Chapter 146

Feixiao sat at his imposing desk, rubbed his nose, touched the top of his head, and tugged at his bouncy fox ears, wondering if something bad had happened.

"Why are you sneezing? Have you caught a cold? I told you before, your work pace has been too extreme lately. If you don't adjust soon, you'll easily get sick... See, I was right?"

The pink-haired Foxkin, who had been standing on the left side of the desk, put down the documents in her hand and listed Feixiao's recent inappropriate behavior with a lot of complaints. At the same time, she turned around and planned to go to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of hot ginger, jujube and perilla leaf soup for her.

Before Feixiao could even leave the office, Jiaoqiu stopped her.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. It's you who's been preparing all those nourishing medicinal meals for me every day. I'm not in that middle-aged state yet, I don't need that kind of supplementation at all. If this keeps up, I feel like I'm going to get a nosebleed sooner or later."

"You don't appreciate kindness. Do you think I want to do this for you?"

Jiaoqiu rubbed his furrowed brow, stopped and returned to his post, continuing to process the remaining documents for Feixiao.

Feixiao had intended to quickly finish the unfinished documents and paperwork, but a faint feeling of displeasure lingered deep within her. Perhaps a splitting headache would be a more apt description, but she didn't know where to direct this anger. In short, she had no motivation to work.

"I remember that a couple of days ago, Moze reported something: there seemed to be a small group called the 'Destruction Gang' roaming around the area surrounding Yaoqing's flagship, right?"

Feixiao unconsciously touched the ring on her ring finger, a habit she had recently developed. As she pondered the source of her anger, she asked Jiaoqiu beside her. Jiaoqiu looked up from the documents in her hand, her narrowed eyes seemingly trying to recall something.

After a moment, Jiaoqiu's tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

"Ah, I remember now, that's true, but they were just scattered soldiers and can't amount to much. General, you don't need to worry about it. In the next few days, the Verdant Hill Army will be dispatched to wipe out the small number of forces lingering in the surrounding area, ensuring they pose no threat to merchant groups and tourists entering Yaoqing."

"No, I'll personally handle it tomorrow."

"Uh, General, what's making you angry?"

Based on Jiaoqiu's familiarity with Feixiao over the years, she could be certain of this from the slight displeasure in Feixiao's tone alone.

"I'm not angry. Oh well, I've had a long day at work anyway, let's relax a bit."

Feixiao snorted after saying that, leaned back and slumped into her chair, crossing her long legs. At the same time, she opened her office drawer and randomly picked one of Bai Jun's hundreds of photos to admire. Gradually, the displeasure on her face was replaced by happiness and infatuation.

This person is clearly angry...

Just thinking about what the battlefield would look like tomorrow made Jiaoqiu want to laugh. Although using the phrase "why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut" wasn't quite right, it was just that the Destruction Gang was unlucky and ran right into the line of fire.

PS:

I didn't update yesterday because I wasn't feeling well. Ah, I've noticed that the beginning of each month is usually a few unlucky days. I'm either tied up with external matters or feeling unwell, so I often have to take a few days off to rest, and then spend a lot of energy getting back into writing mode. It's quite a hassle.

Secondly, the ending is still a long way off. I remember mentioning before that there are other storylines in other maps after the Xianzhou arc ends, such as Belobog, Penacony, Amphoreus... Well, I need to think more about the Amphoreus storyline, but the first two are settled for now.

In short, I will try my best to make all the characters mentioned earlier in the book appear, and resolve any foreshadowing. If you think about it carefully, it seems there's still quite a distance to go before this book is finished, so I hope everyone will continue to support it!

Rest assured, this book will be published smoothly and successfully.

Chapter 181 Miss Fu Xuan, who likes to exploit bugs

The sparse sounds of staples being tied together mingled with the rustling of clothes.

Many people came and went around, lingering beside the jumbled mountain of documents, sighing wearily from time to time; everyone was busy with some task.

During this period before dawn in the East, many diviners were already working in the Assignment Hall.

