Fu Xuan swore that she never intended to pass the Omniscia Eye to Qingque.
At least, not now...
It was both a gift and an instrument of torture, Fu Xuan thought.
Since putting on this Faye Eye, Fu Xuan's computational power had indeed greatly increased. But at the same time, relentless, unbearable pain began to follow her like a shadow.
For all these countless years, Fu Xuan had endured torment beyond what an ordinary person could bear, every single moment. She never had a good night's sleep, nor had she ever felt truly at ease –
It was too agonizing.
Such agony was simply something that Qingque, with her carefree and leisurely nature, could not withstand. If she too had to endure this kind of pain, Qingque would likely go mad before long…
Therefore, she would not give the Faye Eye to Qingque. This was not only because she needed the computing power of the Omniscia Eye for the divination she was about to perform for the Xianzhou, but also for Qingque's own sake.
Fu Xuan thought.
However, the Fu Xuan who once held such thoughts ultimately failed to persist in her resolve.
Before Qingque, before this Qingque who had long since lost her original self, Fu Xuan finally yielded.
She handed the Omniscia Eye to Qingque.
The surgery to implant the Omniscia Eye was over.
The physician in charge, after confirming that Qingque showed no physical abnormalities and no signs of Mara-Struck transformation, sighed, removed the restraints binding her petite frame, and silently left the room.
Fu Xuan stepped straight into the operating room the moment the physician exited. She stood before Qingque, observing the stubborn young woman.
Her gaze held a mixture of relief and helplessness.
And, deep within Fu Xuan's pupils, there was always a trace of something barely perceptible... pity.
'Why put yourself through this...'
"Tsk, how does it feel to have the Omniscia Eye on your forehead? Can you still bear it?"
Fu Xuan gently held Qingque's ice-cold little hand and asked her softly, a rare tenderness in her tone.
And Qingque?
Qingque didn't respond to Fu Xuan's question at all. For a moment, she didn't even notice Fu Xuan's arrival.
Even though the surgery was over and the physician had already left, Qingque still hadn't regained her composure, nor had she gotten up. She just lay sprawled on the operating table, drooling uncontrollably, her entire body long since drenched in sweat.
So undignified, so unseemly...
Gulp...
Before reason could intervene, a tear escaped uncontrollably from the corner of Qingque's eye. Without a doubt, it was a physiological reaction.
A physiological reaction triggered by the pain.
It hurt so much.
An excruciating, unbearable pain.
This surgery, like any other performed on the Xianzhou natives, was conducted without anesthesia and while Qingque was fully conscious. This point needs no further explanation.
The reasons are related to their physiology; those who understand, understand.
During the procedure, Qingque had long since screamed herself hoarse and struggled until she was utterly exhausted. Had the physician not securely strapped Qingque firmly to the bed beforehand, perhaps she would have struggled right off the operating table?
—And now, even though the surgery was over, the heart-piercing, bone-deep pain hadn't lessened in the slightest.
An unbearable agony continuously radiated from her forehead. This pain sometimes forced Qingque to muster every ounce of alertness, and at other times, it overwhelmed her, leaving her spirit weary, lethargic, and drowsy...
It was only when Fu Xuan grabbed Qingque by the shoulders and shook her firmly that Qingque managed to muster a bit of spirit.
"Ugh... cough..." Qingque looked somewhat dazedly at Fu Xuan, at the pink-haired young woman before her.
"Master div..iner...?"
Hmm.
Qingque suddenly seemed a bit more alert. Struggling, she managed a smile while trying her best to suppress the slight trembling in her body.
"Ah, ahem ahem, you're here. I'm doing quite well now, feeling entirely comfortable, cough cough—"
Fu Xuan interrupted Qingque's attempt to put on a brave face.
"Stop pretending," Fu Xuan stated bluntly, pinpointing Qingque's actual condition. "No one understands the pain of wearing the Omniscia Eye better than I. Qingque, right now you're probably in so much pain that your body has gone numb and lost control, haven't you?"
Was it worth it? Pestering me relentlessly for the Omniscia Eye, from now on living a life filled with pain, shouldering the heavy responsibility of the Xianzhou... all for someone who has already died? For a tragedy that can no longer be undone, an irreparable regret?!"
For... Yu xian?
Fu Xuan thought about it but ultimately refrained from speaking the name that haunted Qingque day and night, from further the young woman's already exhausted and fragile spirit.
Fu Xuan only wondered to herself.
To be honest, was it really worth it?
At this moment, even Fu Xuan could not calculate what Qingque was so fixated on, nor what truly lay in her heart.
Yes, Fu Xuan could not divine it.
Now that Fu Xuan had lost the Omniscia Eye and Qingque instead received the computational boost from it, Qingque's divination ability had truly surpassed Fu Xuan's.
As long as Qingque erected barriers, it was impossible for Fu Xuan
...to grasp Qingque's true information...
However, facing this question, Qingque had no intention of hiding anything.
Was all this worth it?
In the very next moment, Qingque responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"This is the only thing I can still do."
Qingque looked straight at Fu Xuan, yet her gaze seemed to see through her, fixed on some invisible entity behind her. Her eyes were hollow and distant.
"I kept thinking, if I had been stronger back then, perhaps Yu xian wouldn't have had to die. I kept regretting, why didn't I make myself stronger? If I had, I could have saved Yubxian, and we could still be living a peaceful life now..."
Qingque's eyes were open, yet it was as if she had silently closed her jade-green eyes to everything else.
"Thank you, Master diviner. You gave me this opportunity, allowing me to advance further."
Qingque touched the hard, smooth, polished object on her forehead. It had been implanted not long ago, and it contained the endless torment of the next thousand years of her life.
"Right now... I feel the world has become countless times clearer. All things, everything, is before my eyes! I will not let a similar tragedy happen again. Absolutely not..."
Qingque showed a heartfelt smile, though distorted by the severe pain into something somewhat frightening, but Qingque herself didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
"I... will not regret it."
Fu Xuan was left speechless. Qingque had already focused her gaze intently in the direction beside Fu Xuan.
Qingque's smile grew even more distant.
"Because... I can already see..."
Yu xian.
Qingque gazed at the faint, shimmering figure swaying before her eyes.
figure, revealing a blissful and content smile.
Just like before, under the moon in Changleyuan, when Qingque would smile just as foolishly at Yu xian.
"I see you. So good, this is so good..."
-------
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