As Qingque stepped out of the Master Diviner's Chamber and then went down the stairs, the pain in her butt from the earlier fall flared up once again.
"Ow... Ow... I forgot to report this as a work injury, hiss..."
Holding her sore butt, Qingque walked with an odd and awkward posture.
In the next moment, when a few female coworkers passed by and noticed her strange way of walking, they grew curious and immediately came over to ask.
"Qingque, what's wrong? Your butt hurts?"
"Haha, that posture of yours is hilarious—it's like... like the first time I had a boyfriend, hahaha..."
"What's that supposed to mean? What does having a boyfriend have to do with a sore butt?"
"If you don't get it, that's fine. Keep your innocence."
A few female coworkers teased Qingque playfully as they laughed.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Qingque rolled her eyes and said irritably. "I fell. It's a work injury. I'm going to the Alchemy Commission to get the invoice reimbursed."
Hearing this, the coworkers laughed even harder.
"Sure, sure, it was just a fall. What strange things could ever happen in the Master Diviner's Chamber, right?"
As for any ideas like 'messing around and doing something inappropriate in the Master Diviner's Chamber,' no one dared to think that far and just brushed it off as a joke.
Qingque sighed, then continued down the stairs, still holding her sore butt.
Strangely enough, it didn't hurt when she walked on level ground, but every step down the stairs stung.
"I should ask Lady Bailu to treat me later..."
Not long after Qingque left, her female coworkers soon passed by the Master Diviner's Chamber, only to see Lucian coming out.
In that instant, they froze for a moment before hurriedly moving on, and once they were far enough away, they began whispering to each other.
"W-Wow... isn't that General Lucian—the Master Diviner's husband? He's so handsome~"
"Tall, rich, and handsome—like, the real deal. I wish I had a husband like that."
"Wait a sec... didn't Qingque also come out of the Master Diviner's Chamber just now?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately got an idea—their minds went straight to something... indecent.
"Qingque said her butt hurt... Don't tell me... It's actually what I'm thinking? Reignbow above, how terrifying."
"He even went for Qingque, who's not even two hundred years old?"
"Hahh... the Master Diviner herself has already suffered, and Qingque's no exception, huh..."
"He's into petite and small women, huh? What a refined taste~"
"I smell some juicy gossip coming. I bet Qingque's gonna rise fast after this. Give it six months, and there'll be a big scandal."
"Well then, we'd better cozy up to her, cover for her when she slacks off, and make sure she remembers who her friends are."
As always, the Divination Commission was the most well-informed place, and also the biggest factory of gossip and absurd rumors.
Qingque never imagined that one clumsy fall would turn her, in her coworkers' eyes, into Lucian's woman.
===
"Let's go, take me to see our new home."
A few minutes after Qingque's coworkers passed by, Fu Xuan came out of her chamber, closed the door behind her, and took Lucian's hand in her own—their physical contact had grown increasingly natural lately.
"It's in Fyxestroll Garden—nice and quiet." Lucian said with a smile as he felt warmth spread through his palm. "No one would hear us even if you screamed your lungs out."
"You dummy! Watch your words! We're outside!" Fu Xuan exclaimed and playfully smacked his arm.
While trading playful banter, the two of them headed together toward their new mansion in Fyxestroll Garden.
===
Meanwhile, over at the Alchemy Commission, Jingliu and Baiheng finally arrived and now stood a distance away from the medical pavilion.
From afar, they saw a young vidyadhara girl, her face looking so familiar, consulting patients.
"Oh, so that's Bailu—the other me?" Baiheng remarked while tiptoeing, watching from a distance. "Mm... she's so cute~"
Jingliu's two sets of memories—her current and her past—intertwined within her mind, stirring complex emotions as she watched Bailu in the distance.
Even though she had chosen to abandon her past and original memories, fragments still lingered in her mind, so whenever she saw Bailu—those dragon horns, those big eyes just like Baiheng's—she couldn't help but recall the draconic abomination she had once killed with her own hands.
Fortunately, all of that had changed—thanks to her beloved master, who was now her husband.
"I once killed you—no, the past her..." Jingliu said quietly, her eyes complicated. "Now, when I see her, I can't help but feel guilty..."
Unlike the usual dress she wore, today Jingliu wore a flowing white robe with a darker outer layer that framed her slender figure, fastened at the waist by a moon-shaped ornament bound with a red tassel that swayed gently with each step, making her look every bit the elegant wife.
