Chapter 40

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Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

The layout of the Shen Wu Xian Zhou, from the day Xuan Ge assumed the post of Shen Wei General, has exuded an overbearing air of arbitrary autocracy.

The Dan Shu Si is situated due north of the General's Mansion; courtyards of blue tiles and white walls stretch in continuous expanses, the breath of medicine fragrance and sandalwood intertwining and spreading on the breeze;

The forges of the Gong Zao Si blaze skyward, the "ding-dang" clatter of metal striking metal incessant, weaving together with the droning hum of the Tian Bo Si's star skiffs taking off and landing, together forming a unique sonic barrier enveloping the Shen Wei General's Mansion.

Even that gloomy, silent Dong Tian of the Shi Wang Si has been demarcated within this very area.

In Xuan Ge's words, this is "Heaven round, Earth square"; his General's Mansion is the center of the Huan Yu, and he himself is the rule of the Shen Wu Xian Zhou.

Deep within the Dan Shu Si, Ling Sha's exclusive courtyard is exceptionally tranquil.

The courtyard walls are covered in emerald vines, dotted with tiny white flowers among the tendrils; a breeze brushes past, petals drifting lightly down onto the Qing Stone Slabs in the courtyard.

A stone table sits at the courtyard's center, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds overhead.

Ling Sha wears a qipao, her long hair loosely pinned up, a few stray locks falling beside her cheeks; gone is some of the Chief Strategist's icy coolness, replaced by a few parts more gentleness.

She sits quietly on a stone bench, fingertips lightly brushing over the medicinal bamboo slips spread open on the stone table; the slips were sent by Dan Shu, covered densely with herb names and compounding dosages.

Ling Sha's gaze is focused and serious, her brown eyes full of professional scrutiny, now nodding slightly, now furrowing her brow in thought.

"The overall approach is good....."

Ling Sha lifts her head, looking at Dan Shu and Yu Fei standing to the side, her tone gentle yet carrying an indisputable professionalism.

"But look here — though it can enhance efficacy, it is extremely prone to triggering visceral cold-deficiency symptoms.

If these prescriptions are used simultaneously, I fear there will be conflicts; dosages must be adjusted, or several ingredients substituted."

Dan Shu and Yu Fei stand respectfully to the side, postures ramrod straight.

Yu Fei holds paper and brush, earnestly recording the issues Ling Sha pointed out, the brush tip scratching a "sha-sha" sound across the paper;

Dan Shu, for her part, lowers her eyes slightly, listening attentively, nodding in agreement from time to time.

Both wear expressions of admiration — Ling Sha the Si Ding not only possesses superb medical skill, but her command of prescriptions is precise down to the finest detail; no wonder she holds firm the seat of Dan Shu Si Si Ding.

Before long, Ling Sha finishes pointing out all issues, even personally annotating revision suggestions on the bamboo slips.

Dan Shu and Yu Fei hurry forward, bowing deeply to Ling Sha:

"Many thanks for the Si Ding's guidance; we two have benefited immensely."

"Go on, verify the revised prescriptions once more." Ling Sha waves a hand, tone gentle.

"Yes!"

The two thank her, turn, and leave the courtyard, footsteps gradually fading.

The courtyard returns to silence, leaving only the faint rustle of wind through vines.

Ling Sha slowly sets down the bamboo slips in hand, her gaze settling on the Cloud Pattern tree at the courtyard's center, her eyes gradually softening.

This Cloud Pattern tree was planted by Xuan Ge back then to celebrate her formal enlistment in the Shen Wu Xian Zhou.

The trunk is stout and upright; natural patterns on the bark resemble flowing cloud mist, glimmering with a faint luster in the sunlight;

The leaves are even more peculiar — shaped exactly like clouds in the sky, edges rounded, color emerald green; when the wind blows, the leaves sway gently, as if myriad clouds have fallen upon the branches, hence the name "Cloud Pattern Tree".

Ling Sha extends a hand, fingertips lightly touching a fallen Cloud Pattern leaf; the leaf is soft and cool to the touch, texture delicate.

She has been on leave for two days now; these two days, Xuan Ge and that Destruction Monarch called Xing Xiao have been alone together in the General's Mansion for two full days.....

Thinking of this, Ling Sha props her elbow lightly on the stone table, palm cradling her cheek, a trace of hard-to-detect loss flashing in her eyes.

She gazes at the Cloud Pattern tree's branches and leaves, muttering to herself, tone carrying a few parts resentment:

"General~ you really do favor the new and tire of the old~"

In truth, these two days Ling Sha has already seen through Xuan Ge's intent.

The reason he insisted on "inviting" Xing Xiao back to the General's Mansion is not some romance, but fear that the Destruction Forces might suddenly intervene and stab them in the back while the Xian Zhou and the Abundance allied forces are locked in bitter battle.

More importantly, Xuan Ge is calculating those politician maggots hiding in the dark corners of the Xian Zhou; Xing Xiao is merely a chess piece he has laid down.

Ling Sha produces from her sleeve a pure white jade tally, its surface engraved with exquisite cloud patterns — a communication device Xuan Ge specially crafted for her.

She presses the jade tally lightly, a familiar voice slowly flowing out:

【I said, you are both Si Ding and my Chief Strategist! I'm no dictator General; if you have opinions I'll certainly listen with washed ears!】

The recorded voice is clear and sincere, carrying Xuan Ge's characteristic determination.

