Jingliu asked Dan Feng, "Well, this is rare. What brings you to the Cloud Knights' turf?"
Aside from her own disciple, Jing Yuan, Jingliu rarely ran into the others during working hours.
Like a magician, Dan Feng pulled a wooden box from his latest-style robe, then tucked it away again. He said:
"General Teng Xiao summoned me to discuss an important matter."
The two understood at once.
An important matter? More likely, some Vidyadhara had offended General Teng Xiao, forcing Dan Feng to make the trip himself.
Dan Feng had even prepared a gift specifically for the occasion.
Jingliu reassured him, "Don't worry. We both know the general's temperament. He's never accepted gifts from anyone. Seeing you bring one must have angered him."
Dan Feng: "..."
There were some things he had no idea how to explain to Jingliu.
He had a nagging feeling he would corrupt this sword fanatic.
Jing Yuan asked, "Has it been resolved?"
Dan Feng nodded first, then shook his head.
"Halfway, I suppose. The Alchemy Commission still has to produce another Psychological Test."
Jing Yuan was astonished. "Didn't the Alchemy Commission already come up with over six hundred questions? Why are you writing more?"
Jingliu couldn't understand it. "Was this your idea? What kind of Psychological Test needs over six hundred questions?"
"According to feedback from the Divination Commission, there were too many questions, and the results weren't accurate enough. The general ordered us to redo them."
Dan Feng answered Jing Yuan's question first, then explained to Jingliu:
"The general was concerned about the condition of the Six Commissions and the Cloud Knights, so he asked the Alchemy Commission to devise a test. But those six hundred questions... weren't my idea. My subordinates wrote them."
Jingliu fell silent for a moment, then delivered a cutting verdict. "Who knows how many abominations you could kill in the time it takes to answer six hundred questions? No wonder the general was angry."
Dan Feng sighed. Who could have expected the general to come knocking after he slacked off for just a little while?
He had been sparring with Jingliu at the time and had no desire whatsoever to return to the Alchemy Commission for overtime, so he had simply ignored his subordinates' messages.
It wasn't as though they had a patient with some complicated illness.
Teng Xiao never made things difficult for his subordinates. This time, he had assigned the Alchemy Commission a task they had never undertaken before, without even setting a deadline. His intention had been for Dan Feng to lead everyone at the commission through the research and work at a leisurely pace.
It could easily have waited until tomorrow.
After all, watching Jingliu's romantic antics was far more appealing than overtime. The High Elder had joined in with advice, but who could have imagined that his subordinates would pull off such a spectacular stunt the moment he looked away?
When Dan Feng received the general's message, he could hardly believe it.
He had no idea what his subordinates had been thinking. The Alchemy Commission had only just finished hosting the Marshal and had been swamped with work, yet they had somehow found the energy to produce over six hundred questions in an extremely short time...
The clansmen he had placed such high hopes in had turned into reckless fools, hungry for quick results and eager to show off.
Dan Feng had nothing to say to that.
The High Elder had thought Teng Xiao's message, praise on the surface and criticism underneath, was mainly meant to reprimand the subordinates who had acted on their own without reporting to the general, while incidentally praising him for reporting on time.
But when he received Teng Xiao's second set of instructions regarding the Psychological Test, he realized something was wrong.
Dan Feng had never seen General Teng Xiao take anything so seriously. Knowing he was in the wrong, the High Elder hadn't asked his clansmen to prepare another gift. Instead, he had opened his private treasury himself and sifted through countless items before finally finding the cheapest Thousand-Year Ginseng to bring to the general.
It was his first time preparing a gift, and all he got in return was the general saying, "A fine gift. Don't bring another one. If it were that person, you might get my entire family, three branches and all, killed."
Dan Feng was deeply shocked. This was already the cheapest thing in his private treasury.
Teng Xiao refused to accept it no matter what, and stressed that the Psychological Test was a matter of great importance and absolutely had to be taken slowly. He told Dan Feng to oversee it personally.
