You Look Like a Sulky Gourd

As he spoke, he handed two talismans to the Celestial Emperor.

The Celestial Emperor took them, activated one, and the talisman instantly became invisible—just as promised.

"Hmm..." The Celestial Emperor frowned. "This really is a talisman to be reckoned with."

"Exactly!"

"Fourth, where did this talisman come from?" the Celestial Emperor asked Henry Xiao.

Henry Xiao swallowed nervously and stammered, "I got it from Leo Li. I have no idea where he got it from."

The Celestial Emperor turned to Leo Li: "Who crafted this talisman?"

Leo Li, sweating, replied, "It was made by a Rune Master from the lower realm..."

"Which Rune Master?"

"It was... Liam Leshan," Leo Li said.

"Liam Leshan? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Your Majesty, he's Divine Lord Tanya Quinn's fiancé," the Guardian Drake Lord reminded him.

"Oh! Oh, it's him..." The Celestial Emperor raised his brows. "No wonder he's a prodigy Rune Master! Bring him up too—I want to meet him."

Leo Li's eyes darted around, then he nodded slightly.

"Anything else?" the Celestial Emperor asked Sean Shaw.

Sean Shaw said, "Nothing else."

"Then you all may go for now."

Sean Shaw nodded, glanced at Lucia Lu, and left with her.

Henry Xiao stood there in a daze, unable to believe it was over just like that.

They actually didn't expose what he'd done...

...

"Why didn't you tell them Fourth Highness planted a talisman on me?" Lucia Lu asked Sean Shaw.

"He... compared to some people, he honestly didn't mean any real harm," Sean Shaw said. "A little scare is enough. If you call him an accomplice... I'd rather believe he genuinely just wanted you to earn 'merit' in front of his mother."

Lucia Lu pursed her lips, smiled, and tilted her head at him. "I didn't expect you to be the forgiving type!"

"Do I look like the vengeful type to you?" Sean Shaw asked her.

"Hmm... you look more like a closed book!" Lucia Lu giggled.

Sean Shaw looked at her laughing face and couldn't help but smile too.

Two Palace Guard soldiers stationed outside the shrine sent messages to each other: "Those two look absolutely stunning when they smile."

"Yeah! If I could see their smiles every day, I swear I'd live a few hundred years longer."

...

The way the two of them laughed together was truly a sight to behold—everyone who saw it was captivated.

But not everyone was pleased. Someone grumbled, "What's so funny?"

Sean Shaw glanced over—it was Adrian Drake. "Finished sorting your medicinal herbs?"

Adrian Drake, face dark, asked, "What herbs?"

"Ahem! Not sorting herbs," Lucia Lu coughed. "It's just that my father misplaced some, so I was asking him about it. Right, Adrian?"

Adrian Drake shot her a look and flew off on his own.

"What's with him?" Sean Shaw asked, puzzled.

"When he went to Senior Bianca's place, she gave him a reading. Said he should smile less, or he'd attract too much romantic attention! Maybe he believed her."

"Smile less? For someone who loves to laugh, that's impossible," Sean Shaw said, baffled. "What a weird reading."

"Yeah, it's pretty odd," Lucia Lu said.