Liuge spoke helplessly.
That finally interrupted Qingque's scrutiny of him.
"Hmm, wait a moment!"
Looking somewhat puzzled, Qingque pulled out the Diyuan Qiongyu tiles and began divining according to her own methods.
"Strange. Very strange."
The more Qingque calculated, the stranger it seemed.
"Um, what's strange?"
"No, it's nothing!"
Qingque put away the Diyuan Qiongyu tiles and smiled at Liuge.
"Let's return to our previous topic!"
"Uh..."
Looking at Qingque's impish appearance, Liuge could not help thinking of a certain Director Hu.
Why did they both seem so flighty?
"It was the difference in your gaze that distinguished you from Miss Tingyun. That was why I called you Lord Tingyun at the time, rather than Miss Tingyun."
Listening to Qingque, Liuge recalled their conversation when they had been putting on an act for Phantylia.
Indeed, Qingque had truly called him Lord Tingyun back then, rather than the more familiar Miss Tingyun.
So she had discovered him the moment they met.
It seemed he still needed to read more of An Actor's Self-Cultivation.
"So, why are you looking for me now?"
"Hehe, I did suspect that you might be someone with ill intentions at the time. But seeing that your clear eyes also carried a hint of stupidity, I felt that you weren't a bad person. You must have had no choice but to disguise yourself as Miss Tingyun, so I didn't expose you and played along with your act."
"..."
Liuge fell silent at Qingque's words.
No, didn't that make him sound really stupid?
"So, your act is over now, right?"
"Mm!"
No, after all this, what exactly was your purpose?
Liuge's teeth ached. Why did he keep feeling like this girl had come here just to show off her intelligence?
"Then... as the price for playing along with your act, come play cards with me happily!"
For an instant, Liuge seemed to see the silhouette of a certain Pharaoh behind Qingque.
Were card addicts really everywhere?
"Fine, fine!"
Liuge stood up and answered helplessly.
Yet at the same time, he found chatting with Qingque rather pleasant.
That feeling seemed to rise from the depths of his heart.
It was as though, as though they were old friends who had known each other for a long time.
How strange! This feeling was truly strange!
Could that dream he had really been real?
Was Qingque really Xiao Que'er?
Without realizing it, as Liuge looked at Qingque's back, it gradually seemed to overlap with the Xiao Que'er from his dream.
"Xiao Que'er?"
Liuge called out uncertainly.
He did not know whether it was an illusion, but Liuge seemed to see Qingque pause ahead of him. Yet she did not turn around.
"What? What did you say?"
Qingque responded.
"No, nothing."
So it wasn't her.
Letting out a breath, Liuge somehow felt a little lost.
But what he did not know was that Qingque's lips had already curled up slightly ahead of him.
"Hehehe... you hateful Liuge. You disappeared for so long, and when you came back, you didn't even ask me to play cards. You're finished! I'll make you experience the bottomless abyss of card games from back then!"
At that moment, Qingque's expression was just like Liuge's in his dream, except their roles had been switched.
It was as though... as though Qingque was going to drag Liuge into the endless abyss of Diyuan Qiongyu!
Meanwhile, at the docks of the Luofu Xianzhou.
A man carrying a pure white coffin on his back slowly stepped down from a ship.
He glanced at the Cloud Knights Army patrolling the docks and frowned slightly.
But the next moment, he walked past two Cloud Knights Army soldiers as though nothing had happened.
When the Cloud Knights Army saw the man, they merely gave him a second glance and paid no further attention to him.
Someone who looked like such a nice guy usually wouldn't cause any trouble.
"The Luofu Xianzhou?"
After walking for a while, the man arrived at the railing of Liuyun Wharf. Looking at the prosperous scene before him, he murmured to himself.
Like a tourist, like a traveler, the man toured the Luofu. Whenever he encountered something he did not understand, he would ask the people of the Xianzhou to explain it to him.
And the people of the Xianzhou were very hospitable toward foreign travelers, so they would generally explain a thing or two.
After wandering around for a long time, the man arrived at Chang'le Sky-Garden.
Looking at the harmonious scene that resembled a night market, a faint trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.
