Chapter 53: Big Brother
The arrow of light, like a comet, radiated blinding brilliance. Haloes spread across half the sky as it shot straight toward you…
"Grand Diviner Su!!!"
Commander Yueyu screamed, but she could do nothing under the overwhelming force you had used to throw her away…
Soon, even her voice faded.
You let out a quiet sigh of relief and collapsed weakly onto the ground. A tree branch pierced through the robe your little sister had carefully sewn for you, emerging from your chest.
Your consciousness gradually blurred. Scenes of your life flickered through your mind frame by frame…
"Big Brother, does this outfit look good on me?"
"Big Brother, I want to eat your candied taro…"
…
"Big Brother, look—this is the divination method with counting rods Master taught me…"
Every smile, every frown of that small figure seemed carved into the depths of your soul at this moment.
Go and become Xianzhou's diviner…
Little sister…
The future eyes of Xianzhou will surely shine as brightly as yours, and you will not fall into that wretched fate…
With your final strength, you activated Precognition one last time, looking five years into the future to see where Fu Xuan was—and whether she was safe.
In the vision:
Dark, mysterious hands gently touched her forehead, embedding within it a beautiful mystical eye. The little girl's tear-filled eyes were tightly shut. The eye on her forehead glowed faintly, as if crossing space and meeting your gaze…
"Big Brother… where… are you…"
That mystical eye seemed, in that instant, to perceive your existence.
You could not speak. You only felt countless branches growing from your body.
"Am I… sprouting?"
That was your final thought.
Then the arrow of light struck you head-on. You were instantly vaporized—melting away, dissolving into the air…
All that remained was a tiny speck of golden dust, shimmering as it fell, marking your former presence in this world.
It was a seed.
---
At the same time, deep within the vast Milky Way, a solitary and introverted genius girl had a nightmare.
She awoke, opening her emotionless violet eyes.
"This dream…"
She sat up. Her gaze drifted toward an old-fashioned wallet resting in the corner of the room.
Frowning, she pressed a hand to her chest.
Pain.
---
Meanwhile, General Tianji—whom you had hurled away with unreasonable force—had reached a safe area.
Yet she sat on the ground, covering her mouth and nose, crying toward the direction of the raging flames.
"Grand Diviner… Su…"
Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw the now-lost corner of the Celestial Ark Fanghu reflected in the firelight.
Her body trembled.
But she had survived.
---
Elsewhere, Diviner Jing Tian—the former Grand Diviner of Xianzhou—was in the Divination Commission, carrying out the task you entrusted to him: destroying your remaining "collections."
He muttered softly to himself while occasionally turning over the scraps of paper burning in the brazier.
It resembled someone burning spirit money in remembrance of the departed.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him.
Jing Tian sighed quietly, glanced at the books that had already burned to ash in the basin, and stood up.
There is no escape. How am I to face your little sister—when I am your master…?
He murmured, wiping the moisture from the corner of his eye with his sleeve.
"Master…"
The figure behind him stopped. Her eyes shimmered with tears; her hands were tightly clasped.
"Yes. I was waiting for you. Sit down, Fu Xuan. It has been a long time…"
"My Big Brother…"
The girl hesitated, wanting to speak yet holding herself back.
Jing Tian nodded.
"I know your brother's whereabouts."
"Your brother… became Xianzhou's Grand Diviner just before this."
"The order came from Marshal Hua. As his master, I do not know how your Big Brother persuaded the Marshal to appoint him…"
"But that is the truth."
Fu Xuan's body trembled faintly. Her pearly teeth bit hard into her lip, not even noticing the metallic taste of blood.
"I was wrong…"
Jing Tian said softly, his eyes filling with tears.
"Fate can be changed. Your brother taught me that lesson before he left."
"Heh… from now on, I will no longer divine."
"Before he departed, your Big Brother wished to entrust me with his property on the Celestial Ark Yuque. But after thinking it over, I have no use for such worldly possessions."
"You will manage them. From now on, I intend to travel—leave Xianzhou and experience destiny across different regions of the Sea of Stars."
"Master…"
Fu Xuan seemed about to protest.
But Jing Tian waved his sleeve, signaling her not to persuade him. His decision had been made.
"My disciple, restrain your grief. Your Big Brother… would not wish to see you so despondent."
After speaking, Jing Tian swayed as he walked out of the Divination Commission, heading toward a different destiny.
He traveled across the Sea of Stars, never again practicing divination. Like an ascetic monk, step by step, he witnessed and experienced the seemingly endless trajectory of fate that belonged to the long-lived species.
"Master… please take care…"
Fu Xuan knelt on the ground, staring in the direction he had gone.
Then she looked back at the now-empty Divination Commission behind her. Her eyes gradually turned hollow.
No pain surpasses that of a dead heart.
In an instant, it seemed she had lost everything.
Her Big Brother had died by her own hand…
Her Master had left…
Only she remained within the Divination Commission.
Suddenly, she did not know which path to take.
Her tears seemed to have dried along the way. She felt numb. Drained.
She walked out of the Divination Commission with her head lowered.
Unconsciously, she followed a familiar road—
The path to her Big Brother's study.
Before she realized it, the study stood before her. Nothing remained in the empty courtyard.
Only the wind chimes hanging beneath the eaves swayed gently in the evening breeze, producing soft yet heart-wrenching melodies.
Those were the wind chimes her Big Brother had made.
Yet he had not even left behind a complete body.
Leaving her—the little sister who wished to gather his remains—without even knowing where to search.
She walked along the outer wall of the study, her hand brushing the worn fence, gazing at the small inner courtyard she knew too well…
The days she spent there with her Big Brother felt as if they had been yesterday.
In the coming days, those scenes would no longer exist.
Big Brother…
Big Brother…
You…
In the end, it was not Master who died because of me—
It was Big Brother.
I will never again…