On this day, Gu Lingling had just picked a fresh pumpkin from the open space. The pumpkin was round and plump, with morning dew still clinging to it, giving it a fresh color. When she broke off the pumpkin, she could hear the crisp sound of the stem breaking, but Gu Lingling didn't feel much joy. Instead, she wore a face of worry because Dabao refused to eat pumpkin anymore, and his little face was starting to look pale from hunger.
Gu Lingling sighed, picked up the pumpkin, and left.
It was early in the morning, and the rarely thin mist was still dissipating. The sun, which had not fully risen, shone at an oblique angle, and the sunlight was diluted by the thin mist, lacking any strength.
Gu Lingling faced the sunlight, which was somewhat dazzling, and instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes. "It's really blinding."
"You have time to admire the sun? Don't you know I've been looking for you in the pavilion for half a day?"
Gu Lingling was startled. This was her little vegetable garden, rarely visited by anyone. Lowering her hand after a while, she realized that it was the pavilion master of the Eroding Bones Pavilion who was speaking.
The pavilion master had been looking for Gu Lingling for half a day. This little guy was always complaining about being poor and wanting to take on more cases. But when there was a case, he disappeared, causing the pavilion master a lot of trouble.
"Pavilion master, why have you come? Do you want to take some pumpkins back to cook?" Gu Lingling quickly picked a few more and offered them to the pavilion master, who then gradually eased his expression. It seemed that he still had a shred of conscience, not in vain for the care he usually gave to them.
"By the way, you said the pavilion was looking for me? What's the matter?" Gu Lingling asked with a smile on her face.
This pavilion master was also a practical person, despite being the master of a pavilion. The treatment there was incomparable to the disciples at the bottom, but compared to the entire sect, it was still the poorest. Immersed in the joy of the white pumpkins, he heard Gu Lingling ask him, and then reacted: "Don't blame me for not taking care of you this time. A case has been assigned from above, it's not very difficult, just a common household where things in the kitchen move around often, and there are strange noises at night. Will you take the case?"
"Things moving around in the kitchen? Strange noises? Isn't that obviously an excessive amount of yin energy? It's not a big problem, just scare it away with a kitchen knife hitting the cutting board." This matter was indeed simple, simple enough for anyone with a little knowledge of metaphysical matters to handle. Was there any need for the Eroding Bones Pavilion to intervene?
Seeing Gu Lingling's doubts, the pavilion master hugged the pumpkins tightly in his hands, and somewhat unnaturally said, "This person is a servant of the earthly royal family, and for some reason, they heard that our Worry-Free Pavilion has strong business capabilities, so they insist on having us handle it. Moreover, moreover..."
Although Luoyun Zhen seemed aloof from the world, the Worry-Free Pavilion had always been open to all, as long as it didn't involve damaging the natural order or aiding in injustice. Apart from that, as long as the price was right, they would take on the case. After all, they all had to make a living.
Seeing the pavilion master hesitate, Gu Lingling knew that this matter was not as simple as her benefiting from it.
"Moreover, it's remote from the capital. Although the price is high compared to similar cases, after deducting the travel expenses, there won't be much left. The case is simple, only requiring one person, so no one is sharing the money with you, think about it?"
The pavilion master was a decent person, usually taking special care of everyone. For cases within the capabilities of the Eroding Bones Pavilion, they were fought for as much as possible. Even the case of the ferocious ghost last time was brought about by the pavilion master, although it had eventually escalated into eliminating the ferocious ghost, it was done beyond the pavilion master's intentions.
Because this case had a low fee and required no technical expertise, they didn't need to compete with the Hengshi Pavilion. Nevertheless, the pavilion master had thought of Gu Lingling as the first person to ask, considering that she couldn't go out due to the loss of her talismans.
The pavilion master also knew that Gu Lingling was struggling to raise a child, so the first thing that occurred to him was to ask her if she was willing to take on the case.
"Of course, why not? Thank you so much, pavilion master." Gu Lingling's eyes were shining. Although the fee was small, the advantage was that she didn't have to share it with anyone else. While she had learned a trick from Bai Jin, they were still reluctant to send Gu Lingling, who had no talisman equipment, on missions. After all, no one wanted any accidents.
Gu Lingling was so excited that she picked a few more large pumpkins and put them in the pavilion master's arms, ignoring his refusals.