As Dan Feng was leaving, the Diviner from the Divination Commission arrived carrying a stack of books.
The High Elder heard the general call out warmly, "Xiao Qing-"
The Diviner rattled off words like beans spilling from a sack:
"General, the Artisanship Commission said aging the paper would take a week, and who knows how long it'll take for the smell to fade! But I found some books that haven't been printed in yet. They happen to be old things that have been sitting around for several hundred years!"
Immediately afterward, the general called the Diviner's name again, this time in a stern tone.
The Diviner gave a flat "Oh."
Dan Feng continued outside, putting more and more distance between himself and the general and Diviner. He could only faintly make out one unquestionable order from the general.
"One week at the latest. I want this book in the most conspicuous spot in the Library. Never mind, I'll go there myself when the time comes-"
Dan Feng had no attention to spare for the general and Diviner's conversation. He was immersed in the gloomy aftermath of his failed gift-giving attempt.
But the moment he saw Jing Yuan suffering, his mood brightened.
In high spirits, the High Elder said to Jingliu, "Looks like things are progressing nicely."
Jingliu's tone sounded unmoved. "That was merely a gift he gave me in return out of courtesy."
Her tone gave nothing away, true. If she could have kept herself from smiling, Dan Feng might have believed her.
After chatting for a little while, the three hurriedly said their goodbyes and went off to attend to their own business.
As time passed and the workday ended, Jing Yuan had to accompany his master to her engagement, no matter how unwilling he was.
Following behind Jingliu, Jing Yuan quietly took out his Jade Abacus.
I need someone reliable to help... I don't want to be Master's third wheel, much less face the fact that my rotten friend is moving up a generation qwq.
Dan Feng is out first. He'd leave me to die.
And Yingxing probably won't clock out until the Artisanship Commission turns off the lights.
The only person I can count on is Baiheng.
[Luofu Cloud Knight Lieutenant - Jing Yuan: Baiheng, help me.]
[Baiheng: What's wrong, Jing Yuan? I'm helping out at a friend's barbecue restaurant right now~ fox_peeking.jpg]
Jing Yuan thought nothing of it.
You could throw a brick anywhere on the Luofu and hit one of Baiheng's friends.
To pay off her debts, the Foxian had become a master of time management, taking odd jobs all over the place whenever she had a spare moment.
There's no way she'll run into Master and Xianyu.
[Luofu Cloud Knight Lieutenant - Jing Yuan: Call my Jade Abacus in ten minutes and say you need me for something urgent!]
[Baiheng: You got it~]
Trusting her friend, Baiheng agreed without a second thought.
The Foxian's keen ears caught someone approaching the barbecue restaurant. She immediately put down her Jade Abacus and headed toward the entrance with a bright smile. "Welco-huh? Xianyu?"
Holding a paper bag full of drinks in one hand, Xianyu pushed the door open with the other. He fell silent for a moment when he saw Baiheng.
He guessed the truth at a glance. Baiheng must have come to help another friend out again.
Jingliu had happened to come by to support the business and invited him along.
"...This is another friend's restaurant?"
The Foxian nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! What a coincidence! You bought drinks from that place? Their owner is a friend of mine. Tell me beforehand next time, and you can get a buy-one-get-one-free deal! Today's meal is on me!"
Xianyu was astounded. Every time he saw Baiheng, she gave him a whole new understanding of her.
There probably wasn't a single person on the entire Luofu whom Baiheng didn't know.
Besides her social skills, which left a shut-in awestruck, the Foxian's knack for getting into accidents was equally impressive. Her debts were too numerous to count. The Six Commissions paid their salaries one day, and Baiheng could spend every last bit by the next.
As for treating him... better not.
He shook his head, declining Baiheng's kind offer.
"It's already the end of the month. You probably don't have many Strales left, do you?"
Baiheng scratched her head with a sheepish laugh and led Xianyu into the restaurant.
Remembering that the Foxian was closest to Jingliu, Xianyu asked, "Where's Jingliu?"
Before you continue