A streak of pink hurried into the Seat of Divine Foresight.
At last, she finally saw the true leader of Xianzhou Luofu. The Dozing General, Jing Yuan.
Clad in military attire, Jing Yuan sat behind the desk as always, as if he had never left; merely seeing him instilled a sense of security.
Strangely, another person had arrived at the same time.
A beautiful, silver-haired fox person stood there, very tall and even more sinewy than Yukong of the Sky-Faring Commission; her single ponytail was tied high, and her snug white-and-emerald outfit made her look crisp and capable.
Fu Xuan was a little surprised to see her—most people on Luofu might not recognize this woman, but as one of the Six, Fu Xuan knew her well.
"General Feixiao? I wasn't aware Your Grace had come to Luofu; we didn't have the honor of receiving you—please forgive us," Fu Xuan said, bowing to her.
The visitor was no unknown; she was one of the seven Arbiter-Generals, The Vanquishing General of Xianzhou Yaoqing—Feixiao!
Among the six great generals, she was the one who hated the Denizens of Abundance most bitterly and whose will to fight burned the brightest.
"No need to be so formal. I hadn't planned to come to the Seat of Divine Foresight at this time; the martial ceremony is still a few days off, and I meant to travel on my own. Unexpectedly I ran into General Jing Yuan in the Starskiff Sea, so I had to come by for a cup of tea," Feixiao said with a smile.
Feixiao only smiled about the reception—clearly she didn't mind.
Her tone was so casual it sounded like mere coincidence, but Fu Xuan did not believe that; how could a general leave her post just to sightsee?
Jing Yuan said, "Fu Xuan, don't worry. The Marshal hasn't issued any orders to us. Meeting Feixiao in Starskiff Haven was truly a coincidence. If Luofu hadn't had the Aeon's Gaze Incident, I would have stayed in Zhuming a few more days—needless to say I wouldn't have met Feixiao by chance."
"Now business should take precedence. Fu Xuan, what you mention concerns the Xianzhou Alliance's future—speak plainly. If there is danger, Feixiao will not stand idly by," Jing Yuan added.
Feixiao nodded: "The Xianzhou Yanqing share the same roots; since fate has brought us together, we naturally cannot remain on the sidelines."
No wonder she was famed for her straightforward competence.
Fu Xuan felt relieved.
Now that Xianzhou Luofu had two Emanators stationed, she finally felt a bit more at ease.
She said slowly, "Regarding that Curio Trash Can Shop, the two generals should already be aware."
"Of course! A person who opened a trash can ended up receiving an Aeon's gaze and became an Emanator—that must be renown across the universe," Feixiao blurted out.
Jing Yuan continued, "Feixiao, General Huaiyan and I learned of this on our way back to Luofu. The full details are unclear. Only Fu Xuan has investigated personally—you must have made significant discoveries?"
Even General Huaiyan came? Fu Xuan was briefly astonished—were there three generals at Luofu now? Was there some special mission?
She quickly collected herself; after all, the matter at hand was far more important.
Fu Xuan gathered her thoughts and spoke, "The two generals are correct. Someone did receive an Aeon's gaze. When I first heard, I couldn't believe it. Only after I met the shop owner and personally opened several trash cans did I accept it."
"These were the three items. Each piece is priced at one million Credits, exactly the same," she continued.
"Yes, we watched that influencer's livestream. That must be the [Zafkiel's Sixth Bullet - Vav], capable of letting someone traverse time—truly a treasure that could secure a decisive victory for the Xianzhou. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to compare it to the Cloudpeer Telescope, would it?" Feixiao said.
The Cloudpeer Telescope, as a divine implement able to summon Reignbow light arrows, underscored how seriously Feixiao regarded it.
As the general most interested in combat, she was almost enamored with that antique pistol.
She even made a few pew pew sounds into the void.
"We also watched the later livestreams. The others only got elixirs and talismans. I presume Fu Xuan took the shop's prized treasure," Jing Yuan said with a slight smile.
In a universe this vast, things that can turn the tide are not unheard of—indeed, it would be stranger if there were none of such Curios.
As for that Aeon's gaze, he had a rough idea: the appearing Aeon was a masked dark silhouette—the Aeon of Elation, perhaps? That deity seeks pleasure above all and bows to no taboo.
For it to gaze upon someone who opened a trash can... perhaps not entirely surprising...?
Well, it's still peculiar, but then again—that Aeon is Aha after all.
As everyone knows, Aha has no shame.
"Then that shop owner must be second-guessing himself to death—having his shop's treasure taken on opening day, he'll likely struggle to keep the business going," Feixiao said after hearing Jing Yuan's analysis.
Feixiao thought Jing Yuan made a good point.
After all, how could Curios of that caliber simply appear and be sold so casually?
That owner actually sold such items? He really went all out to attract customers.
"If it were me, I'd be wracked with regret," Feixiao sighed, sympathizing with the poor owner's plight.
Just a mere one million—and that Curio now belongs to Fu Xuan; the man must be utterly despondent.
"Although Fu Xuan and the shop owner completed the transaction, taking such a huge advantage without any gesture of goodwill would not be gentlemanly," Jing Yuan said.
Jing Yuan thought Feixiao was right; anyone would be unable to be indifferent after losing such a Curio.
He could easily imagine the shop owner going mad and staring after Fu Xuan as she left with the treasure, straining for one more glimpse.
Truly pitiful.
"In that case, I'll decide: temporarily exempt that shop owner from taxes. Give him a Seat of Divine Foresight token; from today on he shall be a distinguished guest of the Xianzhou. If he needs anything, he may come to me. Fu Xuan, what do you think?" Jing Yuan proposed.
Feixiao approved at once: "I of Xianzhou Yaoqing will also present a token."
Only Fu Xuan smiled bitterly inwardly.
She understood: not only the pistol, but even the Aeon's gaze that made someone an Emanator—to sell such things for a mere million? The buyers would scarcely bat an eye.
Still, she agreed with the plan to cozy up to Sylvester, not as compensation but to curry favor—bluntly put, to cling to a powerful ally.
"Wrong, both of you—are all wrong! If you approach that shop owner that way, you'll miss a far greater opportunity and unleash endless trouble," Fu Xuan declared.
Jing Yuan and Feixiao frowned.
What was wrong? How was it wrong? Their reasoning seemed perfectly reasonable.
It's not as though that man could casually pull out a Curio like that any easier than pulling out two ordinary trinkets, is it?
Could the compensation we promised be too little?
A token granting direct access to the Seat of Divine Foresight isn't something anyone can hand out.
The Astral Express did the Xianzhou Luofu a great favor to obtain the Alliance's Jade Abacus; The Luofu can't very well form an alliance with a single merchant, especially a private shopkeeper, can it?
"The pistol isn't the point, and the Aeon's gaze isn't the point either," Fu Xuan declared.
"You two generals are mistaken. With the Third Eye granted by the Intelligentsia, I observed carefully—Sylvester sold those things without any attachment; he was even happier selling others' goods than his own," she continued.
"These items were merely goods he casually tossed into the trash cans. To him, they were worth less than a single pair of chopsticks—no difference whatsoever."
After saying that, Fu Xuan picked up the bone arrow tipped like a palm and said, "This item is called [Imagine Breaker], and it can nullify all and any Path's power. Unless an Aeon THEMSLEVES appears and destroys it with conceptual devouring, even an Emanator would be powerless against it!"
"And he has several of these! And they may keep increasing!"