The diviners' eyes gleamed with gossip. Living such long lives on the Xianzhou had one advantage: most people knew their own limits.
So most of them felt only envy and curiosity toward Lingchen.
Of course, they still had not fully confirmed his identity.
Fu Xuan, meanwhile, was already beginning to regret this.
She had noticed the diviners' gossip-hungry looks on the way in. By now, their imaginations had probably soared into the heavens.
No wonder this man stood so close to me when he came in. The scoundrel.
"Would you like some milk tea?"
Lingchen's gentle voice sounded beside Fu Xuan's ear. She looked closely and found that, at some point, a cup of milk tea with an exceptionally appealing color had appeared in his hand.
"No. I'm still working."
Fu Xuan felt embarrassed and annoyed. Could this man not notice the diviners' little movements?
Their office area was not completely partitioned off.
"What, you don't want any? This cup tastes every bit as good as yesterday's."
Fu Xuan had to admit he was telling the truth. The aroma alone told her it would be delicious.
She liked sweet drinks such as milk tea because of the pain she had once suffered in her forehead and the energy divination consumed. But ultimately, she also genuinely enjoyed sweet flavors. Drinking them made her happy.
"Have some. It's warm. Neither too cold nor too hot is good for you."
Smiling, Lingchen set the milk tea in front of Fu Xuan and even inserted the straw for her.
"N-no need to put it right in front of me. I can take it myself."
Fu Xuan quickly picked up the milk tea. She was so embarrassed that her toes curled inside her stockings.
Does this man know what he's doing? People will get the wrong idea when he does things like this.
But Lingchen's expression remained perfectly normal, as though he knew nothing.
Forget it. As the Diviner, all I need is to know there's nothing improper between Lingchen and me.
After all, he lived with her. If she overthought every little thing all day, she would exhaust herself.
Qingque sneaked a look at Lingchen, then at Fu Xuan.
Well, well. Something's definitely going on here.
Fu Xuan noticed Qingque's furtive glances.
"Qingque, if you want to look, do it openly. If you want to try the milk tea too, ask Lingchen. He should have more."
Fu Xuan did not remember this kind of milk tea being sold on the Luofu, so Lingchen had probably created it with his own abilities.
Such as his authority over the Path of Elation.
But this really tastes amazing. Darn it. If I drink too much of this, the Luofu's milk tea might become impossible to swallow.
Who would have imagined an Emanator's abilities could do this-or would be used for this!
And what he made was real, not an illusion.
Fu Xuan could not help marveling at an Emanator's power.
"Would you like some, little Qingque?"
Lingchen took out another cup of milk tea.
Since Fu Xuan had brought Qingque up, he naturally would not favor one over the other.
After all, he liked Qingque too.
Fu Xuan and Qingque were not master and disciple, but they came fairly close.
After all, Fu Xuan always had Qingque's interests in mind. Training her as her successor was much like passing on a master's legacy to a disciple.
That was an excellent relationship tag.
Fu Xuan glanced at Lingchen without saying anything.
"I get one too?"
Qingque was rather surprised. Wasn't this something he had bought beforehand?
As for what Lingchen called her, she could not stop him anyway, so she let it go.
"Of course. It tastes great."
"How many Credits is it? I'll transfer them to you."
"Just add me as a contact. No need for Credits." Lingchen placed the milk tea in front of Qingque and inserted a straw for her as well.
"Consider this an apology for my joke earlier. Making that sort of joke to a girl I've only just met was a little inappropriate, after all."
Lingchen marveled at his own integrity, while privately planning to present Qingque with an honorary banner the next time Fu Xuan caught her slacking off. It would read, "Founder of the Slacking Group: President Qingque."
"All right, then I'll accept it."
He seems pretty nice, actually. Not at all like an Emanator of Elation.
P.S. Thanks to Qingkong Baishui for the monthly ticket.
Thanks to Kongcheng Mo Li for the monthly ticket.
Thank you all for your support. Your flowers and votes are my greatest motivation to keep updating.
Chapter 27: Blank Character Card
Over the next five months, the Divination Commission gradually grew accustomed to Lingchen's presence.
Although Lingchen only visited occasionally, he always brought Fu Xuan a cup of milk tea when he did. It was exactly the same as the milk tea she usually drank at the Divination Commission.
Some diviners had even gone out specifically to search for it. Not only was there none around Central Starskiff Haven, even Aurum Alley had no milk tea with similar packaging.
