The moon hung high in the sky.
Under the gray eaves and white walls, the ancient building glowed as bright as a lamp in the midnight hour. A gentle breeze swept through the bustling sleepless city, across the hazy dreams of sleeping people, and past countless secret apparitions of supernatural beings.
Under the gray eaves, black flame-like robes fluttered in the wind, worn by personnel from the Observation Department.
The lead figure in a black cloak reported, "Director Ye, he's out."
"What?" Ye Huayu was shocked. He quickly calmed himself to sense the situation, then let out a small sigh of relief, "But the seal in our building is intact!"
"Not that one, it's the other one."
Ye Huayu froze, then realized something and said in bewilderment, "That's impossible! Old Hu hasn't sent any message!"
"Could it be that Director Hu doesn't know either?" said the black-cloaked figure, "He's nearby."
"Nearby? Wasn't he supposed to stay only in Huaijiang?" Ye Huayu frantically pulled out his phone, "I'll message Old Hu right now..."
Just after sending the message, Ye Huayu received a notification and muttered, "What does this mean? 'He has enabled friend verification. You are not his friend yet. Please send a friend request first, you can chat after verification.'"
The black-cloaked figure: "..."
Ye Huayu: "Did Old Hu just quit and run away? That can't be right, he's still in the group chat, but he deleted me?"
The black-cloaked figure: "...Maybe you should ask Director Hu in the group chat."
That night, no supernatural being at the Yinhai Observation Bureau could sleep, all thrown into chaos by the unexpected development.
In the morning, Chu Zhishui took Xin Yunmao directly to the award ceremony venue to receive the agricultural poverty alleviation project award. After having lunch at the venue and chatting with other attendees, they prepared to return to the Yinhai Observation Bureau.
In the morning, Du Zigui suddenly sent a message asking her not to leave the bureau, but unfortunately, they had already departed. Upon hearing this, Du Zigui said he would drive over to pick them up, though his concerns remained unclear.
Since receiving the award was part of the Economic Development Department's work, Chu Zhishui thought taking public transportation would be fine, so she agreed to wait for Du Zigui at the venue.
"Let's wait for the bureau's car," Chu Zhishui said to Xin Yunmao, "They said they're coming to pick us up."
Soon after, Du Zigui arrived in the car. He hurriedly got out to open the door, warning in a shrill voice, "Director Chu, please don't wander around these days. There was a major incident at the bureau last night, you might be in danger..."
Du Zigui's words trailed off as he sensed the terrifying supernatural aura before him, suddenly realizing something was amiss, and looked up to see the source of the trouble.
Xin Yunmao stood expressionlessly beside Chu Zhishui, his broad shoulders and long legs particularly eye-catching, with pure black eyes and frost-like features, making quite the matching pair with her. Noticing Du Zigui's gaze, he slowly turned to look at him, instantly frightening the other into silence.
Seeing Du Zigui's stiff expression, Chu Zhishui asked curiously, "What incident happened at the bureau?"
"...N-nothing."
Appearances truly can be deceiving!
Director Chu, who showed no supernatural aura, was actually the one least afraid of trouble!
Du Zigui's movements were timid when opening the door, like a frightened quail. After the human and supernatural being got in the car, he scrambled back to the driver's seat, relieved that they were both sitting in the back with some distance between them, and quickly sent a message to the supernatural beings at the bureau.
Chu Zhishui wasn't surprised by Du Zigui's panicked reaction; whenever Xin Yunmao was in the office, Jin Yu basically had the same response. She hadn't expected Xin Yunmao to sit in the back seat; had she known, she would have sat in the front passenger seat to chat with Du Zigui a bit.
She asked quietly, "Not sitting in front today? Don't you prefer the passenger seat?"
Du Zigui trembled at her words.
Xin Yunmao: "No."
Du Zigui relaxed.
Soon after, Du Zigui drove them back to the Yinhai Observation Bureau. The car passed through the imposing iron gates, but the bureau was much quieter than usual. Even the crowds in front of the office building had been dispersed, leaving only empty desolation.
