"Fu Xuan, hurry up and put your hand on this Soul Sand, before Fierce Flame takes control again."
"Hmph, in your eyes, is this one the kind of fool who falls for the same trap twice?"
Although Fu Xuan was a little annoyed at Fu Zhu's lack of faith in her, she obediently placed her hand on the Soul Sand. A powerful drawing sensation erupted from where her palm met the sand.
Fu Xuan couldn't help but frown. The feeling was bizarre, as if something was trying to suck her very soul out of her body.
In the next moment, the spiritual form of Fierce Flame, wreathed in purple fire, was completely separated from Fu Xuan's body. It was being dragged into the Soul Sand by countless tiny, soul-like hands that had emerged from its surface.
Even so, Fierce Flame stubbornly raised its head to glare at Fu Zhu.
"Human, I was not wrong. And Fu Xuan's divination was not wrong either."
Fu Zhu shrugged at it. At this point, whether Fierce Flame's words were correct or not was irrelevant. It had already lost.
Fu Zhu looked over at Huohuo, who was standing beside Sushang and Guinaifen, and gave her a nod.
"You're Huohuo, right? I'll leave Fierce Flame to you to seal."
"Ah... okay."
Huohuo quickly trotted over, pulling a jade-green bottle from her pocket. She aimed it at Fierce Flame, which was steadily sinking into the Soul Sand, and began to chant softly.
Fu Zhu seized the opportunity, reaching out to break the Soul Sand block, preventing the bottle in Huohuo's hands from having to compete with it.
Freed from the Soul Sand, Fierce Flame was sucked into the bottle the very next second. Huohuo carefully affixed several talismans to it as a precaution against its escape.
After completing these protective measures, Huohuo finally let out a sigh of relief. She held the bottle with both hands and bowed respectfully to Fu Zhu several times in thanks.
"Thank you, Mr. Fu Zhu. Thanks to you, we were able to recover one of the escaped Suiyang so quickly."
Xing, standing beside Huohuo, couldn't help but complain, "Actually, this is only the second one... The Ten-Lords Commission said a lot of Suiyang escaped, so why can't we find any of them... I wonder where the others ran off to."
Hearing this, Fu Zhu smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair, rubbing her head vigorously.
"Looks like your progress is a little slow. I've just been casually strolling around, and including this one, I've already dealt with three. Sis, maybe this line of work isn't for you."
"What?! Didn't you say you weren't participating, old bro?! How could you secretly grind on the side!"
"These Suiyang just happen to run into my sword. I thought they were common wild mobs."
As they were all chatting, Jing Yuan suddenly walked in from outside. He entered to find everyone in a cheerful and harmonious mood and raised an eyebrow at Fu Zhu, who looked back at him.
"Solved?"
"You're late."
Jing Yuan gave a somewhat helpless laugh. He had intended to arrive earlier, but he ran into Yukong on the way. Yukong had told him about Tingyun, which had delayed him.
He never expected that in such a short time, Fu Zhu and the others would have already resolved the problem, and it seemed to have been a perfect resolution.
"While it seems I've come at an inopportune time, there is one matter that's perfect to discuss with you all here."
Jing Yuan recounted what Yukong had told him about arranging a funeral for Tingyun. The originally cheerful atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
Fu Zhu scratched the back of his head, looking troubled. Although he didn't know the original Tingyun, the "Tingyun" impersonated by Phantylia had indeed shared a journey with the Express crew. No matter what, they had to attend her funeral.
"When is it being held?"
"This evening."
"Alright, we'll be there on time."
Jing Yuan nodded. After relaying the message, he departed. As for the Suiyang matter, it was best left for the people from the Ten-Lords Commission to handle. There was no need for him, the General of the Luofu, to worry about every little thing.
Once Jing Yuan was gone, Fu Zhu turned his gaze toward Xing and March 7th.
"Shall we go buy some things to pay our respects to Miss Tingyun?"
Xing nodded in agreement, but March 7th somewhat unnaturally avoided Fu Zhu's gaze, which he found a bit surprising.
But Fu Zhu quickly understood. It was likely due to his earlier confession.
He would have to find time to talk to little March alone later. After all, he had said it in front of so many people; no matter what, he needed to give her a proper explanation.
Sushang, Guinaifen, and Huohuo vaguely sensed the atmosphere suddenly turn a little delicate again. The three of them exchanged cautious glances, nudging each other until Sushang was pushed forward.
She scratched her head and gave an awkward laugh, pointing a thumb towards the exit of the Divination Commission. "Well, uh... I still have patrol duty, so I'll be taking my leave! Xing, March, let's go ghost-hunting again later!"
"That's right, that's right, I have to get back to my livestream!" Guinaifen quickly chimed in with her own excuse.
Huohuo glanced between her two newfound friends, who had both found excuses. For a moment, she couldn't think of a suitable reason to leave and shrunk back timidly.
"Then... then I'll head back to the Ten-Lords Commission."
With their excuses made, the three of them scurried away, vanishing from the Divination Commission in a flash, leaving only the five of them behind.
Qingque also wanted to slip away but was frozen in place by a single glare from Fu Xuan, not daring to move an inch.
Xing sized up the situation, then snapped her fingers and declared righteously to Fu Zhu and Fu Xuan, "I forgot to turn off the gas, I've got to go!"
With that, she immediately took off, not forgetting to grab March 7th and drag her along.
Although Xing knew that March 7th and Fu Zhu had things they wanted to say to each other, now was not the time. It was obvious that Fu Xuan also had something she wanted to say to Fu Zhu in private.
Seeing them leave one after another, all desperately trying to give him and Fu Xuan some space, how could Fu Zhu not understand? He turned to face Fu Xuan directly.
"Fu Xuan, is there anything else you wanted to say?"
Fu Xuan turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. "That's what this one wanted to ask you. You're still here. Is there something else you wanted to say to this one?"
Qingque, forced to remain where she was, heard Fu Xuan's words and couldn't help but slap a hand to her forehead with a sigh.
Master Diviner, with Miss March 7th gone, why not just make a direct approach!
Otherwise, we might as well just bring Fierce Flame back!
Hearing Fu Xuan's question, Fu Zhu was suddenly at a loss for words. Fu Xuan stole a sideways glance at him, but ultimately, she couldn't help but be the first to speak.
"Fu Zhu, are you leaving the Luofu?"
"Yeah, I plan to leave the Luofu after attending Miss Tingyun's funeral and go somewhere else for a while."
"Is that so? What a coincidence. This one also plans to leave the Luofu soon."
The moment Fu Xuan said this, both Fu Zhu and Qingque were stunned. The latter was practically screaming in her mind.
Master Diviner! A setback in love doesn't mean you have to give up on your career too! If you leave, where am I supposed to go to slack off!
Fu Zhu, however, simply asked her directly.
"Leaving the Luofu? Where are you going?"
"The Xianzhou Yuque. Besides needing to report on the Phantylia incident, this one... also wants to meet General Yao Guang of the Yuque. Her skill in the art of divination is far superior to mine. I want to ask her about the matter of fate and choice."
"So it seems we won't be seeing each other for some time."
"Whether fate is fixed or, as you said, when we make choices, there will always be a day we meet again... Don't misunderstand. This one is merely stating a fact! Do not misinterpret my meaning!"
"Then I wish you a safe journey."
"You too."
PS: We will now begin writing the Herta Space Station's Simulated MC plot.