Bubai’s mind raced, trying to pinpoint the exact misstep that had led him to this moment.

Finally, he found it, and without hesitation, he took all the blame upon himself. "It is entirely junior’s fault for bringing Shu Ling to that place. Junior is willing to accept Shu Po Po’s punishment."

"Hum, it's good that young Bubai recognize your mistake." Granny Shu's expression softened slightly at his admission.

"But there’s no need to take all the blame yourself. This old lady knows my granddaughter well. Young Bubai, you shouldn't let yourself be led astray by her."

Granny Shu’s gaze then shifted to Shu Ling, who stood beside her, her posture straight, her demeanor betraying no guilt.

"Ling’er," the old granny pointed a gnarled finger at the young lady, "You are punished to copy scriptures."

Hearing her granny’s words, Shu Ling’s innocent eyes widened.

She instantly adopted the demeanor of a sulking child, clutching at her granny's arm and swaying it. “Grannyyy~”

But the old granny was unmoved. "If you continue, I will double the punishment."

Shu Ling's shoulders immediately slumped in defeat, letting go of her granny and turning her face away with a pout. “Yes, granny.”

“Humph.” Granny Shu closed her eyes, "Now go, both of you. Don't make this old lady's eyes sore."

With a pout still firmly in place, Shu Ling skirted around the desk, towing Bubai away, “Let’s go. Let’s go.”

Map Room.

Shu Ling sat at a table with a brush held delicately in her hand, painstakingly drawing slow and deliberate strokes.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally wrote a single word on the parchment in front of her

Lifting the brush, she scrutinized the word she had just penned before casting her gaze upwards to the scripture of virtues laying on the table.

Seeing the dizzying amount of words, her eyes seemed to reflect surrender and she slumped over the table, disregarding her usual grace and elegance, “Fuuu! No, no, this fairy can’t. There’s too many words! It’s impossible!”

But her complaints fell on deaf ears, the room remained silent save for the scratching of a pen against wood.

The frustrated Shu Ling turned her attention to the Bubai seated opposite her, engaged in his own task.

Two formation balls were held in place on a small bamboo rack, the surface pockmarked with holes where the balls rested.

Holding a brush in each hand, Bubai was tracing symbols onto both formation balls, his movements precise and methodical. His pace was neither fast nor slow, emanating a serene, calming mood.

But the mischievous fairy was having none of it. She couldn't help but break the silence, "Aren’t you tired of such boring tasks?"

Bubai smiled faintly, his eyes still fixed on his work as he replied without missing a beat, "No."

His answer was simple, but it carried a weight of contentment.

After all, how could Bubai possibly find taking a shortcut in his grind for contribution points boring?

Thanks to his promotion to the foundation establishment realm, the skill of imprinting symbols had become more streamlined for him.

However, despite this improvement, his imprinting speed remained constrained by the limitations of his brush.

Back when funds were tight, he had stuck to it out of necessity. But as the saying goes, money begets money.

With a bit of wealth under his belt now, new avenues for development had opened up, prompting the Bubai to devise a strategy to maximize his time.

Thus, he found himself in his current state, employing two brushes simultaneously, effectively doubling his output!

Of course, multitasking like this was no walk in the park, especially since each imprinted symbol still demanded his undivided focus.

Though not without precedent, as many higher-level formation masters boasted similar capabilities, achieving such prowess at his level typically required exceptional talent.

Unfortunately, Bubai's aptitude in ambidexterity was rather mediocre…

So, he once again capitalized on his advantage – his cheat.

Thanks to the enhancements from his buffed state’s machine mind mode, he could seamlessly split his focus, coordinating both hands to simultaneously tackle the tasks at hand!

After some initial hiccups and errors during practice, he quickly familiarized himself with the process, transforming into a veritable production machine!

In this heightened state of productivity, he even had the luxury to process conversations and chat with the fairy!

Alas, maintaining this state came at a cost - a drop of green dew every ten minutes.

It was… affordable, but still costly.

So, Bubai aimed to make every moment count.