It was clearly not yet six in the morning, but this was a common sight in the already busy Divination Bureau.

The bustling hall was filled with people of all races: Xianzhou native, Vidyadhara, Foxkin. The only thing they had in common was that almost everyone present was a beautiful woman. Everyone broke through racial barriers and worked together to focus on observing and recording every inch of the array projection, striving to ensure that this meticulous record would not have the slightest deviation.

In an instant, the light of sunrise dispelled the hazy morning mist, illuminating the gradually whitening eastern sky above the cave.

With the exclamation of "Finally it's over," the busy work in the hall was given a brief respite. When it was time for breakfast, the women present threw their documents on the table, stretched out their bodies, and sighed and complained without any regard for their image.

"Oh dear, the workload lately has been far too heavy! I have to come here to work before dawn every day. I feel like my body won't be able to handle this."

"Stop complaining. Instead of complaining about work, why don't you take a look at Brother Bai Jun?"

"Wow, that's amazing! I remember he said he had zero experience at the beginning..."

Their gazes followed a tall, aloof figure in a corner of the hall. Bai Jun calmly stacked the organized documents together, tapped them lightly on the table a few times, and placed them on top of a small mountain of documents already piled up beside him—that's right, that's what they were looking for; he could actually complete so much work all by himself.

At first, everyone assumed that he got the job through some kind of illicit relationship with Master Diviner Fu, which was understandable, since Bai Jun couldn't even understand the most basic formations, let alone divination or stargazing, when he first arrived at the Divination Bureau. So, everyone basically regarded him as a pretty but useless person.

I don't expect it to serve any purpose, but it's great to have it in the lobby to please everyone's eyes.

Now everyone has to admit that Bai Jun's workload has raised the average level of the other diviners present. The amount of work equivalent to the height of a mountain is often equivalent to the work of other diviners in two or three days. In other words, he has made such rapid progress in just a few days that others can only look up to him.

Bai Jun was already able to ignore the awe-inspiring looks from others around him, calmly organized the documents and was about to leave the hall when he suddenly noticed a gaze with a rather obvious intention watching him.

Curious, he turned around and saw Ming Yue, the Mingyue had always had a problem with him ever since he entered the Divination Bureau, standing beside a mountain of bookshelves, staring at him with bright eyes.

As if captivated by Bai Jun's silhouette as he worked, she stood motionless, clutching a heavy book to her chest, until Bai Jun finally noticed her. She then snapped out of her reverie and, with a slightly embarrassed smile, spoke:

"Sorry, you were so focused, I forgot to say hello. You've been doing really well lately, I think it's quite remarkable how quickly you've adapted to working at the Divination Bureau. Um, I, I mean..."

"It's alright, is there something you need?"

Bai Jun tilted his head slightly in response to her praise. Being praised for his daily routine made Bai Jun a little troubled.

"No, nothing much, I just wanted to give you something..."

Mingyue first spoke hesitantly, seemingly embarrassed, her cheeks flushed as she walked over. Her azure eyes flickered, avoiding eye contact with Bai Jun quickly handed him a bottle of hot milk from her pocket.

"I admit I was a bit rude to you the other day, and this seems a bit informal as an apology... Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Have some warm milk and rest; it will help you recover your energy."

Mingyue admitted that her initial assessment of Bai Jun was biased, but after working on it for the past few days, she asserted that she had indeed underestimated Bai Jun.

In the Divination Bureau, what everyone admires most is heroism based on outstanding individual abilities. Although this may not seem to fit the spirit of a team, it should be considered an exception in a place like Divination Bureau where professional skills and talents are required to a great extent. Otherwise, everyone would not respect Fu Xuan so much.

The reason is simple: you can't lie when it comes to astrology and divination.

If you can understand it, then you can understand it; conversely, if you can't understand it, then you really can't understand it, even if the Master Diviner Fu personally pulls your ear and explains it to you, you still won't understand it.

Bai Jun was able to reach the average level of the Divination Bureau in such a short time, or even higher. It is conceivable that he must have spent a lot of time and effort in his spare time, and possessed a talent in the field of astrology and divination that is difficult for others to match, which is why he made such rapid progress.

