Lumine was in the middle of a happy conversation when she suddenly felt an inexplicable chill, causing her to shudder involuntarily.
The sensation vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.
"Strange... why did it suddenly feel so cold?" Lumine muttered to herself. "Did I catch a cold? Wait, that shouldn't be possible for me, right?"
Su Ming glanced at her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just felt a random chill... Hiss! There it is again! Waitand it's gone?"
Su Ming stared at her, unimpressed. "You're not just messing with me, are you?"
Lumine puffed out her cheeks in protest. "I am not! I really felt a chill flickering in and out, okay?!"
...
Shenhe silently withdrew her slightly murderous gaze. Ignoring her master's playful eyes, she gradually regained her composure.
She suddenly felt that she was being a bit rude.
Solely from the perspective of friendship, Lumine was on good terms with her and took quite good care of her. Had she gone a bit too far just now?
"Hmm... perhaps the Red Ropes have loosened?"
Shenhe checked the Red Ropes used to suppress her homicidal nature and calm her spirit. As expected... they hadn't moved an inch.
"Huh?"
"How strange..."
For a moment, Shenhe couldn't quite grasp the changes occurring within her.
Perhaps...
Shenhe stole a glance at Cloud Retainer, who was currently watching the drama with great interest.
"Why are you looking at this immortal?" Cloud Retainer asked. "Aren't you going to look at your little junior brother instead?"
"Master, please don't tease me. I... I want to ask you some questions."
Cloud Retainer put down her chopsticks and spoke with a faint smile. "There are some things you needn't ask me; you already have the answer in your heart."
"There are some answers your master cannot give you. You must find them yourself."
Having seen right through her disciple's thoughts, Cloud Retainer said no more, simply looking at Shenhe in silence.
After a long pause, Shenhe finally nodded. "I understand, Master."
...
The night passed without further incident.
After finishing dinner, everyone returned to their respective rooms to rest.
Lumine and Paimon were the first to leave. Putting aside the fact that the two unlucky souls had been busy all day, they had more hard labor waiting for them in the mountains tomorrow, so they naturally went to bed early.
Cloud Retainer was the same. Although she didn't actually need sleep, she went back to organize the insights she had gained from tinkering with mechanisms all day.
A true master always carries the heart of an apprentice.jpg
Shenhe and Su Ming were the last ones left.
Originally, Su Ming intended to head back to rest a step ahead of Shenhe, but she called out to him before he could reach his room. She claimed she had something to say to him, only to end up running away herself.
This left Su Ming standing alone in the courtyard, shivering in the cold night wind.
Fortunately, the rest of the night was exceptionally quiet.
The next morning, with the exception of the habitually shut-in Cloud Retainer, everyone else headed out to handle their own business.
Lumine and Paimon went to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to rendezvous with Zhongli before heading off to perform manual labor. Shenhe went with them as well. However, while Lumine and Paimon were going as temporary workers, Shenhe went as a client.
Su Ming, on the other hand, carried the specially made, incredibly useful Automatic Fishing Rod provided by Cloud Retainer, preparing to head to the docks.
The only reason Su Ming was so free was that Shenhe, surprisingly, hadn't asked him to accompany her. Su Ming had originally assumed she would drag him along today, but she unexpectedly let him be.
Su Ming was more than happy to enjoy the leisure. While he missed the company of the eye-catching beauty, a bit of solitude had its own charm.
It didn't take long for him to reach the pier.
Thanks to the "rebate" Director Hu had returned to him the day before, his pockets were quite heavy. He made a grand gesture and chartered a large ship for a day of sea fishing!
Following the coordinates marked by the system, he directed the captain to sail into the Sea of Clouds, stopping at a spot near the coast of Liyue Harbor.
This was one of the special fishing spots designated by the system.
To be honest, Su Ming was still curious about how these special fishing spots were determinedwhether they were random or followed some sort of pattern. However, he didn't dwell on the question for long. Since the system had already marked them, he just had to follow the map. Why overcomplicate things?
"Boss, we've arrived. Do you want to start now or wait a bit?" the first mate asked.
Su Ming set down the light novel he had just bought from Wanwen Bookhousea title published by the Yae Publishing House in Inazuma. "Let's start now. You guys can also start preparing lunch."
"Fish for a bit, have a meal, and then head back... Tsk, that's how a morning should be spent."
The first mate acknowledged the order. "Understood, Boss. What would you like for lunch?"
"Just prepare whatever; I'm not a picky eater... Oh, right, just no fish."
"Understood, Boss. I'll notify the kitchen immediately."
"Mm, take your time. I'll make sure you're well compensated."
After giving his instructions, Su Ming tucked his lounge chair under his arm, grabbed his light novel, a bag of snacks, and his fishing rod, and walked onto the deck.
Finding a spot along the gunwale, Su Ming silently baited the hook, set up the rod, and unfolded his lounge chair.
Lying back with the light novel in one hand and a snack in the other, he let out a satisfied sigh.
"Time to slack off!"
Su Ming lay down happily, officially beginning his day of complete relaxation.
Of course, alongside the sound of the Automatic Fishing Rod constantly casting and reeling, the "bad news" from the system continued to roll in.
[No reward triggered this time.]
[No reward triggered this time.]
[No reward triggered this time.]
Su Ming silently muted the notification pings and focused on his book.
...
He fished like this for about half an hour until he started feeling a bit drowsy from reading. Finally, among the sea of notifications flashing by, a few bits of good news appeared.
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Blade of Taixuan]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Golden Light Mantra]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Heart-Purifying Mantra]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Grandmaster Level Bajiquan]
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