How long had it been since she was first trapped in these ruins?
There were no points of reference to measure time within the ruins.
The origins of these ruins were unknown, and their location was profoundly mysterious. Faruzan only remembered they were related to the King Deshret's civilization.
The ruins were filled with intricate mechanisms, their walls covered in dense inscriptions.
A mysterious power within the ruins had stagnated Faruzan's body at the very moment she was trapped. She felt no hunger, no fatigue.
Thus, she couldn't even rely on physical changes to gauge the passage of time.
She smiled wryly to herself.
Fortunately, this mysterious power existed within the ruins, or else she would have starved to death long ago, right?
Even though her body felt no hunger or weariness, Faruzan's spirit was accumulating exhaustion with each passing moment.
'When will this end…'
She couldn't remember how long ago it started. She had exhausted her supply of paper and ink, yet failed to decipher a single inscription; used up a lifetime of knowledge, yet failed to solve a single mechanism.
Faruzan lay on her back amidst a sea of countless drafts, staring blankly at the vaulted ceiling engraved with cryptic texts.
The silent, ancient mysteries mocked Faruzan's ignorance, mocked the insignificance of modern people.
'Is the research I'm so proud of, the accumulated knowledge of generations of scholars striving their entire lives, truly so worthless in the face of ancient civilizations?'
Faruzan had exhausted her learning, yet remained at a complete loss.
The inscriptions and mechanisms maintained their mystery. The gap between her and them was like a broken bridge – it seemed she could never cross it.
Even Faruzan had briefly entertained the thought of giving up.
'Let it end here.'
'When my consciousness becomes utterly exhausted and finally scatters, that should be the moment I die.'
Right?
But was she truly willing to give up like this?
Faruzan had been strong-willed since childhood. Had this difficulty truly, completely stumped her, forcing Faruzan to surrender?
'No!'
Faruzan climbed to her feet once more.
With no paper left, she picked up a shard of stone from the ground and began sketching on the floor tiles.
She believed that as long as one persisted, there was hope!
What one doesn't understand today, one can learn tomorrow; as long as civilization exists, it will continue to develop; what the people of today cannot solve, the people of tomorrow will unravel!
'Even if… I ultimately end up buried here, I must leave behind these records of deduction and trial and error, to buy the next unfortunate soul a sliver of hope!'
This was the very value and meaning of a philological scholar's existence in this world.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Every reachable surface of the floor was now covered in obscure, hard-to-fathom deduction symbols.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Faruzan's memory began to blur, her mind began to wander, her mouth murmuring words no one could decipher.
Now.
Faruzan lay on the ground, her eyes vacant as she stared at the ceiling.
Her body remained full of vitality, but her consciousness was gradually fading.
Faruzan could feel her consciousness becoming light, as if sinking deep within herself.
If she let her consciousness sink like this, then her body, stripped of consciousness, would be nothing but an empty shell, right?
Faruzan wanted to struggle, but she felt like someone pushed to the extreme of exhaustion. She really, really wanted to just sleep like this.
Step.
In her daze, Faruzan heard footsteps.
"Are you giving up?" a gentle voice asked.
Faruzan started slightly, her consciousness rapidly pulled back.
Her pupils refocused, seeing a young man in white clothes standing beside her, looking down.
Faruzan opened her mouth, a hoarse sound escaping her throat, like a worn-out leather bag uttering things others couldn't understand.
Just how long had it been?
Had she even forgotten how to speak properly?
And such a ridiculous side of her had been seen by someone else!
As if sensing her distress, the person smiled gently and said, "I'm in no hurry. Take your time."
Faruzan lay still, not moving.
She thought for a long, long time, retrieving the memory from the distant past. Propping up her weary spirit, she finally asked, "You... also... trapped...?"
He shook his head.
"Not at all. This place cannot hold me. But you... are you giving up?"
How could I give up!
Faruzan's voice was still hoarse, but her tone was calm. "I... just felt a little like sleeping, that's all."
"Is that so."
He nodded as if understanding, then picked up a piece of draft paper and looked at it seriously.
"Can you understand it?" Faruzan asked.
"No, I cannot," he replied, shaking his head. Then he added, "But as long as one is willing to learn, what one doesn't understand today, one will understand in the future."
Faruzan let out a faint laugh. "Right! That's the attitude one should have towards life." It was with that very thought that she had persisted until now.
"Hey!" Faruzan suddenly called out to him.
