Nothing makes time pass faster than an interesting lesson.

  The moon climbed to its peak and illuminated the mind of the studious...

  “...this fairy won’t go into detail about other unavoidable tracking methods like divination or those blood-related arts...”

  “These aren’t something you can stop by simply scrubbing off a medium or two. Ahum. But fairy brother, no need to worry too much.”

  “Divination arts, this sect shouldn’t have any. As for blood tracking arts, hum...”

  “This fairy isn’t sure how much of this doll’s fresh blood got preserved by those misers, but even if they were stingy with its usage… hum, it should’ve been used up for repairs after all these decades.”

  “Even if not, the blood that runs through this puppet’s vein is now thinner than water. Just don’t leave her in one place for too long, and there won’t be a problem.”

  Shu Ling then clapped her hands lightly, as if dusting off an unpleasant topic. “Hum, that’s about it.”

  Bubai blinked. “No more?”

  “Hum. No more.”

  Once the fairy confirmed that, Bubai finally rubbed his temples in relief.

  Holy Merlin. He really didn’t know there were so many niche tracking methods until he got a professional to pull back the curtains!

  Today truly broadened his horizons!

  At least now, if he ever encountered similar tricks in the future, he wouldn’t be groping in the dark.

  Of course, he still can’t guarantee he would catch them all, but at least he’ll know where and what to look for.

  Oh, now that he thought about it…

  Bubai’s consciousness jumped to his storage warehouse and zeroed in on the An Jali doll busy mixing poison according to the instructions he left.

  His divine consciousness washed over her, almost instantly recognizing some of the sneaky tracking methods the fairy just pointed out.

  As expected, this kidnapped doll isn’t completely clean.

  Most were nothing more than low-level scent tracking tricks. These can’t be detected from afar once the tracks gets cut off.

  Still, they can become a nuisance if he isn’t careful.

  Fortunately, he usually leaves her in this isolated space and never keeps her out for too long.

  Unless some absolute lunatic had no life and made it their full-time job to track down this low-grade doll at any cost, there should be no way to lock onto him.

  Well, to be safe… once he has time later, he’ll remove them.

  “...Fairy brother… Fairy brother~”

  Hearing the singsong call from outside, Bubai reeled his awareness back to reality and saw the pouting fairy poking his cheek.

  “Fairy brother, since we’re done now… isn’t it about time we… fufufu~”

  Bubai’s smile twitched. “That… fairy, please be patient. Just wait outside for a bit while I clean up here. Then, I’ll take you to a good spot for some fun.”

  But naughty fairy wasn’t so easy to brush off. Instead, she pressed even closer and her hot breath ghosted over his Adam’s apple.

  “Didn’t fairy brother enjoy it here last time? This fairy doesn’t mind doing it here again…”

  Bubai swallowed hard. “This… Fairy, the space here is a bit tight.”

  What answered him was a sweet yet sinful giggle. “Fufu~ Isn’t that what makes it more exciting? Or if fairy brother likes, she doesn’t have to just watch. Fairy brother can…”

  The fairy nipped his earlobe. “...use us both at the same time~”

  Holy Merlin’s beard!

  Bubai’s little brother shivered when he imagined playing with both goddess-class fairies at the same time.

  Both could be considered grannies in one way or another, and there should be no relationship between the two.

  But when put side by side, they were like a pair of celestial sisters!

  One a silver-haired, youthful elf. The other a gray-grayed, matured top-notch model.

  Free reign to switch between the two?

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Man, it’ll be so, so hawt to let his darkness run wild in this dark little stall!

  Yet Bubai still suppressed his urge and caught the delicate hand that dared to wander south. “Fairy… please restrain yourself.”

  “Hum?” Those amorous starlit eyes gazed up at him with longing and her melodious voice knocked on his restraints.

  “Fairy brother, why are you stopping this fairy? Why not just enjoy yourself? Hmm?”

  That moment, he felt it, hard.

  The charm overflowing from this fairy was overloading all his defenses, but…

  Mayday! Mayday! Stay awake! He bit his tongue, pulling himself together.

  “Ugh… Apologies, fairy. But not today. That… you know the coming days won’t be easy for me. I need to preserve my tiptop condition for tomorrow.”

  At his excuse, those amorous eyes of the fairy sharpened with a dangerous glint.

  “Hum? Is fairy brother... backing out on your promise?”

  “Fairy, it’s not that. I always keep my word. It’s just that…”

  Bubai’s straight face became a bit awkward. “Fairy, when I said we’ll do something fun... ahem, I didn’t mean this.”

  Shu Ling pursed her lips and glared at him.

  “Stinky fairy brother! How can you engage in wordplay with this fairy like that? If you want this fairy to go, just say so! There’s no need for all these excuses! Humph!”

  Alarmed by her tantrum, Bubai hurriedly slipped his hands around her waist to prevent any ensuing big drama series.

  “Ling’er, wait! Please don’t misunderstand. How can I ever dislike having a beautiful guardian fairy to accompany me at times like this?”

  “What I promise, I will deliver. My earlier words aren’t an excuse because tonight... I really do have a surprise prepared for you.”

  “Really?” Shu Ling squinted her eyes then pouted, looking away.

  “Humph! Whatever. This fairy doesn’t believe it. Don’t think this fairy can be fooled like some three-year-old child!”

