I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

He fell asleep.

"Sir...sir...hey..."

He smiled sweetly in his sleep, clutching the jar of dried fruit tightly, as if he had fallen into a sweet dream.

"You think I'll let you go like this?"

Xi's eyes flickered slightly, the pen tip gently fell, moved, and finally lifted.

A small turtle was left on Bai Zhou's face.

"Let's see when you find out."

After a small act of revenge [crossed out] and punishment, Xi picked up her paintbrush again and transformed the tainted painting into a new picture.

However, the words she had overheard earlier remained in Xi's mind and lingered for a long time.

The brushstrokes seeped into the paper, and Xi's painting style gradually became wilder.

"Oh."

After finishing her drawing, Xi put the brush into the pen holder, leaned back in her chair, and settled into a comfortable position.

What's so great about writing?

The bright rainbow-colored eyes flickered slightly, finally settling on the small face with the turtle drawing.

You love writing so much...

"Well……"

A slight movement came from the tail, which made Xi wake up and check the tail.

She noticed something strange about her tail while she was drawing, but she didn't have time to pay attention to it. Now that she has some free time, she can take a good look at what's tangled around her tail.

Xi propped herself up and looked back, her tail held high for easy inspection.

"This is... um..."

A small, thin tail was wrapped around its white-blue tail.

It seems the little devil intended to wrap his arms around her ankle, but for some reason, he ended up wrapping his arms around her instead.

"That brat, he can't even sleep peacefully."

Having found out the cause, Xi gave a light snort and sat back down in her chair.

My mood isn't so bad anymore.

Return to the Thirty-Six Journeys Restart

"..."

When Xi woke up from her nap, Bai Zhou was tidying up, probably preparing for tomorrow's trip.

He seemed to be in a good mood, and Xi could hear him humming a little tune.

It has a strange melody, but it's actually quite nice to listen to.

"Sir, you're awake."

Bai Zhou was very perceptive about Xi's every move. He noticed her when she woke up and immediately put down what he was doing to take care of her.

"How are you feeling? Are you tired from sleeping in the chair? Let's go to bed and rest, sir."

Staring at the daylight swaying in front of her, and hearing soft, crisp voices of concern in her ears, Xi, nestled in her chair, suddenly felt a little... at ease.

"I am fine."

Xi raised her arm and grabbed his hand amidst Bai Zhou's puzzled gaze.

"Oh, sir, please slow down."

The moment the doubt arose, Bai Zhou immediately understood Xi's meaning, and reached out with his other hand to support Xi, slowly helping her up.

"What time is it?"

When Xi and Bai Zhou returned, it was already afternoon. They took a nap, and now that they think about it, it was quite late.

"Sir, it's just past 7:15 PM. Are you hungry?"

"……Um."

Xi sat back down in the chair, thought for a moment, and finally agreed softly.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?"

"What should we eat..."

Yes, what should we eat?

As Xi was thinking, the little turtle on Bai Zhou's face made her pause.

"come over."

"Ugh?"

Although somewhat puzzled, Bai Zhou obediently came to Xi.

"She doesn't even look in the mirror before going out like that, and she doesn't even realize she's being laughed at."

As his fingertips traced the ink marks, the ink instantly separated from Bai Zhou's skin and fell into Xi's hand.

"Oh?"

Bai Zhou touched his face in confusion, staring blankly at Xi.

"Hey. Aren't you going to buy some food? The shops will close soon."

Xi turned her head away, avoiding looking at Bai Zhou's face, and changed the subject.

"Oh! Sir, let's eat stone crab!"

When the topic of food came up, Bai Zhou no longer cared about the ink on his face and enthusiastically offered suggestions to Xi.

"Stone crab?"

The crabs aren't ripe yet, are they? Has the little devil forgotten?

"Yes, sir. Although stone crabs are called crabs, they are actually land-dwelling crabs. They are called that because they taste similar to crabs."

Something I've never eaten before.

Xi was intrigued.

"I'll go buy it right away, sir. Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

He ran out happily during the day.

"...Really. Stone crab...what's with that feeling..."

Xi gently shook her head, got up from the chair, and slowly walked around the room to relax her stiff body while waiting for daylight.

Not long after, a series of short footsteps sounded from outside.

"Sir, I'm back!"

Bai Zhou returned carrying a steaming ceramic jar in one hand and a small porcelain bottle in the other.

Xi, who was already seated at the table, responded and waited for Bai Zhou to bring dinner.

"Sir, stone crab, and plum juice."

This time, Bai Zhou didn't bring back any alcohol; instead, he brought back drinks.

The reason wasn't that he was afraid Xi would use her drunkenness to punish him, but rather that drinking was bad for his health, and it wouldn't be good if Xi felt unwell after sobering up.

"Ah."

Holding her chopsticks, Xi picked up a piece of tender, white meat, the kind of which she couldn't identify, and slowly savored it.

"Phew, sir, this stone crab...it's so hot..."

"But...it really does taste like crab..."

"Wow... (>y<)! Fresh crab with plum juice... so delicious..."

"It's really good."

Compared to the exclamations of surprise during the day, Xi, who had eaten many delicious foods, was only slightly surprised.

Unfortunately, there's no alcohol to go with this time.

After dinner, Xi continued to conceive new writing exercises.

Sitting quietly to the side during the day... lost in thought?

Is he really just spacing out?

【Flowers on Dry Branches: The Murder of the Prefect of Boyun Prefecture (Completed)】

Upon arriving in this esteemed place, my fellow travelers were unfortunately drawn into this vortex.

An unknown enemy, an unidentified force, a jumble of clues...

Despite the numerous difficulties, for the sake of peace of mind in the future, fellow believers, please strive to uncover the truth!

During the day, Bai Zhou stared at the screen in front of him, carefully reflecting on the various experiences of the past few days.

From being targeted by assassins to Banxia's debut...

I see……

In the rare quiet, Bai Zhou figured out a lot of things.

However, what's more important is the benefit I gained from this incident.

During the day, a thought arises, and the words vanish, only to reappear in combination.

[Rating: Good (This fellow participant actively joined the event, serving as a connecting thread throughout the entire story, and performed admirably, hence this rating)]

"Good..."

The Dry Blossom (side quest) is far more difficult than any daily quest that can be completed simply by buying some items and picking some fruit.

Therefore, its positive evaluation is quite valuable.