"Hey... you two should sit down and eat! There's so much food... I can't finish it all by myself," the blue-haired girl called out.
After devouring several plates, the little avatar realized Su Han and Qiqi were just standing there dazed, so she offered an invitation. Though she loved food, she loved the lively atmosphere of a shared meal even more. Back in the old days, she used to snatch food from others just to see their surprised faces, laughing all the while.
Su Han smiled. "Alright... we'll join you!"
However, the moment he sat down and reached for a bowl of sticky rice, a blur of light flashed past. He looked down; his hand was holding nothing but an empty bowl.
Su Han: "..."
What happened? I thought you invited me to eat?
He looked up at the girl, who was licking her lips and grinning. "Eat! Why aren't you eating? This is exactly how we used to dine back then. I remember... that chubby fellow used to make so much food."
Su Han's face went flat. The "chubby fellow" you're talking about... wouldn't happen to be the Stove God, Marchosias, would it?
Qiqi, unaware of the competitive nature of this "dinner," picked up a crystal shrimp dumpling with her chopsticks. Just as she was about to take a bite, a breeze whistled past. Her chopsticks hit thin air, and she ended up biting her own tongue.
"Waaaah... Big Brother... it hurts..." Qiqi looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.
Su Han felt a pang of pity, but the Dragon King's consciousness laughed brightly. "Hahaha! I told you—you have to protect your own food! Back in the day, if you wanted a full belly, you had to rely on your own strength!"
"Is that why you ended up so fat?" Su Han remarked dryly.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
The blue-haired girl's cheeks puffed out in rage. Instantly, the sky over Mt. Hulao turned into a terrifying elemental vortex. Snow and ice swirled in the clouds while flames erupted from the ground nearby.
Realizing he had stepped on a landmine, Su Han quickly corrected himself. "I mean... you have a great figure! Why stay as a child? If you turned into an adult, you'd be even more beautiful, wouldn't you?"
"Hmm? Really...?"
It seemed the desire for beauty was universal. The Dragon King's fury vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She tilted her head, thinking seriously for about five minutes. Then, a pillar of light erupted.
The girl, who had been shorter than Qiqi, began to grow. Her silhouette lengthened until her legs were as long and elegant as Ningguang's. The "spectacled brat" had transformed into a refined, intellectual, and breathtakingly mature woman.
Su Han and Qiqi were stunned by the "epic" transformation.
"Is this sufficient?" the woman asked. Her voice had shifted into a deep, sultry tone.
Su Han nodded blankly. "Uh... very beautiful. Right, Qiqi?"
"Mhm, mhm!" Qiqi nodded vigorously.
With her mood restored, the "Big Sister" version of the Dragon King grabbed a massive braised pork hock and began to gnaw on it. The sight was a total mismatch for her elegant face—no one would believe such a beautiful woman could eat with such ferocity. In less than a minute, the meat was gone.
Wiping the grease from her lips, she smiled at Su Han. "Thanks for coming to see me. My mood has improved quite a bit."
Seeing the lingering loneliness in the woman's eyes once the meal was done, Su Han turned to Qiqi. "Go catch some butterflies over there, Qiqi. Big Brother needs to have a talk with this lady."
"Okay." Qiqi trotted off toward the flowers.
Watching the small, dazed girl run, the Dragon King's expression softened. There was a time, long ago, when she was just like that—carefree and protected.
"You must resent the Emperor," Su Han began. "He sealed you here for countless years, and he hasn't visited since."
"Oh? What are you trying to say?" Her voice cooled slightly, but thanks to the full stomach, she remained stable.
Su Han watched Qiqi and smiled. "The Emperor was helpless. You had lost your mind, and he didn't know how to stop the destruction. Sealing you back into the earth wasn't an act of 'banishment.' It was protection. He hoped that the place where you were born would bring peace to your heart."
"Hmph... boring rhetoric. I thought you had something original to say. You just want me to stop hating him, right?"
Instead of answering directly, Su Han said, "In Inazuma, there was a Raiden Shogun—very gentle, but her power wasn't as stable as the Emperor's. When one of her dearest friends turned against her, all she could do was fight. In the end, her friend lost an arm and fled into the night, never to be seen again."
He was speaking of Torachiyo. Raiden Ei had often expressed regret over that battle while resting in Su Han's arms. If I had the Emperor's talent for sealing, she had said, perhaps Chiyo wouldn't have had to die.
Gods, too, have things they cannot do. Sealing the Dragon King was Zhongli's last resort.
"How do you know about the Raiden Shogun? Besides... my relationship with him was far closer than mere friendship!"
"Because the Raiden Shogun is my wife."
The Dragon King froze. A God... is his wife?
"You're surprised? I'm just a human with a God for a wife, but she is gentle and listens to me. She wouldn't lie about such things. If you don't believe me, why don't you come with me and see for yourself?"
Looking into Su Han's sincere eyes, the Dragon King believed him. She turned her gaze back to Qiqi and began to recount the beginning.
"In the beginning, I was in darkness. I was a spirit within a stone, blind and without a body. I was abandoned in the depths of the earth for who knows how many years... until a man with golden eyes appeared. He gave me sight. He carved my body. Though... I didn't much like the shape he gave me then."
She touched her current adult form. "Back then, my avatar was that child you saw. I was carefree, and he looked at me like a daughter. We traveled the world, and I learned how beautiful it was. But happiness is fleeting. The Archon War began. To protect Liyue, I fought by his side. I mastered four elements; I was as strong as any god. But as you said... 'Erosion.' I lost my sanity. I began to do terrible things. And so, he chose to suppress me."
She remembered that day. She had returned to her true form, charging toward Liyue in a frenzy. He appeared before her, his voice colder than she had ever heard it.
"I gave you eyes and a body. We made a contract. If you ever use them for evil, I will strike you down and seal you away forever."
Countless stone pillars had rained down—terrible and absolute. She realized then how vast the gap between them truly was. She was pinned under the mountain, staring at the golden seal. No food. No warmth. Only the memory of those cold eyes.
"Here... have some tea," Su Han said, pouring a cup. "It's from a friend. Very fragrant."
"He sent you today, didn't he?"
Su Han shook his head. "No. I just like to save people. And you are someone worth saving. By the way, you know the Yakshas, right?"
"Oh... those weak little kids? Yes, I know them. I assume most are dead by now. Only a green-haired brat visited a few years ago."
Su Han coughed. Only the Dragon King could call the Five Great Yakshas "weak kids."
"Actually, I revived one of them. And I've placed the Xuanyuan Sword in Liyue to stabilize the veins. That's why you've recovered your clarity."
"Even so, I can't leave. My true body is pinned. I can't wander far from the seal."
Su Han grinned mischievously. "What if I just... break the seal? We could pry a little hole in it and sneak you out. What do you think?"
The Dragon King stared at him. "Aren't you afraid of him? Morax could suppress you with a thought, regardless of who your wife is."
"Who cares? It's been long enough! You're sane now; why shouldn't you be allowed to go out and play? If he complains, we'll just stay out for a few days and then sneak back in!"
Su Han spoke with such arrogant confidence that the Dragon King felt her heart skip a beat. She began to laugh—a genuine, joyful sound.
"Alright then... if you can actually pry open this seal, I'll follow you."
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