  “Haha…” Bubai sincerely smiled. “Fairy, I’m sure you’ll like it. And if not…”

  His smile went dark and he leaned in to tease her ear. “Then I’ll make sure to ravage fairy’s mouth as punishment.”

  Those starry eyes peeked back over, sparkling mischievously. “All night?”

  Bubai’s stomach did a somersault, but he still went with it. “All night.”

  “Fufufu~” The fairy drew a circle on his chest. “Fine, this fairy will wait outside. Hum. Don’t take too long~”

  Poof! The fairy then burst into a shower of shimmering starlight that soon faded away, leaving him in the dark about what inexplicable magic she uses.

  But he didn’t think too long about it. That’s out of his league. Just take a step at a time.

  Not wanting to let the fairy wait too long, Bubai quickly packed away the dormant goddess along with the lucky chair.

  A shove opened the flimsy stall door, and he reunited with the dreamy fairy serenely gazing up at the moon.

  He slipped her soft hand into his and smiled. “Let’s go. We’ll take the rooftop route. It’s not far.”

  “Fufufu, take this fairy away~”

  Then up they went...

  He took the lead to hop across the stall tops while the fairy lightly floated after him like a balloon.

  It wasn’t a long journey.

  Soon, they climbed up a multi-story pavilion and arrived at a secluded, outdoor loft bathed in pale moonlight.

  On one side, the spot overlooked some walled-off sect farms covered by a misty canopy. On the other, the distant sultan palace stood solemnly against the horizon.

  A perfect vantage point for guards.

  Well, there were none permanently stationed here, making it a great spot for a rendezvous.

  Bubai didn’t hesitate to take out a square table from his storage pouch, followed by two chairs.

  A tea pot came next, followed by tea cups. The herb box appeared, then water...

  Seeing the brewing ritual begin, the fairy still remained standing, eyeing him unhappily.

  “Hum? Just Ember Petal Herb tea? Humph. It’s not so easy to hook this fairy with something so simple, oh.”

  Bubai shot her a smile and wordlessly slapped a few shiny gold taels onto the table.

  “Fuu?!” The fairy almost instantly poofed out of existence from where she stood.

  In a blink, she reappeared in her seat on the opposite side of the table, already rubbing her cheek against a gold tael with a gleeful face. “Fufufu~ My baobao, did you miss this fairy?”

  But sensing the funny stare coming from her companion, Shu Ling quickly straightened herself out like a proper lady and feigned indifference.

  “Humph, who cares about a little gold? If it’s just this, this fairy will be disappointed, oh.”

  That’s what she said. But her hand didn’t slow down at all and was already bringing her satchel to sweep up the gold on the table.

  But the chuckling Bubai casually held her hand down.

  “Fairy, don’t put it away so fast. We still need it for the next bit of fun.”

  The fairy blinked, cutely tilting her head. “Hum? There’s more?”

  “You’ll see.” Letting go, Bubai smiled and reached into his robe’s sleeve.

  “I know it’s forbidden to take fairy to those places. But rules always have leeway. So, I’ve always been thinking about how to let fairy have some fun within the rules…”

  Then out from the folds of his sleeves came a stack of nearly-paper-thin, plywood cards. “So I made these.”

  He fanned out the deck on the table, showing the various numbers and symbols painted in black ink or red blood onto each face.

  “I call these playing cards. These four shapes are respectively called diamond, club, hearts, and spades. Cards are numbered from two to ten…”

  A finger pointed at the “A” character. “This tower symbol. I call it the ace. It can count as either one or fourteen.”

  He then slid out the J, Q, K cards. “These soldier, queen, and king images represent 11 to 13.”

  “Hum, what an interesting idea...”

  Shu Ling picked up the Q card that was carved with an image that looked three points like herself and her eyes glittered like twin stars.

  “Fufufu… very interesting. So what game does fairy brother want to play with these?”

  “There’s a variety of ways to play, but we’ll keep it simple since it’s just the two of us. But before we begin...”

  Bubai grinned and took out a pouch, pouring out taels of gold onto his side of the table.

  The impact was real.

  Almost instantly, the fairy’s eyes lit up so bright that the moon seemed to dim, but she still restrained herself from outright grabbing everything.

  Instead, her watery eyes gazed at him and she called out coquettishly, “Fairy brother~”

  “No need to ask. How much fairy can win, you can keep.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Fufufu!” Shu Ling slapped her gold tael on the table. “Then what is fairy brother waiting for?! Let’s get started!”

  “Haha. Patience, patience. Fairy, please enjoy some tea first, and let me explain the rules…”

  The fragrance of tea got explored, the deck got shuffled, the rules got set…

  Yet any unspoken rules got carried away by the night breeze, all the way up to the eaves high above a pavilion.

  The glow in a pair of sharp eyes faded away and its well-dressed owner frowned.

  “What is this rat up to? He’s been talking to himself for so long... is he crazy? Or is he talking to...”

  The man suddenly felt a bit chilly inside, but he suppressed the eerie feeling and sneered.

  “Just another rat pretending to be god and playing tricks like a ghost. Heh. Who are you trying to scare? Even if you act insane, it won’t change your ending...”

  His gaze swept around, noticing the fellow stalkers lurking in the dark and the raven perched in the distance.

  Tch. There were too many eyes around. He can only turn to leave.

  “Xiaowei, just wait a little longer. Tomorrow, brother will send him down to accompany you.”