Fu Xuan had no choice but to change into a different pink outfit.
But this time, the young woman behaved herself. She made no more attempts to use her divination to clash with Noldrei.
Putting aside any questions of gain or loss, from now on, the mere thought of Noldrei would force her to ponder those two questions.
And whenever she did, the Dharma Eye on her forehead would begin to ache faintly.
Fu Xuan wasn't sure if anyone else on the Xianzhou had a particularly strong impression of Noldrei, but she knew her own was now deeper than ever before.
Changle Tian, a Delve not too far from the Divination Commission.
It was a place that never seemed to rest, so crowded you could say people were practically shoulder to shoulder. The streets were so bustling that one could get lost in the crowd after just a few turns, and it would be easy to lose sight of Fu Xuan.
"This one… cough. I truly don't understand. How can you argue so fiercely with someone one moment and then calmly invite them to continue with your work the next?"
"Aren't you embarrassed at all?"
Just moments ago, this guy had been verbally assaulting her, and now he could switch to a smiling face to ask about Changle Tian.
Fu Xuan found Noldrei to be incredibly strange, as if his emotions were computer programs that could be switched on and off at will.
"You really underestimate us," Noldrei said, his expression perfectly matter-of-fact. "The people where I'm from are born with the ability to control their emotions. What's more, we can always maintain a youthful mindset when facing the world. It was just a small misunderstanding, wasn't it? The kind of thing that's forgotten over a meal. You don't actually think it was a big deal, do you?"
He hadn't publicly attacked the Xianzhou's political doctrine, only the contradictions within the diviner profession. Naturally, he didn't think it was any big deal.
'A youthful mindset?'
Fu Xuan didn't quite understand. She couldn't even fathom how a person could maintain such a state of mind. In a civilization like that, would there be no old people? If everyone was young, it seemed like it would lead to utter chaos.
"How old are you, exactly? I mean, according to the Xianzhou's timekeeping—twelve shichen a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year, that sort of thing." [T/N: A shichen is a traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours.]
Noldrei had never really thought about it.
He'd been on Earth for quite some time and had lived through several years, but his daily life was basically unaffected by heat or cold. On top of that, Noldrei had extensively used the 4th Divine Key to adjust Earth's ecosystem, long ago transforming the planet's environment to the point where there were no distinct seasons.
Traditional holidays like New Year's and Christmas had been all but washed away by the new civilization he had created.
"I'm not sure… probably… maybe just a few years old. But I'm long-lived. I could live for tens of thousands of years and still look the same as I do now."
"A few years old?! And you can live for tens of thousands of years?" Fu Xuan was astonished, staring at Noldrei in disbelief.
Had she just been intellectually curb-stomped by a child who was only a few years old?
"Are you lying to me?" Fu Xuan's brows furrowed. This wasn't just some baseless suspicion. Noldrei didn't look like he was only a few years old at all.
"Why would I lie to you about that? I just learn faster than most people. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean I can't." Noldrei was extremely confident in his learning ability; he couldn't even be bothered to explain the reason why to Fu Xuan.
"How absurd. I believe there are many geniuses in this world, but your case is clearly…" Fu Xuan trailed off, suddenly falling silent.
She suddenly realized it wasn't an impossibility. If one could truly endow a person with a foundation of active thinking, a powerful memory, and exceptional mimicry skills from the moment of their creation...
...then, theoretically, this being would come from a civilization where everyone was a genius. So-called "talent" would just be a commonplace thing.
An unexpected and absurd thought took root in Fu Xuan's mind.
'Perhaps… his civilization might be even older and more advanced than the Xianzhou?'
"Tsk, how come I still haven't run into those people that the 'True Name Online' guy mentioned? Didn't he say that as long as I came to Changle Tian, my outlander face would be enough to get their attention?"
Noldrei had been wandering around with Fu Xuan for half the day, but he hadn't run into a single one.
"Is it because I don't look very approachable? Would it be easier to get lured in if I looked like a kid?"
Fu Xuan felt that Noldrei was underestimating the Xianzhou's Cloud Knights. There was no way the scenario he imagined could possibly happen.
She thought about it and figured the reason was likely her presence; it's harder to target two people. So, she asked, "Is there anything you want to drink? Shall I get you something?"
"Just pick something popular and on the sweeter side. The type of drink doesn't matter."
Fu Xuan nodded. "Then wait here. I suspect it's because two people make for a poor target. If you run into anyone, remember to message me. Right, I don't even have your contact info yet."
After exchanging contact information, Fu Xuan temporarily took her leave.
Just as she expected.
Not long after Fu Xuan left, someone quickly targeted the lone outlander, Noldrei.
"Hey, brother! Brother, I've got something good here, wanna see?"
Noldrei frowned, looking at the stranger.
'Don't they use something like spam messages to spread their info? Do they approach people in person because they're afraid they won't get caught?'
This damn primitive contact method left Noldrei baffled.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Noldrei asked, feigning wariness.
The man was dressed in the traditional attire of a Xianzhou native and looked no different from any other.
He held out his hand, and a strange book abruptly appeared in it.
"Look, we have some good stuff here, things that ordinary Xianzhou people won't show you. Come on, come on, we have a lot more—all things that outlanders like you would want to know."
As soon as he said that, Noldrei understood.
He feigned a moment's hesitation. "But… I'm waiting for someone."
"Forget them, this'll just take a moment!"
Seeing Noldrei's hesitation, the man half-pulled, half-urged him into a nearby alley corner.
Meanwhile, Fu Xuan had just bought two Star-Taro Bobas.
Just as she was wondering if she should head back a little later, an unexpected person appeared before her as well.
"I've got something good here, wanna see?"
A woman dressed like a traditional Xianzhou native stood before Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan was utterly stunned. She had assumed they were only targeting Noldrei.
But she had merely changed her clothes and hairstyle, and this group still mistook her for an outlander and targeted her?
"But I'm waiting for someone," Fu Xuan said, holding up the two drinks in her hands.
"Don't worry, it won't take much of your time."
'I'm the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, and you're trying to recruit me as your subordinate? Do you people not even consider a person's identity when you're recruiting? What kind of crappy organization is this, being so careless?'
With her hands occupied by the Star-Taro Bobas, Fu Xuan didn't even have a chance to object before she was led away by the strange woman.