Feng Yi rushed into the kitchen. His eyes lit up when he saw Lin Qingyang. "Master, I was wondering why the kitchen was smoking. Sure enough, you're here. Why is he here too?"
"What's the rush? Did you need something?" Lin Qingyang asked, sipping his tea.
Feng Yi nodded. "Someone from the Golden Spirit Court just said one of their spirit birds ran into our courtyard. They asked if we'd seen it."
"A spirit bird? What does it look like?" Lin Qingyang asked.
"Its feathers are all different colors, really pretty, and it's a little bigger than an ordinary pheasant," Feng Yi said, gesturing.
At that, Qi Mo lowered his head guiltily and stole a glance at the steaming pot.
Lin Qingyang, however, remained perfectly calm. "Haven't seen it. Go look around the Back Mountain."
"Oh. Master, what's stewing in that pot? It smells so good," Feng Yi asked curiously.
"Mushrooms," Lin Qingyang said mildly.
Feng Yi nodded and left, scratching his head and muttering, "What kind of mushrooms smell that good?"
Only after he had left did Qi Mo turn to Lin Qingyang in surprise. After all, this was the first time he had seen an elder of the Immortal Sects tell such barefaced lies without so much as blushing.
Lin Qingyang glanced at him. "What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and eat it once it's done. If Jin Buhuan finds out, he'll definitely squeeze some money out of me."
Qi Mo turned back to feeding the fire. Seeing rice and greens in the kitchen, Lin Qingyang also had Qi Mo steam some rice and stir-fry a dish of greens without standing on ceremony.
When the food was ready and on the table, however, Qi Mo set out a bowl and chopsticks for him alone, then stood off to one side with no intention of sitting down to eat.
"Sit down and eat with me," Lin Qingyang said naturally.
"That would be against the rules," Qi Mo replied without moving.
Lin Qingyang gave a soft snort. "You dared to bite someone, and you're worried about this? Enough, Little White-Eyed Wolf. Don't put on an act in front of me."
Qi Mo paused before sitting down at the table rather stiffly.
Lin Qingyang served up a bowl of chicken, then glanced at Qi Mo and smiled. "You're making progress. You're not guarding your food anymore."
Qi Mo turned his face away awkwardly without speaking. Lin Qingyang placed the meat in front of him, then served himself a bowl and began eating. The Little White-Eyed Wolf was a pretty good cook, and the spirit bird's meat was quite tender.
As Lin Qingyang ate with relish, he noticed Qi Mo holding his chopsticks awkwardly, unable to pick anything up despite several attempts.
Demon slaves normally ate with their hands, and he did not know how to use chopsticks at all. Seeing Lin Qingyang watching him, he put them down in embarrassment. To his surprise, Lin Qingyang put down his chopsticks too, picked up a drumstick with his hand, and began gnawing on it. Qi Mo froze for a moment, then grabbed some chicken and started eating as well.
Qi Mo was a wolf, after all, and his usual steamed buns and greens were nowhere near enough to satisfy him. With this rare chance to eat meat, the tail behind him unconsciously swayed a little. Sipping his soup, Lin Qingyang glanced at that furry tail. I really want to touch it.
The two enjoyed a satisfying meal, and only after Qi Mo had disposed of all the remaining "evidence," bones and all, did they return to their rooms together.
Just as he was about to enter, he suddenly heard Qi Mo say, "You..."
Lin Qingyang turned to look at him. Qi Mo avoided his gaze uneasily and said in a quiet voice, "What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll make it for you."
A little surprised by this sudden friendly gesture, Lin Qingyang smiled and teased, "You know how to repay a kindness now. Looks like I can't call you Little White-Eyed Wolf anymore."
Qi Mo awkwardly looked away, thinking that if he really could help him, there was no great harm in pleasing him this way.
Lin Qingyang simply took it as embarrassment. After a moment's thought, he said, "I'd like fish."
Qi Mo glanced at him, then nodded and hurried into the room next door.
Watching him scurry inside, Lin Qingyang could not help smiling.
"This little wolf cub is pretty cute," Lin Qingyang murmured.
"Every creature is cute when it's young. Once he turns evil, you won't think he's cute anymore," Lin Yao said in a hollow voice.
"Then I just have to keep him from turning evil," Lin Qingyang said unconcernedly.
"If he doesn't turn evil, won't the story be left without a villain? Besides, with his characterization, he wouldn't be content to remain a slave all his life," Lin Yao said.
Lin Qingyang felt rather helpless, but then it occurred to him that he should have run away by then. Whether Qi Mo turned evil would have nothing to do with him.
Early the next morning, Lin Qingyang first paid a visit to the Golden Spirit Court. His spiritual power had yet to recover fully, so he needed to get some magical treasures to protect himself for his meeting with Chimei. The Nine Skies Sect's Treasure Pavilion was managed by the Golden Spirit Court, and any elder or disciple who wanted to use its treasures had to apply there.
Seven or eight workstations were arranged around the Golden Spirit Court's main hall. The disciples seated at them were either clacking away at abacuses or recording entries in ledgers. Near the entrance, several disciples from other courts were lining up to collect spirit stones. At the far end of the room, a screen partitioned off a separate space. Jin Buhuan was probably inside.
"Cashiers, accountants, a finance manager... You really designed the whole setup," Lin Qingyang muttered quietly to Lin Yao.
"That's strange. I never wrote any of this," Lin Yao said, puzzled.
"That's normal. A novel's world is based on the author's will, so details you didn't write will construct themselves according to your understanding. I'm guessing this is what your company's finance office looks like," Lin Qingyang said.
"Now that you mention it, the layout really is the same," Lin Yao said.
As the man and sword chatted, a disciple from the Golden Spirit Court came forward to greet Lin Qingyang and led him toward the space behind the screen. Along the way, the disciples turned to look at him, some quietly asking, "Who is that?"
Lin Qingyang reached the screen. Just as he approached, he heard Jin Buhuan's irritated voice.
"We still haven't found the spirit bird that went missing yesterday, and today two Water Dragon Fish are missing from the pond. And you're telling me you don't know how they disappeared?"
Remembering that he had told Qi Mo yesterday that he wanted fish, Lin Qingyang immediately had a bad feeling.
While speaking, Jin Buhuan caught sight of Lin Qingyang. He looked momentarily taken aback, then smiled. "It's been quite a few years since I've seen you looking like this." As he spoke, he waved the disciple beside him away.
"What brings you here?" Jin Buhuan asked, putting on his usual smile again.
"I heard a snake demon has been appearing near Greenstone Mountain and causing the locals a great deal of trouble. I'd like to take a look, so I came to borrow a Demon-Capturing Net," Lin Qingyang said.
Jin Buhuan's eyes lit up, but then he asked in surprise, "Didn't you used to stay out of these matters?"
"Elder Xue has been studying the poison afflicting the sect leader these past few days and suspects it might have come from a snake demon. Greenstone Mountain isn't far from here, so I thought this snake demon might be connected to the sect leader's poisoning," Lin Qingyang improvised smoothly.
Jin Buhuan's expression grew serious, and he nodded. "Then you certainly ought to go."
With that, he took a sheet of paper from a drawer. The folding fan in his hand instantly transformed into a writing brush, and he swiftly wrote several lines on the paper before pushing it over.
"Please sign here, Elder Lin," Jin Buhuan said with a smile.
Lin Qingyang gave him a strange look, feeling that Jin Buhuan seemed very excited. He lowered his head and scanned the paper. His expression froze, and then his brows immediately drew together.
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