Qingque's mind was now completely consumed by the idea that "Abundance" had stripped the people of Xianzhou of their right to modify their own bodies in exchange for a mere few hundred years of life.
The thought of the Xianzhou people's unwavering determination to pursue long life when they first set out on their journey...
Then, she thought of her ancestors' joy upon discovering other, harmless methods of longevity, and their despair when, faced with the Mara-struck state, they found themselves unable to alter their own bodies and change their path.
Qingque's emotions resonated deeply with those of her ancestors.
It wasn't that there was a problem with their long life—problems could be fixed.
The real fear was that "Abundance" had left the Xianzhou people with no chance to fix it, which naturally turned gratitude into hatred.
Qingque had never considered that the suffering of the Xianzhou people was due to the loss of their right to self-modification.
The more she thought about it, the more Noldrei's words made sense. If the Xianzhou hadn't been so thoroughly screwed over by "Abundance" along the way, they would have surely found other methods of achieving long life.
After hearing Noldrei's account, Qingque almost switched from the Path of Erudition to the Path of the Hunt.
With her mind full of the thought that '"Abundance" had stripped the Xianzhou people of their rights,' Qingque dazedly handed over her duties to her leader, Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan had just returned from meeting with the General of the Luofu, accompanied by Elysia. Elysia had already finished communicating with the local Xianzhou government.
After a harmless observation period was confirmed, they would be permitted to hold temporary identities and move about within the Xianzhou.
The Xianzhou would loan Noldrei and his companions some credits, but if they needed more after that, they would have to earn the money to pay it back themselves.
Perhaps because they were both pink-haired, or perhaps because Elysia was beautiful, there was no sign of any trouble being made for them in their dealings.
Fu Xuan's only thought was to recoup the repair costs from these people.
Upon arriving at Noldrei's temporary lodgings with Elysia, Fu Xuan saw Qingque and two other civil servants from the Divination Commission standing at the door with grave expressions.
It was as if they had encountered some extremely difficult problem.
"Qingque, Qingque, what are you doing? I asked you to help look after them, where are they?"
Fu Xuan was exasperated by Qingque's spaced-out demeanor.
Slacking off even when you're supposed to be watching the outsiders who trashed our workplace, are you?
Qingque sighed and fell silent again as she looked at her leader, who was the same height as her.
The thought that the entire Xianzhou population had been stripped of their bodily freedom by "Abundance" sent a wave of dejection through her.
Hunting down the abominations of "Abundance" was an eternal act of vengeance, but what was the point of it? Could it reclaim the rights the Xianzhou people originally had?
Of course not. The Xianzhou didn't even know how to deal with the Plague Author of Abundance's true form.
"Master Diviner... sigh... I don't know how to explain it to you. I just feel that we Xianzhou people have it so rough."
Qingque was overcome with grief. The more she mulled it over, the more she felt the Xianzhou had been cruelly deceived.
"Huh?!" Fu Xuan was completely bewildered, instinctively glancing at Elysia.
Elysia had no idea what the young woman had learned to make her suddenly feel that her people had it so rough.
From what she had observed, the lives of the Xianzhou people were quite decent. She hadn't encountered any terrible incidents on their way. The only thing she had seen was a minor traffic incident where someone was pulled over for speeding.
"Well, are you going to explain what's going on or not?"
The Master Diviner was indeed a patient person, actually finding the patience to tend to Qingque's emotional state.
Qingque then recounted Noldrei's commentary on Xianzhou history.
At first, the Master Diviner didn't think much of it. It wasn't the first or second time the Xianzhou had been critiqued by outsiders, and there was plenty of historical research on the topic within their own ranks.
But Noldrei's particular take had never been heard before.
Fu Xuan pondered the logic behind it, and the more she thought, the more it seemed to make sense.
She instinctively wanted to refute some of the contradictions, but as she tried to argue, she suddenly felt as if she truly had been stripped of the right to research her own body.
The moment a Xianzhou person's body slightly exceeded that "standard," they risked a Mara-struck outbreak. Even if they had ideas for modification and correction, they would never dare to experiment rashly, as a single misstep could doom their compatriots.
Qingque's revelation didn't just stop there; it ended up stumping the Master Diviner herself.
Elysia suspected they had probably misunderstood something. After all, this was how Noldrei ruled Earth, except the people of Earth had surrendered their right to reproduce on their own.
Noldrei hadn't centralized the right to reproduce for his own pleasure, but to restore the normal process of life's re-production for civilization.
That was why the centralization of reproductive rights didn't seem so harmful.
'This is just how he operates. Of course, he'd assume that "Abundance" did the same thing.'
Elysia knew how Noldrei's mind worked. Why else would she be a little afraid of the guy?
The group of them just stood there,堵 in the doorway, contemplating this subtle "summary of Xianzhou history."
Elysia had no choice but to persuade them, "Why don't you come in and think about it while sitting down? If all else fails, you can have a meal here before you go back. We happen to be curious about your local food anyway."
"You're right. Please excuse our intrusion."
Fu Xuan had come here to inform Noldrei of the Luofu's decision regarding the three of them. She just hadn't expected to be hit with this "grand gift" from Qingque at the door.
The more Fu Xuan thought about it, the more she couldn't help but consider the problems of long life from the perspective of personal rights.
As a Xianzhou native herself, under Qingque's guidance, Fu Xuan's hatred for "Abundance" deepened.
'It seems I'll have to discuss this matter thoroughly with the General.'
'These outsiders are by no means from a simple, minor civilization.'
Fu Xuan believed that being able to think in terms of the right to bodily modification already surpassed the normal Xianzhou understanding of the pain of long life.
The fact that the Matrix of Prescience had unexpectedly failed, unable to predict its own accidental destruction, had already made Fu Xuan suspicious of these people's arrival.
These people either had special abilities that could conceal them from the Matrix's observations, or they had the ability to hide outside its calculations.
Either way, it meant their origins were not so simple.
However, it was currently unknown whether they were friend or foe, so Fu Xuan saw no need to be hostile towards Noldrei and the others for the time being. Once the Matrix of Prescience was repaired, she could use the power of her third eye to observe their origins more closely.
"Our... leader here... doesn't much look like a leader. If he says anything untoward, please bear with him."
Elysia thought to herself that it was a good thing Senti was out doing repairs. Otherwise, if the two of them were together, they would surely say something even harder to explain.
Fu Xuan glanced at the "mahjong table" in the corner of the living room and knew exactly what this man had been up to.
She hadn't expected that he could even get Qingque to play a round in a place like this.