Was She Trying to Threaten Him?

Xianyu was bewildered. "Huh?"

Jingliu, the Sword Champion of the Luofu.

White hair, red eyes, an icy demeanor, and striking beauty.

She was an untouchable beauty, someone ordinary people could only admire from afar.

If this were a gacha game, her smiling face would surely be a top-tier SSR you could only get after hitting pity and then the full guarantee.

She rarely showed any other emotion. Only a handful of people had ever seen anything beyond her cold expression.

Xianyu considered himself an exception.

Not because of anything special about him, though. He merely benefited from knowing Baiheng.

He and Jingliu originally had nothing to do with each other.

After all, one was a peerless genius whose swordsmanship left everyone else in the dust.

The other was a salary thief who spent his days slacking off at the Divination Commission.

They had absolutely nothing in common. Even if something miraculous brought them face-to-face, they would only exchange distant nods.

Unfortunately, Jingliu's best friend Baiheng was both a social butterfly and a social terror.

The kind of social terrorist who struck fear into the hearts of introverts.

A few paltry words probably couldn't do Baiheng's personality justice.

If Xianzhou natives weren't so conservative and short on creative antics, Baiheng would surely have followed every new trend in causing trouble.

Back in his previous world, Baiheng would probably have been the ultimate extrovert: leading birthday songs at Hai○lao, unfurling banners at high-speed rail stations, and calling people's names through a megaphone.

She might even have decided the spectacle wasn't grand enough and rounded up another dozen or twenty people on the spot to celebrate together.

Once she had picked someone up, she would keep the megaphone blaring without the slightest concern for their dignity: "The young master has arrived! Everyone, make way-"

Then she would lead the whole crowd away with carefree swagger, ignoring the baffled stares of everyone around them.

Baiheng was free-spirited and uninhibited, with a certain flair for disregarding whether introverts survived her antics. She was exactly the sort of person a homebody like him, too lazy to socialize, would give a wide berth and admire from a safe distance.

As luck would have it, the two of them crossed paths.

That day, Xianyu, who normally spent every day off lying around at home, couldn't bear to waste such a fine opportunity and decided to imitate the "Geo Lord."

After wandering around for a while, he came to a tavern. Only after stepping inside and asking did he learn it required reservations.

Reservations had to be made at least forty-eight system hours in advance.

Xianyu immediately decided to head home.

Baiheng, who was waiting nearby with Jingliu for a table, enthusiastically invited him to join them.

After they chatted and drank together, Baiheng was all smiles, looking as though she regretted not meeting him sooner. They exchanged contact information and arranged their next drinking session.

After a few such encounters, the three grew familiar with one another.

Strictly speaking, perhaps it was only two of them?

Whenever the three chatted, Baiheng and Xianyu did most of the talking. Jingliu rarely said much.

If they were a comedy duo, Baiheng would undoubtedly have been the comic enjoying every moment, while Jingliu was the straight woman dragged into performing by her troublesome partner.

When the conversation really got going, an almost imperceptible smile would appear on Jingliu's face.

Xianyu: Two pixels. Not a pixel more.

Xianyu wasn't good at judging how close he was to other people, but he figured that even if he and Jingliu weren't close friends, they were at least acquaintances who had nothing against each other, right?

What did the Lord Diviner mean by that?

Xianyu was so accustomed to slacking off that his mind instinctively went blank when he tried to think, leaving him with an unintentionally innocent yet idiotic expression.

Diviner Xiao Lin seemed to struggle with whether to speak. With a hint of reluctance in his voice, he handed over a cardboard box. "...Take a look for yourself."

"What is it? Sorry for the trouble, Lord Diviner, having you deliver it personally."

Xianyu took the box. It had been packaged with particular care, with Starskiff Haven listed as its origin and Xianyu of the Divination Commission as its recipient.

Xianyu was baffled. He hadn't ordered anything to be delivered to the Divination Commission.

He examined it from every angle but found nothing unusual.

"Is there something wrong with this package?"

Xiao Lin said, "You know that anything sent to or from the Divination Commission has to be inspected, don't you?"

