At dawn, Cloud Retainer was up first.
By the time Lumine and the others wandered out, breakfast was already laid out.
"Waaah—breakfast made by an adeptus!" Paimon stuffed herself round as a drum.
Good thing she'd slept in; by the time she woke, Lumine was already at the table. Paimon had no idea that while she'd been snoring, "Auntie Blonde" had… changed venues.
Still, something about this breakfast was… weird.
Especially Lumine and Ganyu—seated face-to-face, neither willing to look the other in the eye.
Cloud Retainer, taking Su Xuan's diary hint to relax a little, wasn't nearly as stiff as yesterday. When Su Xuan finished eating, she cleared her throat with a kindly, lecturing tone.
"Ahem…"
Her voice quivered.
Lumine and Ganyu shot to their feet at the same time.
"I'll wait for you outside," Lumine said.
Ganyu opened her mouth, then hurried after her.
Paimon scratched her head, baffled. "Huh? What was that?"
One minute later, only Su Xuan and Cloud Retainer remained in the room.
Cloud Retainer wore the same blank look. "What's gotten into those two?"
"..." Su Xuan could only sigh. Thick-skinned as ever, he drawled, "Probably worried you'll repeat what you 'accidentally' saw last night."
Cloud Retainer blinked, then coughed into her fist. "This immortal—cough, I—did wish to offer Su Mister a word of advice. Mortal urges harm the body. It would be wise to… show restraint."
She'd lived for millennia, led Liyue through the Archon War, and knew mortals' ways by heart. A tinkerer at soul, her mind had been churning all night. Piece by piece, she'd sketched the "fate" that diary holders seemed destined to shoulder.
Then she'd dared imagine—if she and Lumine had switched places last night.
Her old face burned.
She had to convince this man. A moment's indulgence helped no one.
Su Xuan arched a brow at the "calm" adeptus and skipped the sermon. "Let's start with the real reason you came."
Her brows knotted tight. After a long inner struggle, she said at last, "I wish to borrow your Qiankun Mirror."
"To reverse yin and yang?" he asked mildly.
A small nod.
She wore a cool shell, but her heart was tender and easily moved. How could one who loved Liyue's lamplight not be? When she'd learned the mirror could reverse life and death, she'd allowed herself to dream.
But she knew well how impossible such a request was. She had only come to try her luck.
"I thought you came for Shenhe," Su Xuan said, smiling.
Cloud Retainer blinked. "Shenhe?"
"Isn't she relying on your three-chi red cords to suppress her bloodlust?"
That gave even Cloud Retainer pause. At last, she murmured, "The child's bloodthirst and killing intent are not an external taint. 'Solitary Star of Calamity' is a fate one is born with."
"I scarcely know how to explain it. You may understand it better than I."
She hesitated, then asked in a low voice, "Could it be… you can even handle fate?"
"Not hard," Su Xuan said with a shrug. "The fates of Teyvat's living are nailed to a False Sky's constellations.
Grant them a power whose rules exceed that false firmament, and their fate changes."
Cloud Retainer's breath caught. "You mean—"
"Immortality, Limit Breakthroughs, even Demon Essence," Su Xuan said quietly. "All of it already rewrites their allotted paths."
"Do you know why the Principles forbid contact with the Abyss?"
A crease formed between her brows. Is this for my ears?
Su Xuan didn't care. "Because the Abyss is power from outside this world. Only those whose will can match it can adapt and accept it. For most, it brings only ruin.
"But if one succeeds, their fate is no longer bound by the stars."
Understanding dawned. When a life track suddenly takes on something that should never have appeared—of course fate shifts. Those girls who drank Demon Essence now carried two powers; their constellations could no longer bind them.
If the external power is weaker than the fate's hold, it won't take.
If the bearer can't withstand a fate-altering power, she's destroyed.
But Su Xuan's gifts differed from the Abyss—no side effects; the bearer adapts no matter what.
"This…" Cloud Retainer looked at him anew, then gave a wry smile. "This immortal still underestimated your weight in this world. I mean…"
"Say 'this immortal' if you want," Su Xuan waved. "Talk how you like."
I truly can't read him at all, she thought. Invisible pressure one moment, breezy the next.