So the pavilion master, holding the pumpkins that blocked his view, stumbled and left. Gu Lingling didn't bother to pick more pumpkins, but ran back to her room and hugged Dabao, who was still sleeping due to damaged spiritual energy and the business he was handling in the evening.
"Dabao, wake up, wake up! Mommy has a task, although the pay is low, at least we don't have to eat pumpkins for the rest of the month!"
Dabao opened his eyes faintly. Gu Lingling's enlarged face filled his entire field of vision, and although he wanted to push her away, he didn’t want to disturb her excited mood.
Softening his heart, he let Gu Lingling pinch his little face and listened to her gushing excitement.
Although he resisted internally, he listened to every word Gu Lingling said and gradually softened his expression. However, Dabao didn't notice any of this.
It turns out that this woman is so easily satisfied. She is not someone who is greedy or selfish, it seems that taking her talisman was indeed not right...
That night, Lingling beside her was already sound asleep, seemingly dreaming of something as she kept smiling foolishly.
Daba thought to mock, but when he heard Lingling talking in her sleep, he couldn't bring himself to do so.
Lingling kept muttering, "Luo Yunzhen... scumbag... mission... Daba, mother will buy you food, buy you toys, whatever you want, I'll buy it for you..."
Only the part about Daba was clear, Daba looked at Lingling with a puzzled expression for a while, until Lingling turned over, and only then did Daba come to his senses and get up.
In the Forgetfulness Palace, the study room was brightly lit, Bai Jin had been waiting for a long time. Today, Luo Yunzhen came exceptionally late and seemed a bit off, somewhat distracted.
Behind the desk, a small figure sat upright, propped up by a few books underneath because of the height, so the small body could just reach the desk.
If it wasn't something he was used to by now, Bai Jin would have found it amusing to see a small child earnestly correcting a letter at the desk.
Luo Yunzhen had been holding the pen for a long time without writing, and there was already a blot of ink on the letter.
Just as Bai Jin was hesitating to remind him, Luo Yunzhen put the brush on the brush stand with a "snap," and his little face, after some contemplation, said decisively, "Did you do what I asked you last time?"
Bai Jin thought to himself, "How could I dare to delay any task you gave me."
Paying his respects, he replied respectfully, "Reporting to the head, last time you said to find a case with low difficulty, some room for creativity, and not too dangerous. I've been looking, but this kind of setting is too strict, so it's not easy to find one right away. However, I have found a few similar cases, please have a look and choose one."
Bai Jin could still recall the strange look Luo Yunzhen had when he gave the order, as if he was involved in something extremely mysterious, something he didn't want others to know about. Having to choose personally greatly reduced efficiency, and made Bai Jin feel like he was constantly sneaking around, worried about being discovered.
But Bai Jin could also guess that this matter was probably related to that girl again. However, since Luo Yunzhen didn't elaborate, Bai Jin had gotten used to this kind of deception.
"If you couldn't find any, let it be. There's already a suitable case for Gu... appeared."
Luo Yunzhen heard Bai Jin dutifully recounting his previous request, but for some reason, it didn't sound quite natural to him.
"Recently, I've come across the case of a demon..." Bai Jin hesitated to speak, and just as Luo Yunzhen had picked up his brush, he suddenly put it down. Bai Jin raised an eyebrow and continued "kindly" suggesting, "If the Head regrets taking Gu Lingling's talisman, you can compensate her with a high-level talisman and don't have to bother looking for a case for her..."
"This time, I will accompany you. Recently, there have been some suspicious incidents in the royal family, and I can investigate under the pretext of that, to see if the strange occurrences and the black-clothed person in the cave are related."
Luo Yunzhen looked coldly at Bai Jin, speaking in a soft and emotionless tone, which sounded somewhat unnerving.
Bai Jin found it strange, "Didn't the Startling Dragon Pavilion already handle the royal family's case? Even if there were some loose ends, the Green Feather Pavilion has sent people to wrap it up. Is there still anything suspicious about it?"
He had seen that case, it was a simple one.
"During my absence, you should take good care of the Forgetfulness Palace for me. If anything happens, inform me immediately through the spirit bird."
Luo Yunzhen didn't respond, and Bai Jin knew he had already made up his mind. Besides, Luo Yunzhen always had his own plans, so Bai Jin just needed to obey.