Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 216: Perfectionist

Working with Yan Ping was a completely different experience from working with other Elders and Senior Researchers. Ke Xing was both honoured for the rare opportunity and glad that it was finally over. Many people knew just how demanding Yan Ping was. Yet, not many truly understood the pressure of working with their sect leader. Yan Ping’s title as the best researcher in the Mystical Qilin Sect was not due to her status. Anyone who doubted her skills should contest her for it.

"You’ve worked hard," Yan Ping acknowledged the exhausted senior researcher who spent the last five nights without sleep to revise calculation after calculation to refine a working array they developed in two days. In her words, it was "not efficient enough" and had the possibility to "be better".

Ke Xing could not even pretend to be courteous. She was mentally drained, even if Assistant Hu kept them fed every meal with a reminder for breaks. She swore never to skip meals for research ever again if she did not want to turn out like Yan Ping.

Their sect leader was a very capable person. She earned everyone’s respect that way. However, nobody told her Yan Ping was also a hardcore perfectionist who could never be satisfied with anything. In many ways, Senior Researcher Ke admired Anji’s tenacity. Only their successor could put up with their sect leader’s expectations.

"I’ll let the committee know about your project extension so you can take a short breather. I’ll be off now. Remember to cover for Ci Wang’s meal schedule in my absence. I will also know if word gets out that she’s not in the Gingko Sanctuary like she should be."

The threat and praise in the same breath made Assistant Hu stiffen. However, they did not have time to confirm or refute. Yan Ping had already taken to the air with their presents tucked into her sleeve pockets. The birthday present that Assistant Hu worked hard to prepare over the last few days was stashed safely with the spell design. Although it was nothing impressive, he worked silently while the ladies were perfecting the long-distance voice transmission spell. It was just a simple magnifying glass with a handcrafted wooden handle imbued with spells, allowing Anji to read smaller fonts easily.

Just as suddenly as Yan Ping appeared in their courtyard, she was gone. Ke Xing groaned and promptly collapsed.

"I need a nap and a bath."

Smiling wryly, Assistant Hu prepared a warm tub of water. It must have been difficult for his childhood friend to handle the pace of research their sect leader set. However, there was no resentment in Ke Xing’s tone, only exhaustion.

"I hope the birthday celebration is enjoyable," he said to nobody in particular. Senior Researcher Ke hummed in response and promptly drifted to sleep while the bath was filling.

>>Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX<<

Yan Ping flew without pause. She checked on the gifts frequently to ensure they had not fallen out mid-flight. Zhao Mingfeng’s messenger bird returned, and all Yan Ping had to do was follow it back to the Celestial Dragon Sect. The messenger pigeon did not seem to mind the strange woman flying beside it. In fact, it enjoyed Yan Ping’s frequent mid-flight snacks.

Yan Ping only stopped when the pigeon stopped for food, water and sleep. Without her guide, she dared not claim to know the shortcut. It would be embarrassing to be late for the birthday banquet just because she was lost.

After several days of flying, Yan Ping finally reached the base of the Celestial Dragon Sect. Thanks to the invitation token, someone was waiting to escort her via the secret entrance at the base of the mountain instead.

"Zhao Ruiting greets Sect Leader Yan," the oldest daughter and heir to the Celestial Dragon Sect greeted as Yan Ping dismounted her staff. "Thank you for coming all the way."

Dismissing small talk, Yan Ping requested for an audience with Zhao Mingfeng. The birthday banquet would be tomorrow and while her residence here was prepared, she wanted to share with him the great news before resting.

"Father is in the study. Please follow me to the residence first. My sister insisted on showing you her recent cultivation progress at the persimmon tree she planted. Sect Leader Yan, this way please."

Cultivation progress? Was Anji still training her Seven Sound Mantra even when she was on vacation? How hardworking. Yan Ping did not dislike diligence. However, Anji would be shocked to learn that after they returned to the Mystical Qilin Sect, she would be banned from making any cultivation progress for a few months.

Although Yan Ping could not see where she was, the narrow and silent pathway Zhao Ruiting led her to was fairly different from the grand and bustling main road.

"Are we taking a side entrance?" she asked after a while.

Chuckling, the teenager explained they were in a specially created secret passage to bypass security.

"The birthday banquet will be held at the hut with only family and close aides. We’re taking this path to Father’s study first before making a detour to find the persimmon tree Anji planted in her old residence."

Curious about what Anji did for her training, Yan Ping followed silently for the rest of her journey until they ascended to a more familiar structure with wooden doors and stairs.

Knocking at the door twice, Zhao Ruiting announced their arrival and waited for an invitation in.

"Come in," the faint voice from within called out, and Yan Ping heard some shuffling. Zhao Mingfeng must have been busy working on administrative matters.

"Greetings, Sect Leader Yan," Zhao Mingfeng greeted humbly. "Thank you for making it."

Doing away with pleasantries and formality, Yan Ping revealed the gifts she brought with her.

"The magnifying glass is a gift from the collaborator I worked with for the actual birthday gift to the Celestial Dragon Sect. Is there a secure place in your sect with minimal outsiders that you and your family can frequently access?"

The strange question made Zhao Mingfeng look at his study. Over the years, there were many infrastructural changes to the layout of his sect. Thanks to Zhao Mingshen’s secret information activity, they had to build many new routes and secret places. Of course, his family and closest aides knew about some of these places. However, revealing it to Yan Ping still required some caution.

"Ruiting, could you show Sect Leader the banquet location? I think it would be fine. Sect Leader Yan, is a small hut in a restricted zone in the mountain secure enough?"

Yan Ping hummed. Would a small hut be enough?

"Does it have a structure that can withstand any weathering and has soundproofing? I brought a gift of my own, seeing how you’d prefer daily updates from Anji herself after she returns with me. The array is not the most efficient. It requires a large area and is quite fragile. Not to mention, due to the lack of time, it requires quite a bit of qi to activate and sustain it. Even at my level, I can only power the spell for an hour or less."

After hearing more details from Yan Ping, Zhao Mingfeng’s heart became less heavy. The sound-transmitting array would be the lifeline of their family when Anji was gone. Such a previous thing should not be hidden away in such a shabby hut.

"Wait, there should be a space in the library of my study for this. You said any wall or floor surface would work, right?"

Yan Ping nodded. "Preferably, one that cannot be tampered with easily. The array is complicated to create and cannot be easily repaired. I would need at least half a day to finish installing it."

"The great gift has come so suddenly that we are unprepared to receive it," Zhao Mingfeng responded with regret. "Could you allow us time to sort it out? Thank you so much for your consideration. Ruiting, could you lead Sect Leader Yan to her residence and to see Anji? I remember her saying she wanted to show her shifu what she managed to do recently. Sect Leader Yan, thank you so much."

Leaving the magnifying glass but keeping the design for the voice-transmitting spell with her, Yan Ping told Zhao Mingfeng to let her know sooner rather than later. The sooner they concluded this, the quicker she could bring Anji back. It wasn’t as if they would begin the spiritual operation immediately. After all, there were many things Anji had to do to prepare for the twelve intensive weeks of operation.