Facing an Ancient God for a Year

“This doesn’t fit Yuan Shan’s character at all, it kind of feels like a setup.”

That was Fu Qian’s first reaction after reading Yuan Shan’s letter.

However, after thinking it through, he didn’t put the letter back and pretend he hadn’t seen it.

Not to mention that in this Divine Envoy incident, he had certainly played a significant enough role to get full credit.

Even if they really meant him harm, Yuan Shan was probably still recovering from his injuries, surely not desperate enough to rush things.

And another crucial point, even if he were ambushed at the Night Watchman’s base, he could always take off his mask and walk away.

...

So, he might as well find out what Yuan Shan was really up to.

…

“Mr. Fang, please follow me.”

To his surprise, the person who came to meet him following the announcement was Yuan Shan’s secretary, Xiao Mingyue, if he remembered correctly?

Previously a victim of a scheme, she went for psychological recovery, which seemed to have worked pretty quick.

But Xiao Mingyue now was starkly different from before.

Not only was her presence much more subdued, but she also spoke with great deference, hardly daring to make eye contact with Fu Qian.

It seemed she had learned her lesson from this incident.

Fu Qian didn’t say much, just hummed in affirmation, feigning expertise, and let her lead the way.

“You’re much more hardworking than I imagined.”

Soon, Fu Qian saw Yuan Shan, who still looked somewhat defeated.

There he was, languidly reclined in a lounger, smiling and greeting Fu Qian.

“You too.”

Fu Qian didn’t beat around the bush and took a seat right in front of him.

“How’s Brother Logan?

“He’s been sent back to headquarters.”

Yuan Shan’s face turned somber at Fu Qian’s question about Logan.

“But the prognosis isn’t good, Lord Logan’s mind is almost entirely in collapse.”

“Right now, all they can do is prevent the situation from getting worse.”

The Night Watchman can’t handle it either? The Native Council really has some extraordinary capabilities!

If worse comes to worst, the Night Watchman could consult with the Council and transform Brother Logan into something like Ariel.

Although Brother Logan has lost his human form, Fu Qian always felt that Ariel, before becoming the Chinese Room, probably wasn’t much stronger.

“Is it that bad? I thought they called me here because he woke up and wanted to cause trouble.”

“…Don’t worry, the Night Watchman isn’t that ungrateful.”

Yuan Shan was left speechless by Fu Qian’s words, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Considering the gravity of the situation, I’ve already given a detailed report to headquarters about everything.”

“So, they are quite aware of the role you played and they even wished to express their gratitude through me.”

“The reason I asked you over is for something else.”

As she spoke, Yuan Shan’s smile turned strange.

“Just recently, a colleague arrived and, having heard about what happened, stated a desire to meet with you and understand the details.”

Before she finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.

Xiao Mingyue promptly went to answer it.

The door slowly opened to reveal a tall figure standing outside.

Dressed in black, with skin white as snow.

What a small world!

Fu Qian massaged his temples, filled with emotion.

Indeed, the scene before him was unexpected.

Yes, the late helper was none other than Su Gao.

Gone were the traces of white porcelain on his face, and there was a transformative change in his aura.

Clearly, he had done justice to the training bestowed upon him, not only had he extricated himself successfully, but he had also ascended to demigod status.

Upon seeing Fu Qian, Su Gao’s eyes changed, filled with surprise and confusion.

It seemed he recognized him.

But that was no surprise. Although he had changed his face, he hadn’t made any other deliberate attempts to disguise himself.

In the gaze of the three people present, the one who had now entered appeared a little hesitant, clearly analyzing the current scenario and figuring out how to greet him.

From the corner of his eye, Fu Qian could see that Yuan Shan was observing the scene with interest, confirming her own reaction to meeting Su Gao.

It was indeed a deliberate arrangement, because he had investigated Su Gao’s information before?

Quite spirited, eh? Still finding the time to test me at this hour.

Seems like I was not ruthless enough back then.

And judging by Su Gao’s demeanor, she had been completely unaware before.

Without a change in expression, Fu Qian naturally greeted Su Gao.

“Demigod now?”

The tone was as if bumping into a neighbor while taking a stroll and asking if they had eaten yet.

…

Yuan Shan kept her composure well enough, but Xiao Mingyue nearly tripped and fell to the ground beside her.

What’s with this guy? How is he so familiar with this newly minted demigod!

Mm.

Hearing Fu Qian say that, Su Gao relaxed and responded warmly with a sound.

“I still need to thank you for your help.”

“Just a trifling matter, mostly it was all your doing.”

Fu Qian didn’t hide it and acknowledged it directly.

“I’m very aware that it’d have been difficult just by myself.”

Su Gao smiled faintly.

“If Mr. Fang weren’t there, it would have been real danger this time—”

The next moment, her gaze suddenly froze.

What’s wrong? Fu Qian followed her gaze, and she was actually looking at his hand.

White Ring?

Fu Qian immediately realized what it was.

The reward from this mission had been worn on his hand before.

The atmosphere got a bit weird, didn’t it?

Fu Qian looked at his new ring.

Even though the anomalies on Su Gao disappeared after becoming a demigod,

she, having been a half-doll for so many years, couldn’t have been nonreactive to the material on his hand.

And this item was indeed a bit hard to explain.

Luckily, one of Fu Qian’s strengths was that he didn’t know what awkwardness was.

“Did you have a mission this time?”

In the face of her complicated look, he chose not to explain at all.

What else could he do?

Take it off and give it to her? Wouldn’t that be even weirder?

…

“No, I was just passing by after completing a previous task, and when I heard about the situation here, I thought I’d come over and lend a hand.”

Su Gao withdrew her gaze and shook her head.

Is that so, it seems the timing of your last mission was not too long ago.

“The two of you know each other? That’s really wonderful!”

Seeing the atmosphere turning silent, Yuan Shan, whose mind had stuttered, finally snapped back to reality and got up to invite Su Gao to sit inside.

“Had I known, there’d have been no need to trouble Mr. Fang to make a special trip; I could’ve just asked Executioner Yan to find you at the bookstore.”

She didn’t know much about the newly ascended demigod; Su Gao’s responding to her call for help this time was completely unexpected.

Although she missed the events regarding Ariel because they ended too quickly, when she heard Su Gao announce her name, Yuan Shan suddenly remembered something else—Fu Qian had once specifically looked up this person’s information.

On a whim, she decided to arrange for the two to meet, taking the chance to observe Fu Qian’s reaction.

She thought it was just a casual move, but who would have expected that these two seemed to indeed have a history.

And your conversation, it’s too indifferent to the surroundings!

“You have a bookstore?”

Unexpectedly, Su Gao didn’t react to her words but looked at Fu Qian with bright eyes.

“Yes.”

“May I visit it?”