After reading the secret order, Sylvia handed the Jade Message back to Qingque.
"You can take a look, nothing too serious."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true."
Sylvia gave a rather meaningless reply.
It seemed her sudden appearance and arrival at the Xianzhou hadn't just drawn attention from the Alliance—the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were also keeping a close eye on her.
Logically speaking, after something like this happened, would they still want to recruit her?
Tingyun's body was undoubtedly meant for Phantylia the Emanator of Destruction to infiltrate the Xianzhou.
She'd gone and ruined that plan. If the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus weren't thinking of killing her, but actually wanted to recruit her instead… that was a bit harder to figure out.
Wouldn't Phantylia be furious? An Emanator of Destruction dealing with an organization like the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus surely wouldn't bother with something like equal footing.
Sylvia rubbed her chin, wondering what tricks the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were up to.
Meanwhile, Qingque carefully finished reading the message on the Jade Abacus and, confirming there was indeed no particularly sensitive information, finally let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, her little brain started whirring.
"Looks like they aren't planning to do anything for now, that's good… I thought I was about to stumble upon some huge secret."
"How could you uncover a major secret so easily in a situation like this?"
Big secrets wouldn't be carried around by some low-level lookout.
Qingque's brain churned again, realizing that was true, which made her earlier actions seem a bit silly.
For a moment, she smiled sheepishly and scratched her head, a little embarrassed.
Learning that nothing would happen for the time being, Qingque relaxed, even the fluffy white puff of hair at the back of her head seeming to perk up.
She blinked her big eyes and looked cheerfully at Sylvia.
"So what should we do now? Want me to take you somewhere nice to eat?"
Seeing Qingque like this, Sylvia suddenly got the vibe of a cheeky little girlfriend, and the corner of her mouth twitched: "Oh? No Celestial Jade anymore? Switching to a date invitation instead?"
"What date invitation! This is work, work!"
As she spoke, Qingque suddenly paused, her face falling: "Don't remind me I have to work overtime tomorrow—I'd just managed to forget! And I really don't want to get caught by the Master Diviner twice in one day, okay?"
Qingque puffed out her cheeks and shot Sylvia a glare:
"Never mind, I'll just take you around for a tour."
--+--
Sylvia had thought Qingque's idea of "taking her around" would mean moving to another place, maybe another parlor to keep playing cards.
Unexpectedly, today Qingque was actually serious, taking Sylvia all the way from the Exalting Sanctum to Starskiff Haven, showing her the liveliest side of the Xianzhou.
After that, Qingque brought her to where Mr. Xiyan was performing, ordered a pot of tea, and sat down in a corner.
"Phew, time for a break, for a break. I think I've walked more today than I usually do in a month."
Qingque took a large gulp of tea, then rubbed her smooth, slender calves.
Sylvia tilted her head. "Why not buy a starskiff? Walking all this way must've been rough."
"Why would I buy one of those? I hardly ever go anywhere normally—today's an exception. Otherwise, I wouldn't have walked so much."
Sylvia noticed Qingque's feet fidgeting restlessly; she really did seem tired from the walk.
Feeling a bit guilty, Sylvia said: "Actually, I know a little about massage. Want me to give you one?"
"You know how to do that? Wait… you mean right here?"
Qingque was initially interested, but then she realized they were still in Starskiff Haven, with a storyteller right in front of them and so many people around. How could she possibly get a massage here?
"What's the big deal? It's just rubbing your feet and calves, nothing else. You can just rest your feet on my knees, no one will notice."
As she spoke, Sylvia pointed to other tables—some people wore slippers, some dangled their shoes from their toes with legs crossed, and there were couples being all lovey-dovey.
As long as they didn't make a scene or do anything too outrageous, fiddling around under the table wouldn't attract any attention.
Sylvia felt that even though she hadn't given many massages, after working on Acheron and Tingyun, she had some experience now.
This time, without any special ointment, there was no way she'd produce those strange effects again!
Qingque was half-convinced, half-skeptical.
"You really know how to do this?"
"Why would I lie? If you don't believe me, you can ask at the Sky-Faring Commission—even Tingyun said it was great."
Seeing Sylvia's confident expression, Qingque blinked.
"Should we… give it a try?"
"Then put them up here."
Sylvia shifted slightly and patted her thigh, signaling Qingque to rest her feet there.
"O-okay, here I go then."
Qingque's feet really were sore from walking. On normal days, she was either divining or playing cards—she never got this much exercise.
And thinking about having to work overtime at the Divination Commission tomorrow… if she didn't get some relief, she'd probably have to crawl to work.
So, despite feeling a little shy, Qingque turned sideways, slipped off her ankle boots, lifted her legs, and placed her feet on Sylvia's thighs.
Sylvia looked down. The exposed calves were pale, tender, and soft-looking.
If Tingyun's legs had a fit, athletic beauty to them, then Qingque's calves, softened by long days of desk work, had a bit more plushness.
The white cotton socks covering her feet only made Qingque's legs appear even more flawless and pale.
Maybe Sylvia's gaze was a bit too direct.
The small feet resting on her thighs curled their toes restlessly, and Qingque's slightly embarrassed whisper reached her ears:
"Don't stare so intently… it's kinda embarrassing."
"Can't just start without looking properly. What if I press the wrong spot?"
Sylvia replied with a perfectly straight face, leaving Qingque stunned.
So professional?
And then, Sylvia began.
Her fingers moved like playing a piano, tapping lightly down Qingque's calves, from her knees all the way to her ankles.
A tingling, warm current spread from the soles of her feet following Sylvia's motions.
Qingque felt her sense of touch suddenly become extremely sensitive.
"Eep…"
The moment that embarrassing sound escaped her lips, Qingque's face flushed bright red. She quickly covered her mouth, looking at Sylvia in horror.
But that was only the beginning. For Sylvia, she hadn't even finished the first set of movements.
So, completely missing Qingque's pleading look, her fingers roamed freely over those small, cute feet.
The intense sensation made Qingque subconsciously clamp her legs together, toes curling, trying to struggle, but unable to break free.
Her legs felt weak, completely at Sylvia's mercy.
"Mmm… ah…"
Finally, Qingque couldn't hold back anymore—a strange, audible sound escaped through her fingers.
The moment the sound leaked out, Qingque completely lost it. Thud! Her head dropped onto the table, both hands clamping over her mouth as her whole body trembled and twitched.
Even her jade-like shoulders flushed red.
Help! I'm gonna die of embarrassment!!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.