Dragon Tiger Fight
Ao Ming covered his burning, swollen left cheek, and walked with a murderous aura with every step.
Qian Jin followed him like a little tail, not too far away, her steps light and her eyes curious as she looked around at the place where she was about to start working.
Compared to the extravagance of other halls in the God of Wealth's Palace, the main hall of the Prayer Hall appears much simpler, but it is still undeniably exquisite and elegant.
The floor was paved with white jade, the windows were carved with wood, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood and... a strange aroma mixed with all sorts of human scents, like incense, candles, prayer paper, and even a hint of sweetness from candy and pastries.
The hall was originally bustling with noise, with celestial officials and maidens bustling about, processing the mountain of jade slips containing prayers from the mortal realm. But the moment Ao Ming and Qian Jin stepped across the threshold, the entire hall fell into complete silence.
All eyes turned to the two of them.
To be precise, the focus wasn't on Ao Ming's horribly disfigured pig-like face, but rather on the new face behind him.
Those who played the little demon robbers just now were all their own people from the Prayer Bureau. Qian Jin's earth-shattering feat on the cloud boat, a feat worthy of being recorded in the glorious annals of the God of Wealth Temple for ten thousand years, had already spread throughout the entire bureau at lightning speed through communication jade talismans and word-of-mouth from eyewitnesses.
The crowd instinctively stepped back a few paces, creating a small vacuum around Qian Jin and Ao Ming, as if getting too close would result in being affected by the malevolent energy of her physical exorcism.
At this moment, everyone looked at Qian Jin with admiration, awe, curiosity, and a hint of... horror.
"Hiss... Look, Senior Brother Ao Ming's face..."
"My God, it's swollen like this? That was really ruthless!"
"It's her! It's her! She's the one in charge of departmental testing this year! She broke all the testing equipment!"
"She was already at the top of the trending list during the exams, and it looks like she'll be number one again today!"
Whispering voices, like mosquitoes buzzing, filled the silent hall. Ao Ming listened, feeling his face sting even more. His anger flared, and he wished he could disappear into the ground.
He glared at Qian Jin, who looked completely innocent behind him, and was about to yell, "What are you looking at!" when a voice filled with obvious mockery and schadenfreude rang out.
"Oh my! Isn't this our handsome and valiant Third Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace?" A figure suddenly cut in from the side, blocking Ao Ming's way.
The newcomer was a young man, lean and tall, with a healthy wheat-colored complexion, large and bright eyes, and a pair of sharp little tiger teeth that made him look wild and cunning when he smiled.
He was dressed in a dark green outfit, with a string of animal teeth ornaments hanging from his waist, making him look like a lithe little leopard ready to pounce.
At this moment, he was crossing his arms, looking Ao Ming up and down, clicking his tongue and grinning from ear to ear.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this look... is quite unique! You're swollen like a little hamster! What's wrong, Third Prince Ao? I heard you went out for a while and someone changed your name? What's it now..." The boy deliberately dragged out his words, glancing at Qian Jin with undisguised provocation and instigation, "Ao Ming? Hahaha!"
This young man was none other than Lord Yinshan, the young master of the Wild Forest Tiger Clan, whose nickname was Brother Ban.
He and Ao Ming, one a descendant of the King of the Mountains and Forests, the other the Crown Prince of the Deep Sea Dragon Clan, were born with conflicting attributes. Coupled with their youthful temperaments, they were at odds from the moment they met, making them a well-known rivalry within the Prayer Bureau.
Ao Ming was already seething with anger, and Ban Ge'er's provocation made him explode instantly: "You big worm! Are you looking for death?! Believe me or not, I'll let you taste the flavor of dragon claws right now?!" He was so angry that he forgot about the injury on his face and was about to pounce, but the movement was too big and aggravated the injury. He cried out in pain and gasped for breath, and his momentum immediately weakened by half.
"Come on, come on!" Ban Ge'er was not afraid at all. Instead, he excitedly moved forward, his little tiger teeth shining. "Let me see if your hamster face can still use your dragon clan's special skills! Will you spray water or fire? Oh, I forgot, you can probably only spray some blood foam now?" As he spoke, he deliberately imitated Qian Jin's slapping motion on the cloud boat, waving his little paw in the air with exaggerated and annoying movements.
"I'll fight you to the death!" Ao Ming was so angry that his dragon horns almost popped out. He covered his face and was about to charge forward.
"Enough! You two!"
A gentle yet authoritative female voice rang out. A fairy-like figure, dressed in a light blue flowing cloud-patterned dress, strode over. She was beautiful, with a gentle and warm temperament, yet possessed a calming power in her eyes.
She grabbed Ao Ming and Ban Ge'er by the back of their collars, one in each hand, and easily separated the two tense teenagers as if they were two unruly kittens.
"Ao Ming! Your face doesn't hurt anymore, right?" The gentle older sister frowned slightly as she spoke to Ao Ming, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.
Upon seeing the person in front of him, Ao Ming's imposing manner immediately diminished, and he covered his mouth and groaned softly.
