The three of them had already reached ground level. At this moment, the entire market was utterly silent. Three days had passed, and all the workers had returned to their respective orchards, leaving the market completely deserted. Even the disciples of Qiqiao Ground were nowhere to be seen outside the prison — the entire place seemed to hold only the three of them.
"It's getting late, Steward Zhou. I'll be going first." Yang Kai offered a brief greeting, then shot into the sky and sped off toward Fire Spirit Ground.
"Utterly without any respect for rank or courtesy," Fang Tai watched the direction Yang Kai had departed and let out a cold snort. "The Steward rescued him, and he didn't even bother to say thank."
"Why would he need to thank him!" Zhou Zheng chuckled lightly. The person who should be thanking had already done so — Old Fang had spent a considerable amount of Open Heaven Pills to get him to step in and plead on Yang Kai's behalf. For the sake of those pills alone, he couldn't be bothered to hold anything against Yang Kai. His expression turned serious as he lowered his voice: "You did well this time."
Fang Tai said, "Everything I have today is thanks to the Steward's cultivation. If the Steward has any orders, I'll carry them out without hesitation."
"Mm, very good." Zhou Zheng nodded, quite satisfied with Fang Tai's attitude.
Fang Tai frowned. "However, there is one thing I don't understand…"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't be asking!" Zhou Zheng seemed to know exactly what Fang Tai was puzzled about and shut him down with a single line. "Besides, this whole affair was nothing more than an accident!"
Fang Tai lowered his head. "Understood."
"Get back to your orchard quickly. There may be quite a show to watch soon! And since the Chief Steward is here, I, a humble Steward, really ought to be present." With that, Zhou Zheng shot into the sky.
Fang Tai didn't understand what show there would be to watch. He had a vague feeling it was connected to yesterday's events, but since Zhou Zheng had put it that way, he didn't dare press further.
While the two of them set off, Yang Kai had already arrived at Fire Spirit Ground. As he passed through the village where the workers' quarters were located, a flash of golden light caught the corner of his eye. Looking down, he saw General Sichen outside his door, repeatedly pecking at the door with his beak, as if summoning him to come out.
"General!" Yang Kai called out.
General Sichen heard his voice, turned his head for a look, and immediately shrank down to the size of an ordinary rooster. Flapping his wings, he bobbed up and down through the air as he made his way toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai couldn't help but laugh. "General, you really need to go on a diet." He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but this stupid bird seemed to have gotten fatter since the first time he'd seen him.
He reached out and beckoned the rooster over, setting him on top of his head.
General Sichen wiggled his backside, settled comfortably into his usual spot, and pecked Yang Kai twice more.
Yang Kai said, "Something came up — it wasn't like I deliberately delayed. Stop pecking."
Only then did General Sichen settle down.
Before long, they arrived at the orchard. Yang Kai flew a bit further before landing on his own territory, and the first thing he saw was Die You waiting there with an anxious expression.
Hearing the sound, Die You turned to look, her face lighting up with surprise and relief. "Are you all right? Old Fang told me you got into a fight with someone and were arrested by the patrol team!"
"What a big mouth Old Fang has!" Yang Kai made a disgusted face — it wasn't exactly something to be proud of. Why go blabbing about it everywhere?
"I was the one who asked him. Are you all right? The patrol team didn't do anything to you, did they?" Die You asked with concern.
"Nothing happened. If something had, do you think I'd be standing here in one piece?" Yang Kai smiled.
Die You nodded. "That's true. It was Steward Zhou who vouched for your release?"
"How did you know?" Yang Kai was surprised.
Die You said, "Old Fang sent Steward Zhou a rather generous gift…"
Yang Kai's expression cleared with sudden understanding. "No wonder!" He'd been wondering when Zhou Zheng had become so kind — it made sense for him to help get Fang Tai out, but how did Yang Kai get swept along too? So Old Fang had pulled some strings on his end.
"How much did Old Fang give him?" Yang Kai asked.
Die You replied, "I don't know, but it can't have been small. Otherwise, workers caught fighting in private wouldn't get off without any punishment at all. As long as everyone's all right, that's what matters."
"That's true enough." Yang Kai nodded.
"When you have time, let Old Fang know you're safe. He probably doesn't know you've been released yet." Die You glanced around. "Also, today is when the Chief Steward comes to inspect the orchards. You'd better be on your best behavior — don't slack off."
"I know. You should hurry back too. On my way here I heard Zhou Zheng say the Chief Steward is probably already in the orchard. If he catches you off your own territory and over here at my place, that won't look good."