"Hmm?" He looked at her, puzzled.
Faruzan crossed her arms. "If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
"Alright." He agreed without hesitation and pointed to a spot. "What about this part?"
"You don't even understand something this simple?" Faruzan glanced at it and began explaining in the most professional terms.
"I see." He seemed to understand.
Faruzan didn't know how much time had passed. Perhaps a few hours? Or maybe days, even months?
There was no reference point. She didn't know. She only knew she had taught him many things.
Remembering her original purpose, Faruzan waved a hand. "You have some talent. Once we get out, you could consider becoming my student."
"Oh?" He looked somewhat interested.
"Alright, don't disturb me now," Faruzan said, shooing him away.
Her spirit was still utterly exhausted, but her heart, which had been still for so long, now held a slight ripple.
She focused on her deciphering.
After solving another part, Faruzan looked back.
She thought he would still be standing there, looking at her notes, but he had vanished without her noticing.
"Did he leave?" Faruzan's mind was somewhat muddled.
How could there be someone who could come and go freely in a secret realm like this? He wasn't a god!
"So..."
"It was just an illusion born from a spirit worn down for too long?"
Faruzan smiled mockingly at herself.
"If I get a chance to leave, though I don't know how long it's been outside... I suppose I would indeed be qualified to take on students now, right?"
Faruzan let out a soft sigh. "I will get out!"
She focused even more intently.
One by one, she unraveled the layers of the puzzle.
Finally, she found the answer.
The exit to the secret realm slowly opened.
Faruzan first felt the light, so strong it made her shut her eyes and instinctively take half a step back.
Then came the wind, flowing across her cheeks, swirling around her waist and shoulders, as if welcoming her back with the most passionate embrace.
Faruzan felt dazed.
"Welcome back."
A voice, both unfamiliar and familiar.
Faruzan looked towards the sound. Her vision, blurred from the intense light, made out a figure in white.
He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a mechanical life form, looking at her.
"You..." Faruzan's vision cleared, and she saw his face clearly. Stunned, she said, "You weren't an illusion after all?"
The next moment, her vision went black, and she collapsed towards the ground.
The last vestiges of her conscious awareness told her she had fallen into his arms.
Crackle.
The sound of burning firewood reached her ears.
Faruzan slowly opened her eyes.
The dancing firelight made her squint. Even through the coat draped over her, she could feel the warmth from the fire dispelling the chill of the desert night.
Glancing down at the coat covering her, she couldn't help but turn her head to look beside her.
He was skewering ingredients on wooden sticks, apparently preparing to grill them.
A night breeze blew, making Faruzan shiver slightly.
He turned to look at her, a smile appearing on his face. "Awake?"
"Mm." Faruzan nodded.
She felt lost, unsure what to say for a moment. She just picked up his coat, intending to hand it back to him.
But the moment she took it off, the uniquely low temperature of the desert night made Faruzan feel intensely uncomfortable.
"Keep it on. I'll be fine, but you might catch a cold."
Faruzan thought for a moment and didn't insist further.
After draping his coat over her shoulders, it seemed to possess a magical power that shielded her from the cold wind. It really wasn't as cold anymore.
Moving a bit closer to the fire made it even more warm and comfortable.
"Gugu..."
Hearing the sound, Faruzan turned her head and noticed a mechanical creature nearby.
It looked somewhat familiar, but Faruzan couldn't place it at all. Noticing she was awake, it started 'gugu'-ing at her, as if trying to express something.
"Gugu..."
It came a little closer and spat out a letter.
"This is...?" Faruzan didn't understand, but she reached out and took the letter, unfolding it.
"My dear Faruzan, are you well? It has been over twenty years since the day you disappeared. Everyone at the Akademiya tried to persuade us to give up, saying you were likely dead... But I always felt you were still alive, living in some corner of this world."
"You were always so strong-willed since you were little, standing out no matter where you were. I believe you are still persevering now, still constantly searching for the way home, right?"
"Your teacher and friends came up with an idea. We could modify Tamimi a little, so it could go look for you in our stead."
"In the past, you didn't like coming home, always sending Tamimi to deliver letters instead; now, can the letter we've entrusted to Tamimi be delivered to you?"
"Has it found the way home?"
"Though we still don't know how long it will take for this letter to reach you... but if you are reading this letter, does it mean you've already found your way back?"
"Although it's a regret that I couldn't say these words to you in person,"
"I would still be sincerely happy for you, my dear daughter..."
