North District.

Standing before the grand double doors, Bubai straightened his robes.

Feeling the nerves prickling at his skin, Bubai took a deep breath before reaching out his hand to give the door a shove.

Creak…

Bubai leaked a sigh of relief when he felt the door yield to his push instead of staying firmly shut.

Stepping into the hall, Bubai’s eyes darted over to the desk where the old granny sat, her expression stern as she rocked in her chair.

Hearing the grand door shutting on its own behind him, Bubai firmed his heart and walked over to the front desk.

Halting before the old lady, he respectfully bowed, keeping that posture in silence.

After a while, Granny Shu finally creaked open her beady eyes to look at him, her voice a rasp, "Hum, has young Bubai cooled off?"

Bubai nodded once, his voice steady, "Junior will restrain himself in the future."

“Hum, good.” The corners of the Granny Shu's lips softened into a gentle smile, "This old lady hopes young Bubai is not blaming this old lady for ruining your good deed."

Bubai shook his head quickly, "No, junior wouldn’t dare."

“Fufu…” Granny Shu chuckled softly, the sound like dry leaves rustling, "This old lady hasn’t seen many who dared to curse the heavens,”

Bubai's lips twitched, unsure how to answer.

“Fufu…” Granny Shu laughed softly again, "Fine, fine, this old lady won’t tease you any further. This time is young Bubai’s first offense, so consider this your warning. Remember, next time, take your little games outside of the pavilion."

Bubai bowed respectfully, "Thank you Shu Po Po for your forgiveness and leniency."

Granny Shu closed her eyes, her head bobbing as she said, "Go, that yatou should already be waiting upstairs."

With a final bow, Bubai turned on his heel and made his way towards the staircase, his heart lighter with each step. Finally… back in business.

Map Room.

Stepping into the room, Bubai's gaze was immediately drawn to the silver-haired beauty seated at the table.

She was immersed in a book, the soft glow of the ambient light highlighting the delicate features of her face.

With each turn of the page, she exuded an aura of elegance that seemed to transcend mere mortal beauty.

She was just as he remembered her, ever so refined and enchanting. Yet after a few days of absence, somehow… Bubai found her to be even more captivating than before.

Perhaps this was just a primal instinct: The more unattainable, the more attractive.

This was a concept Bubai recognized as entirely normal, but his attraction to her seems… much more than that.

There was an otherworldly quality about her, a supernatural charm that transcended mere instinct, holding him hostage like a moth to a flame, just like WeiWei once did.

But unlike WeiWei’s overt charm that commenced a head-on invasion every time, this fairy’s charm was subtler, more insidious, like a drug gradually seeping into his veins.

With each encounter, he found himself increasingly addicted, and after their recent tryst, he even experienced hallucinations during their period apart!

Fortunately, Bubai didn’t sink in too deeply yet. Thus, he managed to purge the effects by pumping them out from his system.

However, Bubai knew that resisting her allure would become increasingly challenging with each passing moment spent in her company, and he might not be able to pump it away so easily next time…

Sigh, this fairy was yet another dangerous woman on his bucket list.

Sensing the silent Bubai’s gaze that lingered for much too long, Shu Ling finally looked up from her book with a smile so enchanting it seemed to cast a spell.

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"Why is fairy brother standing there like a block of wood? Come, let us begin our game."

Her voice, a blend of honey and silk, beckoned him to join her like a siren's song. It was an invitation to another game, a dangerous game…

Yet, this was a tight rope he willingly walked on because the pay was just too tempting.

Shu Ling's smile widened as she watched Bubai approach the table, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Fufufu, fairy brother finally decided to join the land of the living. This fairy was beginning to think you'd been turned to stone."

Seating himself opposite of her, Bubai tore his eyes away from the mesmerizing gaze, letting them fall upon the chess set laid out on the table, “Sorry, I was… just lost in fairy’s beauty.”

Since the fairy’s move had already been made, it was now his turn to play.

“Hum…?” The sudden sugar-coated counterattack left Shu Ling with a sweet smile, and she bowed her head to study the board, her finger curling her silver hair while she sought a response.

While the fairy mused, Bubai didn’t fall behind, his mind already buzzing with calculations on this game of chess. Soon, he set his course.

Unlike his previous attempts, this time, Bubai extended his spiritual sense instead of his divine sense.

The distinction was immediately apparent.

While his divine sense could be shaped and molded with precision, his spiritual sense was more like water, flowing freely to envelop his surroundings.

Though he could control its spread and limit its scope, the shape remained fluid and somewhat unstable. This result in lower-quality rendering, akin to viewing the world through distorted lenses underwater.

