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Chapter 23 - Chapter 23: You and the Swordmaster Fought?

Zero, 'I just asked for leave and took a nap, how could such an outrageous rumor spread…'

Before he could type a rebuttal, his boss quickly withdrew the message.

[Can you go to work normally tomorrow?]

Maybe thinking it was too awkward to say it directly, he changed the wording, trying to probe Zero's condition in a roundabout way.

Zero couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.

'What's there to be afraid of? That I was beaten so badly I couldn't stand up… I'm telling you people, don't be so ridiculous.'

[Zero: I can go to work normally]

Zero didn't bother considering his superior's feelings, and typed bluntly to dispel the rumor.

[Zero: The Swordmaster is only highly skilled in swordsmanship, not someone who beats people at sight. Where did you even hear that… way too far-fetched.]

But the other side refused to believe.

[How about I give you three days off, you can rest at home?]

If this were the usual time, with his superior so generously offering three days off, Zero would've agreed in one second, but now he absolutely didn't dare take leave.

Taking leave would only make the rumors spread even faster.

He could already imagine, by the time he reported back to the Diviner's Office, the rumor would have evolved into something like this…

"Have you heard? A diviner from the Office offended the Swordmaster!"

"What? You're behind the times, I heard the Swordmaster was provoked by the diviner and then lashed out!"

"No, no, you've got the outdated version, it's that the diviner got beaten so badly by the Swordmaster he couldn't get out of bed for three days, and had to stay home and recover."

Because he slept once, took one day off, Zero had, for no reason at all, gotten a beating in other people's mouths.

Who could he even reason with?

His jade device clattered under his furious tapping.

[Zero: Really no need, tomorrow I'll definitely arrive on time]

After much persuasion, Zero finally got his boss to reluctantly believe him.

Very soon, his jade device chimed again.

[Jing Yuan: Real-name verified post sharing this shop, this place is absolutely amazing! Spicy-head ecstasy! Spicy soup milk tea so good it makes you stomp your jiojio]

[Zero: ???]

[Zero: What kind of underworld combo is that]

[Jing Yuan: Just admit you're curious]

Sure enough, it was Jing Yuan, his guess was spot on.

Spicy soup and milk tea, each was something Zero could never give up, his beloved favorites. This combo… damn, this wretched curiosity of his…

Zero couldn't hold back, opened the post Jing Yuan shared, and checked the address.

By coincidence, it was right near his home, very close, the amount of walking required so little even a hardcore shut-in could handle it.

[Jing Yuan: …]

[Jing Yuan: Wait, you didn't just wake up, did you?]

[Zero: Yeah, I'll go try it for you right now]

Jing Yuan's ellipses faintly carried the resentment of being on the verge of violence, making one involuntarily gloat at his misfortune.

Zero was delighted, immediately changed clothes and went out, completely unaware of how close to collapse Jing Yuan was on the other end.

———

[Flashback]

Jing Yuan looked at the cold-faced Jingliu beside him, then at the diviner his master had just called over, forehead drenched in cold sweat.

Inside, he was utterly breaking down.

Jing Yuan, as the young master born into the prestigious General family of the Alchemy Division, had no intention of following rules and continuing his father's path. Instead, full of rebelliousness, he joined the Cloud Knights.

His life story could rival something from a serialized novel.

As a youth, he relied on intelligence to win his superior's favor, and from among countless martial prodigies, he stood out, becoming the disciple of Luofu's Swordmaster.

As a long-life species, the twists and turns of his ten-odd years could barely be called dramatic.

But, all the experiences he thought were exciting didn't compare to just yesterday.

At first, Jing Yuan thought it was just a normal banquet. But after the food and wine, that earth-shattering remark from Dan Feng made him feel like he'd been struck by lightning in Luofu.

On this Xianzhou, where all weather was formed from illusions, he truly experienced being struck by lightning.

Why did his master make his friend Zero go deliver it?

Jing Yuan couldn't understand, but if Dan Feng did it, it had to have some deeper meaning.

