Early the next morning, Wende led the group to the location where Green Hibiscus and Stelle had agreed to meet, lying in wait stealthily.
"Augh, Xianzhou breakfast is, truly, something else!"
March 7th struggled to swallow the unidentifiable skewer in her hand. It was sweet and sour, but having this for breakfast… wouldn't it just make you hungrier?
"Er… that's because this isn't breakfast at all," Wende replied helplessly, chewing on a piece of cake. "This was the only shop open in all of Changle, so I just bought whatever they had to make do. We got up far too early; I didn't have any time to prepare a proper breakfast."
"Mmm… looks like we've all been spoiled by Wende," Welt remarked with a sigh. Ever since they started eating Wende's cooking, the entire crew's palate had clearly been elevated by a whole level.
"Ew! How can you be drinking that stuff again?"
March 7th scooted away from Stelle with a look of disgust, as if avoiding the plague itself.
Gulp, gulp, gulp… Buuurp~
Letting out a sour, stinky burp, Stelle wiped the corner of her mouth, which was stained with douzhi'er. She stared thoughtfully at the can of Soda Douzhi'er in her hand. It tasted fine to her.
"Well… it seems not everyone's palate has been elevated…"
Welt silently distanced himself from the still-burping Stelle, thinking to himself.
"So, why are we up at the crack of dawn, anyway? Is that Green Hibiscus guy going to show up early?"
After forcing down the last of her skewer, March sat down on a nearby bench, pulled out the novel from yesterday, and looked up at Welt.
"For the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus to cause the Xianzhou so much trouble, there must be a reason. We should take this seriously. Perhaps that organization is only pretending to be foolish on the surface," Welt said with stern caution. How could an organization full of incompetent buffoons possibly maneuver and survive on the vast Xianzhou for thousands of years?
"Wow… as expected of Uncle Yang, a true master strategist!" March said, looking at Welt with reverence.
"Er… I don't really think I'm that old." Welt subconsciously touched the white streak in his hair, still trying to put up a little resistance.
"Uncle Yang… I actually know a few prescriptions that can restore hair color, I don't know if you're interested…" Wende teased.
"Hmm…"
Welt stroked his chin, pondering it carefully, but ultimately rejected Wende's kind offer. He felt his current image was quite good, and besides… he really didn't feel that old!
"Look, someone's coming!"
Stelle, who had been observing the meeting spot the entire time, suddenly spoke up. A figure wearing a black face mask looked around furtively. After confirming no one was nearby, he tiptoed over and hid a letter under a potted bonsai plant. He then quickly looked around again, and after making sure his actions hadn't been noticed, he scurried away with quick, mincing steps.
"…" x4
"Er… that must have been Green Hibiscus, right?" March asked, watching the masked man retreat into the distance.
"Yep, that was him." Stelle nodded with certainty.
"Hmm… I believe my earlier assessment may have contained some inaccuracies." Welt clutched his forehead, a headache coming on. It seemed he was still too "young" for this.
"It's alright, Uncle Yang. Who could have possibly predicted this would happen?" Wende consoled him in a low voice, though the corners of his mouth were twitching uncontrollably upwards.
"Uhh… so, are the people from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus actually brain-dead?"
Sister Guoguo watched the retreating back of the masked Green Hibiscus, pondered for a moment, and then reached her conclusion.
[LMAO, that's Green Hibiscus for you. Even with a mask on, he still has to wear that glowing green outfit.]
[Plugging your ears while stealing a bell, are we?]
[When you think just putting on a mask makes you unrecognizable.jpg]
[Too bad you're not the protagonist, or else it might have actually worked (lol)]
[I suspect you're throwing shade at a certain other game, but I have no proof.]
[The daily life of the fifth sister backstabbing the fourth sister.]
"Wait, don't go yet. Someone might still be watching," Wende said, holding back Stelle, who was about to go retrieve the letter.
"Mm."
Stelle nodded and sat down obediently next to March, picking up one of her books and starting to read quietly.
"Hm? Stelle, since when did you get into reading?" Wende looked quizzically at Stelle sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with March. Seeing her so engrossed gave Wende a bad feeling.
"Ah? Oh! March said I should read more when I have free time, so she gave me these books."
Like a good child, Stelle promptly snitched on March, who had tempted her.
"Huh?! Stelle, how could you! Didn't we agree not to tell Wende!" March stared at Stelle in shock for breaking their pact. They were supposed to read in secret and never let Wende find out!
"Sorry…" Stelle shook her head guiltily, then, with a righteous expression, handed the book she was holding to Wende.
"Er… The Xianzhou Chronicles?" Wende looked at Stelle, a bit embarrassed. Actually, there was nothing wrong with reading a book like this.
"No, I think reading more is a very good thing. You two carry on."
He handed the book back to Stelle and nodded at them in approval, then turned back to continue observing their surroundings.
Seeing Wende's gaze move away, Stelle winked at March.
Stelle: Plan: successful.jpg
March: As expected of you!
After a while, Wende confirmed there were no hidden lookouts from the Disciples nearby. Welt also walked past the flower bed several times to ensure there was no danger before calling over a blushing Stelle to pick up the envelope.
The envelope was addressed to "Gray Peony." The contents roughly stated that there was a traitor within the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and they needed Stelle to intercept a letter sent by that traitor. If she succeeded, the eccentric Green Hibiscus would introduce her to the person in charge of the Disciples' Changle region, allowing her to obtain true "power."
"Uh… how should I put this? Are they supposed to be cautious… or just reckless?"
Looking at the letter, which screamed Green Hibiscus's intent to use Stelle as a tool, March suddenly felt she couldn't figure out the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus at all.