At first, Guanliang didn't believe in any of this.
Divination, fortune-telling, karma and retribution, zodiac luck, he didn't believe in any of it.
But unfortunately, he had a superior who could draw talismans and tell fortunes. Being constantly exposed to it, hearing about it day in and day out, he gradually started to believe.
Of course, just like his superior, he only believed the good things and not the bad ones.
Only this time, Guanliang had no choice but to believe.
It was way too accurate.
Three of Swords, reversed, after learning the truth, the Marshal would shut himself off and sink into pain, and the people around him would also be hurt because of it.
Given the Marshal's mental state…
Thinking about it now, that machine really did get it right.
The Marshal really would suffer a mental breakdown, very likely make the wrong decision, and cause irreparable losses.
If Commission Head brought this matter straight to the Marshal… the consequences would be unimaginable.
The other party might freeze for a moment, then quickly react, agree to Commission Head's proposal, and in the end, the Marshal would welcome the death he had long dreamed of.
The Marshal wouldn't die on Yaoqing.
He often mentioned the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, and seemed to really want to walk alongside an Aeon.
So that last shred of rationality would make him leave together with the Aeon of Trailblaze. He would borrow the Aeon's power to travel to regions humans could never reach.
And in the end… die alone.
They were so alike.
The subordinates didn't want to expose their ugliness, didn't want the Marshal to feel sad, so they chose to die beneath colossi, to die in places devoid of human presence.
The Marshal would make the same choice as his subordinates.
Besides that, there was another possibility.
The Marshal might continue to wait.
He would make all the researchers across the Xianzhou put down their current work and fully cooperate with Commission Head.
And when they successfully researched a method to resolve mara…
The Marshal would finally be free.
As for the still very young Hua…
If, after learning the truth, his superior could live even one extra day, Guanliang would be burning incense in gratitude.
With the Marshal in that state, how could he possibly spare any attention to consider the successor's situation?
Guanliang pulled his thoughts back and continued scrolling through his chat history with the tarot reader.
[Judgement card. As the name suggests, it represents a display of past actions, behaviors and choices will all be weighed and evaluated.]
[Judgement upright indicates that ta is at a critical point in time. Ta will review whether past actions were correct and make a major decision.]
[It is advised to face past mistakes head-on, accept judgement, and learn from it in order to move toward the future.]
Guanliang thought, the Marshal has no future.
He would only take all the blame onto himself.
If time could be reversed and everything restarted… the Marshal would probably bow his head to the Aeon of "Remembrance" again and strike a deal.
Unfortunately, time cannot be reversed, and the dead cannot return to the world.
Guanliang logged onto the StarNet forums.
Out of various concerns, he hadn't told the tarot reader the truth.
However, each tarot card could have different meanings in different situations.
Maybe… there really was a turning point?
Guanliang cursed himself inwardly. Instead of asking the "Reignbow Arbiter" for help, he was wasting time poring over tarot cards. He really was grabbing at straws in desperation.
As he was thinking this, he searched up information related to this card.
Love fortune? Skip.
The probability of the Marshal falling in love was lower than the probability of time flowing backward.
Wealth fortune?
The balance in the Marshal's account didn't even amount to a fraction of Guanliang's. Skip.
Interpersonal relationships… reconnecting with old friends or reconciling after many years.
Who could the Marshal's long-lost friend be? Lord Imbibitor Lunae? This generation's Imbibitor Lunae had only recently been reborn, so probably not.
Could it be… the Aeon of "Elation," Aha? Then the Marshal would just die even faster. Oh, and probably take Aha down with him.
That thought flashed through Guanliang's mind as he continued reading.
Regarding life… ta can relax and ease their mood through travel and music. During this process, ta will gradually realize their mental health issues and actively cooperate with treatment. After psychological therapy, ta will undergo a complete transformation.
Guanliang, "..."
'Nice symbolism, but… am I dreaming? How could the Marshal possibly cooperate with treatment?! He'd just turn the psychologist into a twisted Marshal fan, wouldn't he?!'
Guanliang couldn't help thinking of Commission Head again.
That document was vague and evasive, stating that the Abundance aberrations that came into contact with the Marshal's blood died on the spot.
In the end, Commission Head arrived at a simple, crude, and extremely generalized conclusion, the Marshal's flesh and blood could suppress the power of Abundance.
Even a layperson flipping through that document would question the authenticity of the report.
It wasn't a rigorous medical report at all, nor did it resemble the work of the Head of the Alchemy Commission.
What kind of blood was it exactly? How did it come into contact with the Abundance aberrations?
