"Disciplinary Officer Liu, sharpening the axe doesn’t delay chopping the wood. I can guarantee that if the workshop is clean, our liquor’s quality and sales will increase by at least twenty percent. You have the Hundred Crafts Furnace, so the things you make aren’t affected by the outside world, but what about the other ordinary artisans? What about the tools left out in the open? These seemingly trivial details have a huge impact," Li Qingxian said.
"Then we’ll clean the workshop first."
As Liu Muwa spoke, he slapped his Qi Fortune Silver Fish Pouch, and a large pile of gleaming white arm bones came CLATTERING out, spilling onto the ground.
Each arm bone exploded into a puff of green smoke.
As the green smoke dispersed, white-boned skeletons with green eyes rose one by one.
Liu Muwa gave the order, and these skeletons began to clean the workshop just like living people.
"Everyone, listen to my command! First, tidy up the workshop! I want this future brewery to be so clean you can’t see a single speck of dust!" Liu Muwa bellowed.
A moment later, hundreds, even thousands, of skeletal frames stirred into action.
It was highly efficient, and admittedly quite impressive, but watching men in Official Uniforms standing amidst a horde of skeletons like Undead Mages, Li Qingxian couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just not right.
Once everything was tidied up, Li Qingxian resumed designing the distillery with Liu Muwa.
Li Qingxian wasn’t skilled with his hands, but having been bombarded with a massive amount of information, he knew very well what a successful distillery needed and continuously put forth his own ideas.
Many things that seemed ordinary to him seemed like nitpicking to the Ministry of Works officials.
Li Qingxian originally had many more improvements in mind, such as those regarding production safety, but he ultimately gave up on them.
Changing a distillery was easy; changing people was hard.
It wasn’t until late at night that Li Qingxian dragged his exhausted body back.
Getting things done is hard, but dealing with people is even harder.
Returning to Room A9, Han Anbo said in a low voice, "My men have found some news about Ye Han."
"Speak."
"The person hosting guests on that pleasure barge is our very own Lord Songg Yanxue, the Left Deputy Commander of the Night Guard and the Disciplinary Officer of the Demon Hunting Bureau. The story goes that just two days ago, Ye Han stumbled upon a descent of Celestial Fire and obtained a wisp of Celestial Fire True Intent. Since his Cultivation isn’t high and he only just reached Entering Grade, the True Intent leaked out. Lord Songg happened to be passing by and sensed the Celestial Fire aura on him. She grew fond of his talent, took the initiative to guide him in his Martial Arts, and even invited him as a guest. If nothing unexpected happens, Ye Han will be transferred from the Divine Capital Bureau to the Demon Hunting Bureau."
"That female general, Songg Yanxue?"
"The very same. The Martial King, Zhao Longgu, once praised her by saying, ’This woman is the most like me.’"
Li Qingxian looked puzzled. "Didn’t the Martial King use those words to praise Jiang Youfei too?"
Han Anbo said, "You’re still young. The Martial King has praised at least a dozen people with those same words."
Li Qingxian fell silent. ’Is there not a single proper person in this entire Daqi Court besides me?’
"We suspect Ye Han intentionally leaked his Celestial Fire aura to attract Lord Songg’s attention. Lord Songg has a solitary nature and loves nothing more than practicing Martial Arts, and she especially enjoys cultivating new martial talent. Ye Han must have exploited this very fact to get close to her."
"This Ye Han... he’s really something," Li Qingxian muttered, but a thought sparked in his mind. ’Could I perhaps leak a little of my Divine Sky Thunder Seed’s aura?’
’No way. I, Li Qingxian, would rather starve to death than learn from Ye Han.’
Han Anbo said, "In the future, we’ll have to go out on Demon Hunting missions to accumulate military merits. It’s very likely that people from the Demon Hunting Bureau will lead us. You should be prepared."
Li Qingxian asked, "The Demon Hunting Bureau should be the strongest bureau in the Night Guard, right?"
"That would be the Imperial Prison Department, but they are only responsible for the Imperial Prison, so their strength isn’t apparent on a daily basis. In terms of external operations, the Demon Hunting Bureau is indeed number one in combat power, far surpassing our Divine Capital Bureau."
"This Ye Han truly has great Qi Fortune and a powerful Fate Grid," Li Qingxian said.
"Indeed. With the Celestial Fire True Intent, when Ye Han cultivates any Fire Daoist Skill, Cultivation Technique, or Martial Technique, his speed will be dozens or even a hundred times faster than an ordinary person’s. The question now is, does he bear you any ill will?"
