As Lucian gazed intensely at the old man, who looked like a typical passerby, the old man suddenly turned his head toward Lucian's direction.
In the next moment, the old man—wearing a pair of black sunglasses, appearing pitiful and harmless, looking like a blind old man yet somehow giving the impression that he could see—slowly walked up to Fu Xuan and Lucian, then stopped right in front of their table.
"Young miss, you may ask me one question."
Out of nowhere, the old man spoke to Fu Xuan, his tone calm and somewhat indifferent.
Fu Xuan, who was immersed in reading, lifted her head, giving the old man a confused look before turning to Lucian.
"Is he a friend of yours, Master?"
"No..."
Lucian, gazing calmly at the old man, shook his head, then began pondering.
'Shouldn't Fu Xuan meet Nous in the Path Space? At this time, she should've already earned the right to ask THEM one question, from which she would get the third eye, right? Why are THEY chasing her down in person now?'
He couldn't help but doubt whether this old man was really Nous's avatar.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any questions for you."
Fu Xuan, after hearing her master's answer, refused the old man's offer casually, lowering her head again to continue reading.
"Why not? Don't you want an eye that can see the future?"
Seeing Fu Xuan's nonchalant attitude, the old man pressed on.
"No." Fu Xuan answered bluntly without even looking up. "What's the point of seeing it? What I want is the power to change it, not see it."
Unlike before, she now understood that mere divination could never prevent tragedy. In her mind, only her master's ability was what she truly desired, while everything else was unnecessary.
Upon hearing Fu Xuan's answer, the old man frowned, then spoke again.
"What you seek cannot be obtained."
At this statement, Fu Xuan, her expression souring, shut her book, grabbed Lucian's arm, and started walking away, completely ignoring the old man.
"Is that old man crazy? I don't need anything from him, so what's with all that talk about things I can't have?" Fu Xuan clung to Lucian's arm, complaining softly. "I've already gotten most of what I wanted anyway..."
Seeing her ignoring him and walking away, the old man made no move to stop her—he merely stood there quietly, watching her leave with an unchanging gaze.
Lucian glanced back, just in time to see the old man vanish where he stood.
'Did I just steal Nous's role?' Lucian thought in amusement. 'Fu Xuan was originally supposed to receive the third eye from THEM, but now she doesn't even want it anymore... Well, whatever—it's not like that eye mattered anyway. In this script, it's better not to have it at all.'
In the end, after today, the old man never appeared again.
Lucian and Fu Xuan, meanwhile, continued living their peaceful daily lives, already putting the old man's matter behind them.
===
Time passed, and two hundred and seventy years went by in the blink of an eye.
During those years, Lucian had reversed more than ten major and minor disasters for the Xianzhou Yuque—disasters that Jingtian's divinations couldn't prevent, ones only Lucian could alter.
He even found time to travel to Koolur to rescue little Feixiao, sending her back with Yueyu to the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
Lucian's accomplishments as the Celestial Master had completely convinced everyone in the Xianzhou Yuque, earning him the highest praise from all, including the higher-ups.
Day by day, his reputation grew until he eventually became the most respected diviner in the entire Xianzhou Alliance.
Countless people tried to hire him at great cost, yet none could even meet him in person.
Among the billions of citizens living in the Xianzhou Yuque, only one person could see him every day—Fu Xuan.
===
On a sunny day, in the Starrest Pavilion, Lucian returned with two steaming cups of milk tea, just in time to see Fu Xuan standing on her tiptoes, tying a red ribbon around the osmanthus tree they had planted together long ago.
Even after two hundred and seventy years, she still couldn't reach the lowest branch—yet stubbornly refused to use a stool.
"Looks like you've gotten taller again, Little Xuan." Lucian remarked casually, setting down the two cups on the nearby stone table—his sleeves carrying the faint scent of the morning market's smoke and spice.
"I measured my height with the spirit gauge yesterday—half a grain taller than last year." Fu Xuan huffed softly without turning around, the pink tips of her hair brushing lightly against her neck.
Just as she finished speaking, however, she suddenly felt her body grow lighter.
Lucian had already placed his hands around her waist, gently lifting her as if he were holding a handful of moonlight, careful not to let her bump into the lantern nearby. As his four fingers pressed lightly against her abdomen, feeling the faint ripple of her toned lines beneath his touch, he could tell that her waist was truly slender and soft.
"Half a grain's still impressive..."
Lucian murmured, but the warm breath from his murmur brushed against Fu Xuan's ear, making her fingers tremble as she tied the ribbon.
Now that they were close, she could clearly smell the mix of pine needles and sugar clinging to his clothes.
Just then, a drop of dew fell from the branch above, landing on Fu Xuan's brow—cold enough to make her shiver and snap from her daze.
"A little to the left... no, more left..." Fu Xuan said softly, her voice so faint it was almost to herself.
Before long, when the uneven ribbon on the osmanthus tree finally formed a lopsided knot, Lucian released Fu Xuan, letting her back down to the ground.
