Chapter 394: Has My Image Really Fallen That Much?
"So, what matter requires discussion here?"
The little interlude just now had already passed, but the atmosphere remained somewhat awkward. Thus, Miss Kirin was the first to speak.
At present, the two of them had already entered one of the guest rooms in the Wandering Immortal Inn, sitting across from each other at a table.
However, Miss Kirin was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
There was nothing wrong with the room itself. The decor was grand and elegant, faint hints of sandalwood lingered in the air, and they were free from any disturbance. It was a suitable place for a proper conversation… The only problem was that this was the exact same room where her Imperial Alter Ego had previously conversed with the young man now sitting before her.
Now that she sat here again in her mortal form, it gave her a strange feeling of déjà vu.
Luo Wusheng, who had—on a whim—chosen to reopen this room, also felt the same, but since they were already here, he quickly focused his mind back on his plan.
Pausing briefly, he first took a storage bag from his waist and handed it across the table.
"This is the first matter."
Seeing the young girl had accepted the bag, he composed himself and said, "This is a special artifact that Her Majesty previously commissioned the Demon Artifact Pavilion to craft. The relevant instructions have already been written and sorted into the proper documents. A few days ago in the imperial palace, Her Majesty said to hand these over to the Six Gate Bureau."
Miss Kirin nodded after checking the contents of the bag in her hand.
"Mm, Her Majesty did mention this matter."
That was a lie.
Originally, her Imperial Alter Ego had remembered this task, but the impact of the events that followed had been far too overwhelming. Later, there were orders to be given regarding the Nether Formation, and she had completely forgotten to delegate this responsibility.
Fortunately, the Demon Sect Holy Saint had delivered the materials directly to her Mortal Alter Ego.
However, from his perspective, there was no reason to personally seek her out for this matter—let alone come to this location. Handing it over at the Six Gate Bureau would've sufficed.
Kirin maintained a calm demeanor. Although her Imperial Alter Ego had forgotten the task, she had recalled it while following the young man here, so she wasn't particularly surprised.
Just as she put away the storage bag, she heard the boy's next words.
"Then I'll leave this matter in your care, Miss Kirin. Now, onto the second matter…"
As expected.
Knowing that the second matter was the real reason he had come, Miss Kirin instinctively raised her head—only for the pupils beneath her scale mask to suddenly narrow.
"…What is the meaning of this?"
This time, she truly couldn't understand the Holy Saint's intentions.
With a calm smile, the boy casually took out a mask with no pattern on it and wore it right in front of her.
The moment he put it on, his entire aura shifted.
"Is my meaning still not clear enough?"
A voice, altered just slightly from his original, came from behind the mask:
"The newly appointed Golden-Ranked member of the Six Gate Bureau—whose appointment was decreed by Her Majesty and who you were instructed to assist—should only be a single person…"
"Ah, but I haven't settled on a code name yet. Once I decide, I'll inform you right away."
Saying this with a light tone, Luo Wusheng removed the blank mask and placed it on the table.
Wearing a faint smile, he met the gaze of the now clearly stunned Kirin and patiently waited for her reaction.
After considering all factors, he had made this decision.
To be honest, he still wasn't certain if he could break the fate of this Mortal Alter Ego's inevitable disappearance.
The Empress certainly had more techniques than him, and there were countless powerful figures in the royal city. Yet in the original work, this Alter Ego was still lost under such circumstances… He didn't know exactly what had happened, but one could imagine how difficult it must have been.
'Still, everything must begin with an attempt…'
Revealing his identity directly was the first step. And there was no mental burden in doing so—after all, it was simply bringing to light something that both of them already knew deep down.
Of course, this kind of "I know that you know I know" approach might not be so easily understood from the other side. It might cause confusion or even—
"The decision for a Golden-Ranked member's code name must be formally submitted to Her Majesty. Once approved, it will be stamped into official documents and posted publicly. After all, the Six Gate Bureau represents the face of the empire—any name too casual or bizarre would be rejected…"
…Huh?
Wait a minute. Why was this script not playing out like he imagined?
Why did Miss Kirin, after staring at him for so long, open with that response? Was that really what she thought the most important part of what he just said was?
Luo Wusheng's face twitched violently.
'Why does it feel like she's seriously worried I'll come up with some name that'll ruin the Six Gate Bureau' reputation? Don't tell me… Has the image she had of me already crumbled that much after what happened at the Imperial Pool?'
That couldn't be… right?
It was just a name. It's not like he hadn't considered something normal before.
Er… well, "Big Chungus" didn't sound too government agent-worthy. And "Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon"…
Actually, her concern wasn't entirely unwarranted.
A person like Luo Wusheng—who deliberately avoided revealing his real identity—would, in order to deflect suspicion, often choose code names that completely steered away from his usual characteristics, opting for something drastically different to throw others off the trail.
There were precedents of this among the existing Golden-Ranked members in the Six Gate Bureau.
That said, Kirin had only said what she did because she hadn't fully processed everything yet—and just so happened to catch the last thing Luo Wusheng said. It triggered the thought, and she blurted it out without much deliberation.
It was only after she spoke that she realized something felt… off.
Still, she couldn't quite suppress her inner confusion. After a moment of thought, she finally looked at the boy across from her and asked:
"…Why are you telling this to me alone?"
It was clear that he only wanted her to know this—he had no intention of making it public. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of dragging her to this place to say it.
But based on the earlier conversation between the Demon Sect's Holy Saint and her imperial self, he hadn't planned to tell anyone at all.
She had even mentally prepared herself to pretend not to know him when he showed up at the Six Gate Bureau with his mask on—yet now he'd laid it all bare?
On the other side, hearing the long-awaited return to the real question, Luo Wusheng felt a little conflicted.
The carefully crafted atmosphere he had just set up… was instantly ruined.
Oh well. At least they were finally getting to the point.
"Naturally, it's because I trust you with this," he said.
Luo Wusheng tried to put on a gentle smile, but in the end, it came out more like a weak grimace. He sighed and continued, "After all, you were the first person I met when I arrived in the capital. And we've worked together several times since. Of course I trust you—I wouldn't want to hide this from you."
"Besides, since Her Majesty assigned you to assist me, letting you know also makes it easier for us to work together going forward…"
<+>
Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD[1]
<+>
Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 532: What On Earth Is Master Talking About?[2]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549[3]
[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549