As an ordinary woman with normal sexual orientation and values, Mingyue never harbored any improper feelings for Fu Xuan. If she had to say, it would probably be the respect and heartfelt admiration a fan has for their idol.

The initial reason for my dissatisfaction with Bai Jun was simply that I couldn't understand why an unknown person could be so close to that Master Diviner Fu.

It was precisely because Mingyue understood Lady Fu Xuan's talent and ability better than anyone else that she was unwilling to let those mediocre people get close to Lady Fu Xuan. Now that Bai Jun had personally broken this stereotype, Mingyue could simply admit that the other party was qualified to stand beside Lady Fu Xuan.

"I apologize, I misjudged you before. You are indeed qualified to stand beside Lady Fu Xuan."

"... What is this person saying out of the blue?"

Watching Mingyue deliver the milk, utter a nonsensical remark, and then frantically run Mingyue, Bai Jun tilted his head in confusion.

He was a little confused about the meaning of the sentence, so he simply gave up thinking about it and left the Assignment Hall with the dispersing crowd. He walked through the atrium's suspended corridor and strolled along the narrow corridor of the Divination Bureau headquarters toward the restaurant where Divination Bureau had already prepared breakfast.

Three days have passed since that night at Fyxestroll Garden.

In between, it was nothing more than repeating the daily routine of work, playing chess with Old Master Huai Yan in the evening, and playing with Yunli cat. However, there were also subtle changes in the environment around Bai Jun that surprised him.

Firstly, as Bai Jun became more and more adept at his work related to the Divination Bureau, the way his colleagues looked at him gradually changed from distrust to awe. Starting with Mingyue Buguan's friend, the understanding Huixing Buguan, more and more people no longer had the vague distance between them as before, and would often take the initiative to talk to him.

What startled Bai Jun the most was the Mingyue Yue, who had just delivered the gift to him. She, who had previously been the most hostile towards him, had unknowingly lost her previous hostility and seemed to have accepted Bai Jun. Every time she saw him, she would silently nod and then Buli.

Putting aside the matter of the Divination Bureau, it's worth mentioning that quite a few strange things have happened in Luofu recently.

"Yawn... I'm so sleepy. I don't know if it's because of work stress or a health problem, but I haven't been sleeping well for several days. But I don't think I've been under that much work pressure lately. Sigh, it looks like I really need to find some time to go see a doctor at the Alchemy Commission."

"I feel the same way. My sleep quality has deteriorated a lot lately. I keep having dreams at night, like I've turned into a tree, or a fruit on a tree. Honestly, it's not a pleasant feeling. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep for several days in a row."

"The plants in my house have been growing like crazy lately for some reason, especially my daffodils. In just two or three days, they went from less than five centimeters to more than twenty centimeters in vines, and they were as thick as my little finger. I wore out two shears trying to trim them."

"Hearing you say that, I suddenly realized something too. The weeds in my backyard have been growing really badly lately. My father said he's had to use a lawnmower to clear the backyard every day. Sigh, do you think there might be something wrong with the natural conditioning mechanism of the Luofu ship? Maybe some technician added all the nutrient solution into the soil?"

After finishing a long and arduous half-night of work, the diviners drank large gulps of fresh, hot milk and enjoyed the vegetable salad and bread on their plates.

Perhaps due to excessive work pressure recently, or perhaps due to a problem with the technical adjustments for managing the climate of the cave, some people yawned and complained about their recent sleep quality, while others complained about their plants growing wildly, prompting other fortune tellers who shared the same sentiments to nod in agreement.

Bai Jun silently noted these details down in his mind, then quickly stuffed his breakfast into his mouth.

In fact, the complaints and grievances of the diviners in the Divination Bureau were not unique to them. Bai Jun also heard from Lingsha yesterday about a very similar situation. It was probably in the last few days that people living in the area centered on the Divination Bureau Alchemy Commission Artisanship Commission to experience mental breakdowns.

