After reviewing the materials, Sylvia made plans to visit the Seat of Divine Foresight again.
She intended to ask Jing Yuan a few more questions. After all, the man used to be quite close to the Imbibitor Lunae—he might know something more.
Before heading out, though, Sylvia pulled out a beautifully wrapped origami bird plushie.
"What's this?"
"A popular animated character from Penacony—the Origami Bird. I specially picked one in a color that matches yours."
Sylvia pressed the peach-colored Origami Bird into Fu Xuan's hands.
Since Penacony hadn't launched a custom-design feature yet, she had to settle for the classic version for now.
"Hmm… that's thoughtful of you."
Fu Xuan examined the origami bird, its hue quite close to her own hair color, and opened the box.
She cradled it gently in her palm.
The plushie was small, about the size of a palm, undeniably cute—though Fu Xuan felt it didn't quite suit her.
"Try pulling the three tufts of feathers on its head~"
Watching Fu Xuan hold the pink Origami Bird, Sylvia found the sight increasingly fitting.
She even felt the urge to pull out her phone for a picture, but the moment she did, Fu Xuan caught her red-handed.
Fu Xuan shot Sylvia a look, both exasperated and amused. 'This woman knows I have the Third Eye—how could she think of sneaking a photo of me?'
'Did she really think she'd succeed?'
Only after Sylvia grinned sheepishly and put her phone away did Fu Xuan raise a hand, pinch the feathers on the bird's head, and give them a light tug.
"Chirp-chirp—"
The Origami Bird suddenly let out a cheerful chirp, fluttered its wings a few times, and flew right out of Fu Xuan's hand.
It circled once in the air with a series of chirps before settling back down.
"...So noisy."
Fu Xuan's first impression was that the chirping bird circling around was rather loud. But Sylvia wasn't having it.
"Don't you think it's adorable?"
"..."
Fu Xuan very much wanted to say the little toy felt a bit childish.
But seeing Sylvia's enthusiastic expression as she pulled the feathers again, sending the bird on another loop, she swallowed those words back down.
'Fine then.'
'Since I'm the older one, I should be considerate of the youngster.'
Thinking this, Fu Xuan let out a soft sigh: "Cute, cute. This humble one accepts your gift. Thank you for remembering me."
Sylvia didn't mind Fu Xuan's reaction—as long as she didn't dislike it, it was fine.
After all, it was just a little trinket to place on a desk.
--+--
Leaving the Divination Commission, Sylvia headed to the side gate this time and found Qingque, who was on gate duty.
"Well, well, if it isn't my girl! What brings you here? You've been too busy for Celestial Jade these past few days."
Qingque was currently playing cards online with a few friends.
Seeing Sylvia emerge from inside the Divination Commission, she grinned and waved.
"Sorry, sorry. I took a trip recently, and I really haven't had time for cards."
Firefly didn't have much interest in Celestial Jade, so Sylvia hadn't dragged her into any games. That meant Qingque had been somewhat neglected lately.
With that in mind, Sylvia walked over, pulled a blue Origami Bird from her personal storage, and handed it over.
"Brought you a little souvenir."
"Oho, where'd you go for fun?"
Qingque seemed more interested in the Origami Bird than Fu Xuan had been—she clearly had a soft spot for cute things.
"It's from Penacony. I got one for Fu Xuan too, though the Master Diviner seemed to find it a bit childish."
"Heh~"
Qingque opened the box and found the mechanism in no time.
Watching the Origami Bird chirp and fly a loop, she patted Sylvia's shoulder approvingly: "The Master Diviner might find it childish, but for me, it's just right. Thanks!"
"Glad you like it."
"Hey, is Penacony fun? I've never been."
Playing with the Origami Bird, Qingque clung to Sylvia's arm and started quizzing her about Penacony.
"It's a blast. Since it's all in dreams, you can find any thrilling activity there. If you have time, take some leave and go? I have a Charmony Invitation—I can get you in for free."
Sylvia's invitation allowed guests too. Acheron might end up staying as a Galaxy Ranger anyway, so she might not need it.
Even counting Acheron, there would still be spots left.
If Qingque wanted to go, it'd be fine as long as she could get the time off.
"Really?!"
Qingque's eyes lit up instantly.
Penacony was famous across the cosmos, but so were its sky-high prices.
A humble little diviner like Qingque could never afford such luxury.
"Of course. Just depends on whether you can get that leave approved."
"Hmm… then I'll need to come up with a good reason."
Seeing Qingque lost in thought, Sylvia left her to her dilemma and headed out of the Divination Commission alone, making her way to the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Although she managed to meet General Jing Yuan without issue this time as well, his answers weren't much different from Fu Xuan's. While he added a bit more to the records, none of it touched on the crucial points.
As a High Elder, the Imbibitor Lunae could access many memories, but they were highly fragmented.
So even Jing Yuan knew little about Permanence.
And while the Vidyadhara High Elder would be the best source to understand Permanence, the current Luofu Vidyadhara had no High Elder.
Given the schemes of the Elder Council, it was better not to approach them.
With neither side yielding the desired results, Sylvia reluctantly set the matter aside for now.
She wandered her way back to Starskiff Haven.
Checking the time, she saw there was still a while before Tingyun got off work, so Sylvia decided to buy a pot of tea and kill some time there.
Sitting near the edge, Sylvia held a small teapot in one hand and her phone in the other.
Every now and then, she'd tilt her head back and pour a stream of tea directly from the spout into her mouth.
Blending perfectly into the laid-back vibe of Starskiff Haven.
Until—
"U-um, excuse me…"
A soft, timid, almost helpless voice sounded beside her.
Sylvia looked up to see a foxian girl with green hair, dressed in robes similar to a judge's attire. She clutched a command talisman tightly with both hands, holding it up in front of her face.
Her pitiful eyes kept darting glances at Sylvia, only to snap away nervously.
Oh, it's Huohuo.
Sylvia had almost forgotten—Huohuo liked to come to Starskiff Haven to watch the starskiffs and relieve stress.
'So adorable.'
Looking at the trembling Huohuo, Sylvia felt the urge to hug her and ruffle her hair.
Ahem, no no, mustn't scare the poor kid.
Sylvia composed herself inwardly and lowered her voice slightly:
"Yes? What is it?"
"Eek—! N-nothing, I'll go now, g-goodbye…"
Perhaps Sylvia's deliberately deepened tone frightened Huohuo, because she quickly raised the talisman, squeezed her eyes shut, and made a flustered attempt to flee.
"Get back here, you brat! I sent you to catch a ghost, not to say goodbye!"
But her tail yanked her back, hauling her right into place.
"Wahaha… b-but…"
Huohuo hung her head, muttering to herself for a good while. When she finally gathered the courage to look up again, she found Sylvia smiling, staring straight at her—and then, suddenly, the surroundings plunged into darkness.
Flickering, icy ghost fires glimmered around them.
"WAAAAAH—!!!"
Huohuo instantly fell into the classic crouch-and-cover pose, utterly terrified.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.