Just as he was thinking, Jiang Ran's phone suddenly popped up a message.
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: You're also participating in the Cloud Knights Martial Trial tomorrow? Do you want me to tell your fortune?
[Nickname]: Why 'also'?
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: Why so many questions? Do you want me to or not?
[Nickname]: No need. I'm full of confidence now (Pom-Pom emoji). Just wait for me to show off my skills tomorrow, join the Cloud Knights, and marry Lord Taibu!
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: Wait! What did you say? Marry Lord Taibu?
[Nickname]: Didn't you go to work today? Don't you know what's happening at the Divination Commission?
... Fu Xuan, who was lying sideways on the bed playing with her phone, suddenly sat up when she saw the latest message.
Fu Xuan carefully looked at her online friend's ID.
Something's not right!
Nickname? Jiang Ran?!
Could there be such a coincidence in this world?
Fu Xuan quickly glanced at her own username, [Ruthless Calculation Machine].
Since her identity hadn't been exposed, she lay back down with peace of mind.
Luckily, when chatting, she only said she was a Diviner at the Divination Commission and had never revealed her true identity.
She and [Nickname] met online two years ago.
One was busy with work, the other spent all day practicing martial arts, and whenever they had time, they would often confide in each other.
One complained about a certain superior who had long occupied their position and refused to retire, while the other complained about their martial arts master who never paid them any mind.
Gradually, the two became more and more familiar.
But Fu Xuan never imagined that the online friend she had been chatting with for two years was actually Jiang Ran!
And she had even seen him today.
Jiang Ran, completely unaware of this, was still recounting what happened at the Divination Commission today.
Fu Xuan watched the messages pop up one after another, feeling a little silent.
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: You seem very happy?
[Nickname]: Of course! That's Fu Xuan! I really want to lick her feet (Pom-Pom emoji).
Fu Xuan looked at the screen with distaste, then turned to look at her own Yueque feet, wrapped in white silk stockings, feeling an indescribable sensation... What kind of weird fetish is this!
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: What's so good about Lord Taibu? She has a bad temper and is busy with work all day. I really doubt if there's something wrong with your Dharma Eye.
[Nickname]: Oh, old bro, you don't understand. I just like Lord Taibu's type. Hehehe, I've liked her for three years.
Although Fu Xuan knew that Jiang Ran on the other end was unaware of her identity, his straightforward words still made her blush deeply.
Her legs thrashed twice on the bed, and she pulled the quilt to clamp it between her legs.
[Nickname]: Lord Taibu is great! I dream of her being my wife. She's delicate, frail, and easy to push over, just a bit flat... But small is also cute!
When Fu Xuan saw this message, she couldn't help but spit, "Lecher!"
Then she typed on her phone.
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: Is she really that good?
[Nickname]: Absolutely, brother.
The two of them usually chatted very casually online.
Jiang Ran had always assumed his online friend was male, and now, when chatting, he was completely unreserved, speaking in plain, direct language.
But Fu Xuan was having a terrible time.
Jiang Ran's messages made her uneasy, the quilt was clamped back and forth between her legs, and her face grew redder and redder.
Now she understood why Jiang Ran was so happy when he heard she worked at the Divination Commission.
It turned out he had ulterior motives for her even back then.
"Although you're a bit clumsy, your eyesight isn't bad. I won't hold those vulgar words against you," Fu Xuan's lips curved into an arc.
But recalling the divination she performed for Jiang Ran earlier today, she felt a little regretful. According to the hexagram, he would absolutely not pass tomorrow's Cloud Knights Martial Trial.
This was already within the Dharma Eye's prediction, confirmed without a doubt.
Jiang Ran lay on his bed, recounting his experience at the Divination Commission to his online friend, [Ruthless Calculation Machine].
At first, he was a little surprised that the other person didn't know about today's events.
After all, from previous experience, the other person was busy with work at the Divination Commission all day.
There was no reason for them not to know about today's events.
However, his excitement quickly faded.
The words he typed also carried a hint of dejection.
[Nickname]: But Lord Taibu gave me a condition. She'll only agree to marry me if I pass the Cloud Knights Martial Trial.
[Nickname]: I feel like she's a bit unwilling. She only agreed because she was following the General's orders.
[Nickname]: But why would the Matrix of Prescience give such an answer?
[Nickname]: Am I going to fall into the Mara-Struck state and destroy the entire Xianzhou Alliance if I don't marry Lord Taibu?
[Nickname]: But now that the General has spoken, there's no room for negotiation...
Watching the string of messages from Jiang Ran, Fu Xuan frowned slightly, thinking to herself, 'You certainly think a lot.'
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: You should pass tomorrow's Martial Trial first.
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: With your limited abilities, it might take you ten or eight years to pass, and by then, Lord Taibu will have already made her preparations.
[Nickname]: Hmph. How could I bear to let Lord Taibu guard an empty room! Maybe after the trial, I'll be inviting you to my wedding.
[Ruthless Calculation Machine]: Going to sleep.
[Nickname]: Leaving already?
Fu Xuan turned off her phone and stared blankly at the ceiling, her emotions incredibly complex.
She knew that stalling for time like this wasn't a solution. If Jiang Ran really couldn't pass, she wouldn't be able to go against the Xianzhou Alliance's orders.
But if she had to agree right then, she couldn't get past her own mental hurdle.
That's why she had set a strange condition, using it to vent a little bit of her small grievance.
Although Fu Xuan now held a position in Luofu, far from Yueque, her family background was undeniably solid.
If it were a true match in status, Jiang Ran joining the Cloud Knights wouldn't be enough; he would at least need to be a Vanguard.
Now, it was a mess, leaving her feeling unsettled.
Tonight was destined to be sleepless...
Seeing his online friend go offline, Jiang Ran didn't bother her further. He turned off his phone and stared blankly at the dark ceiling.
Actually, thinking calmly, Fu Xuan couldn't possibly defy the Xianzhou Alliance's orders. Even if he didn't pass, she would probably still have to marry him in the end.
Even if he joined the Cloud Knights, he would still be an unknown nobody, and there was still a gap between his status and Fu Xuan's.
Her setting such a condition today was merely due to her thin skin, wanting to save face for herself.
Or perhaps, she felt a bit wronged in her heart.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Although Fu Xuan was already over a hundred years old, in the eyes of the Xianzhou people, she was still quite young.
Coupled with her high position and prominent family background, being inexplicably arranged into such a marriage, it was only natural for her to feel a little wronged.
"I can only work harder and strive to become worthy of Lord Taibu as soon as possible..."
Thinking this, Jiang Ran looked forward to tomorrow's Cloud Knights Martial Trial even more.