Commission Head didn't mention a single detail.
After a bit of thought, Guanliang quickly reached a conclusion.
Nine times out of ten, Commission Head had used discarded medical supplies.
Commission Head had longed to see the Marshal for centuries, finally climbed to his current position, and after learning the truth, was even willing to give up his post for his superior.
If Commission Head couldn't even bear to throw away medical supplies, how could he possibly use the Marshal's blood on Abundance aberrations, their sworn enemies?
Forget whether Commission Head himself would slap himself, if Guanliang found out, he'd definitely beat Commission Head up.
Even so, Guanliang still wasn't at ease and asked Commission Head again.
[Did you really dispose of all the medical supplies?]
Very quickly, Commission Head replied with a message that made Guanliang's vision go black.
[…This time, they're really all disposed of!]
Guanliang cursed Commission Head in his heart.
[So you really hadn't cleaned everything up before?]'
Guanliang continued typing, probing further.
[What about the others? It's not just medical supplies, right?]
Commission Head only replied with an emoji.
[qwq]
Guanliang, "..."
'Damn it! So Commission Head really did stash some other stuff away?!'
Guanliang sprang to his feet in anger, mentally retracing the guards' patrol routes while detouring around them.
Under the cover of night, with no one around, he quickly arrived at Commission Head's house. Ignoring Commission Head's wailing and crying, he burned all the medical supplies to ashes.
Commission Head sobbed loudly beside him.
The noise gave Guanliang a headache. Irritated, he asked, "What do you want? I'll get it for you!"
Commission Head instantly stopped crying and rattled off his demands like he was reading a menu.
Guanliang, "...Got it. Does anyone else still have blood-stained medical supplies?"
Commission Head listed off a string of names like pouring beans out of a jar.
The veins at Guanliang's temple throbbed as he shouted angrily, "You call this 'all disposed of'?!"
Commission Head looked troubled. "It's not like I didn't try, but even when I offered patrol tokens to buy them, they wouldn't sell…"
Guanliang burst out with a Xianzhou curse.
"I'll trade them his stuff, will that work?!"
Commission Head thought about it and said, "Then they definitely won't refuse."
After dealing with Commission Head, Guanliang repeated the same routine, slipping past the patrol guards and returning home.
He took out his jade communicator and continued reading.
[The Tower card. This is the worst card among the Major Arcana. Upright or reversed, it only leads to negative conclusions, though, if ta can accept it, then it's not really a big problem.]
Guanliang thought, accept it? Accept my ass!
If life were a game, the Marshal would definitely delete the save and start over.
[The Tower upright, it's time for change. Only by abandoning everything from the past can one face new transformations. There is a high chance of mental collapse due to various setbacks.]
[It is advised to remain calm and think rationally. Be careful not to be controlled by negative emotions.]
[Only by accepting and examining this upheaval, discovering the truth, and facing reality can one avoid making mistake after mistake.]
As usual, Guanliang searched for related information. He scrolled from beginning to end and didn't see a single piece of good news.
The last card was Death.
Just hearing the name sounded ominous.
[Death reversed indicates delay and refusal to accept change.]
[Oh my, drawing several cards in a row that all indicate ta is unwilling to face the past and accept change. Personally, I strongly suggest letting him communicate more with family and friends.]
The tarot reader's wording was very tactful.
[If necessary, you can also seek professional help for psychological counseling.]
Guanliang skillfully pulled up the corresponding information.
Regarding health, it advised moderate exercise to overcome illness, and warned that emotional instability could easily lead to mental illness.
Guanliang felt a jumble of emotions.
How many cards now had said the Marshal was mentally unwell?
Three of Swords reversed said he'd suffer a breakdown, Judgement upright said he needed psychological treatment, Death reversed said he was prone to mental illness…
That machine really had calculated it accurately.
Guanliang couldn't help sighing.
Being stuck with a superior like that… what else could he do? Of course he had to hide it together with Commission Head.
Deceiving the Marshal, easy to say, hard to do.
Easy because the Marshal trusted his subordinates unconditionally.
Hard because the Marshal was far too perceptive, and his thought process was so unusual that it was impossible to read his mind.
Luckily, Guanliang had one day on, one day off. He learned of this on a workday, giving him one day as a buffer.
Unlike Commission Head, who only needed to come to the residence when the Marshal was injured, Guanliang had to spend long periods of time with him.
After some thought, Guanliang realized the problem was actually easy to solve.
Commission Head had only stumbled upon the truth by accident.
