At first, when she bit Derick's arm, Castorice intended to punish him, planning to bite down hard. But after just a second or two, Castorice's heart softened, and the pressure from her teeth lessened considerably.
After half-biting, half-mouthing his arm for a moment, Castorice let go.
"Forget it," Castorice said to Derick irritably. "You're immortal anyway. If I keep biting, I'll just tire out my teeth."
Derick scratched his head, embarrassed.
Seeing his handsome, refined face, still with a touch of youthful innocence, all of Castorice's anger dissipated.
She just pinched Derick's nose, and only let him go after he gave her a pleading look.
Still, she had to vent this frustration.
As for the target, that was easy to find.
Polyxia was her own sister; she couldn't bring herself to do it. Feixiao was a Xianzhou General and also Derick's teacher, so it was best not to expose their relationship. And Yunli was far away on the Xianzhou Zhuming.
In the end, the only target left to vent on was Cipher.
Cipher had already anticipated this. She didn't care if Castorice came looking for her.
Come at me, then. You think I'm scared of you?
Thinking this, Castorice hugged Derick and fell asleep.
...
The next day, on the Luofu, at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Feixiao arrived early in the morning. Fu Xuan was waiting for her, and besides Fu Xuan, there was also a holographic communication image of Jing Yuan.
"Greetings, General Tiange." Upon seeing Feixiao arrive, Fu Xuan spoke immediately.
Feixiao waved her hand and said to Fu Xuan, "Why did you call me over so early in the morning? Is there something urgent to deal with? Have other Abominations of Abundance come to attack you and Jing Yuan over there?"
"Not at all." Jing Yuan shook his head. "I've come to you to discuss matters concerning Derick."
"What? Are those old geezers refusing to give Derick his reward again?"
Hearing Jing Yuan's words, Feixiao immediately understood what he meant.
An angry expression appeared on her face.
Jing Yuan said to Feixiao, "They're not saying they won't give it, just that they want to investigate Derick's state to see if he is on the verge of becoming Mara-Struck. They intend to have someone from the Ten-Lords Commission follow and investigate Derick for a period of time to get an answer."
Feixiao slammed her fist on a table in the Seat of Divine Foresight. Although the table was sturdy, it couldn't withstand Feixiao's terrifying strength. A single punch left a fist-shaped imprint on it.
Jing Yuan's face showed a pained expression.
That was his table!
"Sooner or later, I'll have to get rid of these old geezers," Feixiao muttered, then continued to ask Jing Yuan, "Jing Yuan, do you know who will be investigating and following Derick? If it's some fault-finder, I'll just step in and send him packing."
Hearing this, Jing Yuan smiled and said to Feixiao, "On this matter, the Marshal helped us gain control. As long as it's someone from the Ten-Lords Commission, we can decide who it is.
"We can decide..." Hearing Jing Yuan say this, a certain figure immediately appeared in Feixiao's mind.
It's Huohuo, right? That little girl is the most suitable candidate.
She's timid and easy to scare. Even if a real problem arises, she wouldn't dare to dig too deep.
"I know who to pick. There's a little girl in the Ten-Lords Commission named Huohuo. I think she's quite suitable."
Feixiao said to Jing Yuan.
At the same time, a plan formed in her mind.
These repeated probes and delays had angered Feixiao. Since you people from the Ten-Lords Commission are always causing trouble for me, I'll turn the tables and plant an undercover agent inside your Ten-Lords Commission.
These old geezers think they can hold on to the Ten-Lords Commission forever? In their dreams!
"My dear student, I'm entrusting this mission to you."
Feixiao thought to herself.
As for how to do it, it was nothing more than coercion and enticement. Feixiao believed that Derick was more than capable of handling it.
Because of what happened between her and Derick before, that little girl Huohuo was terrified of him. Derick wouldn't even have to scare her; the intimidation factor was already more than enough.
As for enticement, Feixiao believed that with Derick's handsome face, it would be an easy task.
In any case, she would make the decision, and the rest of the hard work would be left to Derick.
Feixiao had decided in her heart to groom Derick as the next successor to the General of the Xianzhou Yaoqing. Just as Jing Yuan handed matters over to Fu Xuan, Feixiao was also giving more tasks to Derick to handle, thereby training his abilities.
