"In that case, I'll just toss you all over." Zhang Xiu held out a hand to Yaoshi beside him. "Come on, honey. Once you're inside, remember to catch everyone with a tree or something."
Yaoshi nodded lightly, then sat on Zhang Xiu's right hand.
"Hey, hey! Please don't! Our Divination Commission has special devices to guard against people climbing over the walls. They only won't trigger if you go through the main gate or a side gate."
"Huh? Why didn't you say so sooner... Where's the side gate?" Zhang Xiu looked at Qingque, speechless.
"It's just over there, hehe. Follow me, everyone." She averted her gaze and headed down the path to one side.
"That's why I keep telling you not to resort to violence whenever you run into a problem." March 7th spread her hands at Zhang Xiu as she walked.
Seeing that there was nothing left to do, Yaoshi quietly climbed from Zhang Xiu's hand onto her husband's shoulders and rested her chin on his head.
"But couldn't we just climb over and smash the alarm devices?" Zhang Xiu stubbornly muttered in his defense, though only Yaoshi could hear his grumbling.
"Haha." A smile curved her lips as her little hand stroked Zhang Xiu's cheek, as if comforting him.
Seeing that everyone had followed, Zhang Xiu strode after them.
Welt had already opened the side gate, which had also been sealed by the Stellaron, earning a round of praise from Qingque.
Everyone filed inside, only to come face-to-face with several Mara-Struck Soldiers.
"Are you surprised? Because I'm not surprised at all..." March 7th lowered her head and covered it with her hands, looking rather resigned.
"Now it's my turn, right?" With a smile and an "Excuse me," Zhang Xiu moved to the front and ran straight into a charged energy blast from one of the soldiers.
"Hey! Watch out!" Qingque cried, trying to pull Zhang Xiu back, only to be stopped by Stelle beside her.
Zhang Xiu extended his right hand and caught the energy blast head-on, without suffering so much as a scratch.
The next instant, his figure blurred, and he appeared behind the Mara-Struck Soldier. He had intended to cut off the soldier's head, but abruptly remembered that those whose mara had been triggered by the Stellaron could be saved. Instead, he flattened his right hand and struck the back of the soldier's neck.
Zhang Xiu knocked out the remaining Mara-Struck Soldiers in the same fashion. Yaoshi then stepped in to suppress their mara-struck condition, gradually restoring their original appearances.
"Qingque, can you still contact anyone here? How about asking them to look after these people?"
"Oh, oh! Sure. There should be a few people free right now..."
As she spoke, she took out her phone to contact her colleagues, but Yaoshi stopped her. "No need. These children shall awaken shortly. We need only leave a note instructing them to depart."
As she spoke, she gathered a few pages that appeared out of thin air with her right hand, tapped one of them a few times, and placed it in the hand of one of the unconscious people.
"Honey, do you think they'll understand the classical language you wrote that in?" Just one glance had shown Zhang Xiu at least five phonetic loan characters.
Yaoshi blinked, a little uncertain herself. "They... should, I suppose?"
"Aw, don't worry about that. We at the Divination Commission are at least that well educated." Qingque put her phone away and gestured for the two of them to relax.
"All right, let's keep going. If we run into anyone else who's become mara-struck, we'll handle them the same way. Speaking of which... is Fu Xuan really just letting Mara-Struck Soldiers wander around the Divination Commission?"
"These people probably only became mara-struck recently. The Lord Diviner needs to focus on the interrogation, so naturally she has no time to attend to things here." Qingque continued walking.
"Besides, those who become mara-struck because of the Stellaron can be saved, unlike those who've reached the end of their lifespan. So leaving them alone and dealing with them later isn't out of the question."
"Didn't a new species join the Xianzhou a few days ago? Why not ask them to help?" Zhang Xiu clapped his hands and followed.
Before Qingque could answer, March 7th offered her own opinion. "Come on, how could the Xianzhou fully trust them already? An important department like the Divination Commission can't just let anyone walk in, no matter how you look at it, right?"
"Miss March 7th has a point. Only a very small number of the Skydeep have joined the Cloud Knights so far. The rest are either too restless or just want to enjoy their own little lives."
"You have to admit, they're something else, openly worshipping Yaoshi on the Xianzhou. Tsk, tsk, tsk... Back in the day, I wouldn't even have dared imagine it." Qingque shook her head.
After dragging out a Mara-Struck Soldier lurking in the shadows and knocking the soldier unconscious, Zhang Xiu looked at her. "Then when do you think they'll truly become part of the Xianzhou?"
"Well... hehe, I'm just coasting through life. What would I know about that? I'd suggest you ask the Lord Diviner. Her venerable ladyship knows plenty."
"All right, we're almost there. Up ahead is the Divination Commission's pride and joy, our large-scale Jade Abacus computing terminal-the Matrix of Prescience."
In the distance, an enormous ring rotating in midair caught everyone's attention. The structure hanging high in the sky, as though heaven and earth had been turned upside down, left them somewhat dazed.
"Along the way, I've heard people mention the term 'Jade Abacus' from time to time. Miss Qingque, what exactly is a Jade Abacus?" Welt drew his gaze away from the distance and looked down at Qingque in front of him.
"A Jade Abacus... is a Jade Abacus!"
Qingque lowered her head in thought, momentarily unable to put her words in order. But she quickly recovered and raised her head. "That's a good question, Mr. Yang. I can't answer it off the top of my head either. Let me think..."
After a lengthy explanation that left Zhang Xiu's head ready to burst, Stelle summed up the Jade Abacus:
"Isn't that just a computer?"
Her words won agreement from March 7th, who hadn't really followed the explanation either. "Oh... I guess it is. But 'Jade Abacus' sounds much nicer."
"And what ordinary computer has such a mystical origin? Technology personally guided by Nous..."
Qingque nodded unconcernedly. "Anyway, there's no need to get hung up on names. As long as the machinery runs properly, what difference is there between a Jade Abacus and a computer?"
"Just like today, all that matters is that someone guides you. Whether it's Qingque or White Sparrow doesn't matter one bit."
"Not quite. I'd actually rather like to make friends with you, Miss Qingque." Zhang Xiu smoothed his hair, which had become a little disheveled during the fighting.
He had to admit that long hair looked cool, but it really was a hassle.
"Hahaha, I'm just an ordinary nobody. How could I possibly be friends with someone like you..." Qingque merely laughed and declined Zhang Xiu's goodwill.
For someone who loved slacking off, nothing was more detestable than trouble. And judging by his earlier performance, befriending Zhang Xiu meant a whole heap of it.
"Oh? Little Sparrow, do you know the price of refusing me?" Feeling mischievous, he raised an eyebrow and made a show of preparing to send Jing Yuan a message.
Qingque's expression froze. Fortunately, Yaoshi explained in time, "My husband is merely jesting. Please do not take it to heart, Miss Qingque."
"Hehe, sorry about that. Whenever I see someone cute, I just want to tease them." Zhang Xiu put his phone away as well and looked apologetically at Qingque.
"It's fine, it's fine. But you really did give me a fright, sir..."
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