One diviner had caught its aroma while handing documents to the Diviner, but could not find that flavor anywhere on the Luofu.
Later, Fu Xuan told him that the diviner had eventually resigned to go home and research milk tea recipes. She had tried twice to dissuade the diviner without success, then finally approved the resignation.
This made many people at the Divination Commission envy Qingque. She could drink the milk tea too, even though she had never cared so much about it before.
Then a rumor spread throughout the Divination Commission: Lingchen made the milk tea himself specifically to win Diviner Fu over through her stomach.
And it was not just the Diviner who was close to Lingchen. Qingque, who often sought him out to play tiles, probably had an unusual relationship with him too. After all, she was one of only two people who got to drink that milk tea.
Qingque gradually became familiar with Lingchen as well. Her first two months had been truly miserable, as she worked alongside Fu Xuan every day. Whenever Lingchen visited, she received a cup of milk tea too.
After that, she was even further removed from her old job in the archives. Although Fu Xuan no longer required Qingque to follow her around every day, she had only reduced her assignments a little. Within a short time, Qingque had been promoted to Senior Diviner.
Of course, misery was relative. When Qingque's mother learned that she was working alongside Fu Xuan, she was so delighted that she could not stop smiling.
Lingchen had met her a few times too. Since he made a good impression every time, Qingque's mother grew very fond of him and did everything she could to bring him and Qingque together. Even after learning from Qingque that he lived at the Diviner's home, she did not give up.
Anyone would know which to choose between a job and an exceptional man. You could find another job, but if you let a man like that slip away, he was gone.
With her mother constantly nagging her, even Qingque began to look at Lingchen differently. After all, aside from being particularly good to Fu Xuan, he treated her very well too.
Except that once, when she was caught slacking off, Lingchen not only refused to help her but presented her with an honorary banner. Within a few days, under Fu Xuan's intense pressure, she added several more achievements to her record and became a Senior Diviner.
During these months, Lingchen spent his time drinking tea, taking his bird out, wandering around the Divination Commission, or going to Aurum Alley with Bailu for snacks and outings. Sometimes he visited other places or gave Yanqing some instruction.
Perhaps the Vidyadhara had somehow learned that Lingchen was an Emanator of Elation. To avoid becoming his entertainment, and for the sake of their plans, no one stopped Bailu as long as she was going out with him.
This also made Bailu completely dependent on Lingchen. If it had not been immediately obvious that they belonged to different races, anyone could have taken them for family.
As for other places-or rather, the people Lingchen had originally been familiar with-he had actually met very few of them.
That was reasonable. Although Lingchen's daily routine was not confined to a handful of places, and he was too restless to stay put-even Meng Ming, the owner of the Sleepless Earl, and Mr. Xiyan, the storyteller, knew him now-the Luofu itself was enormous.
Unfortunately, he could only check in with Xiyan, the storyteller. He could not check in with Meng Ming.
A check-in gave him a Scott character card. When Lingchen examined Scott's Emanator-level concepts, three terms appeared before his eyes: "snide sarcasm," "bad luck," and "ill fortune."
After repeatedly confirming that these effects would apply to him too, he immediately dismantled it into a Blank Character Card.
Once he accumulated three Blank Character Cards, he could duplicate a character card he had already used or currently possessed. This was another way the system patched things to help him improve his strength.
After all, some character cards, such as Hook's, Lynx's, or Bailu's, had very few lines suitable for him.
Although he had gained an Emanator of Elation's abilities and enjoyed amusing things, he had no intention of entertaining himself by reciting little girls' lines. Even Sampo would not do that. Wouldn't that make him a second shameless Aha?
Rather than settle for meager rewards, he might as well exchange them for Blank Character Cards. After all, identical character cards could undergo a qualitative transformation.
These past few months had long since dispelled most of Jing Yuan's wariness. He was simply curious that Fu Xuan had apparently never asked Lingchen to move out, as though she had already grown used to life with him around.
He also felt that Yanqing had changed in some way, but after thinking it over, he could not quite put his finger on it.
"Benefactor~"
On Xuanye Avenue, Lingchen was about to go sit at the Sleepless Earl when he unexpectedly heard a familiar voice.
"Why, if it isn't Duke Tingyun. Not out trading today? The Minghuo Merchant Group hasn't run out of money to pay its employees, has it?"