Observing Bubai still engrossed in his task, Shu Ling’s pouting intensified. But soon, a bright idea popped into her mind.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A mischievous glint entered the fairy’s eyes as she gave the oblivious man a once-up before she stealthily slid down...

The focused Bubai suddenly felt a familiar sensation of a bare foot teasingly creeping up his thigh.

Despite the unexpected intrusion, Bubai maintained his concentration, refusing to be distracted.

Well, not like he could do anything with both hands occupied.

Seeing Bubai’s lack of reaction, Shu Ling’s smile grew more playful and she became bolder.

It wasn’t long before Bubai’s brow twitched imperceptibly because he actually sensed the foot engaging in a silent dialogue with his “little brother”!

Bubai’s tracing motions on the balls didn’t stop, but he couldn't help but speak up, his voice husky with restraint. "Fairy, please respect yourself."

“Fufufu…” Finally getting a reaction, Shu Ling’s coy smile widened, retorting teasingly. "Are you sure you want this fairy to withdraw her foot? It seems like... fairy brother is rather enjoying it."

Bubai's lips twitched slightly, a suppressed comment lingering on the tip of his tongue.

However, he resisted the urge, focusing intently on completing the task at hand.

With each stroke, his breath quickened imperceptibly, a subtle indication of his mounting anticipation of finishing… the task.

When Bubai finished the final stroke on both balls, a golden gleam emerged, signaling the successful completion of his work.

Setting down his brush, Bubai’s hand swiftly moved to intercept the naughty foot, accompanied by a stern glare directed at the fairy beauty opposite him.

Merlin’s beard! This fairy is getting more and more bold with her antics!

Honestly, where was the noble, elegant fairy he met in his memories? The more he interacted with Shu Ling, the more her bad personality seemed to surface!

Well… Perhaps, this was the real her, hidden beneath her mask of studious elegance.

Meeting Bubai’s glare head-on, the fairy let out a tinkling laugh that grated on his nerves. “Fufufu… why stop now?”

Coyly curling strands of her silver hair around her finger, Shu Ling uttered an enticing suggestion dripping with mischief, “This fairy can take this all the way if fairy brother wants.”

Bubai's jaw tightened, his frustration mounting at her persistent teasing. “Fairy, please respect yourself.”

Bubai's reprimand caused Shu Ling to pout. "Boring," she muttered under her breath.

As she absently untwirled a strand of her hair, she blinked innocently at him, "Since fairy brother has already enjoyed this fairy’s service, how about you help this fairy copy the scriptures? With two hands, you should be fast!"

Glancing at the scriptures laid out on the table, Bubai briefly employed his evolved eyes to scan the text, recognizing passages on female virtues - a subject more commonly taught in righteous orthodox territories.

Indeed, it wouldn't take him long to copy it, but…

Turning his gaze back to the fairy, Bubai declined her request, "If Shu Po Po discovers me helping fairy, she'll probably double the punishment. You wouldn't want to make things worse for yourself, would you?"

Defeated by his words, Shu Ling slumped onto the table, emitting a melodramatic moan. "Why can't Granny just cut me some slack?"

In response, Bubai unsympathetically reasoned, "Shu Po Po is doing it for your own good. It's good to learn to restrain yourself a bit."

With an exaggerated eye roll, Shu Ling shot back, "Coming from the guy who just enjoyed this fairy’s service. Wait till Granny knows."

Err… Sweating a bit at her remark, Bubai quickly changed the subject, hoping to steer the conversation away from their previous banter, "Well, how about we take a break and proceed to exchanging knowledge?”

Hearing his suggestion, Shu Ling sat up abruptly, sweeping aside the scriptures and paper in front of her while nodding confidently. "Right, right! How come this fairy didn’t think of it? Granny won't blame this fairy if this fairy is busy learning!"

Uh… that excuse will most likely not work.

But, Bubai kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm.

With her trademark elegant smile returning to her lips, the self-satisfied Shu Ling generously offered, “As thanks for giving this fairy such a good idea, today, fairy brother can go first. What would you like to know this time?"

