Chen Wei had brought no Heavenly Soldier guards.
Father and son rode their auspicious cloud at a leisurely pace, heading straight for the Military Affairs Government Office under Wude True Lord's jurisdiction.
The Military Affairs Government Office was the service window for handling outside business.
It oversaw military reports from the various Mountain Gods, earth gods, and River Gods of the Mortal Realm, as well as the registration of unusual demon activity.
The last time the Great Heavenly Venerable had taken it into his head to inspect the various departments, he had stopped here and sharply criticized both the service and the surroundings.
By rights, after that inspection, the place should long since have taken on an entirely new look.
Yet Chen Wei frowned the moment he lowered his cloud.
A long line stretched across the square outside the government office, made up entirely of minor gods from the Mortal Realm. It ran from the office's main entrance all the way to the stone bridge over a tributary of the Celestial River.
Chen Wei swept his divine sense over the place and immediately understood.
The service window had been revamped, but the changes fell far short of what was needed.
After the Great Heavenly Venerable's criticism last time, Martial Virtue Star Lord had ordered improvements. The concern was visible now-a meditation cushion had been added to the bluestone paving outside the window so that Immortal Officials coming on business could rest.
But that cushion was only the size of a palm.
Never mind sitting on it-even a turtle would have found it cramped. Its symbolic value far outweighed any practical use.
Beside the cushion, they had even thoughtfully placed a small porcelain plate, supposedly for the free refreshments provided by the Heavenly Court.
But a single shriveled fruit sat forlornly