Chapter 842: Baiming True Lord’s Remarkable Methods

Chapter 842: Chapter 842: Baiming True Lord’s Remarkable Methods

The conversation wound down, and the fragrance of tea drifted through the air.

Cui Hao finally took the cup with deep satisfaction and savored it sip by sip.

As expected, tea brewed by Third Senior Sister was still that pure — the kind that lingered in memory forever after a single taste.

Cui Hao took a small sip and remarked with a sigh of admiration:

"Tea brewed by Third Senior Sister’s own hands rivals Tianyan Sect’s Chunnuan. One sip, and even a thousand years later, just thinking of it will make you nostalgic."

Zheng Zhaoling had been about to needle Cui Hao about something, but after actually drinking the cup of warm tea in her hands, she found she genuinely couldn’t rebut the claim.

This tea carried a unique韵 that was impossible to replicate — a韵 that soothed the soul and smoothed away restlessness.

Chen Baiqing brewed a pot of tea, then put away the tea set, rose to her feet and said:

"Since everyone here is practically family, I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ll go take a walk around by myself — consider it clearing my head. Don’t worry about me."

Zheng Zhaoling blinked in surprise, her gaze instinctively lifting toward Chen Baiqing.

She had expected that when Chen Baiqing summoned her here, there would at least be some sort of arrangement or briefing. Instead, she brewed a pot of tea, acknowledged that they were on the same side, and now was about to walk away.

Chen Baiqing stood, lightly brushed a long sleeve, and headed out without a second glance.

Lin Luoyu’s expression remained calm; she didn’t follow. Apparently she was already accustomed to Chen Baiqing’s somewhat abrupt and enigmatic behavior.

Zheng Zhaoling’s gaze shifted to Cui Hao, but he was sitting there with a satisfied expression, still sipping his tea — he hadn’t even bothered to lift his eyes to see Third Senior Sister off.

Judging by this, Cui Hao must also be used to Chen Baiqing’s sudden and inexplicable moves.

Zheng Zhaoling lowered her gaze slightly, looking at the half-empty teacup in her hand.

It was all rather baffling, yet somehow it felt like this was just... fine.

"Third Senior Sister knows you’re a core disciple — top-tier mental fortitude and willpower. The usual warm-and-fuzzy approach is for Yun Ze. With someone like you, she’d offer mutual benefit instead. The surface-level stuff — my Third Senior Sister actually tailors that to the person."

Cui Hao suddenly spoke up.

Zheng Zhaoling looked up at him, then glanced at Lin Luoyu, whose expression — brimming with vast righteous qi — hadn’t changed at all. She too was apparently accustomed to Cui Hao’s habit of dropping bombshell statements without warning.

Sometimes you really had to wonder how Chu Xingchen raised his disciples. Every one of them was odd in their own way, yet every one of them adapted to each other’s oddness.

Zheng Zhaoling looked back at Cui Hao, the corner of her mouth curving slightly.

Fine. Today she would be odd too. She wouldn’t ask anything, wouldn’t be curious about anything.

No matter what Chen Baiqing’s purpose was in coming here, she would eventually have to do something.

———————

Yunmeng Marsh. The fifth day since Chen Baiqing’s arrival.

Zheng Zhaoling continued handling jade token messages from Cangxi Kingdom as before — arranging support and deployments to ensure the incense gods wouldn’t collapse under the Evil Spirit Sect’s offensive.

This was valuable experience for Zheng Zhaoling. In the past she had only organized small-team operations and mostly followed instructions, making only the occasional tactical decision on the fly.

Never before had she directly influenced the course of a major campaign — deciding when to end it, deciding what shape the fighting should take.

And on top of that, she had to report the situation to Yun Ze.

The琐事 were not few, and each day was rather tedious.

Until the true battle began, this would probably be Zheng Zhaoling’s daily routine.

But during these days, as she handled these matters, she had also been keeping an eye on Chen Baiqing.

The Baiming True Lord of Eastern Divine Continent.

Chen Baiqing had not involved herself in any of the operations. She hadn’t even looked at the transmitted jade messages.

Zheng Zhaoling had also discovered the place where Chen Baiqing spent most of her time — Yun Ze’s fish pond.

Whenever she happened to pass by, she could generally see Chen Baiqing sitting leisurely to one side reading a book, occasionally feeding the fish that were starving for attention.

