This girl was somewhat clever, but her cleverness was largely overwhelmed by her emotions.
To put it simply, she was like a cool-headed and astute prophet who should have been in a hero's adventure story.
But then, seeing the situation go awry, the prophet impulsively shoved the hero aside and charged in with a blade themselves.
'You're a little too hot-blooded.'
Noldrei figured Fu Xuan would at least probe bit by bit, then calmly observe the situation, and then slowly set traps to fish out and wear down the opponent.
But looking at Fu Xuan's method of action, it was clearly not that; she was quite reckless in her divinations.
What? "Great Fortune?" Alright, charge!
What? "Great Calamity?" I must defy destiny, charge!
In Noldrei's eyes, Fu Xuan was just such a passionate and driven young person. He, on the other hand, was quite honest and had no intention of covering for the Alchemy Commission.
However, the people of the Alchemy Commission were also useless. They were so obvious, yet they still wanted others not to know what little secrets they were cooking up internally. It was truly laughable…
Noldrei even pulled out an experimental report from the Alchemy Commission.
[Experiment No.: Native Xianzhou Longevity Species. The subject has shown pre-Mara-struck symptoms and has consented to this experiment with their family's approval.]
[After the subject injected the marrow elixir, the Mara-struck condition did not significantly alleviate. However, it is worth noting that after the subject fully entered the Mara-struck state, their consciousness was far clearer than other Mara-struck individuals; their sanity was almost identical to that of a normal person.]
[The subject unilaterally believed themselves to be cured and refused ████. This department was compelled to use coercive measures to █████ them.]
This was a fairly crucial experimental report concerning Xianzhou natives. It was enough for Fu Xuan to take the matter seriously.
"Infiltrating the Alchemy Commission is actually very simple. You either find Xianzhou natives who are about to become Mara-struck and convince them to work for you, or you find outsiders. For the sake of longevity, they will definitely infiltrate the Alchemy Commission."
Noldrei had conducted a simple investigation into information about outsiders through the Alchemy Commission.
Most outsiders who managed to reach the Xianzhou to seek longevity were wealthy and powerful individuals capable of interstellar travel, or at the very least, local lords of some minor planet.
Having the ability to communicate with the Xianzhou, and even to reside on the Xianzhou seeking medicine, was itself a manifestation of their material wealth.
It was impossible for someone begging on some planet to suddenly have a whim for longevity and then fly to the Xianzhou; they probably couldn't even afford a spaceship ticket.
Fu Xuan was also aware of these methods.
She was now even more curious about what was happening inside the Alchemy Commission and why the actions of the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor had changed so much.
She asked curiously, "What happened inside the Alchemy Commission? And how did you get the people there to listen to you?"
Noldrei explained, "You saw my situation just now. To put it simply, there's also factional division within the Disciples of the sanctus medicus. In fact, any organization will have such contradictions: the executors and the executed, the experimenters and the experimented, the leaders and the foot soldiers.
"Like that Green Hibiscus who guided us, remember? That guy didn't seem very smart; he was probably just coasting by within the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor. The interests of these people are different from the regional heads, who are personally appointed by the Ambrosial Arbor's leader."
"The methods of the Disciples of the sanctus medicus are very crude; it's pure screening. First, they find people willing to be experimented on, and then they administer drugs to them. Those who succeed will believe the drugs are effective, and those who fail won't be able to say anything."
"This way, only the successful ones remain, believing that the leader did well and successfully gave them what they wanted. Whether it's relieving the pain of the Mara-struck condition or altering one's lifespan."
"These people are the ones who benefited from the drugs created by the leader. But some people are different; those responsible for running errands need to offer a pledge of allegiance to prove their stance. You can disguise yourself and establish another rival underground organization, creating a false impression of a power struggle from another angle."
"Then, in the chaos, you can find out the information you want."
Fu Xuan understood Noldrei's strategy.
In essence, since the Alchemy Commission was uncontrollable and the Disciples of the sanctus medicus operated in the shadows, they, as Xianzhou natives, could also create a similar organization to the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor, and simultaneously use division and internal conflict to infiltrate the Alchemy Commission.
In short, it was fighting fire with fire.
Fu Xuan felt that if she were a bit more unscrupulous, she would probably agree to Noldrei's idea. But she didn't have the relevant authority herself and certainly couldn't meddle in such matters.
"This is not something for me to meddle in. If outsiders found out that the Divination Commission specifically raised such an organization just for 'entrapment,' the Xianzhou's reputation would be ruined."
Fu Xuan also knew what kind of consequences such an action would bring, and she rejected this 'excellent' suggestion without a second thought.
'Does the Xianzhou even have any reputation left?'
Just from the Xianzhou history Noldrei had reviewed, the internal chaos in the Xianzhou's past had basically eroded its reputation. Everyone else only gave them a little respect out of deference to their strength.
If another Aeon fostered a new Xianzhou-like alliance, the Xianzhou would likely face troublesome issues.
The Abundance had bestowed too much upon the Xianzhou, so much so that the Abundance's grace had no replaceable source for the Xianzhou.
This burdensome past history was not a proud legacy for the Xianzhou; instead, it would become a useful weapon to shackle the Xianzhou's hands and feet at critical moments.
Many times, even when people know what is right, they still fall into the wrong choices due to various constraints.
"Master Diviner makes a good point, but… where exactly did you infiltrate? I tried to find your people but couldn't. There are only a few tens of thousands of Disciples of the sanctus medicus; where were you working?"
"Working?" Fu Xuan was slightly taken aback; she truly had become a subordinate.
She thought for a moment and said, "I was always under the head of Changletian. That guy used to be a Cloud Knight. I don't know why he chose to join the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor. He didn't seem like he joined purely for the so-called Mara-struck problem."
Fu Xuan carefully recalled her observations of Ziyueji these past two days.
This Cloud Knight didn't seem as hysterical as some; it was as if he had joined the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor after careful consideration.
This implied that Cloud Knights could also turn into Abundance believers.