"Sigh~ You have no idea. Yesterday I was in the middle of a jade game when Madam Diviner's voice suddenly rang out behind me. Scared the daylights out of me."
After all, Qingque going to the house to play Celestial Jade couldn't even be called slacking—it was outright skipping work. It was normal for Fu Xuan to be upset.
"Thankfully, she's kind-hearted. She scolded me a bit and let it go, but tasked me with going to Exalting Sanctum to receive the Astral Express crew and then escort them to the Divination Commission."
The Astral Express arriving at the Xianzhou Luofu and capturing Kafka was already common knowledge.
"Then why don't you guess what my interstellar tour group… was originally called?"
Qingque froze, then instantly pieced it together:
"Mr. Adrian, so the interstellar tour group you mentioned is the Astral Express… In that case, aren't the honored guests right in front of me?"
Seeing Adrian's lazy expression, Qingque immediately understood. He was too lazy to even go to Changle Tian to meet up with his companions?
…
Adrian followed Qingque all the way to Exalting Sanctum, where he spotted the Astral Express crew waiting early.
Hm, Phantylia wasn't present… Looks like Blake had left a deep impression on her yesterday. With Qingque guiding the way, Phantylia as a guide was now dispensable.
"Seriously, Teacher Adrian, you're way too slow!" March 7th put her hands on her hips. From the Stargazer Navalia hub to Changle Tian, it didn't take long at all—especially since Adrian had that [Gate of All Realms], letting him go anywhere anytime.
"It seems even an Emanator can fall to the demon called [Laziness]."
Dan Heng noticed Qingque beside him. "This is…"
"Wow… Honored guests, you arrived so quickly. I thought I could squeeze in a round of [Celestial Jade] before you got here." Qingque was shocked by their efficiency. These were the kind of people perfect for Divination Commission work.
Qingque put on a smiling face and greeted Stelle and the others. "Hello there! One look at your noble auras, and I knew you must be the Divination Commission's honored guests!"
Dan Heng nodded. So she was the attendant Fu Xuan assigned. But… why was she with Adrian?
When Dan Heng saw the milk tea in Qingque's hand, his budding suspicion vanished. It all made sense.
"Don't misunderstand. She's one of the shop's few regular customers." Adrian pointed to Qingque's milk tea. According to his stats, Qingque bought milk tea the most often. Yanqing hadn't bought a single one.
"Actually, Lord Yukong visited once before you returned and bought over a dozen cups," Qingque reminded.
"Huh? That helmsman likes milk tea?" March 7th felt like she'd heard something incredible.
Stelle crossed her arms, putting on a dissatisfied look. "Do you know how long we've been waiting? Miss, you wouldn't want the Diviner to know you were late, right?"
"Sorry, sorry. I actually planned to arrive earlier and wait for you… But if I had time, a quick round of Celestial Jade—mornings are when my luck's best. I win almost every hand."
"How did we suddenly start talking about jades?"
"Oh~ That's exactly what I'm getting to! I feel bad for keeping you honored guests waiting so long. How about I take you on a tour of [Changle Tian] during this downtime and let you experience Xianzhou folk culture—Celestial Jade?"
Walter grew interested. "It won't take too long, but seeing how enthusiastic you are, I'm a bit curious about this Celestial Jade."
"Hey, you speak so patiently and thoughtfully—and with great taste! Interested? I can teach you Celestial Jade. It's super fun."
"Uncle Yang, this is time for serious business!" March 7th reminded.
"Rare to see Uncle Yang needing a reminder from March."
"Hey, I don't like hearing that. Does it have to be Uncle Yang reminding me?"
Stelle and Dan Heng nodded in sync, making March 7th stumble.
On the way to the Divination Commission, March 7th noticed the withered tree in the distance piercing the clouds, successfully piquing her interest.
"Hey, look over there. What is that…?"
"That's an ancient tree called [Jianmu], a treasure the [Luofu] Xianzhou once prided itself on." Adrian introduced it to the group.
"Whoa… Mr. Adrian knows so much about history? Impressive. Legend says this Jianmu is a remnant from when ancient Xianzhou sailed beyond the heavens."
Qingque was surprised, but remembering Adrian wasn't from the new era and had run his milk tea shop for so long, it made sense he knew a lot.
"Don't let its half-withered appearance from afar fool you. According to the Dream Records of the Upper Realm, in its prime, it [climbed the vault of heaven, dangling the stars]."
"What does that mean…?"
"It means the tree was tall enough to reach the sky, with branches that could hang stars from them."
"How big is that? As big as the Express? No, as big as the Herta Space Station! Wait, no." March 7th covered her mouth in awe. "Dangling stars… that wouldn't even fit on the whole Xianzhou!"
Stelle got serious. "Any tree in a spaceship would fit that description, right?"
"Hey, it's rhetoric! Rhetoric! Don't nitpick literal words in a story! It's all legend anyway. I pass this view every day commuting to and from work—I'm sick of looking at it."
Qingque cast another envious glance at Adrian. Occupational freedom was the best. It strengthened her resolve to retire and open a jade house someday.
"Let's go."
…
Riding the starskiff, they arrived smoothly at the Divination Commission. Qingque didn't forget to remind them of a few precautions:
"Just a heads-up for everyone. Once inside, don't wander around. You're the Diviner's guests, but she hates people who don't follow rules and ask questions left and right… Absolutely don't get on her bad side."
Recalling yesterday's scene of being caught playing jades—that ghostly figure appearing behind her—who wouldn't be scared?
"We're just auditing an interrogation. We'll leave once it's over."
Qingque approached the sealed gate. Seeing it remain closed, she grew puzzled.
"That's weird?"
March 7th was used to this. Back on Jarilo-VI, they'd encountered something similar at the robot settlement.
"Let me guess—is the door suddenly broken?"
"No idea. The gate's locked. It's never been locked before… And no one told me to bring a key…" Qingque reluctantly shouted toward the door:
"Hey hey, no matter how bad the cafeteria food is, you can't serve guests a locked door!"
This action made March 7th doubt Qingque's authenticity. "Uh… are you really from the Divination Commission?"
"Genuine and authentic, Miss March. Ask Mr. Adrian if you don't believe me." Qingque brought in Adrian as a witness. "No reason for this… I've already been demoted to the archives. She scolded and educated me yesterday. What more does she want?"
"Sigh~ I'll submit a self-criticism to her tomorrow. No need to panic! The Divination Commission has more than one door. I know a spot for emergency entry and exit."