Chen Huijie looked at the phone in her hand, pondering for two seconds.
Something wasn't right.
Aunt Fumizuki's phone call last night was already very off, but she was busy with a case and had no time to look into it closely.
But now her uncle had called again...
Although she didn't address him as such normally, she still acknowledged this uncle. What else could she do?
She only had these few relatives left.
After two seconds, Chen Huijie still answered the call.
"Huijie, what are you doing?" Wei Yenwu's voice came from the other end of the line.
"I'm busy with a case," Chen Huijie said in a respectful tone. "The financial fraud in the Commercial District from a couple of days ago..."
"Hand the case over to someone else. I remember the little girl from the Swire family is your colleague, right? Just hand it to her. Her family background is suited for it, so it's perfect," Wei Yenwu said without allowing any room for argument. "I have something I need you to do."
"I'm afraid I cannot obey, Lord Chief Executive," Chen Huijie's face instantly dropped upon hearing this. "This is a case I've been following all along. My team members have been working tirelessly on this case for a day and a night without rest!"
Trying to make her hand over the case with just two sentences, just to act as a stepping stone for that Char Siu Cat—how could that be possible!
"Then let her lead your team to investigate the case!" Wei Yenwu's voice remained as resolute as ever. "Don't worry, whatever credit belongs to them, not a single point will be missing!"
"And what about me? What about my hard work?" Chen Huijie slammed the table and stood up. The colleagues around her didn't even dare to breathe too loudly upon seeing this. It wasn't that she coveted this bit of merit, but that the work she had painstakingly done was negated by a single sentence from someone...
"I said, I have something more important to entrust to you!" Wei Yenwu was still as unreasonable as ever.
"How important is it?" Chen Huijie asked loudly, suppressing her anger. "Is it more important than the defrauded savings of over a hundred households in the Jinhua Residential Area? That is the blood and sweat money those elderly people worked their whole lives for!"
"It's more important than that," Wei Yenwu's tone was still resolute. "This concerns the safety of all of Lungmen. Huijie, don't be stubborn!"
"Shouldn't a matter like this require you, the Chief Executive, to handle it personally?" Chen Huijie naturally wouldn't be fooled by a few of his words, sneering as she said, "How could a mere Superintendent like me possess such capability?"
"No, this is your duty, Huijie," Wei Yenwu said flatly. "You are a True Lung. No matter how much you don't want to admit it, you are a member of the Yan Imperial Family. Your mother was a Princess!"
"This is our family matter, Huijie. Could I possibly let an outsider do it? Only you have the qualifications!"
"..." Chen Huijie fell silent upon hearing this, then turned around and walked toward her office. It wasn't very good to let her subordinate team members know about this kind of thing.
It wasn't until she tightly closed her office door that she said in an icy tone, "My Identity Card doesn't have the words 'Imperial Family' written on it!"
"But ultimately, the same blood flows within your body," Wei Yenwu's voice was thin. "You can't escape it, Huijie."
"Listen to me, go and shoulder the responsibility you ought to shoulder."
"...Just what is this matter?" No matter how unwilling Chen Huijie was, she knew that if it truly was an internal affair from Yan, she absolutely couldn't turn a blind eye to it.
Lungmen's status was special... but it wouldn't remain special forever.
"Do you remember the phone call from last night?" Wei Yenwu nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this and said, "Emperor, that rapper who's been really popular recently—he opened a logistics company."
"Penguin Logistics, right?" Chen Huijie furrowed her brows. "It's not a very law-abiding company. A while ago, I even saw them at the station; they were brought in for speeding and brawling."
"That's not important. What's important is that last night, they saved a girl in the Slums," Wei Yenwu's voice was heavy. "A Draconic Girl."
"When they found her, she was being kidnapped by a group of thugs who were discussing killing the hostage after getting the ransom. Then they saved that Draconic Girl."
"Impossible!" Hearing this, Chen Huijie subconsciously retorted, "The bloodlines of the True Dragon Race are all accounted for, and there will never be a lack of protectors by their sides. How could one possibly end up being kidnapped by people in the Slums?"
"Yes, how could it be possible?" Wei Yenwu said faintly. "But she is indeed of the True Dragon Race. She even used Lightning Arts and said her name was Bailu. I've never heard of this name before."
"All of this is too bizarre. Even Emperor subconsciously thought the person was you when he heard his subordinates had rescued a Draconic Girl."
"So that's why there was that baffling phone call last night?" Chen Huijie frowned.