As the car passed the guest house, Chu Zhishui reminded him, "We've gone too far."
Du Zigui, like a driver captured by kidnappers, swallowed nervously and said, "Director Chu, let's go to Director Ye's place first."
"Oh? That's fine too," Chu Zhishui muttered, "...but I didn't bring any corn."
Under the ancient building with its gray eaves and white walls, countless black cloaks fluttered, like an orderly army, appearing imposing and emanating killing intent. Ye Huayu stood at the front with a solemn expression, leading the team in preparation, waiting for the legendary divine supernatural being.
After getting out of the car and seeing the black-clad squad, Chu Zhishui remarked in surprise, "Your bureau must be really rich, wearing black cloaks even in broad daylight."
She remembered that Observation Department personnel shouldn't expose themselves too much, or it would make subsequent cleanup work difficult, and erasing witnesses' memories would require significant manpower and resources.
Xin Yunmao followed her out of the car, his eyes flashing with cold light as he sneered, "Hmph, quite a show of force."
"Little Chu, what's going on?" Ye Huayu, seeing Chu Zhishui standing beside Xin Yunmao, was so shocked he could barely stand, and exclaimed, "Quick, come over here!"
"Alright, alright, coming, Director Ye." Chu Zhishui didn't understand Ye Huayu's fuss and jogged over.
As Chu Zhishui ran forward, Xin Yunmao followed.
Seeing him move, Ye Huayu cried out, "Wait! You can't come any closer to the ancient building!"
Chu Zhishui immediately stopped.
Ye Huayu hurriedly said, "No, no, no, you come over here, don't just stand there!"
Chu Zhishui hesitated for a moment, looked back at Xin Yunmao, then at the serious crowd of supernatural beings, finally realizing who they were guarding against, and showed a confused expression.
Xin Yunmao stood with one hand in his pocket, looking around at the anxious Ye Huayu and others, his eyes flashing with mockery: "That shabby building, even if you begged me to go..."
He suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to Chu Zhishui: "Are you going there in the next couple of days?"
"No," Chu Zhishui answered, "That's the Observation Department, we don't need to go there."
She was only here on a business trip and only needed to be in the office building and guest house; there was no need to go near the Yinhai Bureau's Observation Department. Even when she was at the Huaijiang Bureau, she rarely went to that area.
Hearing this, Xin Yunmao nodded and continued to scan the crowd contemptuously, continuing his mockery: "That shabby building, even if you begged me to go, I wouldn't be interested."
Chu Zhishui: "?"
"Then why appear in Yinhai?" Ye Huayu's face was tense, "Wasn't it agreed you wouldn't step foot outside Huaijiang?"
"Who agreed to that?" Xin Yunmao stared at the colorful Ye Huayu for a moment, as if trying to recognize who he was, and said casually, "I've never spoken to you before."
Ye Huayu was struck to the heart: "..."
There was nothing wrong with Xin Yunmao's statement - he had indeed never agreed not to leave Huaijiang, and he had never spoken to other supernatural beings before, so how could there be any promise about not leaving Huaijiang?
They had assumed he would stay in Huaijiang mainly because he had never moved before, which had become an unspoken rule in their minds.
Chu Zhishui sensed the tense atmosphere and asked in confusion, "Director Ye, what's going on here?"
"Little Chu, that's what I want to ask you," Ye Huayu exclaimed, "What are you doing?"
How could this human from the Huaijiang Bureau remain so calm throughout all this?
"We're on a business trip?" Chu Zhishui turned back to wave at Xin Yunmao, "Come over and say hello."
Xin Yunmao's expression was cold as ice, and while he was clearly very unwilling, he slowly walked over.
"Business trip!?" Ye Huayu watched her casual wave, which looked like she was calling over a puppy or child, and was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.
Chu Zhishui didn't understand everyone's dramatic reaction and asked, "Yes, does our bureau have a limit on business trip personnel?" Why else would they be so surprised?
"..."
