Noldrei was led to a rather remote, small courtyard.
To be honest, the place was no better than where he was currently staying. The main difference was that his own place was much larger, big enough to fit a massive locomotive like the Thousand-Realm Express.
And there, he ran into Fu Xuan again.
"Here, your drink. I specifically asked them to add extra sugar for you."
Fu Xuan handed him the Star-Taro Boba.
Noldrei looked at her in surprise and said, "I thought you'd left?"
He looked at the group, rather speechless. Considering their state, Noldrei was beginning to have serious doubts about the intelligence of the Xianzhou people.
From his past experience, these kinds of behind-the-scenes operations usually had leadership secretly involved. Without backing from the higher-ups, not many people would be willing to risk their lives to promote things like longevity or faith in Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance.
Just seeing how brazenly these people acted in Changle Tian, Noldrei was already convinced that a Xianzhou leader was definitely involved.
Fu Xuan stared at him speechlessly and retorted, "How could I leave? Just abandon you here alone?"
Noldrei ignored her and turned to the people who had brought him over. "Didn't you do any research? She's from the Divination Commission. Aren't you just asking for trouble by dragging her here?"
Green Hibiscus jumped in fright, looking at the person who had brought Fu Xuan. "Why did you bring her here?"
The woman replied helplessly, "Didn't you say they looked like outlanders? I figured if they were friends, we should bring them both over. Isn't this how we've always done it?"
Green Hibiscus said, exasperated, "But you can't just drag someone from the Divination Commission here!"
The short-haired woman defended herself, "She didn't say she was from the Divination Commission when I brought her over."
Fu Xuan, seeing the Cloud Knights standing behind the two, was rendered even more speechless by the situation.
All she did was change her hairstyle and put on a more conservative outfit. How could these people act like they'd never seen her before? Do you people not remember faces, only hairstyles and clothes?
Green Hibiscus was in a real bind. He said anxiously, "Won't she be able to divine the identities of everyone in our organization?! What happens when we're exposed? We can't just kill her here, can we?"
Fu Xuan had no choice but to step forward and explain. "Um, divination doesn't work that way. If we could calculate things with that much precision, the Xianzhou wouldn't suffer so many casualties whenever there's a crisis. You really shouldn't demonize the Divination Commission!"
"You shut up! We didn't want to invite you!" Green Hibiscus snapped at the Master Diviner before turning back to Noldrei. "Xuan Fu, you didn't tell me your friend was from the Divination Commission! Didn't you just say you were strolling around with a close friend?"
Noldrei nodded. "That's right. What outlander wanders around alone? Of course you need to find a Xianzhou friend to show you the way. Besides, I don't lack money or a wife, and even if I get sick, with some rest, I can live to a normal age, maybe a hundred or two hundred years. You can see from my youthful appearance that I'm not at the stage where I'm worried about longevity."
"I was just operating on the principle of taking any small advantage I can get, so I came along to check it out."
Green Hibiscus nearly coughed up blood from anger. He never expected this person's thinking to be even more Xianzhou-like than an actual Xianzhou native.
"So what are you going to do now? Personally, I'm still very interested in joining you. If you're not willing, we can just pretend nothing happened tonight."
Noldrei's kind advice didn't seem to have any effect.
Green Hibiscus, perhaps under pressure to meet a quota, didn't seem to care about the identity of the newcomer. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Do you have a way to make your good friend keep today's events a secret?"
Noldrei pondered for a moment. "How about… we have her join with me? Look, since we're already here, we might as well join together. I've got it! Take out your phone, start recording, and film us both shouting 'The Hunt is a stupid f*cker!' three times. What do you think?"
"Holy crap, that'll work?!"
Green Hibiscus felt his scalp tingle, terrified that when the Hunt came to shoot this guy dead, he'd be caught in the crossfire.
"Just tell me if it'll work or not. If not, we're leaving!" Noldrei said with an impatient look, as if he wasn't the one seeking longevity, but rather that these people were forcing it on him.
Fu Xuan's expression changed several times. She didn't know if she should join Noldrei in his insane shouting.
As someone on the Path of Preservation, she wondered if her own Aeon would be able to protect her if she just randomly shouted something like that.
"Fine! I'll record, you two shout! If you dare betray us, I'll send this video to the entire Xianzhou!" Green Hibiscus went along with it. After all, he already called the Hunt "that demonic bow" behind its back.
'You've really screwed me over!'
Fu Xuan bit down hard on her straw and drained her Star-Taro Boba in one go.
Right now, she wanted nothing more than to march over to Noldrei and bite a few chunks of flesh off him.
If the people of the Xianzhou ever found out that the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission was shouting "The Hunt is a stupid f*cker" with an outlander, how could she ever show her face on the Xianzhou again?!
Noldrei quietly set aside the Star-Taro Boba he had taken a sip of. If it hadn't been for the lack of poison, he would have suspected Fu Xuan of trying to deliberately poison him with some evil concoction.
Noldrei stopped Green Hibiscus's action and proposed, "Wait! Let me film her. I'll make sure to get a crystal-clear shot, and then we can give every brother a copy!"
Green Hibiscus looked at Noldrei in shock and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good brother! Sacrificing your own friend for the cause of longevity! A person like you is a natural-born villain! I'm almost afraid to let you join our organization! I'm terrified you'll backstab me one day!"
Noldrei waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I've already deeply researched the Abundance—no, I mean, Yaoshi—for a long time. Yaoshi is so merciful. No matter how evil I am, as long as I kowtow obediently and repent, Yaoshi will mercifully grant me a boon! So what does it matter if I'm evil now?"
Green Hibiscus opened his phone's video function and solemnly handed it to Noldrei. "Alright, this job is yours!"
Noldrei raised the phone, aimed it at Fu Xuan, and said, "Come on, say it! Three times: 'The Hunt is a stupid f*cker!'"
Fu Xuan glared at Noldrei, her teeth clenched. She pointed at him and said, "You just wait until I get my chance. You just wait!"
But she still obediently shouted the words.
Master Diviner Fu had probably never foreseen that she would have a day like this. If she had the chance to do another divination, she would never, ever have gotten involved with Noldrei, even if it killed her.
Noldrei, on the other hand, was much more straightforward, not caring in the slightest if the Hunt heard his words.
His shouts were much louder than Fu Xuan's, so loud that they scared brother Green Hibiscus so badly he almost jumped the wall to escape.