"Although Jing Yuan laid out my problems for me, why do I feel these were actually things you wanted to say?" "You're right."
"..." Fu Xuan's lips twitched, and she sighed helplessly.
"Fine. You weren't wrong, either. That is simply my temperament. Because of your presence, when I asked Jing Yuan again, he told me the truth. The future is uncertain, but as I am now, my personality could make me an excellent Diviner, but never a qualified general.
"A general must consider the bigger picture and the majority. A general cannot act rashly and must know how to take a roundabout approach. These traits suit Qingque very well, so Jing Yuan and I discussed
"having both of us mentor her, to see which role ultimately suits her better."
Qingque really did have a good head on her shoulders. Fu Xuan had once divined her future: either an unremarkable life or a position as Diviner.
That was why Fu Xuan had been nurturing her.
But there was another, faint possibility in her future: becoming a general.
Reluctant as she was to admit it, Qingque really did have that chance.
"Then have you divined whether you'll remain the Diviner or become a general?" Fu Xuan shook her head.
"I cannot divine matters concerning myself accurately. I only saw that Jing Yuan would face a crisis in the future and I would take over as general. But if Jing Yuan retires earlier, that crisis will most likely be delayed."
That was also one reason she wanted to become general sooner. After all, she really did want the position.
But Qingque was often around when Lingchen spent time with her, and gradually, Fu Xuan discovered another hidden talent of Qingque's.
It was a talent somewhat similar to Jing Yuan's.
So, although she insisted she would not let Qingque go, she still let Jing Yuan get involved.
All so Qingque could take the path best suited to her.
After all, "Ever since you arrived, certain possibilities in the future have vanished, whether for Jing Yuan, Qingque, me, or the Luofu.
"It is as though we have broken free of fate."
As she spoke, Fu Xuan fell into confusion.
The future was already determined. She only wanted to know it in advance and find the most suitable fate.
She seemed both the person who believed most in fate and the person who trusted it least.
But now, everything seemed to have veered away from her expectations.
And so, her desire for the general's position had cooled somewhat.
"Yes. Because I came, the future changed. I just didn't expect you to have the willpower to resist looking at your future with me."
"Hmph. It is either something embarrassing or something that makes me angry. I have no intention of looking."
After returning to Yuque to see her family and then coming back to the Luofu, Fu Xuan had finally tried a divination using herself as the anchor. Although she had only glanced vaguely at it, the result still left her flushed with anger.
There really was more than one! "Anyway, although I still want to become general, it is no longer absolutely necessary. Qingque can choose between the two positions. As long as I get a chance to experience it, that will be enough."
Fu Xuan solemnly explained that everything she had done was for the Luofu.
"What is happening over there?" Suddenly, in the nighttime shadows where a tree blocked the moonlight, Fu Xuan seemed to spot a little girl squeezing something in her hands.
Chapter 73: We Are All Children of the Stars
Following Fu Xuan's pointing finger, Lingchen also spotted the girl with a tail.
She appeared to be a Foxian. But she seemed to be crying.
"She really is eleven years old?" Lingchen was a little surprised. By probing with the [Life] Path's [Purification], he confirmed her age.
This was the first actual child he had seen in all his time on the Luofu.
"Isn't that perfectly normal? Wait, you can tell someone's age at a glance?" "Is that hard? A hundred..." Lingchen raised an eyebrow.
Lingchen decided that whenever he met someone older from now on, he would first remind them that he was still a cute little youngster.
"Stop. Some things need not be said."
Fu Xuan's expression darkened. A little embarrassed and annoyed, she stood on tiptoe and covered Lingchen's mouth.
Because Lingchen had originally been a short-lived species, his age really was little different from a toddler's compared to Fu Xuan's.
If not for their different views on age, Fu Xuan truly would have struggled to make a move on Lingchen.
Nothing else was meant by that. He was simply too young.
"Little girl, why are you crying here all alone? Where is your mother? Although the Luofu is safe at night, being alone can still be dangerous."
