“You are back, Senior Martial Brother Zhao!” Huang An exclaimed in her signature soft voice. “Did your work trip go well?”


    “I guess you can say that it went well, considering the end results,” Zhao Yunxiao sighed helplessly before passing her a root of the Blue Jade Lotus. “Here, this is a souvenir for you.”


    “What is this?” Huang An asked in confusion.


    “Root of a Blue Jade Lotus,” Zhao Yunxiao said.


    “Root of a Blue Jade Lotus?!” Huang An looked at him in disbelief. “How did you get this?”


    “...I got lucky and picked it up somewhere,” Zhao Yunxiao replied after a moment of hesitation.


    “How lucky! Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Zhao! As a show of my gratitude, you can leave all of today’s work to me!” Huang An patted her chest in assurance.


    As a physician, she had a decent understanding of spiritual herbs in general, especially those that had medicinal effects.


    The moment she learnt that it was a root of the Blue Jade Lotus, Huang An knew exactly what to do with the root.


    “I appreciate the offer but I’d rather not. We still have to rush for the practice later,” Zhao Yunxiao rolled his eyes. “You are slow enough on your own. If you have to take over my share of work as well, who knows what time it will be by the time you are done scrutinising everything?”


    “I am just being careful!” Huang An retorted. “You guys need to be just as careful too!”


    “Yes, yes,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Anyway, I heard that Junior Martial Sister Lu has already completed her dance routine. Have you seen it yet?”


    “Yes! It’s amazing!” Huang An nodded profusely. “Words don’t even do it justice, so you really have to see it for yourself later!”


    “Haha, is that so?” Zhao Yunxiao laughed. “I will look forward to seeing it during our practice later then!”


    It was a rather slow day at the Medicine Pavilion.


    There were not many visitors, which was a good thing considering the fact that usually only those who were suffering from problems would go to them.


    Because of that, the disciples on duty were able to spend most of the day doing research on the second storey – something that most of them enjoyed much more in comparison to treating patients.


    The administrative deacon Jin Shang came over to give them some pointers as well, enlightening them on certain issues that they had been confused about.


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    “After spending this much time on it, I have to be at least somewhat good at tea-making or I will really be useless!” Huang An laughed.


    “Even without this, no one will say that you are useless,” Zhao Yunxiao replied. “Your attainments in the healing arts alone are enough to tell everyone otherwise.”


    Huang An merely smiled in response.


    Just like that, the two silently savoured the fragrant tea, basking in their tranquil surroundings as they awaited the arrival of their friends.


    With good tea as company, the two of them did not mind the wait.


    Even then, they did not have to wait long.


    One by one, the other members of the Flying Shell Performance Group arrived after completing their day’s worth of work.


    By the time the last member, Bo Fei, arrived, Zhao Yunxiao and Huang An had only waited for no more than two hours.


    “Shall we begin then?” Bo Fei said as he settled himself in.


    “Yes! Watch me closely, Senior Martial Brother Zhao!” Lu Zhiying answered excitedly.


    “I’m just going to be brutally honest, all right?” Zhao Yunxiao replied. “Don’t be offended if my words are harsh.”


    He could see just how eager Lu Zhiying was to show off her dance routine, but he was also afraid that she was getting ahead of herself.


    However unlikely it was, if the dance happened to turn out badly, then he would not hesitate to give his honest opinion.


    After all, someone had to be the bad guy if need be!


    “You won’t be saying that soon enough!” Lu Zhiying seemed to be extremely confident nevertheless.


    “All right, let’s start,” Bo Fei gave the cue.


    “Okay!” Huang An answered.


    With that, her temperament changed immediately. Her eyes sharpened like those of a hawk as she slowly lifted her hands over the zither.


    The Flying Shell Performance Group was slated to perform three different songs during the celebration tomorrow.


    <Utopia> – a song about an imaginary land of eternal peace.


    This first song incorporated the soft tranquility of the lands with the violent nature of battles, assimilating them to portray a world where the lands themselves were capable of purging all semblance of evil.


    <Flight of the Butterflies> – a calming song about the natural beauty of butterflies.


    The second song was heavier on the melody than the vocals, and thus relied more on Huang An and Zhao Yunxiao to portray the organised chaos to which a group of butterflies would adhere when flying around in the wilderness. It told of how something that was in its simplest original form could still be ever so amazing.


    <Endless Battle> – a powerful song about the arduous journey of cultivation.


    As opposed to <Flight of the Butterflies>, this last song was much heavier on the vocals, giving Bo Fei and Gu Qiansi their chance to shine. It told of how no one could predict the future, and that one had to constantly give it their all on their cultivation path. Even if it was painful and did not yield significant results in the short run, the efforts would surely pay off one day.


    </a> Next, the beautiful scene that played out before his eyes almost caused Zhao Yunxiao to lose focus and stop playing on his flute for a moment.