And that familiar call of "Qingque" brought Qingque back to her senses.
"Lord Diviner~~" Qingque called out pitifully, her eyes rimmed with red.
Fu Xuan's heart softened instantly. She reached out instinctively, pulled Qingque close, and stroked her head.
Qingque was her chosen candidate for the next Diviner, as well as a true friend. Although she hated to admit it, before Lingchen appeared, Qingque sometimes annoyed her, yet those were also the moments when she felt most relaxed.
"What happened?"
"Mainly, we can't have the next Diviner developing psychological problems already."
"I, I... ask Lingchen."
Qingque stammered for ages, but ultimately couldn't answer.
The gentle voice Fu Xuan had just used, so completely different from
her usual tone, brought tears to Qingque's eyes again.
Lingchen hurriedly channeled some power of [Elation] into Qingque to stabilize her emotions.
Then he gave a rough account of his story.
This time, he enveloped them all in the Pure Land.
The Pure Land was, after all, the "residence" of the Aeon Fuli. A casual bit of power from Aha couldn't invade it.
"Why would you tell a story like that out of nowhere?"
Fu Xuan was somewhat speechless.
Wasn't Lingchen just creating his own entertainment?
By now, Qingque had gradually recovered and sat up.
"Aha's aura affected us just now. Otherwise, her emotions couldn't have fluctuated so wildly. Damn it, if I get the chance, I'm going to water Yaoshi. Every single day."
Lingchen grumbled irritably.
"??? Why would you water the Plagues Author?" Fu Xuan asked in confusion.
"To see whether one can become two, two can become three, and three can become countless Yaoshis. Then they can all heal Aha's neck together and make them grow a head."
"Then I'll grab Aha's head and jam it into an electric fan."
"..." Listening to Lingchen's explanation, Fu Xuan instinctively pictured countless Yaoshis appearing throughout the universe. Wouldn't the Reignbow Arbiter go completely mad and keep firing arrows until they passed out?
Then she imagined Lingchen gripping Aha's newly healed head as it spun wildly.
Fu Xuan hurriedly shook her head, trying to banish those images.
"But just watering an Aeon wouldn't be enough, would it?"
Perhaps Lingchen's story had scared Qingque senseless, because she actually blurted that out in a daze.
"Then what else should I water them with? The essence of life?" "Essence? You're naughty!" Qingque's clever little mind worked it out, and she lowered her head with flushed cheeks.
"Ahem."
Fu Xuan hurriedly cleared her throat. She felt that if she didn't stop them, their conversation would veer off course.
"Lord Diviner, those things won't happen, right?" Although Qingque had recovered somewhat, she hadn't completely regained her composure.
Fu Xuan's cough reminded her, and she immediately thought of Lingchen's story again.
Fu Xuan considered it for a moment.
"From a standpoint of general rationality, with Lingchen here, those things certainly won't happen."
That was the promise Lingchen had given her.
It was also the confidence his identity gave her.
"But without Lingchen... by Xianzhou standards, Jing Yuan is already approaching the age when he could become mara-struck. With the situation shifting, and leaving aside the variable that is Lingchen, I've divined several upheavals whose timing I cannot fully determine. Though the details are vague, all of them are extremely ominous."
After Lingchen resolved the problem with her Divine Eye, Fu Xuan's divination abilities had improved dramatically.
Although Fu Xuan didn't spell it out, Qingque understood.
The things Lingchen had shown her could happen in the future.
"So, Little Sparrow, train properly now and develop your abilities. That way, when you take over as Diviner, you won't be completely clueless."
"Your talent far exceeds everyone else's."
Lingchen picked up where Fu Xuan left off.
"Although I'm here and can ensure that future won't happen, I can't guarantee that I'll be by your side every moment. Are you really willing to let Xuanbao shoulder everything alone? The Luofu's current generation is a little short on successors."
That was what he said, but Lingchen simply wanted to see how Qingque would apply herself.
After all, with him around, there was no chance of Jing Yuan becoming mara-struck.
Although Yanqing and the others still had a long way to go, as long as Jing Yuan was fine, things would be fine when the time came.
Perhaps his affection for Fu Xuan and the others had extended somewhat to the people around them.
But that wouldn't stop him from turning Yanqing into something else entirely.
"Still, you don't need to put too much pressure on yourself. I'll always be here."
Of course Qingque knew that. She took a deep breath, then looked seriously at Fu Xuan.
"I understand, but can I turn down the Seat of Divine Foresight's paperwork and just handle the Divination Commission's work?"
Understanding what was at stake was one thing. Wanting to slack off was another.
What happened today made Qingque realize that she probably couldn't escape that position. Since that was the case, she might as well do a better job. Her daily workload was fixed anyway.
But reality wasn't the story Lingchen had told. She had more time.
"Very well."
Ding! The doorbell suddenly rang at the entrance.
Chapter 81: Come, Let's Do a Divination
[Ding! Checked in before Topaz of Debt Retrieval, one of the Ten Stonehearts of the Interastral Peace Corporation's Strategic Investment Department. Reward obtained: Pela-geya Sergeyevna Character Card.] [Ding! Checked in before Aventurine of Stratagems, one of the Ten Stonehearts of the Interastral Peace Corporation's Strategic Investment Department. Reward obtained: Herrscher of Rebirth Character Card.] *Fuse the first one into a Blank Card.* [Ding! This Character Card has been fused into a Blank Card.] Lingchen ignored the system notifications in his mind and instead looked at the man and woman slowly approaching him.
