Qiqi's memory was very poor.
To ensure she could get through daily life, she always carried a notebook with her, recording many important things in it.
Unfortunately, she had long since forgotten everything that happened before she became a zombie.
But now, as Li Mo told his story on stage, memories Qiqi had lost—fragments of images—began to surface in her mind.
They came flooding back.
She saw a dark cave. She saw the raging flames of the war between adepti and demons. And she saw a white-haired old man.
Qiqi's small body began to curl up involuntarily, just as it had a thousand years ago when she had curled up in that dark cave. She pressed herself tightly against Keqing.
So fearful.
So scared.
Qiqi's expression grew pained.
"Qiqi…"
"Qiqi… wants to go home."
Curled up, leaning against Keqing, she murmured helplessly to herself.
Beside her, Keqing heard Qiqi's voice and noticed something was wrong. She said with concern, "Qiqi, what's wrong?"
"Are you sick… can zombies even get sick?"
Keqing quickly helped Qiqi up.
Though Qiqi had lived much longer than she had, Keqing had always thought of her as a child.
Qiqi's gaze remained unfocused as she continued to murmur, "Qiqi… wants to go home."
But where was her home now?
Was it Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?
No. The home Qiqi remembered was not the funeral parlor, nor Baizhu's place.
It was a simple hut with a thatched roof.
Where Grandpa was waiting for her to come home.
Qiqi wanted so badly to return to that home.
Shenhe touched Qiqi's wrist.
She was shocked to discover that the power within Qiqi was not elemental power at all.
It was adeptal energy.
Chaotic adeptal energy surged through Qiqi's small zombie body.
...
Meanwhile, on stage, Li Mo had immersed himself in the memories of that lifetime, earnestly recounting the story.
When he spoke of the old man using the power of forbidden commands, he would softly chant: "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing." Strangely enough, in front of his palm, the elements actually stirred.
The audience below found it fascinating.
Even the Raiden Shogun, Yae Miko, and Zhongli from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor could not help but take notice.
What a fascinating forbidden command.
It was neither elemental power nor adeptal energy.
It was the power of life itself.
As Li Mo spoke, the projections formed by Electro above the inn continued to shift.
In the images…
The white-haired old man in the story, in the final moment before the demon struck him, successfully used his forbidden command, temporarily controlling the demon's body.
The little girl cheered at his side, shouting, "An adeptus, an adeptus! Grandpa really became an adeptus!"
In her eyes, this old man was a legendary adeptus, a hero who had saved her.
But the old man knew the truth.
What he had used was no adeptus art. It was merely a forbidden command that temporarily controlled the demon's body.
If he did not kill it, soon enough, the demon would break free from the command and kill them both.
The old man dared not waste time.
He grabbed a knife and, with great effort, stabbed it into the demon's body.
He slew it.
Wiping the blood from himself, the old man walked over to the little girl. "Little girl, do you have any family in Liyue?"
Even if she had no parents, he needed to take her to her relatives.
Only then could he rest easy.
The little girl looked confused at the word "family." She tilted her head at the old man.
"What does 'family' mean?"
The old man was speechless.
You don't even know what family means? How have you managed to survive in this chaotic world?
He asked again, "What did you used to eat and drink?"
How had an infant with no parents, no family, managed to grow up into a little girl amidst the chaos of the war between adepti and demons?
It was a miracle.
The little girl thought for a moment before answering, "I used to live in a very, very big forest. There were lots of little animals, and there was an illuminated beast older sister with red horns."
"Every day, the illuminated beast older sister would bring me coconut milk to drink!"
The little girl looked a bit sad.
She did not know the illuminated beast older sister's name.
All she knew was that this illuminated beast older sister had taken care of her, raising her from a helpless baby to who she was now.
But with the demon invasion, the illuminated beast older sister had also disappeared.
That was why she had left the forest and come across the group of fleeing refugees.
"Grandpa, can I stay with you?"
"I won't cry or make trouble… I'm easy to take care of…"
The little girl looked at the old man with hopeful eyes, clearly fond of him.
The old man was taken aback.
He looked the little girl up and down. Her clothes were too small and already torn and tattered.
"Sigh… alright."
"You can stay with me. As long as I have something to eat, I won't let you go hungry."
A kind smile appeared on the old man's face.
The little girl said happily, "Thank you, Grandpa!"
The old man corrected her, "Don't call me Grandpa. I'm not as old as you think."
"Call me Master."
The little girl was overjoyed. Now she had a master! "Master, can you teach me adeptus arts?"
The old man laughed. "Of course I can. By the way, what's your name?"
Before this, he had seen this little girl several times among the refugees.
But he still did not know her name.
Hearing this, the little girl's expression fell. "I… don't have a name."
The illuminated beast older sister had never given her one.
The old man looked the little girl over.
Finally, he spotted a Qixing Flower tucked into her clothes. "How about I call you Qixing Flower? No… Qiqi sounds better."
"Qi from Qixing Flower."
Hearing this, Qiqi broke into a delighted smile. "Qiqi… that's such a pretty name. Qiqi has a name now!"
Ignoring the pain in her injured ankle, she stood up and happily circled around the old man.
...
At that moment, at Wangshu Inn, when Li Mo reached the part where the old man gave Qiqi her name, he could not help but lift his head slightly.
He looked toward a corner of the audience.
And sure enough, he saw Qiqi's small, fragile figure.
Only now, Qiqi had long lost the smile she once had, becoming a zombie with a vacant expression.
At the same time, when the audience heard the little girl in the story also being called Qiqi, they all turned to look at Qiqi in the corner.
Murmurs broke out:
"The little girl in the story looks a lot like Qiqi… and her name is Qiqi too. That can't be a coincidence."
"I think the Qiqi in the story is the zombie Qiqi."
"The last story was about the Electro Archon in ancient times. This story is about Qiqi during the age of the adepti-demon war."
"I'm curious… how did Qiqi actually become a zombie?"
"I'm guessing it has something to do with that old man. I hope he's not the one who hurt Qiqi… otherwise, I'll kill that old man myself."
The audience buzzed with discussion.
At the table in the corner, Qiqi remained leaning against Keqing's shoulder.
As if she were ill, her body was very weak.
She kept murmuring to herself, "Qiqi wants to go home."
But zombies don't get sick.
Even Shenhe, a disciple of the adepti, could not tell what was wrong.
Keqing said anxiously, "Maybe we should take her to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and let Hu Tao take a look?"
Shenhe frowned. "No. Qiqi is most afraid of Hu Tao. Taking her to Hu Tao will only make her more frightened."
Who could help Qiqi?
Just then, Li Mo on stage also noticed Qiqi's condition below.
He immediately asked the system, "System, what's wrong with Qiqi?"
[Ding! System notification: Character analysis of Qiqi complete!]
[System analysis indicates that because Qiqi is a zombie, awakening her memories from that lifetime has disrupted the balance of adeptal energy within her. She may fall into a deep slumber again!]
Originally, it had taken a thousand years for the adeptal energy within Qiqi to stabilize, allowing her to awaken from the amber.
But now, because of the story Li Mo told, Qiqi's memories from that lifetime had been awakened, disturbing the adeptal energy within her.
Upon hearing that Qiqi might fall into a deep slumber, Li Mo asked again, "Is there any way to help Qiqi?"
[Ding! System notification: Qiqi possesses adeptal energy within her, but her body is that of a zombie.]
[Using an Immortal Spirit Pill, Qiqi's body can be transformed from a zombie into that of a true adeptus.]
A thousand years ago, in that lifetime, Li Mo had tried to use the power of forbidden commands to transform the dead Qiqi into an adeptus, thereby saving her.
But though Qiqi had been saved, she had not become an adeptus.
She had become a zombie.
[Immortal Spirit Pill. Exchange price: 1000 Storytelling Points!]
[Exchange now?]
Without hesitation, Li Mo said, "Exchange now!"
The next moment, a pill radiating powerful adeptal energy appeared in Li Mo's hand.
The moment it appeared, everyone in Wangshu Inn could feel the overwhelming adeptal aura emanating from it.
They were stunned:
"That's adeptal energy…"
"How is this possible? Could he be an ancient adeptus? No wonder he knows so much about ancient times."
"No, it's not the storyteller's power—it's the power of the pill in his hand!"
"Have you heard of a pill called the Immortal Spirit Pill? It's said to grant anyone who consumes it the power of an adeptus…"
At the mention of the Immortal Spirit Pill, everyone in the inn was shocked.
Such pills were from ancient times. Even in that era, only one had ever appeared.
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Li Mo tossed the Immortal Spirit Pill toward Qiqi.
Many looked at the pill with greedy eyes, but not one dared to make a move to take it.
The next moment, Keqing, sitting beside Qiqi, reached out and caught it.
The instant she touched the Immortal Spirit Pill, she felt the powerful adeptal energy emanating from within.
She immediately understood that this pill was real.
She looked up at the storyteller on stage, confused as to why he would give such a priceless pill to her.
Li Mo spoke in a hoarse voice, "This pill is to save Qiqi."
Keqing said, "Thank you."
She was stunned. This strange storyteller had used an Immortal Spirit Pill to save a zombie he didn't even know.
Though confused, she placed the pill into Qiqi's mouth.
Sure enough, after taking the Immortal Spirit Pill, the chaotic adeptal energy within Qiqi began to stabilize.
Not only that, but a faint flush of color began to appear on Qiqi's pale face.
Keqing marveled at the sight.
Truly worthy of being an Immortal Spirit Pill—a pill that could turn an ordinary person into an adeptus instantly.
It worked on zombies, too.
...
On stage, after giving the pill to Qiqi, Li Mo could not bear to look at her any longer.
He took a sip of tea.
Under the audience's eager gazes, he continued to tell the story of that lifetime with Qiqi.
As he spoke, the projections above the inn shifted once more.
In the images…
The old man in the story had taken in the orphaned little girl and given her a name.
Qiqi.
Then, using the herbs and talismans he carried with him, he healed Qiqi's injured ankle.
He led poor Qiqi as they evaded demons and made their way toward the Liyue coast.
After three days and three nights of travel, they successfully escaped the demons' pursuit and arrived at the undeveloped Liyue coast. The people here called it Liyue Harbor.
Qiqi looked at the vast sea and said happily, "Master, from now on, there won't be any more demons killing people."
But the old man looked troubled. "Sooner or later, the demons will come here too."