Chapter 161: Fu Xuan: Whoever You Are, Stay Off Qingque For Now
[Resonance Intertwined: Elation & Nihility → Erudition]
Stelle let out an exhilarated whoop, swinging her bat with such wild abandon that she accidentally vaporized the second hostile entity as well.
"So fun!" she chirped, resting the bat over her shoulder.
Welt Yang watched from a safe distance, stroking his chin. At a bare minimum, he'd rate her combat prowess as an S-rank Valkyrie. The only reason he didn't rate her higher was simply that S-rank was the highest designation that existed.
"Can I go play with Chiyou now?" Stelle asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Welt sighed, a weary but fond smile on his face. "Ugh—why? I just want to play with Chiyou, ugh-ugh-ugh-ugh-ah," he mimicked her whining tone perfectly.
"Because that thing is a massive pain to deal with once it's let out," he explained patiently. It wasn't that Chiyou was unbeatable, but the cleanup was always a nightmare. There was simply no need to unleash that kind of trouble.
Meanwhile, back on the Luofu, the revitalization of Aurum Alley was proceeding at a booming pace.
Rekka, who had transformed into a miniature, sentient black hole, naturally had something very important to do.
He was going to play a round of Celestial Jade.
"Sigh... hey," a nearby loiterer commented, scratching his head. "You don't even have hands. How are you planning on playing?"
"I have~ gravity~" Rekka's voice echoed, a strange, warbling sound emanating from his event horizon.
He demonstrated by releasing an infinitesimal pulse of gravitational force. The control was flawless; it didn't swallow anything, nor did it erase any matter into Nihility. It simply levitated a single tile from a nearby table.
"I want to learn~ Celestial Jade~" he declared.
"I heard someone wants to learn Celestial Jade?"
A figure appeared, drawn by the familiar words like a moth to a flame. Wow! It was the Slacking Superhero herself.
When Qingque saw exactly what it was that wanted to play, she was visibly stunned for a moment. But the shock quickly melted into a delighted, mischievous grin.
"Wonderful, wonderful! I've never taught a black hole how to play Celestial Jade before!"
Qingque eagerly rolled up her sleeves. "Alright, first, I'll teach you to recognize the tiles. You also need to remember the basic calls, like 'Chow,''Pong,' and'Kong.' We'll play a few slow rounds first so you can get a feel for it."
After the first game, Rekka felt a wave of melancholy wash over him.
"I'm not suited for this~" he warbled sadly.
It wasn't because he had lost, nor was it because his skills were poor. It was because Rekka could perceive the identity of every single tile on the board, both in the wall and in Qingque's hand. It seemed to be a passive ability granted by the Path of Elation.
'A gambler's passive?' he thought. He could even, if he wished, swap the tiles in his own "hand" with his opponent's.
"Sigh, what a pity..." Rekka sounded genuinely dejected. "I can perceive your tiles... this isn't fair..."
A tiny, adorable rain cloud materialized just above his singularity, beginning to drizzle pathetically as his mood sank.
Qingque's eyes widened, her gaze fixed on the sad little cloud. "You... you can even make it rain?"
Still, she understood his predicament. This ability of his was indeed...
"Indeed," she conceded with a sigh. "If that's the case, then Celestial Jade wouldn't have any fun at all."
As Rekka's despondency grew, the cat ears that occasionally flickered into existence around his form began to waver, a sign that his Path was leaning back towards Nihility.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Qingque said quickly, patting the air near him. "I'll take you somewhere else to slack off... I mean, how about I take you somewhere else to play?" She caught her slip of the tongue. "Anyway, I've played so many rounds today my hands are cramping. It's the perfect time to go for a stroll."
The little rain cloud above Rekka's head stopped drizzling. "Where to?"
Qingque raised a finger to her lips, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Just follow me. I guarantee it's a place you've never been to."
The Sleepless Earl was a popular teahouse located in the Central Starskiff Haven.
"Listening to storytellers~ is also a good way to kill time," the girl giggled, leading him to a table.
"By the way, how did you gain sentience?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. "Although the galaxy is vast and full of wonders, this is the first time I've seen a black hole that can talk and play tiles..."
"Hmm... I walked too far on the Path of Nihility... so I became a miniature black hole..." Rekka explained.
"Nihility... can it be this lively?" Qingque tilted her head.
