I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 87: Chapter 80: Second Refinement Consummation

Yang Wenqing listened to the music and played chess, the faint scent of tea and the woman’s elegant fragrance lingering in the air. His eyes took in the refined surroundings and her vibrant beauty. A long-lost sense of relaxation gradually bloomed within him, slowly dispelling the cold indifference that had shrouded his mind from his harsh cultivation.

As the night deepened, the music ended, and the party dispersed.

Vice Director Gao smiled at Yang Wenqing. "You should stay here tonight. This place has a special Spirit Calming Array, and they also have ’Scent Guides’ who know how to help one find peace of mind. Considering your condition yesterday, you really need to soothe your spirit."

The term he used, ’Scent Guide,’ was rather elegant, but Yang Wenqing naturally understood its implication.

Deputy Director Zhou had also risen to his feet. He gave Yang Wenqing a slight nod in farewell, then followed an attendant with Vice Director Gao toward a deeper courtyard. They obviously had their own regular quarters.

Yang Wenqing hesitated for a moment before a maid in a pale green dress, with a gentle and serene disposition, appeared silently by his side. Her eyes downcast, she said softly, "Sir, please follow me."

The maid led him through several more secluded corridors to a small, private courtyard. Inside were bamboo, stone, and a small hot spring pool.

The room’s furnishings were elegant. A refined, calming fragrance permeated the air—something like sandalwood mixed with the fresh scent of certain herbs. It truly had a spirit-calming effect.

"Please have a seat, sir. Your bath and a change of clothes have been prepared. My name is Qing He, and I will be seeing to your rest tonight."

The maid, who called herself Qing He, still spoke in that soft voice, without any excessive eagerness or flirtatiousness.

After bathing and changing into soft, silk sleepwear, Yang Wenqing felt as if days of exhaustion were evaporating with the steam from the hot spring. Qing He had already prepared the bed and lit some sleep-inducing incense, after which she knelt quietly a short distance from the bedside.

Yang Wenqing said nothing more and went to lie down on the soft, comfortable bed. The scent of the incense was subtle, and the faint glow of the Spirit Calming Array flowed across the walls.

After a while, a pair of cool, soft hands gently pressed against his temples. The pressure was just right, moving with a relaxing rhythm.

Then, the hands slowly massaged along the meridians of his head, neck, and shoulders. It wasn’t provocative, but a genuine technique for soothing relaxation.

Under this professional and gentle service, combined with the effects of the spirit-calming incense and the Array, Yang Wenqing relaxed completely. His consciousness began to blur. The bloodshed, the scheming, the pain of cultivation, the fickleness of human relationships... all of it was smoothed away by those gentle hands and the tranquil aroma.

The next morning, Yang Wenqing awoke naturally to the crisp chirping of birds. He sat up, feeling refreshed from head to toe. The last lingering trace of coldness and indifference in his eyes had completely vanished, leaving his gaze clear and gentle. Even the flow of Spiritual Power within his body seemed a bit smoother and more harmonious.

Qing He had already prepared warm water, and last night’s clothes had been cleaned. She then helped him wash up and dress.

...

By the time he walked out of Qu Garden, the sun was already high in the sky. After a brief wait, Yang Wenqing saw the two directors emerge together. The three of them convened but said nothing about the previous night. They simply exchanged nods before boarding a Flying Shuttle to return to the branch office.

Back at the branch office, Yang Wenqing quickly dove into his daily work. There was still a backlog of trivial cases. He and Qian You resumed piloting the ’Windrunner-B4’, weaving through the various districts to mediate disputes.

Perhaps because he had been deeply moved at the funeral the day before, or perhaps because his mind had been put at ease the previous night, he handled these civil trifles with more patience than usual. He listened more attentively, and the solutions he proposed were better at accommodating the difficulties of both parties.

His efficiency for the day was quite high. Most cases were settled under his mediation, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings. After all, in these special times, the Court’s dockets were already piled high.

At the end of a busy day, Yang Wenqing tallied the mediation fees and the "tea money" given privately as tokens of appreciation. The total came to nearly twenty thousand. As was his custom, he transferred the money into the Third Squad’s discretionary fund to subsidize team expenses and necessary equipment maintenance.

After work, Yang Wenqing didn’t delay, heading straight for the Rain Pavilion. The Shopkeeper had indeed kept his word; the hundred-year Stone Marrow Liquid he had ordered had arrived. Yang Wenqing paid the remaining balance and returned to his residential complex.

It was nearly dusk when he returned home. Yang Wenqing didn’t rest. He first activated the ’Zhenyuan Nourishing Vein Array’ and sat on it cross-legged. Then, he performed several slow breathing exercises, completely emptying his mind of the trivial thoughts from his day of handling worldly affairs.

Once his breathing and mind were settled, Yang Wenqing’s gaze became focused and calm. The Spirit Gathering Array on his wrist silently lit up and began to steadily draw in the surrounding Spiritual Qi. He then took out an energy crystal, holding it in his left hand, and used a small jade spoon to measure out ten grams of the hundred-year Stone Marrow Liquid into the palm of his right hand.

"Huuuh..."

At that moment, the memory of his cultivation’s agony surfaced, and he couldn’t help but let out a breath. Then, he decisively crushed the energy crystal in his left hand. Pure Spiritual Qi surged into his meridians. Simultaneously, with a flick of a Spell from his right hand, the Stone Marrow Liquid transformed into a warm, heavy, medicinal torrent of heat that followed the Spiritual Qi, seeping deep beneath his skin.

A familiar, extreme pain instantly swept through his entire body. His skin and flesh trembled violently under the dual assault of Spiritual Qi and medicinal power. Yang Wenqing’s body went rigid, veins bulging on his forehead. But he was long accustomed to this level of torment. He desperately clung to the sliver of clarity in his consciousness, guiding the energy to precisely strike the subtle areas that were not yet perfected.

In just over twenty seconds, the energy was depleted. The intense pain receded just as quickly, replaced by the searing heat and sense of fullness that came from being tempered.