"There's something I want to discuss with you," Li Changzhou said to Zheng Qing after making the exchange, as they searched the corridor for the exit.

Zheng Qing hesitated for a moment.

"Don't worry," Li Changzhou said with a slight smile, "It's not any secret talks. It doesn't matter if someone overhears."

"By saying that, aren't you making it difficult for little Qing to work at the Special Warfare Bureau in the future?" Turquoise Pool chided him with a laugh, cosying up to Li Changzhou as if they were lovers in Yang Qinglan's absence.

"Hey," Li Changzhou looked up and addressed the ceiling, "Zheng Qing isn't my undercover agent, and I have no interest in the secrets of the Special Warfare Bureau."

It was meant as a joke, but there was a response.

A gentle female voice replied with a hint of amusement, "Mr. Changzhou, if you wish to know, we could tell you everything about the Special Warfare Bureau."

Did they know Li Changzhou wasn't interested in power, so they wanted to co-opt him?

Li Changzhou didn't take the bait and turned to his sister and Turquoise Pool instead: "The Special Warfare Bureau must think I'm a lecher. Bi, Yafeiluna, the Queen of Cangqiong Star and Four Seasons Star, they think I'm surrounded by women and have a questionable lifestyle, so they send a woman to meet with me."

"I can attest that my brother is one hundred percent a gentleman."

Zheng Qing also laughed, "I can attest that the Special Warfare Bureau didn't send me to seduce your brother."

"You dare say one hundred percent?" Li Qianxia joked.

"Dare I...?" Zheng Qing didn't answer.

Li Changzhou continued the original topic:

"Since someone's listening, this makes things easier—I encountered a group of aliens in the subway instance. They used their devices to lock onto an item, which just happens to be on ancient Earth. Their technological civilization is very advanced, and it's very possible they might come to modern Earth."

After a moment of silence, the gentle female voice from before asked, "Could you elaborate on that?"

"I'm just giving you a heads-up," Li Changzhou waved his hand, "The other party is an Immortal. If they really come, I will stop them. Besides, we got along relatively well in the instance."

"The other party is also female," Turquoise Pool chimed in with a laugh.

Li Changzhou shot her an impatient glance—as a joke, showing his annoyance at her talkativeness.

Zheng Qing opened a door, and to their surprise, it led to Yanhe Road in Ming City, the courtyard that Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia used to rent.

Li Qianxia walked in first, feeling nostalgic. She hadn't expected the government to have reconstructed the place—after it had been bombed.

"Has this item become more powerful, or has its user become more powerful?" Li Changzhou was more interested in the corridor.

Zheng Qing smiled without speaking. She only assured the Special Warfare Bureau wouldn't harm Li Changzhou; she wasn't really on his side.

"Just now you said you could tell me everything about the Special Warfare Bureau." Li Changzhou suggested that people can be deceitful, and that it's best to take pleasantries with a grain of salt.

"I'm just a receptionist. High-level affairs require someone else to contact you," Zheng Qing laughed, "The property rights to this courtyard are registered under Qian Xia's name. The property certificate is in the living room, along with the rights to two car spaces."

So that was the Special Warfare Bureau's kind gesture to bring them back here, right?

By having Li Changzhou occasionally return, the Special Warfare Bureau could conveniently contact him; otherwise, he would be either outside the atmosphere (collecting Qi brilliance or on the Moon), or in a different world, making it impossible to get in touch with him.

As for why it was registered under Li Qianxia's name, it was simple. Li Changzhou doted on Li Qianxia and had no interest in wealth (he only had 230 in savings).

"Registered under my name?" Li Qianxia was momentarily confused, "I got a car and a house in one day?"

"A house on the Moon and a motorcycle on Cangqiong Star also count as a house and a car," Li Changzhou felt she was being unambitious.

"That's different; those are like the other world. I still need my own house and car in Xia Country!"

"So you're staying here?"

"Well—" Li Qianxia looked at the freshly planted apricot tree in the courtyard and fell silent.

Good as it may be, it stank. She couldn't be expected to weaken herself just to live here, could she?

While the siblings bickered, Zheng Qing asked Turquoise Pool, "I will let the driver know. Should she go back on her own, or come to Ming City?"

"Let her go back."

"Okay." Zheng Qing disappeared again through the main door.

Curious, Li Qianxia tried opening the door again, and this time outside was a perfectly ordinary street scene.

Stone-paved roads, lit streetlights, a kid practicing skateboarding by himself, two girls walking past with cups of milk tea in hand, the passing crowds, a warm night.

"Let's go back," Li Changzhou said.

The three returned to the other world, which was also at night, the sky full of twinkling stars shining through the leaves of the giant trees.

"How did it change like this?" Li Qianxia wondered.

The lofty Bird Nest Plain had turned into a streamside, with the water from the 500-meter deep lake having risen up.

"Diamonds," Li Changzhou explained, "I tossed the diamond into the lake."

Turquoise Pool slowly turned to look at him: "Did you crush my Dragon Palace?"

It then dawned on Li Changzhou that Turquoise Pool had placed the Dragon Palace she brought back from the Jiajing Dynasty at the bottom of the lake.

"...It can't be crushed, after all, it's the Dragon Palace," he said.

"Not necessarily," Li Qianxia mused, intentionally undermining him, "Your diamond is pretty large."

"..."

"The diamond is mine," Turquoise Pool declared.

"That one was for Qing Lan. If I owe you, I can find another," Li Changzhou countered.

"Half of it."

"Not even half."

"Are you trying to weasel out of this?" Turquoise Pool's bright eyes widened slightly, almost accusing.

"Do I owe you anything?" Li Changzhou sat down in a chair, defiantly deciding not to pay.

Bird Nest Plain was vast, and if you didn't walk to the edge, you would think you were on some grassland. The night breeze was a bit chilly, a sensation Li Changzhou might not have experienced for a long time.

"Where's Qing Lan?" Li Qianxia looked around and then up at the tree trunk.

The thick and broad trunk was like paths, extending into the dense "forest."

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