"Because I am also Elation~"
"Elation... alright," she nodded, a look of understanding dawning on her face. "Aha. That's truly amazing."
On the stage, the storyteller, a man known as Mr. Xiyan, was recounting the legend of the High-Cloud Quintet.
"It is said that the Vidyadhara High Elder, riding the clouds and summoning the rain, was truly majestic! However, the heavens are fraught with unpredictable winds..."
Rekka listened for a moment but felt that many parts of the story didn't quite add up. It seemed to be almost entirely fabricated for dramatic effect.
Qingque generously pushed a plate of delicate, artfully made pastries toward him.
"I can't eat~ I'm a black hole~" he reminded her sadly.
"Oh my, what a pity," she said, though her eyes twinkled. "Then I'll do the honor for you."
"Speaking of which," Rekka warbled, "aren't you going to work~"
"Ahem—it's off-duty time now, no overtime," Qingque declared firmly. "The work is never-ending. If you keep your nerves taut every day, you'll become Mara-Struck sooner or later. I'm very serious when I work; I do what needs to be done to reach the passing line and never drag anyone down. As for the remaining time? Of course, it should be used to enjoy life. Otherwise, if you spend these hundreds of years of life buried in paperwork, that would be a huge loss."
Qingque smacked her lips, savoring a pastry.
"Anyway, as long as I do just enough to pass, I can get the job done without attracting the supervisor's attention, and I won't be assigned more work. This is the golden rule I've summarized from years of slacking off... although recently, this trick hasn't been working as well."
Later, Qingque walked happily along the path home. She hadn't been caught slacking off; it was another peaceful day.
However, why did it feel like something was a bit different today?
"Hmm? What is this green fire thing..."
The next day, the diviners of the Divination Commission discovered something of major, world-altering importance.
Qingque had arrived early.
What kind of concept was this? This was Qingque. The person who had elevated slacking off to an art form within the Divination Commission.
Today, she hadn't been late, hadn't left early, and had even—impossibly—voluntarily stayed to work overtime.
Qingque sat at her desk, holding a brush, with a stack of talismans and documents awaiting approval spread out before her. Her posture was absurdly upright, her back ramrod straight, her gaze focused. The tip of her brush moved across the paper at a steady, relentless pace. Every stroke was neat and tidy, without a single misplaced drop of ink.
Her colleagues passed behind her, their eyes wide with shock and confusion.
"Is Qingque... alright?" one whispered.
"I don't know," another murmured back. "She's been like this since she arrived today."
"Could she have been possessed?"
"Has she been possessed by something unclean?"
The brush in her hand barely stopped. She finished one document and immediately moved to the next, her movements fluid and efficient to a degree that was frankly terrifying.
"Qingque."
"Yes, Grand Diviner," she replied, her voice crisp and professional as she rose to her feet.
"...Go handle the dispatch tasks for Aurum Alley."
"Understood, Grand Diviner."
Fu Xuan watched Qingque's back as she left, her stride decisive and without a hint of her usual languor. The Grand Diviner stood there, lost in thought for a few seconds.
'What the hell?'How did Qingque suddenly become so diligent? Could this be some new, elaborate plan to find an excuse to slack off later?'Forget it,'Fu Xuan decided, a dangerous glint in her eye.'Whoever you are, stay off Qingque for now.'
But after leaving the Divination Commission, the new Qingque went straight to Aurum Alley. She showed absolutely no inclination to detour to a tile parlor or teahouse. Instead, she earnestly began to conduct research on the commercial district's revitalization.
After finishing her survey, Qingque stood still, holding a thick research booklet, her eyes staring straight at the empty space in front of her as she pondered.
She took out her Jade Abacus, snapped a photo of a storefront, and then walked around to the side to take a panoramic shot.
Qingque tilted her head slightly.
'That's it...'a thought bloomed in her mind, sharp and clear.'Let's promote Celestial Jade to the whole universe, shall we?'
"Everyone! Everyone!"
Passersby stopped, looking suspiciously at the young diviner who had hopped onto a wooden crate to address them.
"Do you ever feel that our daily lives, spent busy and exhausted for a few meager Stellar Jades, are too dull and boring?" she called out. "We need a great cause! A cause that can make the entire universe feel happy!"
The girl's voice carried an unnatural power, a persuasive force that stirred the emotions of all who heard it. Clearly, this was no normal speech.
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