Everything Goes Smoothly

Perhaps the heavens heard Su Qing's wish.

From that point on, progress went much more smoothly than expected.

Although they discovered more than just one or two breaches, they were relatively easy to repair. All that was needed was an additional layer of arrays for reinforcement. Throughout the process, no unexpected troubles arose.

No demons suddenly lunged out to fight Su Qing and her group to the death.

Everything was incredibly smooth.

It was so smooth that Su Qing found it somewhat hard to believe. In fact, it felt almost unreal.

Su Qing stood before the final array requiring repair. Looking at the damaged section, she tossed out her array flags and performed several hand seals, patching the last breach.

"There, that settles the final one."

Su Qing stared at the array, muttering to herself, "Still... isn't this a bit too smooth? Could some overlooked trouble have slipped through the cracks?"

At that thought, she let out another sigh.

"I'm probably overthinking it. I've likely encountered so many troubles lately that I've developed a bit of a complex."

Su Qing shook her head, dismissing the strange thought.

However, just to be safe, she didn't truly let her guard down.

She kept her wits about her. While her worries were likely for nothing, even if there were only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of a problem, she had to stay vigilant. If something actually went wrong, the resulting trouble would be anything but small.

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Su Qing put away her array plate.

Seeing the group from the Heavenly Court return, she said, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. I'll have to ask you all to re-inspect this array once more to eliminate any possibility of an oversight... If the re-inspection turns up nothing, then we can truly consider this matter concluded."

Upon hearing Su Qing's words, the Heavenly Court members looked at one another.

Though they found it a bit tedious, they knew they couldn't refuse.

If the Dragon King had made such a request, they could have naturally declined, but coming from Su Qing, refusal was not an option.

After all, there was a significant gap in status between the Dragon King and Su Qing.

Thus, because Su Qing had spoken, they could only nod obediently and go back to re-inspecting the area.

Su Qing watched the Heavenly Court helpers get back to work.

She let out a soft sigh and, after a moment of reflection, decided to perform a divination.

Divination was certainly not omnipotent, but there were times when it could provide unexpected insights.

Su Qing performed a simple calculation... The result was smooth progress and Great Auspiciousness.

This finally allowed Su Qing to breathe a sigh of relief.

Even if divination wasn't necessarily accurate, it served as a much-needed boost to her confidence.

As she was lost in thought, the North Sea Dragon Princess swam toward her.

From a distance, she called out to Su Qing.

"Sovereign! Sovereign!" the princess shouted urgently.

Su Qing looked up. Seeing her frantic expression, she asked curiously, "What is it? Why the rush? Has something happened?"

Internalizing a few deep breaths to steady herself, the princess said, "No, it's not that... It's just... I suddenly remembered something."

Su Qing was slightly confused. "What did you remember? Don't leave me in suspense, out with it!"

Since the princess had rushed over so urgently, Su Qing assumed it was something vital and urged her to explain clearly.

The princess nodded and recounted what she had remembered.

Su Qing had expected something monumental, but it turned out the princess was talking about the locations where the Black Dragons had appeared.

"We had actually investigated and found the results, but for some reason, we all forgot," the princess said, her face clouded with apology. "It's my own fault for being useless, forgetting something so important."

"I see..."

Su Qing nodded and said, "Don't blame yourself. Something else was at play here. If you were the only one who forgot, it might be your fault, but if everyone forgot, then it clearly wasn't something you could control."

Su Qing understood the root cause of the issue and naturally wouldn't hold anyone responsible. She offered a few smiling words of comfort.

The princess sighed softly. "I know... but if my strength were greater, I wouldn't have been influenced by those things, and this matter could have been resolved much more easily."

Su Qing shook her head. "It's no big deal... Strength isn't something that can be forced. Besides, the matter is basically concluded now. There's no point in regretting it here."

Now that the princess's memory was returning, Su Qing knew their direction had been correct and that the trouble was essentially resolved.

She felt a sense of relief as well.

Although the final resolution had been a bit too easy, being able to solve it so simply wasn't a bad thing.

It just meant Su Qing had worried herself for nothing.

But it was harmless enough. At least no negative consequences had occurred.

The princess nodded slightly and said, "Still, the Sovereign has truly worked hard. We were of no help at all; it was almost entirely you and your group doing the work."

They had tried to help, but their strength was simply too lacking.

Even when they did find something, the entity beneath the seal influenced their memories, leaving them with no results in the end.

Su Qing shook her head. "As long as you tried, that's enough... You needn't dwell on it. You should head back now; I'll keep watch here! Once everything is finished, I'll let your father know."

The princess didn't say anything more. She knew there was no point in continuing the conversation, as Su Qing clearly wanted to end it.

"I understand. However, I'll stay and wait with the Sovereign," the princess decided after a moment's thought. Since she couldn't help with the work, she felt she should at least do something to avoid appearing completely useless.

Su Qing didn't bother arguing. If the girl wanted to stay, she could stay; it didn't interfere with anything.

And so, the princess waited by Su Qing's side for a while.

The re-inspection was naturally faster than the first pass.