"Yes. After confirming that the attacked person wasn't you, the matter became even more troublesome," Wei Yenwu said helplessly. "A Draconic Girl appearing in Lungmen without any prior news, and she even possesses the purest Celestial Master's Lightning Arts..."
Whenever he thought of this, he felt a thick fog before his eyes. He simply couldn't figure out why anyone who wanted to mess with him would arrange things this way.
Was it really necessary?
"I cannot afford to take all this lightly," Wei Yenwu sighed. "Because her identity is special, only you can go and make contact with her. Do you understand, Huijie?"
"...I understand," hearing this, Chen Huijie nodded.
No matter how unwilling she was, faced with this kind of matter, she had no way to keep herself out of it.
"That Draconic Girl who calls herself Bailu is currently on Sunset Boulevard, at a bar named The Ends of the Earth Bar. That child Yühsia is standing guard there now. You should head over."
"What exactly am I supposed to do?" Chen Huijie furrowed her brows and asked upon hearing this.
"...Probe into her background. If it really doesn't work out, then take her back to your house," Wei Yenwu instructed. "Ultimately, she is still of the same race. She should still be looked after."
"As for me... it's not suitable for me to come into contact with her right now."
His main fear was that she was sent by his younger brother. Wei Yenwu truly didn't have the face to meet that younger brother of his.
"I'll head over right now!" Having said that, Chen Huijie hung up the phone.
On the other end, Rat King let out a sigh.
"Why must it come to this?" he shook his head. "Can't you just talk to that child properly?"
"Give it a rest. It's not like you don't know my reasons," Wei Yenwu lowered his head. "The matters from back then... are a messy account. If they really come knocking on my door, then I'll accept it."
"But Huijie... sigh, our grievances cannot be extended to the next generation. If they are truly coming for me, then it's for the best if she hates me a bit more."
"He isn't a cruel-hearted person; he wouldn't go so far as to implicate his own niece."
Hearing this, Rat King also fell silent.
What a messy account indeed.
.......
The Ends of the Earth Bar.
Xia Yu looked at the harmonious scene before her and smiled knowingly.
Exusiai was using a feather plucked from a feather duster to tickle Emperor's foot. The latter forcefully endured the discomfort, not wanting to wake up.
Croissant and Texas were eating soup dumplings one bite at a time. Sora looked at the boss with worry, wanting to stop it but not knowing where to start. Lin Yühsia... she just stood behind her like that, staring at her intently.
"Are you not going to eat?" Xia Yu turned her head to look at her. "I specifically bought enough for everyone."
She had taken the money directly from the bar. Xia Yu completely didn't consider herself an outsider. After all, she had given them the Jade Nectar to drink, so what was wrong with taking a bit of their money to buy everyone breakfast?
"No thanks," Lin Yühsia still had lingering fears regarding her encounter last night. At a time like this, she absolutely shouldn't touch food of unknown origin. Yet, when that incredibly mellow liquor had been brought to her lips, her mouth had uncooperatively opened on its own.
And then she fell asleep and didn't wake up.
Therefore, even though it currently looked like an ordinary breakfast, she absolutely wouldn't take even a single bite of it!
Though she was indeed hungry.
"No way, your diet has to be regular," Xia Yu picked up a soup dumpling with absolute seriousness upon hearing this and held it out in front of her. "Otherwise, it's bad for your stomach."
Lin Yühsia was slightly taken aback seeing this, but she still refused to open her mouth.
"Don't just rely on the fact that you're young now and feel like your body is in great shape," Xia Yu began to lecture her. "You act as if you won't get tired no matter how much work you do. But once you get older, all these debts you incurred during your youth will come knocking on your door."
"You aren't a Xianzhou native, nor are you a Vidyadhara. An ordinary body like yours cannot be treated so recklessly! Be good, open your mouth. I am a Physician, listen to me!"
"Physician? A Doctor, right?" Lin Yühsia doubtfully looked at the little girl in front of her, who didn't even look like she was ten years old. "At your age?"
"Little short-life species sister, I am far older than you are," Xia Yu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Although the lifespan of the Vidyadhara Race cannot compare to that of Xianzhou natives, it is more than enough to outlast yours. You come out to struggle for your career in your twenties, while I was still in preschool in my twenties."
Hearing this, Emperor slightly opened his eyes.
Even Exusiai curiously turned her head, putting down the feather she was using to torture her boss. Texas and Croissant also pricked up their ears, and Sora leaned sideways, looking like she wanted to listen but didn't want to appear too gossipy, fully engrossed.
