You can read the next chapters of this book at *patreon.com/ZamirP*
"Qingque, did you hear everything I just said?"
"Ah... yes, yes, I heard it all. You can rest assured, Diviner."
"Good that you know. If there's a next time, I won't go easy on you."
"Yes, yes, yes, Diviner, then I won't bother you any longer."
"Mhm, go."
Just like that, the sound of her lecturing no longer came from the Diviner's office.
As one person's footsteps approached the door, many Diviners who had gathered there to eavesdrop immediately scattered in three directions.
In the blink of an eye, only two or three Diviners remained outside the door.
These three who stayed behind had a good relationship with Qingque.
They were all card players who often played di'yuan qiongyu together whenever they had the chance.
As soon as they saw Qingque emerge from behind the door, crestfallen, and after she casually closed the office door, these Diviners began to express their concern for Qingque.
"Qingque, are you alright?"
"I don't know why, but the Diviner is in a terrible mood today."
"Qingque, you were really too careless. I even sent you a message on your jade amulet to warn you."
Seeing the concern of her card friends, Qingque's mood wasn't as bad now.
She picked up her jade amulet, opened the chat app, and sure enough, saw a message from one of them reminding her that the Diviner was behind her.
At the time, because her luck was too good and she was about to win the hand, Qingque didn't even look at the friend message notification on her jade amulet and just swiped it away.
"Sorry, my luck was too good at the time, I didn't pay attention to the chat message."
Saying that, Qingque turned to look at the closed door, and then continued to speak to the Diviners beside her.
"Alright, now let me be alone for a bit. You all should hurry back to work too, otherwise, if the Diviner sees you, you might also be in trouble."
Fu Xuan's reputation was known to everyone in the Divination Commission.
Since they confirmed that Qingque was fine, those Diviners didn't linger any longer and all turned to walk back to their respective workstations.
It wasn't until Qingque slowly walked to her own workstation that she changed her expression, showing no sadness at all.
Qingque hadn't actually listened much to what Fu Xuan had told her just now.
She only vaguely remembered things like "work seriously" and "complete the tasks assigned to you well" and so on.
Throughout her scolding, she had only responded instinctively, relying on habits formed over many years.
Just as Qingque was thinking about what to eat for lunch today, a Diviner carried a stack of documents and placed them on her desk.
"Huh? Why are you putting this on my desk?"
"The Diviner assigned it. All of these will be completed by you from now on."
"Ah? Why?"
"You'll have to ask the Diviner about that. My task is just to hand these documents to you, that's all. I'm leaving now."
After saying that, the Diviner left.
And Qingque stared at the stack of documents on her desk, lost in thought.
She began to carefully recall the scene of Fu Xuan scolding her, and some of the things the other party had said.
"Hiss! Oh no! What did you just promise the Diviner with your big mouth!"
Qingque felt as if her world had collapsed.
She wished she could turn back time and beat herself to death for constantly agreeing with "Yes, yes, yes" at the time...After breakfast, Nan Li arrived at the Dan Ding Division to clock in for work.
He sat in his office, tidying up the items he had asked one of his medical practitioners to bring back yesterday.
Just then, a Dan Ding Division medical officer walked in from outside the door.
This medical officer's identity was not simple; she was the current Dan Shi Chief of the Dan Ding Division—Dan Shu.
"Dan Shu, the patient who fell Mara-Struck and was brought in yesterday, is he alright?"
Hearing Nan Li's inquiry, Dan Shu respectfully replied.
"Master Alchemist, that person is fine now. He was given the usual medication for treatment and soul stabilization, and the Remembrancers of the Fount of Recollection also assisted."
According to research, whether Xianzhou people fall Mara-Struck depends entirely on their own will.
Those with strong will, even at a thousand years old, will not fall Mara-Struck.
Those with weak will might fall Mara-Struck prematurely at three or four hundred years old.
Further research also shows that due to their physical constitution, Xianzhou people can live for a very long time.
However, a person's memory is finite.
Even Xianzhou people are no exception.
When memory is dominated by pain and regret, unable to perceive happiness, consciousness will collapse, thereby falling Mara-Struck.
Therefore, the current Master Alchemist of the Xianzhou Luofu Dan Ding Division—Nan Li—proposed that the Xianzhou could cooperate with the Remembrancers of the Fount of Recollection.