Soon, the Heavenly Court members gathered back at the meeting point and informed Su Qing that everything was normal.

Su Qing nodded with satisfaction. "Thank you for your hard work."

"It is our duty, for the sake of all living beings," the Heavenly Court group replied, knowing the proper protocol.

After a few more brief exchanges, the Heavenly Court members departed.

Once they were gone, Su Qing turned to the princess. "Alright, go back and tell your father that this matter is settled. Also, tell him that I've already left."

The princess was stunned. "The Sovereign won't stay a while longer? At the very least, please stay for a meal before you go."

Su Qing shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I have other matters waiting for me at the Northern Continent! I can't stay here any longer. It's decided—remember to tell your father so he doesn't continue worrying."

Without waiting for the princess's reaction, Su Qing prepared to head back now that the job was done.

After all, there was a mountain of paperwork waiting for her at the Daoist academy in the Northern Continent.

Over the past few days, official documents had likely piled up in front of Liu Xixi. If she delayed any further, they would undoubtedly become a literal mountain. When she finally returned, she would be the one suffering for it.

Seeing this, the princess could only nod helplessly. She couldn't change Su Qing's mind; she could only offer a polite farewell.

Since Su Qing was determined to leave, saying anything else would be futile. It was better to see her off properly.

"Then I shall escort the Sovereign out," the princess said.

Su Qing didn't refuse, simply nodding. "As you wish."

With that, she headed toward the surface.

The princess followed quickly, accompanying her to the surface of the sea.

Su Qing summoned the Somersault Cloud and stepped onto it. She looked at the princess and said, "Farewell. Until we meet again."

Once the princess returned the farewell, Su Qing performed a hand seal and soared away on the cloud.

The Somersault Cloud was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, it had vanished over the horizon.

'No matter how many times I see it, I have to marvel at the speed of that Somersault Cloud!' the princess thought with a smile. She exhaled a long breath and muttered to herself, "Now, it's time to go back and tell Father the news. Then there's the work of reassuring the people of the Dragon Palace... It seems I have quite a lot to be busy with as well."

It wasn't just Su Qing who was busy; the princess had plenty of work waiting for her too.

With a sigh, she dove back into the water to find her father.

On the other side, Su Qing steered her cloud and soon arrived back at the Northern Continent.

Naturally, Leng Xiang returned with her, rather than being dropped off at her place of gathering Incense Power on the way back.

While Su Qing had kept Leng Xiang by her side during the mission, she had been too busy and frustrated to attend to other matters. Now that they were back, she intended to make it up to her when she had a free moment... Certain things still needed to be done.

However, those matters would have to wait until nightfall. During the day, Su Qing had other things to attend to.

Returning to the courtyard, Su Qing first chatted with Su Tingtong, telling her what she had been up to and checking on her study progress.

Once the child was settled, Su Qing went to speak with Bai Suzhen and Bai Yuhe for a while.

Finally, she made her way to the study in the Northern Continent Daoist academy.

Inside the study, Liu Xixi was buried in work. A mountain of official documents had already piled up before her, a testament to how busy she had been during Su Qing's absence.

Seeing this, Su Qing felt a bit helpless. She had told the girl she could find an assistant to help her, but for some reason, Liu Xixi preferred to handle everything herself. Su Qing didn't know what the girl was so insistent about.

But she didn't feel like lecturing her. Some things couldn't be changed just by talking. If they could, she would have changed the girl long ago.

Su Qing exhaled and walked over to her side. She patted her on the shoulder and said, "Alright, I'm back. Hand over a portion of that to me!"

Feeling the pat, Liu Xixi turned her head.

"So the Sovereign has returned. I wondered who had come in! You've worked hard, Sovereign. The business in the North Sea took so long; it must have been quite troublesome?"

"It was indeed a bit troublesome, more difficult than expected, but fortunately, it's been resolved smoothly." Su Qing nodded. Looking at Liu Xixi's exhausted face, she said helplessly, "I take it you haven't had any proper rest these past few days? You may be an immortal, but if you keep this up, your body won't be able to take it."

Liu Xixi shook her head. "I know my limits... I've been taking time to rest."

Su Qing didn't believe her for a second. If that were true, she wouldn't look this exhausted. It was clearly the result of high-intensity work.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Every time I leave, you lose all sense of moderation."

Su Qing sighed and patted her head. "You need to balance work and rest! I told you before I left to do only what you could, didn't I? If you couldn't finish it, you could have just left it for us to handle together."

Su Qing had told the girl this many times before she left, but her words had clearly gone in one ear and out the other. Not a single bit had been taken to heart.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I won't let myself collapse. If I did, how could the Sovereign handle all this alone?"

Liu Xixi looked at Su Qing with a small smile. "But since the Sovereign is back, I suppose I'll go take a rest. If I don't, I'm afraid you'll start lecturing me again."

Su Qing chuckled; the girl already knew what was coming. She shook her head and said, "Since you know, then go rest! I'll handle the rest of this."

Liu Xixi nodded and went off to rest, while Su Qing, as usual, began processing the remaining documents in the study.