This was definitely not her, the General of the Yaoqing, trying to slack off. She was only doing this to train her student's capabilities.
"Huohuo? That works too." Jing Yuan thought for a moment and supported Feixiao's choice.
Jing Yuan was also familiar with Huohuo from the Heliobi incident. Now that Feixiao suggested her, Jing Yuan immediately knew who she was talking about.
Having a trainee judge conduct the surveillance seemed a bit far-fetched. However, due to their several encounters, the relationship between Jing Yuan's side and the Ten-Lords Commission was already very poor. Insisting on sending Huohuo could be considered their counterattack against the Ten-Lords Commission.
"I'll go inform the Ten-Lords Commission now," Fu Xuan spoke up.
...
The Ten Lords of the Ten-Lords Commission were furious when they received Feixiao's decision.
How could they entrust such a matter to a trainee judge?
But since they had already agreed, it was difficult to go back on their word. This was Marshal Hua's decision; even the Ten Lords couldn't easily reject a judgment made by Marshal Hua.
In the end, they could only rely on Huohuo to investigate diligently.
The news reached the Ten-Lords Commission on the Xianzhou Luofu. Xueyi received the message and summoned Huohuo.
"Lady Xueyi, why did you call for me?"
Huohuo asked Xueyi.
Her face was full of worry.
It hadn't been long since they resolved the Heliobi incident. Surely there wasn't another problem, right?
"This is an order from above. You are to follow someone and secretly investigate their condition," Xueyi told Huohuo.
Huohuo pointed at herself in confusion. "Me?"
Asking me to conduct an investigation? Isn't that asking a bit too much?
"Investigate who?" Huohuo asked cautiously.
If the target wasn't too difficult...
"Derick."
Xueyi's words shattered Huohuo's fantasy.
Hearing this, Huohuo was so scared she fell to the ground.
You want me to investigate Derick? Why don't you just ask me to kill a Lord Ravager?
"La-Lady Xueyi, you, you're not joking, are you?" Huohuo said, trembling. She was trying her best to avoid Derick, so why was she being pushed towards him now?
"I have no intention of joking. I know Derick is our savior. You might feel bad about investigating him. But think about it, if someone else investigates, they might deliberately frame Derick for some problem. At least, the message from above implies that's the intention."
Derick had also saved Xueyi, so faced with the higher-ups' desire to pin something on him, Xueyi also opted for uncooperative resistance and informed Huohuo.
Hearing this, Huohuo asked her, "Then Lady Xueyi, can you go?"
As long as it's not me!
I'm willing to help Derick.
"The higher-ups specifically assigned you; no one can take your place. Besides, with my body, if I really did find a problem with Derick, it wouldn't be easy for me to help cover it up." Xueyi shook her head.
Huohuo wanted to cry.
But if you have to go to the execution grounds, you have to go.
She shuffled her small feet, inching towards the exit of the Ten-Lords Commission.
Her Tail, watching from behind, felt like whipping her.
This little girl was just too hopeless.
"I'll teach you a way to deal with Derick," Tail said to Huohuo.
"Lord Tail, what is it?" Hearing this, Huohuo asked with a surprised and happy expression.
"The moment you see Derick, just run over, hug his thigh, and start crying. I'm sure after you've cried for a while, he'll definitely soften up," Tail said irritably.
"Oh..." Huohuo wore a thoughtful expression.
Seeing her thinking about it, Tail quickly said, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm teasing you! Don't actually consider if you can do it! That would be utterly humiliating."
"It's humiliating, but it might actually work a little."
Lord Tail was exasperated.
"If you do that, I'll find a chance to strip you naked and throw you into Derick's bed."
...
Xianzhou Luofu, Alchemy Commission.
Derick had been planning to lie down on his bed for a good rest. But just as he lay down, he suddenly remembered something.
"I almost forgot about this." Derick slapped his forehead. "That recording... I still need to get it from Sushang. And I have to tell those two not to talk about it. Also, that recording in Sushang's hands, I have to get it back."