"I..." Lin Yühsia wanted to say something else, but Xia Yu, with quick eyes and fast hands, directly stuffed the soup dumpling into her mouth.
"Hmph, as if I can't handle you," Xia Yu smugly clapped her hands. "I've seen plenty of patients like you!"
Lin Yühsia subconsciously bit into the dumpling in her mouth. After realizing what she had done, she ultimately gave up and compromised in despair. After finishing it in a few bites, she looked solemnly at the tiny young girl in front of her.
"How old did you say you were?"
"Several hundred," Xia Yu smiled, once again picking up a soup dumpling and handing it to her. "Little short-life species sister, you can call me Big Sister Bailu. Well, I wouldn't mind if you called me Grandma either."
"Keep bragging," Lin Yühsia swallowed the soup dumpling in one bite, rolling her eyes at her.
No matter how she looked at it, this child had an immature appearance. How could she possibly be hundreds of years old?
But this was actually the fault of that Arbor-Binding Shackle behind her, which confined Bailu's mind and physical age to her current stage.
Otherwise, being at least the same age as Dan Heng, she wouldn't be this small.
"What are Xianzhou natives? And what is the Vidyadhara?" she asked casually.
"Hmm, this is something I cannot talk about," Xia Yu shook her head.
"Sounds like a story you read in some storybook," Lin Yühsia rolled her eyes at her. "Then, little commandery princess, or rather, little princess, may I ask how you came to Lungmen?"
"This," Xia Yu heard this and said with absolute seriousness, "I closed my eyes, opened them, and here I was."
"...Fine," Lin Yühsia didn't expect to coax any information out of her mouth anymore. "Then what brings you here?"
"Looking for someone to deliver a letter," Xia Yu recalled the letter Talulah had given her, nodded, and said earnestly.
"Yo, a fellow colleague," Exusiai grinningly leaned closer upon hearing this. "Little colleague sister, who are you delivering the letter to? Tell big sis and let me hear it."
"Maybe big sis knows them."
"I don't need you to be the intermediary, Miss Lemuel," Xia Yu said with a smile. "Compared to this, you might as well concern yourself properly with when Miss Lemuen will wake up."
"You know me?!" Exusiai's pupils instantly dilated upon hearing this. "You even know about my sister?!"
"How should I put it?" Xia Yu tilted her head at this. "I know many things, including what you care about the most—the truth."
"...So? What is the truth?" Exusiai bit her lip, looking at her expectantly as she asked.
"...The truth isn't important, Exusiai," Xia Yu let out a sigh. "You're a Sankta, you definitely understand. It's not important. What's important is your sister."
"She will wake up in a few years, and she will tell you everything."
"What is this? A prophecy?" Exusiai suppressed her inner impulses.
"Let's just consider it one," Xia Yu spouted nonsense casually. "Within the Matrix of Prescience, I have seen many things."
"And what is that Matrix of whatever?" Exusiai asked in confusion.
"Hmm, you can understand it as a machine that relies on calculations to predict the future," Xia Yu said softly. "It's very accurate."
"Huh? How could a machine possibly do such a thing?" Exusiai clearly didn't believe it.
"Then what if I said, the Lord of your Laterano is also a giant machine," Xia Yu tilted her head and asked, "Big Sister Lemuel, you won't get angry, right?"
Hearing this, Lin Yühsia silently stepped between her and Exusiai. The faith of the Sankta... when matters of religion turn crazed, it doesn't care about anyone's identity...
But to her surprise, Exusiai's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Really? Our Lord is really a machine? That sounds super cool!"
"That's enough, little Prophet," right at that moment, Emperor finally couldn't hold back anymore. He jumped onto the bar counter, looking down at Xia Yu as he said, "You might really know a lot of things, but I advise you to keep your mouth tightly shut."
"This world is not lacking in dead Prophets."
"Indeed," hearing this, Xia Yu nodded in deep agreement. "This world has never lacked people looking for death."
"It seems you are very confident?" Emperor jumped down from the bar counter and came before her. "Even the Cyclops, who are most proficient in prophecy, cannot escape the fate they have foreseen."
"Indeed," Xia Yu had no intention of refuting. "Even with the power of Nous, after calculating the future, that future becomes thoroughly anchored by Them, and even They cannot change it."
"Prophecies are things you should just listen to and leave at that. The waters run very deep."
"Hoh, it seems you know quite a bit," hearing this, Emperor took off his sunglasses and patted her shoulder. "Pour the drinks, let's continue to discuss this!"