Journey to the West: Starting from the Imperial Horse Stable

Wang Chen had a simple lunch at Qingweizhai. Although he only used some immortal dew and spiritual fruit and chatted about some trivial topics, it was an important beginning for him.

That's often how interpersonal relationships work. Once you have the opportunity to share a drink together for the first time, the distance between you will gradually loosen.

No one expects to become completely open and honest with someone over a meal or a few words, but at least it establishes a foundation for what can be called contact.

Taking this opportunity, Wang Chen casually inquired about the general situation of the Imperial Horse Administration, piecing together some useful information from Zhao Deshun and Zhou Quan's fragmented answers.

For example, that Supervisor Sun was not originally a member of the Imperial Horse Administration or the Imperial Carriage Administration; he was only recently transferred from another department to "help out."

Not long after he arrived, he encountered the incident of Sun Wukong breaking through the South Heavenly Gate, and now he is in charge of the entire Imperial Horse Administration as the Supervisor.

As for the others, Qian and Zheng are both very old and senior, but they have no desire to advance further and only seek stability.

Zhao Deshun, like himself, was a newcomer who had recently filled a vacancy. The taciturn official surnamed Feng, named Feng An, was also recently transferred. Upon arrival, he immediately became very close to Supervisor Sun and was highly trusted.

This information doesn't yet form a complete picture, but Wang Chen felt it was enough. Asking too many questions, especially about details, when you're new here could easily annoy people.

Some things need a more suitable time and environment to be said or done.

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When they returned to the Imperial Horse Stable in the afternoon, there was no unusual activity from Supervisor Sun's side, as if their departure at noon was a trivial matter.

Just after 1 p.m., Supervisor Sun summoned Zhao Deshun and gave him a bunch of trivial tasks, keeping Zhao Deshun busy until it was almost time for his shift to end before he returned.

When it was time to leave, none of the three—Wang Chen, Zhou Quan, and Zhao Deshun—brought up the topic of dinner that evening. They each continued with their few remaining tasks, and the atmosphere remained as usual.

When the celestial bell rang to signal the end of the term, the three simply nodded in acknowledgment like ordinary colleagues, and then packed their things and left.

However, half an hour later, in a relatively quiet alley on the edge of Xuanzhuji, the three of them met again in a private room on the second floor of a mid-sized restaurant called Zuixianju.

The location of Zuixianju, which Wang Chen chose, wasn't the best, and the decor wasn't luxurious either. However, it had a good reputation among the restaurants frequented by wandering immortals and low-ranking immortal officials. Its strength lay in its quietness and the solid quality of its dishes.

Several kinds of spiritual dishes were already laid out on the table. Although they were not dragon liver and phoenix marrow, they were still fragrant and full of spiritual energy.

The most eye-catching item was a pot of Bixia Wine. The wine was clear and had a faint green luster. This was a highly regarded wine among the lower-ranking immortal officials. It was quite expensive, which was enough to show the host's sincerity without being too ostentatious and arousing suspicion.

"Brother Zhou, Steward Zhao, please have a seat." Wang Chen greeted them warmly, personally pouring wine for them. "The place is simple, and the food and wine are humble. I hope you two brothers will not find it offensive."

Zhao Deshun quickly said, "Brother Wang, you're too modest. This Bixia wine is hard to come by, and you've gone to so much trouble."

Zhou Quan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the food and wine, his expression softening slightly compared to when he was in the yamen.

The three men took their seats, and Wang Chen raised his glass first: "It is my honor to have you two gentlemen grace us with your presence today. I would like to offer you both a toast first, thank you for your guidance!"

After he finished speaking, without waiting for the two of them to fully raise their glasses, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

The Bixia wine was refreshing on the palate, but had a strong aftereffect. Wang Chen seemed to have drunk it too quickly, and he choked and coughed repeatedly, his face turning slightly red, looking like he wasn't very good at drinking.

Seeing this, Zhao Deshun couldn't help but laugh and said, "Brother Wang, drink slowly. This wine is good, but it has a strong aftereffect. You're too honest. You should know that this wine is not like the wines in the Lesser Thousand Worlds."

Wang Chen coughed and waved his hand, looking somewhat embarrassed: "I'm sorry to have made you two brothers laugh. I rarely do these things, but I was just happy today and got carried away."

His honest, even somewhat clumsy, newcomer demeanor softened the slight scrutiny and distance that Zhao Deshun and Zhou Quan had initially felt towards him.

