Commission Head shook his head first, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Can you give me one?"
Guanliang handed over the cigarette case.
Commission Head put the cigarette between his lips, took out a lighter, and tried to light it. He tried three times, but it still wouldn't catch.
In the end, Commission Head couldn't stand watching anymore and took the initiative to help. Only then did the cigarette finally light.
The two of them lowered their heads and smoked in silence. For a moment, the only sound was that of pages being flipped.
With a cigarette pinched between his fingers, Guanliang skimmed the report at high speed. After finishing it once, he flipped back to the first page and began reading it again, word by word, line by line.
Once, when Guanliang had been on the brink of death, he had refused his superior's offer to help him find release.
The other party had said, "Let me think of another way."
Guanliang once recalled that past with a sigh and said, "Presumably this time won't be an exception either."
What he meant was that the Marshal would be able to find another way to break the "immortality" curse.
What Guanliang never expected was that his casual remark would actually come true today.
Not only could the curse be broken, turns out the mara-struck condition could be dealt with as well.
But what if it weren't today? What if it were just a little earlier?
This absolutely could not be allowed to reach the Marshal.
He was the kind of person who would never give up until he achieved his goal. Even if there were mountains impossible to cross or rivers impossible to ford ahead, he would never turn back.
If there was a mountain, he would carve a path through it. If there was water, he would build a bridge over it.
That was the kind of person his superior was.
That was why, when he was a general and couldn't afford to pay compensation to fallen soldiers' families, he would personally seek out wealthy merchants, coercing and persuading them one by one.
When he became Marshal, he would even swallow his pride and make concessions to the Aeons.
His superior answered every request the people of the Xianzhou made of him. Precisely because of this, he was worshipped by the populace like a god.
So what should a true god be like? Loving everyone equally? Unconditionally granting their prayers?
Even if the people he loved opposed him, he wouldn't feel any negative emotions at all.
Could that really be called love? From a certain perspective, wasn't it simply not caring at all?
The Marshal didn't care about his own sacrifices, so he didn't care how the people reacted after receiving his gifts.
Whether they treasured them or discarded them like trash, it made no difference.
The Marshal didn't care.
And precisely because he didn't care, he was able, when he encountered Lan, to choose him without hesitation as his successor.
What if he had even the slightest bit of attachment? What if he felt even a shred of reluctance toward this Xianzhou he had poured all his heart and soul into?
A god loves everyone equally, favors no one, and never stops for anything.
The former Marshal truly was no different from a god.
But now?
He no longer loved all his people equally. He favored his subordinates more.
The Marshal treated his subordinates like his own children and would proactively ask Guanliang, "What would a normal person do after their child goes missing?"
Guanliang said they would cry.
But the Marshal wouldn't cry.
The reason was simple.
As a human, he had an emotional cognition disorder.
As a god, he could shed tears for suffering people, but he couldn't shed tears for any one individual.
No one was qualified to see a god's tears, and believers would never believe that the god they placed on an altar and knelt to worship could cry.
After all, that god answered their prayers. He was omnipotent. How could such a being have a weak side?
How could the Marshal shed tears? How could he be allowed to shed tears?
He was the Star-Sea Tyrant feared by outsiders, the god worshipped with utmost reverence by believers, the superior whom his subordinates were willing to die to protect.
He could have many identities. He could be a tyrant, a god, a Marshal, but the one thing he couldn't be was himself.
And what about those people who had grown accustomed to being protected by a god? In the past, they had never imagined that the god would leave them. Now, they had already forgotten him.
With eyes full of reverence and fanaticism, they looked toward a new god.
The one they believed in now was the "Reignbow Arbiter."
Now, only the final step remained.
Only by shedding this identity could he step down from the altar. Only then could he cry.
Guanliang couldn't help letting his thoughts wander.
If time could go back…
If back then, he and Lan had stopped their superior together… If his superior hadn't doted on the Xianzhou people so excessively, hadn't continued to unconditionally fulfill all their demands like before… then he wouldn't be looking at this report now.
He wouldn't have come to this point, would he?
Guanliang suddenly realized that many things had been destined long ago.
Would those subordinates, those whom outsiders called mad dogs, really allow their superior to be injured so easily? Would they let him be harmed by mara?
The answer was obviously no.
His superior's luck really was terrible.
If he were to find out about this… forget ten years, he probably wouldn't even be able to wait a single day.
In the Marshal's eyes, it would be like a group of people setting out in search of a rare treasure, overcoming countless obstacles, losing many companions along the way, enduring endless twists and turns, and finally reaching their destination, only to discover that the thing they had gone to such lengths to pursue was actually something they could have picked up effortlessly.
The superior might think it was something trivial and easy to obtain, but others wouldn't necessarily see it that way.
In order to pursue this so-called rare treasure, to solve the problem of mara, they had already lost far, far too much.
