[Inorin's Note: Hey everyone, quick apology for the quiet week here! Over the last few days, we've been working behind the scenes to officially launch our own dedicated reading site.
Moving forward, Elysian Reads (elysianreads[.]com) is going to be our primary hub for all novel releases. (P.S. Just swap the [.] with a regular dot . to open the link!) It's packed with some really neat custom features designed to make reading way more enjoyable.
That being said, Webnovel isn't getting left behind. I'll be dropping a mass release here shortly to clear out the missed chapters, and our regular updates will be right back on track. Thanks a ton for hanging in there with me!]
Chapter 125: Fu Xuan: All of You, Come with Me to the Divination Commission
"Lord... Qing... que... is it?"
A voice, so calm it made the hairs on one's neck stand up, sliced through the air from behind Qingque. Fu Xuan enunciated every single syllable with chilling precision.
"The... Sha... dow... Gen... eral... is it?"
A evident aura of low pressure enveloped her, and her face was so dark it looked as though ink might drip from her chin. The surrounding players had long since fallen silent, each one lowering their head and averting their eyes, pretending to be utterly engrossed in the tiles before them. In reality, their peripheral vision was collectively glued to the unfolding annual drama: "The Grand Diviner Catches a Sparrow."
Just moments ago, Fu Xuan had been rushing toward Ruomu Pavilion. Before she had even gotten close, she heard the person on stage chattering away about some "shadow general." Her original plan was to simply grab her errant subordinate and leave, but she found herself unconsciously stopping to listen... and the more she listened, the more the veins on her forehead throbbed with fury.
So, that was it.
So that was it.
What a "General Qing."
What a "Little Xuanzi."
What a... "shadow general who decides the fate of the world with jade tiles."
'So, Qingque,'Fu Xuan thought, her internal voice dangerously low,'you want to compete with me for the position of General, too?'Qingque, meanwhile, was thinking:'Huh?! Me???'
Fu Xuan slowly withdrew her hand from Qingque's shoulder and stepped forward, positioning herself directly in front of her. Her Dharma Eye didn't flicker with the light of any calculation or divination; it simply gazed, calm and deep, at her "beloved subordinate," who was now as stiff as a board.
The very air in the parlor seemed to solidify with the Grand Diviner's arrival.
"Lord Diviner, I was wrong..." Qingque chose to follow her instincts, skillfully bowing her head in a practiced gesture of submission. She was all too familiar with this routine—after all, being caught slacking off was practically a daily occurrence.
She would perform a divination each morning to predict Fu Xuan's schedule. If the Grand Diviner was making her rounds, Qingque would dutifully remain at her workstation to "slack off" in private. If the hexagram showed the coast was clear, she would sneak off to the parlor for some "further studies."
Although her divinations were mostly accurate, there were always miscalculations. The crowd here was long accustomed to this particular scene.
"Tell me," Fu Xuan huffed, her arms crossed. "What did you do wrong?"
"I shouldn't have snuck out to play tiles during my shift..." Qingque answered with the fluency of long practice. Admitting her fault was her attitude; doing it again next time was her principle.
"Lord Diviner, please don't be too angry," Qingque added, looking up and trying to squeeze out a sincere smile. "You know, I only came out after finishing my work. This morning's star chart calculations, yesterday's document filing, I've already..."
'Bad luck, truly terrible luck,'she lamented internally.'I clearly divined that today would be peaceful and the Grand Diviner wouldn't show up... How could the hexagram suddenly fail me?'
"Before you came out," Fu Xuan interrupted, her voice cutting through Qingque's thoughts, "did you perform another divination?"
Qingque's throat caught.
"Are you wondering why the divination didn't work this time?" Fu Xuan slowly leaned in until they were almost nose-to-nose. Her voice was a low whisper, yet every word was crystal clear. "...Because I blocked your calculations."
Qingque understood instantly. No wonder her divination had gone wrong; the Grand Diviner had personally intervened...
(Aha, meanwhile, sent a silent, gleeful thought to Leon: Actually, she's lying to you... I'm the one who did it.)