It had to be said that the only human present was helping to ease the tense atmosphere. If Xin Yunmao had wanted to break into the ancient building, Ye Huayu and the others truly couldn't have stopped him, but when Chu Zhishui suggested finding an office to sit and talk, Xin Yunmao obediently followed.
In the office, Chu Zhishui sensed Director Ye and the others' state of high alert and was genuinely puzzled. The supernatural beings at the Huaijiang Bureau were similarly afraid of or ignored Xin Yunmao, but they had never had the Observation Department personnel surround him, and Director Miao even dared to confront Xin Yunmao directly.
Ye Huayu abandoned his usual boastful manner and sat solemnly at the desk, examining them as he asked, "What is your relationship with each other?"
Xin Yunmao completely ignored him, appearing too lazy to even open his mouth.
Chu Zhishui, not wanting to let the conversation die, naturally took on the task of keeping it going. She felt around in her coat pocket for her phone but couldn't find it right away, then noticed Ye Huayu's watch and asked, "Director Ye, what time is it now?"
Ye Huayu looked down at his watch: "Six-thirty."
"Is it this late already?" Chu Zhishui's expression changed slightly, thinking to herself that she had miscalculated - it was already after work hours.
When Xin Yunmao heard this, he raised his eyebrows proudly and finally spoke, "She is my believer."
Ye Huayu was dumbfounded: "Believer!?" Wasn't he supposed to have no followers?
Facing the astonished gazes of the supernatural beings around her, Chu Zhishui felt quite embarrassed by this identity and forced a smile: "You could speak a bit more quietly."
Such an embarrassingly dramatic title didn't need to be announced so loudly.
The figure in the black cloak quietly reminded them: "No, Director Ye, you've misread the time - it's four-thirty, not six-thirty."
Ye Huayu's watch showed time in 24-hour format. He had glanced at it quickly, and with other things on his mind, he had mistaken 16:30 for six-thirty.
Ye Huayu looked down at his watch: "Oh, oh, you're right. My eyes must be playing tricks on me. It should be four-thirty."
Upon hearing this, Chu Zhishui immediately switched modes and calmly corrected herself: "Director Ye, I apologize, I was just joking earlier. He's from our department; we're colleagues."
Xin Yunmao: "..."
"Colleagues? Aren't you the department head?" Ye Huayu found this increasingly suspicious. He glanced at Xin Yunmao, then looked back at Chu Zhishui in shock, "You're his direct supervisor?"
"Yes."
Xin Yunmao: "Hmph."
Chu Zhishui turned to glare at him: "What are you 'hmph-ing' about?"
Xin Yunmao glanced at her, then lowered his eyes, falling completely silent, appearing too intimidated to talk back.
Ye Huayu and the other supernatural beings witnessed the entire scene, and they too fell completely silent, not daring to make a sound.
Only Chu Zhishui remained composed in the room, explaining: "So he's also here on business, mainly for our bureau's Economic Development Department work. He just didn't give advance notice before coming because it was rather sudden. I apologize for that."
Ye Huayu: "..."
At this point, Ye Huayu couldn't exactly jump up and deny Xin Yunmao's identity. After all, accepting Chu Zhishui's relatively friendly explanation was clearly better than having an open confrontation with Xin Yunmao. He reluctantly saw the human and supernatural being out of the room, then immediately pulled out his phone to call Hu Chenrui, clearly ready to demand an explanation.
As soon as the call connected, Ye Huayu fired off a series of angry questions: "What do we do? What do we do? He's in our bureau now, what are we supposed to do?"
"Old Ye, calm down. Look, he's been at our bureau for so long, and we're all still fine, aren't we?" Hu Chenrui's voice was relaxed on the other end of the line, clearly showing that different supernatural beings had different concerns.
"What do you mean? He's not staying here long-term, is he!?"
"Probably not," Hu Chenrui paused before adding with a chuckle, "Just avoid talking nonsense with our Little Chu, and you probably won't get beaten up. Just hang in there for two days."
Ye Huayu was stunned: "Nonsense? When did I talk nonsense?"