In that instant, the warmth and steadiness of his support vanished, replaced by the cool morning air.
Fu Xuan instinctively leaned back a little, as if trying to hold onto that warmth, but then froze—flustered by her own instinctive reaction.
Sunlight glinted off the cups of milk tea on the stone table, making them look dazzlingly bright.
"Milk tea?" Fu Xuan's eyes lit up.
"Someone stared at a kid's milk tea for fifteen seconds the other day." Lucian teased, catching the dew off a vanilla leaf with his jade pot. "But today, you only get half. Last time you—"
Before he could finish, a straw was shoved into his mouth.
"I'm drinking all of it!"
Fu Xuan exclaimed while shoving a straw into Lucian's mouth—her fingertip brushed against his lips by accident, but she acted as if nothing had happened.
After two hundred and seventy years together, intimate gestures like that came as naturally as breathing.
Fu Xuan quickly looked down, wrapping her lips around her own straw—the soft pink of her mouth pressed against it as she took a small sip.
"It's so good..."
Hearing Fu Xuan's satisfied murmur, Lucian looked at the white jade hairpin he had given her last year, now sitting crooked in her pink hair.
Seeing it, his throat moved slightly, but in the end, he only pushed the cup of tea brewed with dew toward her, causing the reflection of the two of them to shimmer across the tea's surface.
Lucian watched Fu Xuan pretending to read and recalled how, just last night, she had fallen asleep at his desk—and how he had carried her back to her room, the moonlight filtering through her lashes and casting a trembling shadow, like a trail of hesitant starlight.
Over the years, her divination had grown sharper, for she had inherited most of his divination arts, mastering many forms of divination.
On top of that, she had even won first place at the Divination Tournament, becoming a celebrity in the Xianzhou Yuque.
Back then, she had started getting a little smug about it—often saying she would push Jingtian out of his seat, that she wanted the position of Master Diviner for herself.
In the original story, she was supposed to learn that she would cause the death of her master, Jingtian, so she rebelled against fate and exiled herself to the Xianzhou Luofu, becoming the Master Diviner of the Xianzhou Luofu's Divination Commission instead of remaining in the Xianzhou Yuque.
However, since Lucian had intercepted her fate, none of that ever happened in this script.
Fu Xuan stayed in the Xianzhou Yuque, never trying to steal Jing Yuan's position as the Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu, since she only had eyes on Jingtian's Master Diviner position.
Now she was an elite diviner herself—equal in rank to her father.
Soon enough, after finishing her sweet milk tea, Fu Xuan reached for a sip of the clear tea to cleanse her palate—but because it was still too hot, her tongue stung as soon as she took a sip, and she winced softly, her brows furrowing.
Lucian's gaze immediately fell on her lips, watching as her tongue peeked out just a little.
"Burned yourself?" Lucian asked, his voice lower than usual.
At his question, Fu Xuan shook her head, but he was already reaching out—his long fingers gently tilting her chin, his thumb brushing the corner of her lips, wiping away a nonexistent trace of tea.
"..."
Fu Xuan's breath hitched, her pupils dilating.
Even though her master's touch was light, his fingertip warm and dry, the feeling against her lips was strikingly vivid.
Lucian lowered his gaze, his lashes casting a small shadow as he studied the curve of Fu Xuan's soft lips with quiet focus.
"It's fine... Not serious..." Lucian said softly, his thumb still lingering on the soft lips.
Fu Xuan's lashes fluttered, while her heartbeat raced wildly in her chest.
In the next moment, she tilted her face slightly upward, lips parting just a little—about to speak, or perhaps... something else...
Seeing her like this, Lucian's breathing grew heavier, and his thumb unconsciously grazed her lower lip.
Suddenly, the morning breeze rustled the osmanthus leaves overhead, making a few drift down, landing softly on the stone table between them.
As the tea fragrance mingled with the sweetness of milk tea in the air, time itself seemed to stop for a heartbeat.
Lucian's thumb slowly withdrew, brushing faintly against Fu Xuan's lip as it left, causing her breath to turn completely unsteady.
"Wait until it cools before drinking." Lucian said gently as he withdrew his hand, his voice calm again.
"Mm... Okay..." Fu Xuan lowered her head and murmured, still staring at their blurred reflections in the tea.
*Beep-Beep-Beep!*
Suddenly, Lucian's phone-type jade abacus rang, and when he opened it, he saw a message from Jingtian.
[Jingtian: Celestial Master, there's trouble. I just got word that the Abundance army has gathered to invade the Fanghu. I'm heading there for emergency support—please take charge of the Divination Commission for me in the meantime.]
Reading this message, Lucian felt nothing—if anything, he almost laughed.
'I see... It's already Year 8072, huh...' Lucian thought silently, feeling slightly nostalgic. 'So, the Third Abundance War is coming again...'
In the next moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.
'Let's see if Sham Diviner can affect fate on a scale this big.'
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]