Chapter 225: The Stance of All Sides

They were pondering, fingertips hovering over the light screen, preparing to retrieve more detailed household registration and recent activity records for comparison, when a clear, distinctly displeased female voice suddenly sounded in their ear, transmitted via Yu Zhao Communication:

"General! The analysis report on recent anomalies has been sent to… General? Jing Yuan! Are you listening?!"

It was Fu Xuan.

Jing Yuan's smile remained unchanged, even a bit brighter, and he spoke slowly into the communication: "Listening, of course I'm listening. Fu Xuan, you've worked hard; I know the report, I'll look at it later."

After a two‑second silence, Fu Xuan's irritated voice came, speaking faster: "You haven't even opened the file, have you! Again with this perfunctory attitude! Fine, I've already reported what needed reporting; listen or not as you wish! I don't have time to play dumb riddles with you! Hang up!"

"Doo—"

The communication was cleanly cut off.

Jing Yuan looked at the now‑silent Yu Zhao, smiled helplessly and shook his head, letting it droop slightly.

"Fu Xuan's temper still lacks a bit of seasoning…"

He muttered to himself, but his gaze returned to the light screen that only he could see, the laziness in his eyes replaced by a hint of sharpness.

His fingertips tapped lightly, issuing a new command:

【Continue observation, focus on recording contacts, dialogues, and any anomalous fluctuations. Do not expose, especially avoid Mirror Flow Perception.】

Tai Bu Si, Fu Xuan's Office.

Fu Xuan slapped the Yu Zhao onto the desk piled with documents with a "pa" sound, arms crossed in a huff.

Her light pink long hair swayed slightly with her movement, and the Divination Eye on her forehead seemed to dim a few degrees due to her displeasure.

"One after another, they never give me peace of mind!"

She muttered low, "That Qingque brat, yesterday she swore she was only 'a little tired', and today she dares to take leave outright! Not even a decent excuse! She must have stayed up all night playing cards again!"

Her gaze unintentionally swept to the corner of the desk, where a pink, soft, fish‑shaped Doll sat incongruously with the solemn office setting. It was the one Qingque had asked someone to deliver yesterday.

Fu Xuan glared at the Doll for a few seconds, then couldn't hold back, reached out, took it, and cradled it in her arms.

The Doll was densely filled and soft, exuding a faint, soothing fragrance (a scent Bai Hang had deliberately chosen), with an excellent texture.

She gently rubbed her face against the Doll, her tense expression softened a bit, but she still pressed on: "Hmph! Don't think giving a Small Gadget will let you slip by! When that lazy bug returns, I'll see how I deal with her… dock her salary! No, make her make up all the backlog!"

Though she said that, she didn't let go of the Doll, instead adjusting to a more comfortable posture, began rapidly scanning the next pending document, yet the slight curve at the corner of her mouth, unnoticed even by herself, revealed that her mood wasn't truly that bad.

Qingque Family, dining table.

Qingque poked the rice in her bowl weakly with chopsticks, eyes glazed, looking as if her soul were wandering elsewhere.

That overly vivid "dream" and the impact of the name "Hua" at the end kept her unsettled all day.

The information Yu Zhao retrieved felt like a tiny thorn lodged in her heart, causing occasional jolts.

(Cloud Rider Marshal Hua… that gray hair in the dream… could it really be related? Could it be that I'm not just dreaming, but actually pulled into some strange place, seeing the projection of that legendary figure…?)

(She even plans to teach me? What a joke! I, Qingque, Tai Bu Si Mo Yu Master, live by the creed: if I can sit, I never stand; if I can lie down, I never sit up straight!)

(But… she seems really powerful… she shattered a huge sword with a single punch… if I truly learned that, would my luck at cards improve? Or perhaps Tai Bu Si… no, no, what am I thinking!)

"Alas…"

Qingque couldn't help but let out another long sigh, nearly turning the rice into mush with her poking.

"In broad daylight, what are you sighing about?"

Qingque's mother carried a bowl of soup out of the kitchen, and upon seeing her daughter's behavior, couldn't help scolding, "Is the food unappetizing? Or did you lose at cards yesterday?"

