The Osmanthus Tree gave a cold snort upon hearing her words. "I'm not annoyed that you're looking for Gongsun Zhixue. I'm just annoyed by you personally."
That sounded like it made sense, yet something about it felt off.
After a brief silence, Su Qing spread her hands helplessly. "Is there really a difference?"
"Whether there is or isn't, you don't need to care. You just need to know it," Guihua said, clearly unwilling to waste more words on Su Qing after her cool snort.
Su Qing gave a helpless smile. "Alright, alright. I came to ask you something important, not to bicker."
"If you're not here to bicker, then get on with it!" The Osmanthus Tree curled her lip, still looking thoroughly displeased with Su Qing.
Seeing her look so annoyed yet unable to do anything about it, Su Qing found it somewhat amusing. However, she didn't continue the argument and instead moved on to the main business.
In a few sentences, Su Qing explained the situation clearly.
After listening, Guihua looked at the two of them with a face full of confusion. "I don't see anything strange about the Lunar Deity. I've known her for a very long time... I'm more than familiar with her. I can't see anything out of the ordinary. Besides, aren't you two overthinking this? As one of the most ancient immortals, it's perfectly normal for her to have a few incarnations. If you contacted the Lunar Deity within the Jianmu Tree, she would naturally be able to respond to you!"
Guihua didn't think there was anything wrong with the Lunar Deity at all.
Instead, she felt that the two people in front of her were getting stupider by the minute. She looked as though she didn't want to talk to fools any longer.
Su Qing and Chang'e were both stunned for a moment.
"That does seem like a possibility... but if that's the case, what's with that peculiar scent on her caused by the anomalies of the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth?" Su Qing asked, her brow furrowed.
"You can smell a scent like that? How come I can't?" Chang'e asked in surprise, turning to look at her.
Su Qing nodded calmly. "Naturally, I can smell it. As for why, it's because I deal with those things quite often, so I'm familiar with the scent."
As the Guardian of the Northern Continent, Su Qing occasionally had to personally resolve anomalies that her subordinates couldn't handle. Naturally, she knew exactly what that scent was like.
Chang'e fell silent for a few seconds upon hearing this answer, then nodded. "Is that so? You really are impressive... and busy. But what should we do now? I'm even more confused. I have no idea if the Lunar Deity is real or not anymore."
Chang'e had already been struggling to distinguish the Star Lord's truth from falsehood. After hearing Guihua's words and Su Qing's counterpoint, she was completely lost.
Seeing her like this, Su Qing gave a helpless smile. "If we can't tell, then we can't tell. It's fine. No need to rush; I can't tell either..."
Su Qing was indeed just as uncertain, but her situation was slightly better than Chang'e's; at the very least, she remained calm.
Chang'e let out a long, helpless sigh and nodded. "I thought asking the Osmanthus Tree would clear up the truth... but now it seems things are only getting more muddled."
The Osmanthus Tree watched the two of them, feeling quite satisfied for a moment—especially seeing Su Qing with a headache. After all, she didn't have many hobbies; her primary one was teaching her disciple, and her secondary one was watching Su Qing, whom she thoroughly disliked, suffer from a headache.
However, as much as she enjoyed watching, she still had to say what needed to be said.
She stroked her chin and looked at Su Qing, saying coolly, "Actually, there's no need for you to be so troubled. Just find an opportunity to ask her directly. Both of you are very strong now; if you joined forces, even the real Lunar Deity would have her hands full. If she's a fake, there's no way her strength could surpass the real Lunar Deity's. Resolving the issue by working together wouldn't be difficult. So why worry here? Wouldn't it be faster to just take action?"
The Osmanthus Tree felt that Su Qing and Chang'e had fallen into a thinking trap and were splitting hairs.
If they continued like this, they would never find an answer. They would only dig themselves deeper into a dead end until they were completely stuck. When that happened and they still had no answer, they would inevitably come back to bother her again.
So, if she could give them a hint now and help them out of this dead end, she might as well do it. It was for their good as much as her own.
Su Qing stroked her chin as she listened to Guihua's words, then nodded.
She felt there was truth in those words.
Indeed. If she and Chang'e continued to over-analyze like this, not only would they fail to reach a conclusion, but they would also sink deeper into confusion until their heads throbbed.
So... why not choose a more direct way to solve the problem?
Sometimes, the simplest method was the most effective.
When it was time to be bold, why not be a bit reckless?
"It looks like you've finally understood. You people who think you're so clever always love to complicate simple matters. When you have enough strength, why think so much? Just ask her directly." Guihua crossed her arms and looked at the two of them with an amused expression. "Well? Have you climbed out of that dead end yet?"
Su Qing nodded. "I suppose I've managed to climb out. Thank you. If you hadn't reminded me, I might not have realized I'd fallen into such a trap."
Beside her, Chang'e sighed softly. "Yes, we were indeed overthinking things. It's better to keep it simple."
Actually, they had considered the simplest method at the very beginning. It was just that after seeing the Lunar Deity and finding her so identical to the original, they had drifted further and further away from simplicity. Now that they had come to their senses, they quickly accepted the Osmanthus Tree's suggestion.
Guihua chuckled and nodded. "Don't thank me. As long as you, Su Qing, don't come back to bother me for no reason in the future, that will be enough."
"I don't usually bother you that much! I only come by once a month or so." Su Qing spread her hands and said with a beaming smile, "But since you've put it that way, I'll agree. In the future, I'll only bother you when I'm looking for Gongsun Zhixue!"
"..." Guihua was momentarily speechless. Was there any difference at all?
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