"Sigh~ You have no idea, I was playing tiles yesterday when suddenly, the Master Diviner's voice rang out behind me. It scared me half to death."
After all, Qingque going to the parlor to play Celestial Jade couldn't be called slacking off anymore; it was blatant skipping work. It was normal for Fu Xuan to be angry.
"Luckily, she has a kind heart. After scolding me a bit, the matter was dropped. She just entrusted me to go to Exalting Sanctum Plaza to receive the Astral Express crew and bring them to the Divination Commission."
The arrival of the Astral Express on the Xianzhou Luofu and the capture of Kafka were already common knowledge.
"Then why don't you guess... what was the original name of the interstellar tour group I went with?"
Qingque was stunned for a moment, then immediately guessed the truth:
"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 understood instantly. Was he so lazy that he didn't even want to move to meet up with his companions at Exalting Sanctum?
...
Adrian followed Qingque all the way to Exalting Sanctum Plaza, where he saw the Astral Express crew waiting early.
Hmm, Phantylia didn't show up... It seems Blake left a deep impression on her yesterday. With Qingque leading the way, Phantylia as a guide became dispensable.
"Really, Teacher Adrian, you're too slow!" March 7th put her hands on her hips. It didn't take long to get from Starskiff Haven Central to Exalting Sanctum, not to mention Adrian had that [Door of Myriad Paths] to go anywhere anytime.
"It seems even an Emanator can fall to the demon named [Sloth]."
Dan Heng noticed Qingque beside him: "This is..."
"Wow... the honored guests arrived so quickly. I thought I could play a round of [Celestial Jade] before they arrived." Qingque was shocked by their efficiency; such people were best suited to work at the Divination Commission.
Qingque put on a smiling face and went up to greet Stelle and the others: "Hello! Seeing the noble air on your faces, I knew you must be the honored guests of the Divination Commission!"
Dan Heng nodded. It seems she is the disciple assigned by Fu Xuan. But... why did she come with Adrian?
When Dan Heng saw the milk tea in Qingque's hand, the suspicion that had just arisen collapsed on its own. Everything made sense now.
"Don't misunderstand, this is one of the few customers of my small shop." Adrian pointed to the milk tea Qingque was holding. According to his statistics, this girl Qingque bought milk tea the most often, while Yanqing hadn't bought it even once.
"Actually, Madam Yukong also came once before you returned and bought more than ten cups of milk tea," Qingque reminded him.
"Eh? That Helm Master actually likes drinking milk tea?" March 7th felt she had heard some incredible news.
Stelle crossed her arms, feigning dissatisfaction: "Do you know how long we've been waiting? Miss, you don't want the Master Diviner to know you were late, do you?"
"Sorry, sorry. Actually, I originally wanted to get here earlier to wait for you... maybe play a round of Celestial Jade if I had time. My luck is best in the morning; I win almost every hand."
"Why did we suddenly start talking about tiles?"
"Aiya~ That's what I wanted to say! Since I made the honored guests wait for so long, Qingque feels really apologetic. Why don't I take you on a tour of [Exalting Sanctum] during this free time, and experience the Xianzhou folk quintessence—Celestial Jade tiles?"
Welt was interested. "We didn't wait too long, but seeing how focused you are, Miss, I'm somewhat curious about this Celestial Jade."
"Hiya, sir speaks so patiently and considerately, and has great taste! If you're interested, shall I teach you this Celestial Jade? It's very fun."
"Mr. Yang, now is the time for serious business!" March 7th reminded him.
"Rare, for Mr. Yang to be reminded by March."
"Hey, I don't like hearing that. Does it have to be Mr. 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 soaring into the clouds in the distance, which successfully piqued her interest.
"Hey, look, is that...?"
"That is the ancient tree named [Ambrosial Arbor], a treasure the [Luofu] Xianzhou was once proud of," Adrian introduced to everyone.
"Oho... Mr. Adrian is so knowledgeable about history? Impressive. It is said that this Ambrosial Arbor is a remnant left from when the ancient Xianzhou roamed beyond the sky."
Qingque was quite surprised, but thinking that Adrian wasn't someone from the new era, and having run a milk tea shop for so long, he must know a lot, so everything seemed reasonable.
"Don't look at it as just half a withered tree from afar. According to the records in Odes of Harmony, its volume in its prime [grasped the dome of heaven and hung the stars]."
"What does that mean...?"
"It means the height of this tree could reach the sky, and stars could hang from its branches."
"How big must that be? As big as the Express? No, as big as the Herta Space Station! Still not right." March 7th covered her mouth in amazement: "Hanging stars... the entire Xianzhou probably couldn't contain it!"
Stelle got literal: "Any tree inside a spaceship fits that description, right?"
"Aiya, it's a figure of speech! A figure of speech! Don't nitpick reality in stories! Anyway, it's all just legends. I see this scenery every day on my way to and from work; I'm tired of looking at it."
Qingque once again cast an envious look at Adrian. Professional freedom is so nice. It further solidified her idea of opening a tile parlor after retirement.
"Let's go."
...
Taking a starskiff, they arrived smoothly at the Divination Commission. Qingque didn't forget to remind them of a few precautions:
"Just a heads-up, don't run around once we get inside. Although you are the Master Diviner's guests, she hates people who don't follow rules and ask too many questions... Don't get on her bad side."
Recalling the scene of being caught playing tiles yesterday, that ghost-like figure appearing behind her... who wouldn't be scared?
"We are just observing an interrogation and will leave once it's over."
Qingque walked to the closed main gate. Seeing it remain shut, she couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Strange?"
March 7th was used to this situation. Back on Jarilo-VI, they encountered a similar situation when going to the Robot Settlement.
"Let me guess, did the door suddenly break?"
"I don't get it, the main gate is locked. It was never locked before... and no one reminded me to bring the key..." Qingque shouted unwillingly towards the inside of the gate:
"Hey hey, no matter how bad the cafeteria food is, you can't shut the guests out!"
Due to this action, March 7th couldn't help but suspect the authenticity of Qingque's identity: "Uh... are you really from the Divination Commission?"
"Genuine and authentic, Miss March. If you don't believe me, ask Mr. Adrian." Qingque brought in Adrian as a witness. "It makes no sense... I've already been demoted to the archives, and she lectured me yesterday. What more does she want?"
"Sigh~ I'll just hand in a self-reflection to her tomorrow. Don't panic! The Divination Commission has more than this one gate. I know a place for emergency entry and exit."