Ling Sha listens quietly until the voice fades, then slowly lowers her eyes, tone tinged with loss and self-reproach:

"This Concubine's Chief Strategist post is truly incompetent~"

The General lays plans at the front, yet she, because of a touch of romance, worries in secret, failing to step forward in time to assist and restrain him — this is simply not what a Chief Strategist should be.

Realizing this, Ling Sha's gaze gradually hardens with resolve, the corner of her mouth hooking a faint, meaningful smile.

Since she is Xuan Ge's Chief Strategist, with authority to restrain his conduct, she must act; she can no longer stand by with folded sleeves.

Simultaneously, inside the Main Hall of the Shen Wei General's Mansion, the air seems frozen into ice, every wisp of airflow carrying bone-piercing cold.

A clear, cold voice laced with fury shatters the hall's dead silence.

"Di Heng Si sends word..... Xingcha Hai Zhong Shu Third Sector, captured several Outworlders impersonating the Shen Wei General walking the streets....."

Xing Xiao sits in Xuan Ge's General's Chair, her gray-purple eyes seven parts cold indifference, three parts anger; the faint purple star-ring light coiling around her flickers bright and dim, clearly straining to suppress her rage.

Her right hand clutches a dispatch report from Di Heng Si so tightly her knuckles whiten, fingertips nearly crushing the document.

Xuan Ge, meanwhile, slouches lazily in the chair Ling Sha normally uses for office work, head tilted back, eyes shut tight.

One leg hooked casually over the desk edge, foot tip swaying gently, posture lazy to the extreme.

Hearing Xing Xiao's words, he doesn't even open his eyes, merely issuing a casual, drawling order:

"Annotation: Imitation is fine, but go to the designated place to do it. Don't ruin this General's reputation out there."

"You....." Xing Xiao heard this rogue's annotation, and anger made her bite her teeth slightly, silver teeth lightly biting her lower lip, the fury in her eyes burning even brighter.

But she still forcefully suppressed her anger, picked up the brush on the desk, and wrote the annotation on the document according to Xuan Ge's meaning.

The sound of the brush tip scraping across the paper, in this moment of silence within the hall, appeared exceptionally clear, carrying a few degrees of suppressed fury.

Finished writing the annotation, Xing Xiao slammed the document heavily onto the communication device beside the desk, and pressed the send button.

The device emitted a light "beep" sound, and began sending a reply message back to the Diheng Division.

Done with all this, she stood in place, her chest rising and falling slightly, obviously still not calmed down from the anger just now.

Time passed bit by bit, the Main Hall fell into silence once again, leaving only Xuan Ge's steady breathing.

Xuan Ge waited for a good while, but didn't hear the sound of Xing Xiao continuing to read the next document. He frowned slightly, muttering in his heart: What is this woman up to again?

He slowly opened his eyes, just wanting to raise his head and see what Xing Xiao was doing, but violently met a pair of icy eyes.

Xing Xiao had unknowingly already walked to his front, staring down at him from above, the cold aura surrounding her body almost freezing him.

Xuan Ge raised an eyebrow, not caring in the slightest about Xing Xiao's icy aura, but instead his tone carrying a few degrees of teasing:

"What? Just because that koi in the mansion spat a mouthful of saliva at you, you went and killed it.

Although it didn't say anything, but I have you handle some documents and that's not allowed?"

Xing Xiao heard these shameless words, her chest heaved violently twice, obviously angered quite severely.

She took a deep breath, striving to calm the fury in her heart, and said word by word: "I'll compensate you."

"Compensate?"

Xuan Ge sneered once, slowly sat up straight, the corner of his mouth hooking up a trace of mocking smile, looking at Xing Xiao and explaining.

"You probably don't know, that fat koi has already had descendants of the same generation, a whole family of several dozen fish, swimming happily in the pond.

You say you killed it, what will you use to compensate?"

Xing Xiao looked down at him from above, her gaze as if looking at a pile of garbage, her tone carrying thick disdain:

"Someone as selfish and full of bad intentions as you would still care about a koi's life or death?"

Xuan Ge put away the mockery on his face, straightened his body, looked at Xing Xiao seriously, his tone carrying a few degrees of gravity:

"That's different. That koi was raised by me personally from a fry.

These years I've served it good food and drink, changing water and feeding were all done by me personally, it's long since not an ordinary fish anymore."

Xing Xiao fundamentally didn't believe his ghost talk, merely standing there coldly, quietly watching him, her eyes without the slightest ripple, as if watching a boring farce.

The two deadlocked for a moment, Xuan Ge suddenly spoke, tone flat yet carrying an undeniable determination:

"Add money."

Finished speaking, Xuan Ge lifted his chin, signaling Xing Xiao to continue reading those remaining unimportant documents on the desk to him, his posture still lazy.

Xing Xiao froze, obviously not expecting Xuan Ge would say such words.

She stared at Xuan Ge for a good while, a trace of astonishment flashing through her gray-purple eyes, then replaced by even deeper anger.

The cold aura surrounding her body surged again, the temperature in the hall dropping a few more degrees, even the desk rising with a thin layer of ice slag.

Xuan Ge however didn't care in the slightest, leaned back against the chair back again, closed his eyes, a "you handle it" appearance.

Xing Xiao clenched her fists tightly, fingertips turning white, nails almost embedding into her palm.

She took a deep breath, striving to suppress the impulse to make a move, ultimately still turning around and picking up the next document on the desk.

An icy voice rang out in the hall once again, only this time, the fury in the voice was a few degrees more intense.....