Li Qingxian frowned.
’I took Ye Han’s Divine Sky Thunder Seed, the Jiao Dragon Transformation Pill, and the Flying Sword. Plus, I have a great relationship with Zhou Chunfeng and Jiang Youfei. Any normal person would definitely hold a grudge.’
’It’s very likely I’m being unknowingly suppressed by his Fate Grid.’
Li Qingxian said, "No matter what he does, I just need to focus on my own Cultivation."
Han Anbo said, "I see you cultivating Daoist Skills sometimes, and Fate Skills at other times. What is your primary focus, and what is your secondary?"
Li Qingxian froze for a moment, looking at Han Anbo.
Han Anbo gave a simple, honest smile. "I don’t know how to cultivate, but I understand Cultivation."
"Fate Skill," Li Qingxian said.
Han Anbo said no more.
Li Qingxian knew Han Anbo was reminding him that no matter what he cultivated, he had to clearly distinguish between his primary and secondary focuses.
Li Qingxian silently walked to his desk, ground the ink, and spread the paper. Then, using the Pen Manipulation Skill, he consumed his Magical Power to transform all the contents of the Fate Measuring Sect that he had memorized into Magic Text, imprinting it into his Spirit Platform.
Afterward, he slowly studied and contemplated, not sleeping until late into the night.
「Early the next morning,」 Liu Muwa sent someone to fetch him, and Li Qingxian had no choice but to head to the Imperial Prison Department.
「For the next several days,」 Li Qingxian handled distillery matters by day and focused on his Fate Skill studies by night. Only when he was mentally exhausted and needed a break would he switch to practicing Thunder Skill.
The construction of the distillery was not going smoothly. Problems kept cropping up: procedural errors, operational mistakes by the Ministry of Works officials, or issues with the distillation equipment. The whole process was one setback after another.
That night, Li Qingxian was sound asleep when a violent BANG BANG BANG pounded on his door.
"What’s wrong?" Han Anbo rushed to the door and opened it.
"The distillery’s still exploded! We’ve come for Lord Li."
Li Qingxian was instantly wide awake.
’Other things could go wrong, but not the distillery. This is a matter of life and fortune!’
Li Qingxian scrambled out of bed and shouted, "I’m on my way!"
Li Qingxian hastily threw on his clothes and headed out.
Han Anbo said, "I’ll go with you."
The two of them followed the Prison Guard from the Imperial Prison Department out of the Street Patrol Room, asking for details along the way.
The cause was currently unknown. All they knew was that Room B3 had collapsed. Fortunately, the Ministry of Works Puppet Cultivator was tough-skinned and had only suffered minor injuries.
Before they even reached the entrance to the Imperial Prison, they could smell the thick aroma of liquor wafting over.
They skirted past Zone A and arrived in Zone B, only to see that the formerly towering Room B3 had been reduced to a pile of rubble, the air thick with the stench of alcohol.
Jingg Guan, the Eunuch from the Inner Treasury Bureau, strode over. "Lord Li, from now on, we have to do things your way! How many times did you tell this bunch of good-for-nothings to pay attention to production safety? ’Pay attention to production safety,’ you said! But did they listen? No! They let your words go in one ear and out the other. Now look! The whole thing blew up! It’s a good thing this was just the initial setup. If it exploded after completion, how could we ever open the distillery? I’ll make the call on behalf of Lord Yan: from now on, in this distillery, your word is law, Li Qingxian! If any of these sons of maids dares to disobey, we’ll drag them straight to the Imperial Prison for torture. It’s nice and close, anyway."
Li Qingxian saw Jingg Guan’s frantic appearance and knew he was terrified of being punished by the Inner Treasury Bureau. The struggles among Eunuchs were even more brutal than those in the Outer Court.
"Rest assured, Lord Jingg. If something really goes wrong, I’ll go find Lord Yan... no, I’ll have Lord Liu go. You’ve supported me. It was the Ministry of Works’ Puppet Cultivators who weren’t afraid to die and thus ignored production safety," Li Qingxian said.
"Now those are comforting words. This bunch of Puppet Cultivators, they always think they know everything and look down on us eunuchs. But now that something’s gone wrong, they can’t possibly blame me, can they?" Jingg Guan said.
Li Qingxian exchanged a few more words with Jingg Guan, then went to find the Ministry of Works Puppet Cultivators to investigate the cause.