Meanwhile, on another front, March 7th was having a miserable time.
"Please, Master Diviner, I'm begging you! Can you please just divine my past memories for me?"
March 7th, with Stelle in tow, had found Fu Xuan, but the Master Diviner was refusing to perform the divination, no matter what. She was as stubborn as a mule, offering no room for negotiation.
"Miss March 7th, this one has explained it many times. The reason for your memory loss likely has very little to do with you yourself. One could even say…"
Fu Xuan advised, "It's not even certain if your amnesia was self-inflicted. There is an eighty percent chance that attempting to unlock your past memories will attract some inexplicable trouble."
Fu Xuan wasn't the same as she was before. Now, before every divination, she would carefully consider the consequences of her actions, whether by using the Matrix of Prescience or other means of observation.
In her observations, she saw that if she were to help March 7th unravel the mystery of her memories, she would be obstructed by someone else in the process.
But who this 'someone else' was, she couldn't divine.
In the past, Fu Xuan used her abilities to divine existing, real outcomes. Now, she used them to divine the parts outside her own divination.
It was simple, really. If there was something her divination couldn't reach, it was very likely being obscured by a force connected to another Aeon.
And a similar situation was occurring with March 7th.
Just as Fu Xuan couldn't divine the influence of her own actions on the development of events, she also couldn't divine who this "other" was that was obstructing March 7th.
This proved, at the very least, that the power behind this existence was beyond the scope of her Matrix's observational range.
March 7th and Stelle were naturally unaware of this, but Fu Xuan couldn't explain it to them in a short amount of time. She couldn't very well say that some force was constantly following the members of the Express and monitoring their development, could she?
Never mind whether the Express crew would believe her, was she supposed to tell them to go back and conduct some kind of internal purge?
There was no need for that. And from what Fu Xuan had observed, this 'following' was likely a similar operation to that of the Stellaron Hunters.
March 7th had finally gotten this opportunity, and she wasn't about to give up easily.
She tugged on Fu Xuan's sleeve. "Then who is it that's trying to stop me from getting my memories back? I can't just not look for them because someone is trying to stop me, can I? What if they're really important to me?"
Fu Xuan looked at March 7th with a hint of pity. "It's not a matter of someone stopping you," she explained, "it's a matter of you being unable to escape their control. Even if this one helps you find them, if the other party still has power over you, or a power greater than yours, doesn't that mean your memories will just be dealt with again?"
"This one can help you find them once, twice, three times. But you can't just stay on the Xianzhou forever, playing tug-of-war with this other party over your own memories, can you?"
"The first thing you need to do is improve your own strength, not sit here craving something that is guaranteed to be taken from you again."
Fu Xuan had made herself quite clear. March 7th was a little scared, as if some terrifying presence really was watching her.
Stelle felt that the matter couldn't be viewed so simply. She stepped forward. "What if—and I'm just saying what if—she is obstructed during the process of retrieving her memories? Can you find out what kind of force or being is doing the obstructing?"
Fu Xuan's brow furrowed. She thought seriously for a moment before replying, "It should be possible. This one is confident I can catch a glimpse of their tail."
Stelle's expression turned serious. "Then that's settled. March will proceed with trying to find her memories, and we'll be responsible for catching whoever tries to stop her. It would be best if we can catch them, but even if we can't, it will at least let March know what she'll have to face in the future. No matter how you look at it, this attempt to retrieve her memories is worth a try!"
She turned to March 7th. "March, what do you think? If you agree, then we'll ask the Master Diviner to proceed. Are you prepared to face whatever trouble comes next?"
A wave of pressure washed over March 7th from their serious expressions.
She swallowed hard and replied nervously, "Let's do it!"
Worried about her friend, Stelle offered some comfort. "Don't worry, everyone on the train is on your side. We'll help you with any trouble you run into."
Perhaps Stelle's reassurance had an effect, as March 7th's wildly fluctuating emotions began to calm.
Fu Xuan waited quietly for them to prepare, not wanting to interrupt.
In the past, she might have just activated the Matrix of Prescience and helped March 7th without a second thought.
But now, Fu Xuan no longer had that absolute confidence in her divination. Especially after learning about the massive loophole in the Matrix, she had only become more skeptical of the ability itself.
"In that case, let's begin…"
Fu Xuan sighed. She had a feeling someone was going to come and make trouble for her divination. It was true, she thought. Most enemies attacking the Xianzhou would target the Divination Commission first to destroy their primary source of intelligence.
"Do you have anything related to your past? Something on your person that connects you to it? We need it to link with the Matrix of Prescience."
March 7th didn't have anything like that. "When I was brought onto the train, I was stark naked and sealed in Six-Phased Ice," she said, confused. "How could I have anything connected to my past?"
Stelle's expression changed slightly. "You do," she said in a low voice. "You still have something on you, March 7th. A slice of your flesh or a tube of your blood would work. Theoretically, every part of you is connected to the March 7th of the past."
Fu Xuan nodded thoughtfully. "Then I would suggest drawing a tube of marrow. The body metabolizes and changes, after all, so there might be some alterations. Hematopoietic stem cells and the like would be more stable."
March 7th's mouth fell open, her face turning pale at their words.
She was just here for a divination, not a medical examination! Did they really need to get designs on her insides?
"No, seriously? Do we really have to do that?" March s face turned ashen. "Draw my bone marrow?!"
"Rest assured," Fu Xuan said proudly. "I am also the Head of the Alchemy Commission. I am quite familiar with the Xianzhou's medical standards. It will only take half a day to have you fully recovered."
March 7th looked like all the color had drained from her face.
She gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and declared, "Fine! To get my memories back! Let's do it!"