Chapter 39: This Tea Is Very Bitter
Jinzhou.
"Yangyang, Noah—finally got in touch with you!"
Chixia's energetic voice came through the terminal:
"Have you returned to Jinzhou? Great! This afternoon at three, there's a lion dance performance at the theater. Let's go watch it together!"
"Lion dance!"
Those two words instantly perked Noah up.
Wasn't this the final performance in the snow leopard's companion story?
To be honest, although this plot segment couldn't be skipped either, he really enjoyed watching the snow leopard's lion dance. Every time he reached this part, he would watch it seriously.
It was one of the rare moments of leisure during work.
"I've got to show my support for this!"
After chatting idly with Chixia for a bit, Noah ended the terminal call, said goodbye to Yangyang, and headed to City Hall.
As for the companion task "Wild Heart's Return," the main content had mostly happened yesterday, and it was no longer possible to do it now.
So Noah only planned to watch the lion dance in the afternoon and tip some extra Shell Credits as support for the performance.
City Hall.
Skillfully taking the elevator to the top floor, Sanhua was already waiting there for some time.
"We meet again, honored guest."
Sanhua performed a courtesy, her face as cool and detached as ever:
"I heard that yesterday you helped the people at the Rearguard Base clear the Tacet Discord wave on the front lines. The Magistrate is very grateful for your actions. Are you injured at all?"
"I'm perfectly fine—not a scratch." Noah smiled faintly, looking quite relaxed, then asked about what concerned him most:
"Why call me back from the front lines? Is there something important? Did you find Rover?"
Seeing Noah's expectant expression, Sanhua's gaze lowered slightly:
"It's better if the Magistrate explains it to you herself. Please follow me."
Why not just tell him directly whether they found Rover or not? Could it be that they already know Rover's identity is extraordinary?
Noah was puzzled, but he didn't ask.
Anyway, he was about to see Jinhsi—he'd know soon enough.
Thinking that he might see Rover soon, Noah couldn't help feeling a bit excited.
When a person is happy, they talk more.
"Sanhua, you should smile more in your daily life. Every second you smile extends your average lifespan by seven seconds."
"What is a smile? Like this?"
Sanhua looked puzzled, using two fingers of her right hand to pull her mouth open, forcing an extremely stiff smile.
"Forget it—never mind."
Noah tugged at the corner of his mouth, feeling much of his excitement diluted.
Following Sanhua's steps, Noah walked all the way to the door of the Grand Library, where a line of small task prompt text appeared:
[Main Story Task: "Blades Echoing in the Court" has been unlocked.]
[Task Description: The intent and direction of the three tokens are clear; the answer to all riddles... status error, task ended.]
[Main Story Task: "Blades Echoing in the Court" has been canceled.]
Noah's eyes widened instantly.
No way, bro!
The main character in this task, Scar, was long dead—I can understand canceling the task, but what about my rewards?
When a task is canceled, shouldn't there be compensation? Even 800 Astrite would be fine!
Will this affect my later main tasks and rewards?!
"What's wrong, honored guest? Your emotions seem to have changed dramatically all of a sudden."
Sanhua turned back, full of confusion:
"If you have any concerns, please be sure to tell us. As long as Jinzhou can do it, we will try our best to meet your needs."
"It's nothing..."
Noah was speechless, clenching his right fist and thumping his chest:
"Just... regretting now, very regretting."
He was now completely certain: to complete main tasks, the key plot points in the task must be triggered.
For example, in "Blades Echoing in the Court," the main content was Rover and Jinhsi setting a trap to lure out Fractsidus member Scar and imprison him.
But now neither Rover nor Scar was present, and Jinhsi hadn't set up the trap in advance—none of the key plot points in this task were triggered, leading to cancellation.
It hurts—too painful!
One main task is equivalent to a full 40 pulls—that's half a soft pity!
If he had known, he would have beaten Scar half to death first, imprisoned him, waited to trigger this main task, then finished him off.
Sanhua, unaware of Noah's rich inner world, continued to ask with concern:
"What exactly do you regret? Tell us—we might be able to help."
Noah waved his hand in sorrow:
"No, you wouldn't understand!"
Sanhua tugged at the corner of her mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
Of course she wouldn't understand—if Noah didn't say it, how could she? She wasn't a mind reader in Noah's stomach.
Soon after, the two passed through a hidden passage in the hall, placing five Sonoro Spheres on the corresponding palace tone platforms, entering the database via the suspended pathway.
"Honored guest, you... seem very familiar with our Grand Library?"
Sanhua asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Do I?" Noah was stunned for a moment.
Clearly, Sanhua had personally placed all five Sonoro Spheres on the palace tone platforms—he had just watched from the side without operating anything. Why would Sanhua suddenly ask this?
"I can observe your frequency—from the beginning until now, there hasn't been the slightest fluctuation of surprise or astonishment."
Sanhua explained: "But normally, anyone entering here for the first time would find it hard to remain as calm as you."
If you had to do this long and tedious puzzle every day, and if you accidentally disconnected you'd have to start over, you'd be as unflappable as me about this scene too.
Noah inwardly grumbled, but on the surface he nodded slightly, brushing it off casually:
"Is that so? Then I'm pretty impressive."
He knew Sanhua was naturally blind, her eyes only able to see frequencies, so he didn't bother making up a specific excuse to lie to her—brushing it off was best if possible.
Indeed, Sanhua didn't probe further, simply attributing it to Noah having a more unique personality than ordinary people.
After all, he was a hero—being a bit special was normal.
After a few turns, the two entered a neatly organized reception room.
"Please sit. I'll go invite the Magistrate."
Sanhua curtsied slightly and left the room. Noah sat down accordingly, picked up the teapot on the table emitting wisps of steam, and poured himself a cup of hot tea.
Very bitter—not good. What kind of crappy tea is this?
Sticking out his tongue stung by the hot water, Noah grimaced and set down the cup.
Outside the door came the crisp, rhythmic "tap tap" of high heels approaching from afar. A graceful figure, elegant as moonlight, pushed open the door and entered.
Today's Jinhsi had changed into different attire, wrapping her body tightly, exposing only her smooth, snow-white neck.
Compared to their first meeting—when the girl's body was covered in dragon scales with cracks nearly tearing her apart—now she had a bit more color, looking more spirited.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Noah."
Jinhsi sat down gracefully, her posture dignified and elegant, nodding to him in greeting:
"I specially invited you here because there's a very important matter I want to tell you."
"Is it that you've found Rover?"
Noah raised his brows slightly, eagerly pouring Jinhsi a cup of hot tea:
"Where is Rover?"
"Sorry, you've misunderstood. I mobilized a city-wide search, even notifying the various legions on the front lines, but we still haven't found Rover yet."
Jinhsi sighed faintly, holding the cup with both hands, somewhat lost in thought. The silk scarf wrapped around her arms slipped off.
This sudden change made the girl tremble slightly, then she calmly rewrapped the scarf around her arms without a word.
Even in that brief moment, it was enough for Noah to clearly see that her arms were still covered in large patches of dragon scales, with no sign of fading.
Jinhsi held the teacup in her hands, asking Noah with an inexplicable tone:
"Noah, what do you think of this tea?"
"This tea... um, the liquor is yellow-green and clear, the leaves tender green and vibrant, the aroma elegant like orchid, the taste full and pure, with a sweet aftertaste and rich charm."
Jinhsi set down the teacup and gently shook her head:
"No, this tea is very bitter."