Chapter 119: Bluebird

Chen strolled through the streets of the Exalting Sanctum, flanked by March 7th and Caelus. The shops on either side glowed with warm, inviting light, and the mingled aromas of a dozen different street foods wafted through the air, a fragrant mix of spice and sugar. Though the crowds were thinner than they had been in the past, a unique and resilient bustle, characteristic of the Xianzhou, still hummed through the city.

As they ambled along, Chen’s gaze was snagged by a small shop tucked away on a street corner. The storefront was unassuming, but from within came a series of distinct sounds: the gentle, rhythmic shuffling of tiles, the sharp clack of a piece being set, followed by hushed conversations and the occasional, triumphant cheer.

A card parlor.

Chen paused, his steps faltering. A name immediately flashed through his mind, bright and clear.

Qingque.

According to the bizarre, gender-swapped logic of this world, the notoriously lazy diviner from the Divination Commission, whose true passion was slacking off to play Celestial Jade, should now be a…

Before he could even finish the thought, the curtain over the parlor’s entrance was abruptly pushed aside. A small group emerged, laughing and talking amongst themselves. Leading the pack was a petite youth who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen. He was dressed in dark green, embroidered casual wear, his gray hair tied back in a neat, short ponytail. A faintly smug smile played on his lips as he idly tossed a jade coin in his hand.

“Qingque, your luck was on fire today! Three big hands in a row!” one of his companions exclaimed.

“Luck, it’s all just luck!” the youth replied, his voice clear and untroubled.

The people around him chuckled and began to disperse. The youth, now confirmed as Qingque, let out a theatrical yawn. He was about to turn and head back into the parlor when his eyes drifted across the street and caught sight of Chen’s trio.

His gaze lingered on Chen’s face for a second, a flicker of mild curiosity at the unfamiliar sight. But he clearly didn’t care enough to dwell on it. With a casual, almost dismissive nod that served as a greeting, he lifted the curtain and ducked back inside.

‘It really is him,’ Chen thought, his eyes lighting up with a familiar, mischievous glint.

His appearance hadn’t been drastically altered; he was just a handsome, if somewhat indolent-looking, young man.

‘So, Fu Xuan became a stern young master, and Qingque became a lazy youth…’Chen mused.’Well, at least this one’s height hasn’t changed much.’

An idea, brilliant and utterly chaotic, sparked in his mind.

“March, Caelus,” Chen said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “You two go on ahead. See if you can find anything else delicious to try. I… ah, have something to take care of. I’ll catch up in a minute.”

March 7th had been craning his neck, his attention captivated by a nearby sugar-blowing stall. He turned his head, a suspicious look clouding his features. “What is it? You’re not thinking of going in there to play cards, are you?” He pointed an accusatory finger at the parlor’s signboard, his face a mask of disapproval. “Chen, gambling is a bad habit! Besides, Caelus is still here! You can’t be a bad influence on her!”

Caelus, her expression hidden behind a fox mask, said nothing, but her visible eye swiveled to fix Chen with a pointed, questioning stare.

“No cards, no cards!” Chen insisted, waving his hands frantically. “I’m just… curious. I’ll just take a quick peek inside, that’s all! It’ll be fast! You guys go buy some food first. Get me a Milk Cake, and make it double sugar!”

He dangled the bait, and as expected, March 7th was immediately diverted.

“Double sugar? How sweet would that even be… Fine, fine, just hurry up!” he relented. “We’ll wait for you at the sugar painting stall up ahead!”

He grabbed Caelus’s arm and began to pull her away, but not without tossing one last warning over his shoulder.

“No gambling!”

Watching the two of them recede into the crowd, Chen let out a sigh of relief. He glanced left and right, then darted into a narrow, dark alley adjacent to the card parlor.

The alley was cluttered with discarded crates and smelled of damp stone. The light here was dim, a world away from the vibrant street. Confirming he was alone, Chen closed his eyes and focused his mind.

A soft light enveloped him, flowing over his form like water. His figure shimmered and changed, his black hair lengthening and shifting to a pale pink, elegantly coiling into a dignified bun at the back of his head. The casual clothes he wore melted away, replaced by the ornate, dignified robes of the Master Diviner.

He had become Fu Xuan.

Standing at a height of less than 1.5 meters, her face was delicate, with a lingering hint of childishness that belied her station. But the calm, serious aura between her brows was a perfect imitation of the real Fu Xuan’s spirit. Chen looked down at his own small hands peeking out from the pink sleeves and cleared his throat.

He tried out Fu Xuan’s voice, whispering to himself, “If it looks the part, it’s halfway there…”

After a moment spent tidying his new robes, he stepped out of the dark alley and walked with purpose toward the card parlor.

The light inside was dim, thick with the scent of old wood and stale air. Several tables were scattered about, but only the one in the very back was still occupied, surrounded by three or four lingering players.

Qingque was sitting in the main seat, a single tile held between his fingers, his brow slightly furrowed in concentration. The player across from him stared, beads of sweat on his forehead.

“…Are you waiting for a tile?” the man asked tentatively.

Qingque didn’t speak. A sly, knowing smile just curled at the corners of his mouth as he flicked his finger, revealing his final piece.

“Self-drawn!” he declared, his voice ringing with triumph. “Concealed full suit, waiting on the middle tile! My apologies, my apologies!” With a grin, he pushed the tiles in front of him over, revealing the winning hand, and held out an expectant hand. “Pay up, pay up!”

The other players groaned in unison, reluctantly pulling out their coins.

Qingque was happily scooping up his winnings, the clinking of the currency a sweet melody to his ears. Suddenly, a cold and serious female voice, laced with unmistakable displeasure, cut through the air from directly behind him.

“Qingque. Slacking off again!”

That voice… Qingque’s entire body went rigid. The hand counting his money froze mid-motion.

L-Lord Fu Xuan?!

His hand trembled in sheer terror, and the coins he’d just won clattered onto the table as he practically leaped from his seat to turn around. The smug smile he’d worn moments before had vanished into the heavens, replaced by a pallor of pure panic.

“L-L-Lord! I… I was just taking a break! I’ll go back right away!” he stammered, his words a jumbled mess. He kept his head bowed, not daring to look up, his heart wailing in frantic despair.

‘It’s over, it’s over! I’ve been caught red-handed! This month’s salary is going to be docked completely! I might even have to go sweep the Divination Commission’s entire library!’

He waited for the inevitable, steady, and majestic scolding he expected from his boss. But several seconds passed in dead silence. The lecture never came.

Hesitantly, Qingque lifted his eyelids, inch by agonizing inch.

What met his eyes was not the calm, handsome, and utterly terrifying head of the Divination Commission.

Instead, he saw… a girl. A girl about the same height as him, dressed in pink robes with her hair in a dignified bun. A girl with a disturbingly familiar Omniscia floating above her forehead.

She was keeping her delicate, small face perfectly straight, staring at him with an intense seriousness. That gaze, that aura—it was a seventy or eighty percent match for the precursor to his boss, Lord Fu Xuan’s, incandescent rage.

Qingque was completely stunned.

‘It’s not Lord Fu Xuan… but this voice, this tone, and that Omniscia… wait, the voice sounded like a girl’s?”Lord Fu Xuan is a man!”And this height…’

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]