However, there was no response from the other end - looking down, he saw the call had been disconnected.
When Ye Huayu tried to call Hu Chenrui back, he discovered his number had been blocked, with only a fox's message left in the group chat.
[Let's talk again when we discuss next year's business funding.]
Outside the room, after Chu Zhishui and Xin Yunmao left, she curiously asked about the situation: "Why did things become so tense between you and them?"
"They don't want me near the Observation Department," Xin Yunmao scoffed arrogantly, "Even if they begged me, I wouldn't go."
Chu Zhishui asked puzzled: "Is it all Observation Departments in every bureau that you can't visit? But didn't Director Miao let you in last time?"
"That's why I say he's negligent in his duties," Xin Yunmao raised his eyebrows, "He's not a good cat."
Chu Zhishui replied wearily: "So Director Miao's wrong for making an exception for you?"
When Director Ye and the others wouldn't let him near the Observation Department, he coldly turned his face away, but when Director Miao let him into the Observation Department, he said the other wasn't a good cat - he managed to criticize both situations.
Hearing her defend Miao Li, Xin Yunmao voiced his displeasure: "Hmph."
"What are you 'hmph-ing' about?"
"Hmph. Hmph. Hmph."
Chu Zhishui heard his retaliatory cold snorts and gave him a surprised look, then broke into a smile: "Good hmph-ing, try making it louder."
"..."
After that, Ye Huayu and the other supernatural beings stopped objecting to Xin Yunmao's presence. They became like most of the supernatural beings at the Huaijiang Bureau, keeping their distance from the human and supernatural being pair, seemingly afraid of the powerful supernatural aura.
Because Chu Zhishui didn't understand the supernatural beings' regulations, she didn't know why Xin Yunmao had to stay away from the Observation Department. Fortunately, they didn't need to go to the ancient building, and she planned to ask Director Hu or Director Miao about the reason in detail after returning to the Huaijiang Observation Bureau.
Inside the Yinhai Bureau office building, various electronic self-service machines could be seen right upon entering the lobby. People coming to handle business could queue up and get numbers on their own, waiting for the relevant supernatural staff to process their affairs, just like the service halls in banks or hospitals.
No matter how many times she saw it, Chu Zhishui couldn't help but marvel at the Yinhai Bureau's luxurious and grand atmosphere, wondering when the Huaijiang Bureau would have such good hardware conditions. She didn't understand what kind of business an Observation Bureau could handle, and curiously played with the equipment. However, as soon as her finger touched the electronic screen, login information popped up in the upper right corner, as if automatically entering the staff system.
[Welcome back, Chu Zhishui.]
"Wait, I didn't scan my work card or ID card, how does it know it's me?" Chu Zhishui asked in confusion, "Is this facial recognition?"
Xin Yunmao, who was usually poor with electronic devices, observed for a moment and actually provided an answer: "This thing reacts to supernatural aura. Although you don't have any supernatural aura, you're in the registry, so you can still be identified."
Great, another piece of knowledge that normal humans don't need to know has been added.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask - after getting a number, should I just sit in those chairs and wait?" A middle-aged man in a dark suit passing by the self-service machine suddenly turned back to ask when he caught sight of the human and supernatural being.
Chu Zhishui was wearing her work badge, and she and Xin Yunmao were standing by the machine, making them look very much like Yinhai Bureau service personnel.
In reality, the supernatural beings at the Yinhai Bureau didn't wear work badges. It was only because Chu Zhishui had no supernatural aura that Du Zigui worried other bureau supernatural beings wouldn't recognize her, so he gave her a work badge on her first day, telling her to show it if she was stopped when returning to the bureau.
Chu Zhishui felt awkward about admitting she was an outsider, so maintaining professional courtesy, she put on a service smile: "Yes, you can sit in the waiting area until your number is called."
"But I got my number several days ago, and it still hasn't been called. I've been coming to wait every day recently."
Chu Zhishui froze, looking at his number ticket: "From several days ago? Did you miss your turn?"
"No, I can hear numbers still being called in the hall, but mine is moving extremely slowly."