Tingyun approached with a graceful sway, a smile on her lovely face and a shimmering gleam in her emerald eyes. The two fox ears atop her head twitched, immediately drawing Lingchen's gaze. Then there was her fluffy tail, which he had only touched twice. It felt absolutely exquisite.
Soft and fragrant, it told anyone at a glance that its owner took meticulous care of herself.
And those little feet, with translucent, jewel-like toes peeking out just enough, paired with her custom-made shoes, made for an irresistible sight.
"Please don't call me that, benefactor. I'm merely a minor administrative official, hardly worthy of the title of duke. Besides, I can't help feeling there's a little malice behind that name."
Tingyun gave Lingchen a helpless, reproachful look.
There was a reason for that. While trading on another world, she had learned that a nearby civilization had just been attacked by the Annihilation Gang. The attackers were the Ever-Flame Mansion, whose master was Duke Inferno.
This little fox has pretty sharp instincts. So how did she end up crashing and becoming Jailbird Tingyun? Sure, she won the resurrection round afterward, but her purity had already changed.
Lingchen thought back to three months earlier. Back then, Qingque was still suffering a depraved downfall... working intensely under Fu Xuan, while he-
P.S. Two more chapters to go. I'll do my best to write them.
Sorry, I may have caught a cold last night. My head has felt foggy all day, and the medicine hasn't helped much.
Chapter 28: Three Months Earlier, What a Laugh
"Sir, you're here. Are you looking for the general?"
One day three months earlier, Lingchen happened to encounter Yanqing coming out of the Seat of Divine Foresight.
"Yes. Yanqing, how many of those moves have you learned?"
"I've learned all of them, but there's still something I don't understand. Shouldn't swordplay be honorable and straightforward?"
Yanqing scratched his head. He had learned all thirty-six forms of Underhanded Swordsmanship that Lingchen had taught him. These included the Evil-Repelling Flying Sword, which involved burying flying swords beforehand and suddenly shooting them up from the ground during a fierce battle, and Uncanny Swordsmanship, which involved attacking from behind. None of it fit his bold, sweeping approach to the sword.
"That brings us to the next lesson I've prepared for you. Yanqing, do you know what you study the sword for, and why you wield it?"
Yanqing froze. He had never considered that before. He had been exceptionally gifted and interested in swords from childhood, so he had begun learning swordsmanship at an early age, then continued studying under General Jing Yuan.
All he knew was that his talent remained exceptional. Under Jing Yuan's guidance, he had defeated every peer on the Xianzhou. Even those older than him, including people who had served in the Cloud Knights for years, fell easily before him. The next Sword Champion's position was practically his already, and he was working toward that goal.
But he seemed never to have considered why he wielded his sword. He simply wielded it because he wanted to.
"If you swing your sword just because you feel like it, without ever considering why, then you're not suited to being a Cloud Knight. You're better suited to being an actor. Everyone has a reason for wielding a sword. Some seek fame and fortune, some revenge, some to kill their enemies, and some to protect others. Each has a reason, and they follow it through to the end."
Lingchen patted Yanqing's shoulder.
"By Xianzhou standards, you're still young, but your position places a heavy burden on you. So you must understand why you wield your sword."
"I..."
"There's no need to rush. Think about why the Cloud Knights wield their swords when they enter the battlefield. Why did those who never returned wield theirs? Once you've thought that through, you'll know why you wield your own."
"Yanqing, strictly speaking, the techniques I taught you aren't swordsmanship. They're methods for hurting people and catching them off guard. After all, as I told you, I don't know swordsmanship. But you must understand that a battlefield changes in an instant. You may want an honorable fight, but the Cloud Knights dying at enemy hands while you duel their leader honorably won't feel the same way."
"In a sparring match, you can fight honorably. But on the battlefield, any swordsmanship that kills the enemy and lets even one more of your soldiers survive is the best swordsmanship."
Lingchen delivered his lesson in complete earnest. Yanqing was stubborn and straightforward. Simply reasoning with him would get nowhere, so approaching the issue from another angle was more effective.
"You're right, sir. I was too fixated on appearances."
The mere thought of winning an honorable victory while causing many more Cloud Knights to die turned Yanqing's face pale.
For the Xianzhou and the Reignbow, the Cloud Knights did not fear death. But they could not be allowed to die indirectly because of their own comrades.
In a war against the Denizens of Abundance, a single deployment involved far more than ten thousand people.
"All right, give it some serious thought. Once you understand, your state of mind will advance to the next stage. Then we'll begin your next lesson."
"Yes."