Even more bizarre is the growth of the plants. Some people have seen saplings grow into trees several meters tall overnight, while others have seen long-abandoned land covered with lush green vines and flowers, much to the dismay of the gardeners responsible for the street greenery.

The residents were abuzz with speculation, wondering if some natural disaster had occurred, or if mismanagement by higher authorities had led to the leakage of some terrible toxin. Some even began spreading rumors that the Luofu ship was about to be scrapped, and that millions of residents would die tragically, becoming Luofu's casualties, causing some residents to fall into inexplicable panic.

Last night, while playing chess with Huai Yan at the Shence Mansion, Jing Yuan mentioned this matter and asked him to consult Fu Xuan today about the recent observations of the Matrix of Prescience, so as to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

After a quick breakfast, Bai Jun went to Fu Xuan's office to discuss the matter.

The restaurant at the headquarters of the Divination Bureau was not far from Fu Xuan's office—the central tower surrounded by a majestic, independent circular courtyard. Considering that Fu Xuan might not have eaten breakfast, Bai Jun specially brought her a bowl of hot milk with sugar and bread. Leaving the restaurant, the entrance from the garden to the tower was not far away. After crossing the courtyard and climbing the tower, you soon arrived at a narrow corridor covered with a carpet that looked like a bright flower crown.

After knocking twice, Bai Jun pushed open the office door and stepped inside.

"The Epoch Algorithm has been read and is now being processed by inputting the Jade Omen. Divination and deduction have yielded a hexagram. The fluctuation range is between Ze and Dui, with an error of plus or minus two per thousand. The algorithm should be error-free; what is interfering with the instrument...?"

Fu Xuan was at the back of the room, sitting behind a large desk that seemed disproportionate to her small stature. She was examining and flipping through ancient books, deep in thought, when Bai Jun knocked on the open door again, and the knocking sound brought Fu Xuan back to her senses.

"Bai Jun? Why are you here so early today? Is there a problem with the Matrix of Prescience?"

"It's not what you think. I'm just asking you about your daily routine on behalf of Jing Yuan."

"Um... could you wait a moment? It'll be over soon."

Upon hearing Bai Jun's words, Fu Xuan, still engrossed in his books, replied in this way.

She continued to write smoothly on the pages of the classic book, using the seal script brush, writing characters that looked like markings. Then she wrote characters that looked like signatures on the white paper next to her. Finally, she hesitated and didn't know how to draw a conclusion, so she could only dejectedly crumple the white paper she had just written on into a ball.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. What did you want to tell me?"

"It's like this, recently Alchemy Commission and other grotto-heavens have been experiencing unusual situations. Jing Yuan asked me to ask you if there were any anomalies in your recent observations... By the way, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Here's some hot milk and bread with sugar. Eat it while it's hot."

Bai Jun explained this to Fu Xuan, who had finished her work, and then placed the breakfast he had brought on her desk. Bai Jun Fu Xuan's expression was initially somewhat blank and calm when she heard that Bai Jun was talking about work, but after seeing the breakfast Bai Jun brought, her face quickly turned into a shy red, and she readily agreed with stammering, "I understand, thank you."

She patted her burning cheeks, coughed slightly and seriously, and after a while Fu Xuan, who had finally managed to compose herself, finally spoke:

"Ahem, the rise and fall occurs between Qian and Zhen. Actions will bring misfortune, nothing will be gained."

In the past, Bai Jun would never have understood Fu Xuan's insider jargon and would have had to earnestly ask the other party to speak in plain language. After a period of intensive study, Bai Jun can now understand these seemingly convoluted and mysterious phrases.

"Disaster is imminent... Is Luofu's luck really that bad lately?"

As Bai Jun pondered, chin in hand, he failed to notice the remarkable change that occurred on Fu Xuan's face when he uttered those words. In truth, she hadn't intended for Bai Jun to understand her technical jargon; she had planned to patiently explain it to him, but to her surprise, he had actually grasped her meaning.