Xianyu nodded.

Although even a slacker like him had managed to get into the Divination Commission, it was still an official institution and paid considerable attention to the finer details.

Not only mailed packages but even office supplies had to be inspected.

Everyone in the commission knew this rule inside out. Apart from the most obsessive workaholics who practically lived there, hardly anyone used the Divination Commission as their delivery address.

Seeing Xianyu holding the package, Xiao Lin continued, "Inside are the severed limbs of Abominations of Abundance-"

Xianyu said, "..."

He slowly lowered his head, put down the Delivery Box, and frowned in utter confusion.

Xiao Lin seemed somewhat disappointed. There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice. "Why is that all the reaction you have? These are severed limbs from Abominations of Abundance!"

Xianyu: Still nothing compared to an arrow from The Hunt... I almost got dragged off to work...

He tried to bring them back to the point. "Why did you ask about my relationship with Jingliu, Lord Diviner?"

Xiao Lin continued, "After this Delivery Box was inspected, I personally investigated the sender. It was none other than Jingliu, the Sword Champion of the Luofu."

A question mark slowly formed in Xianyu's mind.

"So, do you two have some sort of grievance? Something that would... make her resort to such an extreme way of threatening you?"

Who would dare offend Jingliu? Anyone bold enough to try probably had grass growing ten feet high over their grave.

*How would I dare? If we really had a grudge, this little fish would be a dead fish :)*

He was just an ordinary clerical worker. Without using his cheats, one strike from Jingliu would leave her kneeling on the ground, begging him not to die...

The corner of Xianyu's mouth twitched. Trying to put himself in the shoes of veteran Cloud Knights who cut down enemies like vegetables, he asked hesitantly:

"Could it be a Cloud Knights custom? Giving Abominations of Abundance as Parting Gifts?"

Xiao Lin looked at him in exasperation. "If you went to war, would you give someone an enemy's severed limbs as a Parting Gift?"

Xianyu said, "..."

"If there's a conflict, settle it sooner rather than later."

Xiao Lin patted his shoulder, left him with that earnest advice, and ambled away.

Once his immediate superior disappeared from view, Xianyu deftly took out his Jade Abacus. Upholding the principle that every second spent slacking was a second gained, he messaged his friend in the Cloud Knights with a perfectly clear conscience.

His friend's name was Jing Yuan, and he was a few years younger than Xianyu.

They had often run into each other while studying at the Academy.

Jing Yuan was outgoing and could strike up a conversation with anyone. He and Xianyu, who couldn't be bothered to socialize, were polar opposites.

A shut-in's social life depended entirely on being adopted by an extrovert. After enough encounters, the two had become friends who got along well.

At present, Cloud Knight Lieutenant Jing Yuan was also Xianyu's only connection in the Cloud Knights.

As luck would have it, he was Jingliu's disciple, too.

[No replies outside work hours: Do you Cloud Knights bring back Parting Gifts after fighting abominations?]

The other party seemed to be slacking off as well and soon replied.

[Jing Yuan: Bring back what? Abominations of Abundance?]

For a moment, Xianyu was utterly stunned.

They really were Parting Gifts!

He kept typing.

[No replies outside work hours: So Abominations of Abundance count as Parting Gifts?]

[Jing Yuan: ...There's nothing on a battlefield. Nobody brings anything back, much less gives abominations as Parting Gifts.]

[No replies outside work hours: ...]

Xianyu fell silent.

[Jing Yuan: Now that I think about it, there actually was one weirdo like that. This time, one of the Cloud Knights went to great lengths to bring back severed limbs from Abominations of Abundance. Said they were a present for his girlfriend...]

[Jing Yuan: Hahaha, I just heard the guy crying about getting dumped.]

[Jing Yuan: ...Wait?]

On the other end of the Jade Abacus, Jing Yuan suddenly got worked up and sent several horrified Kitty reaction images in quick succession.

[Jing Yuan: You got some?]

[Jing Yuan: These aren't Parting Gifts... This is a threat, right?]

[Jing Yuan: Who the hell did you offend?]