Chapter 52

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Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

Xuan Ge escorted Ling Sha to the secluded courtyard where she lived alone in the Alchemy Commission.

The night was deep; the Alchemy Commission's distinctive bitter medicinal fragrance blended with the damp breath of night dew, drifting slowly through the air.

"Ling Sha, rest early."

Xuan Ge halted his steps, turned around, and looked at her.

Moonlight traced the contour of his profile; those golden eyes that usually held mockery or sharpness now appeared exceptionally gentle in the shadows.

Ling Sha did not answer immediately, but stepped forward and lightly embraced him.

Her arms circled his waist, her cheek pressed against his firm chest, and she could clearly hear his steady, powerful heartbeat.

The faint scent on her — a blend of herbs and clear tea — silently enveloped him.

"General~ you too~"

Her voice came through the fabric, softer and more tender than usual, like a feather lightly scratching the tip of the heart.

Xuan Ge froze slightly, then raised his hand and patted her back twice, the motion carrying a nearly clumsy comforting intent.

"Mm."

He replied in a low voice, but in his heart he thought that tonight he would have to work overtime and finish more of those backlogged documents that should have been Ling Sha's to handle, so she could take it easy tomorrow.

Xuan Ge did not notice — in his arms, beneath Ling Sha's slightly lowered lids, deep within those brown eyes, a trace of extremely faint yet extraordinarily stubborn pink luster was present.

Like rouge dripping into clear water, it slowly bloomed and settled.

"Rest early~~"

Ling Sha murmured once more, her voice so low it was almost inaudible, yet carrying a certain lingering implication.

Then she released her arms, stepped back half a pace, raised her head, and gave him a gentle, shallow smile just as usual.

Moonlight fell on her face; that touch of pink had already vanished, leaving only a reassuring tranquility.

"Concubine will go in first; General should hurry back too~~"

Xuan Ge nodded, watching her turn, push open that familiar courtyard gate, and her slender figure disappear into the shadows behind the closing door.

He stood in place, lingering a while longer, listening to the extremely light footsteps inside the courtyard gradually recede until it was completely quiet.

Night wind brushed past, bringing the faint clamor of the Sleepless Port on the Shen Wu Xian Zhou from afar.

Only then did Xuan Ge turn around, hands habitually clasped behind his back, treading the stone slab path brightened by moonlight, walking unhurriedly toward the Shen Wei General's Mansion.

He began humming a tuneless little ditty, the melody casual and light, echoing shallowly in the silent lanes.

Next morning, Yuque Xianzhou, Tai Bu Si.

This place was utterly different from the rigidity of Shen Wu Xian Zhou or the bustle of Luo Fu, filled with a serene, ethereal, even slightly eerie atmosphere.

In a sparsely furnished quiet room, Yu Que Tai Bu Jing Tian, dressed in an extremely plain dark gray short jacket, looked more like a street stall hawker.

He sat cross-legged on a cushion; on the small table before him sat a set of elegant tea ware, the tea at just the right temperature.

Opposite him sat a young girl who seemed somewhat "out of place" in this serene, ancient environment.

Pink long hair, an exquisite pink-and-white dress, white thigh-high stockings wrapping slender thighs, exuding a compelling youthfulness and spirit.

Precisely Jing Tian's disciple — Fu Xuan.

At this moment, Fu Xuan had both arms hugged across her chest, pink cheeks slightly puffed, a pair of crystal-like eyes staring straight at her master, clearly in a stifled state from "failing to win the debate."

"Master~" she spoke, voice clear, carrying a girl's unique stubbornness.

"Fate is not unchangeable; the Shen Wei General is a ready-made example!

The Seven Arbiter Generals of the Imperial Bow — the destined number was originally Yuan Shuai Hua and the other six, each performing their duties, guarding one side.

But now, Shen Wei General Xuan Ge emerged out of nowhere, forcibly squeezing into this pattern and becoming the true Seventh Arbiter General — isn't that breaking the established fate trajectory?"

Jing Tian lifted the delicate tea cup before him, brought it to his lips, and took the tiniest sip, letting the slightly bitter, returning-sweet tea fragrance spread on his tongue tip.

His face remained a picture of undisturbed calm, but inside his heart had already begun to tighten faintly.

Discussing fate, the Dao, and variables with his disciple was a routine lesson in the Tai Bu Si, and a necessary process for guiding juniors.

The problem was, this child Fu Xuan... eight out of ten discussions she managed to steer the topic onto that bastard Xuan Ge!

Jing Tian's self-cultivation had long reached the realm of transformation; ordinary matters could hardly stir his state of mind.

Yet uniquely when facing matters related to Xuan Ge, he always felt his Dao heart trembling faintly.

It was a near-instinctive "stress response" left from the many times he had been infuriated to the point of losing composure by the other party.