"Qingque, you're using your divining abilities for such trivial matters again!" Fu Xuan grew angrier as she spoke, feeling her blood pressure soar. She had once thought Qingque was a talent worth nurturing, even secretly hoping to one day entrust the Divination Commission to her. But this girl spent all day slacking off! Where was her sense of responsibility?
'—No,'a darker thought occurred to Fu Xuan,'perhaps I've underestimated her.'"General Qingque"? The "shadow general"?'It turns out this girl's mind has long since drifted toward the position of General! No wonder she's so lazy all day; she's probably been plotting in secret for a long time!'Qingque's mind screamed:'Ah??? Me???'
"No," Fu Xuan took a deep breath, her gaze sharp as a blade. "I'll ask you one more time—what did you do wrong?"
"What did I do wrong?" Qingque looked up, her expression utterly blank. "Aside from sneaking out to play tiles, I haven't done anything else..."
"You still dare to say you haven't done anything else?!" Fu Xuan almost laughed from sheer anger. She enunciated every word, squeezing the sound from between her teeth.
"Lord... Qing... que... is it?"
"The... Sha... dow... Gen... eral... is it?"
"No wonder you slack off all day... It's because you've put all your effort into plotting for the position of General!"
Qingque was stunned for a moment, then it suddenly dawned on her—the Grand Diviner had taken the story from the stage seriously.
"No... I didn't..." She hurriedly waved her hands, her face a mask of panicked innocence.
"Qingque, you still want to make excuses?" Fu Xuan narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to tell me that the story just now has nothing to do with you, are you? You're not going to say it was all a coincidence and the storyteller just mentioned it randomly?"
She pressed forward half a step. Though she wasn't as tall as Qingque, her aura was suffocating.
"—Do you think I'll believe that?"
"It's really not me, Lord Diviner! It's my first time hearing this story too!" Qingque stomped her foot in anxiety. "I'm being framed! This is a huge injustice! I just like slacking off and playing games; when would I ever write a story like that? The person who wrote the story is right there!"
She shot a desperate, pleading look toward Leon.
Leon and Aha were watching the scene unfold with identical expressions of pure, unadulterated entertainment. Fuli had already raised her camera, the shutter clicking softly as she documented the drama.
Following Qingque's gaze, Fu Xuan glanced over.
"Hello, Lord Diviner," Leon said, offering a placid smile and a graceful wave of his fan.
"Mm." Fu Xuan gave a curt nod, her gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar faces. Their attire was different from that of the Xianzhou natives; they had to be outworlders. 'How would mere travelers have the nerve to make up such a story?'she reasoned.'It must be Qingque.'
"You still want to make excuses?" Fu Xuan's gaze snapped back to her subordinate, her teeth gritting. "If you truly want to fight for the position of General, you can compete with me fairly. Why hide in the shadows and make up these ridiculous stories?"
She never feared a challenge. The next General of the Luofu—she, Fu Xuan, was determined to claim that title.
Qingque was practically on the verge of tears. "Lord Diviner, I've been wronged... I've never even thought about becoming a General!"
Only someone who has been falsely accused could understand the depth of Qingque's despair.
"My lifelong dream is to be transferred to guard the archives!" Qingque declared with absolute, unwavering conviction. "That's the safest, most relaxed position, perfect for slacking off!"
What General... She didn't want to be that at all.
Qingque couldn't even imagine herself as a General. If that day ever came... she would definitely dump all the work on the Lord Diviner... just like General Jing Yuan did now.
Fu Xuan's expression faltered. 'Bah.'
Seeing Qingque's determined face, as if she were ready to swear an oath to the heavens, Fu Xuan's tense expression softened slightly. Yes, this was the Qingque she knew—the one who would lie down rather than sit, and slack off rather than work.
If that were the case... then that ridiculous story of the "shadow general"—could it really have nothing to do with this girl?
Fu Xuan's gaze slowly turned back toward Leon, who was still fanning himself with a serene smile, and his companions, each with their own distinct temperament. A thought flashed through her mind like cold lightning. Not long ago, strange rumors about the "Reignbow Arbiter" and the "plaguebearer" had inexplicably begun to spread throughout the Luofu... Could it be related to these people?
Her eyes darkened. Her voice regained the authority and decisiveness befitting the head of the Divination Commission.
"All of you... come with me to the Divination Commission."
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