"Then… Shenhe—"
She knew too well her disciple's plight. The red cords did more than bind—they chilled her heart. A last resort that turned her away from people. If Su Xuan could free Shenhe from her ordained misfortune, all the better.
But Su Xuan waved it off. "Shenhe isn't your concern."
"…?" Cloud Retainer stiffened. Don't tell me he intends to swallow my disciple whole—
"Shenhe is mine to handle," he said. "As for reversing life and death—Ruins?…"
Cloud Retainer's eyes widened. Don't say he wants even Guizhong back—
"More like Raiden Makoto and Kitsune Saiguu," Su Xuan went on. "When I need them, I'll pull them out myself. And don't flatter yourself—it has nothing to do with you. The others you're thinking of… depends on your performance—and my mood."
But Cloud Retainer missed the last bit, mind still circling Shenhe. "She isn't like the others. You know her temperament. Years of my suppression have made her ever more distant. She can't… won't… connect with people. She—"
"Stop." Su Xuan cut her off. "Don't think I don't know what crossed your mind when you got caught last night."
"Shenhe is non-negotiable. Even if Heaven itself wakes up, it won't help you."
"And not just Shenhe—you'd best worry about yourself first."
He leaned back. "Here's the truth: all that 'helping each other' talk is just pretext. You think because we don't 'trade,' I'll let you go?"
"Xianyún, you're too naïve. Since you've seen what you've seen, be straightforward about it. Tonight—wait for me obediently."
"...?"
She lurched to her feet, eyes round with alarm. "This immortal—this immortal has lived for thousands of years without—how could—"
"Right. Thousands of years." Su Xuan stroked his chin, appraising her openly. "I thought Rosalyne was Teyvat's highest peak… but you, Xianyún, truly stand above."
"...?"
"That's that," he said, standing. "I've got business. When I'm back, I hope you've sorted yourself out. If not—no matter. You're not getting away."
He waved and headed for the door.
Outside the residence, Ganyu had never left—just kept her eyes carefully off Lumine.
She already knew last night's "Abyss plan" was doomed: Aether had intended to use an inverted Statue of The Seven plus the first Khaenri'ahn Ruin Guard's eye to remake a demon god. But the eye was already in Su Xuan's hands. If he refused, the plan was dead.
Even so, she couldn't just walk off because she knew the outcome. She owed Liyue a final word, face-to-face. She'd wait for Su Xuan's promise and show her respect.
"Su Xuan!" Paimon's call snapped her from her thoughts. Su Xuan was already stepping out.
"What took so long?" Lumine asked. "What did you and Cloud Retainer talk about?"
Su Xuan sighed theatrically—and jotted while he spoke.
[First thing in the morning, Cloud Retainer earnestly lectured me.]
[I'm baffled. Truly.]
[No idea why she's telling me to mind my body and conserve energy.]
[Even if she knows her medicine—]
[I'm not exactly normal.]
[Besides Limit Breakthroughs, every so often my physique and stamina spike again.]
[Hard to imagine what could ever strain me.]
[No clue what she's muttering about…]
[Do the elderly just… like to nag?]
"...?" Cloud Retainer stared at the line in her diary. Elderly—nag?
Ganyu's cheeks burned hotter.
Su Xuan glanced at Ganyu. "You shared a room with Xianyún. Did master and disciple have… a heart-to-heart?"
"Is that why she turned 'kindly elder' at sunrise?"
"A-ah?" Ganyu locked up. How am I supposed to answer that?
We trailed you, peeped through the crack, and I—stone statue on the spot…
"Why so red?" Paimon peered up. "Are you sick?"
Ganyu shook her head so hard the steam might whistle. "N-no…"
Su Xuan patted her shoulder—felt the shiver run through her.
"Ganyu has qilin blood. No matter how heavy the workload, she doesn't flag. Hard to imagine she'd get 'homesick' after one night in my house."
"If you're fine, then come along to the ruin. Consider it a break—and have a look at that inverted Statue yourself."
"Easier to rest your mind once you've seen it, yes?"
"...?" Ganyu heard the shade in his tone, saw the curve at his lip.
He knows we peeked. I'm going to die of shame…
Still, she bobbed her head. "I… understand. I'll come with Su Mister."
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