the mouth as it did in the hand.

It could certainly be described as snowy white~

To dress the Snow Skin Mochi, he would have to put some serious work into that delicate body!

That was where the Iced Floating Mutton Milk would come in extremely handy.

Jiang Yao first took out the oil and flour from Auntie Gao's stall.

The oil Auntie Gao used was not particularly high-end, but it was certainly no industrial product. Its quality was sound and reassuring.

The flour was high-quality cake flour made from one-person jiahe.

A hybrid crop native to the Xianzhou that had fed countless people, a blessing beyond measure.

Jiang Yao then mixed the oil with the Iced Floating Mutton Milk that March 7th had chilled.

He sifted in the flour.

After stirring continuously again, he added eggs.

Hehe, they happened to be the Shataan Bird eggs Yan Cui had brought.

There was no need to separate the yolks and whites.

He simply mixed them.

Before long, he had whipped the egg whites into a meringue.

The fresh fragrance of the Shataan Bird eggs and one-person jiahe combined with the milky aroma of the Iced Floating Mutton Milk in a dreamlike chemical reaction.

The sweet yet refreshing scent was like an unattainable first love, stirring longing and an irresistible desire to explore.

The clothing was ready.

Next came the crucial part: the body itself.

The glutinous rice flour had already been toasted and prepared.

This time, he mixed it with Iced Floating Mutton Milk as well.

Naturally, they were a match made in heaven.

Then came another stretch of waiting.

The Snow Skin Mochi's skin needed a little steaming, of course.

That would make its skin even softer, more tender, and springier.

Even better to the touch.

Naturally, Jiang Yao did not sit idle during that time.

Snow Skin Mochi would grow dull if it remained there for the taking without any change.

He definitely had to spice things up.

With fruit, for example.

The Luofu's fruit was quite famous.

For instance, its angular Hami Melons, which anyone with bad teeth had better avoid.

Then there were apples: an apple a day kept the physician away.

And mangoes: ten a day brought the physician your way.

Oh, right, there were watermelons too.

A troublemaker had once questioned why a watermelon was so expensive despite not being ripe, then pulled out a sharp weapon and stabbed the vendor in the abdomen before the vendor could say anything.

Fortunately, the vendor had set up shop at the Alchemy Commission and received emergency treatment in time.

So, the Luofu's fruit.

All of it had stories behind it. How could it taste bad?

Jiang Yao had taken Bailu and Phantylia out to buy some that morning, and now it came in handy.

He cut all the melons into little pieces and put them in!

Guaranteed ripe~

Jiang Yao bustled away.

Bailu, March 7th, Stelle, and the many diners watched with eager anticipation.

It was a harmonious, heartwarming scene.

Yet this very harmonious, heartwarming atmosphere.

In the eyes of Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan, Welt, and Qingque.

Seemed strange instead.

"...Ahem, Lord Diviner... you said he was the key to breaking out of this predicament?"

Welt could not fathom how incompetent a diviner would have to be to produce such an outrageous result.

Jiang Yao is a chef!

His cooking is just a teeny, tiny billion times tastier, that's all.

At most, he could don a yellow uniform and deliver takeout.

To put it in your Xianzhou terms, don't tell me he could get entangled in some kind of karma?

He just wasn't up to it, you know!