A newcomer who can't even drink alcohol and gets choked is always more relaxing than a shrewd and meticulous new colleague.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere warmed up. Wang Chen then took the opportunity to ask Zhao Deshun about his work that afternoon: "Brother Zhao, I saw you running around all afternoon. Did Supervisor Sun give you some important instructions?"

Since the purpose is to ask about some situations, we should start by talking about our duties at the Imperial Horse Stables so that we can continue the conversation.

Otherwise, if a few people sit together and talk about how things were back in the Lesser Thousand Worlds, they'll inevitably end up regretting their ascension, because the Heavenly Court isn't a place for immortals.

Or, to put it another way, why are these ascended immortals even worse than mortals?

As they chatted, they talked about how the great figures in heaven were incredibly powerful, and how their own little magical abilities were practically useless, so everyone disguised themselves as ordinary mortals.

There's no way to get the information Wang Chen wants by talking about these things, so we can only talk about the job at the Imperial Stables.

Hearing Wang Chen's words, Zhao Deshun sighed, took a sip of his wine, and a look of helplessness and frustration appeared on his face:

"Important? Not really. It's just some old, trivial matters like checking last year's hay and fodder accounts and taking inventory of the warehouse equipment. They're all very fragmented, but they're urgent, like they're on a death knell. Sigh, our supervisor is really hard to fathom."

When Wang Chen heard Zhao Deshun mention Supervisor Sun, he glanced at Zhou Quan without making a sound. Seeing that Zhou Quan had no expression, only took a sip of wine and showed a sympathetic look, Wang Chen noticed that Zhou Quan had no expression and had only taken a sip of wine.

Without responding, Wang Chen continued to guide Zhao Deshun, "Supervisor Sun has only been here a short time, so he must want to familiarize himself with all the affairs of our Imperial Horse Administration as soon as possible, right? Chief Zhao is very capable, so naturally we should give him more guidance."

"Outstanding ability?" Zhao Deshun shook his head with a wry smile, and emboldened by the alcohol, he opened up, "Brother Wang, you don't know. Some things aren't just about ability. Take, for example, that Feng An in our yamen..."

He lowered his voice, his tone tinged with displeasure: "What do you think he was doing this afternoon? I was so busy I barely had time to breathe, while he just sat there, pretending to organize some unimportant documents. But when Supervisor Sun called, he was the first one to run off."

"Huh? Is that so?" Wang Chen looked puzzled, noticing that Zhou Quan's expression had changed, as if he was both disdainful and used to such things.

Wang Chen thought to himself, "This Zhou Quan is really good at holding back. He's not saying anything now. I'm just waiting to see when he'll finally speak up."

At this point, Zhao Deshun became increasingly frustrated as he spoke: "You haven't seen it, but the other day when tasks were being assigned, it was a small matter that I was supposed to handle, but he insisted on going to Supervisor Sun to take it over, and then he didn't tell me. After I finished, he took all the credit. What kind of behavior is that? We're all colleagues, and this kind of behavior is really..."

Wang Chen listened, and at the opportune moment, a look of surprise and slight confusion appeared on his face: "Feng Xianli, he seems quite taciturn. I didn't expect that we're all working for the government, so why is he acting like this?"

As he spoke, he kept a close eye on Zhou Quan's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

Zhou Quan picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and chewed it slowly. He neither agreed with nor refuted Zhao Deshun's complaints. His face still had that faint sense of aloofness. However, when Zhao Deshun mentioned Feng An's actions, the corner of his mouth turned down almost imperceptibly, revealing a hint of undisguised disdain.

Wang Chen felt more confident. He poured himself another glass of wine, this time taking small sips, a hint of confusion and unease on his face. He looked at Zhou Quan and Zhao Deshun, his tone tentative and cautious:

"Brother Zhou, Steward Zhao, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should ask it. I feel that ever since I met Supervisor Sun this morning, Supervisor Sun seems a little... dissatisfied with me? Is there something I did wrong, or is there some misunderstanding? I'm really not sure."

His words caused a moment of silence in the private room.

Zhao Deshun sensed this as well. He opened his mouth as if to say something comforting, but he didn't know where to begin, so he looked at Zhou Quan instead.

Zhou Quan put down his chopsticks, picked up a wine glass, and slowly swirled it in his hand, the turquoise liquid rippling in the glass.

He looked up at Wang Chen, his gaze no longer completely detached as it had been during the day. It seemed that because of this meal, because of Wang Chen's "honesty" and their current predicament, there had been a subtle change.

He was silent for a moment, took another sip of wine, and then slowly spoke, his voice lower than usual:

"Wang Chen, I think you're a straightforward person, unlike those who have too many ulterior motives. Since you asked and even treated me to this meal, I'll tell you a few honest words."