Perhaps she had checked the Divination Commission's surveillance records.
Perhaps she had received a report from a subordinate. Or perhaps, on a mere whim, she had cast a divination for Qingque...
Whatever the reason, in the dead of night, Fu Xuan made a disheartening discovery.
Qingque was not cheerfully clocking out to enjoy her evening as she once did.
On the contrary — she had returned to her workstation again, shutting herself away in that small, dark, and lonely office.
It was as if Qingque were running from something. Or perhaps, trying desperately to fix something that could no longer be mended.
Fu Xuan pressed her lips together.
Anger. Sorrow. Helplessness. Pity. Regret.
Ever since she learned that Qingque hadn't gone home, these emotions had flooded her heart — driving her through the cold night to find her subordinate.
As for why Qingque had become like this... Fu Xuan no longer needed to ask. Nor did she have the power to change it. The tragedy of Yu Xian had already happened, and no matter how much effort she poured into working with Jing Yuan — rooting out traitors, punishing corrupt nobles, cleansing the rot from within the ranks — none of it could alter that truth.
Yu Xian was dead.
And Fu Xuan could not bring him back.
The only thing she could still do — the only thing left within her reach — was to take Qingque home.
Now, breathless from her hurried journey, chilled by the night wind, Fu Xuan stood before Qingque. She lifted her head and spoke softly but firmly.
"Qingque, you weren't like this before.
Your life is still long — don't let the past shackle you. If you're in pain, talk to me. Don't trap yourself in these thoughts. If Yu Xian were still here, he wouldn't want to see you—"
Before she could finish, Qingque's expression shifted. A faint light flickered in the young girl's emerald eyes.
Fu Xuan froze.
One couldn't blame her reaction — because that tiny flicker was the only thing that proved Qingque was still alive.
Yes.
The Qingque standing before her was nothing like the one from before the incident.
Her once fair, radiant face had turned ghostly pale. Dark circles clung beneath her eyes, and her long turquoise hair — once smooth and neat — was now messy and dull. For a Xianzhou native of the celestial race, such a condition was nearly unthinkable.
Worse still was her spirit.
Qingque stood there, exuding a suffocating aura of decay and dejection. The carefree, lively girl Fu Xuan once knew was gone — replaced by someone hollow, brittle, and empty.
She was still breathing, still blinking, but...
She looked dead.
A walking corpse.
The words surfaced in Fu Xuan's mind, and with them came a sharp ache in her chest.
"Ugh..." Fu Xuan averted her gaze, unable to bear it any longer.
But then Qingque spoke.
"Master diviner," she said softly, her tone eerily calm. "I'm working hard, you know."
Fu Xuan blinked, startled.
"Look, I've been studying divination diligently. My life feels... full now. My abilities are improving. I'm happy."
The light in Qingque's eyes trembled. Her face twitched, the faintest trace of a forced smile tugging at her lips.
"If I keep this up, someday, I'll be as strong as you, right, Master diviner? That way, I won't make any more mistakes. I won't have to watch more tragedies that could've been avoided."
Miscalculations. Tragedies.
The words echoed in Fu Xuan's heart, reopening wounds she'd tried to seal.
Her shoulders trembled. Her breath hitched.
For a brief, painful moment, it wasn't Yu Xian she saw — but her own master, the one who had long ago sacrificed herself.
...How cruel.
Fu Xuan gritted her teeth, cutting Qingque off before the girl could speak further.
"Enough, Qingque. Don't be foolish.
Yu Xian is gone — nothing can change that.
As for preventing tragedies, that's for later. The path of divination can't be rushed.
True mastery takes time, patience, and restraint."
Her voice hardened.
"Now, do as I say. Go home. Rest."
Fu Xuan stepped forward, intending to lead Qingque out. But just then, Qingque whispered something that froze her in place.
"The... Foresight..."
Fu Xuan's eyes widened.
Her hand instinctively rose to her forehead, covering the amethyst embedded there.
Alarm bells rang in her mind.
"Yes, the Foresight..." Qingque murmured again, as if entranced. "Master diviner divinations are so accurate... surely the Foresight plays a big part. If... I could use one too—"
"What?!"
Fu Xuan's composure shattered. She seized Qingque by the shoulders.
"Silence, Qingque! Don't even think about that!"
Her voice shook with panic.
"You know what the Foresight is — what it does! It must be embedded into the forehead, connected directly to one's nerves, linked to the Matrix of Prescience—"
Fu Xuan's breath hitched. Her grip tightened.
"It would conflict with the Abundance power in your body!
A foreign implant fused to regenerating flesh — the pain would be unending! Your body would heal, tear open, and heal again, without stopping!
You can't imagine the agony that would bring!"
Her words trembled. All of her usual calm, her authority, her poise — gone.
Fu Xuan clutched Qingque's robes as if to anchor herself.
"I forbid you from even thinking about it," she whispered hoarsely.
Inside, her thoughts screamed.
Don't, Qingque... don't walk this path.
Don't let grief twist you like it did me.
Don't think you have to bear this pain alone.
Fu Xuan's hand covered her own forehead, trembling.
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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