Internal Affairs Office, tea room.
Little Bad King walked over beaming, waving a greeting to the tree-like plant man. "Brother Liu, I haven't seen you around the Inner Manor lately. How did you find the time to come have tea with me today?"
Liu Suihan looked as composed and seasoned as ever. Giving his head of emerald hair a slight shake, he cupped his fists and replied, "A few days ago, Master ordered me to take my junior brothers out on an assignment. I only returned today and thought I'd come sit with you for a while."
"Oh." Little Bad King nodded slightly and bent down to take a seat. "How did it go? Did the assignment go smoothly?"
"Very smoothly," Liu Suihan answered frankly. "Not only did we receive a fairly generous reward of merit points, but we also gained some other opportunities. Most importantly, we uncovered a very important lead."
"That's good. Congratulations." Little Bad King knew his boundaries. He neither asked what Liu Suihan had discovered nor how many merit points he had earned, offering only a polite compliment. "Here, Brother Liu. Have some tea."
Liu Suihan accepted the teacup with impeccable manners and asked softly, "Brother Ren, I heard you rendered a great service outside the Imperial Mausoleum Ancestral Land. How did it go? Did you uncover any important leads?"
Little Bad King was somewhat surprised. This plant man has always been cautious and respected boundaries. Why is he suddenly so rash today, asking about someone's private little secrets right off the bat...?
Seeing his expression freeze in astonishment, Liu Suihan guessed the reason. "Brother Ren, I mean nothing else by it. I simply wanted to exchange leads on the Dragon Scale Case with you. We're all people of order. If we can accumulate enough merit