The Jade Chamber had always been Ningguang's best place of work. However, her usual three constant assistants were now Keqing and Ganyu.
"Ganyu, do you think he should be allowed into the Golden House?" Ningguang looked at the form on her desk, on which Yu Jin's headshot was remarkably clear.
As if sensing Ningguang's gaze, the photo of Yu Jin on the form even waved at Ningguang.
"??!!" Ningguang picked up the form in horror. Her phoenix eyes widened as she stared intently at Yu Jin, as if trying to confirm whether what she had just seen was an illusion.
She was afraid Keqing and Ganyu wouldn't believe her, but she had actually seen the headshot move!
"Ningguang, what's wrong? Is there a problem with this?" Keqing, seeing Ningguang's surprised expression, leaned over to take a look.
However, besides the crooked, unrecognizably scribbled characters and Yu Jin's headshot, she saw nothing else.
Ningguang put down the document, rubbed her eyes, and said, "It's nothing, I might just be tired from not resting enough, my eyes are playing tricks on me."
"Tell me your thoughts."
With that, Ningguang took out her pipe, preparing to have a puff.
Ningguang only smoked in two situations: first, when gathering with friends and feeling joyful; second, when facing an unsolved problem and feeling perplexed.
Now, it was clearly the latter.
"Uh..., don't ask me. Personnel appointments in the Golden House are not within my scope of duties. I manage the land. Ask Ganyu, she definitely has ideas."
Keqing immediately waved her hand, passing the buck to Ganyu.
Keqing herself was conflicted. The Golden House was of great importance, and it was neither reasonable nor logical to allow someone of unknown origin like Yu Jin to hold a position there.
However, she also wanted to consult Yu Jin and didn't want to offend him. Between these two considerations, Keqing simply buried her head in the sand.
Anyway, no matter what, she wouldn't lose out.
"Ah? Me?" Ganyu shook her head and refused after hearing Keqing's words, "You two should know, I am a secretary and it's not appropriate for me to express opinions on such matters. It's up to Tianquan and Yuheng to decide."
Ganyu passed the buck back again.
"Phew—, you two are quick to shirk responsibility." Ningguang exhaled a puff of light smoke. But her tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of relaxing.
[This tobacco isn't good.] Ningguang shook her head, emptying the unburnt tobacco from her pipe.
Good smoke could make her thoughts clearer. Clearly, this tobacco wasn't good enough this time.
Just as Ningguang was about to call Baiwen to bring new tobacco, she inadvertently caught sight of a charred wooden box, out of place with the luxurious ambiance of the Jade Chamber—it was the "tobacco" Yu Jin had given her.
"I'm not saying this lightly, Ningguang, but you really should try to kick your smoking habit." Keqing waved her hand, fanning away the slightly fragrant smoke.
The tobacco Ningguang smoked, while called smoke, wasn't quite like it. Besides ordinary tobacco, it was heavily mixed with spices from various nations.
It didn't have the pungent smell of regular tobacco; instead, it had a peculiar, exotic aroma.
"Heh heh, this is one of my few hobbies. Besides, I'm not smoking in public, am I?"
Ningguang smiled, opened the dark wooden box, and then she froze.
Because inside the box wasn't tobacco shreds, but fine ash. Were there such tobaccos in The Seven Nations?
Casually scooping a spoonful of ash with her pipe, just as Ningguang was about to say something, she suddenly felt her hand lighten.
"Clatter."
The jade pipe melted and broke, continuously emitting black smoke.
"Sizzle boom—"
"Fire!"
Flames erupted from the thick smoke, and Ningguang's desk suddenly caught fire.
"Frost Bloom!"
With Ganyu's clear shout, a lotus made of ice crystals bloomed.
The lotus appeared from the flames, then burst open. Ice crystals mixed with water scattered, rushing towards the Burning fire.
It was strange; although the fire looked fierce, Ganyu's small ice lotus managed to extinguish it directly.
The fire came quickly and went quickly.
Ningguang patted her qipao, which had been blackened by smoke. The ash didn't come off, but her hands got quite black.
"Phew—" Ningguang threw away the half-broken pipe in her hand and let out a deep breath.
"I know how to arrange him now." Ningguang still had that smiling expression, but the bulging veins on her forehead looked unsettling no matter how one saw them.
"How will you arrange him?" Keqing swallowed, it was the first time she had seen Ningguang's expression so terrifying.
"Doesn't the Ministry of Civil Affairs always say they're short on people for the restrooms? Arrange for him to clean the toilets!"
Keqing looked at the amiable Ningguang and decisively swallowed her advice.
[Senior, oh Senior, you brought this upon yourself, I can't help you.]
..."Phew—"
Amidst a huge cloud of smoke, there was an extremely muscular figure.
Bulging muscles and throbbing veins all spoke of his strength. The pinnacle of the human physique could be nothing more than this.
Godfrey, or rather, Hoarah Loux. The former Elden Lord, who had conquered all directions and expanded the territory of the Golden Dynasty across the entirety of The Lands Between.
Of course, now he was unemployed, relying entirely on his son for support.
"Cough, cough, cough! Where did you break off that scarecrow's arm? Put it back quickly!"
On Godfrey's shoulder, a lion covered in iron armor appeared, sneezed, and said.
"This isn't a scarecrow's arm, this is the smoke I made." Godfrey held between two fingers a "smoke" as thick as a man's arm, made from dried yellow grass compressed and re-compressed and tanned, and took a deep puff.
Then this "smoke" quickly burned, instantly turning into ash. At the same time, the smoke in the room had become so thick that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.
"Father, ho... cough, cough, cough!"
The door opened, and walking through the hazy smoke was a "monster" with horns growing from his head.
He was called a "monster" because many interlocking spiral horns grew from his head, large patches of keratin almost covering half of his skull.
Beneath the cloak was skin ashen and wrinkled like wood, with scales of various shapes mixed with downy hair growing from it. He looked like a life woven from a hundred different creatures.
Morgott, son of Godfrey. Also the most despised and taboo "Omen" of the Golden Dynasty.
"Haha! Morgott, you're here!" Godfrey let out a few hearty laughs, then he exhaled sharply.
"Phew—" Two streams of whitish air erupted from Godfrey's nostrils, blowing away all the thick smoke in the room.
Morgott plunged his staff-like Cursed Sword into the ground, and a huge gust of wind surged through the room.
The strong wind blew open Morgott's cloak, revealing his equally robust physique.
If Godfrey's bulging muscles represented the ultimate in strength, then Morgott was the ultimate in resilience.
He didn't have many muscles, but they looked like steel, reflecting a grayish-blue sheen even though the light in the room wasn't strong.
"Father, what were you doing just now?" Morgott looked at the ashes on the ground and asked, puzzled.
Could it be that his old man had finally come to his senses and was actively learning magic or Prayer or something?
But he quickly shook his head self-deprecatingly. His father's muscles had directly grown into his brain; learning magic? Godfrey's muscles were the best magic.
That robust musculature could probably tear even Comet Azur, which represented the turbulent star-filled sky, to shreds.
"I was smoking just now." Godfrey said, scratching his head.
"Smoking? It's best not to do something that causes DMG to both body and mind." Morgott frowned slightly. Didn't his father like fighting the most? Why was he learning to smoke?
"Hmm..., didn't you tell me not to fight people all the time? So I wanted to try some other hobbies."
Godfrey scratched his head, saying to the son he owed so much.
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