Night, the Supervision Bureau.
As soon as Shen Heng reached the door, he saw a figure walking towards him with squinting eyes and a grin.
"Hehehe, Lord Shen Heng, you've arrived!" Dahuang wagged its tail and smiled obsequiously.
"What are you doing?" Shen Heng stood still, his gaze fixed on Dahuang.
"I've come to greet you!" Dahuang said with a fawning smile.
Welcoming... Shen Heng looked at Dahuang, thought for a moment, and seemed to understand something.
He didn't speak, but just stood there, calmly looking at Dahuang.
Under Shen Heng's gaze, Dahuang's heart began to pound rapidly.
"Oh no, oh no, is he listening?! He definitely is! He knows exactly what I'm thinking right now!"
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Does he think I'm cursing him even more in my heart?!"
"No, if he could hear it, he would definitely know that he didn't..."
Shen Heng looked at Dahuang until its mouth became slightly stiff before speaking:
"The captain should have just reported your situation. It will take some time before headquarters approves it. In the meantime, just behave yourself and cooperate well."
"Behave yourself... cooperate properly... is this a warning to the Great Sage?!"
This is absolutely a warning!
The subtext is, 'If you dare to speak ill of me in your heart again, I'll secretly execute you!'
Dahuang's dog brain was working at lightning speed, deciphering the "deeper meaning" behind each word.
"Yes, yes, yes! Lord Shen Heng, please rest assured!" Thinking he had grasped the deeper meaning behind Shen Heng's words, Dahuang nodded hurriedly.
"I will definitely behave myself and cooperate fully during this time!!"
"I absolutely won't cause anyone any trouble!"
As Dahuang spoke, he carefully observed Shen Heng's expression, trying to find any sign of 'satisfaction' or 'letting you go' on Shen Heng's face.
To its disappointment, Shen Heng's expression remained unchanged.
Shen Heng nodded slightly, said no more, and walked around Dahuang into the building.
"Lord Shen Heng, would you like some water? I'll go get you a bottle!"
"If you don't drink water, aren't you hungry? Although dinner hasn't been served yet, I can already smell the chefs in the kitchen preparing it..."
The fawning voice continued into the training room.
Shen Heng sat down cross-legged and looked at Dahuang.
Dahuang was still fawning over him.
"Lord Shen Heng, your new ability is truly amazing! To be able to hear other people's thoughts and influence their emotions is incredible, it's practically a miracle!!"
"And the name sounds beautiful too, Listening to the Cries of All Living Beings, as if one can see through..."
Where did he learn this weird personality? Wei Leyang? Wu Cheng?... Shen Heng silently looked at Dahuang.
Under his gaze, Dahuang racked his brains, wishing he could recite all the compliments he had ever seen.
But no matter how much there is, there will always be an end to it.
Finally, Dahuang's mouth, which had been opening and closing, slowly stopped, leaving only its slightly rapid breathing and deafening heartbeat.
The training room fell silent, yet the air seemed to freeze.
Finally, just as Dahuang felt he was about to suffocate, Shen Heng spoke again, his tone still calm and even:
"Are you done talking?"
Dahuang jumped, its tail instantly stiffening, its mouth agape.
"Have you... finished talking?"
"Hmm," Shen Heng responded, shifting his gaze from Dahuang as if it were merely an insignificant roadblock.
"In that case, you can go do whatever you need to do!"
Dahuang was taken aback. It tilted its head, then responded with an "Oh" as if it had just realized something, and got up to walk outside.
"Go do what you're supposed to do, is that an abbreviation for 'get lost'?"
"When a human says 'get lost,' it usually means they're dissatisfied, so he hasn't forgiven himself for giving him that nickname?"
"So does that mean I don't even need to wait for a reply from headquarters? I'll just end up dead in the wilderness in a couple of days?"
The thought of this possibility made Dahuang's body tremble slightly.
Just then, another voice came from behind.
"By the way, don't call me 'the pig-oinking kid' anymore."
Dahuang paused slightly, then turned its head to look behind it.
The young man was still staring at it, and it spoke:
"Now go do whatever you were doing!"
The voice was the same, but at this moment, it sounded completely different to Dahuang.
It is full of warmth and light!!
"Okay, I'll head out now!"
Dahuang responded loudly, its tail wagging again at some point.
"Damn humans! Their minds are so hard to fathom!"
"You should have said so earlier if you weren't going to hold a grudge! You made this Great Sage worry for so long!"
"No, I can't think like that, I can't think like that, otherwise I'll be..."
"Yes, even if you think it in your mind, you still have to call him Lord Shen Heng, otherwise you'll be in big trouble if someone hears you!"
"Yes, that's it..."
Shen Heng watched as the door was pulled back by the dog's paws, then slowly withdrew his gaze.
He didn't hear what Da Huang was thinking, but he roughly knew what Dahuang was probably thinking.
But it's just a nickname. Even if Dahuang tells others, he won't kill it; at most, he'll just beat it up.
There's absolutely no need for this!
Is it because he spends so much time hanging out with Wei Leyang and Wu Cheng that he's become both immature and cowardly?
Without thinking further, Shen Heng slowly lowered his eyes and began the breathing exercises that he had been delayed by Dahuang earlier that day.
More than ten days later.
Yu Jingming stood downstairs at the hotel, looking up at the towering building.
The glass curtain wall reflects the neon lights, making the entire building appear as clear as crystal.
He glanced down at his clothes.
He was wearing his only dark suit, which his sister had ironed perfectly.
But compared to the crowds coming and going around them, it still seemed rather simple.
"It should be... no problem, right?"
Yu Jingming felt a little uneasy. He took a deep breath and stepped into the revolving door.
Inside the lobby, a receptionist in a crisp uniform smiled and stopped him.
"Good evening, sir. May I ask whose banquet you are attending?"
"Master Lei Zhijian's banquet," Yu Jingming replied somewhat awkwardly.
The receptionist glanced down at the register. "May I ask your name?"
Yu Jingming.
"Ah, found it." The receptionist gave a professional smile. "Mr. Yu, this way please, the elevator is on the right."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and beckoned.
Another waiter immediately stepped forward.
"Please follow me, sir."
Yu Jingming nodded and followed the waiter into the elevator.
The elevator ascended silently. Yu Jingming's fingers unconsciously rubbed his cuffs. This strict identity verification process made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, as it was his first time experiencing it.
"Bite."
The elevator doors opened.
What comes into view is a corridor covered with a dark red carpet, at the end of which are two carved wooden doors.
The wooden door was slightly ajar, and the faint sounds of conversation could be heard coming from inside.
"Master Lei's banquet is inside; you can just go straight there." The waiter gestured towards the banquet hall.
"OK, thanks!"
You're too kind.
Yu Jingming walked towards the banquet hall.
He stopped in his tracks the moment he pushed the door open.
The banquet hall wasn't large, but it was extremely luxurious.
A crystal chandelier hangs down, its light refracting into tiny specks of light on the champagne glasses.
The deep red velvet curtains were half-drawn, and outside the window was the city's night view, with lights cascading like a galaxy.
There were about twenty people in the hall, some gathered in twos and threes, others standing alone and reservedly in the hall.
He wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable in a place like this for the first time.