Fu Xuan had always believed that once she opened the third eye on her forehead, nothing in the world could escape her sight.
She was no longer that helpless little girl who could only watch as tragedies unfolded before her eyes. She was strong now—strong enough to see, to know, to control. The new Master Diviner, commanding tens of thousands of fortune-tellers across the Xianzhou. She was omniscient, all-knowing.
And now, she could prevent tragedy.
But—
When Fu Xuan rushed onto the battlefield, now shattered and silent, and saw Yu Xian lying among the hundreds of courses, her heart froze.
It wasn't until her trembling hand reached for him, fingertips brushing his chest, that she realized her arm passed straight through the gaping hole in his body—through where his heart should have been.
Only then did she understand once again:
She still couldn't do anything.
A step too late.
"Heh… hah… haha…"
Fu Xuan laughed. A hollow, scornful sound.
She was laughing at herself—for her arrogance, for believing that fate would bend before her.
So what if her divinations were flawless? So what if her calculations were perfect? In the end, she couldn't even protect one man. One subordinate. One person she cared for.
Yes—she had foreseen it.
Just before it happened, an unbearable pain had stabbed through the third eye on her forehead. Amidst that searing agony, she had seen Yu Xian's future.
He would die in battle, protecting others. He would die to the Denizens of Abundance, cut down by jealous colleagues from the Divination Commission and a Vidyadhara assassin.
She had divined it! She had known!
Her teeth sank into her lip, blood spilling slowly down her chin. But she didn't care.
Because she remembered what came after.
The instant she saw that future, she had risen to leave—determined to reach Yu Xian, to stand between him and death.
With her power, she could have annihilated those rebels in a heartbeat. If she had gone, this tragedy would never have happened.
But—
Why had the Dragon Elders chosen that moment, of all times, to act? Why, at the very instant Yu Xian was surrounded, did those decrepit old fools stage their rebellion?
Why had General Jing Yuan summoned her so urgently, commanding her to the court for deliberation at the exact same time?!
The timing had been too perfect. The summons—too binding.
Military orders were absolute. The matters between the Xianzhou and the Dragon race—too grave to delay.
And so, no matter how desperately she wanted to run to Yu Xian's side, she couldn't.
By the time she finally finished appeasing those damned Elders…
Yu Xian was already gone.
"Damn it… damn it all…"
Fu Xuan fell to her knees, her white stockings soaking up blood and dust. The girl who was always so poised, so immaculate, so certain of herself—now looked utterly broken.
In her arms, Yu Xian's body felt weightless. Too light. Terrifyingly light.
He had always been taller than her, broader than her, full of life. So why now… did he feel like nothing at all?
Like if she loosened her grip, he would drift away—like a feather caught in the wind—rising, rising, until he disappeared into the distant sky.
Never to be found again.
"…You bastard."
Her voice trembled. Slowly, she shifted, holding him closer, fighting the tears burning in her eyes.
Through the bitterness, through the pain rising in her throat, she whispered,
"I had such high hopes for you… You were the one I admired most."
"Your talent far surpassed mine. If you had only protected yourself—just once—in a few years, even the title of Master Diviner would have been yours…"
"You would have done so much better than I ever could."
Her voice cracked.
"So why were you so reckless? Why didn't you care for your own future? Why couldn't you have waited just a little longer—for the Cloud Knights to arrive, for the soldiers to crush those enemies?"
"How could you… leave without my permission?"
There was no answer.
Yu Xian lay still, silent, untouched by her trembling voice.
Fu Xuan's eyes reddened.
"Yu Xian! Stop pretending to sleep! This isn't funny!" Her voice broke, rising in desperation. "Don't scare me like this! Get up—it's time for work!"
Still, he didn't answer.
Her heart was crumbling.
"Get up! If you stand up now, I'll forgive this ridiculous joke of yours! I'll give you a raise—a promotion! I won't scold you anymore, I won't assign you extra work, I won't—" Her voice wavered. "You can be like Qingque, slacking off all day, clocking in and out whenever you want…"
"Please… whatever you want… I'll grant it…"
Her words came faster, her tone growing desperate. Her lips quivered, cheeks trembling, waiting for him to laugh.
To open his eyes. To grin and tease her:
"Surprise! Hehehe, Master Diviner, didn't expect this, did you?"
She wanted this to be his revenge on her. A stupid prank. Anything but this.
But of course—Fu Xuan hoped alone. And was disappointed alone.
Yu Xian's body remained motionless.
And colder.
Her hands began to shake. Her voice turned ragged with disbelief.
"Enough! It's just a hole in your chest! For the people of the Xianzhou, that kind of injury heals in days! The curse of abundance, that plague blessing—"
Her voice faltered. The words caught in her throat.
Because she knew.
She had always known.
Yu Xian was not one of them.
The people of the Luofu Xianzhou were divided into four kinds. The so-called Xianzhou natives—people like her and Qingque—long-lived species blessed by Abundance, their bodies healing from wounds within moments.
Then came the Foxians, like Yukong and Tingyun—still long-lived, with centuries to their name, their wounds healing in weeks at most.
Even the Vidyadhara, mysterious and quiet, could recover from mortal injuries with time.
But Outworlders…
Those born beyond the Xianzhou. Those without Abundance in their blood.
A wound like this—just one small hole—was already fatal.
There was no saving him.
No matter how powerful her divination was, how flawless her foresight—she couldn't change that.
And so, under the endless, blood-soaked sky, Fu Xuan held him tighter, her voice breaking into a whisper that no one could hear.
"…I saw everything. But I still couldn't stop it."
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A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon.
patreon.com/deadlygoober