"Master, speak~"

Seeing Jing Tian once again adopt that eyes-observe-nose, nose-observe-heart meditation posture, Fu Xuan's ire rose further, and the arms hugging her chest tightened a bit more.

"Every time the Shen Wei General is mentioned, you clam up — why is that?

Could there be some hidden story that this disciple of yours is not allowed to know?"

"Ai—"

A long sigh full of helplessness escaped from Jing Tian's throat.

He set down the tea cup; the porcelain bottom contacted the wooden tea table with a light "tap," exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

"Very well." Jing Tian raised his eyes, looking at this little pink ball of his who was supremely clever yet also stubbornly opinionated.

"Since you don't go three sentences without mentioning that bastard Xuan Ge... cough...

Since you repeatedly bring up the Shen Wei General, today this master will explain to you in detail just how he became this 'Seventh Arbiter General,' and why he is regarded by some... as a 'variable.'"

Fu Xuan's eyes brightened; she immediately lowered her hugging arms, placed her hands flat on her joined knees properly, straightened her spine ramrod straight, and assumed an incomparably obedient, attentively listening posture.

The speed of his face-changing made even Jing Tian's eye corners twitch involuntarily.

"You, right now, must also be trying to deduce, to pry into General Shenwei's fate trajectory, correct?"

Jing Tian spoke slowly, his voice steady and deep, carrying a magnetism precipitated by the years.

Fu Xuan nodded seriously, a glint of intertwined confusion and excitement flashing in her eyes:

"Precisely. Disciple has attempted many times, but General Shenwei's fate thread..... is extremely blurry, difficult to fathom.

One can only vaguely see an intertwined gold-blue color, and..... a kind of extremely pure, even somewhat glaring red."

She frowned her delicate eyebrows slightly: "The gold-blue perhaps corresponds to the Hunt Path and the General's power, but that red..... Disciple cannot fathom it."

"You see well."

Jing Tian nodded, his gaze cast toward the star chart projection slowly flowing in the void to one side of the quiet room, as if falling into some memory.

"Before he was even promoted to Heavenly General, before he even became General Shenwei, I once had the fortune..... or rather, was forced to carefully observe his fate pattern."

He paused, his brows furrowing slightly, almost imperceptibly, as if weighing his words, yet also as if resisting the memory of some unpleasant fragments.

"At that time, Xuan Ge's fate base color was blue. A very pure, resilient, transparent blue, like tempered star steel, like the boundless deep space.

In fate theory, this usually symbolizes 'Heaven-Bestowed Blessed General', a lucky star of a sharp blade that cleanses the universe and expands territory, favored by the Xianzhou Alliance's fortune..... "

The conversation took a subtle turn here, Jing Tian's voice lowering a bit, carrying a trace of complex implication:

"But, from the moment he was formally conferred as General Shenwei, his name resounding through the Alliance, promoted by the Imperial Bow's Destiny to Envoy, ranked among Heavenly Generals..... cause and effect entangled, his fate pattern changed drastically.

I became like you, again unable to clearly glimpse the complete veins of his fate.

His fate line was shrouded, disturbed, even..... twisted by a powerful, overbearing force."

Jing Tian's expression turned serious, those eyes that usually stayed half-closed, as if seeing through everything yet indifferent to everything, now clearly reflected Fu Xuan's curious and intent face.

He spoke word by word, clearly: "However, I have ultimately lived more years than you, and looked a few more times.

I cannot see his future clearly, yet I can sense the 'Path' extending beneath his feet.....

Fu Xuan, you must remember, this person Xuan Ge is a thoroughbred Path madman."

"Path..... madman?"

Fu Xuan's fine eyebrows knitted together completely, her face full of incomprehension.

"Master, what is the meaning of this? General Shenwei is the Hunt Envoy, he has walked far on the Hunt Path with vast power, is this not a matter of course?

Why, in your mouth, does it become..... a madman?"

She simply could not connect the word "madman" with that legendary Heavenly General of brilliant military exploits who commanded a Xianzhou.

Hearing this, the corner of Jing Tian's mouth twitched slightly, an extremely fleeting, near-lapse micro-expression, quickly returning to rigid calm.

"The specifics, Master also does not know."

Fu Xuan: ".........."

She felt a blue vein throbbing faintly at her temple.

What difference is there between Master saying this and not saying it?!

"But...." Jing Tian's conversation turned again, successfully pulling Fu Xuan's attention back.

He turned his head, his gaze seemingly penetrating the quiet room's walls, looking toward that vast boundless starry sky beyond Yuque Xianzhou, his voice becoming distant and meaningful.

"I once asked Xuan Ge a question, a question about fate......"

Fu Xuan's breathing unconsciously lightened, her eyes unblinking, staring tightly at Master's side face.

