My Sword Immortal Wife Has Gone Berserk - Chapter 31:

Chapter 31: Fang Yun of the Celestial Observatory

The Celestial Observatory was an important department in the Great Zhou Empire. Its director, the Chief Astrologer, was a top-tier expert in the Heaven-Man Realm. Back when the Great Zhou rose by overthrowing the previous regime, it was the Chief Astrologer who devised the strategies to seize the former dynasty’s fate, ultimately helping Great Zhou claim the realm.

Therefore, the Celestial Observatory was deeply trusted by the Emperor.

On the surface, the Observatory specialized in reading celestial phenomena and calculating auspicious or ominous signs, but in reality, most of its members were powerful martial cultivators from the martial world. It had numerous divisions—Senior Brother Lu Dingsheng was in charge of star divination and trigram calculations, while Fourth Senior Sister Fang Yun was responsible for alchemy.

Each division head was a direct disciple of the Chief Astrologer.

There were nine such disciples in total.

Today, Qin Shizhong had invited Lu Dingsheng primarily for Qin Xuan.

Not long ago, Qin Xuan had suddenly entered the path of chess formations and nearly lost his life in the Star River Dream. This incident left Qin Shizhong deeply worried. He specifically invited Lu Dingsheng to see if there was any future risk of Qin Xuan falling into another trap, so that he could avoid it in time.

He also asked Fang Yun to observe Qin Xuan’s destiny and calculate future fortunes and misfortunes.

“Duke of the Empire, and this is…?” Lu Dingsheng looked at Lin Ce, visibly puzzled. Before Qin Shizhong could introduce him, Lin Ce stepped forward on his own.

“I am Lin Ce of Yuzhou.”

“Lin Ce? You’re the one who deciphered the Star River Dream?!”

Fang Yun showed immediate interest. Her eyes lit up as soon as she heard his name.

She looked up slightly, a glimmer of excitement appearing in her gaze. As she lifted her head, her eyes met Lin Ce’s directly.

Her messy hair shifted aside, revealing a beautiful face beneath it.

Fang Yun had striking features, no less than Su Nanqiao. But because of her sloppy appearance and sleepy demeanor, her overall impression was dimmed. With her hair covering her face and her habit of lowering her head, no one ever noticed her stunning beauty.

“That’s right, that was me,” Lin Ce nodded, a little surprised himself.

He hadn’t expected the Celestial Observatory to hide such a beauty.

“Teach me. I want to know how the Star River Dream was solved.” Fang Yun said eagerly. Besides alchemy, her other passion was chess. That incomplete formation had stumped everyone—only Lin Ce had broken it. Naturally, she was extremely interested.

As she spoke, she walked forward, grabbing Lin Ce’s arm, ready to drag him off.

Without a change in expression, Qin Shizhong stepped forward and pried Lin Ce from Fang Yun’s grip.

Only then did Lu Dingsheng step up with an apologetic smile. “Please forgive her, Duke of the Empire. My junior sister is a chess fanatic. When she heard that Young Master Lin had broken the formation, she was eager to meet him. She never imagined they would cross paths today.”

“This kind of fate must be a blessing for her.”

Lu Dingsheng was polite and respectful, cupping his hands toward both Qin Shizhong and Lin Ce.

This senior disciple of the Celestial Observatory had a fine reputation in Bianjing. His demeanor and conduct left no room for criticism.

“No harm done,” Lin Ce said casually. Honestly, if Qin Shizhong hadn’t stepped in, he might have followed Fang Yun without hesitation.

After all, the Celestial Observatory possessed the Mountain Lord’s Blood.

If he could obtain it, today’s Frost Marrow Curse could be eased significantly.

“Miss Fang is a straightforward person. Since you wish to learn the method of breaking the formation, I’ll teach you later.” Lin Ce’s eyes gleamed with hidden meaning. Perhaps Fang Yun would be his key to entering the Celestial Observatory.

“You know me?” Fang Yun was puzzled. It was their first meeting—how did he know her name?

Lin Ce scratched his head, then glanced at her before saying, “I used to live in Bianjing, too. Who doesn’t know the strange senior sister from the Celestial Observatory? Aren’t you the one who often bought wine at Osmanthus Alley? You were about eleven or twelve then. We’re the same age—I used to sneak wine from there, too.”

A glimmer flashed in Fang Yun’s eyes.

Her face flushed slightly.

As one of the Chief Astrologer’s personal disciples, she and her peers had followed him from a young age. By their early teens, they were already residing in Bianjing. Back then, Fang Yun did indeed love buying osmanthus wine in Osmanthus Alley. The Chief Astrologer favored it, and she had secretly tasted it too.

She hadn’t expected to share such a connection with Lin Ce.

“So you two were old acquaintances after all?” Lu Dingsheng teased, a faint spark flashing in his eyes, vanishing quickly.

“But today isn’t the best time to reminisce. Junior Sister, let’s go see the young master first.”

With that, Lu Dingsheng followed Qin Shizhong toward the rear courtyard.

Fang Yun sighed helplessly. She really didn’t want to be involved in such matters, but since Qin Shizhong was the Duke of the Empire—even the Chief Astrologer had to show him respect—she had no choice but to go through the motions today.

“Lin Ce, come with me to the Celestial Observatory afterward. Let’s talk about chess.”

“And let’s buy another jar of osmanthus wine!”

Fang Yun’s voice was clear and pleasant. It was the first time she had taken such interest in an outsider.

Lin Ce nodded with a smile and followed along.

When the group reached the rear courtyard of the Duke’s residence, Qin Xuan was already there. Ever since solving the Star River Dream, though he had recovered, he remained obsessed with studying chess. Every day, he re-examined the method of breaking the formation.

This behavior naturally worried Qin Shizhong.

The last incident had left lingering fear. If it happened again, Qin Xuan’s frail body probably couldn’t endure it.

Strangely enough, Qin Shizhong was a warrior who had conquered half the Great Zhou Empire. One would think his son would at least be proficient in martial arts. But Qin Xuan looked like nothing more than a delicate scholar, lacking even a trace of a warrior’s bearing.

When they arrived, Qin Xuan was hunched over a chess manual, dark circles under his eyes.

“Father, what brings you here?” Qin Xuan asked in confusion. Qin Shizhong wore a look of disappointment, ignored his question, and gestured for Lu Dingsheng to begin the reading.

Fang Yun and Lu Dingsheng exchanged a glance. From their white robes with golden trim, they pulled out various tools and placed them around Qin Xuan.

Lighting a wisp of green incense, Lu Dingsheng began chanting softly, then suddenly extended his finger.

The smoke swirled and rushed into Qin Xuan’s mouth and nose.

Within moments, Qin Xuan looked dazed, his eyes glazed over.

The technique made Lin Ce’s scalp tingle. Something about it felt familiar, though he couldn’t immediately recall what it was.

Generally, such methods in common society were considered street tricks used by fake mystics. But if it came from the Celestial Observatory’s top disciple, it was definitely not a sham.

The observatory’s mystics were the real deal.

Fang Yun stretched out her hand and unfolded a divination disk. Two dice jumped around, each etched with the eight trigrams: Life, Harm, Rest, Block, View, Death, Fear, and Open.

These eight gates corresponded to the Eight Trigrams of Heaven and Earth.

In just a few moments, the dice landed on Kun and Gen positions, corresponding to the Open and Rest gates.

Fang Yun’s eyes flashed, and Lu Dingsheng smiled as he said, “Duke of the Empire, the young master is fine.”