Chapter 443: Requesting an Audience

The Jester finally couldn't resist; he opened his mouth and stuffed the entire meat bun into it in one bite.

Chen Ling didn't see how his small mouth managed to fit the whole bun at once. Just as he was bewildered, the Jester chewed slightly, his bulging cheeks returned to normal, and he continued to look at Chen Ling with longing eyes.

Gurgle—

The thunderous sound continued to emanate from his stomach.

"...Still not full?" Chen Ling asked tentatively.

The Jester kept his head down, looking somewhat embarrassed, and didn't dare to speak, but his rumbling stomach answered for him.

Helpless, Chen Ling returned to the breakfast shop and bought him five more buns at once.

But before Chen Ling could even get his change, the Jester had polished off one after another, and the five large meat buns were instantly gone... He turned back, about to say something, only to see the Jester’s bean-like eyes looking at him innocently again.

Chen Ling: ...

Chen Ling remembered: according to his Master, the Jester was the only one in the Theater Dao Ancient Treasury who ate by the "bucket."

Seeing this, Chen Ling simply pulled out a silver banknote and slapped it on the table, leaving the shop owner stunned.

"I want all the buns in your shop. Pack them up for me."

"...Right, right away."

The shop owner immediately called over several assistants, all of whom dropped what they were doing to help pack. Over a dozen steamers were taken down one by one, and the workers were soon sweating profusely.

A long time later, Chen Ling carried two full bags of buns and walked with the Jester toward the other side of the street, drawing glances from passersby.

"Iya!"

The Jester ate one bun after another, and within a few minutes, he had polished them all off.

When the last bun was consumed, the Jester finally patted his belly with satisfaction and let out an incredibly loud burp.

Chen Ling looked at him as if he were looking at a monster.

He couldn't understand for the life of him how such a small body could hold so many buns... Could it be that his stomach was connected to another dimension?

The Jester noticed Chen Ling’s gaze and immediately acted like a child who had done something wrong, walking beside him with his head down and silent, occasionally glancing around as if looking for a chance to slip away.

"No need to be so nervous... I’m not going to eat you." Chen Ling saw through his thoughts, fearing that he might run away so fast that he wouldn't be able to catch him, so he spoke up immediately, "I’m no longer holding you accountable for trying to assassinate me before."

"Iya?"

The Jester looked up at him, seemingly still in disbelief.

"Aren't I still alive? And you’ve already apologized to me." Chen Ling shrugged. "Since we’re both from the Theater Dao Ancient Treasury, there’s no need to dwell on the past..."

Hearing this, the Jester’s eyes gradually brightened, but Chen Ling’s next sentence made him pause slightly.

"But you have to tell me, why were you so determined to kill me back then?"

Chen Ling had indeed been hostile toward the Jester at first, after all, he had almost died at his hands. But after spending some time with him, he realized the little guy wasn't bad at all, even innocently cute... He could let go of the past, but there were some things he had to get to the bottom of.

The Jester tilted his head, thinking for a while, then stretched out his hands and gestured for a long time, but Chen Ling couldn't understand what he meant.

"Can you write?"

Chen Ling walked to the side of the road and picked up a branch for him.

The Jester took the branch and scratched his head in confusion, as if trying hard to recall something... Half a minute later, he began to write crookedly on the ground.

—Master.

Seeing these two characters, Chen Ling froze in place.

"Master?" Chen Ling frowned involuntarily. "Are you saying... Master told you to kill me?"

"Iya." The Jester nodded, then quickly shook his head, gesturing vigorously for a long time, trying to explain something very complex. In the end, he seemed to get angry at himself and stomped his feet hard on the dirt.

Chen Ling: ...

Chen Ling looked at the crooked "Master" written on the ground, but couldn't make sense of it for a long time... However, he was certain that Master had absolutely no intention of killing him; otherwise, there would have been no need to save him in Liu Town, let alone teach him the secret techniques of the Theater Dao. So, what was this "Master wants to kill me" business about?

Chen Ling pondered for a long time but couldn't understand the Jester’s meaning. Knowing it was impossible to get more information out of him, he sighed in his heart.

"By the way... did you put white ash on two people in my room? The kind that sealed my skills earlier?" Chen Ling was about to leave with the Jester when he suddenly remembered something. "Can you remotely undo the seal on them? They aren't bad people; they are members of the Twilight Society too."

The Jester was startled for a moment, then seemed to remember the incident. He tapped one hand against his palm, a look of sudden realization dawning on him!

"Iya! Iya iya!!"

He slapped his own head repeatedly, as if annoyed at having forgotten, then reached out and grabbed at the void. Two faint wisps of white energy entered his palm, and with a swipe of his hand, they returned to the white ash on his own nose.

He had been so focused on delivering those two to Chen Ling that he had forgotten to undo the seal!

"Iya!" The Jester gave Chen Ling a "success" gesture.

"..." Chen Ling smiled helplessly. "Good thing you didn't kill them, or this would have been a huge misunderstanding..."

The Jester shook his head immediately. He pointed at the "Master" characters on the ground, wiped his own neck with his hand, and made a "no" gesture with his hands in front of his chest.

Chen Ling asked in surprise, "Are you saying Master doesn't let you kill people at will?"

"Iya!" The Jester nodded earnestly.

"No wonder..."

Chen Ling brought the Jester back to the auction house lounge.

Now that he had been discovered by Chen Ling, the Jester no longer hid and played openly in the lounge. Chen Ling watched the figure running around the room and smiled helplessly.

Just then, a soft knock on the door sounded.

"Special Envoy, are you free?"

"What is it?"

"Someone downstairs at the auction house wants to see you."

Someone wants to see me at this hour? A flash of doubt crossed Chen Ling’s mind, and he asked, "Who?"

"Have you heard of Liu Qingyan? She’s that newcomer who has been the talk of the Red Dust Main City lately."

Hearing the name Liu Qingyan, Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he recalled the look of hesitation on her face at the banquet last night.

"What does she want with me?"

"...She didn't say, only begged to see you."

Chen Ling was silent for a moment, then said,

"Let her come up."