The Silent Lord's Advice

Fu Xuan stepped aside from Jingxing, went to the table, spread out the invitation, and took out three copper coins from his sleeve.

The corners of the invitation were soggy from the fog. Fu Xuan looked at it from left to right, then simply took out the paperweight that Jingxing used when he painted, placed it on top, and pressed it flat.

Then she straightened the invitation, making sure the side with the gold thread was facing up, clasped the coins together in her palm, and tossed it away without hesitation.

Three copper coins landed on the wooden table with a crisp sound. She glanced down at them, reading the divination symbols they represented, just as he would appreciate the Blank Spaces in a painting.

Soon, Fu Xuan collected the coins and tossed them again. The result of the second toss seemed to be the same as the first.

Fu Xuan frowned and carefully tossed the coins a third time. This time, the coins spun around on the table for a long time before falling down.

Jingxing had never seen her cast the divination blocks so slowly. Usually, she did divination like she was doing accounting; the result would be given as soon as the coins hit the ground.

"... There's no divination result," she said. "Nothing at all."

What does it mean if there is no hexagram?

"It means there's no result from the divination." Fu Xuan stared at the three coins. "I've performed divination many times, and this is the first time I haven't been able to deduce anything..."

"What does this mean?" Jingxing asked.

"It's probably related to the direction the invitation points to," Fu Xuan said. "Rumor has it that the Ninth Mechanism is connected to the Aeon of Nihility, so the divination pointing to them ultimately results in nothingness... That makes sense."

"So this is the answer?" he said. "Then we really need to go."

Fu Xuan glanced at him for a couple of breaths, then put the three copper coins into his sleeve. "Then let's rest for the night and set off tomorrow morning."

Polka Kakamond did not allow them to ride the Starskiff.

In the morning, after Jingxing opened the invitation, the "Silent Lord" pressed his fingertip against the gold thread pattern on the invitation through a pane of glass.

The Fanghu outside the Starskiff suddenly faded, as if the very existence of color had been stripped away—the sea, the lights, the outline of the entire ship city were peeled away layer by layer, leaving only a gray that was nothing at all.

"Don't let go, come with me." Polka Kakamond's voice came through, "If you didn't have my guidance, you would probably be lost in this space forever."

Jingxing stepped out of the Starskiff, holding Fu Xuan's hand, and walked through this gray space, where they saw some strange sights.

Outside, the world was upside down, the entire Fanghu was burning fiercely, half of the outer harbor had collapsed, and scattered corpses lay haphazardly on the rooftops of the water street. A dark shadow larger than the sky pressed down, the ship city was severed in the middle, and the sea overturned and completely covered the inner city.

He also saw wounded soldiers on the verge of death, and a tattered flag that no one was holding.

Their mouths opened and closed, but not a single word got through.

Jingxing frowned, took two quick steps forward, and the scene behind him disappeared. He tried to turn around and look again, but his gaze could only turn half a foot beyond before everything turned gray again.

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. Fu Xuan's hand rested on his elbow briefly, then withdrew it as if nothing had happened.

Jingxing strained to look away from that spot.

"That's the original Fanghu from history," Polka Kakamond said. "Although you changed part of it, these Remembrance still exist in Fuli's garden. To avoid attracting the attention of the people in Garden of Recollection, I simply moved them here."

Fu Xuan didn't look at the burning Fanghu. She kept her eyes on the ground the whole way.

"Aren't you going to take a look?" Jingxing asked.

"I've seen it," she said. "It's a path I myself have walked. But now, it's no longer needed."

Jingxing didn't ask any more questions. He turned his gaze back to what was in front of him and continued to follow Polka Kakamond.

The so-called Ninth Mechanism had no door or signboard, only a blank space. Only after walking through it did the two realize they were standing in a strange room. They could clearly see beams, pillars, and tables, but they had all lost their color and seemed to vanish as if they didn't exist. A stack of booklets lay on the table, and the open page was filled with formulas that Jingxing didn't recognize, but it aroused his curiosity.

Jingxing reached for the booklet to read it, only to find that while he could recognize some characters, the meaning was completely incomprehensible when put together. He could only shake his head, put the booklet back, and cough awkwardly.

Just then, Polka Kakamond appeared. She smiled as she looked at Jingxing, who couldn't understand her work at all, and opened her arms.

"Welcome to Ninth Mechanism," Polka Kakamond finally spoke. "The most famous geniuses in the universe have searched for hundreds of years, and not a single one has found this place. You are much luckier than those so-called 'geniuses' in those Genius Society."

"A place that geniuses strive for," Fu Xuan said. "Why? You invited us here?"

"Because this place belongs to me." Polka Kakamond blinked. "How could I possibly allow those who tried to defy the calculations of the King of Myriad Machines to come here?"

"Then haven't we already defied His calculations?" Fu Xuan's hand, hidden in his sleeve, gripped the talisman.

Upon hearing Fu Xuan's question, Polka Kakamond grinned. "Indeed, you altered the timeline, but this alteration doesn't affect the four moments calculated by the King of Myriad Machines."

"As far as the Nous is concerned," Jingxing continued, "Our actions are insignificant, aren't they?"

"Well, you can understand it that way," Polka Kakamond. "What you did is nothing to the King of Myriad Machines. The small part you changed is just an insignificant variable in His equation."

"But just because some things are harmless to the gods doesn't mean you can ignore them." She looked the two of them over with a playful expression.

"What do you mean?" Jingxing asked.

"It means that since you have already affected the timeline, there will naturally be traces left on you," Polka Kakamond said. "You carry the weight of this war: who died here, who survived... If you return to the 'present' with these things, the timeline will naturally recognize you as anomalies, just as it recognizes that General Rongtao should not exist in reality."

Fu Xuan's fingers curled slightly. "Will we be kicked out too?"

"Being kicked out once might be okay," Polka Kakamond chuckled. "But you might end up like that person, falling out of the 'present' again and again, until your very existence is worn away completely by the timeline."

"Then how do we solve this?" Jingxing asked.

"The simplest way is to go back to an earlier time and firmly anchor your existence within this universe," Polka Kakamond, shrugging.