What to ask…

Bubai considered her offer for a moment, before deciding to inquire about the recent situation, “Can fairy tell me what happened in the secret realm?”

“Oh, that, fufufu… of course. This fairy happens to know some secrets.”

The cosmic depths of Shu Ling’s eyes seemed to swirl as she began unveiling some of the details hidden by the fog.

"Some dangers of secret realms lay on the surface, while others are buried by time. This time, the indigenous inhabitants of the small world were just martial artists with strange escape abilities, and there didn’t seem to be much danger at first. But some idiot dug too deep and a restriction was triggered, turning the secret realm into a forbidden ground.”

Oh, let’s guess who that idiot is… 99% it’s the protagonist.

“Trapped in the restriction, many disciples were affected by a chaotic energy, inducing some to go crazy, even turning on their own comrades. This was one reason why the casualties were so heavy this time."

Chaotic energy? What thingymabobber is that? "This chaotic energy..."

"Hum, there’s no need to ask. The details wasn’t disclosed, even to Granny, but... this fairy can let fairy brother in on a secret," Shu Ling leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Even the elders were affected and fought each other. Two of our elders were lost this time, and the rest could only escape."

Merlin’s beard. It was that bad? Bubai frowned, "Will there be no problems?"

“Oh, there’s no cause of alarm.” Shu Ling’s voice returned to its normal tone, reassuring him, "The suzerains of each sect baptized the surviving members and extended their stay to block off the secret realm until it closed off. So, for now, there's no immediate problem."

Oi, why does this “for now” sound like it’s setting up a flag?!

Bubai was really unnerved for some odd reason, but for now, all he could do was trust in the top levels' judgment and hope for the best.

Observing Bubai’s abrupt silence, Shu Ling blinked innocently before prodding gently, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

The strange unease indeed caused another question to burn at the back of Bubai's mind…

However, he suppressed it for now, opting to inquire about another relevant topic instead, “I want to know if it is possible for me to go bounty hunting.”

“Oh…” Regarding him with a knowing look, Shu Ling teased, "Let this fairy guess… Does fairy brother want to run?"

"What? Of course no-"

“Fufufu…” Shu Ling's melodious laughter cut through his feeble denial. “There’s no need to say more. This fairy understands. This fairy also yearns to go explore the world, but Granny always keeps a tight watch over this fairy.”

Leaning in closer, she whispered conspiratorially, "So, when fairy brother goes, remember to bring this fairy along."

Uh… that works? This fairy really…

Well, Bubai certainly wasn’t going to deny the companionship of a beauty, especially since she could potentially double as a guardian angel, “Fine.”

Hearing his agreement, Shu Ling extended her hand with her pinky finger raised expectantly. "Promise?"

Bubai met her gesture, intertwining his own pinky finger with hers. "Promise."

“Fufufu…” Retracting her hand, Shu Ling giggled joyfully, playfully waving her pinky up and down.

Bubai rolled his eyes at her antics before steering the conversation back on track. "Now, the question is, can I even go?"

“Ahum.” Resuming her posture with utmost propriety, Shu Ling’s clever eyes twinkled. "This fairy can ask Granny for you later, but…"

Her offer ended with a shrug.

Well, it seems the outcome was uncertain. Still, it was still better than having no chance at all.

Resigned to the fact that this was the furthest he could push the issue, Bubai nodded, “Thanks.”

“Hum. Small matter.” Idly playing with a strand of her silver hair, the fairy offered nonchalantly, “Anything else, fairy brother?”

Unwilling to add too much weight to her asking price, Bubai shook his head, "That’s it for me today. What does fairy want to hear about?"

At his words, Shu Ling raised a delicate hand to elegantly hide her laugh. "Fufufu, this fairy was just waiting for fairy brother to ask.”

“Hum…” Shu Ling tapped her finger on her lips thoughtfully. Shortly after, she chose her topic, “Today, fairy brother can tell this fairy about the other scam you mentioned.”

Huh? Scam? But as Bubai thought back, he realized there were indeed many scams he could still share. "Which one?"

Shu Ling’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward eagerly, “Loot boxes!”