First, there needed to be bleeding.
Second, there needed to be mara or Abundance aberrations.
Both conditions were indispensable.
To injure the Marshal? Unless he acted up himself, or encountered an enemy beyond common sense.
The Marshal himself already defied common sense. And even if he encountered a formidable enemy… it probably wouldn't be a big issue.
Then there was mara and Abundance aberrations.
So fulfilling both conditions at the same time was not easy.
Guanliang decided to solve the problem using the Marshal's way of thinking.
First, the Marshal must not get injured again.
Second, there must be no mara or aberrations near the Marshal.
The answer was obvious.
Just deal with all potential enemies directly.
Coincidentally, the "Reignbow Arbiter" was on the Xianzhou. Since he was free anyway, let the Aeon do some work.
Then, combining this with the Judgement upright interpretation, have the Marshal travel with Akivili to relax, while letting the Galaxy Rangers clear the way. Wouldn't that solve the problem?
Oh, and there was also the tarot reader's advice, let the Marshal communicate more with family and friends.
Guanliang knew his superior well.
The Marshal only had two expressions.
One was a gentle, harmless smile when facing subordinates.
The other was a cold expression that made people afraid to meet his gaze while handling documents.
A Marshal like that would never confide his inner thoughts to anyone.
Even if he shed that identity and became someone with emotions, someone who would cry for his subordinates…
The one who saw his tears, no, more accurately, whether human or god, would die, or wish they were dead.
That man was proud to the bone. Only a relationship more intimate than that of a subordinate could make him relax even a little.
Could it be… that the Marshal needed to fall in love?
Guanliang was so shocked by his own thought that even after taking a day off and returning to work, he still hadn't recovered.
He couldn't help asking, "Marshal, what kind of woman do you like?"
Zero slowly put down the storybooks he'd gathered from all over and said seriously, "I'll have Commission Head come take a look at you."
Guanliang patiently repeated the question.
Zero frowned. He looked at the storybook, then at Guanliang, who was waiting earnestly for an answer, and said, "I like the kind that's like the moon."
Guanliang's mouth twitched.
'Isn't that a bit too abstract?!'
"Why don't you just say something like a colossus?! Be serious!"
Zero sighed helplessly and immediately pulled out the mate-selection standards from the storybook to brush Guanliang off.
"I want her not to love my status, not my money, not my power."
"I want her to love my soul."
Guanliang, "...I think you need Commission Head more than I do."
'What kind of daytime fantasy is that?!'
'Status and power aside, what money do you even have?!'
Zero felt deeply uneasy.
The Strategist… wasn't planning to make him fall in love, was he?
Zero was terrified that Guanliang would pull the same stunts as his previous subordinates.
He was practically on his last legs, what kind of love was he supposed to fall into? Wouldn't that just be ruining some poor girl's life?
While recalling the storybooks, Zero spouted nonsense off the cuff.
"I want her to hug me when I'm lonely."
"I want her to let me set aside my pride and confide in her when I hit walls."
"I want her to understand my hardships even when she sees me shining in public."
Guanliang rolled his eyes at him and walked away without looking back.
Zero let out a huge sigh of relief and went back to reading his storybooks.
Recently, he'd seen a meme on the StarNet about a daughter running off with a blond punk, and he couldn't stop worrying.
He knew there was a huge age gap between himself and Hua, and that he might not understand a young girl's thoughts. So he had deliberately had people gather storybooks from everywhere, hoping to understand her inner world through them.
He didn't know until he read them, and once he did, he was horrified. There were all kinds of outrageous plots.
An empress kneeling to serve tea to her in-laws…
A rich, beautiful woman throwing herself at a poor guy…
His blood pressure skyrocketed just reading them, his mara was about to surface.
How could he avoid the blond-punk problem?
Zero quickly came up with a solution.
The little girls who'd chased him before were only like that because they had too little homework.
If he wanted Hua to avoid these issues… then he'd just make her life more fulfilling.
Send her straight to work in the Six Commissions and with the Cloud Knights.
Then, have her read storybooks and write several thousand words of reflections afterward.
If Zero wasn't satisfied, he'd send it back for rewrites.
After repeating this a few times, Hua would definitely come to deeply loathe the blond punks in storybooks.
Zero looked up and just happened to see Hua coming home from school.
He said earnestly, "You must never look for a poor guy in the future! And you absolutely can't run the Xianzhou with him! And under no circumstances are you allowed to be fooled by a blond punk riding a ghost bike!"
Hua, "..."
'What on earth is this awful adult saying to her!?'
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