Nevertheless, this insight was still better than nothing.

After all, it allowed him to capture details beyond his direct line of sight, such as the contours of their backs, the objects on shelves just beyond his vision, and even the scene unfolding beneath the table-

Ahem. It appeared they had regressed to a familiar dynamic. It was a good thing that the gears had seemingly shifted back a step, but some aspects remained irreversibly altered...

With his breath catching in his throat, Bubai’s hand reached beneath the table to grasp the soft, silky-smooth foot, “Fairy, please restrain yourself.”

“Fufufu…” Shu Ling’s soft giggle tinkled like wind chimes on a gentle spring breeze, "Why is fairy brother so shy after just a few days apart?"

Ignoring the fluttering in his stomach, Bubai met her gaze with a stern expression, "The fairy should know by now whether I'm shy or not. Or does fairy... wish for a reminder?"

Shu Ling's starry eyes twinkled in response, and her foot slipped away from his grasp.

With her fingers idly toying with her silver locks, her eyes ran away from his heated gaze and drifted down to the chessboard between them.

"Ahum. This little gift of yours still holds some meaningful value if used wisely. Fairy brother, we’ve already missed out on days. Let’s not waste more time.”

Nodding in agreement, Bubai tore his eyes away from the fairy, his focus returning to the chessboard.

With his move determined, Bubai channeled his Qi, allowing strands to emanate from his pores and intertwine with the flow of his spiritual sense, swimming forward to coalesce around a pawn on his side of the board.

His gaze concentrated upon the pawn, as though attempting to move it through sheer force of will.

Yielding to the subtle manipulation of his Qi, the pawn scooted forward...

Yet, it barely scooted half a square forward before Bubai sensed his slackening control over his Qi, only to see the tendrils of energy waning and dissipating into the surrounding atmosphere soon after.

The same True Qi as before, but utilizing it externally without the aid of divine sense weakened his control.

As a result, the Qi returned to the embrace of the world at a much quicker pace.

Undeterred, Bubai summoned forth more Qi, willing them to push the pawn forward once again.

This time, the piece scooted ahead with greater speed, surpassing its previous distance in a fraction of the time.

However, in his haste, his mass of Qi caused the pawn to topple over after barely crossing a single square.

Ah, he lost control and shoved too hard. Downgrading from cheating to normal gameplay was really hard.

“Fufufu…” Seeing Bubai’s struggle, Shu Ling couldn't help but tease, "Fairy brother, you returned from your vacation, but your talent for Qi control seemed to still be on vacation.”

“Haha…” After a self-deprecating chuckle, Bubai explained, “Fairy should know that some matters can’t be put on the table. So, it’s best if my spiritual sense gets some practice as well. I hope fairy won't mind."

Shaking her head, Shu Ling reassured him, "Hum, small matter. This fairy can see where you are coming from. Hum. It really wasn't wrong for you to fall into the hands of the paranoid lot in the Mo clan..."

With a graceful gesture of her hand, the toppled pawn righted itself as if time were rewinding.

Shu Ling then warmly encouraged, "Brother, feel free to continue practicing. This fairy is here to accompany you for this purpose, after all."

Bubai nodded. "Thank you, fairy, for your care."

"It's not care, it’s merely a part of our exchange,” Shu Ling bestowed upon him an elegant smile, “If there is anything else fairy brother seeks advice on, feel free to bring it to the table."

Upon hearing her offer, Bubai pondered for a moment before retrieving a handful of formation chips from his new storage pouch and setting them aside on the table.

Formation practice was on the agenda, but this time... there was no brush.

The weeks spent sorting through the formation materials acquired from the basic professions room should be enough.

Now, it was about time he delved into practicing freehand formation imprinting.

Looking toward Shu Ling, Bubai noticed her gaze briefly flicker to the formation chips before returning to meet his own. "This fairy thought fairy brother would never take this step.”

"Better now than never," Bubai tilted his head subtly. "Will there be any issues, fairy?"

Shu Ling smiled, her fingers delicately twirling a lock of silver hair. "A trivial matter. But what will my dear fairy brother offer in exchange?"

Returning her smile, Bubai replied, "Hmm… Would my sweet fairy be interested in learning about the greatest scam of all?”

“Hum? Another scam?” Shu Ling straightened herself, her eyes sparkling with interest. "Pray, do tell. Hopefully, this one will tip the scales in your favor.”

“Certainly. This time, let me speak about the blueprint for the ultimate deception…” Gaining the fairy’s rapt attention, a smug smile appeared on Bubai’s face, “Insurance.”