Ever since becoming a Disciple, Green Hibiscus had never experienced anything this thrilling.
He suspected he might have targeted the wrong person. Yet, no matter how he looked at him, Noldrei didn't seem like a follower of the Demonic Bow. On the contrary, the girl from the Divination Commission seemed more like a proper Xianzhou native.
This felt like making a citizen of the Divine Foresight shout, "The Yellow Emperor is a stupid f*cker!"
One could only imagine how much the girl from the Divination Commission must hate Noldrei now. Not only was she backstabbed by her own good friend, but the whole thing was even recorded?
'What a pity. Why did she befriend such a bastard who would do anything for longevity? She's a poor judge of character!'
Green Hibiscus sighed inwardly, a rare feeling of sympathy blooming in his chest for this follower of the Demonic Bow.
He watched the two finish their task, then glanced at the recording on his phone.
"Alright, now you just need to stay here and copy The Thousand-Handed Merciful Yaoshi's Sutra of World Salvation five hundred times! As long as you pass our test, you'll have a chance to join our organization and obtain the secret art of longevity."
Fu Xuan stood to the side, seething in silent anger.
But Noldrei completely ignored Green Hibiscus. He calmly pulled out a large string of Strale from his pocket.
Strale, a currency that had long since been digitized, now appeared in Noldrei's hands—and a whole string of them at that. They were antique coins with high collection value.
"These Strale are for you. Take our brothers and sisters in the organization out to have some fun."
Green Hibiscus had never met such a big spender before. He was completely dumbfounded.
"Where did you get those?!" Fu Xuan didn't remember Noldrei having any of these.
"I had Elysia and the others exchange for some before I set out. See? They've come in handy, haven't they?" Noldrei said as he stuffed the Strale into Green Hibiscus's hands with utmost sincerity. "Our brothers have been working so hard recruiting people outside. They shouldn't have to stand here watching us copy The Thousand-Handed Merciful Yaoshi's Sutra of World Salvation. When you get back, I'll faithfully present you with five hundred—oh, no, one thousand copies."
"How could I possibly accept this!" Green Hibiscus clutched the Strale tightly, his expression righteous. "We are true believers of Yaoshi! How could we engage in such private dealings! Take it back! Take it back!"
He then stuffed the coins into his own robes while putting on a show. "I see we haven't prepared enough paper and pens. We'll go back and get some for you right now. You just wait here! I'll be right back!"
With that, Green Hibiscus left with the people behind him. Even the Cloud Knights who had been tailing them left as well.
"…"
Fu Xuan stared at the now-empty courtyard with a look of utter absurdity. She then glanced at the large pile of paper and pens stacked in the corner.
"That actually worked?!"
'How have we been chasing the tail of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus for so long without catching them?'
Fu Xuan was even beginning to doubt the competence of the Cloud Knights.
"Alright, let's not worry about them for now. I'll handle the copying. First, tell me, why did you follow me here?"
Suddenly, numerous hands sprouted from behind Noldrei's back. They grabbed the paper and pens from the side and began copying at a furious pace.
Fu Xuan watched as the guy grew a multitude of arms, as if he were possessed by Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance. She rubbed her eyes in shock, wondering if she was seeing things.
'What is this? Could this guy be a true Abundance abomination?'
An Abundance abomination was different from someone on the Path of Abundance. The term specifically referred to those who had received Yaoshi's "blessing"—bastards who committed countless evil deeds across the universe and were considered enemies to be hunted down by all.
"Don't just stare at me. You still haven't explained why you followed me!"
Noldrei didn't think his appearance was strange at all. He was already getting impatient to uncover the secrets behind this "Akatsuki-like" organization of Yaoshi.
"You… wasn't it you who told them I was your 'close friend'?"
Fu Xuan's hatred deepened just thinking about it. The guy had even deliberately chosen the Xianzhou name "Xuan Fu" to spite her.
"How is that possible? That guy was deliberately asking me about you, and whether I had any family or friends. I even advised him to take his little operation and leave the Xianzhou, but he wouldn't listen. I suspect that either the people here can't leave, the things they use can't leave, or the business they're conducting can't leave. It's nothing more than trouble related to people, objects, or events."
"And there's definitely a relevant Xianzhou leader involved in this. Isn't it only natural that I'd call you over to take a look? That way you won't think I'm up to no good again."
Noldrei's explanation was quite thorough. His goal wasn't just to show Fu Xuan this "Akatsuki," but to prove to her that he wasn't doing anything malicious.
Fu Xuan took a deep breath. "But you seemed quite skilled at handing him those Strale just now, didn't you?"
Noldrei sighed. "When you see it enough, you learn. After all, it's the essence of civilization. One must learn it!"
"What a… disgusting essence of civilization!" Fu Xuan never thought Noldrei would say something like that.
"Done copying!" Noldrei's tentacles put down the pens. A thousand copies of the sutra lay in a neat pile.
"So fast!"
Fu Xuan hadn't even seen how he copied them; she only saw a pile of pens, their ink completely spent, accumulated on the table.
Noldrei seemed to remember something and asked, "Does your head still hurt?"
"Huh?" Fu Xuan didn't react for a moment.
"I mean, does your forehead still hurt? I noticed you got a headache after I dissed you a little. Have you recovered?"
His question caught her completely off guard.
Fu Xuan said hesitantly, "It's fine. It's always in pain. It just hurts more when I use it for divination. I've long since gotten used to it."
Noldrei sighed. "Doesn't that mean that if I were to just flame you nonstop in a battle, like I did before, you'd lose half of your combat effectiveness?"
Fu Xuan said angrily, "Who would be as classless as you?!"
Noldrei looked at her, very surprised. "We're preparing to kill each other in battle, who cares about classless methods? You think this is some duel between masters in a novel? Of course, the highest priority is to cripple your combat effectiveness in any way possible. Ideally, you'd want to make the leader using that Matrix of Prescience keel over right away."
Fu Xuan had never really considered such a problem. Just a moment ago, she had been filmed verbally attacking the Divine Archer.
If that got out, wouldn't she be kicked out of the Divination Commission?
How could she lead the Divination Commission in the future?
'I must have been blind. How could I have agreed to this?'
Fu Xuan felt that she should have just gone on a killing spree against these bastards from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus