The night air was cool and crisp; the moon's shadow lay dim and dreamy.
After everyone had finished bathing together, they headed straight for Wanmin Restaurant.
By the time they were done eating, the night had grown deep, and passersby on the streets were hurrying along.
Still, the group noticed one thing.
Anyone who happened to be holding something related to Fang Qiu had a less than pleasant expression on their face.
Quite a few people, in fact, had spent the entire day at the tavern with no idea whatsoever about Beisht's rampage. They staggered along the road red-faced from drink, bottles in hand, weaving every which way as they walked, cursing Old Thief Fang Qiu for being inhumane every step of the way.
Some of them, as they cursed, ended up taking a header straight into the bushes.
The atmosphere grew, for a stretch, extremely awkward.
Fortunately, Paimon kept stepping in to smooth things over — only, the little gremlin eventually started talking about the things that had happened in the bathhouse, which sent Fang Qiu's face burning scarlet all over again.
After parting ways with Hu Tao and the Traveler, Fang Qiu headed back to her rented home together with Shenhe.
Since Shenhe didn't have a place to stay yet, she was lodging at Fang Qiu's home for the time being.
They chatted idly along the way, all the way back to the rented house.
After quickly changing into her nightdress —
Fang Qiu collapsed onto the bed with a soft thump, while Shenhe sat down lightly atop the Jumpy Dumpty. She had changed into a nightdress as well, and the red cord that had bound her body had also been removed.
"Shenhe, you're not sleeping?"
Fang Qiu asked.
While they had been changing into their sleepwear, she had already asked the question. Shenhe's answer had been that when she was with Fang Qiu, she didn't need the red cord to suppress her nature — her heart would naturally be calm.
"I already rested during the bath. I'd like to read for a while."
Shenhe said.
"Then I'll sleep first."
After bidding Shenhe goodnight, Fang Qiu couldn't hold on any longer, and her eyes slid shut.
Just before her consciousness blurred completely away, her last thought was this:
That Beisht probably couldn't beat Gatanozoa... she'd just been frightened by the sheer scale of the spectacle earlier...
Forget it, that's not important...
With that thought, the slender silhouette of Shenhe sitting on the Jumpy Dumpty gradually blurred in her vision until she lost consciousness entirely.
The candle flame guttered and danced. Shenhe quietly watched Fang Qiu's sleeping face for a while, then turned her gaze to the copy of Sword and Fairy 2 in her hand.
She wanted to read for a bit.
Not just because she wanted to understand Fang Qiu better.
But also because the Yun Tianhe in the book was so very similar to her — both newcomers to the world of mortals, both ignorant of mundane affairs.
So she wanted to see how Yun Tianhe had handled it.
She wanted to try living in Liyue.
And so she lightly opened the cover of the book.
The line written on the title page leapt out at her: "My fate is in my own hands, not the heavens'."
Just like what the storyteller at the Third-Round Knockout outside Wanmin Restaurant had been reciting yesterday when they walked by.
Striking — like ink stains spilled across snow.
"My fate is in my own hands, not the heavens'..."
She murmured the words, then turned her head to glance at Fang Qiu. She seemed to be utterly worn out — already deep in slumber.
Looking at her sleeping face, she must have been sleeping very comfortably.
Shenhe was silent for a while. She glanced at the red cord lying beside her hand, and murmured quietly, "So could my fate, too... be something that's not decided by the heavens..."
After a long while, she exhaled softly and dismissed the thought, turning instead to the page she had stopped at last night.
The story continued from the lakeside.
Just as Han Lingsha was taking out a zongzi to hand to Yun Tianhe, demonic beasts had appeared. Just at the critical moment, a Sword Immortal had descended, cut down the few beasts, and then flown away just as swiftly.
...
Meanwhile, the Traveler and Paimon had returned to their inn.
Even within Liyue City, they hadn't used the Serenitea Pot, choosing to stay at an inn instead.
Adepti artifacts weren't something to be used carelessly anywhere.
Otherwise, if a Serenitea Pot suddenly appeared in the middle of the street, floating in midair, it could easily startle passersby — and besides, what if Treasure Hoarders or the like happened by, and made off with the Serenitea Pot?
The next day, if the two of them came strolling out of the Serenitea Pot and found themselves face to face with a band of Treasure Hoarders, that would be an extremely awkward scene.
"Traveler, are you tired?"
Paimon asked.
"I'm alright. After that bath, I feel a lot more comfortable."
Lumine said.
"Everything's wrapped up for now anyway, and there's nothing major to do, so why don't we pull an all-nighter reading? I'm so excited about what comes next — especially after meeting Shenhe and realizing how similar she is to Yun Tianhe! So I really want to see what kind of story Yun Tianhe ends up going through."
Paimon said, her face full of anticipation.
"Alright then. Now that the Jade Chamber business is finished, I'd like to give the book a proper read too."
Lumine said.
"Oh, that thing Miko brought up with us last time — have you given it some thought?"
Paimon said.
"You mean about helping Miko shuttle samples of Fang Qiu's books between Inazuma and Liyue using teleport waypoints?"
Lumine asked.
"Yeah."
Paimon said.
"We can agree to it."
Lumine nodded and said.
"As long as the reward is generous enough."
Paimon said.
"Mm."
Lumine nodded.
So she sat down at the desk and took out Sword and Fairy 2, while Paimon hovered in the air and draped herself over Lumine's shoulder, reading along.
...
"Big Hilichurl fell ill, Second Hilichurl took a look, Third Hilichurl bought medicine, Fourth Hilichurl brewed it, Fifth Hilichurl up and died for no reason, Sixth Hilichurl carried him, and Seventh Hilichurl said..."
Hu Tao made her way back toward Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Along the way, the streets grew emptier and emptier.
Until, at a junction, she spotted a familiar figure.
"Zhongli."
Hu Tao waved.
"Director Hu."
Hearing the voice, Zhongli turned to look. He gave a nod and a greeting.
"I haven't seen you all day. Where've you been? I was actually going to ask you to come help me hunt down that little ghost that's been hanging around the river lately, and you've been gone the entire day."
Hu Tao asked, puzzled.
"In reply to Director Hu — I took a walk around Liyue, paying respects to some old acquaintances."
Zhongli said. "And just now I stopped by the tavern for a drink on the way back."
At that, his eyes betrayed a faint shadow of melancholy.
He had gone to many places today.
He had gone to the Dragon-Quelling Tree at the foot of Mt. Hulao, and to the Guili Plains...
"Drinking?"
Hu Tao's tone hitched, and she asked, "You didn't forget your wallet again and have the bill put on Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab, did you?"
"I put it on Northland Bank's account."
"That's fine, then. Oh — never mind that. Did you see what happened out at sea this afternoon at dusk?"
Hu Tao said.
"What happened?"
Zhongli asked.
"You actually didn't see it?"
Hu Tao's eyes went wide. "It made such an enormous commotion."
"At that time I might've been at the tavern drinking."
Zhongli said.
"You — if the Qixing had lost that fight, you might've been drowned right there in your tavern. You didn't see those waves — dozens of meters high."
Walking alongside Zhongli toward the front of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao told him about everything she'd seen today.
Zhongli's expression remained calm — not a trace of shock or surprise.
"By the way, have you finished Fang Qiu's Sword and Fairy 2 yet?"
Once they arrived at the entrance to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and saw the female undertaker not far off, holding a book in her hands and reading, Hu Tao suddenly asked.
"I've finished it."
Zhongli nodded.
"How was it?"
Hu Tao said.
"A work of the highest caliber."
Zhongli considered for a moment, then said, "Whether in plot, in narrative pacing, or in the fullness of its characterizations, it is exceptional. Every scene, every character, every truth it conveys — they reach deep into the heart and provoke reflection. It is very nearly without flaw. Among its many lines, Fang Qiu even has Mu Rong Ziying voice a creed that has been passed down from Rex Lapis: 'Having pledged this promise to you, I shall keep it for the rest of my life.'"
"Sounds like quite a high evaluation."
Hu Tao said with a narrow-eyed smile.
"You could put it that way."
Zhongli nodded. "Director Hu, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back to my room."
"Go on, go on. The past few days I've been swamped — I still haven't finished Fang Qiu's book."
Hu Tao waved a hand, then pulled out one of Fang Qiu's books from her person. She walked over to where the female undertaker was sitting, sat down beside her, exchanged a few words, and then took out the book and began to read.
The point she had reached was the part after Yun Tianhe had gone to the Ghost Realm.
She was so curious about how the plot was going to unfold next. If she hadn't been so utterly buried in work these past days, she would have finished it already.
Zhongli, meanwhile, made his way back to his own room.
With a "creak," he pushed open the door.
The room was utterly silent. An alley breeze drifted gently through, and the candle flickered and danced.
Once the breeze passed, the room sank back into silence.
...
At Jueyun Karst, clouds and mists rolled in drifting layers. High in the heavens hung a cold moon, and the night was clear and still.
Then, a crane swept across the sea of clouds above Jueyun Karst, all the way to Mt. Aozang, where it landed on a level patch of ground in the middle of the Clear Pool.
On that flat ground stood a tree, lush and full of leaves dyed deep crimson. Beneath it sat a stone table and four stone stools.
As the night wind blew, the mountain mists rolled and surged.
Gazing at the empty stone table and stools, Cloud Retainer couldn't help but sigh. Her eyes held a trace of remembrance and sorrow.
Once, Rex Lapis had often brought friends here to drink with her. She remembered that, at the time, Rex Lapis had been especially fond of Osmanthus Wine.
She didn't know how many years had passed before the only one still left drinking was Rex Lapis himself.
Back then, Rex Lapis often sat in silence beneath the tree for long stretches of time.
She still remembered once, when Rex Lapis had brought a jug of Osmanthus Wine and drunk it alone.
After only a few sips, he had let out a deeply melancholic sigh.
"Long ago, the wine I shared with friends... was it because the climate has changed? Alas — perhaps the flavor of those days can never be brought back again."
Then he had taken his leave.
And after that parting, Rex Lapis had never come back...
Now, this stone table no longer had anyone seated at it.
"Rex Lapis... entrusting Liyue to your people."
Cloud Retainer gazed at the stone table in silence for a long time, then murmured, "I do hope it isn't a mistake."
After another long silence —
She let out a long breath and took out a book.
"Come to think of it, isn't this the very book that child Shenhe was reading? Then I shall read this first. Sword and Fairy 2 — a tale of Adepti?"
Cloud Retainer mused.
And so the book floated into the air and turned its own page.
After only two lines, her brow furrowed, and she muttered to herself:
"It seems one could devise some kind of reading apparatus — one would only need to place the pages atop it, and the device would automatically read aloud the contents of the book... That way one wouldn't have to turn the pages oneself. Mm... this function shall be called 'audio reading.' Mm... I shall make it after I finish reading. Then I can talk with those children about books."
"That child Fang Qiu's personality is rather to my liking. I wonder what her relationship with Shenhe is. Another day I'll ask Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper."
With that, she continued reading on.
Yun Tianhe had chased a wild boar into Shichen Cave, where in the depths he had crossed paths with Han Lingsha — whom he'd taken to calling the "wild boar demon."
Because Shichen Cave had been damaged and he was afraid of being scolded by his father, Yun Tianhe had set out into the mortal world together with Han Lingsha.
"Hm? This Yun Tianhe's experiences bear a few similarities to Shenhe's."
Cloud Retainer mused upon reading that.
Then she kept reading on.
Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha encountered Mu Rong Ziying.
Mu Rong Ziying had instantly cut down several demonic beasts.
"A disciple of immortal lineage — vanquishing evils and upholding the Way."
Cloud Retainer said. "This little girl writes quite well. Far better than that A Legend of Sword offered up by some mortal or other in the past. Tomorrow I'll go ask the others if they'd like to read it."
After a few words to herself, she continued reading.
The two of them, Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha, decided to head for Chenzhou. But before reaching Chenzhou, they had to pass through Shouyang. Within Shouyang City, they made the acquaintance of Liu Mengli.
...
Time flowed slowly on, and in the blink of an eye it was deep into the night.
The turmoil Beisht had stirred up in the afternoon had quickly subsided. Quite a few of the people watching the projections at the teahouses hadn't even realized there'd been such a great battle at all.
They only knew that the weather had been a little poor in the afternoon, making for a not-so-great projection experience.
And so the night in Liyue Harbor was thoroughly peaceful.
Deep into the night, the only ones wandering the streets of Liyue Harbor were drunkards.
One drunkard, swaying along with a wine bottle in hand, suddenly caught sight of someone who had taken a header into the bushes, with his trousers pulled off by some unscrupulous soul or another.
He froze for a moment, then staggered over and plopped right down beside the man.
"Brother, here, you have a drink too... goddamn it, why aren't you drinking? Not drinking, huh? You're drinking whether you like it or not! Watch me pour it in!"
After taking a swig himself, he then tipped the bottle toward the bare backside protruding out of the bushes.
Inside Fang Qiu's rented room.
Shenhe was utterly absorbed in her reading.
In the book, Jiang Shi and Qin Ji had each made their own choices.
Jiang Shi had followed her husband — leapt from the high platform, and perished beautifully like fragrance dispersing and jade shattering.
Qin Ji, on the other hand, had chosen to live on — to feel everything her husband had once felt.
Reading this stretch, Shenhe felt as though her heart had been seized in a tight, wrenching grip.
This was a feeling she had never known before...
Perhaps because she had taken off the red cord, her nature was no longer bound by anything — she just felt a deep ache inside.
So this... was the so-called "love" of the mortal world?
With you by my side, I envy neither mandarin ducks nor immortals...
To follow each other into life and death.
Shenhe let out a long breath, exhaling the knot of feeling in her chest, and then continued reading on.
Yun Tianhe and the others found Xuanji and Huaishuo. With their recommendation, they were at last accepted into the Qionghua Sect.
And they made the acquaintance of Mu Rong Ziying, the one who had saved them at the lakeside that day and whom they'd met at the foot of Kunlun.
The sect head had Mu Rong Ziying teach them the most basic of cultivation arts — but he was not permitted to reveal any higher techniques.
Then they met Xuan Xiao, and resolved to help Xuan Xiao obtain the three Cold Artifacts.
After resolving the fox spirit at Jimo and obtaining one of the Cold Artifacts —
Yun Tianhe and his companions ended up spending the festival at Jimo while they were there.
Fireworks rose into the sky, bursting open in brilliant splendor.
Watching the joyful figures in the book, Shenhe couldn't help turning her head to look at Fang Qiu, who was sleeping deeply — every so often nuzzling her cheek against the pillow. A glimmer of anticipation surfaced in her beautiful eyes.
____
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