"You don't get it~" Qingque drew out her tone, looking distressed.

"Right, right, I don't get it~"

Qingque's mother set the soup bowl down, sat, poured herself a bowl, and asked casually, "So what's the matter exactly? Say it so your mother can 'not understand' it?"

Qingque set down her chopsticks, cupped her cheeks with both hands, eyes drifting, and in a Sleepwalking‑like tone said, "Mom, suppose… I mean suppose… one day while you're sleeping, a 'immortal' sends you a dream, saying your bones are extraordinary and will teach you a peerless divine art to protect world peace… would you agree?"

"No fever, huh? What nonsense are you spouting? An immortal sending a dream to teach you divine skills? Isn't that just daydreaming? Or did you get so dazed from playing cards that you took a story from a script as reality?"

Qingque's mouth twitched sharply, brushed her mother's hand away, slumped weakly onto the table, buried her face in her arm, and muttered plaintively, "…Indeed, you really don't understand!"

She lifted her head, a tragic expression on her face: "Your daughter here might truly be having an extraordinary daydream!"

Moreover, this dream seems to have a sequel in the making!

That's the scariest part!

Qingque's mother, seeing her daughter's seemingly world‑collapsing demeanor, felt both annoyed and amused, shook her head, decided to ignore the girl's intermittent outbursts, and continued sipping her soup.

Inside the concealed carriage compartment.

The carriage door slid open silently, the System, its expression perpetually Calm—entered silently.

She didn't interrupt the conversation, merely stood quietly beside Heimu, leaned slightly, and in a barely audible tone that only the two could hear, quickly said a few words.

Heimu's hand holding the cup paused, a faint ripple passing through the depths of her violet‑black eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, nodded at the System, indicating understanding.

Ti Bao noticed the brief exchange, stopped her questioning, and blinked curiously.

Heimu set down the cup, turned to Ti Bao, her expression still gentle: "Ti Bao, I have some urgent matters that need immediate handling, so I must leave for a while."

Ti Bao immediately nodded obediently; although a fleeting doubt flashed in her eyes, she asked nothing, simply set down her pillow, sat up straight, and said, "Alright, Black Curtain Lady. You go attend to it, I'll take good care of myself."

"Mm."

Heimu reached out and gently massaged Ti Bao's soft red hair, then rose and walked toward a seemingly ordinary wall on the inner side of the carriage.

As she approached, the wall automatically manifested a doorway outline, opened silently, revealing the infinitely extending Pure White Space beyond.

The door closed behind her, separating the warm carriage from the space.

Inside the Pure White Space.

Heimu stood still, her violet‑black eyes turning to the System Light Screen that floated beside her, voice regaining composure: "What exactly is the situation?"

The System, without idle chatter, immediately projected a massive, continuously updating, semi‑transparent data screen before Heimu.

The screen displayed a dense array of countless names and real‑time data streams, flickering like a star map.

Most of the names were lit, indicating stable signal connections, such as 【Jing Yuan】, 【Jing Liu】, 【Qingque】, 【Bai Hang】, 【Sai Fei Er】, and so on.

But among the names, Huo Huo now appears as a glaring gray darkness, and the adjacent data stream is completely cut off, like a line severed out of thin air.

"Target entity: Huo Huo, unexpected situation detected; monitoring signal and vital signs fully terminated 37 minutes before the standard time."

The system's voice is steady and calm, yet the content it states is far from optimistic: "According to the agreement's determination criteria, the probability distribution of interruption causes is as follows: highest possibility—target's life activity termination; next highest possibility—target leaving this universe or entering an undetectable isolated domain; low possibility—medium (pouch) being violently destroyed or shielded."

Heimu's gaze Lock onto that gray name, silent for two seconds, then slowly speaks, voice showing no emotion: "Character death? System, don't tell me that little Judge just died so inexplicably?"

"Only stating the highest‑probability possibility."

The system answers in a rigid manner, "But based on the target's recent data and a comprehensive analysis of its environment, the 'death' probability requires on‑site investigation for further confirmation. 'Leaving this universe' is a reasonable secondary hypothesis."