Fu Xuan could be forgiven. She had never spoken to anyone in such a gentle voice before.
Ever since she could remember, she had needed to watch her words and actions. After becoming Diviner, her small stature and cute appearance had made it even more important to establish an imposing image.
Now that she wanted to comfort someone, she realized she had no idea what to say.
Hearing her voice, the little girl stopped crying and raised her head.
When she saw Fu Xuan, she said with some surprise, "Y-you're the Lord Diviner?" Her voice was soft and sweet, pleasant to Lingchen's ears, but her ears drooped slightly.
"I did not expect you to recognize me."
The Luofu was enormous, while the Diviner worked in just one location. Not everyone recognized her. Most people knew of the Diviner, but did not know her face.
The little girl nodded, and something like the image of her mother flashed through her eyes.
"My mother once saw you. She told me about you, too.
"Back then, you..." But as she spoke, she no longer wanted to continue. A child's emotions faded quickly, but returned just as quickly. In an instant, tears welled in her eyes again.
"Since you're the Diviner, may I ask you a few questions?" Hugging the doll in her arms, the little girl looked at Fu Xuan through tearful eyes.
"...Go ahead."
"Is it really right for us to keep following in the footsteps of the great Reignbow Arbiter? Am I all alone now?" Faced with these questions from the little Foxian girl standing so close, Fu Xuan fell silent.
Was it right? In Fu Xuan's eyes, it was. Even the higher-ups who harbored objections considered it right.
It was also right for the soldiers who died for their convictions and faith.
But for the children left behind, still barely beginning to understand the world, perhaps it was not.
Xianzhou natives lived long lives, so adulthood was determined not by age, but by an assessment.
As such, unless the population was declining, they were given plenty of time to grow up.
And despite following the Reignbow's trail on the Hunt for years, the Xianzhou's population had only increased.
So most eleven-year-olds were genuine children, just like children of short-lived species.
Although the little Foxian girl before her had not said what had happened to her parents, her questions alone had given Fu Xuan the answer.
All alone. That was the child's answer.
She had not expected to encounter something like this while taking a stroll alone with Lingchen.
This was a real world. Battlefields changed in an instant, and casualties were always the norm. That was why the Xianzhou provided extensive support for orphans. After being sent to orphanages, they would be raised until they could each find a life suited to them.
This girl had probably sneaked out of an orphanage instead of sleeping tonight.
"This is where Mommy gave me this little bear. She said, 'For the Xianzhou and its people, Mommy often has to go far away. So, Xiaoqian, if you miss Mommy, come sit here, and Mommy will feel how much you miss her.'"
The little Foxian girl rocked the teddy bear in her arms, then raised her head and looked at Fu Xuan expectantly again.
"Lord Diviner, do you think Mommy can feel that I miss her? Will Mommy be lonely?" Faced with the little girl's clear, innocent gaze, Fu Xuan could not go against her conscience.
Even if saying more might lead this little girl into another abyss in the future.
"Xiaoqian, I cannot answer your questions from my perspective.
"But to me, following in the Reignbow Arbiter's footsteps is not only for the Xianzhou. It is also to preserve more civilizations, conquer Abominations, and sweep away the haze.
"Our [Hunt] has never been meaningless. It is for a better tomorrow."
"...
She did not want the little girl to know the other, less "righteous" meanings behind [The Hunt].
Because she was not yet ready to touch that darkness.
So all Fu Xuan could offer were these grand reasons and principles.
After all, these were also the reasons held by most people of the Xianzhou, as well as the Cloud Knights and the pilots.
"But why did the Reignbow never show my mother any mercy when she fought for her faith? I..." Just as the little girl was about to say more, a large hand, warm and reassuring, settled on her head.
A little surprised, she looked up and met Lingchen's gentle eyes.
"Big brother?" "Xiaoqian, let me answer some of your questions first. Actually, you aren't alone, and neither is your mother."
Lingchen crouched down and stroked the little girl's head.