The gentle older sister then turned to Brother Ban: "And you, Brother Ban! Are you planning to sweep the Echo Pool of Wish Power again for three months? The old resentment bubbles in that pool, just a little bit of them is enough to keep you washing for half a year!"
Ban Ge'er's smile froze. Thinking of the stinky, sticky Echo Pool, he shrank back and muttered, "Sister Lan, I was just joking..."
Although their eyes were still clashing in the air, conveying the messages "You wait!" and "Are you scared of me?", under Sister Lan's intimidation, they eventually stopped fighting and temporarily ceased their battle.
Lan Jie'er then let go of her hand, shook her head helplessly, and turned to Qian Jin, who had been quietly watching the show from the side. Her face instantly changed to a warm smile: "Junior Sister Qian Jin, don't mind these two immature monkeys. Come on, I'll take you to your room first."
Qian Jin nodded obediently, "Okay, thank you, Sister Lan." She had a good impression of this senior sister who could easily handle those two unruly children.
Lan Jie'er led Qian Jin through the hall and towards the residential area at the back.
Along the way, she gently introduced the situation of the Prayer Bureau: "Our Prayer Bureau is divided into twelve groups according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, with four people in each group, responsible for handling the prayers of mortals who come in at the corresponding time and in the corresponding area. Our group is the 'Chen' group, and I will temporarily serve as the group leader."
She pointed to Ao Ming and Ban Ge'er, who were still glaring at each other behind her: "Look, Ao Ming is a member of our group. Ban Ge'er is from the 'Yin' group. These two are a bit arrogant, but they're not bad people, they're just a little... well, they need to be taught a lesson." Lan Jie'er smiled and pursed her lips.
As Qian Jin listened, the image of two newly weaned puppies that she had seen in the human world inexplicably surfaced in her mind.
They're all fluffy and adorable, yet they insist on baring their teeth at each other like wild beasts, making threatening howls, rolling around in a ball, and having a great time.
She couldn't help but smile.
As they spoke, the two arrived at a relatively secluded side room. Sister Lan pushed open the door: "We're here, Junior Sister Qian, this is it. It's rare for a female fairy to come to our Prayer Bureau. Knowing you were coming, I quickly prepared this place. It's a bit small, but you'll have to make do for now. We'll move you to a better place later."
The room was small and simply furnished: a bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe, all made of plain wood without any unnecessary decorations. But it was bright and clean.
The most amazing thing about the whole room is the view from the window.
Outside the window was not a secluded courtyard, but a gently sloping area with an extremely open view. Scattered on the slope were carefully tended spiritual gardens, where various immortal herbs and medicinal plants were bathed in the soft sunlight. Their leaves were unfurled, flowing with spiritual light that was either emerald green, pale purple, or golden red, like a colorful galaxy splashed on the earth.
A gentle breeze rustled the herbs, sending forth a refreshing and pure aura, brimming with the vitality of plants, rushing into the room and instantly washing away the dust and noise that Qian Jin had picked up along the way, allowing every pore of her skin to open up comfortably.
Beyond this vibrant spiritual garden lies the boundless天地 (heaven and earth).
The rolling sea of clouds seemed within reach. They were not a lifeless, pure white, but rather stirred by an invisible giant hand, displaying magnificent and fantastical colors under the sunlight: the edges were a brilliant gold like molten gold, the middle was a calm and deep indigo, and further away were tinged with dreamy rosy purple and warm orange.
The clouds surge and roll, sometimes gathering into majestic snow-capped mountains, sometimes scattering into light, drifting fluff, ever-changing and ever-changing in their appearance.
Several dazzling golden streaks pierced the clouds, the trails left by celestial birds, divine beasts, or flying magical artifacts soaring higher above. Gazing into the distance, in the hazy distance where the sea of clouds meets the sky, the dark silhouettes of several floating immortal mountains could be vaguely seen, like sleeping behemoths, silently guarding this magnificent world.
This window is like a giant, ever-flowing painting.
Qian Jin's eyes lit up instantly. She walked quickly to the window, her face beaming with undisguised joy: "Sister Lan! This is wonderful! I love it! Thank you!" Her affection was sincere and direct.
Seeing that Qian Jin genuinely liked it, Lan Jie'er breathed a sigh of relief, her smile deepening: "I'm glad you like it. The scenery outside the window changes every hour, it's different each time. Oh, by the way," she pointed to a corner of the room, "the fairy who lived here before has been transferred, and there are some odds and ends she left behind that she didn't have time to pack up. I've roughly sorted them out, see if there's anything usable, if not, I'll have someone take them away." In the corner were a few small wooden boxes and several old jade slips piled up.
Qian Jin's gaze swept over the small wooden boxes, her mind quickly estimating what scraps might be inside and whether they were valuable. Yet, she said sweetly, "Thank you, Sister Lan! I haven't had a chance to ask your name yet on the way here."
"Look at my memory." Lan Jie'er smiled. "I am from the Qingqiu Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, and my name is Tu Shan Lan. You should get ready and familiarize yourself with the surroundings. Tonight, our Prayer Division is hosting a welcome banquet, which will also be a good opportunity to introduce you to the last member of our Chen Group."
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