By the time Henry reached the bike shop, the people had already settled in their homes, the streets of Mondstadt quieter than before as the last of the day's activity faded. The lamps had been lit along the roads, casting a steady glow over the stone paths.
Alina was inside, going through the ledger when he stepped in. She didn't look up immediately, but the slight pause in her movement gave away that she had already noticed him.
"Took you long enough," she said, setting the book aside before glancing at him.
"Had to meet with a few people ,"Henry replied, walking further in and resting a hand lightly against the counter. "Everything here fine?"
"All good," she said, straightening slightly.
"Nothing's gone wrong while you were away."
He nodded, his gaze moving briefly across the shop. The bikes were lined up as usual, parts neatly arranged where they belonged, nothing out of place. She had it under control.
"I'll be leaving early tomorrow," he said after a moment. "Before sunrise."
Alina didn't look surprised. "You already told me."
"Just making sure," he said. "While I'm gone, keep an eye on the shop. And the construction site. If the builders need anything, handle it."
She gave a small nod. "Just go do what you need to. I'll keep things running here, same as always."
Henry looked at her, a smile forming. "Look at my dependable assistant, who takes care of everything."
Before she could react, he leaned over the counter, pulled her into a quick hug, and pressed a quick kiss against her cheek.
Alina stiffened for a second, caught off guard, then pulled back and shot him a side look as if annoyed, though she couldn't quite hide the smile tugging at her lips.
Henry pushed himself off the counter as if nothing had happened and made his way upstairs toward his bed, lying down and dozing off soon after, knowing he had to wake up early the next day.
--
The city was still dark when Henry arrived at the gates the next morning. Keqing was already there, standing beside her bike, posture straight, hands resting lightly on the handlebars as she looked toward the road ahead. At the sound of his approach, she turned slightly.
"You're on time," she said.
"Well, I aim to please," Henry replied, stopping beside her.
Keqing gave a small nod. "Good. The earlier we leave, the better."
Henry adjusted his grip on the handlebars, glancing briefly toward the open road beyond the gates. "You said we'd reach by evening?"
"If we keep a steady pace," she said. "By carriage, this would take around a full day. With these…" her gaze flicked briefly to the bikes, "we should make it by evening."
"That's good news!"
Keqing nodded. "Yes. And Thank you for the bike, Henry."
"Don't mention it."
The guards stepping aside to let them pass. Keqing pushed forward first, setting the pace as they moved out onto the road, and Henry followed close behind.
The early stretch of the journey was quiet. The road out of Mondstadt was familiar, the green terrain gentle enough that they could build speed without much effort. The morning wind picked up as they moved, cool against his face, carrying the scent of grass and open fields.
Henry let Keqing take the lead, following her path without question. He had a vague idea of the route from what he remembered from the game, but seeing it like this made the difference clear, the world feeling larger than it ever had before, distances stretching out in a way that didn't quite match what he was used to.
They kept cycling, taking short breaks here and there as the hours passed and the landscape began to shift.
The open plains gave way to rougher terrain as they moved around Dragonspine, keeping their distance from the frozen region.
Henry, though, looked fascinated as he glanced toward Dragonspine in the distance, the mountain rising far above everything around it, its peak lost behind thick clouds while the lower mountains and slopes remained buried under layers of unmoving snow.
Even from where they rode, the cold seemed to carry across the air, a sharp stillness surrounding it and no signs of life anywhere along its surface, except probably some hilichurls species, making the entire region stand apart from the rest of the land they had crossed.
Eventually, the terrain changed again, the signs of Liyue becoming more apparent with each passing stretch of road.
They slowed near a clearing where a statue stood ahead, its presence hard to miss even from a distance.
"I want to stop here," Henry said.
Keqing glanced back, nodding. "Sure."
They brought their bikes to a stop near the base of the statue. Henry stepped closer, looking up at it.
The figure was familiar.
A man seated in a composed posture, robes around him, one leg crossed over the other as he rested against what looked like a throne. Even without the finer details, there was no mistaking who it represented.
Big dong zhong
"Did you finish observing the Statue of the Seven?" Keqing asked from behind him.
"Just wanted to see it up close," he said, stepping back. "Let's go."
Once they were back on the road, the pace picked up again.
The rest of the journey passed more smoothly than expected.
Surprisingly, no monsters crossed their path, and with the steady rhythm of movement and the ease of traveling together, time slipped by faster than Henry had anticipated.
By the time the outline of Wangshu Inn came into view, the sun was already high.
---
Thanks for the powerstones.❤️
New Chapter. As Promised.
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