Jingliu transferred money to you

"If this hadn't involved you, I'd have taken those three days off for sure."

Xianyu didn't notice the expression frozen on Jingliu's face and continued,

"If these rumors keep spreading... people will start thinking the Luofu's Sword Champion cuts down everyone she meets."

"Pay it no mind. I will resolve this myself."

"I was planning to say we're friends..."

They spoke at the same time, their words overlapping.

Xianyu froze for a moment. Her stiff tone made him realize the rumors must have infuriated her.

Xianyu: Why does she sound like she wants to resolve this by getting rid of the people spreading the rumors...?

He spoke up, softly repeating what he had just said:

"I was planning to tell everyone we're good friends and that the rumors are just a misunderstanding. What do you think?"

Jingliu gave him a long, searching look, then nodded slightly in agreement.

She thought for a moment, then frowned.

"Are all your colleagues at the Divination Commission so fond of spreading rumors? You'd be better off joining the Cloud Knights. With your abilities, you could easily serve as a Cloud Lieutenant or a Strategist."

Jingliu seemed to care a great deal about their fight that night and didn't want him to waste his martial talent.

First she had compared him to Jing Yuan, and now she was trying to get him to join the Cloud Knights.

But working for the Cloud Knights would be so exhausting...

Xianyu had chosen the Divination Commission precisely because the work was easy.

Take the Earth-Balance Commission, for instance. Its duties were far too tedious. Once you joined, you became a brick, carted off wherever you were needed.

The Artisanship Commission demanded both physical and mental effort. The procedures for craftsmen to request materials, claim reimbursements, and so on were far too cumbersome. He had ruled it out early on, just like the Cloud Knights.

The Sky-Faring Commission and the Alchemy Commission required dealing with different people every day. Xianyu knew he didn't have the patience for all that socializing.

As for the Ten-Lords Commission, although it required no socializing at all, since everyone you dealt with was either mara-struck or someone who had committed an offense...

They're already mara-struck! They don't care whether you're on the clock! They could have an episode at any moment.

Wouldn't that mean being on call twenty-four hours a day?

The thought of having to crawl out of bed in the middle of the night to work overtime made him cross that option off immediately.

After researching them all, Xianyu had finally chosen the Divination Commission.

Overall, the Divination Commission was essentially an intelligence department.

Its main duties involved divining the future, calculating navigation routes, and analyzing intelligence.

Compared with the other departments, which routinely required fieldwork and overtime, the Divination Commission was especially appealing.

After all, what anyone wanted from a job was "good pay, little work, and a short commute," and a position at the Divination Commission met those requirements perfectly.

Even running a stall on the busiest food street wouldn't earn you as many Strales each month as an ordinary Diviner's salary at the Divination Commission.

An intense schedule of nine to nine, six days a week, couldn't possibly compete with a nine-to-five desk job.

Besides, they rarely had to work overtime at the Divination Commission.

Unless the Aeon of The Hunt suddenly appeared and fired an arrow somewhere.

Then the Sky-Faring Commission would pass the news to the Divination Commission, where the Diviners would calculate the conditions of celestial bodies and the major factions. After a series of procedures, they would determine the Xianzhou's next course.

If it happened just before quitting time, they would have to work a little overtime.

If it happened in the middle of the night, their dependable boss-Xiao Lin, the Divination Commission's Diviner, the Lord Diviner himself-would personally gather the commission's best Diviners and burn the midnight oil.

In those cases, an ordinary little Diviner like Xianyu had nothing to do with it.

All he had to do was enjoy a good night's sleep. By the next morning, the commission's workaholics would have finished the job.

Even if there was any follow-up work, the Diviners hoping for promotions and raises would scramble to divide it all among themselves.

Xianyu: Everyone at the Divination Commission is talented, they all say such nice things, and they work themselves to the bone. I love it here!

As for the "short commute," he had earned quite a bit drawing talismans during his time at the Academy, more than enough to buy a home near the Divination Commission.

All in all, Xianyu was very satisfied with his current job, and just as satisfied with his boss.

A boss who willingly took responsibility instead of passing the buck was incredibly rare-about as likely as him being the Ancient Kingdom Emperor!

Barring any surprises, he even wanted to keep working there until he became mara-struck.

So when he heard Jingliu's suggestion, he didn't bother figuring out whether she was joking or genuinely trying to recruit him. He turned her down in all seriousness.

"I'll pass on the Cloud Knights. This was just an isolated incident. My colleagues at the Divination Commission are actually quite friendly."

Talking about his dream job sparked a rare burst of enthusiasm in Xianyu, and he said a little more to Jingliu.

"Especially our Diviner. Whenever there's overtime in the middle of the night, he never bothers ordinary Diviners like us. He only calls in the ones who are good at divination..."

Jingliu frowned slightly and shook her head. "You are no ordinary Diviner."

Her tone was particularly earnest, as though she couldn't bear to hear Xianyu belittle himself.

Xianyu chuckled.

Naturally, he was happy to receive someone else's recognition.

But I don't want to work a single second of overtime!

"Thank you for the praise, Sword Champion. But you might laugh when you hear this: I don't have any grand ambitions. I just want to leave work on time and never work overtime..."

Jingliu seemed unsure how to respond to Xianyu's outlook and fell silent.

Perhaps, as a workaholic in the Cloud Knights, she had never encountered a slacker like him.

Only after a long while did she manage to say, "You're very efficient at your work."

Xianyu: "..."

He understood her compliment.

If I weren't efficient enough, how could I leave on time?

What's gotten into Jingliu today? Why does she keep finding new ways to compliment me?

He took a closer look ahead and spotted the familiar bronze gate. Immediately slowing his steps, he turned to Jingliu. "We're here. This is my home."

Jingliu glanced at it, then drew her gaze back and looked directly into Xianyu's eyes.

"Thank you for the milk tea today. Next time, it's my treat."

The Sword Champion held a lofty position, and her words came out particularly forceful.

She sounded less like she was offering to treat him and more like she was issuing orders to the Cloud Knights.

Anyone else might have bristled at her overbearing manner.

Xianyu didn't mind.

After meeting Jingliu two days in a row, he felt she was a decent person.

She spoke plainly and directly. Like him, she couldn't be bothered with empty pleasantries or keeping up appearances.

He just didn't know why she liked praising him so much and hated it when he mocked or belittled himself.

If he had to point out any flaws, there really wasn't anything seriously wrong with her.

If he absolutely had to nitpick, perhaps her only flaw was a lack of boundaries with others?

For someone who wasn't good at socializing, that was only a minor, harmless issue.

After Jingliu said she would treat him next time, Xianyu agreed without a second thought, and the two waved goodbye.

Xianyu stood at the gate and watched Jingliu leave. Then his Jade Abacus chimed.

He opened it and saw a transfer notification.

Jingliu, whom he had only just parted ways with, had sent him some money.

Xianyu: ???

Huh?