I Am Your Natural Enemy

Looks like the relationship between the two Scorching Sun Departments really isn't all that harmonious.

"And then? This is official business, right? Even if the relationship isn't great, people shouldn't be throwing tantrums over work like this, should they?"

"I'm not done yet. My relationship with the new minister of Guanzhong County's Scorching Sun Department is also just so-so."

"If it's just so-so, then send an official communication, coordinate the investigation of some files, maybe interview some ghosts from back in the day, shouldn't be a big deal, right? After all, it's the folks below doing the work, it's not like the minister himself is handling it."

"I once broke five of his ribs."

"..."

Wen Yan was pretty shocked.

"Minister, exactly how many people have you pissed off? With this many enemies, how did you even make it this far up?"

"Well, in the first several decades, I was a bit stiff-necked, my back wasn't good, couldn't bend, plus I couldn't help cursing at people all the time, so, yeah, ended up rubbing a few people the wrong way.

Besides, I think asking Lord Zhu about this might work out better.

But that guy, he's got a bad temper, and we've got basically zero overlap.

I'm worried we won't get through a few sentences before I offend him too.

Why don't you go ask him instead."

"Is this urgent?"

"Not exactly urgent, just need to be prepared. According to our calculations, people at that level usually aren't in a rush to jump into the spotlight.

Just like that Dragon God, his biggest goal is just recovery.

As long as things stay peaceful, everyone's fine with it.

The Scorching Sun Department wants harmony too."

"Alright then, I'm going to Lord Zhu's birthday next month anyway, so I'll ask him in person when I see him. Suddenly calling up to ask about family matters isn't really appropriate.

Since you said it yourself, odds are, this is totally tied up with Old Zhu's family.

Even asking face to face feels awkward, and calling would be even weirder.

It's not like Lord Zhu is Old Meng, that sly businessman."

Cai Qidong thought it over and agreed, then thought for another moment.

"Tell you what, I'll give you something. If you think it works, use it as a birthday present. If not, just do whatever you want with it."

After the chat, Wen Yan hung up, clicking his tongue in amazement.

He thought, Cai Heizi actually offering a gift proactively—for sure, the relationship between him and the new minister of Guanzhong County's Scorching Sun Department must be really bad.

If he says he only broke five of the guy's ribs, he's probably understating it.

And with the already not-great relationship between Guanzhong County and Nanwu County's Scorching Sun Departments...

If he's unlucky, when he goes to Guanzhong County, he might get caught up in the crossfire because of all this.

If that Stone Mountain wasn't so close to his home, and if Wen Yan weren't also worried about the Dragon God in the West River and that yet-to-appear Mountain Lord getting into a fight, he honestly wouldn't want to take on any of Minister Cai's jobs.

Plus, as things stand, that Stone Mountain apparently once had a passage to the Nether Soul Realm, so this is tangled up with the Nether Soul Realm too.

There's no way to ignore it.

The next couple of days were surprisingly peaceful—Wen Yan just stayed home, goofed around with his silly son, and watched the kid get noticeably chubbier, the rolls on his arms looking like little fat swim rings.

After temporarily sealing his Spirit Platform Dao Foundation, just one day later, the silly kid had already forgotten about yesterday's toys and was happily playing with the new ones.

When he was bored, Wen Yan would check on Xiao Wu—Xiao Wu always seemed cheerful, even the Little Zombie liked to play with him.

All the little ones—including his silly son—liked to watch Xiao Wu draw, though who knows if they actually understood what Xiao Wu was painting.

On checking, he found that Xiao Wu's soul really had recovered a bit. Who knows what he experienced during that time, or what soulful paintings he made.

But judging by the state of things, those paintings must have already been used up, spent on repairing his soul.

Wu Tingsheng had also been in a good mood lately, didn't care about anything else, just stayed home with his son. Life was getting more pleasant by the day, even his wife was willing to stay in Virtue City now, going out shopping or to the salon with friends in Yu State on weekends.

The weekend came, and he got a call saying the furniture he'd ordered was ready. They asked if he wanted to come check it out and see if there were any changes needed before delivery.

Worked out perfectly; he also needed to visit his Seventh Great-Uncle Master anyway—his old man had pretty much finished picking people, and the details he'd been discussing with Nanwu County's Scorching Sun Department were more or less settled—it was about time to take the folks back.

And, he needed to visit Minister Cai to pick up the gift that old stingy iron rooster was giving him.

Minister Cai had said that this gift wasn't really suitable for courier delivery.

Anything sent via the Scorching Sun Department's logistics had to be registered, and this item, well, it wasn't exactly obtained by, let's say, the straightest path.

Wen Yan took the high-speed rail to Yu State, checked out the furniture—all crafted in a thousand-year-old aesthetic, the workmanship stunning, luxurious yet understated.

This was for Aunt Gan—no way could he show up with something shabby.

Wen Yan looked everything over. Besides the obviously hefty labor costs and the imposing, tasteful look, the best part was the amazing attention to detail—the craftsmen had clearly been painstakingly careful.

He paid the bill, gave them a shipping address, and left.

He called up the Scorching Sun Department, got an address, and set off to another orphanage—the last stop for his Seventh Great-Uncle Master's trip this time.

The place was small, on the edge of town, and the kids there weren't actually that young. Looked like at least half were over ten years old.