Earlier that day, Qingque's luck at the gaming table had been nothing short of miraculous. She kept winning hand after hand, easily sweeping aside her usual rivals. The tiles seemed to favor her every draw, and laughter filled the air. It had been a truly joyful day—until now.
—
The Luofu, Seat of Divine Foresight.
Qingque, who had sprinted here as fast as her trembling legs could carry her, now knelt on the cold floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Her tears fell one after another, soaking into the pristine marble beneath her.
In her arms lay Yu Xian's body.
No warmth. No breath. No pulse.
Just the empty shell of the man she loved.
The realization struck again and again like a cruel hammer: he was dead.
How? How could this be?!
She had seen it herself—the divination she performed before he left had shown nothing but fortune. It had said he would be safe, that his path would be "Greatly Auspicious." And the news reports had confirmed it—Yu Xian had single-handedly defeated the Denizens of Abundance, rescuing hostages and turning the tide of chaos.
Wasn't that proof he was fine?
So why... why was he lying here, lifeless in her arms?
The more she tried to understand, the less sense it made. Even while she had sat at the gaming table, smiling and laughing, a hollow unease had been growing inside her. Her hands had trembled; her chest had ached.
It was as if her heart had known before she did—something terrible had happened.
When that unease became unbearable, Qingque had picked up her jade abacus once again, desperate to confirm the truth.
Her hands had shaken so badly she could barely complete the reading, but when the result appeared—
[Yu Xian is already dead.]
[His body lies within the Seat of Divine Foresight.]
—her world shattered.
Her mind went blank. The divination results swirled before her eyes like a nightmare she couldn't wake from.
"No… no, that can't be right!"
She'd leapt to her feet, overturning the table. Her friends had shouted in confusion, but she didn't hear them. She ran.
Faster than she'd ever run before.
Through crowded streets, through the chaos left in the wake of the attack, all the way to the Seat of Divine Foresight.
It must be wrong, she kept telling herself. It has to be wrong!
She was just a lazy clerk who played cards all day—of course she could've made a mistake in her divination! Yu Xian was fine. He had to be fine.
Even if he scolded her later for worrying too much, that would be fine. She'd laugh, he'd pinch her cheek, and everything would be okay again...
—
Now, her forehead pressed gently against his cold one, Qingque could no longer lie to herself.
"Hey... Yu Xian..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Get up, okay? Talk to me... I'm scared."
Her tears wet his unmoving face.
"C-call me an idiot... tease me... just—please, open your eyes."
"I won today, you know?" she said, forcing a broken laugh through her sobs. "I was really lucky today! I didn't lose a single game... So... so—"
Her words choked off.
So come play cards with me again.
So tell me I'm lucky.
So tell me... you're still alive.
But no matter how tightly she held him, Yu Xian didn't move.
"I'm not lucky at all..." she whispered. "I'm not happy... How could I be... like this?"
Her body trembled violently as grief overtook her.
"Why?"
"I did the divination, Yu Xian! Before you left, I read your fortune! The omen—" Her voice broke. "It was supposed to be greatly auspicious!"
Lifting her tear-streaked face, Qingque turned toward Fu Xuan—the very superior she usually dreaded.
Now, her gaze was desperate, pleading, clinging to the faintest glimmer of denial.
"Master Diviner... there's been a mistake, hasn't there?" she begged. "It was my reading that was wrong, right? This is some kind of prank, isn't it? Yu Xian's hiding somewhere, watching me panic and laughing at me, right?"
Her voice cracked, her words dissolving into sobs.
No answer came.
Fu Xuan stood before her, silent and pale, her usually composed expression frozen with grief. Slowly—agonizingly slowly—she shook her head.
"Qingque," Fu Xuan said quietly, her voice low and raw, "stop deceiving yourself."
Her tone carried no sharpness, only sorrow—like the tolling of a distant funeral bell.
"Yu Xian... has sacrificed himself."
Qingque's breath hitched. Her eyes widened as tears spilled anew, streaming down her face unchecked.
She turned stiffly toward the tall figure standing beside Fu Xuan—General Jing Yuan.
"G-General... Jing Yuan...?" Her lips quivered as she tried to speak. "That's... that's not true, right?"
Jing Yuan closed his eyes briefly, exhaling a slow, heavy sigh before shaking his head.
"The departed has passed, Qingque," he said softly. "Please, accept your grief."
He hesitated, his voice thick with regret.
"It was my failure that I could not have Fu Xuan save him. But we have uncovered leads—those responsible for the chaos on the Luofu and Yu Xian's death will not escape justice. With time, we will—"
He stopped.
Because Qingque wasn't listening.
The girl sat frozen on the floor, clutching Yu Xian's lifeless body as if letting go would mean losing him forever. Her vacant eyes stared into nothingness.
Jing Yuan said nothing more.
He knew there were no words left that could reach her now.
No comfort, no justice, no vengeance could fill the hollow left behind by that single, unbearable truth.
So, in the heavy silence of the Seat of Divine Foresight, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan said nothing—and simply let Qingque weep.
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Life Simulator: Starting in Genshin Impact!
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
patreon.com/deadlygoober