Chu Zhishui took his ticket and checked the number on it, then studied the numbering rules in the hall. There were two types of numbers on the screens in the office building hall - one in red, currently at number 3122, and one in grey, currently at number 56.
The middle-aged man had a round face with a ruddy complexion, looking kind and talkative - probably a small business owner. His number was grey, placing him at position 728421.
The hall was only calling red numbers, never grey ones, which explained why he said the numbers were moving so slowly.
"I'm sorry, I'm here on business travel, not from the Yinhai Bureau," Chu Zhishui said sincerely, "May I help you find a colleague to ask? I'm not very familiar with the operating system here either."
The middle-aged boss suddenly understood: "Oh, oh, oh, you're from out of town? Also from the same system?"
"Yes, please wait a moment while I find someone." Chu Zhishui looked around, wanting to find a familiar Yinhai Bureau supernatural being to explain the situation to the man before her, but couldn't find anyone suitable at the moment.
Xin Yunmao silently observed the hall's number calling system and studied the humans in the waiting area whose numbers had been called, quickly figuring out the pattern. He leaned down to whisper in Chu Zhishui's ear: "Red means urgent, grey means less important - that's how they prioritize."
His breath was cool and moist, carrying the freshness of vegetation, floating into her ear gap, giving her the illusion of being surrounded by a bamboo forest after rain.
Chu Zhishui touched her neck, realizing they were too close - she could even feel his breath on her skin. She awkwardly moved away a bit, but noticing the middle-aged boss watching, she was forced to move back, whispering with him: "So do you know when it will be his turn?"
Xin Yunmao fell silent.
Seeing him not answer, Chu Zhishui asked: "You don't know?"
Xin Yunmao contemplated: "No, I'm trying to calculate how many years of life he has left."
"..."
"What does this mean? Is getting a number something that'll happen in my next life?"
The middle-aged boss hadn't heard their private exchange. Noticing the changing expressions on their faces, he quickly said, "How about this - don't bother finding someone to explain the numbering system. Is there any way you could help me resolve my issue quickly?"
When Chu Zhishui heard this, she immediately felt a headache coming on and diplomatically replied, "Hello, the bureau processes cases according to their urgency. Please be patient and wait for your turn. There's no fast-track channel, as that wouldn't be appropriate..."
Director Ye had mentioned that humans always try to use money to cut in line, and Chu Zhishui wasn't about to get involved in such matters.
The middle-aged boss hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, no, you misunderstand! I'm not trying to pull strings or find connections. My issue isn't even that serious - it doesn't affect my daily life at all. I just wanted to consult someone about whether there are any alternative solutions I could handle myself, without troubling the bureau staff."
Chu Zhishui asked, puzzled, "Alternative solutions?"
The middle-aged boss nodded. "Yes, for instance, would you recommend praying to gods and Buddha? If that works, which temple or Taoist monastery would you recommend? Any suggestions?"
"Praying to gods and Buddha?" Chu Zhishui said seriously, "I respect everyone's beliefs, but I generally don't recommend religious solutions. If you must pray, do your research first. Don't just pray to every deity you see - after all, gods have different jurisdictions. What if you accidentally pray to the God of Comedy or the God of Narcissism? That could lead to some interesting results."
Xin Yunmao: "?"
"You should just wait in line for your number," Chu Zhishui advised kindly. "You're definitely asking the wrong person. I'm not in charge of this part of the bureau's operations, and I don't know much about these matters."
He really was asking the wrong person - he should have asked a supernatural being.
"Then what are you in charge of?" The middle-aged boss, perhaps tired from standing, loosened his tie and said with a resigned smile, "Well, I've been queuing here for a week now. To be honest, I'm not in a huge rush. Since I'm just waiting around, might as well chat a bit."
Chu Zhishui responded carefully, "I handle the bureau's business operations, which is completely separate from our main services."
Therefore, asking her would be useless - she only helped the bureau make money.
"Business operations - you mean doing business?" The middle-aged boss said in surprise. "This is actually a profit-making unit? What's your main business?"
