Ziyueji, the man in charge of the Changle sector.
He was finding his current duties somewhat... peculiar.
So much so that Fu Xuan, upon returning from her "vacation," was taken aback when she learned what his job now entailed.
"Our operations have moved out of the shadows and into the open. I've discovered that all we need to do is head over to the dispensary counters, dressed in outfits similar to the Alchemy Commission's uniforms."
"Then, droves of people come to us, asking how they can get their hands on large quantities of Vidyadhara marrow."
"Some come in disguise, others carefully pick their time, and some even send children to ask for them. What's more, based on our rough estimates, the majority are Xianzhou natives. It seems that after getting their hands on our Disciples of Sanctus Medicus's elixir recipes, many of them got the same idea."
"I never imagined the Master could be so brilliant. The funny part is, the Alchemy Commission keeps desperately trying to shift the blame, insisting these 'harmful' recipes must be the private work of Sanctus Medicus followers. They've issued denial after denial, telling the Xianzhou public not to believe the recipes and claiming that they and the Vidyadhara are millennium-old allies."
"They claim they would never do something like use Vidyadhara marrow and have even posted official notices at every major dispensary. They're trying to say that while some of their members might cling to the old beliefs, those people are all part of some 'Abundance Pure Land Sect' or whatever, and that their every move is monitored by the General."
A bizarre expression, a mix of speechlessness and excitement, twisted Ziyueji's face.
Fu Xuan listened, feeling that something was very wrong here. She had only come to report for duty and see if she could get any intel on the Master of the Alchemy Commission's inner circle. She never expected such a major development within the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
"The more the Alchemy Commission insists the recipes are fake, the more people believe they might actually be real. Even the old alchemy textbooks from their archives have been completely snatched up! It really caught us off guard!"
"Damn it, the money those scalpers made is enough to last me two hundred years."
Clearly, Ziyueji couldn't stand such injustice. So, he was preparing to go to the Master himself to request more books—for a "factory-direct" distribution!
"Pink Camellia, you've contributed greatly to our Changle sector."
"This time, once the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus finish our internal reorganization, your achievements will surely place you far above that idiot, Green Hibiscus."
Fu Xuan was flabbergasted. Her, the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, earning merits within the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus? The absurdity of the situation left her unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Maintaining her established persona, Fu Xuan asked, "How is my friend? I just want to know if he's okay. And about those recipes... he won't get into trouble, will he?"
It was precisely because Fu Xuan maintained this attitude that Ziyueji was convinced she had truly been left with no other choice but to join their ranks.
He even spoke up for her indignantly, "The recipes are fine, I assure you. But that friend of yours... he's no good, dead or alive. People like him don't deserve to be among the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Sooner or later, I'll petition the Master to purge our ranks of his kind!"
"He never gave a single thought to you, yet here you are, still worrying about him? I feel sorry for you!"
Just then, Ziyueji received a summons from the Master.
His face immediately lit up with an expression of worshipful excitement. He lowered his voice. "It's time. The Master is summoning us. Our cause is about to enter its most critical stage. Pink Camellia, go get an Alchemy Commission uniform. I've already prepared them in the room next door. Just find one in your size. The smaller ones might not fit you perfectly, but I'll admit, people as short as you are a rarity in the Alchemy Commission."
Ziyueji wasn't just making that up.
With the exception of uniquely petite individuals like the Dragon Lady Bailu, most women in the Alchemy Commission were rather statuesque. Height deficiencies were rare. They were all either the cool, mature type or the gentle, matronly type.
Someone like Fu Xuan, who looked more like a recent graduate, was a vanishingly rare sight—so much so that she'd be in the awkward position of needing custom-tailored uniforms.
Fu Xuan found an Alchemy Commission uniform that fit and slipped into the burlap-sack-like garment.
She couldn't comprehend the aesthetic sensibilities of the Alchemy Commission, much less this deep green, sack-like outfit.
Fu Xuan had her own sense of style. Dressed in this, she looked like a green, pink-headed teru teru bozu. [T/N: A Japanese sunny-day doll.]
Even Ziyueji couldn't bear to look. He couldn't help but ask, "You know what, maybe you should just change back?"
Fu Xuan looked like a child wearing an adult's clothes, not at all like someone about to report for duty at the Alchemy Commission.
A flicker of rage ignited in Fu Xuan's heart, but she managed to suppress it.
"No, this will do. Perhaps there will be more suitable attire later. Weren't we going to meet the Master? We shouldn't waste any more time. Clothes are a triviality; the Master's summons is what matters."
Ziyueji nodded in agreement. "You're right. Let's head to the meeting point."
Fu Xuan finally had her chance to meet the Master of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
But the reality was far from what she had expected.
She did see the Master, but her fear of being recognized was unfounded.
This Master was blind. How could a person who couldn't see have any chance of noticing that Fu Xuan had infiltrated their ranks?
At this point, Dan Shu clearly no longer cared if she was exposed. The goal she pursued was on the verge of being realized on an entirely different level.
"Followers of the Abundance."
"Whether it was the Xianzhou's long history of marginalizing the Alchemy Commission, or the way our beliefs and interests were isolated—the lines of right and wrong in these old grievances have long since blurred."
"But I have found a new path..."
Dan Shu stood at the head of the assembly, speaking like an ordinary woman recounting her life's experiences. It was this very quality that gave her an air of inviolable, sacred charisma.
"Through my study of the history of the Aeons and the Xianzhou, I have discovered something. Humanity's faith is not determined by what they have been given, but by what they cannot have."
"People do not worship a being who places gifts in their hands. They only worship that which is beyond their reach."
"As the doctrine of the Pure Land states, what purifies and strengthens faith is not the grace of the Abundance, but the culling of the Hunt. Only when people realize that the gifts of Yaoshi can be revoked, can be destroyed—only then will the Abundance truly take root in their hearts."
"And now..."
Dan Shu's tone instantly became ice-cold.
She rose to her feet and cried out, her voice sharp as steel: "We will destroy the Ambrosial Arbor! We will utterly sever any chance for the people of the Xianzhou to overcome the Mara-Struck! The blessings of the Abundance... we shall be the ones to rip them away!"
In that instant, Fu Xuan's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Every piece of the puzzle, all the confusion she'd felt, clicked into place with horrifying clarity.