"Because we're all the same. We're all children of the stars."
"Children... of the stars?" Xiaoqian did not quite understand. She looked up at the sky, then back at Lingchen, her clear eyes filled with confusion.
"Beyond the Luofu's false sky, the stars in the universe have always been watching us, looking over us. It's just that, living inside the Luofu, we've never felt their light."
P.S. Thanks to Yae Yingyingying for the monthly ticket.
Compared with taking the national civil service exam, the author would actually prefer the life shown in the picture.
Chapter 74: If the Future Could Also Become Stars
"In other words, the stars have watched Xiaoqian grow up~" The little Foxian before him was only eleven years old. That meant she was an actual child, unlike Qingque.
Xiaoqian blinked. She seemed to be thinking, but then she shook her head. "But there are so many stars in the sky. Each one is so big and so bright. Compared with the stars, we must be as tiny as little ants on the ground.
"Why would they care whether we live or die?" Hearing the little girl turn the question back on him, Lingchen kept his expression unchanged, but felt a little surprised. He had not expected her to seemingly grasp his hidden meaning.
Perhaps this girl would grow into quite a talent.
He shook his head and said gently, "Just as they're so big and so bright, they're also so very far away from us. How could we know they don't care?" "Do they care, too?" The little girl looked bewildered.
"How do you know they don't care? Perhaps they get lonely, too.
"Look..." Lingchen gently waved toward the sky, and the canopy changed instantly. Fu Xuan could see it clearly: that was the starry sky outside, the real starry sky.
The Luofu itself had no atmosphere, so looking upward revealed only darkness, with tiny points of light flickering in its endless depths.
Faint starlight spilled down. Lingchen frowned slightly and released a little [Elation] energy, covering the ground in a soft glow again just as darkness threatened to envelop it.
Damn it. I forgot that the distances between stars only look small. They're actually incredibly far apart. There really aren't many stars within however many light-years of the Luofu. Without its simulated weather system, the sky is pitch-black, and so is the ground.
Nearly botched that.
The little girl also raised her head and stared at the sky with wide eyes.
Her mother had once described the true starry sky to her, but this was the first time she had seen it.
"They're so far apart. The stars are probably lonely, too. But they never speak. They only shine faintly, watching us grow little by little in the endless night. And we gaze at them, too, keeping them company as they give off their gentle light.
"Xiaoqian, do you know why stars are called stars? It isn't because that was always their name. It's because we gave them that name: stars."
Lingchen picked the little girl up and stood.
"It's because of us that they're called stars."
The little girl quietly repeated Lingchen's words.
"That's right. Because of our hearts, because we have hearts, 'stars' came to exist.
"Just as your mother said, our longing can cross any distance and connect two stars."
Lingchen also looked up at the sky, as though he could see the homeland of his previous life.
No matter how wonderful this world was, he was ultimately a visitor from another world. This was not his home.
"In my old homeland, where there were no gods, people had a saying. When a loved one passes away, they haven't truly left you. They've become the brightest star in the sky, lighting your way forward through the night.
"And in this world where gods exist, perhaps your family really has become a star. She's watching you from the sky. It's only because she's so very far away that all she can do is listen.
"But you're different, Xiaoqian. You can talk to her and send that star your longing. That longing will become the star's fire and make it shine. So a star with you to keep it company won't be lonely, and with a star beside you, you won't be lonely either. Because its light will also illuminate the road ahead of you."
Lingchen pointed at the ground, where his shadow and the little girl's were faintly visible beneath the "starlight."
"Is that really true?" Xiaoqian looked bewildered. She felt that Lingchen was comforting her, but perhaps what he said was true. "But because Mommy followed a god, even if she's become a star, she can never come back.
"Big brother, do you think the faith Mommy talked about really matters?" Here it comes.
Fu Xuan's heart tightened. This was the question the little girl had asked her at the very beginning.
"Faith, huh."
Lingchen raised his head and looked at the sky.