Xianzhou Luofu, Divination Commission.
"General, some Cloud Knight soldiers have gone missing."
Fu Xuan found Jing Yuan and spoke with a solemn expression.
The hand with which Jing Yuan had been about to place a game piece paused in mid-air. His brows knitted; he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"Lord Fu, tell me the details."
"General, the Cloud Knights reported that two people from one of their squads have disappeared."
To be honest, things like this had almost never happened in recent years. No one wanted to casually offend the Xianzhou Luofu.
"How has the recent entry and exit situation on the Luofu been?" Jing Yuan asked.
This matter was not so simple. As the general, he had not sensed anything at all.
"There hasn't been anything unusual, and there are no records of anyone leaving the ship." Fu Xuan had already investigated before coming to Jing Yuan.
"It seems someone thinks my Xianzhou Luofu is easy to bully." Jing Yuan's tone was faint.
"The Qiongguan Formation didn't divine anything?"
Fu Xuan shook her head. "I tried, but it was all a blur. I couldn't see anything."
Hearing that, Jing Yuan's expression became more serious.
The Qiongguan Formation was a divination array that allowed its user to gaze upon past and future. As the Luofu drifted across the sea of stars, it could not be without this for even a day.
The reason the Luofu had been able to turn danger into safety again and again was all thanks to the Qiongguan Formation.
Yet now there was someone even the Qiongguan Formation could not observe.
"An Emanator." Jing Yuan spoke in a low voice.
The first thing that came to his mind was that level of powerhouse. No matter how accurate the Qiongguan Formation might be, it could not spy on Emanators of the Aeons.
Of course, there were also some special individuals—those who walked Paths such as Nihility, Mystery, Elation, or Finality were all difficult to observe.
"An Emanator?" Fu Xuan's expression showed her confusion.
She did not understand.
How could an existence like that possibly bother to kidnap a few ordinary Cloud Knight soldiers? What would be the point?
"Don't say you can't figure it out. I can't figure it out either," Jing Yuan said helplessly.
Indeed, to capture a few ordinary Cloud Knight soldiers, there was no way an Emanator would be that idle.
"Lord Fu, trouble yourself to use the Qiongguan Formation to divine it again. If you really can't locate them, remember to give proper compensation to the families of the missing." Jing Yuan continued.
There was nothing more he could do. If an Emanator really had made the move, and could come and go without a trace, then it simply meant the other party's strength surpassed his. It would be impossible to find them.
Fu Xuan nodded, then left on her short legs.
"A troubled season indeed…"
Jing Yuan let out a slight sigh. He had not told the simple-minded Fu Xuan that this might also have been the work of someone from within the Luofu itself. How could he not understand the darkness lurking beneath the surface?
Could there be someone who wanted to study the Xianzhou people's physiques?
A Mara-Struck body was something many of the old fossils avoided like the plague. Once the Mara affliction flared up, it was basically a death sentence.
Koji had no idea that Jing Yuan was filling in the blanks with his own imagination. Some nameless Emanator, or some old geezer on the verge of succumbing to a Mara-Struck body, was now taking the blame for him.
Teyvat, Sumeru City.
"Venti got thrown into jail again?"
The moment Koji came back, he heard that Venti had been locked up for having no money on him.
Venti was performing true to form. It really felt like there was no god more outrageous than he was. This had to be the umpteenth time; saying it had only happened a few times would definitely be an understatement—ten-plus times was entirely possible.
"That word 'again' is doing a lot of work there." Rukkhadevata laughed.
"In Inazuma, Venti was also thrown in for something like this."
Koji could only shrug with a wry smile.
In Liyue, he could open a tab and didn't have to go to jail.
In Mondstadt, Venti could make money by singing and collecting tips, but in other nations, bards weren't nearly as popular.
"Back when the Seven gathered, Barbatos ended up locked up too," Rukkhadevata said, amused.
There really weren't many gods who could disgrace themselves this thoroughly.
"Is he out yet?" Koji asked.
"Mm." Rukkhadevata nodded.
"I remember Jean gave Venti some Mora. He already burned through it all?" Koji raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"I checked Barbatos' purchase records. He bought several bottles of rather expensive wine." Rukkhadevata pressed her bright lips together in a smile.
Right. Once he had money, of course he would go on a revenge-spending spree. Even a god was no exception.
"Everything's fine at the Akademiya now?"
Koji knew very well that once Rukkhadevata took action, anyone who had been in league with Azar would all be dragged down.
"Alhaitham and the others are very capable," Rukkhadevata praised without reservation.
"Pfft, I bet Alhaitham is walking around with a permanent grimace." Koji couldn't help laughing.
Alhaitham did not care much for status. A calm and comfortable life was what he truly pursued.
Though the position of Acting Grand Sage was high-ranking and powerful, Alhaitham genuinely didn't care about it. On the contrary, he saw the position as a nuisance.
If it were Koji in his shoes, he would have made the same choice. When you compared a relaxed job with a house attached to an extremely high-pressure position with endless work, most people would clearly pick the former.
"Heh, yes. Alhaitham even complained to me that he's not suited to being Acting Grand Sage," Rukkhadevata said with a smile.
"However, I didn't approve his resignation. Sumeru is seriously lacking in talent. At the very least, we have to wait until I've found a suitable candidate."
It wasn't that she wanted to make things difficult for him; truly capable people like Alhaitham were hard to find.
"After a few hundred years, has the position of Grand Sage really become this unpopular?" Rukkhadevata herself didn't quite understand.
Back when she had been alive, scholars would scramble and fight bloody academic battles over the title of Grand Sage. The intensity of the competition had been no less than that of the Archon War when choosing the ruling Archons.
"Times have changed, Rukkhadevata. There's far too much work tied to the position of Grand Sage. Anyone who likes a laid-back life wouldn't want to sit in that chair," Koji said.
That was not a job where you could slack off. Overtime was the norm. Compared to that, being a scribe was much more relaxed.
Rukkhadevata let out a small sigh. When she had decided to let Alhaitham directly assume the position of Grand Sage, she had been met with his immediate, decisive refusal. There hadn't been the slightest hesitation, as if the position were some kind of terrifying monster.
"What has Nahida been up to recently?" Koji hadn't seen that little feather-ball in a while.
"She requested to go study and observe within the Akademiya herself," Rukkhadevata replied.
Nahida knew very well how much she still lacked. For the past five hundred years, she had only come to know things through the Akasha, and her understanding of reality was not deep. If she wanted to become a qualified Dendro Archon, she had to understand the people of Sumeru.
"That's putting all the pressure on the teachers," Koji said teasingly.
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had formally affirmed the status of the Little Lucky Grass King. Although the people of Sumeru still acknowledged the first Dendro Archon, the little Archon's standing was not affected. She could be said to be the princess of Sumeru.
With a student like that, how could any teacher not be nervous? If anything went wrong, they might be fired on the spot.
"If Nahida does something wrong, I won't show her favoritism," Rukkhadevata said seriously.
It was one thing to take care of Nahida in daily life, but when it came time to uphold justice, she had to be fair.
Koji did not comment. If Nahida really made a mistake, Rukkhadevata would definitely give her a thorough lecture.
(End of Chapter)
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