Chapter 834: If Master Says So, Then Naturally It’s Fine

Chapter 834: Chapter 834: If Master Says So, Then Naturally It’s Fine

Eastern Divine Continent. Xiaoyun Hall’s Temporary Command Hub.

Today, Chen Baiqing’s expression was unusually gentle, and what she held in her hands was not a jade token but a teapot.

As for the reason — that went without saying. Chu Xingchen was at that very moment lounging in the great hall, leisurely sipping tea that Chen Baiqing had brewed.

Ye Antao — the Xiaoyun Hall mascot that Chu Xingchen had personally selected — sat beside him with her own teacup, looking thoroughly content.

She’d expected this to be a grueling assignment, but as it turned out, she didn’t have to do anything at all.

Xiaoyun Hall’s external deployments came with extra stipends.

And the stipend increased with the difficulty of the mission.

As it happened, Xiaoyun Hall had rated this particular mission as "difficult," which meant Ye Antao’s stipend was quite generous.

Though Ye Antao currently did absolutely nothing, she was technically still on active deployment.

No work to do, but collecting the highest pay.

Occasionally, there was a cup of Baiqing’s tea to sip, and when boredom really struck, she could wander around at leisure.

Even though Ye Antao did nothing, everyone treated her with excellent courtesy — after all, she was technically Xiaoyun Hall’s supreme commander on paper, their direct superior.

Yunxiao used to stop by often, but after seeing how Chen Baiqing ran things, his visits dropped off sharply.

When he did come, he’d glance at Chen Baiqing’s arrangements, find nothing to fault, and leave.

Occasionally, Yunxiao would still tell Ye Antao to stop slacking — to follow Chen Baiqing and actually learn something instead of just hovering around asking for tea.

With Yunxiao gone, the temporary command hub felt far more comfortable to Ye Antao.

And the person actually in control, Chen Baiqing, was wonderfully pleasant — always speaking gently, answering every question, and even giving her small gifts from time to time.

Good-looking, good-tempered, and knows how to treat people.

Sometimes Ye Antao couldn’t quite figure out how Chu Xingchen — such a brash and overbearing person — had raised such a well-mannered disciple.

She took a sip of tea and shook her head helplessly.

When the time came for her to take on disciples of her own, she’d definitely look for someone with Chen Baiqing’s qualities.

"I underestimated Cui Hao — he actually does have a bit of your style."

Bai Xuanling held a jade token and regarded Chu Xingchen beside her with an amused expression: "These little tricks are straight out of someone’s old playbook."

Chen Baiqing’s lips curved upward as she glanced toward her master.

She’d received Cui Hao’s jade-token reports on her end too — she knew exactly what he’d done.

Going straight after the believers while simultaneously framing it as the bribed incense gods reneging on their deals — making it look like the incense gods were the ones causing trouble and blocking the Evil Spirit Sect’s plan to control the kingdom through shrine worship.

The Evil Spirit Sect wasn’t exactly known for its patience. If Chu Xingchen hadn’t made such an enormous commotion last time, and if the current trend of purging evil cults weren’t so obvious, the Evil Spirit Sect wouldn’t be swallowing their pride and spending spirit stones to keep things stable.

And Cui Hao had done exactly that — deflecting the blame, making the Evil Spirit Sect believe the incense gods of Northern Julu Continent were xenophobic, that they were unreliable partners who took money and betrayed their word.

Now, Chen Baiqing didn’t even need to get Yunmeng Pavilion involved. The incense gods and the Evil Spirit Sect were at each other’s throats for real.

The Evil Spirit Sect was currently weighing whether a swift purge of the leading incense gods in Northern Julu Continent would blow the entire operation open to the Eighteen Immortal Sects.

It looked like they were preparing to play hardball.

Those incense gods weren’t exactly virtuous either. If things truly went sideways, there was a real chance they’d side with the Heavenly Demons.

If the sects used this as justification to purge a wave of them, the Eighteen Immortal Sects would have cover to tighten their grip — making things easier to handle down the line.

And Cui Hao’s behavior had already stripped a large chunk of Northern Julu Continent’s population of their faith in incense gods. That was a good thing.

Though Cui Hao’s methods sometimes seemed slipshod, and he couldn’t resist goofing around every so often, the results were always solid.

Back when Cui Hao used to shadow Chen Baiqing on missions, she’d taught him quite a few of her best-kept secrets.

Chu Xingchen took a sip of his tea and said with a note of pride:

"My disciple naturally carries a bit of my flair. Look at Baiqing — even when facing something monumental, she stays composed. She’s inherited my true teachings."

Bai Xuanling scoffed: "Stop flattering yourself."

"What do you mean, flattering?" Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Baiqing with a grin. "Baiqing, tell her."

Chen Baiqing set down the teapot and spoke as though stating an obvious fact:

"Master is better than Baiqing. I’ve learned less than thirty percent of Master’s abilities. I still need to stay by Master’s side and learn more of his exemplary qualities."

Chu Xingchen arched his eyebrows triumphantly at Bai Xuanling — *hear that?*

Bai Xuanling scoffed again and declined to answer.

After all, everyone knew Chen Baiqing was a genuine "little cotton-padded jacket" — getting her to say even one critical word about her master was about as easy as surviving a tribulation and ascending to immortality.

Even in jest, it didn’t happen.

Ye Antao watched Chen Baiqing with an expression caught between moved and appalled.

Thoughtful. But thoughtful toward the wrong person.

Chu Xingchen withdrew his gaze and asked softly:

"Baiqing, what do you think of how your junior brother is handling things?"

"Cui Hao must have realized that Master was testing him." Chen Baiqing replied. "Junior brother is certainly capable of standing on his own now. His only weakness is that he sometimes goes soft at the wrong moment — wasting effort and taking unnecessary risks."

"But fortunately, he understands the situation and knows when to cut his losses."

Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Does that mean you think Cui Hao can handle this beautifully, without me needing to intervene?"

Chen Baiqing stood, took the freshly brewed tea, and walked to Chu Xingchen. She refilled her master’s cup and said:

"That depends on whether junior brother starts doing unnecessary work again."

"But knowing Master’s personality — even if you’re confident junior brother can handle it, you’ll probably still make a trip to Yunmeng Pavilion yourself. To be his final safety net."

Bai Xuanling sat nearby, her eyes fixed on the teapot. Hearing these words, she felt a deep, genuine surge of admiration — it wasn’t just that Chu Xingchen understood Chen Baiqing. Chen Baiqing understood this master of hers just as thoroughly.

Chu Xingchen had already hinted at his plans to her, and just as Chen Baiqing said — his next stop was Yunmeng Pavilion.

"Your master is far too busy to play safety net for little Cui." Chu Xingchen’s expression didn’t change. He gazed at Chen Baiqing’s gentle, composed profile and smiled. "But when things really go sideways, I’m counting on you — his third senior sister — to lend him a hand."

Chen Baiqing set down the teapot and let a sweet smile bloom on her face:

"If Master says so, then naturally it’s fine."