"However, after my master captured Landlord Long, he made a different decision and recruited her into the Observatory."

Shen Bai stroked his chin.

This outcome was more or less what Shen Bai had expected.

In fact, he couldn’t imagine any other way Long Yan could have joined the Observatory.

"So, because she joined the Observatory, the Peach Opera Garden won’t pursue the matter anymore?" Shen Bai asked.

Qin Shuang nodded. She took small sips of her soup and mumbled, "Those people were furious, but they didn’t dare say a word because of the Observatory’s authority. And so, Landlord Long ended up staying here."

At this point, Shen Bai had a clear picture of what had happened.

A few wontons were still left on the table, floating in the clear broth.

"That bunch of scoundrels... they’re probably not up to any good, coming to Fenglin State this time," Qin Shuang grumbled.

Shen Bai polished off the remaining wontons in a few bites. "Let them do what they want. If a mission comes up, we’ll take it. Lord Liu took Landlord Long in; he’s not just going to abandon her."

After a moment, Shen Bai looked at his empty bowl and turned to call out to the shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper, another bowl!"

Qin Shuang’s eyes darted around for a moment before she raised her right hand. "I’ll have another bowl, too!"

The thing about late-night snacks is that you should never start. Once you do, there’s no stopping.

All in all, the two of them devoured six bowls of wontons before making a suave exit, leaving the shopkeeper staring after them in terror.

...

Back home, Shen Bai stared at the swirling mist before him, lost in thought.

In the end, he decided not to deviate from his plan and prepared to continue grinding his Divine Hundred Miles skill.

He had ten strands of Evil Qi, but the time it would take to grind one Level 4 Skill to its second transformation was enough to get two different Skills to Level 4.

For now, Shen Bai’s various Divine Powers were sufficient for his needs, so there was no reason to specialize in just one area.

Moreover...

Shen Bai sensed the Qi within him. ’The gold in my lungs has already started to spread. Perhaps once all my Divine Powers reach Level 4, I can start working on the next of the five viscera.’

’And after each Divine Power reaches Level 4, I’ll gain a corresponding new Attribute.’

With this in mind, Shen Bai wasted no time and began to circulate the Qi in his body.

The next moment, he vanished, leaving an afterimage in his place as he began grinding the Skill Level for Divine Hundred Miles.

Time flew by as Shen Bai grinded away relentlessly.

...

Time gradually passed.

In the days since the state celebration, the festive mood among the people had faded considerably.

No matter how lively the festivities, life had to go on.

Gradually, the citizens returned to their daily routines, and things quieted down.

Though a faint sense of joy and excitement from the state celebration lingered, it was mostly gone.

On a main road not far from Fenglin State, a procession of over a hundred people was making its way forward.

At the head of the procession were a dozen or so horses, carrying riders in uniform attire.

In the middle was an extremely luxurious carriage.

Even the carriage windows were inlaid with fine strands of Golden Thread.

Behind the carriage, a long line of people followed on foot.

People on either side held banners, each emblazoned with the word "Opera."

Inside the carriage sat a young man as handsome and refined as jade.

The young man was dressed in fine silks, lounging with a lazy air.

Beside him, two women in light gauze robes—one holding a wine cup, the other a Wine Flask—poured him a drink.

"My lord, please..."

The young man took the cup, sipped it lightly, and asked, "How much longer until we reach Fenglin State?"

The woman in green gauze on the left smiled faintly. "We’ll be there in about half an hour."

The woman in blue gauze on the right lowered the Wine Flask. "My lord, are you perhaps thinking about how you will meet Martial Uncle Long?"

Hearing this, the young man’s placid expression gradually turned cold. "Back then, my father took a liking to her and gave her the chance to marry him. But she didn’t know what was good for her and ran away. Do you think I’m eager to see her?"

Seeing the young man’s face turn cold, the two women hastily lowered their heads. They clearly knew they had misspoken and fell silent.

The young man continued, "A woman of humble birth wanting to become a star of the Peach Opera Garden... she should have taken a look at her own status. Now she thinks she’s had a complete Change of Appearance just because she joined the Observatory? But she’ll always be someone who came from the Peach Opera Garden."

"A Landlord of the Observatory in a State-level City... that’s quite prestigious, I suppose. But that prestige is limited to Fenglin State."

The two women hastily agreed, not daring to say anything more.

Just then, the young man waved his sleeve.

"We have an important mission this trip. We’ve already passed through more than ten cities. We can’t let this woman disrupt our plans. We’ll just pretend we never saw her."

"I, Tang Yun, am no fool. I won’t go out of my way to provoke her."

Inside the carriage, only Tang Yun’s voice could be heard.

The atmosphere eased slightly.

The woman in green gauze said softly, "The report on Fenglin State’s network of connections has arrived."

As she spoke, the woman in blue gauze beside her took a letter from her robes, held it with both hands, and presented it to Tang Yun.

Tang Yun took it and scanned it for a moment, a look of great interest appearing in his eyes. "It seems quite a lot has happened in Fenglin State recently."

Curiosity flickered in the blue-gauze woman’s eyes, but remembering her earlier misstep, she didn’t dare to ask. She just watched him with a curious expression.

As if eager to share, Tang Yun tossed the letter to the woman in blue gauze. "Here, take a look. How interesting. A newly risen young man in Fenglin State."