"Yesss~ right there~"
"Hic..."
Listening to the sounds coming from the adjacent room, Stelle let out a thoroughly satisfied burp and casually tossed the empty bottle of Fermented Mung Bean Soda into a newly acquired trash can.
"Uncle Welt, could you pass me a cupcake?"
"Mm, here you go."
"Thanks, Uncle Welt!"
Taking the small cake from Welt, March 7th beamed as she popped the vanilla ice cream-flavored treat into her mouth.
"Mmm~~ That cool, refreshing feeling!"
Fresh from her massage, a completely relaxed March 7th blissfully closed her eyes, savoring the silky texture in her mouth. She couldn't help but start swaying back and forth in contentment.
"Miss Tingyun... could you please help me... wait a minute!"
March's eyes snapped open. She stared in surprise at Tingyun, who was sitting gracefully nearby, her body still tinged with a faint blush.
"Miss Tingyun is here, and Stelle and Uncle Welt are here too... so who's getting a massage in there right now?"
"?"
Stelle shot up, startled. She tiptoed over to the room that had become Wende's exclusive massage parlor and peeked her head in with cat-like stealth.
"Ugh! So sore! Ah! So good!"
"..."
Seeing Qingque, who was now completely at Wende's mercy, Stelle silently retracted her head.
"Ah... it's Miss Qingque. But how did she get in so quietly?"
March 7th, who had been swinging one leg over the other, her fair, smooth thighs glowing pink under the light, placed her half-eaten cupcake on the table and asked in bewilderment.
"It seems she slipped in through the back door just now. I happened to see a few people chasing after her; they looked like Miss Qingque's usual card-playing friends," Tingyun said, cleaning her large ears with a cotton ball, her eyes looking rather hazy.
"Uhh..."
March lowered her foot, her gaze drifting involuntarily toward the massage room.
"I just hope Miss Qingque can walk out of there on her own two feet later..."
Ding-dong...
Dan Heng
"March, where are you?"
"Huh? That guy Dan Heng finally remembered to contact us! You'd think he'd gotten himself lost on the Xianzhou!" March exclaimed, holding her phone up to show Stelle.
The Universe's Cutest Girl, March 7th!
"Ah! Dan Heng! You finally remembered to contact us! We're back in Changle. Uncle Welt said the routes to the Alchemy Commission are cut off, so there's no way to get there. We just headed back to wait for more information!"
Dan Heng
"I see... We're... uh, hold on."
Dan Heng quietly put away his phone, looking with some confusion at a starskiff that had suddenly appeared before them.
"Hey! Young friends down there! You need a ride?! This old man is heading to Changle, and I've got a few empty seats on my skiff. You coming or what!"
Aboard the starskiff, Master Gongshu waved down at the trio of Dan Heng, Sushang, and Luocha. Xueyi of the Ten-Lords Commission, whom they had rescued earlier, had already left on her own. The group was once again just the three of them.
"Hey! Master! Give us a ride!!"
"Hehe! This is great! We can finally find our way back!" Sushang shouted up to Master Gongshu before turning to her two companions, overjoyed.
"Yes, indeed. We can finally get some proper rest now," Luocha said, smiling at Sushang.
"..."
Dan Heng remained silent.
"Alrighty! Make some room down there, kids! I'm comin' doooown~"
Master Gongshu slammed on the air brakes, carving a perfect arc through the sky before slowly descending to dock.
Dan Heng
"We ran into a kind master. He's taking us to Changle."
The Universe's Cutest Girl, March 7th!
"Oh! That's great! You should be here in about an hour, right? I'll tell Wende, and we'll prepare a welcome party for you!"
Dan Heng
"Mm, but let's not trouble Wende too much."
"Come on, come on, no time to explain! Get on the starskiff, I've still got a batch of goods to deliver!"
Master Gongshu leaped down from the skiff, patted the dust off his clothes, and beckoned to the three of them.
"Oh! We're coming! Let's go, let's go! This master looks like a kind person!" Sushang immediately urged Luocha and Dan Heng.
"Heh, I like the sound of that, little lady!" Master Gongshu nodded in satisfaction. His gaze then fell upon Luocha, and he let out a cry of surprise.
"Well now, why is this young fellow carrying a coffin on his back!"
"Ah... Master, you can't kick us off just because he's carrying a coffin, can you?!" Sushang, seemingly jumping to the wrong conclusion, pleaded with Master Gongshu, her large eyes welling up with tears.
"Hey, hey! Young lady, am I that kind of person?! This old man just finds the style of the coffin quite novel, that's all. As for what's inside... that's your private business. I'm just helping people in need, you know~" Master Gongshu hurriedly proclaimed his innocence. He wasn't like those folks from the Divination Commission who cared so much about things like feng shui and good versus evil. Besides, the patterns on that coffin were actually quite nice to look at.
"Heehee! Thank you, Master! You two! What are you standing there for?! Get on!"
"Yes, we're coming. Dan Heng, let's go up," Luocha said with a smile, gesturing to Dan Heng.
"Mm, let's go."
"My, my! Lord Diviner! What brings you here! I... I was just fostering good relations with everyone, I really wasn't slacking off!" Qingque said, looking terrified at Fu Xuan, who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Hmph. You've certainly caused this Diviner a great deal of trouble. I am already burdened with military command and have no time to spare for other matters, yet you go and cheat at cards, prompting people to file a formal complaint with the Divination Commission. If word of this gets out, where will the honor of my Divination Commission stand?" Fu Xuan said with a cold expression, staring at Qingque, who was flushed pink from head to toe.
"Ah, this... I was just... uh..." Qingque scratched the back of her head, looking extremely embarrassed. She was just playing around... it's not like they were gambling for money... Those guys... really!
"Hmph. Your bonus for this month is gone, and I won't be refunding the money docked for all the times you were caught slacking off before. Let this be a lesson to you!"
"Uhm... okay..." Qingque lowered her head dejectedly, mourning for her lost money.
"So... did the Diviner come all this way just for a specific, important matter?" Welt, seeing at a glance that Fu Xuan's visit was about more than just scolding Qingque, cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"Indeed. As expected of the patriarch of the Astral Express. I did indeed come here on important business," Fu Xuan nodded, her gaze then shifting to land on Stelle.