I don't really understand you Xianzhou women

"No way, no way. There isn't actually some dumb○ss who believes what Aha says, is there? Now that would be hilarious."

The system had long since taken on Aha's shape...

Aha, you absolute bastard! Next time we meet, I'm getting a few punches in, no matter what!

As the god of elation, wouldn't getting beaten up by an ordinary person count as entertainment too?

Xianyu: Wait, wouldn't that be rewarding them...?

He didn't believe a single word of the ambiguous wording in the notes.

Rather than trust the Aha version of the system, he would sooner believe he was Qin Shi Huang reincarnated.

Come on, she was the Sword Champion, with both beauty and strength. No one on the Luofu could surpass her swordsmanship.

There was no way Jingliu liked me, much less that she was trying to intimidate me.

If I had strength like that, why would I bother trying to intimidate anyone?

Wouldn't it be easier to let my sword do the talking?

Maybe there was some misunderstanding... Did I need to send a gift back? What should I give her? What could possibly be equivalent to severed limbs from Abominations of Abundance...?

Xianyu pondered idly, not taking the delivery seriously at all. He strolled leisurely to the hot pot restaurant, where he didn't see Bai Zhu, who had invited him, but ran into Baiheng and Jing Yuan instead.

"Xianyu? You actually brought yourself to go outside?"

Jing Yuan spotted him first, sounding thoroughly surprised.

Baiheng, who had been engrossed in her Jade Abacus, looked up at the familiar name and immediately issued an enthusiastic invitation. "You two know each other too? Want to eat with us?"

Xianyu shook his head. "I'm not here to eat. I'm here to work."

Baiheng could barely walk a few steps down the street without running into a friend, and this time was no exception. After hearing Xianyu's answer, she slapped her thigh in delight.

"Work? What a coincidence-"

The ultimate social butterfly whipped out her Jade Abacus, deciding on the spot to call someone over.

"This place belongs to my childhood friend. I'll tell her you're joining us. It's the perfect excuse to slack off... Oh, she's coming over already-"

The white-haired Foxian wore a red spaghetti-strap dress with an extremely low neckline, its skirt swaying as she walked.

Xianyu instinctively lifted his gaze, avoiding a certain embarrassing area and focusing on the approaching woman's face instead.

Bai Zhu hurried over. For some reason, her smile was especially radiant. She first nodded to Baiheng and Jing Yuan, then said with playful reproach:

"You're such a busy man. It's so hard to get you to come out~"

Her voice and intonation were particularly strange. Even the way she drew out the end of her sentence felt...

Ummmm...

Like a mountain road with eighteen hairpin bends.

Xianyu hesitated. "Boss, is something wrong with your throat?"

Bai Zhu: "..."

Bai Zhu's smile froze. Then, as swiftly as a face-changing performer, she adjusted her expression, huffed at him, and raised a hand to poke his chest.

Xianyu swiftly stepped back, dodging her hand.

Beside them, Baiheng forced a smile and let out a few dry chuckles.

The two women had fought since childhood, even yanking each other's tail fur when things got heated. Who could have imagined that her rascal of a friend, who used to bare her teeth and yell at her, could act so prim and proper?

The carefully applied makeup was one thing. Everyone wanted to look good, after all, and foxes were no exception.

But that tone of voice...

She knew Bai Zhu far too well. Hearing someone so familiar speak like that gave her an indescribable sense of embarrassment. She wanted to curl her toes hard enough to carve out an entire Xianzhou.

Baiheng said sincerely, "Stop putting on that cutesy voice. You're scaring me."

Bai Zhu: "...Oh."

Her tone abruptly cooled as she turned to Xianyu. "I called you here to ask something. An important person is coming to the Luofu. Do you want to come?"

Just for that?

The shut-in couldn't believe it. Why did something that could be handled through a Jade Abacus have to be discussed in person?

"Uh..." Xianyu's expression shifted several times before he spoke. "Thank you for the kind offer, boss, but..."

Bai Zhu waved him off irritably. "All right, all right, I get it-"

Baiheng interrupted her, urging Xianyu, "You're here already. Eat with us-"

Jing Yuan, who knew perfectly well that Xianyu disliked socializing, acted out of character. Rather than help him escape, he chimed in, enthusiastically throwing an arm around his shoulders and steering him into the hot pot restaurant.

"Exactly. You're here already. It would be a shame not to have a good meal."

The shut-in tried to struggle, but Baiheng had completely blocked his retreat.

Xianyu grumbled inwardly. Baiheng being a social butterfly was one thing, but why was Jing Yuan joining in?

When they arrived, Xianyu immediately spotted one black-haired man sporting dragon horns and two white-haired people.

They were Dan Feng, the Vidyadhara High Elder known as Imbibitor Lunae, and Yingxing, the renowned Master Forger of the Artisanship Commission.