The woman's figure was plainly the childbearing type. Her white hair had a few streaks of color, and her eyes looked a little like March 7th's, though they held more sharpness and intelligence than innocence.
Her overall bearing marked her as practical and responsible. At least, at first glance, Fu Xuan felt that the woman was somewhat similar to her.
The man wore an extravagant outfit filled with peacock motifs. He had blond hair and a pair of beautiful eyes.
"Miss Chart-Buyer and Little Peacock?" The two had just been admitted by Fu Xuan when they heard Lingchen's names for them. Despite the strange nicknames, neither showed any displeasure.
Aventurine didn't mind. That was simply his style of dress, and Lingchen's nickname was only teasing. He was perfectly composed.
Topaz, however, wondered privately when she had ever paid to manipulate anyone's rankings.
Why was that the nickname he used the moment they met?
"Hello, Mr. Lingchen. I'm Topaz, one of the Ten Stonehearts of the Corporation's Strategic Investment Department. This is my colleague, Aventurine."
"Hello, Mr. Lingchen."
"I'm Aventurine, one of the Ten Stonehearts."
"To think you already knew us. What an honor."
The two had already greeted Fu Xuan at the entrance, while Qingque took the opportunity to leave.
Still, both Aventurine and Topaz had taken note of Qingque's appearance.
Any girl who could come here to see Lingchen was no ordinary person.
"Heh, of course I know you, Kakavasha and Elena. I know all about both of you."
"We can discuss business later. Come, let's do a divination. Take two cards each."
With a wave of Lingchen's hand, seventy-eight cards with starry skies on their backs appeared before them.
Fu Xuan paused, tilting her head.
How come she hadn't known Lingchen could perform divination? Was he just fooling them?
The two exchanged glances, looked at the floating cards, and reached out.
Before an Emanator like Lingchen, especially an [Elation] Emanator, never mind performing divination-even if he pretended to be an Emanator of [Remembrance], they would have to play along.
Otherwise, they might become his entertainment.
They had their own strategies for dealing with followers of [Elation], such as the Masked Fools.
Besides, the fact that he could call them by their original names proved that, whether or not Lingchen actually knew divination, there was more to him than merely being an Emanator.
"Hmm, let me see. Hmm, just as expected."
With access to the Path of [Remembrance], he could indeed force a divination by incorporating the subject's memories. After all, he wasn't a professional, unlike those who had studied Divination Studies.
But this time, he wasn't performing any divination. He was only putting on a show.
As for his purpose-"What were the results of your divination?" Whether Lingchen could really do it or not, once a divination began, anyone would
feel some curiosity about the results. Topaz was no exception.
"Are you sure you want me to say it, little Elena?"
Lingchen's form of address brought a trace of embarrassed indignation to Topaz's eyes.
After all, aside from her parents, Francisco Debeski, the head of Market Group 166 of the Strategic Investment Department who had recognized and nurtured her talent and given her the opportunity to advance quickly to a higher stage, and now Madam Jade, no one had called her that.
Lingchen was the fourth.
"What, don't like what I'm calling you?" "No, I'm simply a little unused to that form of address from you."
Topaz shook her head.
If a nickname could persuade Lingchen to join the Corporation, or win his favor, that would be an incredible bargain.
Even calling him Daddy... no, that was still out of the question.
Lingchen smiled and shook his head.
"Your future... you can ask this young lady beside me. You should recognize her, right? Fu Xuan, Diviner of the Luofu's Divination Commission. She'll give you the answer. It would be somewhat inappropriate for me to give it myself."
Following Lingchen's suggestion, Topaz looked at Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan froze briefly. She knew what sort of relationship Topaz would have with Lingchen in the future without even performing a divination.
Sigh... this scoundrel.
Still, since Topaz was looking her way, she might as well divine it. It would only take activating her Divine Eye.
As her relationship with Lingchen grew increasingly close, she could see more and more information about him, although her Divine Eye still had to operate at full capacity.
So she had long since prepared herself for plenty of others. There were far more than just a few red threads attached to Lingchen.
Sure enough, although she could only divine a rough outline, Fu Xuan still saw a future scene of a flushed Topaz kissing Lingchen, affection brimming in her eyes.
This was the current extent of her divination: she could see a single clear image relating to the future.
But that was already enough to delight Fu Xuan, even if the reason she could divine this scene was that Lingchen would definitely do it in the future. His determination was so firm that she could see it.
Beyond that, she couldn't divine the things Lingchen was less firmly set on doing.
Thinking of that, Fu Xuan was still somewhat speechless.
Lingchen really was a lecher.
"I have divined it. But are you certain you wish to know?" Fu Xuan looked at Topaz seriously.
She hoped Topaz would say no. That would foil Lingchen's "scheme," or at least slow the development of their relationship.
Unfortunately, Topaz made the other choice.
"May I?"
Chapter 82: Aventurine and Topaz's Arrival
Fu Xuan sighed. She had already warned her; Topaz herself wanted to know. Indeed, if it had been some random person, Topaz might not have wanted to hear it, given her personality. But with Fu Xuan's standing...
Normally, it wouldn't be easy for Topaz to get Fu Xuan to perform a divination for her.
Fu Xuan sighed inwardly, shot Lingchen a glare, then approached Topaz and whispered a few words into her ear.
Lingchen watched Topaz go from curious to shocked, then blush, completely at a loss.