"It's just like…"
Fu Xuan's mind was in turmoil. She unconsciously reached out her hands, gazing at them.
The sensation of sticky warmth seemed to penetrate the boundary between dream and reality, manifesting on Fu Xuan's small hands.
The faint metallic scent of blood drifted into her mind, and a scene suddenly surfaced within her heart.
Ruins. Thousands of mutilated corpses and severed limbs. Overgrown branches and leaves. Scales scattered everywhere.
Yu Xian lay at the edge of the battlefield, the blood drained from his body, having lost all warmth and breath.
Fu Xuan's pupils trembled violently. She murmured to herself, unaware.
"Yu Xian, in this state… he looks just like, how he looked in the dream, when he was stabbed to death.
Why is it like this? What in the world happened?
Having tried countless methods yet failing to wake Yu Xian, and now hearing the faint footsteps and conversations of the diviners arriving for work outside the office, Fu Xuan began to break out in a cold sweat.
Drop by drop, cold sweat trickled down from Fu Xuan's peerlessly beautiful face, falling onto her clothes and delicate, moist skin. This gave the young woman—who perfectly blended purity, aloofness, and a charming naivety—a disheveled yet uniquely alluring aura at this moment.
But Fu Xuan had no energy to dwell on such trivial matters.
Right now, what worried Fu Xuan the most was Yu Xian!
What exactly has happened to Yu Xian?!
Her biggest headache, and also the one she most appreciated and favored, Her subordinate was unconscious and wouldn't wake up, seemingly suffering from some unknown psychological trauma. Faced with this situation, even Fu Xuan suddenly felt the world spin around her. Usually rational, she found herself losing her customary composure in the face of Yu Xian's unresponsive slumber.
What to do, what to do, what to do? Damn it, why did it have to happen now? The divination result was a complete blank!
Cold sweat covered Fu Xuan's face and body, but she hadn't lost her most basic rationality. She hurriedly attempted to divine the reason for Yu Xian's condition only to despair in the next moment. The divination, incredibly, yielded no result at all!
It was as if Yu Xian was truly just asleep.
Fu Xuan bit her lip.
"How is that possible!"
She couldn't bring herself to believe that result—not even a little.
Something major must have happened something that some mysterious force, undetectable even by the Observatory's arrays, was using to interfere with Yu Xian, preventing him from waking up, just as if he were dead!
Moreover, Fu Xuan clearly sensed that as time passed, the vitality within Yu Xian's body was fading away thread by thread, and the power of his Path was vanishing into thin air, its whereabouts unknown.
In her daze, Fu Xuan seemed to see Yu Xian's body gradually dissipating, starting from his fingertips!
If Yu Xian were left here waiting for a potentially favorable change, whether he would wake up was uncertain—but at the latest, within a few days, his body would first lose all vitality and disappear from this world!
That would mean true and utter death!
Though she couldn't figure out what exactly had happened, in order to preserve Yu Xian's continuously weakening and dissipating body, he was urgently rushed to the hospital by Fu Xuan.
But that wasn't all. Remembering her long, vivid dream and thinking of Yu Xian, Fu Xuan didn't hesitate for long before rushing off. She leveraged her influence, using her face and reputation to practically drag Bailu, the Healer Lady Dragon Maiden, over to diagnose Yu Xian!
Of course, summoning Bailu to treat a mere junior diviner far exceeded the normal treatment a superior should give a subordinate.
But Fu Xuan didn't see anything wrong with it.
Yu Xian was no ordinary diviner. He was a meritorious one. A diviner capable of holding his own against the countless followers of the Yaoshi. His abilities were undeniable, and that alone made him worth Fu Xuan's extensive efforts.
Not to mention, Fu Xuan had always held Yu Xian in high esteem and regarded him highly!
Of course, it was merely appreciation. She simply couldn't stand to see a talented individual die for some obscure reason. It was impossible for her to have any improper thoughts about that guy Yu Xian.
Or so Fu Xuan told herself.