The white-haired, red-eyed beauty sat beside the window.

Standing beside her, Xianyu only needed to lower his head slightly to glimpse the tantalizing sight that p○rvs dreamed of.

His expression didn't budge, however. He simply looked into Jingliu's eyes and smiled at her.

Outwardly composed, Xianyu couldn't help thinking, The way you Xianzhou women dress... It's so, so unusual...

I don't really understand you Xianzhou women.

Others might have adjusted just fine, but he felt somewhat... at a loss.

He had sat across from the two women before and hadn't noticed these details.

Now that he was sitting right beside them, their height difference made those sights all too easy to catch out of the corner of his eye.

Xianyu: ...This is beyond my level. A shut-in who's been single since birth shouldn't have to deal with this.

After meeting his gaze, Jingliu froze for a moment, then swiftly looked away. Wearing an unusually focused expression, she buried herself in the menu.

Baiheng and Jing Yuan spontaneously appointed themselves the shut-in's spokespeople, taking turns introducing Xianyu to everyone present.

Unable to get a word in, Xianyu quickly adjusted his expression, put on an impeccable smile, and nodded to the High Elder and the Master Forger.

For some reason, Imbibitor Lunae kept his gaze fixed on him. His expression betrayed neither pleasure nor displeasure, as though he were looking through Xianyu and recalling something.

Xianyu had no idea why.

He paid it no mind and immediately turned to Jing Yuan.

Jing Yuan flashed a toothy grin, his expression excessively affected, perfectly reproducing the guileless stupidity Xianyu wore whenever he gave up trying.

Xianyu understood, inwardly resigned.

No wonder you're acting so strangely... You little punk, you still haven't given up on having your master help me!

"Neither of you has any dietary restrictions, right?"

Baiheng cozied up beside Jingliu, sitting down and leaning her head against hers to look at the menu together. She raised her head and asked,

"Xianyu, recommend a few specialties."

"If you can handle spice, order the nine-foot duck intestines and shredded potatoes. If not, try the shrimp paste with fish roe..."

Xianyu glanced over the table and saw that the three who had arrived early already had dipping sauces in front of them. He asked Baiheng, "Jing Yuan and I are going to mix our sauces. Baiheng, what kind do you want?"

Baiheng sounded quite troubled. "I can't choose..."

After drinking with the two women, Xianyu had already figured out the best solution to indecision.

Just get everything.

Xianyu: "...Then I'll make you both an oil dip and a sesame sauce."

Baiheng chuckled, watching Xianyu shove Jing Yuan away.

Her hands didn't stay idle either. She added Xianyu's recommended specialties to the order, then asked the other three with a broad grin:

"This is killing me. Have you heard that funny story about the Cloud Knights?"

Baiheng was so amused that her fox ears trembled. She couldn't wait to share the news she had just heard from Jing Yuan with her friends.

"There was this young man who went through all kinds of trouble to earn merit. He used that opportunity to approach his superior because he wanted to give his girlfriend the most precious, most special gift-"

Dan Feng seemed lost in thought, while Jingliu and Yingxing proved a receptive audience. Both put down their appetizers and focused on Baiheng.

"Who would've thought that this gift, which he'd poured his heart into and pulled all sorts of strings to bring back to the Luofu, would be tossed aside like an old shoe once it reached his girlfriend? She even dumped him without mercy-"

Baiheng's voice rose and fell. Putting on an air of mystery, she kept delaying the reveal.

"Guess what he gave her?"

Yingxing spoke first. "A weapon that could be recycled."

Weapons made by the Artisanship Commission had their own strict disposal procedures.

Other than a weapon that could still be repaired, what would someone need to approach their superior specifically to request?

As the Master Forger who knew forging best, he couldn't think of any other option.

Dan Feng refocused his gaze on his friend. After a moment of silence, he said with difficulty, "It was a weapon, wasn't it?"

Jingliu agreed, shaking her head with a soft chuckle. "How could a weapon win a girl's heart?"

As the three gave their answers in turn, Baiheng narrowed her eyes and shook her head with a mischievous smile, rejecting all three guesses.

"You're all wrong-"

The white-haired Foxian eagerly revealed the answer, saying with delight:

"He actually gave her dead Abominations of Abundance! You didn't see that coming, did you? Someone actually gave a gift that ridiculous, hahaha!"

Baiheng rocked back and forth with laughter, completely oblivious to the unnatural expression on her best friend's face beside her.

Dan Feng and Yingxing instinctively looked at Jingliu.

Baiheng promptly twisted the knife:

"Never mind dumping him. That girl was already being nice by not bringing a whole starskiff full of relatives to beat up that Cloud Knight!"

Jingliu: "..."