However, he did not pay it much mind and simply began strolling around.
First, he noticed that a place called San Yu Bookstore seemed to have quite a few ancient books, so he stopped to browse. After buying several, he carried them with him and spotted what looked like a fortune-telling shop, where someone appeared to be playing something outside.
He stepped forward and watched for a while, but could not figure out what it was.
So he asked the elderly man beside him, "May I ask what this is?"
"This is called Diyuan Qiongyu. Let me tell you, if a Xianzhou native doesn't play Diyuan Qiongyu, can they even be called a Xianzhou native?"
The old man had barely finished speaking when a crisp voice suddenly rang out from a card game at the neighboring table.
"Haha, I won! Liuge, you lost again..."
"Damn it!!!"
Fu Xuan and Qingque
Liuge looked at the tiles in his hand, completely dumbfounded.
Although Diyuan Qiongyu was not much different from mahjong, the tiles themselves were almost entirely different.
It was Liuge's first time playing. Though he felt an inexplicable familiarity with it, to Qingque,
whether Liuge was familiar with it or a complete novice was irrelevant.
Because she only wanted Liuge to experience pure joy firsthand!
By the time Liuge lost his ninth round, he finally put down the Diyuan Qiongyu tiles in his hand. Listening to Qingque beside him announce that he had lost again, he could only feel helpless.
Liuge took a deep breath and raised his head.
At a glance, he spotted a golden-haired man watching nearby with a face full of curiosity.
The moment Liuge saw the man, his heart skipped a beat.
For an instant, he thought that fellow Otto had climbed the Imaginary Tree all the way to the Xianzhou.
But after thinking it over, he remembered.
At this point in time, the only person who would come to the Xianzhou and look exactly like Bishop Otto was that man.
That would be Luocha, who walked the Path of Abundance!
And as everyone knew, those who walked the Path of Abundance were all, without exception, nice guys.
For example, Natasha, the alternate version of the little island's Exploding Crow on Jarilo-VI, or Bailu, the current Drug-Bearing Dragon Girl of the Xianzhou and sprinting champion.
"My friend, you seem interested in Diyuan Qiongyu."
Liuge looked at Luocha and raised a hand in greeting.
"Mm, I am indeed somewhat interested. But forget it."
Luocha was briefly taken aback before shaking his head.
It did look interesting, but for an outsider like him, it was completely something he could not get involved with.
"Then you're really missing out on a joy!"
Qingque spoke up at that moment.
"From the look of it, you're a traveler visiting the Xianzhou, right? If you don't play Diyuan Qiongyu, you're really missing..."
Smack!
Before she could finish, a fair little hand landed on Qingque's shoulder.
At the same time, a calm but angry voice came from behind her.
"Qingque, can you tell me what joy you are missing?"
Hearing that voice, Qingque's entire body stiffened.
Her neck turned bit by bit, like rusted machinery.
Behind her stood Fu Xuan with a dark expression.
"Ahaha, Lady Fu Xuan. Why are you here?"
Qingque laughed awkwardly, pretending she had only just arrived.
"What, am I not allowed to be here?"
Fu Xuan looked at Qingque with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
But the next moment, she noticed Liuge standing nearby.
"Hmm? You're here too, young friend. It seems this child dragged you here to play cards with her!"
Fu Xuan shot Qingque a fierce glare, looking as though she hated that Qingque would not live up to her expectations.
Yet Qingque looked utterly unconcerned, which made Fu Xuan even more irritated.
Qingque was exceptionally intelligent, but she loved slacking off and avoiding work.
You're practically about to be demoted to gatekeeper level, so why are you still like this? Try a little harder for me!
"Uh, I was bored and wandering around here when I happened to run into Qingque."
Liuge had not expected that while playing cards with Qingque, he would happen to run into Fu Xuan coming out to catch Qingque and drag her back to work.
He had to admit, it was rather amusing to watch.
Luocha had already left the area the moment Fu Xuan appeared.
"Um, Lady Fu Xuan..."
"Hmm?"
Fu Xuan looked at Qingque and made a faint questioning sound.
Before you continue