Chapter 156: Stelle: You're the Shadow General!
Qingque's implication was perfectly clear—she had no intention of bringing the three imposing figures from Nous to the Divination Commission.
At her unspoken suggestion, the three Aeons turned their gazes in perfect unison toward Leon, their silent forms awaiting his instruction.
"The three of you can go find Aha and Fuli," Leon said with a light, easy smile, his tone casual yet carrying an air of natural authority. "I'll go with the others to take a look at the Divination Commission."
He was, in fact, genuinely curious about the "Matrix of Prescience" that Fu Xuan had supposedly prepared.
"Very well."
The three beings from Nous—or rather, Nous, Qlipoth, and Nanook themselves—voiced no objections. After a brief acknowledgment, they turned and departed, their figures melting back into the bustling crowds of the Exalting Sanctum as if they were never there to begin with.
"My sincerest apologies for keeping such distinguished guests waiting," Qingque said, a relieved smile returning to her face as she gestured for the group to follow.
"It wasn't long at all. Watching you play so enthusiastically from the sidelines has made me quite curious about those Celestial Jade tiles myself," Welt replied gently, adjusting his glasses.
"Oh my, sir, you have a patient soul and a keen eye!" Qingque's own eyes lit up, and she immediately launched back into her favorite topic. "If you're interested, I can teach you how to play! It's an absolute blast, I promise!"
"Hey, everyone, look over there..." March 7th suddenly pointed into the distance. Through the swirling clouds and mist, the faint, colossal outline of the Ambrosial Arbor was just barely visible, a sight that brought a look of pure wonder to her face.
"That is an ancient tree named the 'Ambrosial Arbor,'" Dan Heng explained calmly. "It was once the pride and treasure of the Xianzhou Luofu." He had learned of it from Luocha and Sushang during their walk earlier.
"Oh? An outworlder who's so well-versed in Luofu history?" Qingque glanced at Dan Heng, surprised. "That's impressive. Nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone from the younger generation on the Luofu who could tell you its origin."
"The Cloud Knights told me when they escorted me into the city," Dan Heng answered succinctly.
"That's right. Legend has it that this Ambrosial Arbor is a remnant from when the ancient Xianzhou ships first roamed the cosmos..." Qingque picked up the thread of conversation. "Don't be fooled by how it looks like a half-dead stump from this distance. The 'Records of the High Cloud Dream'state that in its prime, it could'clasp the firmament and hang the morning stars'!"
"Hmm... What does that mean?" March 7th blinked, her little brain churning for a long moment before giving up.
"It means the tree was tall enough to reach the sky, and its branches could hold the stars," Welt translated for her with a patient smile.
"How big would that even be... As big as the Astral Express? No, that's not right. As big as the Herta Space Station? Still not right... To be able to hang the stars... I don't think the entire Xianzhou would be big enough to hold it, would it?" March 7th's imagination seemed to short-circuit at the sheer scale.
"Truly an unimaginably majestic tree," Stelle murmured, her gaze lost in the distant silhouette.
"Exactly! In short, it's as big as you can possibly imagine. It's all just legend, anyway," Qingque waved her hand dismissively with a smile. "I see this view every day on my way to and from work. Honestly, I'm sick of it. Come on, we're almost there. Everyone, please follow me closely."
Under Qingque's familiar guidance, the Astral Express crew soon arrived before the grand entrance to the Divination Commission's domain.
"Alright, let me give you all a heads-up..." Qingque lowered her voice, her expression becoming uncharacteristically serious. "Once we're inside, don't go wandering off. Even though you're the Grand Diviner's guests, she personally detests people who don't follow the rules or ask too many questions. Whatever you do, do not provoke her."
"We are only here to observe the interrogation. We will leave as soon as it concludes," Welt nodded, signaling his understanding.
"Huh? That's strange..." Upon reaching the main gate, Qingque found it shut tight, a bewildered look spreading across her face.
"Let me guess... the door is suddenly broken?" March 7th chimed in, her voice full of a veteran's resignation. For some reason, every Trailblaze mission they went on seemed to feature at least one unexpected mechanical failure.
"I don't get it... The main gate is locked. It's never locked, and nobody told me I needed to bring a key." Qingque spread her hands helplessly. "Hey, hey, no matter how bad the cafeteria food is, you can't just lock the guests out, can you?"
"Are you... actually from the Divination Commission?" March 7th couldn't help but shoot her a suspicious look.
"Is it possible you've already been fired?" Caelus speculated with his usual deadpan calm.
"Is there really such a good thing in this world?" Qingque blurted out, momentarily stunned.
Sensing the surprised gazes of the entire group instantly zeroing in on her, she quickly coughed twice to cover her slip. "Ahem... That makes no sense. I've already been demoted to managing the library. What more could she possibly want from me?"
"Don't panic," Qingque quickly regained her composure, a sly glint in her eye. "The Divination Commission has more than one gate. I know a place that can be used for emergency access... it's right this way."
She led the group around to the side of the building.
"I see you know your way around. You must have snuck out through this 'side door' to slack off many times, right?" March 7th asked teasingly.
"Hey, you've got sharp eyes, girl!" Qingque didn't even try to deny it, grinning. "Those of us who work at the Divination Commission call this the 'Gate of Leisure.' When we're bored out of our minds, we often sneak out from here to enjoy ourselves for a few hours."
"A few hours?! I really didn't need to know such 'useless' information..." March 7th facepalmed.
Qingque confidently tried the door handle, only to find that the "Gate of Leisure" wouldn't budge either.
"Just what kind of mess has this damn Stellaron corruption caused..." she sighed in frustration. "This is terrible. This door won't open either. If I keep the Grand Diviner waiting too long, she'll definitely think that unreliable Qingque has botched the job again."
"The Grand Diviner sent someone like this to pick us up, and she claims she's not mad at us?" March 7th muttered under her breath.
"Oh... right!"
Just then, Stelle suddenly clapped her hands together, a look of deep realization dawning on her face.
"What's wrong?" Everyone turned to look at her curiously.
"I was wondering why the name 'Qingque'sounded so familiar..." Stelle's eyes lit up as she looked at Qingque with pure, unadulterated expectation. "I heard the storyteller in the Exalting Sanctum talking about the'shadow general'earlier. That was you, right! You're that'shadow general,' aren't you? I knew it! The Divination Commission wouldn't treat its guests so poorly!"
Qingque: "..."
Her mouth opened, but the words got stuck in her throat. For a moment, she had absolutely no idea how to even begin to explain.
"Th-that was just made up by the storyteller! It's fake, you can't take it seriously..." Qingque waved her hands frantically, her expression stiffening into a mask of panic. "Wait, how did that rumor even reach you outworlders?"
She wasn't any shadow general... Help! This misunderstanding was getting way too big!
However, Stelle clearly didn't believe a word of it. She put on an expression that screamed, 'I understand, you can keep pretending, I won't expose you,' and even excitedly prepared to retell the legendary tale of the "shadow general" for everyone's benefit.
"Hey, wait...!"
Reacting with lightning speed, Qingque grabbed the sleeve of the one person who was just watching the show from the sidelines. "Didn't you spread this nonsense in the first place? You'd better explain this to me right now!"
"What? Big Brother said it?" Stelle was stunned, her star-struck gaze instantly shifting from Qingque to Leon.
Beside them, Welt adjusted his glasses, a look of "I knew it" flashing across his face. He wasn't the least bit surprised that such an outlandish story had originated from Leon's mouth.
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