"Even then, he still went there wearing the Cloud Knight uniform."
"?" "?" March 7th and Zeig both looked completely blank.
"Your mental states don't seem much better than ours either!"
They already knew it was the enemy, yet they still sent someone wearing a military uniform. Of course it wouldn't be inconspicuous!
"So…" Qingzu said awkwardly:
"That's why we wanted to choose an outsider this time."
"But please rest assured—once the matter is settled, the Xianzhou will definitely offer generous rewards."
…
Zeig and March 7th walked out of the Geomancy Commission. First, they each glanced at their phones.
Seeing that neither of them had received any messages, they silently tucked the devices back into their pockets.
"Zeig, how about we take a look around Exalting Sanctum? Maybe we'll just run into those heretics by chance?"
"?"
With his hands in his pockets, Zeig glanced at March 7th.
"Things like this aren't that easy. If they were that easy to find, they would've handled it themselves long ago."
"True."
The two walked side by side along the streets of Exalting Sanctum.
All kinds of vendors were calling out.
"Selling candied hawthorns~ Sweet and fragrant candied hawthorns, want a skewer?!"
"Mommy, I want some candied hawthorns!"
"Tsk, you child. Eating too many candied hawthorns will make your teeth fall out!"
"…"
Zeig and March 7th continued forward.
"Selling pastries~ Freshly baked, piping hot pastries—!" A burly old man with a rough voice enthusiastically hawked his goods.
"Mommy~ I want some pastries!"
"What's so good about them? You kids always want to eat weird stuff. These pastries are all made from old shoe leather, understand?! Hurry up and go!"
"Oh…"
Besides that, there were many other voices.
"Qingque, it's your turn—hurry up and play your card!"
"Don't rush… don't rush."
…
"Little friend, want to take a photo with the great Lady Herrscher of Sentience?"
"I do——!!" x8
"Then say it together with me—— Long live the great Lady Herrscher of Sentience!!"
"Long live the great Lady Herrscher of Sentience (voice cracking)——!!" x9
…
After wandering for so long, March 7th looked around. The vendors on the street all seemed quite normal.
It really was just like Zeig had said—if they were that easy to find, why would they need to ask for help?
"Hah——!! Starting today, I'm also part of the kindergarten!" A rough male voice from afar caught March 7th's attention.
She tilted her head slightly. Her gaze landed on two muscular men with sharply defined facial features and angular jawlines.
"Kid… I'm already in senior class. I'm your senior! It's perfectly reasonable for a junior to offer his senior a lollipop, right?" Another burly crew-cut man spoke in a cold tone.
Hearing this reply, the bearded muscular man's face instantly darkened. His sausage-like lips moved as he let out a deep, rough voice:
"…But I'm a girl."
"What's wrong with being a girl?" The crew-cut muscular man sneered.
"Since you're not listening, we'll settle this with rock-paper-scissors."
"Fine by me."
In March 7th's line of sight, the two muscular men actually started brawling right in public!
They hunched over and threw punches at each other like madmen!
The crisscrossing fist shadows even produced sharp sounds of tearing through the air——!!
"Bang bang bang bang bang——!!"
Countless afterimages moved so fast March 7th could barely follow them.
Her jaw nearly dropped in shock.
"Holy crap, Zeig—did you see that?! Two muscular guys are trading blows up ahead——!! Aren't they the suspicious people Qingzu mentioned?"
"Hm?"
With his hands still in his pockets, Zeig glanced at the two burly men fighting ahead and said in a deep voice:
"They're wearing kindergarten uniforms. Obviously they're little kids, right?"
"Ah? Are you crazy or am I? Either one of them could punch me into the ground so hard I'd kneel and beg them not to kill me. You're saying they're kindergarteners?!"
"Well, some people just develop early. Isn't that normal?"
"People don't develop like that! Look closely… these two are two meters three tall!"
Zeig and March 7th slowly approached the two fighting men.
Seeing people coming over, they stopped attacking each other.
After lowering their hands, the two muscle-bound men stood tall like pine trees.
The crew-cut muscular man spoke first in a low voice:
"Uncle, Auntie, is there something you need? Just so we're clear—we won't eat any lollipops you try to give us."
The other man stroked the stubble on his chin and said roughly:
"Hello, Uncle and Auntie. My name's Xiao Fang. What's the matter?"
"…"
Up close, March 7th felt deeply unsettled.
She forced down her discomfort and asked as gently as she could:
"You two… little friends, how old are you?"
Hearing March 7th's question, the stubbled man named Xiao Fang blushed and stammered:
"I-I'm three years old this year… I'm a girl who just entered kindergarten small class."
The crew-cut muscular man also rumbled in a deep voice:
"I'm four years old. Senior class."
"Small class and senior class???"
March 7th: "???"
Even if different soil nurtures different people, these two were a bit too much, weren't they?
What kind of three- or four-year-old kids are two meters three tall?!
Just standing in their shadow made March 7th feel a chill.
She looked toward Zeig beside her.
"?"
"Zeig, where did you go?!"
At that moment, Zeig was no longer in his original spot.
While March 7th was searching, she saw him slowly walking over from a distance, holding several skewers of candied hawthorns.
When he got closer, he looked at the two exaggeratedly built muscular men and asked:
"Little friends, are you hungry? Answer a few small questions for uncle and I'll give you candied hawthorns, okay?"
"N-No way!"
Xiao Fang sniffled, sucking his protruding nose hair back in, and shyly shouted:
"Uncle! Teacher taught us not to take things from strangers!"
"Strangers? Then tell me… what counts as a stranger?"
"Uh…"
The question left both muscular brothers completely stumped.
What is a stranger?
"A stranger… is obviously someone you don't know!" The crew-cut man had a sudden flash of inspiration and answered excitedly.
"Mm, you're very smart. This is a reward for a smart little friend!"
"Thank you!"
The crew-cut man naturally accepted the candied hawthorn skewer and happily started licking it.
Halfway through, he suddenly realized something was off:
"Wait, Uncle. I-I can't eat things given by strangers!"
"We already know each other now. Can it still be called a stranger?"
"…"
The crew-cut man paused. He looked down at Zeig, his brain clearly going through a violent storm.
After thinking for a long time, he suddenly understood!
He immediately burst into rough laughter:
"Haha… right! We already know each other, so Uncle and Auntie aren't strangers! That means we can eat what they give!"
March 7th's pink-blue eyes widened.
"You're really a genius!!"