"—Welcome back, Faruzan."
Her knuckles gripping the letter were white from the pressure.
After reading the final two lines, Faruzan couldn't bring herself to look up at the star-scattered sky.
"It's already... been over twenty years?"
"I'm afraid it's been over a hundred years." The voice held a hint of lament for the passage of time.
"Over a hundred years..." Faruzan's heart trembled.
Over a hundred years...
It meant her mother was surely gone.
It meant her former friends and acquaintances were also no longer among the living.
Faruzan stood frozen in place.
Emotions churned within her.
She pressed her lips together, her eyes slightly reddening. With each breath, her slender frame trembled slightly.
Faruzan, who had been so strong-willed since childhood, who hadn't given up even after being trapped for so long, felt particularly vulnerable now.
It was as if she had been forgotten by time. Fate had played a cruel trick, leaving her alone in the world.
The weariness inflicted on her spirit by the ancient secret realm and the passage of time hadn't broken her, but the sudden realization that over a century had passed was something Faruzan couldn't suppress.
"Crying might make you feel a bit better."
A hand holding a tissue entered her gradually blurring field of vision.
"There's no one else here. I'll keep it a secret for you."
Faruzan looked up at him, her voice trembling. "Do I look that fragile to you?"
"Yet, you are already in tears."
Was that so?
Faruzan raised a hand to touch her cheek.
Warm teardrops had long since traced paths down her face.
She could no longer control her emotions. Burying her face in her knees, she wept bitterly.
Lu Heng sat silently beside her, offering his quiet company.
The bright, clear moon traveled from the west to the east.
Faruzan had fallen asleep at some point.
Dawn's Early Light
Time passed. The rising sun gradually dispelled the chill of the night.
Faruzan slowly opened her eyes.
She held her forehead; her mind felt heavy and muddled, and her body felt exceptionally weary.
"Have some water. Dehydration in the desert is no good," Lu Heng said, picking up a water skin and handing it to her.
Then he sat back down and continued roasting a chicken.
Faruzan was indeed quite thirsty.
She took a few sips from the water skin, then watched Lu Heng roast the chicken.
Where did one find a chicken in the desert?
Had things changed so much in a hundred years?
"Gurgle..."
This time, it wasn't Tamimi making the sound.
Having left the secret realm, after crying through the night and now smelling the aroma of meat, Faruzan felt an intensely strong hunger for the first time.
"Just in time."
Lu Heng picked up the roasted chicken, inspected it, and then handed it to Faruzan.
Faruzan took it. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I've already eaten," Lu Heng shook his head.
"Alright then."
Faruzan was too hungry to have the energy to worry about anything else.
The surface of the golden-brown chicken glistened with a layer of oil.
Faruzan expected it to be very hot just off the fire, but was surprised to find it was perfectly warm, just right for eating.
Tearing off a piece of meat and putting it in her mouth.
Eating for the first time in over a century, Faruzan's feelings were indescribably complex.
She didn't waste any, eating until only bones remained.
Faruzan was rather full. She sat there, staring somewhat blankly at the letter nearby.
"Are you alright?" Lu Heng asked.
Faruzan snapped back to reality. "...I'm fine."
Faruzan was not an unfeeling person, but she clearly knew she couldn't allow herself to be trapped in grief.
She had to move forward.
Letting out a long breath, Faruzan picked up the tissue from last night – which she hadn't used – and wiped the grease from the corners of her mouth.
She stood up, facing the desert in the sunlight.
Turning her gaze back, she took the coat from her shoulders and handed it to Lu Heng. "What was your name again?"
"Lu Heng." He gave his name.
"Lu Heng... A name from Liyue?" Faruzan asked. "Are you in Sumeru to study?"
Before Lu Heng could answer, Faruzan nodded and said, "You do have talent. Are you willing to learn from me?"
"Oh?" Lu Heng chuckled. "Haven't I already been learning?"
"Pfft, you haven't even presented a formal teacher's gift." Faruzan waved her hand dismissively. "But, For the sake of breakfast!, I'll waive the teacher's gift~"
"Do I have to thank you for that?" Lu Heng found it both funny and exasperated. He looked towards the two Sumpter Beasts tethered nearby. "Teacher Faruzan, shall we return to Sumeru City now?"
Faruzan, now full and refreshed, had regained some of her spirit.
"Let's go!"
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T/N:
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