Jing Tian was silent for a moment, as if savoring the scene at that time, then, in a tone mixed with helplessness, absurdity, and an indescribable sentiment, he slowly recounted:

"I asked him, 'Xuan Ge, how do you view fate? What is fate?'"

The quiet room was so silent a falling needle could be heard, Fu Xuan held her breath waiting for that answer from General Shenwei, perhaps containing supreme philosophy.

Jing Tian turned back, looking at his disciple's eyes full of thirst for knowledge, expressionlessly spat out a few words:

"He said: 'Tomorrow go to the dock to get some fries.'"

"Hah——?!"

Fu Xuan froze, then let out a short syllable full of disbelief and surprise.

Tomorrow? Go to the dock? Get some? Fries?

She understands each of these words separately.

But combined together, spoken from the mouth of a Hunt Envoy, a Xianzhou Heavenly General, as an answer to the grand proposition of "fate"?

What on earth is this?!

General Shenwei he..... does he really have nothing wrong with his brain?!

Or is Master teasing me?!

Jing Tian looked at his disciple's face full of "Master are you kidding me" shock and suspicion, tugged the corner of his mouth, finally revealing an expression between a bitter smile and relief.

He explained: "This is the answer General Shenwei gave. His meaning was not literally going to the dock to eat fried food."

He paused, organizing his language, attempting to convey that brat's simultaneously infuriating casualness and depth.

"He meant..... fate is unpredictable, the future hard to foresee, rather than obsessing over calculating that 'fixed number' which may not exist at all, or is constantly changing.....

Better to focus on the present, do well what should be done, can be done, want to be done right now.

Like..... like a seagull, it doesn't think about tomorrow's storm or the far shore, it only knows, right now it's hungry, and the dock has fries.

This is its fate, its present."

After hearing this explanation, the shock on Fu Xuan's face slowly faded, replaced by a contemplative expression.

The light in her eyes flickered uncertainly, as if digesting this extremely unconventional, yet inexplicably carrying a kind of rugged vitality answer.

"Hehe~" Jing Tian chuckled lightly, that laughter holding little joy, more a kind of resigned sentiment.

"Look, in his bones, he's actually the same as you, both people who don't believe in that so-called 'predestined fate'. Just his way of expression..... is more unique."

Fu Xuan slowly nodded, a corner of her heart seemingly touched lightly.

Originally, through various rumors......

Especially those rumors about his bloody suppression, iron-fisted command of troops, and tyrannical, unruly conduct......

The image of a general that was constructed — nearly cold, iron-blooded, with eyes only for authority and weapons — quietly underwent a slight fission.

This Divine Might General, it seems..... is not entirely so?

At least, in treating the matter of "Fate", his attitude, unexpectedly..... is somewhat to her temper?

A bold thought, like a tender sprout breaking through the soil, sprouted in her heart.

"Master...." Fu Xuan raised her head, her eyes flashing with a firm and bright light, a light that even made Jing Tian's heart skip a beat, producing a certain not-so-wonderful premonition.

"I want to go to the Shen Wu Xian Zhou."

"Pfft——!!!"

The tea Jing Tian had just taken into his mouth, not a drop wasted, was all sprayed out, turning into a fine water mist, particularly conspicuous in the morning light filtering through the window lattice.

He violently coughed, coughing while staring at this astonishing disciple of his with an incredulous gaze.

"Cough cough! Cough cough cough..... Y-you, what did you say?!" Jing Tian only barely caught his breath, his voice even changing pitch.

"I said, I want to go to the Shen Wu Xian Zhou."

Fu Xuan, looking at her master's rare loss of composure, felt somewhat surprised, but her tone remained firm.

She even good-intentionedly took out a clean silk handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it over.

Jing Tian received the handkerchief, wiped haphazardly, his brows tightly furrowed, forming a deep "Ship" character.

He looked Fu Xuan up and down, his gaze sharp, as if wanting to pierce through her physical shell, to see clearly which string in her brain was crossed wrong.

"Master?" Fu Xuan was looked at until she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Jing Tian did not immediately answer her question, but instead asked in a deep voice in return:

"This matter..... have you mentioned it to your senior sister?"

"Senior sister?" Fu Xuan blanked for a moment, then shook her head.

"No. Why would I tell senior sister? This is my own decision."

She felt somewhat puzzled in her heart; her going to the Shen Wu Xian Zhou to seek development, what did it have to do with senior sister?

In her view, the Shen Wu Xian Zhou, as an emerging military power, had a hundred industries waiting to flourish.

Especially since Shen Wu had no Tai Bu Si, it must be extremely lacking in talent.

Her going there was precisely a great opportunity to fully display her abilities, put her lifelong learning into practice, and even establish a brand new divination system.

Such a decision concerning her personal Dao path and aspirations, why would she need to specially report it to senior sister?