She, Fu Xuan, was not Qingque. She had no reason to lose her head over a short-life species with a mere century of lifespan, and she certainly hadn't fallen so low as to compete with her own subordinate, Qingque, for a man!
Her relationship with Yu Xian was purely proper and aboveboard!
In any case, the upright Fu Xuan expended considerable effort dealing with the personnel sent by the Alchemy Commission and the Elder Dragons who tried to obstruct her, and finally succeeded in inviting Bailu. She even managed to get the young lady to take Yu Xian's pulse and diagnose his condition.
Only then did Fu Xuan finally let out a slight sigh of relief.
Phew, thankfully—thankfully I managed to get Bailu.
With her treating Yu Xian, everything would surely get better!
Bailu was one of the most highly skilled physicians currently on the Luofu Xianzhou. As long as she took action, few ailments in this world could persist for long under her care. It seemed there was hope for Yu Xian's condition after all.
Hah, surely even the renowned Bailu couldn't possibly fail to cure Yu Xian's—
"Oh no, no, no... This is terrible, so difficult... What in the world is this mess of a condition.
Hearing those words from the young girl beside her, Fu Xuan was stunned.
Naturally, those words were spoken by Bailu, upon whom Fu Xuan had placed such high hopes.
At this moment, Bailu's brow was deeply furrowed. Her childlike face had completely fallen, wearing an unusually serious expression. Her thick, long tail adorned with a gourd—drooped to the floor, gathering dust, which she didn't even have the mind to care about.
Bailu was utterly frustrated.
She suddenly let out a sigh and fixed Fu Xuan with an extremely helpless gaze.
"I've never seen an illness like this before. I can't even begin to talk about treating it," Bailu said. "His body is gradually dissipating, yet he's completely unconscious, as if he's lost his soul. If nothing changes, I'm afraid he only has a few days left to live."
"What?"
Hearing this, Fu Xuan's legs went weak, and she unconsciously took half a step back.
"I can use methods to sustain his life for a few more days. For the rest... we can only wait for a miracle to happen."
Having said this, Bailu lowered her head and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
"Lord Diviner, in my opinion, it's best to call his family. This patient... um, his name is Yu Xian? Who are his family members?"
Hearing Bailu, whom she had pinned her hopes on utter such words, seemingly already pronouncing Yu Xian's death sentence, an inexplicable sorrow welled up in Fu Xuan's heart. Her small face suddenly turned pale, and she tightly clutched her slightly heaving chest.
"...I understand. Yu Xian's... well...family members... I do know them. I will contact them immediately."
...
That very day, Yu Xian was admitted to the intensive care unit, under Bailu's personal care and observation.
Qingque was summoned by Fu Xuan. Quickly, after listening to the explanations from both Fu Xuan and Bailu, it didn't take long for Qingque to understand the situation.
"What?! You're saying Yu Xian... he's suddenly going to die?!"
Qingque instantly teetered on the brink of collapse.
Yet, almost as if she had already endured some previous shock, Qingque now displayed unexpected resilience. She ultimately did not break down. A sliver of hope remained in the young woman's heart. She pulled up a chair and sat by Yu Xian's bedside, joining Bailu in watching over him.
As for Fu Xuan...
Perhaps the dream had been too vivid, or perhaps it was something else some other reason, Fu Xuan simply couldn't stop worrying about Yu Xian's condition. After thinking it over carefully, she decided to stay and keep watch over him as well.
However, Fu Xuan instinctively avoided staying right by Yu Xian's side. She also didn't want Qingque to see just how deeply concerned she was about him now. Driven by a psychology even she herself couldn't quite understand, Fu Xuan didn't remain in the ward. Instead, she went to the doctor's office to wait there for the latest news about Yu Xian...
It wasn't until now when Qingque suddenly delivered the good news that "Yu Xian is awake" that Fu Xuan couldn't hold back for a moment longer. She immediately grabbed Bailu and rushed hurriedly into the ward.
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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
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