Thanks to this, many people—especially men—couldn't help but keep stealing glances at her.
"Well, Jingliu, that's all in the past..." Baiheng smiled and wrapped her arms around Jingliu's neck from behind. "Now we both have good lives, no?"
Hearing this, Jingliu sighed softly, then gave a faint smile.
"I wonder how Dan Feng and Yingxing are doing now..." Baiheng murmured in wonder.
"Heh..." Jingliu sneered lightly. "Dan Feng was reborn as Dan Heng, expelled from the Luofu, and now travels aboard the Astral Express as one of the Nameless. Yingxing was tainted by Shuhu's blood, gained immortality, and was once cut into mince by my own hands. Now he's a Stellaron Hunter—a wanted man."
"Ahh, Lucian's words back then turned out to be true then..." Baiheng sighed helplessly. "I just hope they can both find redemption someday..."
Just like that, both of them talked for a long while until Bailu finally finished her consultations.
Seeing Bailu finally free, the two women decided to go and chat with her privately, but just as they took a step—
*BOOM!*
A loud explosion suddenly echoed from within the medical pavilion!
"Hey, the Dragon Lady ran away again!"
"Seriously?!"
"Where?!"
In the next moment, shouts erupted throughout the Alchemy Commission.
Healers and alchemists scrambled in every direction, shouting as they searched for Bailu's whereabouts.
"She only walked a short distance—how did you lose her already?!"
"She's so restless! Always running off—such a handful!"
"Keep your voice down, or people will start gossiping!"
"Dragon Lady! Where are you?! Please come back!"
Men and women in the Alchemy Commission's outfits scattered in all directions, shouting one after another.
"Why would Bailu run away? Are they treating her badly?"
Baiheng, knowing that Bailu had run away, already imagined ten thousand scenarios of her being mistreated, making her motherly instincts flare up at once.
"Don't tell me... they're abusing her?!" Baiheng exclaimed with wide eyes, then grabbed Jingliu's hand. "Let's go look for her, too! It's dangerous for a kid to wander around alone."
"It's probably not abuse..." Jingliu replied calmly, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Well, it's more like Bailu's just a playful child who's been cooped up too long. C'mon, let's find her."
Feeling deeply indebted to Bailu, she didn't hesitate to act since this was a good chance to make amends.
Not wasting any time, the two of them searched all over the streets for Bailu, but after a long while, there was still no sign of her.
"No way, where is she...?" Baiheng sighed helplessly, then pulled out her phone. "In that case, I'm turning on my cheat."
What cheat?
What else but Lucian?
One had to admit, having a husband with 'cheating powers' made everything easier.
===
At the same time, Lucian had just dropped Fu Xuan back at the Divination Commission and was about to take a stroll alone around Fyxestroll Garden when Baiheng's call came through.
"Baiheng? What's wrong?"
[Baiheng: Darling, Bailu's gone! I heard she ran off from the Alchemy Commission, but we can't find her anywhere. We're worried something might've happened to her. Can you help us look for her? Please~]
[Jingliu: Stop being so mushy in public. Save it for when we're home.]
Jingliu's sudden, blunt remark made Lucian chuckle.
Baiheng loved acting spoiled now and then—especially after they got their marriage certificates—she did not care about the situation or place anymore, which he honestly found quite charming.
"Alright, I'll look for her." Lucian agreed right away.
He knew Bailu would be fine, but since both of his wives were worried, he decided to help anyway.
Based on what he knew of Bailu, she would most likely run off to Aurum Alley in the Exalting Sanctum—probably to grab some food or drinks.
If he went there, he would likely find her.
However, just as Lucian hung up the call and was about to teleport to the Exalting Sanctum, he sensed someone sneaking up behind him.
He quickly turned around but saw no one was there—until he felt his robe being lifted from below.
"Quick! Let me hide here! Don't tell anyone you saw me!"
A cute little girl's voice suddenly resounded from below.
Lucian slowly looked down, straight into a pair of mint green and yellow eyes.
Speak of the devil—it was none other than Bailu!
At this moment, her dragon horns were caught in his jade belt buckle, her pale-purple tail tip hooked onto the edge of his undershirt as she tried to squeeze further inside, while her scaled dragon tail brushed against the silk lining of his trousers, making a faint rustling sound.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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