Once, he respected his subordinates' choices. Even if it meant death, he would not interfere.
But what if he learned the truth? Would he overturn his previous beliefs, regret the choices he had made, and see those deaths as sacrifices that could have been avoided?
Unfortunately, time could not be reversed.
Guanliang stared at the report in front of him.
He couldn't understand it.
There was clearly a solution.
They clearly already had Hua, already had "Feather-Transcending Dust"…
He couldn't help but sigh that fate loved to toy with people.
It wasn't until the cigarette had burned more than halfway, and ash scorched the side of his finger, that Guanliang snapped back to his senses.
If push came to shove… then he'd just have to silence him.
Guanliang made his decision quickly.
He stubbed out the cigarette and casually scrutinized Commission Head across from him, speaking in a tone as if he were just making idle conversation, "What? You're worried he won't agree to your proposal? Don't worry, this is something that benefits all Xianzhou people. He'll be happy about it if anything, "
Commission Head slowly exhaled smoke and said nothing, only staring at him with those bloodshot eyes.
Guanliang smiled and continued, "He'll agree. If the research goes smoothly, you'll be the greatest contributor in all of Xianzhou. Forget property or vacation planets, if you want it, if you say the word, he'll agree to anything..."
Seeing that Commission Head still didn't react, Guanliang took the initiative to bring up the rules of the Alchemy Commission.
"Do you still remember the oath you swore when you joined the Alchemy Commission?"
Commission Head's gaze flickered slightly as he replied, "I remember. It was very long. Even now, I only remember the beginning and the end…"
Guanliang smiled. "Yes. The Marshal dug it out of ancient texts himself. And now it's time for you to save all the Xianzhou people..."
Commission Head extinguished his cigarette and let out a long sigh.
"You don't need to test me anymore. I won't tell the Marshal."
Guanliang feigned confusion and asked hesitantly, "Test you?"
He chuckled softly. "From a public standpoint, you can save all Xianzhou people. From a private one, you've encountered a golden opportunity to make your name known across the Star Sea."
"Even I can't help but envy you. Of course, you're a physician, you might not care about fame and fortune, only about healing and saving lives."
"Just asking for something insignificant to him in exchange for saving all Xianzhou people, they'd all be endlessly grateful to you."
"You'd be written into history, remembered by generations of Xianzhou people."
Commission Head's eyes reddened instantly. He shook his head and said through tears, "Yes, he wouldn't refuse me. After that, I could heal people and save lives…"
He cried so hard he could barely breathe, pausing for a long time before finally finding his voice again.
Choking back sobs, Commission Head said, "But even the Marshal himself will be forgotten by the Xianzhou people… What right do I have to be remembered?"
"It hasn't even been that long, yet some people have already forgotten the sins committed by the automatons, forgotten how they colluded with the sentient machines and tried to harm him… The Xianzhou people now… what right do they have to receive his protection?"
Guanliang stared fixedly at Commission Head.
Looks like there was no need to silence him after all.
He asked, "Do you know what you're saying?"
Commission Head took out a tissue and wiped his tears, then asked in return, "Do you think they deserve it? Do you think it's worth it for the Marshal to exhaust himself for those people? It's been thousands of years, hasn't it been enough?"
"Do we really have to keep being leeches? Is draining him dry not enough, do we have to keep gnawing at his flesh and sucking his marrow?"
He let out a cold laugh. "They don't deserve it."
Without using a single curse word, Commission Head tore into the unruly masses. Afterward, he broke down crying again. "I don't deserve it either..."
"Leaving your name in history… becoming famous across the Star Sea… Anyone else probably wouldn't be able to refuse, right?"
Commission Head wiped away his tears and steadied his breathing.
His tone was firm.
"But there are always some things that matter far more than fame and profit, aren't there?"
Guanliang asked, "Even if this gets exposed and you're punished by him, that's fine too?"
Commission Head replied without hesitation, "How could the Marshal possibly punish me?"
Guanliang thought about it and realized he was right.
The Marshal would never blame anyone. He would only blame himself.
Guanliang continued, "Even if you're cursed and slandered by people who don't know the truth, that doesn't matter either?"
There was clearly a way to solve mara, yet it was deliberately concealed, if other Xianzhou people found out…
"You don't need to test me anymore," Commission Head suddenly laughed and said. "Isn't there still you? You know too. Worst case, we'll just get cursed together."
Guanliang, "…"
He was seriously speechless.
Still uneasy, Guanliang asked again, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell him?"
Commission Head sighed again.
"Of course I'm afraid. I'm afraid of a lot of things."
"I'm afraid the Marshal will be disappointed in me, afraid I won't be able to see him again, afraid I won't be able to keep healing people…"
"But what I'm even more afraid of is him truly cutting away his own flesh… afraid he'll be heartbroken…"
"If... if even the subordinates who have accompanied him for thousands of years won't take his feelings into account…"
He looked up at Guanliang. Even after taking several deep breaths, he still couldn't stop his voice from choking up.