If Fu Xuan remembered correctly, Bai Jun seemed to know absolutely nothing about astrology and divination just two days ago, right?

Although there is an ancient saying that "a scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation", the current situation seems to be completely inexplicable by common sense. Anyone who has read the six-line classics, which are about ten centimeters thick, knows how difficult this knowledge is. Even Fu Xuan could not understand the situation for a while.

Why are you staring at me? Did I say something wrong...? I think that's what I said.

"No, you're absolutely right. That's exactly what I meant. I didn't expect you to be able to decipher it. Not bad."

Fu Xuan snapped out of his shock and nodded in affirmation that Bai Jun's explanation was correct. At the same time, he became even more certain in his heart that Bai Jun was definitely a once-in-a-millennium divination genius. It seemed that he wouldn't have to worry about the position of Grand Diviner in the Divination Bureau in the future, and he wouldn't have to worry about the Qing Que anymore. Thinking of this, Fu Xuan cast an admiring and gratified look at Bai Jun.

After finishing the digression, Fu Xuan put on a serious expression and sighed as he explained the routine observation and divination.

"Luofu's fortunes have been terrible lately, and some unknown force has been constantly interfering with the instruments of the Matrix of Prescience, preventing it from detecting the exact time and location of the disaster. Sigh, I remember I specifically reported this to Jing Yuan, didn't I?"

At this point, Fu Xuan suddenly handed Bai Jun a blank sheet of paper with the results of today's routine observations written on it. Most of the content was irrelevant, but the last two paragraphs contained crucial information—the area where turmoil was about to occur today.

"... Southeast of the ship's location, which means the Artisanship Commission?"

Bai Jun stared at the blank sheet of paper, his azure eyes narrowing as his expression gradually turned serious.

"Yes, I was originally planning to ask you to go. You're quite familiar with the Artisanship Commission, and you have a good relationship with the Artisanship Commission and the Grand Judge. It should be much easier for you there, so I'll trouble you today. There's no need to worry. I specifically consulted the oracle today, and it shows a very auspicious sign for the Artisanship Commission. You'll be fine."

Fu Xuan first explained the reasons in a detailed manner with an irrefutable tone, then poked Bai Jun's shoulder and suddenly a sweet smile bloomed on his lips.

The reason is that she finally found a way to divine for Bai Jun. Since she couldn't observe Bai Jun's Path through either direct or indirect means, she resorted to divining a fixed location and then sending Bai Jun there. In this way, she indirectly divined a result for Bai Jun by exploiting a bug.

After Bai Jun left the office, Fu Xuan took out the compass used for divination again.

Intending to verify the result again, the directional pointer suddenly malfunctioned, plummeting from pointing north to south, and the "great fortune" of the divination result retaliated by turning into "great misfortune".

"No way...!?"

Having failed to exploit the bug and suffered a backlash, Fu Xuan completely lost his last bit of strength, letting out an incredulous sound as he slowly slumped into a chair.

Chapter 182: The episode where I miss the Stellaron Spirit the most.

Clang, clang, clang...

The sound of metal being struck could be heard continuously from the scene.

Sharp, clanging sounds echoed from all around, followed by a flurry of dazzling sparks and flashes of light that scattered in all directions.

From time to time, one could hear the robust craftsmen, their sweat glistening like beans, swinging their hammers and shouting. The scene of sweat splattering and sparks flying immediately brought to mind a forge, and indeed it lived up to its name. Large forging furnaces with powerful flames burning were set up on all four sides of the spacious workshop walls, with water pools for cooling next to them. The flickering flames filled the entire workshop with a stuffy, hot atmosphere.

The craftsmen, shirtless, pounded their hammers; the strong men, their faces reddened by the furnace fire, fanned the blowers; and the apprentices, with towels tied to their heads, ran around busily carrying firewood and tools.

The positions within the Artisanship Commission were divided into six levels, with the highest level being the Director of the Anvil, followed by the Chief Craftsman, the Chief Craftsman, the Master Craftsman, the Craftsman, and the lowest level being the Apprentice.