Jing Yuan looked left at the clueless Zero, then right at his master, who didn't look drunk at all, and felt lost.

Very soon, the rational side of him instantly linked together every detail from the banquet he hadn't paid attention to.

The emotional side kept warning him he might be wrong.

But no matter how unwilling he was to believe…

'Why did Dan Feng deliberately switch Baiheng and Master's seats?'

Why did his master, who never ate spicy food, try spicy hotpot?

And most importantly, why did his master's face turn so unpleasant when Yingxing brought up "companions despite the age gap"?

The truth he didn't want to deduce was laid out right in front of him.

'Master might like Zero.'

Dan Feng, knowing the inside story, wanted to match the two of them, so he instigated Baiheng to switch seats.

As for why spicy hotpot, wasn't it obvious, it was just closer to Zero.

Other than romance novels you could only read after age two hundred, Jing Yuan had read all the existing ones in Luofu.

He'd seen plenty of little tricks girls played when they liked someone, finding excuses to sit closer, deliberately asking the other to pick food, those sneaky indirect "indirect kiss" kinds of games…

But once you tied that to his master… he really couldn't accept it. 'Way too out of character!'

Or maybe his master just genuinely wanted to try spicy hotpot?

This friend of his seemed to have the words "gentlemanly manners" carved into his bones.

Perhaps even Zero himself hadn't realized, when he saw women and children, he'd subconsciously look after them, like they were members in his family.

For example, after receiving a drink he'd help open it, after hotpot cooked he'd help scoop it into the communal plate, and so on.

A master who had known Zero long would surely be aware of this.

As for his reaction to hearing "companions despite the age gap", that only further convinced Jing Yuan of the outrageous truth he had deduced.

His master, after slaying a fallen Mara-struck, once told Jing Yuan that even if she herself became Mara-struck, there must never be mercy.

His master deeply understood the cruel end awaiting long-life species after gaining endless years.

She could casually mention her own death, even death didn't faze her, so why would she get upset over Yingxing's little phrase "companions despite the age gap"?

In a flash, Jing Yuan understood everything.

But he didn't want to understand. If Zero and his master really got together, how were they supposed to calculate seniority between them?

Before he could break free of his thoughts, a tremendous force dragged him forward.

Jing Yuan looked up to see Dan Feng had already used his Vidyadhara secret art of Coiling Leap, dragging the three of them away singlehandedly.

The Dragonlord's battle technique was used with extraordinary skill, speed ten times faster than Baiheng's star skiff.

Fortunately, Luofu hadn't yet issued regulations against dragon-speeding.

Aside from the dragon himself piloting, Jing Yuan and Yingxing were about to vomit, and the completely wasted Baiheng was showing signs of waking.

Dan Feng's cleanliness obsession flared up on the spot, seeing their reactions, even the whole dragon felt unclean, like a star skiff out of fuel, he stopped immediately.

He spent more on scale maintenance each month than the three of them earned in a year of patrols, absolutely not worth it if they puked on him.

Yingxing, slapped for no reason, flew into rage, and instinctively blurted out a Xianzhou curse.

After recovering, Yingxing asked, "Wasn't Jingliu sober?"

Dan Feng felt like "all are drunk but me alone sober," shook his head with a knowing look, "You don't understand."

Yingxing, "…"

Jing Yuan was left speechless by Dan Feng's "you don't understand."

'Dan Feng, you didn't do that on purpose, did you!'

His brain spun fast, feelings complicated, "Dan Feng, Master will get angry."

"So what? Jingliu in this state isn't that easy to read."

Dan Feng laughed gloatingly, with a faint arrogance of the Dragonlord, "If no one pushes her, she won't budge. What, you scared?"

Jing Yuan quietly looked at him, then chuckled lightly, "How could I be? As her disciple, of course I should share Master's burdens."

A Dragonlord who had reincarnated countless times without needing romance, and a bodyguard not yet thirty, equally inexperienced in love but well-read in romance novels, decided together to wingman for their mutual friend Jingliu.

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