No sooner said than done, Derick jumped up from the bed.
Castorice had just returned with breakfast. Seeing Derick suddenly get up, she asked curiously, "Derick, what's wrong? What are you going to do?"
"I need to go find Sushang and Huohuo," Derick said to Castorice.
"Why are you looking for them?" Castorice asked, pouting a little with jealousy.
Last night, I just forgave you for what happened with my sister, Cipher, Feixiao, and Yunli. And now, the very next day, you're saying you have to go find other girls.
No, I have to act angry.
Seeing Castorice's expression, Derick quickly explained, "I'm going to get them to keep their mouths shut. After all, the others are one thing, but if what happened between me and my teacher, Feixiao, gets out, it will cause a huge scandal."
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that." Castorice reacted the same way as Derick, slapping her forehead.
She said, "You're right, we must make sure they don't leak it.
We must ensure Derick's safety..."
Seeing Castorice's expression gradually turn vicious, Derick flicked her on the forehead, speechless.
"Looking at your face, I'd think you were planning to silence them permanently."
After being flicked on the forehead, Castorice looked embarrassed.
She had, in fact, just thought about silencing them. But it was just a fleeting thought; if she were really asked to do it, she wouldn't go that far.
Derick said to the embarrassed Castorice, "Let me handle this!"
"Mhm."
Castorice nodded seriously.
Derick then changed his clothes and headed towards the direction of the Cloud Knights in Central Starskiff Haven.
Although he said he would handle it, Derick didn't really know what to do. He could only try to persuade the two of them not to say anything.
And that recording, he definitely had to get it back and destroy it.
When Derick arrived at the Cloud Knights' post, the soldiers immediately saluted him respectfully.
"Greetings, Commander Derick. What are your orders?"
Derick's rank was recognized here. Although he wasn't their direct superior, he still had the authority to command them. Furthermore, Derick had just led them to annihilate the Borisin, so his prestige among the Cloud Knights was now second only to the generals.
(The common Cloud Knights didn't know Derick had disguised himself as the Borisin War Chief, but they knew he was the greatest hero of the battle.)
"I have some business with Sushang. Is she here?" Derick asked the Cloud Knights.
One of the Cloud Knights immediately replied, "She's on patrol. She should be back soon."
Just as he said that, Sushang returned from outside. The moment she came back, all the Cloud Knights turned their gaze to her.
Sushang looked at everyone staring at her, a confused look on her face. "What's wrong with all of you? Is there something on my face? Why is everyone looking at me?" she said, puzzled.
Then, Sushang's gaze fell on Derick, who was standing behind the Cloud Knights.
The hair on her body stood on end.
It's over! Derick is here to see me, this definitely isn't anything good!
Sushang's expression froze. As for what to say? It was obvious Sushang's brain CPU wasn't enough to process this.
"De-Derick, Co-Commander, y-you're looking for me? What is it?" Sushang stammered.
Derick quickly waved his hands and said, "No, I came to ask you about the Heliobi situation. I had to leave halfway through dealing with them last time to go handle the Borisin. I was wondering how you dealt with the remaining ones? Come on, let's find a place to talk."
He couldn't let Sushang stay nervous like this. If she kept it up, everyone else would notice something was wrong.
"Oh, so that's what it is..." Hearing Derick say this, Sushang clutched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
He's just asking about the Heliobi. I thought he was asking about the recording.
That scared me.
Derick walked to Sushang's side, and she followed him away from the Cloud Knights' garrison. As they walked, Sushang told Derick about what happened with the remaining Heliobi.
As long as he didn't mention the recording, Sushang really wasn't nervous.
"After you all left to deal with the Borisin, General Jing Yuan took swift action to resolve the Heliobi matter quickly. With the General's wisdom and power, he easily captured all the escaped Heliobi."
Having Jing Yuan take action was a bit of an overkill. However, to prevent the Heliobi from causing trouble while the troops were deployed against the Borisin, Jing Yuan still acted personally.
Hearing that Jing Yuan had handled it, Derick felt relieved.
He didn't need to worry about the Heliobi anymore.
Next was the matter of his recording. Just as Derick was about to speak, a small figure came running towards him.
____
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