"Hmm... hmm... hmm~"
On the Xianzhou Luofu, Qingque happily hummed a little tune, her small head swaying slightly to the rhythm. The tiles of Celestial Jade in her hands clattered noisily, drawing curious sidelong glances from her fellow players at the table.
"Qingque, did something good happen to you recently? You seem in such high spirits—why not share it with the rest of us?" One of the players raised an eyebrow and spoke up first.
"Yeah, did you strike it rich or something? Otherwise, how could you still afford to keep playing? I remember you owed that outworlder guy a huge sum last time," another player chimed in.
"Eh? Is it that obvious?" Qingque scratched her head sheepishly, though the irrepressible smile on her face betrayed her inner thoughts.
"Come on, don't keep us in suspense! Spill it~" Seeing Qingque's evasive demeanor, the only other female player at the table rolled her eyes helplessly, got up, walked behind Qingque, and gently grabbed her shoulders, shaking her lightly.
"Hehe, it's nothing much, really... just... just..." At this point, the previously smug Qingque suddenly grew bashful, her usually straightforward demeanor giving way to an uncharacteristically girlish shyness.
"Qingque... don't tell me you got yourself a boyfriend?"
Seeing this, the other players seemed to realize something.
Xianzhou natives lived long lives, spanning centuries with ease, and they'd known Qingque for quite some time. This girl had always been carefree and unbothered, but now, with this lovestruck expression on her face... well, it was certainly a first.
"Mmm..." Qingque responded softly, confirming everyone's suspicions.
"Wow, it's actually true! Qingque, you really are a late bloomer. I thought you'd stay married to Celestial Jade for life—ah!" Before the player could finish speaking, an eerie gust of wind seemingly came out of nowhere, flipping over a passing Clockwork Bird mid-flight and sending its cargo plummeting from the sky, landing squarely on the player's head.
"Wh-where did this... come from...? Ugh, next time... I'm definitely playing indoors..."
The struck player felt dizzy and disoriented, wobbling as they stood up from their seat before collapsing against the table and passing out.
The sudden turn of events left everyone at the table stunned. One moment, they were chatting happily, and the next, someone was knocked unconscious out of nowhere.
"Phew, it's fine. They're just knocked out. We Xianzhou folks are tough—this little bump is nothing." After a quick check confirmed the player was unharmed, the female player returned to Qingque's side, eager to continue the conversation.
But just then...
Qingque suddenly turned her gaze to the side, her emerald-green eyes shimmering with a faint glow. Then, in a flash, she stood up from her seat, startling the player who had just approached her.
"Whoa, Qingque, what's the big idea?!" The woman couldn't help but complain, expressing her displeasure at being startled.
"Hehehe, sorry about that! I just remembered something important. Let's call it a day for now—I gotta go!" With that, Qingque bolted away without another word, as if fleeing from some monstrous beast.
"Uh... am I really that scary?" Watching Qingque's retreating figure, the player fell into deep thought.
———————————
"That gust of wind earlier... it didn't feel like natural airflow. It was more like... a lifeform composed of energy."
Following the direction of the eerie wind, Qingque furrowed her brows slightly. That unnatural gust had completely evaded her perception—had it not knocked over the Clockwork Bird, she might never have noticed it at all. Just what was its origin?
Pondering this, Qingque quietly activated the power of Causality, attempting to deduce information about the wind.
"So that's it... it's an underling of the 'Everburning Flames Scourge,' a Lord Ravager serving Destruction. Tsk... the toll for this deduction is really heavy..."
As the authority of Causality took effect, Qingque soon received the results of her deduction. Upon learning that the eerie wind was none other than the Lord Ravager—Phantylia—she massaged her temples with a headache.
Why would a Lord Ravager appear on the Xianzhou? Heh, wasn't it obvious? They must be here to cause trouble for the Luofu! As an Emanator of Destruction, what else would they do besides furthering the Path of Destruction?
"Hmm, I should probably report this to the Master Diviner and let her handle it. A small fry like me shouldn't get involved..." Thinking this, the ever-lazy Qingque decided to pass the matter on to Fu Xuan, letting the Xianzhou's second-in-command and the Arbiter-General, Jing Yuan, deal with it.
But just then, another piece of information from her deduction made her fall into rare silence.
In her vision, Qingque saw Tingyun's figure. According to the deduction, her friend would likely perish in this calamity. As Tingyun's close companion, Qingque absolutely couldn't stand by and watch her meet such a fate.
"Ah... looks like I can't stay out of this after all. Fine, then let's see how far this ' Emanator of Causality' can go against a long-renowned 'Lord Ravager.'"
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Nighttime...
At Qingque's home, Yun Fan gazed at the girl devouring a bowl of boiled fish with spicy broth at the table, alongside the somewhat reserved Tingyun, who was eating her meal with delicate, ladylike bites. He couldn't help but fall into thought.
'From the storyline's perspective, Tingyun should've already had her body taken over by Phantylia a year or two ago. I guess there are still quite a few differences between the plot and reality? Well, it's for the better—saves me from having to use the authority of Causality again.'
"Mm! So full! Fan, your cooking is just as amazing as ever—I never get tired of it!" After polishing off the entire bowl of boiled fish, Qingque let out a satisfied burp, leaned back in her chair, and gave Yun Fan a thumbs-up.
"Heh, at this rate, you're going to go from being Qingque to a chubby little sparrow," Yun Fan shook his head helplessly. Several months had passed since he first cooked for her.
This girl had absolutely no sense of restraint, indulging in food and drink every day without a care for maintaining her figure. If he hadn't been dragging her into nightly exercise, she'd probably have developed a little belly by now.
"Well, whose fault is it that your cooking's so delicious? Hehe... mwah~!" With that, Qingque stood up from her chair, hopped over to Yun Fan, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
In response, Yun Fan "disgustedly" wiped his face—she'd just finished eating boiled fish, and her lips were still covered in red oil.
Watching the two interact without a care for their surroundings, Tingyun lowered her head slightly and silently continued eating. Knowing this would happen, she might as well have gone to the Seat of Divine Foresight for shelter. Coming here probably just made her an unwitting third wheel in Qingque's romantic life.
Recalling what had happened two hours earlier, Tingyun couldn't help but sigh inwardly...