Xuzhao: Yaoshi Was Looked Down On, Yaoshi Really Lost Face

When they returned to Fu Xuan's residence, the side gate was still ajar.

Jingxing originally planned to sneak back to his room, but as soon as he stepped over the threshold, a soft sound came from under the lamp in the courtyard— Fu Xuan was sitting in a grand chair under the lamp, with a few copper coins spread out in front of him and a cup of tea that had gone cold beside him.

She didn't look up, but simply collected the copper coins one by one into her palm. "You're back."

"Fu Xuan, are you still awake?" Jingxing stopped. "Did I disturb you?"

"No, not at all." Fu Xuan raised her eyes, her gaze lingering for a moment on Jingxing's sleeve, her nose twitching almost imperceptibly. "You have an Abundance scent about you."

"... Isn't your nose a little too sensitive?" Jingxing complained, but also admitted it.

"Senior Sister too," Fu Xuan shook his head, "Since you knew you were leaving Yuque temporarily, why didn't you clean up the hidden Disciples of Sanctus Medicus here before you left? Did you really expect me to clean up your mess?"

Fu Xuan stopped pretending this time and even revealed the name of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.

Jingxing's heart sank a notch.

He had clearly destroyed that flyer completely with his Path Energy. But it was as if Fu Xuan had installed a camera on him.

"Okay," Jingxing shrugged, "I got a flyer for some kind of 'Disciples of Sanctus Medicus' stuff handed to me at the night market tonight, but I destroyed it."

"Flyer." Fu Xuan repeated the two words.

Jingxing continued, "I'm afraid that if you and the Cloud Knights see this, I won't be able to explain myself no matter how many mouths I have."

Fu Xuan stared at him and sighed softly, "On your very first day at Yuque, you've already been chosen by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Is that good luck or bad luck?"

"... Then I won't go to night markets anymore."

"No need." Fu Xuan picked up his iced tea and took a sip. "You didn't do anything wrong."

She paused for a moment, then said, "But I'm curious, what's your opinion of 'them'?"

"Let's talk about 'them' first," Jingxing said, not in a hurry to answer. "What's the background of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"

"After the crisis of faith subsided and the Xianzhou established its stance on the Plagues Author, some believers, unwilling to accept this, began their clandestine activities. That was a thousand years ago; they were the earliest Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. After countless purges, this group of Disciples of Sanctus Medicus finally disappeared completely. But just over twenty years ago..."

At this point, Fu Xuan closed his eyes. "During the Third War of the Denizens of Abundance, the Xianzhou Luofu was ordered to reinforce Fanghu. In this battle, Luofu lost more than 63,000 warships and more than 120,000 flying soldiers. Afterwards, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were revived in Luofu."

Jingxing could tell that the so-called "Third War of the Denizens of Abundance" seemed to have left Fu Xuan with many painful memories. He simply stopped asking and began to answer Fu Xuan's question.

"I have no problem with the Yaoshi himself." He sat down opposite Fu Xuan. "His blessings have saved many people, that's true. But—"

"But?"

"But boundless gifts will eventually yield boundless fruit."

Fu Xuan stared into Jingxing's eyes and saw incomprehension and dissatisfaction.

"The Denizens of Abundance, chasing after blessings, attacked other living beings for their own selfish gain, and thus became Abominations of Abundance —everyone knows that the word 'scoundrel' is not a slander. Yet the Yaoshi remains indifferent to this."

"Of course there are good people among the Abundance Travelers, I know that," Jingxing said, "But if even the 'blessing' itself has no boundaries, then the recipients will sooner or later succumb to madness."

He paused, then said, "I witnessed some things in the Dual-Phase Paradise, and since then I've understood that not all Aeon are aloof and indifferent to the existence of ordinary people. Since some Aeon willing to take care of the messes they leave behind, it's not worth defending the behavior of others who turn a blind eye to their messes."

Finally, he uttered the words that had been on his mind all the way. "Those who receive such gifts wreak havoc in all directions, and even the gods cannot escape their blame."

The courtyard fell silent. The lamp cast their shadows on the ground, Fu Xuan's shadow standing upright.

She carefully examined Jingxing. This time, Fu Xuan's gaze no longer held a questioning tone.

"Jingxing," she said, "If you had been born on Xianzhou, I believe you would have achieved a distance in your Path of the Hunt that would be second to none."

Jingxing paused for a moment, then smiled, "Why?"

"I don't know what Path you've chosen," Fu Xuan shook his head, "But that's what my intuition tells me."

"But I'm not the Hunt." Jingxing shrugged. "Goddess Idrila's beauty is unparalleled."

"So you're a follower of Idrila." Fu Xuan's eyes lit up. "That makes it even clearer. The Primal Force behind Idrila's way is Temperance, while the Primal Force behind Reignbow Arbiter's way is Constraint. Although there are significant differences between the two, their starting points are similar."

"Yes." Jingxing had thought about this question before.

"Temperance governs 'me'." Jingxing raised his hand, drawing a frame in the air. "Where should a painting end, where should a person stop? This is internal—only when everyone can control themselves can the beauty of universal harmony emerge."

"But Constraints govern the 'external'," he gestured with a sword-wielding gesture. "When someone crosses the line, someone has to make the judgment. Temperance is like drawing boundaries for yourself, Constraints are like someone drawing bottom lines for everyone. If you cross the line, you'll get the sword."

Fu Xuan repeated it, then nodded. "I believe that if Mr. Jingxing continues down this path with this mindset, perhaps even the Reignbow Arbiter will look down upon you in the future."

Jingxing feigned ignorance. "I won't become Abominations of Abundance, so the Reignbow Arbiter shouldn't be aiming at me, right?"

"You know perfectly well that's not what I meant," Fu Xuan retorted irritably.

"That raises a new question." Jingxing blinked. "Can Pathstrider simultaneously walk different Paths?"

"Yes," Fu Xuan answered readily. "Changing Path is not uncommon—some people stray from the path and choose a new one; others deviate from the old path and are punished by it. As for beings who can use multiple Path simultaneously, of course, there are such beings."

"I've seen severe punishments for deviating from Path elsewhere. But are there also punishments for simultaneously following different Path?"

"No," Fu Xuan replied instantly. "The records of the Xianzhou document several travelers who embarked on multiple Path. Although the sample size is small, there is indeed no record of any being punished by the Aeon."

Jingxing thought of Idrila. Her favor filled him.

Thinking about it this way, I guess I'm destined to follow a different Path in this life.

"I probably can't do it," Jingxing shrugged.