"Agricultural cultivation."
The middle-aged boss excitedly slapped his thigh. "I used to be in agricultural cultivation too! Now I mainly run a ginseng processing factory, making various related products. There aren't many people doing real industry these days!"
"..." Chu Zhishui's expression became peculiar. "What a coincidence - we grow some ginseng too."
"That really is a coincidence!" Boss Peng said enthusiastically. "My surname is Peng. Since we've hit it off, I might as well skip queuing today - I probably wouldn't get my turn anyway. Why don't we become friends? Come visit my factory - we grow ginseng there too, and we can exchange ideas!"
"In the early years when we focused on agricultural cultivation, we often attended ginseng auction festivals."
Listening to Boss Peng's proposal, Chu Zhishui understood his strategy perfectly. This was the standard approach of a traditional industrialist businessman. When they initially find no breakthrough, they engage in meandering conversation, but as soon as they catch even the slightest opportunity in the dialogue, they immediately and subtly try to close the distance, seeking common ground to establish a relationship.
Even if you refuse to help them with anything, they persistently maintain contact, frequently checking in under the banner of "just being friends." They're not seeking immediate gains from you, but rather cultivating a long-term harmonious friendship.
Over time, when you come to view the relationship as friendship rather than one of mutual benefit, there's a chance you might help them when they fall on hard times. They're not after short-term profits, but rather increasing their chances of recovery through friendships when misfortune strikes.
This business mindset is particularly challenging for the socially anxious younger generation, and is more common among the older generation - commonly known as "more connections, more opportunities."
Though Chu Zhishui knew she didn't have to help Boss Peng today, she still quietly asked Xin Yunmao, "So is his problem serious?"
"Not serious," Xin Yunmao assessed frankly. "The supernatural energy around him is very weak. He hasn't made any pacts with supernatural beings, nor has he been involved in any major karmic events. It's probably just some occupational exposure, with minimal impact on him personally."
This was precisely why Boss Peng's number was extremely low priority - in the eyes of the supernatural beings at the Yinhai Bureau, his case was completely non-urgent.
Chu Zhishui understood - this meant Boss Peng was probably a decent person who didn't dabble in anything shady.
"Hello Boss Peng, I'm Chu Zhishui, and this is Xin Yunmao. We're actually just starting out in ginseng cultivation," Chu Zhishui glanced at Xin Yunmao and politely said, "Since you've been in the ginseng business for many years, we'd love to learn from you."
"Oh my, no need to be so formal, just call me Old Peng!" Boss Peng said warmly. "Let's go then - my car's parked outside. We can visit the fields before sunset."
The drive took quite a while, with Boss Peng heading towards the remote suburbs.
The city's skyscrapers disappeared behind them, and the shops and buildings became increasingly sparse. After leaving the highway, they saw only rolling mountains stretching out beneath light, scattered clouds.
Chu Zhishui tried to stay alert at first, making an effort to chat with Boss Peng. But the long journey soon made her drowsy. The bumpy ride left her nodding off, her eyelids growing heavy. She swayed slightly, accidentally leaning her head on Xin Yunmao's shoulder before catching herself and straightening up with a hand to her forehead.
Boss Peng glanced in the rearview mirror: "Is Little Chu carsick? You can close your eyes and rest for a while - it is quite far from the city."
Chu Zhishui rubbed her temples and said mildly, "It's fine, I just haven't been in a car for a long time."
She usually drove herself, which made her less prone to motion sickness, and rarely drove for such long periods. No wonder he'd mentioned trying to arrive before sunset.
Xin Yunmao watched her intently. Sitting on Chu Zhishui's right, he patted his left shoulder with his right hand.
Chu Zhishui: "?"
Seeing she didn't understand, Xin Yunmao patted his left shoulder again, silently hinting, his eyes blinking.
Chu Zhishui: "???"
Chu Zhishui pressed her lips together and turned to look out the left window, ignoring this empty-headed bamboo pole. His ridiculous gesture had actually helped clear her drowsiness.