He suggested that while undergoing medicinal treatment, Remembrancers could assist from the side.
They would help patients whose memories had accumulated too much suffering, and who might fall Mara-Struck, by sorting through their memories.
By deleting or sealing away the memories that brought them pain, the probability of patients falling Mara-Struck could be effectively alleviated.
After several years of practice, the effect has indeed been significant.
However, this is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
After all, the fundamental reason for Xianzhou people falling Mara-Struck is too few happy memories and too many painful memories.
So, the current Master Alchemist of the Xianzhou Luofu Dan Ding Division, Nan Li, also said that Xianzhou people should cultivate both life and spirit; neither can be lacking.
For 'life,' Xianzhou people already have it.
For 'spirit,' it still needs to be greatly improved.
Of course, 'spirit' here does not refer to the primitive biological act of reproduction.
Instead, it refers to a person's soul, or rather, a person's mental consciousness.
Thus, the Master Alchemist of the Xianzhou Luofu Dan Ding Division also proposed that emphasis should be placed on the livelihood issues of Xianzhou people.
And he put forward the concept of livelihood security: nurturing the young, educating the learned, rewarding labor, healing the sick, caring for the elderly, housing the residents, and supporting the vulnerable.
For example, appropriately reducing some tuition and miscellaneous fees for students, appropriately lowering the cost of medicines for patients, and a series of other measures to enhance the happiness of the Xianzhou people.
And this proposal had already been adopted by Marshal Hua of the Starcruiser Alliance a few years ago.
It has been gradually implemented and improved over the past few years, and may even be enforced and promoted more vigorously in the near future...Without spending much time, Nan Li finished organizing the items, then looked up at Dan Shu, who was waiting at the side.
"Dan Shu, is there anything else to report?"
Dan Shu still nodded respectfully, then began to reply.
"Sir, the person you asked me and Yu Fei to keep an eye on has already started to make a move."
"Oh? Has the other party finally lost patience?"
Nan Li's expression began to turn serious.
Familiar with the plot, he considered that the only external force that could be involved with The Vidya Fellowship recently was the Lord of Destruction—Huàn Lóng.
And Dan Shu, before him, was the leader of The Vidya Fellowship, meaning the head of this faction.
However, unlike the original plot, Dan Shu did not actively establish The Vidya Fellowship.
Instead, she became its leader at Nan Li's behest.
The reason for Dan Shu's transformation into a villain was simply that her good friend—Yu Fei—died under Brother Lan's light arrow during the Third Abundance War.
However, due to Nan Li's intervention at the time, many people, including Yu Fei, who should have died, survived.
Dan Shu also did not turn into a villain as in the original plot.
Considering the turmoil on the Xianzhou Luofu at the time, rather than letting The Vidya Fellowship collude with other forces and cause trouble, it was more convenient to control it.
"Have you confirmed the target the other party plans to go after next?"
"Confirmed. It's Miss Tingyun, the Sky-Faring Commission's Emissary."
"Miss Tingyun's Minghuo Merchant Troupe will be going out for trade soon, right?"
"Yes, in three days."
Nan Li showed no surprise at this answer.
After all, these were events that would happen in the original plot.
Although there were changes due to Nan Li, some plot developments remained largely the same.
"Alright, I understand. I have other arrangements for this matter later.
"You and Yu Fei must be careful when interacting with the other party from now on. Continue with your usual approach; no need to change."
"Yes."
After Dan Shu left, Nan Li leaned back leisurely in the chair behind him.
"The rat hiding in the dark, after setting the trap for so long, is finally going to fall into it and start acting."
"Hmm, it's also time to have Bai Heng return from the Tree God Alliance to give Jing Yuan a surprise."
Just thinking about the upcoming scene of old friends reuniting truly makes one feel moved, hehe!
Just as Nan Li was contemplating how to arrange their reunion, a notification came from the Chat Group.
Someone had @-mentioned him in the group.
[Strongest Dark Elf: Mr. Nan Li, do you have time now? Can you come to our world and rescue me? @Nan Li]
...PS: Sorry, I'm sick and feeling a bit unwell. Updates these two days might be fewer.
Also, can my patrons give some free gifts? I will work hard to update, thank you very much!