Chapter 2974: Avoid Southwest, Suitable for Forging Ties

It even included a section on avoiding evil spirits? The almanac flavor was getting stronger by the second.

Though it seemed tailored to the individual, everyone had their own personalized copy.

Excellency Aike's divination results carried an intense sense of déjà vu, so much so that Professor Fu's concept of "fate" gained a much clearer point of reference in that moment.

'Dos and don'ts, fortune and misfortune? Should I see if today is suitable for breaking ground?'

"Understood. So, what exactly is suitable for me to do today? It can't possibly be Inauspicious for All Matters, right?"

Never one to hold back a question, he genuinely sought her advice the next moment.

"Not quite that bad, but it does seem there aren't many things suitable for you today."

Faced with such an overly cooperative inquiry, Aike clearly couldn't tell if he was mocking her. Still, she bit the bullet and continued her analysis, even offering genuine advice.

"Forging ties seems acceptable."

It was hard to imagine how she extracted so much information from just three dice. It almost sounded like she was making it up on the spot.

"That sounds a bit broad. Does it mean finding a person or object to establish a connection with?"

Yet Fu Qian listened earnestly, looking every bit the attentive student receiving a master's teachings.

"No... it means severing karmic ties."

The path of divination, it seemed, was inherently fickle.

Aike shook her head, indicating it wasn't nearly so festive.

'So it's the "tying up" of loose ends? Interesting.'

Fu Qian took no offense. Instead, his gaze swept their surroundings, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about? Don't forget where we are."

He looked perfectly peaceful, but the dark shadow of his past exploits still exerted its influence.

Aike frowned deeply, her face full of wary vigilance as she warned him.

This place was practically crawling with Night Watchers. With a reaction like that, just what was he planning to sever?

"Aren't you overthinking things?"

Her caution was understandable, but that didn't stop Fu Qian from shooting her a disdainful look, silently criticizing her overactive imagination.

"I was merely wondering if this counts."

He casually tapped his face. A moment later, his features shifted, reverting to the familiar appearance of Professor Fu of the Academy.

...

"That... theoretically, sure, that counts."

Not only had he refrained from doing anything outrageously reckless, but he was also genuinely pondering the meaning of severing karmic ties.

It was hard to believe Professor Fu could be so cooperative. Yet, looking at that familiar face, Aike had to admit that his action carried a faint trace of Zen.

Casting aside one's worldly mask and returning to the true self—how was that not a form of severing earthly ties?

"But you'd have to actually discard it, right? It looks like you can switch back to that other face whenever you want. Unless you vow to never use it again, the act of severing doesn't really mean much."

After repeatedly enduring Professor Fu's assaults on her sanity, Aike was finally showing signs of giving up.

She abandoned all attempts to fathom the madness lurking behind his actions. Instead, she genuinely focused on the fortune-telling, cautiously offering her own interpretation.

Even if the sky fell, there were plenty of taller people to hold it up. As a mere demigod, there was no need for her to worry so much.

"That sounds reasonable. Only a true severing of the self leads to a true understanding of the Dao. Anything less is mere self-deception."

Despite having his action dismissed as a cheap parlor trick, Fu Qian didn't take offense. Instead, he nodded approvingly, adopting the posture of a willing pupil.

"I think it makes sense, too."

It wasn't just him—even Fang Xun's voice echoed in agreement.

Right there, resting atop the open files on the office desk, lay a familiar mask.

The bloodstains smudged across its surface were writhing in bizarre, unprecedented patterns.

...

Do not judge a man's hypocrisy until you have walked in his shoes.

How do you know it was just a casual shifting of his features?

Back when he first arrived at the Birthday Party, he had mentioned that under the relentless tearing and washing of forces, even his facial features had become unstable.

This bloodstained mask before him was none other than the "Emissary" Fu Qian used to synchronize with this world.

It was a rare sight, to say the least. This was the first time he had seen it taken off in this world.

As for why it could speak with Fang Xun's voice? The answer was simple. Much like the coordinates of the Bookstore Second Floor, Fang Xun's face was an Anchor Point built directly into the mask.

Still, Fu Qian was absolutely certain that the true Emissary mask remained firmly attached to his own face. The way this duplicate mask had manifested on the desk was actually strikingly similar to what had happened with Professor Ian earlier.

It was a materialized trace—born from the torn King of the Abandoned Prison, where overflowing corruption had tangled with that invisible black river.

Only this time, it hadn't taken a human form. It was merely an object.

However, both the moving, speaking mouth on its surface and the fact that Old Man Stoss and the others were completely oblivious to it proved that this manifestation was fundamentally the same as Ian's.

Excellency Aike's divination was incredibly accurate. This was indeed a karmic debt that belonged to him and him alone.

And even the mask itself agreed that he needed to sever it.

"You don't really need this face anymore. It takes extra effort just to mold it."

Before Fu Qian could respond, the mask continued to ramble.

"Cutting it off and abandoning it completely will bring you nothing but benefits.

"Besides, erasing this little trace won't affect the mask's synchronization capabilities. You can still use it to travel back and forth.

"Not to mention, you'll even be able to harvest resources by doing this."

...

Not bad at all.

The "talking mask" certainly had a way with words. Every sentence hit the nail on the head.

Ever since he fully transformed into the Mechanical King of the Abandoned Prison, the Emissary mask had lost its ability to automatically shape itself into Fang Xun—perhaps due to his excessively inflated ego. Now, he had to manually mold the features every time he put it on.

Moreover, this particular identity had indeed reached a delicate juncture.

Almost everyone who knew him as Fang Xun also knew he was Professor Fu. The disguise had lost all its meaning.

But even if those were just minor details, there remained the most important reason of all: unlike Professor Ian, it might not have a human form, but destroying it would undoubtedly yield fresh "inspiration."

That was what the mask meant by harvesting resources.

It seemed the mask hadn't followed Professor Fu around for so long in vain; it had definitely picked up some of his logical reasoning.

"Hmm, that does make a lot of sense."

Fu Qian nodded in genuine agreement with the mask.

Of course, compared to his earlier antics in front of Lily, his actions and words weren't nearly as jarring. From an outsider's perspective, it simply looked like Professor Fu and Demigod Aike were having a profound philosophical debate, and after some deep thought, he was once again agreeing with her point.

"I'm glad I could help, but I really need to get back to work."

Unfortunately, her act of lowering her head to examine the "case files" showed that she was clearly still feeling a bit uneasy.

Despite receiving Professor Fu's repeated approval, Aike hesitated slightly before bracing herself to declare the divination session over.

"No need to rush."

However, Professor Fu simply sat there and shook his head. He smiled, and his words didn't seem intended for her alone.

They seemed meant for Stoss, who was watching with expectant eyes, and even for the talking mask resting on the desk...

"Don't move."

In no rush to harvest his new dose of inspiration, Fu Qian gestured for Aike to hold her head perfectly still. At the same time, he picked up the Emissary mask and placed it directly over her face.