"No need for formalities. Why are you all here? Are you patrolling nearby?"
Fang Qianyuan glanced over them and found that most were Warrior guards. Most of those guards wore armor and carried swords or sabers, looking as though they faced a formidable enemy.
The Warrior leading them stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, we are indeed on duty."
"Very well. Carry on with your work." Fang Qianyuan waved them away.
But the people from the Heavenly Craft Institute and the stewards from the Administrative Affairs Institute stayed behind, taking the opportunity to report on the situation here.
Fang Qianyuan casually asked about the construction progress, then saw several people riding gray wolves galloping over the hill to the east.
Their leader was an acquaintance of his: Steward Jin Lu of the Administrative Affairs Institute.
"Grand Elder Fang, it has been a long time. Our respects to you!" Smiling, Jin Lu offered Fang Qianyuan and the others an elaborate greeting from afar.
Before long, they arrived before him and dismounted from their wolves.
Looking at Jin Lu, who had grown a little plump, Fang Qianyuan smiled as well. "Steward Jin, have you been well?"
Jin Lu laughed heartily. "Thanks to your favor, Grand Elder, I have been transferred here to serve as Grand Manager of Blessed Land Construction. I have landed quite a plum assignment-one that will build my seniority and pave the way for promotion! The wind and snow here are fierce, though. For people like us, it is still a little too bitterly cold."
The others, who likewise appeared to be steward elders, cast him envious looks. Jin Lu could act so casually before Fang Qianyuan because they had known each other for years, but they could not.
Superiors and subordinates had their distinct places.