Fu Xuan was a woman of considerable grace in her daily life.
This grace was not just in her attire but also carried an impressive air in her everyday interactions.
Her only flaw was a slight tendency to sound like she was biting her tongue when she spoke, sometimes resulting in a minor, accidental lack of clarity in her enunciation.
Fu Xuan got straight to the point. "The Luofu Xianzhou is still unable to determine your intentions, but we have decided to temporarily believe your story about the accident. However, you must abide by the laws and regulations of the Luofu Xianzhou and refrain from prying into places you shouldn't."
"As for the compensation for the Matrix of Prescience, the full extent of the damages has not yet been determined in this short time. There is also no way to measure what you should give in return. We can discuss these matters slowly later."
"Regarding the taboos of the Xianzhou, I will arrange for Qingque to inform you specifically."
"Also..."
Fu Xuan hesitated, then looked up and asked, "I'd like to ask, how did you evade the calculations of the Matrix of Prescience? I rarely make miscalculations, and such an accident should not have occurred."
Noldrei didn't quite understand what the Matrix of Prescience did. From her description, it sounded like a computer-like version of Aponia.
But he didn't care about that. He himself didn't know why he couldn't be observed.
Noldrei softened his tone and said, "Miss Fu Xuan, what I mean is... which answer would you like to hear?"
"Think about it. If I have the ability to evade your local surveillance, there are only two possibilities: either our own concealment abilities surpass yours, or I know your observation methods like the back of my hand."
"Either way, I don't think you'd want to hear it."
"Why don't we just discuss a different question? Even if I told you I don't know what happened, would you really believe me?"
Fu Xuan's face showed a flicker of astonishment as she realized she had asked a foolish question.
She couldn't help but feel a little anxious, subconsciously wanting to perform a divination.
Qingque was even more 'anxious' than she was. Who would have thought that the Master Diviner, temporarily deprived of her divining abilities, would be so interesting?
'Leader, you're showing your weakness, Leader! You can't do that!'
Qingque was terrified that the Master Diviner would ask another question with a clear answer, having already exposed so much.
Fortunately, Fu Xuan realized her blunder. She knew she was clearly no match for the other party in a verbal sparring match.
"You're right. Even if you told us, we wouldn't dare to readily believe such a thing happened."
Fu Xuan had to admit she had been outmaneuvered. She thought about finding another topic.
Noldrei waved his hand, stopping her, and suddenly changed the subject. "The Synesthesia Beacon. You have such an excellent device here, so why do you still maintain the traditional master-apprentice teaching method?"
"Connecting each other's perceptions, converting them into internal linguistic code, and then having the other party's language cognition system automatically process and restore it."
"Such an excellent process of communication, transforming from perception to abstraction and from abstraction back to perception. So why not directly transmit personal experience during the perception process? Wouldn't that allow you to mass-produce more outstanding successors?"
Noldrei believed this thing shouldn't be simply used for dialogue but for a more advanced form of knowledge dissemination.
If a task could be accomplished through a connection of perception, why still use the traditional method of a master guiding an apprentice?
Fu Xuan hadn't quite processed Noldrei's point yet. It took her a long time to realize that what Noldrei said did indeed make sense.
For example, when a person explains a mathematical law.
In the normal process, people need to abstract it into numbers, then verbalize it to express the abstract mathematical law.
"One plus one equals two" would automatically be converted into "1+1=2" during the process, to be recognized and read by another person.
That was the function of the Synesthesia Beacon.
This meant that from text, to numbers, to abstract drawings, they were all the same kind of quantifiable, understandable information on paper.
Noldrei believed this thing was better suited as an educational tool, not just a communication tool.
With such a good thing available, why still maintain the traditional master-apprentice system?
Fu Xuan was completely stunned by Noldrei's question.
Their overly backward educational methods had been severely questioned by an outsider.
"I... this..."
"Um..."
Fu Xuan, for once, stammered, unsure of how to answer. She racked her brains but couldn't figure out the problem.
"That's right... why?"
Qingque watched as her Master Diviner was led astray, actually starting to seriously consider how to develop and use the Synesthesia Beacon.
Noldrei had no intention of letting Fu Xuan off the hook. He pressed on, "Let's open our minds. Couldn't we abstractly understand many terms used in our work, and even form connections between two people's perceptions using abstract tables?"
"That way, we could even eliminate communication barriers in our work."
"Let's be a bit more radical. Why not just share our experiences and feelings? For example, I could think about the joy or pain of something, then try to describe it in words, and pass it on to you through the Synesthesia Beacon so you can understand my pain and difficulties."
"From the way you use it, this thing definitely wasn't developed by you locals, was it? Otherwise, its usage wouldn't be so limited."
Qingque's mouth fell slightly agape as she watched the Master Diviner being relentlessly questioned and grilled.
'How... how am I supposed to explain this?!'
Just as Noldrei had said, his words were easily understood by Fu Xuan and imprinted in her mind.
She was currently a beneficiary of the Synesthesia Beacon's use.
But this was the first time she had ever encountered such a question.
Yet, in Noldrei's eyes, these things were just common sense.
As something that could bridge the communication gap between multiple civilizations' symbolic systems, allowing them to understand each other, it was a perfect tool for a teacher educating a student. The Synesthesia Beacon could easily let a student know what they didn't know, and it could also easily let a teacher understand a student's lack of understanding, allowing both parties to conduct targeted, supplementary education.
It was precisely because she understood the meaning behind Noldrei's words that Master Diviner Fu had such a question.
Why?
Why, after all this time, had no one considered such a simple problem?
Noldrei was very disappointed with Master Diviner Fu's attitude. He asked, quite shocked, "You're already a space-faring civilization. Haven't you ever considered such a convenient communication device for knowledge transfer? Could it be that there's a problem with your Xianzhou's system?"
Master Diviner Fu was stunned. Her expression changed dramatically as she shot up from her chair.
"Apologies, I still have work to do today. I'll come back to chat with you about these issues when I have time."
After she finished speaking, she scurried away in a panic.
Fu Xuan didn't dare to admit right there that the past leaders of the Xianzhou had indeed created a systemic problem.
A strategic retreat became Master Diviner Fu's best option at the moment.
"Wait..." Qingque started to say, preparing to chase after her.
Suddenly, she heard Master Diviner Fu's slightly petulant voice from a distance.
"Qingque, you stay here. I'm going back to repair the Matrix of Prescience! And have the other two come back with me for now."
The other two colleagues looked as if they had finally been liberated. They quickly bowed their thanks to Qingque and hurried away from this troublesome place.
Qingque stood there with her hand outstretched blankly, trying to grab something, but caught nothing.
Seeing how pitiful the girl looked, Noldrei comforted her, "Let's eat something first. When Little Mei gets back later, the four of us can continue playing mahjong."
Qingque wanted to cry but had no tears.
'But I don't want to listen to your nonsense while playing mahjong!'