Even Yun Ze didn’t dare raise a fuss about this fearsome Baiming True Lord.

Feeding the fish was fine — as long as she didn’t feed Yun Ze to the fish, it was all good.

Chen Baiqing occasionally appeared at the meeting hall as if she had stumbled upon it while strolling. She would scold Cui Hao for being lazy, then turn around and leave. Her conversations with Zheng Zhaoling were few and very polite.

Lin Luoyu basically followed Chen Baiqing’s lead — no interference, no decisions, not even reading the intelligence reports.

It was as if the two of them had come to Yunmeng Marsh as tourists.

This behavior left Zheng Zhaoling genuinely confused.

Today, as she passed through the fish pond area again, she spotted Chen Baiqing holding a book and Lin Luoyu lowering her head to drink tea with a satisfied look.

Chen Baiqing sensed someone approaching, set down her book, and offered a slight smile and a gentle nod of acknowledgment toward Zheng Zhaoling. Then she picked the book back up and resumed reading.

Zheng Zhaoling returned the courtesy, then hesitated for a moment before her departing footsteps. After a brief pause, she walked toward Chen Baiqing:

"Mind if I sit here?"

Chen Baiqing set down her book, her expression showing a hint of surprise as she looked at Zheng Zhaoling. Then she immediately said:

"Of course. Would you like a dried fruit preserve? My eldest senior sister selected them herself."

Zheng Zhaoling looked at the dried fruit that Chen Baiqing had produced from a bag beside her. After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out and took it, popped it into her mouth, and sat down across from Chen Baiqing.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the book in Chen Baiqing’s hands.

She recognized the content somewhat — this should be the Great Tribulation Record, documenting the last great tribulation. But it wasn’t written in enough detail; many things were glossed over, leaving the reader wondering what had actually happened.

Chen Baiqing set the book aside, raised her eyes toward Zheng Zhaoling, but said nothing — waiting for Zheng Zhaoling to speak first.

Sitting down so abruptly, Zheng Zhaoling found herself at a loss for how to open the conversation. She had simply felt a sudden impulse to come over.

Perhaps she truly wanted to know whether the Baiming True Lord had any objections to her current arrangements.

After all, Cui Hao had told her that the intelligence from here would also be reported to Chen Baiqing.

Zheng Zhaoling thought for a moment, then said:

"These dried fruits are very good."

Chen Baiqing smiled: "That’s my eldest senior sister for you. She usually seems a bit careless, but she always buries the fine details deep inside. Whatever she picks, she’s sure it’s the best she can offer."

Zheng Zhaoling said with feeling: "The bonds in your sect are really something."

This wasn’t flattery — she genuinely meant it. Cui Hao never found anything wrong with Chen Baiqing’s unusual behavior, and he didn’t grow distant or resentful when she scolded him.

Well, that last part might also be because Cui Hao was utterly thick-skinned.

Lin Luoyu was equally natural about it, as if this were simply their daily life.

Chen Baiqing let out a soft laugh and nodded in agreement.

Zheng Zhaoling thought for a moment and then took the initiative to ask:

"Fellow Daoist, since you came here to fill gaps and shore up weaknesses — is there anything you think we’re doing wrong?"

Chen Baiqing replied evenly:

"Do you know what matters most in getting things done?"

"Planning? Preparation?"

"People. The most terrible plan will succeed if the right person executes it." Chen Baiqing met Zheng Zhaoling’s eyes directly.

"I’ve always judged affairs by people, and people by their affairs."

"For example, the fact that you’re willing to do this — it’s because you believe Cui Hao is someone who can get things done."

"Me being here is really about backing Cui Hao up and providing you safety net."

"I understand your situation in Yunmeng Pavilion. If things go sideways, I can take responsibility far better than Cui Hao can."

"When I first came, it was simply because you trusted Cui Hao — so I could trust you in turn."

Zheng Zhaoling was left speechless.

Chen Baiqing reached toward the bag of dried fruit:

"But Fellow Daoist, don’t overthink it. I also believe now that you can handle this. So when I say what I said today, you can just take it as me currying favor."

Zheng Zhaoling nodded silently, but she understood now what Cui Hao had meant — Third Senior Sister’s way of bonding through mutual benefit.

Indeed...

Zheng Zhaoling had genuinely been moved by Chen Baiqing’s frank words.

She could only conclude that the Baiming True Lord truly had remarkable methods.