"Then I... I… I'll have no choice but to give up my life and die together with you."
Hearing this, Guanliang didn't get angry, he laughed instead.
He thought to himself that the Marshal had used up all his luck on his subordinates.
Without any pretense, Guanliang spoke his true thoughts in a lighthearted tone, "What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing, except not dying together, but killing you to keep it quiet."
After hearing this, Commission Head showed no reaction at all. He let out a breath, his body finally relaxing.
Seeing that the two of them had reached an understanding, Guanliang asked, "Other than you, has anyone else seen this report?"
Commission Head shook his head. "From start to finish, only me."
He then voluntarily explained the entire course of events.
While applying medicine, he noticed that the Marshal's wound was healing much more slowly than before.
Commission Head couldn't believe it. After repeated confirmations, he finally reached a conclusion.
It was one of the symptoms of mara, "residual injury."
For a moment, Commission Head was completely at a loss.
But he was the Head of the Alchemy Commission, the most outstanding physician in all of Yaoqing. If even he panicked, who else could save the Marshal?
Because of this, he deliberately contacted the Heads of the Alchemy Commissions of other Xianzhou ships, probing their thoughts indirectly.
He didn't dare tell anyone else about the matter, afraid it would cause further complications.
He dismissed his subordinates and searched for a solution alone, staying up for several nights in a row. He even went to the Ten-Lords Commission and temporarily borrowed some of the Abundance aberrations they had in custody.
By sheer accident, Commission Head discovered this shocking secret.
Guanliang cut him off expressionlessly and asked, "Don't skip any details. How exactly did you discover it?"
Commission Head dodged the question and spoke evasively.
Guanliang sucked in a sharp breath and said in disbelief, "So? The medical supplies he used before… you didn't dispose of them?"
Commission Head weakly retorted, "They've all been disposed of now."
A chill ran down Guanliang's spine.
'Damn it! Is there anything you people wouldn't dare do?!'
'If the Marshal slapped you, would you not even dodge?!'
Oh, if the Marshal ever came to blows with someone, no one would dodge, and no one would dare to. Bad example.
Unwilling to think further, Guanliang only asked, "Does anyone else have any? What about the aberrations?"
Commission Head replied, "No. I took care of everything. The aberrations died on the spot. Don't worry, the Ten-Lords Commission won't be able to trace anything."
He then asked, "When did the Marshal first show symptoms of mara? Had there been any signs before?"
Guanliang thought to himself that it had been far too early.
Even before the "Reignbow Arbiter" ascended to godhood, the Marshal had already fallen into mara.
Keeping a straight face, he lied, "No, there weren't."
Commission Head nodded. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke again, "I'll take this secret with me into the Forest of Utmost Loyalty. So what about you?"
His gaze sharpened as he looked at Guanliang, as if trying to see through him.
Guanliang glanced at him and replied evenly, "Same as you. I won't let him know."
Compared to telling the Marshal the truth… it might be better to let him find release sooner.
Guanliang pondered for a moment. "The problem now is how we're going to keep this hidden."
Commission Head took out another handwritten report.
When Guanliang looked closely, he saw that it was Commission Head's retirement application.
So he really was planning to shoulder everything alone.
He murmured, "You really are… giving me a hard problem here."
Commission Head gave a bitter smile.
"My abilities are mediocre. I know I can't hide this from the Marshal for long, which is why I came to you…"
Guanliang was left speechless.
'You're already the Head of the Alchemy Commission, and you're calling yourself mediocre?!'
'Anyone who makes it to the upper echelons of the Six Commissions is one-in-tens-or-hundreds-of-billions talent!'
After thinking about it, Guanliang realized he couldn't really blame Commission Head.
Hiding something from the Marshal… really wasn't easy.
Commission Head knew this very well, and was even willing to give up the position he had spent hundreds of years earning.
Guanliang said nothing more. After a moment of thought, he formed a plan.
When their conversation ended and they were about to part, Commission Head asked urgently, as if seeking reassurance, "Are you sure we can keep it hidden?"
Guanliang looked back at him and made a promise, "I guarantee you, there won't be a third person who knows about this."
Commission Head nodded dazedly, then asked again, "The Marshal… he'll definitely live a long time, right? He'll definitely outlive me, right? No, no, he'll live a long time."
Guanliang paused imperceptibly for a brief moment before replying, "He will."
They parted ways. Guanliang quickened his pace, returned home, and pulled up his chat history with the tarot reader.
[Three of Swords, reversed, indicates that this person will be immersed in a grief they cannot let go of]
Guanliang lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
This wasn't a curse.
It was a prophecy.